Category: News

Wood Partners Starts Construction on Luxury Multifamily Community in Dallas Market

Posted on by Sarah

National multifamily real estate developer Wood Partners has started construction of its newest luxury residential community—Alta at The Farm—in the Dallas area. With construction on the new apartment community currently underway, Alta at The Farm is scheduled to open in early 2023.

Alta at The Farm will be situated within The Farm, a newly constructed 135-acre mixed-use development in the Dallas suburb of Allen, Texas. At full build-out, The Farm will host a mix of office, retail, entertainment and residential facilities.

Highlights of The Farm will include a 16-acre greenbelt and open space spanning the entire length of the development, a 2.5-acre lake and boardwalk with numerous dining options, multiple pocket parks and multi-use trails that connect to the broader Allen trail system. Furthermore, Alta at The Farm will be next door to the first Texas location of The Hub, a multifaceted outdoor entertainment and retail venue that originated in Watersound Beach along 30A in the Florida Panhandle.

Alta at The Farm’s midrise design will feature 325 apartment homes, offering residents a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Each unit will provide best-in-class finishes including high-end kitchens featuring granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, upgraded fixtures, and tile backsplash, as well as in-unit technology, keyless entry, wood plank flooring and in-unit washer and dryer sets.

The development will also offer residents access to a top-tier amenities package, headlined by a resort-style pool with tanning ledges, a second courtyard with grilling areas and fire pits, a community clubhouse featuring a state-of-the-art fitness facility, private fitness micro-studios, and a Sky Room and roof deck overlooking West Lake Park. There will also be remote working areas, social gathering spaces, and enhanced Wi-Fi throughout the common areas.

Pre-leasing for Alta at The Farm will begin in Winter 2022.

Real Estate Transactions: Town & Country Village Office Building Fills with Tenants

Posted on by Sarah

Houston-based commercial real estate firm Moody Rambin announced leases that bring its 253,714-square-foot Town Centre One office building at 750 Town & Country Blvd. to full occupancy. JFE Shoji America, represented by Robert Ritschel of The Saywitz Group Co., leased 1,566 square feet. USP Houston, represented by Nelson Udstuen of CBRE, leased 4,049. Axis Communications, represented by Michael Massaro of Mohr Partners, leased 5,863 square feet. Constellation Real Estate Partners, represented by Russell Hodges of CBRE, leased 3,722 square feet. Completed in 2015, the building is part of Town and Country Village, a 41-acre mixed-use development owned and managed by Moody Rambin. The company is seeking tenants for Town Centre Two, an eight-story, 167,141-square-foot office building planned next door.

Los Angeles-based BH Properties acquired Mason Creek II, a vacant three-story office building at 21700 Merchants Way in Katy. Originally designed for a single occupant, the 127,955-square-foot building will be repositioned as a multi-tenant building with amenities such as a tenant lounge and conference center, according to Scott Henry, BH Properties managing director of acquisitions. Jeff Hollinden of JLL Capital Markets represented the seller. Bob Cromwell and Kevin Nolan of Moody Rambin will handle leasing. Click to read more at www.houstonchronicle.com.

U.S. Industrial Vacancy Falls Again, Records Lowest Rate in Nearly 25 Years

Posted on by Sarah

HOUSTON, Feb. 02, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The national industrial market continues to shatter records across key metrics, according to Transwestern’s fourth quarter U.S. Industrial Market report. Vacancy dropped to 4.3% during the quarter, its lowest rate in almost 25 years – a result of unrelenting demand and delivery of less than 100 million square feet of space nationally. Net absorption registered 650 million square feet for 2021, obliterating the occupancy growth record set in 2018 (431 million square feet) and more than double 2020’s figure.

“The industrial sector continues its tear, evidenced by yet another remarkable quarter,” said Matthew Dolly, Research Director at Transwestern. “Rents grew in every market, even those that have historically commanded rates well above the national average. Economic conditions, consumer behavior and supply chain snarls all play a role: More investors are looking to real estate as a hedge against rising inflation, and logistics firms need the space.”

The U.S. average asking rent ended the year at $7.20 per square foot, increasing at the fastest pace for a calendar year since the start of the pandemic. Over 75% of tracked markets saw rents rise by more than 5% throughout 2021, with five markets – Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Baltimore, New Jersey and Philadelphia – exceeding 20%.

Many coastal markets continue to report the lowest availability as a percent of stock. Over the course of the year, markets experiencing the largest decreases in availability included Las Vegas, Cincinnati, and San Diego. Click to read more at www.globenewswire.com.

Finding the Balance: How the Pandemic Expedited Evolution in Property Management

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Property management has always been a feat of balancing the needs of the landlord with those of the tenants. Faced with the challenges of COVID-19, property management has evolved considerably in just two years.

“It’s been challenging. COVID has brought a whole new element to what we have seen in the property management world,” says Branon Pesnell, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Property Services for NAI Partners in Houston. “We’ve really had to hold a lot of hands for landlords and walk them through this whole process because it’s something that none of us have seen before.”

From issues of building underutilization early in the pandemic to building cleanliness and social distancing as tenants started to return, Pesnell says properties have had to pivot and adjust like never before.

“We don’t have any kind of precedent to go off,” he explains. “It’s definitely been a learning process for everyone involved.” Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

Back in Business, Back in Buildings: How Property Managers are Bringing in Tenants

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When Laura Fishback joined Avison Young as Dallas Market Leader a month before the pandemic shutdowns in 2020, the newest member of the property management team thought she’d have plenty of time to get acclimated.

“It was just the opposite,” she says. “Property management was thrown into hyperdrive.”

At the time, Avison Young had only one building (a 156,000-square-foot Class A+ office building) under management. Flash forward to 2022 and the firm now manages seven office buildings totalling 418,000 square feet, four medical office buildings totaling 167,000 square feet and three industrial sites totaling more than one million square feet.

Fishback credits that growth to being persistent, engaged and truly caring
about the client’s needs. “This is a major differentiator with us: we listen to what our clients need and make it happen,” she says.

As an example, Fishback offers the story of Avison Young-Dallas’ second property management client: Metrocrest Hospital Authority. She cold-called a contact there and hit it off, discussing how they could address and improve the asset’s property management needs. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

TuSimple, Property Developer Team up to Boost Autonomous Trucking in Texas

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The roads are mostly mapped for TuSimple to drive autonomously in Texas. Now it is up to commercial property developers to get ready for driverless trucks to come and go from warehouses.

Hillwood Investment Properties, one of the largest commercial real estate developers in the country, is taking suggestions from TuSimple Holdings (NASDAQ: TSP) on how to incorporate the needs of autonomous trucks into current and future facilities.

“If you develop a warehouse that has the right setup, like a separate entrance for autonomy, an area where you can put a launching pad and a landing pad for autonomous trucks, this is where the design of these warehouses are to be TuSimple Autonomous Freight Network-enabled,” TuSimple CEO Cheng Lu told FreightWaves. Click to read more at www.freightwaves.com.