The retail real estate industry “has seen five to 10 years of change in six months” due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to one of the most influential voices for retail real estate, Tom McGee. McGee, president and CEO of the International Council of Shopping Centers, recently spoke to the Weitzman team during a statewide meeting held virtually, which itself is evidence of the changes evoked by the pandemic. As the ultimate consumer-facing industry, retail is at the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis, McGee said. Trends accelerated during the pandemic include curbside pickup, online shopping, and the merger of the digital and physical worlds. McGee noted that people talk about the different channels for shopping, but he says, “There is only one channel—the consumer channel.” To be successful, especially today, retailers need to satisfy customer needs no matter when, where, and how they want to shop. Many of these trends already were in the works, but the acceleration caused by the pandemic requires rapid structural changes on the part of shopping centers and retailers. Curbside, for example, requires restructuring traffic flow within a project and requires the retailer to adjust the store layout to accommodate the change. Post-pandemic, McGee expects to see a physical retail rebound to or near pre-pandemic levels, even though some changes like increased online shopping and curbside pickup will remain highly utilized. Click to read more at www.dmagazine.com.

Dallas-based August Real Estate Co., a real estate development-focused family office co-founded by Dallas natives, brothers Evan and Jordan August, recently announced the redevelopment of two iconic buildings in the historic Deep Ellum neighborhood, The Continental Gin Building and 333 1st Avenue. With over 100,000 square feet under ownership, August Real Estate Co. is focused on developing urban, creative mixed-use spaces for businesses and individuals. Evan and Jordan both have extensive and diversified experience in the DFW commercial real estate market and beyond. Evan brings 15 years of investment sales experience, participating in more than $10 billion of transactions in addition to initiating the launch of Eastdil Secured’s Texas office, where he advised on the sale of many large-scale office assets across the state. Jordan’s background ranges from investment sales and finance to architectural design, construction management and development. He has extensive experience in the DFW metroplex including assisting in the financing and development of the Statler Hotel in downtown Dallas. Their father, Tom August, serves as chairman of August Real Estate Co., focusing on strategy and oversight and brings more than 40 years of executive level experience that includes CEO roles at both Prentiss Properties and EOP, Blackstone’s office platform. The company’s first two projects mark their foray into the development of creative office space, showcasing their approach to building out modern spaces with intent, ensuring each project’s design will endure for future generations. “Longevity is important to us—we want to create a portfolio of special assets that serve a purpose in our community and will survive for future generations,” said Evan. “With an asset like The Continental Gin Building, we are restoring, rather than redeveloping, an iconic part of the Deep Ellum neighborhood that will honor the building’s history while also creating a modern space with current amenities and technology that will attract today’s creative tenants.” Built in 1888, The Continental Gin Building restoration is well underway with improvements. The building has been designed to provide a boutique hotel feel taking advantage of its impressive 14-foot ceilings, exposed wood beams and hardwood floors. August Real Estate Co. repurposed the large freight elevator into a feature internal stairwell, replaced dock doors with glass windows and storefronts and expanded the front loading dock into a wrap-around deck. The upgraded building also boasts amenities for the modern user including food and beverage options, Wi-Fi throughout, shared conferencing, massive patio and plaza areas, showers on every floor and immediate access to the Santa Fe Trail that feeds into East Dallas and connects to the White Rock Lake trail. The two-acre site is significant for Deep Ellum, allowing for pockets of outdoor green space and abundant surface parking. There are numerous energy efficient upgrades, including solar panels on the roof and front canopy, that will contribute to the building’s LEED Silver Certification. Pre-leasing activity has been exceptionally strong. Common Desk is leasing and managing the space and has already committed to nearly 22,000 square feet. Fiction Coffee will operate in the main building lobby. August Real Estate Co. will also deliver 22,000 square feet of spec suites that can accommodate needs starting at 1,100 square feet but can be combined for a full-floor user. The restoration of The Continental Gin Building, as well as all future August Real Estate Co. developments will feature upgraded health and safety measures to meet today’s new standards including hospital-grade air filtration, UV light systems, touchless fixtures in restrooms and anti-microbial surfaces. These upgrades combined with convenient surface parking will allow Continental Gin Building tenants a touchless route all the way to their desk. “With our long-standing history in Dallas and in the industry overall, we are bringing a new approach to urban development, investing in the community and offering a fresh perspective on the workplace of the future,” Jordan said. “Our diversified experience gives us a unique perspective on what potential tenants are looking for in a commercial space—flexible leasing and workplace configurations that are not only safe and clean, but also positively impact an employee’s well-being.” Renovations recently began on August Real Estate Co.’s second project, 333 1st Avenue, which was built in 1926 and last renovated in 2006. Most recently occupied by Nordstrom’s Trunk Club, the building offers over 36,000 square feet of impressive creative office space and an unrivaled 4:1,000-square-foot parking ratio. Limited column disruption and large open spaces offer optimal flexibility for tenants while the 16-foot ceilings and large windows provide an abundance of natural light. August Real Estate Co.’s new improvements will include exterior building upgrades, the construction of a new brick and glass circulation tower that will house a new passenger elevator and a feature stairwell, extensive hardscape improvements including a new Uber-friendly drop-off zone and upgraded landscaping throughout the 1.5-acre site. CBRE is the leasing team for the project. In a market where tenants are increasingly searching for flexible leasing options, both The Continental Gin Building and 333 1st Avenue offer flexible lease options and customizable spaces. The Continental Gin Building is set for completion in the first quarter of 2021 while 333 1st Avenue is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2021, but select space is currently available for build-out while renovations on the project are underway.

