Category: Southeast Texas

Sherwin Williams Snaps up New Construction End Cap in Woodlands-area Project

Posted on by Sarah

Sherwin Williams Co. is joining the lineup in the newly delivered Harmony Commons Plaza in Houston’s Woodlands submarket, snapping up 35 percent of the latest retail project by noted Shogun Japanese Gill and Sushi Bar restaurateur, Qinnong “Bill” Hou. The Fortune 500 company has leased a 4,000-square-foot end cap in the 11,207-square-foot development, a three-tenant building at the corner of the Grand Parkway/TX 99 and Harmony Commons Drive in Spring, Texas. Anchoring the project is a 6,024-square-foot Shogun Japanese Grill and Sushi Bar – Gyusho restaurant, which will open in mid-September. “Bill has become a developer in his own right. Harmony Commons Plaza is his second project,” said Bob Conwell, senior vice president of Houston-based NewQuest Properties and Hou’s broker for 15 years. Sherwin Williams is planning to open in the fourth quarter. Tami Pearson of Waterman Steele served as the tenant representative. Conwell and Austen Baldridge, a NewQuest vice president, represented the landlord of record, B&B North American Investments LLC. Hou’s project at 3532 Harmony Commons Drive fronts the Grand Parkway and is part of a rapidly expanding commercial corridor just south of the Woodlands. The three-mile trade area boasts a population of 76,350 with an average annual household income hovering around $110,000. Harmony Commons Plaza is shadow-anchored by an LA Fitness Signature Club and Spring Creek Market H-E-B grocery. Conwell and Baldridge have several prospects eyeing the remaining 1,183 square feet in Hou’s new development. “It’s great real estate in what has become a suburb of the Woodlands,” said Conwell, adding that he sold the 1.2-acre site to Hou in 2017. Hou, who holds a master’s degree in finance, is planning to put Harmony Commons Plaza on the market after it’s fully leased. “He’ll be able to sell this project at a really great cap rate, given its quality construction, credit-worthy tenants and location,” said Conwell, who along with Baldridge will list the property when it’s time. Shogun has 23 locations primarily in the greater Houston area, each one offering a fine dining experience featuring traditional Japanese cuisine of sushi, hibachi, barbecue and ramen. The Cleveland-based Sherwin Williams, founded in 1866, has more than 5,000 stores and facilities operations worldwide. “There were several retailers wanting that end cap. Sherwin Williams is a Fortune 500 company. It doesn’t get any better than that,” Conwell said.

Houston Booms with New Apartment Cin 2020, Report Says

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The coronavirus pandemic has brought many activities to a unsettling halt. But it has failed to blunt Houston’s apartment construction boom. New data from Yardi Matrix, a supplier of commercial real estate data and research, shows that Houston comes in at No. 7 for most apartments completed during the first six months of 2020, with 2,085 apartments built. Houston also comes in third place for projected apartment completions in 2020 is the Houston metro area. Yardi Matrix foresees the Bayou City region welcoming 10,404 new apartments this year, up 2 percent from 2019. Little surprise to those paying attention to Texas real estate: More apartments were completed in Austin during the first six months of 2020 than in any other U.S. city. In the first half of the year, construction of 3,827 apartments was finished within the city of Austin, according to Yardi Matrix. Right behind Austin on that list is San Antonio, where 2,871 new apartments hit the market in the first half of this year. Dallas follows Houston at No. 8 with 1,869 units; behind Big D is Farmers Branch, No. 18 with 1,161 units. “Around the U.S., we have seen a variety of states, counties, and cities choose to close nonessential businesses for ‘stay at home’ or ‘shelter in place’ orders. For the most part, construction activity has been included as an essential activity that can continue with business as usual during these orders,” Doug Ressler, manager of business intelligence at Yardi Matrix, says in a release. Click to read more at www.houston.culturemap.com.

How To Survive (And Thrive) In This Real Estate Market

Posted on by Sarah

If there were a list of words to describe 2020, “uncertainty” would be near the top. In every sector and in every community, people are wondering what tomorrow holds. Real estate is no different. And in every community, the questions are similar. Has housing peaked? Will interest rates stay low? Should I buy, sell, or hold? Will the elections affect the market? Is there opportunity amid the turmoil? Eli Tene is a real estate entrepreneur with over thirty years of experience in the industry. Tene and his business partner, Gil Priel, own Peak Corporate Network along with several other real estate businesses. With offices in Los Angeles and New York City, they provide a range of services; residential and commercial brokerage, 1031 exchanges, conventional and bridge financing, escrow, trustee services, short sale negotiation, distressed real estate acquisitions, and hotel and restaurant renovation. During uncertain times, learning from people like Tene—those with depth and breadth—is always a strong bet. The following are highlights from my recent conversation with Tene in which he shares insight on the questions everyone is asking. Click to read more at www.forbes.com.

