JLL Capital Markets arranged $32.175 million in acquisition financing for a newly constructed 183,340-square-foot Class A rail-served industrial facility in Taylor, Texas.

JLL worked on behalf of the borrower, a managed account of Manulife Investment Management, in securing the three-year, fixed-rate loan through BMO.

The facility is strategically positioned within Austin’s only master-planned, rail-served logistics and industrial park, providing direct access to I-79, TX-130 and I-35. The property benefits from its proximity to Samsung’s upcoming $17 billion semiconductor campus, scheduled to begin operations in 2026.

Delivered in 2025, the mission-critical intermodal facility is 100% leased to Tesla for 10 years. The property features four dock-high doors, eight grade-level doors, full HVAC buildout, five cranes and a rail entry door strategically linked to the RCR railway. 

JLL Capital Market’s Debt Advisory team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Director Melissa Rose, Director Jack Britton, Associate Nicole Barba and Analyst Preston Bacon.

From home tours on TikTok to agent tips on Instagram, today’s social platforms are saturated with savvy residential real estate brokers showcasing their brand and value in all kinds of creative ways – all while the same platforms seem to be largely underutilized among my fellow CRE agents.

As a commercial real estate broker who has been using social media to grow my business for more than a decade, I can tell you that it can be a game changer. Just a few posts a week have helped me win several clients, and I’m not alone in seeing the benefits of social. When respondents of the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2024 Technology Survey were asked about the tech tool that gives them the highest quality leads, more respondents cited social media than any other tool, including a CRM and digital ads.

If you rarely (or never) post on social media, I know jumping in can seem overwhelming. You may be wondering what platform to use, how many times you should post, even how to know if it’s working. And you might wonder how to balance posting with a really busy schedule. I’m here to tell you it can be done, and it doesn’t have to be difficult.

The following tips, gleaned from my own experience, will help social media work for you – not the other way around.

Kevin Rocio, @properties Commercial

Lead with Value-Driven, Educational Content

Remember the goal is to inform, not just impress. When posting, think about topics your potential clients would want to know about, like market trend breakdowns, cap rate explainers, lease structure tips, or cost segregation benefits, then share that expertise in an easily digestible format.

Keep your posts simple and focused on the points that add value to your audience. To help your followers quickly understand complex topics, I suggest using simple visuals like image carousels or short-form videos. Easy to use (and free!) tools like Canva can help you create professional looking graphics, and all you need is your phone and good lighting to share your expertise in a video.

Promote Listings with Strategy, Not Spam

Optimize your property marketing by focusing on what investors care about: maximizing revenue, finding operating efficiencies, and solving common problems.  Rather than simply posting a “Just Listed” image, think about the questions an investor might ask, and build posts around those questions. 

I suggest using short captions paired with visuals (video outperforms static photos), and leading with metrics like net operating income, cap rate, and lease terms. Relate the listing to your audience by highlighting important details of the deal: Is there assumable debt? Repositioning potential? Zoning flexibility?

Engage with Purpose, Not Just Presence

Too many CRE brokers treat social media like a billboard, posting something, then walking away. But there’s a reason it’s called “social” media – to get the best results and outcomes, it’s vital to interact.

On social media, the best visibility comes from activity – not just content. For this reason, it’s important to engage: comment on others’ posts, stay connected with DMs, and/or repost breaking industry news with your thoughts. Doing so will help you build relationships with your key audiences, including potential clients, lenders, architects, property managers, and fellow brokers.

I schedule social media like I would anything else I need to do in a day. Set aside maybe an hour a day to focus on reading others’ posts, commenting and sending messages. You can also schedule posts ahead of time, which can make it easier to fit them in at your convenience.

Highlight Your Successes the Right Way

You may be apprehensive about sharing testimonials, feeling like you’re bragging.  But when done the right way, sharing your wins is an excellent way to build your credibility. You can post about Just Closed and Just Leased properties or share positive client reviews. To build goodwill and encourage even more sharing, tag your team, referral partners, and clients (with permission).

Be Consistent and Platform-Smart

A consistent, well-timed posting strategy beats random bursts of content. Aim for 2 to 4 posts per week on Instagram and Facebook, and at least three per week on LinkedIn. To make sure that others can find your posts, use targeted hashtags, like #CRE(your city), #MultifamilyDeals, and #1031Exchange.

Double down on what works by monitoring your analytics and repurposing your top-performing posts. For example, after a video I created for a unique property became one of my most popular posts, I reposted it six months later as a social media tutorial for other CRE agents. The second post ended up being more popular than the first, with only minimal effort on my part.

Final Thought: It’s About Connection, Not Just Content

In the social media age, people want to trust you before they ever transact with you, so turn views into value by sharing insights, engaging with your network, and showing up consistently.

Bottom line: if you’re a CRE broker who’s been on the fence about diving into social media—it’s time. Your next client might already be scrolling.

Kevin Rocio leads the ROC Advisory Group at @properties Commercial, a division of @properties Christie’s International Real Estate in Chicago. He was recently named Social Media Influencer of the Year by the Illinois Real Estate Journal. Follow him on Instagram and LinkedIn.

