Category: News

Plan for 27-Story Class AA Office Tower in Dallas gets Funding

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Global real estate firm Harwood International and JLL Capital Markets recently announced that they have secured joint venture equity for the development of Harwood No. 14, a 27-story, Class AA office tower totaling approximately 360,000 square feet in the Harwood District of Uptown Dallas. Due for completion in second-quarter 2023 and already approximately 45 percent pre-leased, Harwood No. 14 will be anchored by Haynes and Boone, LLP, a high-profile, Am Law 100 law firm. The Class AA tower’s design is heavily influenced by nature, featuring a two-story lobby with monumental stairs blending indoor/outdoor features, landscaped plateaux, a finned curtainwall system that is the first in Dallas, open-air pocket gardens, and a spectacular 17,000 SF rooftop and sky garden. In addition, the tower will present many avant-garde amenities for its tenants as well as expand upon Harwood Hospitality Group’s hotel, restaurant, and bar collection. The architecture, construction, and design teams behind Harwood No. 14 are Kengo Kuma & Associates (design architect), HDF (architect of record), Corgan (associate architect), and Manhattan Construction Company (general contractor). Harwood District was established in 1984 by Harwood International, the masterplan developer. Today, the District spans 19 contiguous city blocks in Uptown Dallas and will grow to include over 11 million square feet of premier Class AA office, residential and retail space utilizing urban gardens, green space and art-filled lobbies. Recent additions are the new Rolex Building, designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates and HDF, Harwood No. 10 designed by HDF, and Bleu Ciel, a 33-story condominium tower designed by Paris-based Jean-Michel Wilmotte and HDF. There are currently 16 Harwood Hospitality Group concepts in various stages of design and construction, with two unique concepts slated to come online this year. The global real estate firm is also under development on a 22-story boutique hotel within the District. The hotel will cater to tenants with its expansive banquet space in addition to its numerous restaurant and bar concepts. Harwood District’s prime location is just south of the Dallas North Tollway, serving as the main artery connecting Dallas’ premier suburbs to the city. The JLL Capital Markets team representing the developer was led by Senior Managing Director Bill Fishel and Senior Director DJ Meagher. JLL Capital Markets is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. The firm’s in-depth local market and global investor knowledge deliver the best-in-class solutions for clients – whether investment sales advisory, debt placement, equity placement or a recapitalization. The firm has more than 3,700 Capital Markets specialists worldwide with offices in nearly 50 countries.

Commercial Real Estate Won’t Fully Rebound Until 2023, at Earliest, Says American Ventures’ Philip Blumberg

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MIAMI, May 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Despite signs of a quicker-than-expected return to the office in the United States, the commercial real estate sector likely won’t rebound for another two to three years, says Philip Blumberg, the CEO of American Ventures who recently launched his fifth real estate fund since 1992. Perceived risk is the key and the reason why it typically takes much longer to recover from down real estate markets than it takes to get into them, he says. “Return to ‘normalcy’ will be dependent on how quickly tenants feel confident enough to renew or expand space,” said Mr. Blumberg. “Tenant uncertainty likely will take a while longer to sort out, tamping down rents and valuations for some time. It’ll take at least 24 months for companies to fully decide what they want to do.” Based on past commercial real estate troughs, Mr. Blumberg expects office investment to surge in 2023 or 2024 – in turn, inflating prices and drawing even more capital. In such a scenario, he envisions unwinding his portfolio – now being built – starting in 2026 or 2027. Mr. Blumberg’s American Ventures funds have performed well acquiring class A office assets in distressed markets. Over 16 years, their average annual return to investors, net of fees and costs, is approximately 18% (based on fund audits). Click to read more at www.globenewswire.com.

