Category: Uncategorized

New Mixed-use Project Coming to Corner of Hwy. 79 and Kenney Fort Boulevard Following Council Approval

Posted on by Sarah

A new mixed-use project could bring up to 530 housing units and commercial space to the northwest corner of Kenney Fort Boulevard and Hwy. 79 following Round Rock City Council’s approval of annexation and rezoning requests as well as a utilities service agreement.

The trio of action items went before council July 28, requesting an 8.955-acre plot of land be rezoned to a planned unit development to allow for mixed residential and commercial use, to be serviced by city water and wastewater utilities and annex 7.287 acres of the property that are not already within the city’s limits. The city previously annexed the property’s frontage along Hwy. 79 in 1979, according to city documents. All were approved unanimously.

The PUD zoning allows for a maximum build height of eight stories, although Brad Wiseman, Round Rock Planning and Development Department director, said the developer, Gulf RC Ventures LLC, is planning a multifamily project with a height of six stories. According to documents detailing the zoning request, 90% of necessary parking for the development will be contained in an attached parking garage, and 25% of units will have balconies. Click to read more at www.communityimpact.com.

Stream Realty Helps Dallas-based Construction Firm Expand Footprint in The Guild

Posted on by Sarah

One of the nation’s largest privately held construction firms will expand its Dallas location at a landmark office tower that it is also helping to renovate.

Brasfield & Gorrie will soon occupy all 16,221 square feet of the 10th floor of The Gild at 8350 N. Central Expressway, formerly Cambell Centre. The gold office complex is currently undergoing a multi-million-dollar renovation for which Brasfield & Gorrie is serving as the general contractor. Gensler will serve as the architect for the building renovations.

Renovations at the highly amenitized, two-building office complex make The Gild a prime work and play environment. Updates will include, but are not limited to:

  • Facelift of both tower entries, including removal and installation of new glazing and canopies;
  • Updated tower lobbies featuring a hospitality lounge, coffee bar and grab & go–all with a coffee shop vibe;
  • Renovation of “loft” space between towers to create creative and collaborative space;
  • New coffee bars and dining areas with exterior courtyard views;
  • The addition of several central tenant work lounges with a variety of active and quiet zones;
  • Updated restrooms and tenant corridors;
  • A conference and meeting center;
  • A community “connector” park that brings the buildings together and provides easy access to a shaded walkway and outdoor seating area.

Stream Realty Partners leases the building. Senior Associate Marissa Parkin, Managing Director Matt Wieser, and Associate Patrick Cruz represented owner Fenway Capital Advisors in the transaction. Robbie Baty and Charlie Beck with Cushman & Wakefield and Cribb Altman with Jones Lang LaSalle represented the tenant in the transaction. 

Several speculative suites, ranging from 2,000 square feet to a full floor, recently delivered and are available for lease at The Gild.

Higher Pay? Lower Requirements? Nothing Drawing Employees Back

Posted on by Sarah

Where are the workers? That’s a question that employers have been asking since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. And so far? No one really knows.

A June report from the ADP Research Institute demonstrates just how serious the shortage of workers has been for employers. Citing numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, ADP reports that in March of this year, total public and private employment is 822,000 workers short of what it was in February of 2020. Part of the reason is that so many employees have quit since the pandemic started.

ADP, again citing numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, found that the number of people who quit their jobs in 2021 rose 36% when compared to the previous year. That’s a jump of nearly 12 million people leaving their jobs.

In all, 45.4 million people quit their jobs in 2021. As ADP says, the Great Resignation is a real event.

This has made it difficult for companies to fill their open jobs. In 2019, employers found new hires for about 84% of their job openings, ADP said. In 2021, that number had fallen to 71%. As ADP reports, applicants aren’t showing up to fill all those open jobs.

According to the report, there were nearly 30 million more private-sector job openings last year than in 2019. That’s a jump of 39%. And it’s not that employers aren’t trying to fill these positions. They’re even offering a greater number of remote job opportunities. ADP says that unique job postings for remote positions more than doubled in 2021 from the year before, hitting 2.8 million.

ADP found that employers are desperate enough for new workers that they are lowering their standards when it comes to whom they are willing to hire. The minimum years of experience that employers are requiring for new workers has shrunk from 5.8 years from January of 2018 to February of 2020 to 4.3 years from March of 2020 to March of 2022.