The Renegade is a Class-A, 4-story, 120,000-square-foot multifamily development with 104 units at 260 W. Mulberry St. in the core urban district of Denton, Texas. Construction began in February 2025 with project delivery anticipated for Q2 2026. 

The Renegade will feature a resident clubhouse, premium fitness facility, dedicated quiet study areas, pet recreation area, and landscaped courtyard spaces, all within walking distance of Denton’s Historic Downtown Square. The development benefits from superior connectivity, positioned within a one-mile radius of The University of North Texas, Texas Women’s University, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, and Rayzor Ranch, with direct access to Interstate 35 East and West corridors. 

The strategic location will provide residents with immediate access to educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and retail destinations while offering the advantages of downtown living. The development’s proximity to major employment centers and academic institutions, combined with its comprehensive amenities, will position The Renegade as the premier residential option for discerning renters in Denton.

The Renegade marks the official launch of HL Communities, the multifamily development and construction arm of HLC. HL Communities operates as a fully integrated platform, leveraging proprietary development and construction capabilities to deliver exceptional residential communities while maintaining the core values and strategic vision of HLC.  

Tapping into HLC’s three decades of development experience across the Texas Triangle, HL Communities leverages a proven construction methodology that focuses on operational efficiency and cost optimization, creating significant value at every stage of the development process.  

HL Communities operates three distinct product lines: Infill Boutique communities like The Renegade for urban centers, Suburban Garden-Style developments adjacent to major job generators, and Suburban Wrap projects offering high-density living around structured parking and amenity-rich courtyards. 

Archon Corporation of Grapevine is serving as the project architect and design consultant. HL Communities, alongside Colo Development Partners, is providing comprehensive construction management and development services, with Harmony Bank as the construction lender. Leasing and management services will be handled by Westwood Residential.

Hines announced the start of leasing for Meadowlark at Wildflower Ranch, a collection of 129 single-family rental homes within the 1,100-acre Wildflower Ranch master-planned community in Justin, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth. 

Meadowlark at Wildflower Ranch offers three-bedroom homes ranging from 1,600 to 2,066 square feet, with rents starting at approximately $2,595. Built by William Ryan Homes, every residence features modern brick exteriors, large private grass yards, private driveways, two-car garages equipped with EV-ready outlets, and interiors appointed with stainless steel appliances, gas ranges, washer and dryer, glass-framed showers, and ceramic tile in bathrooms and utility rooms. Homes are finished with top-tier smart home technology, including keyless entry, smart thermostats, video doorbells, and water leak sensors—all easily managed by residents through a Rently-integrated app.

Residents will enjoy all the lifestyle benefits within the Wildflower Ranch master-planned community, owned by Starwood Land, including a resort-style lazy river, more than four miles of scenic outdoor trails, a custom playground, a dedicated dog park, a vibrant community pavilion and event lawn, and a full calendar of community events. The community’s location near Highway 114 in Justin ensures easy access across the DFW metroplex, while offering a welcoming small-town environment.

The first 30 homes are set for delivery in late August 2025, and completion of all 129 homes is expected by the second quarter of 2026.

At the intersection of commercial real estate and technology, REItrades is redefining how institutional commercial real estate assets change hands. By combining an AI-powered marketing engine, a vast network of 3,250+ pre-vetted real estate investment firms (GPs), and a fully integrated digital workflow, REItrades turns what was once a fragmented, months-long process into a streamlined, data-driven marketplace for principal-to-principal institutional commercial real estate investment sales ($10M+).

The commercial real estate industry is entering a new era, driven by fundamental changes, a challenging macroeconomic environment, and technological advancements that are reshaping the industry; urging investors to reevaluate their operations and adopt optimized, cost-effective alternatives. For decades, broker-led sales processes have slowed deals and added a massive layer of costs, a process that once required significant manual work, now largely automated, yet still lengthy, with commissions unchanged. REItrades cuts through the inefficiency, offering a streamlined alternative designed for today’s market.

With a fully automated, end-to-end digital marketing and transaction management platform, REItrades enables principals to close faster while maintaining complete visibility over every stage of the deal. From initial auto-generated marketing materials and targeted outreach to NDA execution, offer negotiation, and due diligence tracking, all activity is captured within a single, secure workspace. Real-time analytics provide insight into exposure, engagement, file access, and offer activity, allowing sellers to respond strategically and buyers to move decisively. By removing intermediaries and replacing fragmented, multi-platform workflows with a unified system, REItrades delivers clarity, control, and operational efficiency, achieving unprecedented results.

Beyond its core marketing and workflow capabilities, REItrades includes a full suite of tools designed to keep every transaction organized, secure, and fully transparent. Sellers can request broker price opinions and arrange 3D virtual tours directly from the platform through trusted partners. Built-in NDA and LOI templates can be executed with integrated e-signatures, eliminating delays in document handling. Targeted buyer outreach leverages the platform’s network data to match assets with the most relevant acquisition criteria. Collaborative deal management allows principals to add team members for shared access and coordination, and secure file sharing ensures controlled access to confidential documents throughout the transaction. Additional functions include centralized offer management, private buyer–seller chat for direct communication, due diligence tracking with task checklists, and network insights that reveal buyer profiles and market trends across asset classes and regions.