Partners Real Estate Company Announces New Director-Level Hire

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Partners Real Estate Company—the holding company of NAI Partners, Partners Capital, and Partners Development—has announced that Brett Chiles, a veteran private equity professional, has joined Partners Development as a Director. Mr. Chiles will be responsible for growing capital and sourcing debt for Partners Development’s ground-up retail and other development and investment opportunities. In addition, he will be responsible for other aspects of development projects including legal, entity organization, project management and other activities. Mr. Chiles has over two decades of experience in the investment space, and comes to Partners Real Estate Company from KA Investments, a Houston-based private equity firm where he was a Principal. Prior to that, he spent time at Equus Total Return, Inc., and Murphree Venture Partners. Mr. Chiles has an MBA from Rice University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Texas Christian University.

KBS Extends Technology Focus; Achieves WiredScore Status for Four Class A Office Properties in Texas

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City View and Fountainhead Tower are the first two properties in the San Antonio market to achieve WiredScore certification. City View, a 221,373 square-foot office building located at the corner of Interstate 10 and Huebner in northwest San Antonio, was awarded WiredScore Gold, and Fountainhead Tower, 179,932 square-foot office building located directly off IH-10 with quick access to Loop 410 and just minutes from Loop 1604 and the San Antonio International Airport, was awarded WiredScore Silver. The certifications are noteworthy accomplishments in today’s tech-driven office environment, according to Gio Cordoves, Western regional president for KBS. “KBS understands that connectivity is critical to driving business for today’s office tenants and enabling them to operate efficiently,” says Cordoves. “By offering the first two WiredScore certified properties in San Antonio, KBS continues to lead the market in providing its tenants with outstanding service and amenities.” Two additional Texas-based KBS office assets – 515 Congress, a 263,058-square-foot office tower located at 515 Congress Avenue in Downtown Austin, and 1800 Bering, a 171,510 square-foot office building located at 1800 Bering Drive in Houston – have each been certified WiredScore Silver. With these new designations, KBS now holds a majority of Wired Certified assets nationwide. Click to read more at www.businesswire.com.

Transwestern Real Estate Managing Director Receives Landlord Broker Award

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Transwestern Real Estate Services (TRS) announces the Houston Office Leasing Brokers Association (HOLBA) has recognized Managing Director Doug Little as the Landlord Broker of the Year for his office leasing efforts in 2020. Little was a finalist for the broker of the year award in 2018 and on the team that received the HOLBA Deal of the Year award in 2019 on behalf of Brookfield for Direct Energy’s 105,578-square-foot lease at 2 Houston Center. This honor is voted on by the tenant representation community in Houston and was presented to Little at the HOLBA Awards ceremony on May 13, 2021. In 2020, Little’s team completed approximately 748,200 square feet of lease transactions with an aggregate value exceeding $132 million. Notable leases include TGS-Nopec Geophysical Company at 10451 Clay Rd. (97,295 square feet), Cadence Bank at Park Towers South (82,215 square feet), Ryan LLC at Park Towers North (66,750 square feet) and Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson at Loop Central III (43,113 square feet).

Austin Draws Closer to Scoring $17 Billion Factory from Samsung

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CULTUREMAP AUSTIN – Austin now appears to be the frontrunner for landing Samsung’s new $17 billion U.S. chipmaking plant. Citing unnamed sources, South Korea’s Electronic Times reports that Samsung has picked Austin over the Phoenix area and upstate New York for the massive project. Samsung reportedly will start construction on the factory in the third quarter of this year and open it in 2024. Electronic Times speculates that Samsung’s Austin expansion could be announced Friday, May 21, when President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet in Washington, D.C., with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The Phoenix Business Journal notes that the May 21 timing of an announcement may be premature, as no decisions have been made yet about tax incentives that Samsung is pursuing in Texas. In documents seeking $805.5 million in tax breaks for the Austin project, Samsung has said the new plant would create 1,800 jobs. So far, Samsung has been mum about whether it has chosen Austin for the factory. Last month, the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce indicated Austin was “still in the running” for the Samsung plant. If Samsung does select Austin, a 7-million-square-foot chip factory would be built on a 640-acre site that the industrial conglomerate owns in Northeast Austin. Click to read more at www.kvue.com.