Category: Deals & Announcements

Griffin Partners wins 16 Kingsley awards

Posted on by Mia Goulart

Griffin Partners, an entrepreneurial commercial real estate investment, development and property management firm, announced that 16 of its properties were named winners of the 2023 Kingsley Excellence Awards, which recognize CRE organizations who continually exceed industry standards and consistently deliver an outstanding tenant experience. 

The award-winners included both owned and third-party managed properties. The overall response rate for Griffin Partners’ portfolio was 81%, compared to the Kingsley average this year of only 48%. To qualify for a Kingsley Excellence Award, a property’s tenant satisfaction must exceed the Kingsley Index™, the most comprehensive performance benchmarking database in the commercial real estate industry. 

In addition to 16 of its properties being recognized by Kingsley, Griffin Partners held its own, Griffin Partners’ Kingsley Awards to celebrate the company’s performance across the portfolio as compared to the Kingsley Index and  team members who won awards given out for outstanding survey results from community members.

Kelly Agent presented awards to members of the engineering and property management teams at Griffin’s mid-year property management meeting in mid-June based on scores calculated from survey results measuring overall satisfaction, response time, problem resolution and response rate (engineering team) and these same categories plus accessibility and communication for the property management team. 

Internal awards were distributed to the the following properties and individuals on the property management team: first place to Haley Bowan and Candy Kerr of Roxborough I & II (Charlotte, NC); second place to Sue Anderson of Marketplace at Lake Boone (Raleigh-Durham, NC); third place to Courtney Davis and Tara Meaux of Loop Central (Houston, TX). Carrie Hansell and Hosman Sorto of Concourse at Westway (Houston, TX) were awarded property with the highest overall satisfaction score. 

Engineering team awards were given to: first place to Hosman Sorto and Steve Delgado of Concourse at Westway (Houston, TX); second place to Chris Howell, Mike Varnadore and Randy Helms of Roxborough I & II (Charlotte, NC); third place: Douglas Rodriguez, Oscar Gomez, Michael Maxwell, Alex Carpio and Joe Guillen of Loop Central (Houston, TX) and Chris Howell, Mike Varnadore and Randy Helms of Airport Plaza (Charlotte, NC). 

Flix Brewhouse joins Mansfield’s Shops at Broad as newest tenant

Posted on by Mia Goulart

Flix Brewhouse, the world’s first-run cinema brewery, just announced the opening of its newest location at The Shops at Broad, one of Tarrant County’s newest major shopping destinations. Originally slated to open in 2020, Flix Brewhouse overcame significant COVID-19-related delays to fulfill its commitment to locating in Mansfield, Texas. The Shops at Broad marks the nine-screen luxury theater’s 10th location across six states and its fifth location in Texas. The theatre is scheduled to open in Fall 2023.

The Mansfield location features a new prototype theater, where all nine auditoriums are equipped with parabolic screens, custom recliner seating, and proprietary “Easy Glider 2” sliding and pivoting tabletops. Moviegoers will be able to enjoy in-theater service featuring a complete cooked-to-order menu, as well as a broad selection of soft drinks and adult beverages. Flix Brewhouse’s 12 signature craft beers are brewed on the premises. Guests can enjoy the brewpub experience with or without a movie.

Flix Brewhouse signed a 15-year lease with The Shops at Broad for a nearly 40,000-square-foot facility. The retail center is located at the corner of U.S. Highway 287 and Broad Street, sitting across from where grocer H-E-B is planning its first store in Tarrant County.

As co-asset managers of the property, Sam Kartalis with Younger Partners, and John R. Weber with Weber & Company successfully negotiated the leases for The Shops at Broad, and have been instrumental in securing new tenants for the center.

Newmark facilitates sale of 336-unit value-add multifamily community in Austin’s Silicon Hills

Posted on by Mia Goulart

Newmark has completed the sale of Autumn Ranch on Swenson Farms, a 336-unit value-add multifamily asset located in Pflugerville, Texas, in Austin’s Silicon Hills. Newmark Vice Chairman Patton Jones and Managing Director Andrew Dickson represented the seller, MIG Real Estate, in the transaction to the buyer, Knightvest Capital. Autumn Ranch was 94% occupied at the time of sale and represents Newmark’s third time selling the asset in 12 years.

Built in 2008 and situated on 16.88 acres, Autumn Ranch units average 1,041 square feet with one- and two-bedroom floorplans. Community amenities include a pool, clubhouse, 24-hour fitness center and fenced dog park, as well as parcel package lockers, covered parking and controlled access gates. The asset offers upside potential for both interior and community amenities, with 133 units having recently received light upgrades to flooring, interior paint, light fixtures, appliances and countertops.

Located at 413 Swenson Farms Boulevard, Autumn Ranch provides residents with convenient access to major throughfares SH-130, IH-35 and SH-45. Surrounded by major employment within Silicon Hills, the property is proximate to Dell’s world headquarters, Amazon, Applied Materials and Apple’s existing campus, as well as developments for the 130-acre Apple campus and the six million-square-foot Samsung chipmaking plant. Additionally, the asset is less than five miles to the 425-acre EastVillage mixed-use development.