REItrades brings together decision makers from established institutional real estate investment firms, who are actively seeking opportunities nationwide and across all asset classes. Access to the platform is by invitation or application only. Buyers must meet minimum requirements ($50M+ AUM) to join, showing that they are financially capable and have the expertise to deal directly. No intermediaries are allowed. Over the past 3+ years, REItrades has built a network, one connection at a time, which now encompasses over 5,600+ decision makers from over 3,250+ GPs. The goal: to connect with each and every GP active in the institutional commercial real estate space, so sellers don’t have to pay high commission fees to reach this small niche of buyers, creating a highly competitive sales process similar to traditional methods.

On REItrades, the sales flow is software-led and linear: sellers provides property information and uploads files to create a listing; teasers and offering memorandums are auto-generated using pre-built asset-class-specific templates, with select sections generated by AI; marketing materials are enhanced with property data from our data partner; a targeted teaser email campaign to matched buyers runs with an automated 7-day follow-up while the listing is showcased on the platform. There is zero cost to sellers, listings can be created in minutes with no minimum periods. Sellers may accept an offer or cancel the listing at any time. Qualified buyers can use the platform free and pay a 0.1% platform fee upon closing of a deal.

The soft beta launch date will be announced in the coming weeks and will spotlight a limited number of listings, exclusively marketed through REItrades. It presents a unique opportunity for leaders in the institutional commercial real estate space to distinguish themselves with investors as forward-thinking and innovative. Principals, both sellers and buyers, can schedule a demo to experience the platform’s capabilities firsthand by contacting the REItrades team at support@reitrades.com.

Life science leaders are recognizing that laboratory design and infrastructure can be a secret weapon in enabling innovation—capable of responding to rapidly advancing research demands, technological innovation, and shifting workforce expectations, according to a new Unispace Life Sciences survey report on lab design development.

The survey, fielded in May 2025, explored the perspectives of 400 senior and mid-level decision-makers across the United States, United Kingdom and Ireland, Switzerland, and India, spanning biotechnology, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and medical technology.

Perceptions of how current lab environments enable innovation are markedly positive among U.S. life science executives compared to their global peers—they have a strong sense of confidence in the capability and resilience of U.S. lab workspaces, particularly in terms of its adaptability for growth (67%) and integration of new technologies (63%).

U.S. labs are also more likely to cite “flexible, modular spaces” as a key driver shaping lab design—61% of US executives identify this as a critical driver compared to 53% of their global counterparts.

Despite this positive sentiment, the U.S. sector faces headwinds in terms of future capital planning. More than half (52%) of executives in this region express apprehension that there will be a return on investment when deciding to fund new life sciences facilities.

“U.S. life science executives believe they have the winning formula when it comes to designing labs that will support their organization’s speed-to-market goals,” said Alicia Inman, Principal, Life Sciences, Americas. “However, the bigger challenge is making the upfront investment in the new facility itself due to the current economic climate,” she said.

Designed to Spark Innovation

To enable innovation, respondents cited the following three features as the most important in a life sciences workplace:

• Digitally integrated, using AI and smart technologies. Respondents highlighted the growing role of technologies such as IoT, AI, and digital simulation tools in transforming laboratory operations. Innovations like digital twins and virtual/augmented reality are enabling new possibilities for simulation, remote collaboration, and training—especially valuable for laboratories operating in decentralized or resource-constrained environments.
• Highly flexible, with modular spaces that scale with shifting needs. Mobile benching and modular infrastructure allow labs to accommodate shifting equipment requirements and emerging technologies. Designing for a variety of bench specifications enables flexibility across a broader range of research applications, while a shift in the wet lab-to-dry lab ratio—and between lab and office space—should be anticipated as research needs change.
• Optimized for seamless cross-functional collaboration. Collaboration is at the heart of modern lab design, with open, shared spaces and dedicated zones key to enabling interdisciplinary teamwork and driving research excellence. Nearly half of respondents see purpose-built collaboration areas as vital for employee satisfaction, enhanced with features such as flexible workspaces, ergonomic furniture, natural light, and biophilic design elements.

In addition to enabling innovation, respondents cited “embedding sustainability” as one of the top factors informing their lab workplace design strategy, driven by mounting regulatory pressures, investor demands, and internal commitments to climate goals. Leaders flagged issues such as emissions control, hazardous and biowaste disposal, and overall environmental compliance as pain points that must be addressed early in lab planning.

“It’s now table-stakes for labs to incorporate eco-friendly construction materials, smart lighting, energy-efficient HVAC systems, and innovative waste and water management strategies in any new build,” said Inman.

About Unispace Life Sciences

Unispace Life Sciences, part of Unispace Group, creates future-ready environments for the world’s most innovative science-led organizations. With deep sector expertise and a science‑first mindset, we deliver strategy, design, and construction solutions for laboratory and workplace environments across biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical technology, and healthcare industries.