AG Commercial Management has selected Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services to lease its newest holding, White Rock Tower, the only mid-rise office project in a predominately residential neighborhood in northeast Dallas. The new assignment is a 72,551-square-foot, six-story building at 6510 Abrams Road in Dallas. Leading the leasing charge will be Melanie Hughes, Bradford’s senior vice president, and Erik Blais, vice president. “We’re introducing a new leasing concept, the ‘Run Home Zone.’ We’re focusing on prospects who want to do life and work closer to home, particularly during the continued uncertainty of COVID,” Hughes said. “It enhances the live-work lifestyle in ways that a home office cannot and keeps tenants close enough to help with daily needs like school runs.” The mid-rise is located in a densely populated neighborhood of apartments, single-family homes and public/private schools along with big box and basic services’ retail. It’s also about three miles north of one of the city’s most popular recreational amenities, White Rock Lake and the Dallas Arboretum & Botanical Garden. “We know that many people who are working from home still want an office presence,” Hughes said. “The convenience of being 10 minutes between both locations is a strong attraction.” White Rock Tower is more than 90 percent leased to 49 tenants, representing a wide spectrum of professional services. The largest tenant is Re/MAX DFW Associates, which occupies more than, 8,200 square feet. With a new owner and leasing team in place, the next move is a major renovation of the lobby and fourth-floor conference center and tenant lounge. Spec suites will be added, as will exterior building signage. White Rock Tower also is home to a 4,000-square-foot executive suites’ center that can double as incubator space and a Parks Café, a popular break-room kiosk concept in many Dallas office buildings. Tenant amenities also include key-card access, security guards and a 4:1,000 parking ratio on a surface lot with 24 covered spaces. Completed in 1981, the mid-rise building is set on nearly 2.8 acres at the corner of Abrams Road and Larmanda Street. At the edge of the property is a Comerica bank offering lobby and drive-through services. Northwest Highway is just a few blocks away. Central Expressway and Interstate 635 also are close by. A U.S. Post Office abuts the project. “White Rock Tower is located close to retail, other neighborhood services and homes,” Hughes said. “Creating a ‘Run Home Zone’ for marketing projects makes perfectly good sense in today’s business world.”