The Northeast Austin submarket boasts strong area demographics and outstanding market fundamentals, with an average household income of approximately $129K within a one-mile radius of Autumn Ranch, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2023, and increasing overall rental rates. In general, the Austin MSA remains one of the most sought-after multifamily markets in the U.S. due to the area’s exceptional population growth and expanding employment opportunities.

Two adjacent retail assets in Houston trade to Bridgewell

Posted on by Mia Goulart

JLL Capital Markets has closed the sale of two adjacent Houston retail centers, including the 49,359-square-foot Sunridge Shopping Center (Sunridge) and the 44,398-square-foot Westchase Plaza (Westchase).

JLL worked on behalf of the seller, Whitestone REIT. An entity controlled by Houston-based Bridgewell Property Management, LLC acquired both assets. The privately held Bridgewell and its affiliates own over 30 retail, industrial, storage and mixed-use properties totaling two million square feet in the Houston MSA.

Situated in the Westchase trade area, Sunridge Shopping Center (3800 S. Gessner Road) and Westchase Plaza (3700 S. Gessner Road) are located at the northwest and southwest corners of Westpark Drive and S. Gessner Road. The hard corner locations provide the centers with visibility to almost 80,000 vehicles per day. The immediate trade area has been the recipient of tremendous tenant demand, as well as little new supply additions and is now approximately 97% leased. Tenants are drawn to the area’s density with over 30,000 residents within a one-mile radius.

Institutionally managed and leased by the Whitestone REIT for over 20 years, Westchase and Sunridge are 80% leased shopping centers featuring a tenant lineup of La Tapatia, Little Caesars, Subway, United States Postal Service and several additional local retail and medical tenants. The average tenure at the center is 11.7 years.

The JLL Retail Capital Markets Investment Advisory team was led by Senior Managing Director Ryan West, Senior Director John Indelli and Analysts Clay Anderson and Ryan Olive.

The two properties will be managed by Keen Realty and leased by Hunington Properties, Inc.

Sale of premier neighborhood strip center in Houston’s prime retail corridor closes

Posted on by Mia Goulart

JLL Capital Markets has closed the sale of Uptown Plaza, a 28,000-square-foot neighborhood strip retail center located in the prime retail corridor of Houston, Texas.

JLL represented the seller in the transaction. Pine Ridge Real Estate acquired the asset in an all-cash transaction.

Developed in 2002, the 100% leased Uptown Plaza is currently occupied by CVS, Vision Corner, EG Geller Shoes, Lesley Ann Jewels, Alchemy 43, Fizz Nails and Grotto. The property features an average tenure of over 12 years and a weighted average remaining lease term of three years.

Located at 4715 Westheimer Road, Uptown Plaza sits at the intersection of Westheimer and Interstate 610 and is surrounded by numerous high end retail destinations, such as River Oaks District, The Galleria, Highland Village and BLVD Place. The property attracts consumers from Houston’s most affluent residential neighborhoods, including River Oaks, Tanglewood and Montrose. Retail fundamentals in the inner-loop River Oaks submarket remain strong boasting a 3.3% vacancy rate, and across the Houston MSA retail rents have grown 5.6% year over year. The property is situated on 2.74 AC and presents the possibilities for future redevelopment in an unmatched location. Additionally, within a three-mile radius of the property is a population of over 203,000 residents, and within a one-mile radius an average household income of $164,432.

The JLL Retail Capital Markets team that represented the seller was led by Senior Managing Director Ryan West, Senior Director John Indelli and Director Erin Lazarus.

New industrial leasing activity remains robust in Q2 2023

Posted on by Mia Goulart

New industrial leasing activity remained robust in Q2 2023, totaling 11.5 million square feet, according to recent statistics from Cushman & Wakefield.

“Demand for industrial real estate in Dallas remains strong despite the slowing economy, as evidenced by the recent big deals by Southwire and Dollar General,” said David Eseke, executive managing director and industrial tenant advisory and leasing leader for the Dallas office. “The manufacturing, aerospace and defense as well as food/beverage industries continue to be some of the most active tenant segments in the market. With the continued population growth in the DFW market, we expect absorption to continue at 2019 levels or above.”

Net absorption totaled 3.5 million square feet for the quarter with notable move-ins including Hayes Company (904,495 square feet), Kenco (489,310 square feet) and LL Flooring (457,363 square feet) (Note: Cushman & Wakefield defines absorption as when the tenant takes occupancy.)

“On the supply side, the under-construction number continues to fall as projects deliver. Most of the new product is of the bulk variety and is focused mostly in South Dallas, East Dallas and Alliance. New starts in these submarkets are unlikely but there are several smaller infill developments in core submarkets that will be kicked off later this year,” Eseke added.

The market currently has 70.0 million square feet of industrial space under construction. Development activity is focused on South Dallas (13.4 million square feet), Alliance (12.5 million square feet) and East Dallas (million square feet). During Q2 2023, 13.3 million square feet of industrial space was delivered.

The overall vacancy rate in DFW totaled 6.8% in Q2. Notable leases include Southwire, (1.07 million square feet), Dollar General (1.0 million square feet) and Kimberly Clark (874,214 square feet).