Pieces Relocates Expanded Headquarters to Irving’s Williams Square

CBRE announced that Pieces, Inc., the healthcare artificial intelligence and technology company, has moved and expanded their headquarters to The Offices at Williams Square in the Las Colinas business park of Irving, Texas. The company will occupy a full floor at 5201 N. O’Connor Boulevard. “Our new state-of the-art premises not only provides our employees with an environment suitable for the innovative, industry-leading work they are undertaking but also enables us to balance a flexible work-from-home policy with sufficient social distancing for those who prefer to spend time in the office,” said Fayiaz Chaudhri, president of Pieces. “This space allows us to showcase our cutting-edge technology to our customers and facilitates accelerated growth for the company while keeping our team inspired and motivated to continue delivering results for our clients serving the community at large.” Jeffrey D. Eiting, Ryan Buchanan and John Roper with CBRE in Dallas represented Pieces in the lease negotiations. Bill Brokaw and Karch Schreiner of Hillwood Urban represented the landlord, AGRE Williams Square Holdings, LLC. Corgan Architects was selected as the architect to incorporate Pieces’ company culture and brand into their new office space. Pieces, launched in 2016, spun out of Dallas’ Parkland Health & Hospital System. In just over three years, the Pieces software has enabled up to a half-day reduction in hospital length-of-stay, sustained reduction in readmissions and has been deployed at several notable health systems and communities across North America. Local clients include the North Texas Food Bank, Parkland, Children’s Health and hundreds of community-based social service organizations. The company made the decision to move its headquarters to Williams Square based on several different factors. The space provides a larger and newly designed office that is walkable to the area’s top amenities. The location is convenient for current employees, provides more opportunities for future talent recruitment and it offers prominent signage. “Pieces was able to negotiate favorable terms for its new headquarters, which coincided with a series B raise, that allowed them a platform for their office space to be a catalyst for innovation, recruiting and retention,” said Eiting, technology and media practice at CBRE in Dallas. “The design process was intentional and Corgan did a stellar job of translating Pieces’ brand and business into the space. The office space incorporates elements ranging from always-on technology throughout the space, to quality materials and attention to detail, to high impact and functional furniture.” The iconic Towers at Williams Square is a four-building, professional office campus in the heart of Las Colinas which has long stood for quality and service. Tenants have access to amenities including a newly renovated lounge and conference center that includes a Starbucks, fitness center and locker rooms and the La Cima Club atop the Central Tower. The outdoor plaza is slated for updates including an in-demand outdoor tenant space. Williams Square is immediately accessible to the new Waters Street development as well as Toyota Music Factory.

Colliers Mortgage Closes $14.6 Million HUD Loan for Beckley Townhomes in Dallas

The Minneapolis office of Colliers Mortgage, part of Colliers International, recently closed a $14.6 million loan for the refinancing of Beckley Townhomes, a 100-unit affordable multifamily housing property located in Dallas. The 35-year term and amortization HUD 223(f) loan was arranged for borrower TX Timbercreek Housing, L.P. Amenities at the pet-friendly property include on-site laundry facilities, fitness center, outdoor playground, swimming pool and picnic/grilling areas. 

NewQuest Closes Three Houston-Area Deals

NewQuest Properties recently facilitated one retail lease and three property sales in the larger Houston metro. Crumbl Cookies has leased 1,572 square feet of retail space in the Grand at Aliana, located at the intersection of West Grand Parkway S and West Airport Boulevard, Richmond, Texas. David K. Meyers and Josh Friedlander of NewQuest Properties represented the landlord. Greg Stanislawski and Mark Stanislawski of the Retail Strategy represented the tenant. APG Industrial LaPorte LLC has sold a 12,810-square-foot warehouse on 5.6 acres at to ESCO International Trading LLC. Dave Ramsey and Brad Elmore of NewQuest Properties represented the seller in the direct deal. Turbo Restaurant Management LLC has sold a 2,219-square-foot vacant structure on a 0.7-acre pad site at 9540 Hwy. 6, Missouri City, Texas and a 2,150-square-foot vacant building, also on a 0.7-acre pad site, at 9046 FM 1960 Bypass W., Humble, Texas to Briggs of Missouri City Properties LLC. Andrew Alvis of NewQuest Properties represented the seller. Tyson Walker of BWB Advisors represented the buyer.