Transwestern Real Estate Services is the exclusive sales agent for Winfield Place, a 33,064-square-foot, three-story office building at 210 E. 8th Street in downtown Fort Worth. Transwestern principal, Kirk Kelly, represents the property owner, Left Deep Left LP. Originally constructed in 1919 as Fort Worth’s first parking garage, intended for what was the Winfield Hotel, the space has since gone through nearly $7 million in renovations to convert the 101-year-old building into an open, modern office environment. “Winfield Place presents a rare opportunity to purchase a fully renovated and iconic office building,” said Kelly. “The property is ideal for an investor or user that is looking for a plug-and-play office opportunity, and it is well-suited for a single or multiple tenants.” The showpiece of the original building was the car lift that once transported vehicles to each level of the garage. After undergoing renovations in 2016, the space was transformed into an operational elevator serving as a glassed-in conference or board room that allows tenants to utilize the meeting space on each floor with the press of a button. The extensive conservation goals during the renovation earned the building the Preservation Award in 2017 by the Historic Fort Worth Association. “The labor force in Fort Worth grew by 30.2 percent during the past nine years, 4.4 times faster than the 6.9 percent growth rate of the national labor force,” said Kelly. “This locally listed historic landmark is a great opportunity for a company to call this area home and continue the legacy of the building for years to come.” According to Transwestern’s second quarter submarket report, the Fort Worth Central Business District is expected to remain relatively stable in the long term due to high-quality space for users throughout the broader Fort Worth office market.

Logistics Property Company, LLC (LPC) is on schedule to deliver Southport Logistics Park, Building 3 (Southport 3) in the City of Wilmer, Texas, in Q2 2021. Southport 3 comprises one speculative, state-of-the-art, Class A distribution facility totaling more than 1 million square feet—expandable to 1.2 million square feet. At full build-out, Southport Logistics Park will house over 3.55 million square feet of Class A industrial space. It is located within a 252-acre, master-planned logistics destination in the South Dallas submarket of Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW). Well-known corporate neighbors in the industrial park include an operating subsidiary of a Fortune 100 e-commerce retailer, and an iconic American consumer packaged goods manufacturer. “2020 has continued to attract new tenants to the South Dallas submarket, as the overall DFW population increased due to corporate business relocations,” said Kent Newsom, LPC’s executive vice president – south region. “Southport 3 is strategically positioned to take advantage of the increase in e-commerce demand combined with the lack of 1 million square foot competition in the market.” Located immediately east of Interstate 45 and the Union Pacific Intermodal, five miles south of Interstate 20 and three miles south of the second busiest FedEx Ground hub in the U.S., Southport offers tenants a premier logistics location within DFW. “This site allows for a single building of 1 to 1.2 million square feet,” said Kacy Jones, senior vice president, CBRE Dallas-Fort Worth. “It also boasts 40-foot clear height, room for more than 300 trailer parking spaces and over 650 car parking spaces.” The land available for potential expansion doubles as additional car and/or trailer parking for large e-commerce users. Moreover, the attractive financial incentives of the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone (TIRZ) combined with LPC’s solid build-to-suit track record position this opportunity as one that will not last.

TEXARKANA — TexAmericas Center has upgraded its website on Thursday to provide a depth of information that could be valuable to business owners, site selectors and commercial listing agents evaluating locations. The website, in addition to a more user-friendly and intuitive interface, integrates with RealMassive, a real estate database provider, and ZoomProspector, a leading commercial real eastate data portal, according to a TexAmericas Center press release. Site selectors are used to culling multiple sources to identify, vet, and eventually select the ideal location for business establishment or expansion. Businesses have different goals for projects which can require weighing variables like cost per square foot, utilities, labor markets, tax rates, incentives, transportation, and cost of living. The press release states that the new TexAmericas Center website is designed to offer a single resource for more of these critical data points. The new website provides visitors with an overview of Texarkana a 75-mile, four-state (Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma) region — as well as a robust database of TAC’s commercial property listings. The Property Search Database integrates listing information with economic and community data via RealMassive and ZoomProspector including regional demographics, laborshed, and industry concentrations. The aggregation of this information allows site selectors to view a variety of data points in one resource. This streamlines the initial process, after which the TAC real estate development professionals can offer more customized information, reports, and solutions for businesses. Click to read more at www.texarcanagazette.com.