The office portion of Midway’s East River development near Downtown Houston is nearly full after Orion Group Holdings opted to combine three of its local branches into a new HQ. The company has signed a lease for 65K SF across three floors of two buildings. The East River project is shaping up to be a hub for maritime-linked industries, with Orion joining tenants like Anton Paar USA, Suderman & Young and Port Houston. Read more here. The Best Of Bisnow Could the Texas Stock Exchange be another arrow in the state’s quiver when it comes to corporate relos and investment? CRE players say the exchange’s planned headquarters in Downtown Dallas could solidify its status as a banking and financial hub while sending positive echoes across the state.
More extreme weather will hit, and property insurance will get more expensive. This has sent CRE owners in high-risk states like Texas searching for alternative insurance options, which brokers and consultants are scrambling to educate them about.
Yet another office-to-resi conversion is headed for Downtown Fort Worth with 3L Real Estate filing plans to spend $30M turning the former home of Fort Worth National Bank and Oncor Energy into more than 300 apartments.
The curtains have closed on five Dallas Alamo Drafthouse locations, which abruptly shuttered last week after the local franchise operator filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The embattled company said in a statement it is working to reestablish its presence in DFW, but for now, it’s lights out.
Available sublease space in Houston’s office market is stabilizing, but 10 buildings have blocks of 90K SF or more available. Energy companies were most likely to list large blocks of their office space for sublease, according to a report from Savills.
The Best Of The Rest DFW Pastor Gets 35 Years For Filing Fraudulent Deeds (DMN): A Dallas County jury has sentenced pastor Whitney Foster to prison after he was convicted of stealing $800K worth of property from three North Texas churches. Get more on the case here.
It Must Be In The Water (ValleyCentral.com): A McAllen woman has been arrested for a real estate “get rich quick” scheme that allegedly involved pocketing investor money and presenting victims with fraudulent closing documents. Read up on why she faces up to 20 years in prison.
San Antonio-Based Construction Firm Lays Off 4,400 Workers (ABJ): A new slate of Texas-based employees is out of a job after Zachry Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week. The company pointed to “unforeseen business circumstances” as the reason for its financial woes. Find out which workers were affected.
Element Fuel Holdings To Build Largest Refinery In 50 Years (HBJ): The Houston-based energy company is building a refinery in Brownsville to utilize shale. The project will cost $3B to $4B and be the largest refinery built in the U.S. since the 1970s. Learn more about the plan.
Shocker: Texas’ Largest Property Owner Hails From The Bluegrass State (DMN): Kentucky native and Tennessee resident Brad Kelley owns the largest chunk of Lone Star State real estate, and it isn’t close. The discount-cigarette magnate holds about 940,000 acres, including a ranch half the size of Rhode Island. See what else he owns.
Number Of The Week 5.4M SF — The amount of sublease space available in the Houston office market. It might sound like a big number, but it is a major improvement from the more than 8M SF available in 2018. Hot Tea, Fresh And In Person Grab a cuppa, network and learn about the latest trends at these upcoming events: June 18: Austin Women Leading Real Estate June 26: Dallas Architecture & Design Summit June 27: Houston Property Management Conference July 11: Austin Master-Planned Communities & Build-to-Rent Summit July 18: Future of Galveston County July 30: Tarrant County State of the Market *** So how's the Tea? As we brew up next week's edition, send us your feedback, including what kind of content you'd find valuable in this newsletter. And don't forget, we love news tips. *** Get The Texas Tea free of charge. If you aren't already receiving it in your inbox, sign up here to join our subscriber list and receive the latest and greatest Texas news every Wednesday afternoon. | 