Companies are offering more money, too. ADP said that advertised wages were up 4% for commercial truck drivers, 10% for cashiers, 8% for registered nurses and 13% for stockers and order fillers when compared to the months leading up to COVID.

When will these perks have an impact? When will all those missing employees rejoin the labor force? Unfortunately, no one yet knows.

Point Acquisitions Closes On Record-Breaking Self-Storage Deal

Posted on by Sarah

Point Acquisitions and Jesse Shemesh are pleased to announce that the commercial real estate investment company has closed on one of the largest single site self storage properties in the country through their proprietary platform: 18975 Marbach Lane in San Antonio, Texas. This property is located right off I-35 in San Antonio heading towards Austin, a huge growth market with excellent demographics and population increase. The property sits on 65+ acres and comprises 700 storage units over 362,000 square feet. The ability for 20 acres of expansion will one day make it the largest self storage site in the country.

“According to Costar, this deal is a top 30 site on a square footage basis. With 20 acres of expansion in the works, it will make it the largest self storage site in the entire country. We are pleased with the growth of our burgeoning direct to seller platform to take down a deal of this size and complexity in a super competitive market of self storage properties, and in the state of Texas. We were happy to see the options our company provided to the seller were more favorable compared to the traditional big shop brokerages for a deal of this size.”

The firm sources organic deal flow to limit the fees usually found with commercial real estate brokers to assure a win/win environment for sellers and investors. Selling commercial property using the Point Acquisitions platform is convenient and simple. Click to read more at www.globenewswire.com.

Alliance Industrial Co. Breaks Ground on 1.4M-Square-foot Kyle/35 Logistics Park

Posted on by Sarah

Leadership for the city of Kyle, Hays County, the Kyle Economic Development Department and Alliance Industrial Co. held a groundbreaking ceremony June 22 for the new 1.4 million-square-foot industrial park called Kyle/35 Logistics Park at 24801 I-35, Kyle.

A Chapter 380 performance agreement was approved between the city and Alliance, an industrial development and investment company, following an executive session of the City Council on June 7.

The Hays County Commissioners Court also approved a performance agreement at a meeting June 7.

“We recognized over the last two to three years that there was a void in warehouse and logistics facilities, particularly in this region,” Alliance Managing Director Chad Parrish said. “This property that we’re standing on today, which closed in December 2021, is our first venture into the space, and it remains today our largest and probably one of our most exciting ventures.” Click to read more at www.communityimpact.com.

$58.3 Million Financing Secured for Texas Multi-Housing Development

Posted on by Sarah

JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has closed the $58.3 million construction financing for The View at Sapphire Bay, a Class-A, 394-unit, mid-rise multi-housing community located on the shore of Lake Ray Hubbard in Rowlett, Texas.

JLL represented the borrower, Zale Properties, to secure the eight-year, fixed-rate construction loan through Principal Global Investors.

Upon completion in May 2024, the five-story View at Sapphire Bay will consist of one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans with an average unit size of 941 square feet. The units will feature open island kitchens, white custom cabinetry, full-size washers and dryers, pendant lighting, walk-in closets, quartz and granite countertops, ten- to fourteen-foot ceilings, hardwood style flooring, stainless steel appliances and private balconies. Community amenities will include co-working office space, game rooms, resort-style pool, a cabana and grill house with outdoor fireplace, a fitness center, a pet spa, a garden courtyard and kitchen and a landscaped picnic area.

The site is advantageously located within the master-planned, 116-acre, mixed use Sapphire Bay development, which will be anchored by a man-made lagoon and serve as a luxury resort destination within Texas.

Situated at 30 Dalrock Road, the property will offer residents immediate access to Interstate-30, one of the primary thoroughfares in the region that runs straight into downtown Dallas. It is proximate to a diverse corporate environment with City Line Development and Telecom Corridor just 20 minutes away. Additionally, downtown Rockwall is across the lake from the project and offers over three million square feet of retail, including The Harbor Rockwall, Steger Town Crossing, Rockwall Crossing and Plaza Rockwall.

The JLL Capital Markets Debt Advisory team representing the borrower was led by Senior Managing Director John Brownlee along with Director Wilson Bauer.