Freddie Mac Provides Loan to Refinance Top-Performing Houston Community

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JLL Capital Markets has arranged financing for Hanover Southampton, a 206-unit, multi-housing community in Houston’s affluent West University neighborhood. JLL worked on behalf of the developer, Hanover Company and State Farm, to secure the seven-year, fixed-rate loan through the Freddie Mac CME Program. The loan will be serviced by JLL Real Estate Capital, LLC, a Freddie Mac Optigo lender. Completed in 2015, Hanover Southampton is located at 5122 Morningside Drive within walking distance to Houston’s most historic mixed-use urban development, Rice Village, which boasts over 300 retailers and dining establishments. Additionally, the property is proximate to Houston’s largest employment centers including Texas Medical Center, Greenway Plaza, Galleria and Downtown. The 95-percent-leased community offers 12 floors of living with units averaging 1,435 square feet each. Community amenities include a 10,000-square-foot rooftop resident amenity lounge, rooftop pool, 24-hour concierge, Technogym fitness club, outdoor grilling stations, private theatre, executive conference room, bike storage, valet dry cleaning services and pet-washing station. The JLL debt placement team representing the borrower was led by managing director Cortney Cole and director Dustin Selzer.

Funds Are Gearing Up to Acquire Distressed Real Estate Assets, Advises A&G Exec

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Commercial real estate investors are raising funds to acquire distressed assets, but they face uncertainty about how Covid-19 will affect the retail, office and hospitality sectors, said Doug Greenspan, a managing director at A&G Real Estate Partners, during a recent Turnaround Management Association webinar. “If you look at office, it does appear that we may see major shifts in how the labor force works,” he said. “One scenario is that many people will go into the office for just a couple of days a week. Even if that’s just 10 or 15 percent of workers, you’re talking about far-reaching effects on the demand for space and, in turn, the value of office assets.” The webinar, which was sponsored by TMA’s Central Texas chapter, focused on the effects of Covid-19 on real estate. Greenspan, whose firm is providing real estate services and advice to the likes of DSW, Ruth’s Chris, IT’S SUGAR, and Cinépolis, talked at length about retail. “Underlying issues that were visible in retail pre-Covid really came to a head with the onset of the pandemic,” he told the audience. “Retailers that were on everyone’s watchlist have since filed for bankruptcy. Our own Chapter 11 client list now includes, among others, GNC, Pier 1, Ascena Retail Group, Tailored Brands, Tuesday Morning, Modell’s, Stage Stores and Nieman Marcus.” Before the pandemic, the growth of Internet shopping and declining foot traffic at malls and stores had already affected sales-per-square-foot productivity, even in historically strong retail markets, Greenspan said. “In the fall of 2019, we were seeing retail rents decline in just about every submarket in New York City.” Click to read more at www.abladvisor.com.

Leading the Way in La Marque: The City’s EDC Helps Small Business

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The past couple of months haven’t exactly been business as usual for Texas businesses as they dealt with the initial news of the COVID-19 pandemic, the subsequent closure of anything billed non-essential and now the reopening process. It’s been challenge after challenge: how to respond, what to do when shut down, how to operate in this new normal. “No doubt, this pandemic has not been a friend to many businesses and the effects will remain long after this first wave of infection is gone,” said EDC Executive Director Alex Getty. “However, the eternal optimist in me, while sometimes hard to see, looks for silver linings.” Lucky for those in La Marque, the city’s Economic Development Corporation is an example of that, stepping up and working at lightning speed to help its business owners stay afloat. It was only back on March 18 that the City of La Marque ordered the closure of
bars, restaurants and entertainment venues. Then came Governor Abbott’s executive order on March 19, followed by a stay-at-home order from Galveston County Judge Mark Henry. “We acted quickly to infuse desperately needed cash into small businesses that have been negatively affected by policies put in place to flatten the curve,” Getty said. “Those efforts will save some businesses.” Knowing the threat posed to the livelihoods of so many in La Marque, the EDC got to work on a plan. Just two weeks after that March 18 order, it had a plan: the Emergency Business Retention Program, which would provide grants to qualified La Marque business owners impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The EDC’s board of directors approved it on April 2 during a special meeting and by April 8, the Grant Application Review Committee met to decide who would receive the grants. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.