Bradford Inks Three Leases in North Dallas Portfolio

Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services has pushed a four-building industrial portfolio in Farmers Branch, Texas to 100 percent occupancy, signing 24,261 square feet in two new leases and one renewal. Midpoint Auto Group has leased 13,119 square feet at 3300 Garden Brook Drive while JKMG & International Co. Inc., dba Noroo, has taken 4,472 square feet at 3314 Garden Brook Drive, filling the balance of the portfolio’s vacancy. In a long-term renewal, United Fine Arts Services LLC has held fast to 6,670 square feet in 3109 Garden Brook Drive. Brian Pafford, executive vice president and managing partner of Bradford, and Susan Singer, executive vice president, closed the triple play for the landlord, Gardenbrook Industrial LLC, shortly before the portfolio changed hands. “These three deals certainly helped in the sale process,” Pafford said, “as did our ability to add to the portfolio’s value by raising the bar on future rates for renewals and new leases.” The Bradford team was facing a six-month deadline to fill the 13,119-square-foot vacancy with another automotive group or face the loss of the permitted use. “We got the deal done in the nick of time,” Pafford said. Pafford and Singer negotiated direct deals with Midpoint Auto Group and United Fine Arts Services. Daniel Lee of Stellar Real Estate LLC represented Noroo, which is opening its first location in Texas. The portfolio also includes a single-tenant building at 3113 Garden Brook Drive and a multi-tenant structure at 4101 Lindbergh Drive. The shallow-bay warehouses are geared toward smaller tenants with spaces from 5,000 to 20,000 square feet. “There continues to be strong demand for spaces in that size range,” Pafford said.

REDnews DFW Industrial Summit

• As multifamily, retail and office “feel the pain,” industrial is holding up well, and accelerating, as e-commerce continues expansion; investors are transferring their attention to industrial from these other sectors
• Companies are bringing back manufacturing from Asia to the U.S. and to Mexico, which is much closer to DFW; companies are coming here from California; labor costs in Mexico now approximate those in China, as China’s economy has strengthened
• Distribution and heavy manufacturers seem strong, but some light manufacturers are seeing stress
• DFW is strategically located in the middle of the country, is in the central
time zone, is one day’s drive from Mexico and Port of Houston, and it is “the” hottest industrial market in the country, and some say “the world;” DFW has a super freeway network and good general accessibility
• Manufacturers wanting to “near-shore” from China to Mexico are hampered from the difficulty of business travel to MX during COVID
• After a pause with the onset of COVID, investment deals are do-able and cap rates are back to where they were at the start of the year
• Loans are available at an average of 60 percent LTV, with lenders requiring ample debt service coverage—however, low leverage requires more expensive equity and mezzanine money
Click to read more at www.rednews.com.

Two Texas Markets Prove to be Elite When it Comes to Industrial Real Estate

There’s been a lot of talk that the industrial market—particularly that segment serving e-commerce companies—is proving to be resilient to the economic damage wrought by COVID-19. Two Texas markets are helping lead the way as the country forges a path forward during the pandemic. New research by Transwestern suggest that there remained strong demand for large scale industrial space across the country during the first half of
the year. This demand is revving the engines of development, investment and leasing activity. Transwestern indexes the health of the national industrial market by tracking deal velocity and construction activity in 11 growth regions. Dubbed the “Elite 11,” these markets are perennial targets
for both global investors as well as the most sought-after locations for big-box distribution users, lastmile logistics, e-commerce and manufacturing
companies. Two Texas markets, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston, make Transwestern’s Elite 11, along with Atlanta, Chicago, Lehigh Valley (PA), New Jersey, Northern California, Seattle, South Florida, Southern
California and Washington/Baltimore. These core markets are proving that this is one asset class that can’t be beaten by the pandemic. “Many sectors of the real estate market have been put on pause since March—but not the industrial real estate sector, which continues to flourish,” said Transwestern’s Matt Dolly, director of research. “Prior to the pandemic, the core markets led investment activity, and this movement has only intensified in recent months.” Click to read more at www.rednews.com.