Category: Central/South Texas

North Austin Hotel Secures Acquisition Financing

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JLL Capital Markets has arranged acquisition financing for La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham, a 75-key hotel in Cedar Park, Texas.

JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, Door Capital Partners, to secure the five-year, fixed-rate loan through Alliance Bank Central Texas.

Completed in 2009, La Quinta Inn & Suites comprises a mix of traditional guest rooms and suites. The hotel amenities include a fitness center, laundry facilities, indoor pool, mobile check-in, sundries/mart, complimentary breakfast and 625 square feet of meeting space.

La Quinta Inn & Suites is positioned on 4.02 acres at 1010 E. Whitestone Boulevard. Located 22 miles north of Austin, just off Highway 183 and Interstate 35, guests have convenient access to local shopping and entertainment as well as Lake Travis and the trails at Brushy Creek Lake Park, in addition to all that downtown Austin has to offer, including, Blanton Museum of Art, Austin Zoo, Lakeline Mall, the Arboretum and more.

The JLL Capital Markets Debt Advisory team representing the borrower was led by Senior Director CW Sheehan and Analysts Matt Ctvrtlik and Hunt Wood.

Council Starts Process to Charge Park Fees for Office Buildings

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City Council unanimously approved a resolution Thursday directing city staff to bring back amendments to the city’s parkland dedication ordinance that would require new office, commercial and industrial developments to provide parkland or pay into the city’s parkland dedication fund. Currently, only new residential developments are required to pay such fees.

Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter sponsored the resolution, which gathered six co-sponsors. Mayor Steve Adler, one of the original co-sponsors, added language stressing the need for staff to “establish the legally required nexus” between the need for parkland and establishment of fees for individual properties.

Randy Scott, park development coordinator for the Parks and Recreation Department, told the Austin Monitor that staff members would provide information to show that there was an appropriate connection between the proposed fees for commercial property development and the need for new parkland.

Alter pointed out that workers taking their lunch breaks often use parks and trails close to their offices and other workplaces. She said growth in the commercial and industrial segments of the community has fueled the need for additional parkland. Click to read more at www.austinmonitor.com.

Major Shopping Center in Seguin Purchased by Commercial Real Estate Investment Team

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SEGUIN – Houston-based commercial real estate investment group PBC Interests, led by Joan Collum and Stephen Pheigaru have purchased the Seguin Crossroads Shopping Center located at 1500 E. Court Street in Seguin, Texas, their second retail acquisition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Built in 1985, plans are being finalized to redevelop the 126,000 square foot regional shopping center to include painting the exterior, new lighting, reconfiguration of the parking layout, and tenant sign bands. At the time of purchase, the Center’s occupancy was 32%. Currently, PBC Interests are in discussions with both national, regional, and local tenants and anticipate completion of the redevelopment and tenant’s opening in the Spring of 2023. Charles Blaschke and Logan Havel with the Houston office of Edge Realty Partners are actively marketing on behalf of PBC Interests.

“We are thrilled to have acquired the Seguin Crossroads Shopping Center,” said Joan Collum of PBC Interests. “I have been interested in the Seguin market for years and always had my eye on Seguin Crossroads, when it became available it was a major focus for us to acquire this property. The Center is located within close proximity to retail anchors such as H-E-B and Walmart, as well as major employers such as Guadalupe Regional Medical Center, Alamo Group, and Seguin ISD. Seguin has always been a stand-alone market, but with this redevelopment, and the proposed national soft goods users backfilling the former Bealls on the west side of State Highway 123, Seguin has become a target for more retailers. Our initial conversations with the City of Seguin and the Seguin EDC on this Project have been very positive and we look forward to working with the folks in Seguin for many years to come.” Click to read more at www.smcorridornews.com.

BentallGreenOak Expands U.S. Presence with New Office in Austin to Be Led by New Head of Texas Coverage, Mike Leifeste

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AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, BentallGreenOak (BGO) announced the opening of a new office in Austin, Texas, to be led by Mike Leifeste, the firm’s newly hired Managing Director and Head of Texas Coverage. BGO’s continued expansion in the U.S. includes a significant growth in the firm’s client base and investment management activity in the U.S. sunbelt states.

Leifeste’s responsibilities in this newly created role will include a focus on deepening BGO’s investor relations activities in the region and serving as a critical touch point on current and future acquisitions in Texas while developing new operating and developer partner relationships.

BGO, on behalf of its clients and strategies, manages over $2.3 billion in commercial real estate and land for development in Texas — over 90% of which is in modern industrial/logistics and multi-family residential. BGO expects to more than double that value over the coming years. Click to read more at www.businesswire.com.

San Antonio Agency, Elon Musk’s Company to Discuss Potential for Tunnel

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Officials with San Antonio-based Alamo Regional Mobility Authority said on March 16 that they are interested in talking with entrepreneur Elon Musk’s venture, The Boring Co., about the feasibility of developing a nearly $300 million underground tunnel to help curb increasing local traffic congestion.

“The [ARMA board] has continually sought innovative ways to finance transportation projects to ensure a bright future for the community in a way that bridges technology and accelerates the delivery of needed projects,” Board Chair Mike Lynd said. “Board action is the first of many discussions toward relieving congestion instead of waiting years.”

According to a news release, ARMA staff will be meeting with The Boring Co. in the coming weeks to talk about a tunnel that could run between the San Antonio International Airport and downtown.

The release said roughly estimated project costs range from $247 million to $289 million, depending on various factors, such as utilities and real estate.

Musk’s tunneling firm and another company, Bexar Automated Transport, were recent finalists in a process that began in October 2019, when the agency issued a request for information to gauge industry interest about partnering and developing a high-capacity transit project. Click to read more at www.communityimpact.com.

JLL Welcomes Software Testing Company to Austin

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JLL announced that Tricentis, a leader in test automation, has signed a lease to occupy 42,019 square feet of office space within the newly completed second phase of Uplands Corporate Center. This office marks the company’s first location in Austin. 

Russell Young of JLL represented the tenant. Kevin Granger and Matt Frizzell of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, Drawbridge Realty. 

Tricentis plans to hire more than 100 employees across such departments as Marketing, Finance, Engineering, and Operations. 

“Over the past few years, the city has seen a rapid influx of technology companies making their mark on Austin,” said JLL Managing Director Russell Young. According to JLL’s Q4 2021 Austin Office Insight, Austin’s office environment ended the year with 700,999 square feet of positive absorption. Looking forward to 2022, vacancy is expected to decrease as leasing activity has increased each quarter since Q3 2020. In turn, average asking rents have started to climb, reflecting the optimistic outlook for Austin’s office market.