REDNews April 2017

APRIL 2017

YOUR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKETING SOURCE

Coworking:

Buzzword or fixture?

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Pricing: $45 PSF, all offers will be responded to.

KRISTEN MCDADE Senior Director T: +1 713 469 4509 kristen.mcdade@berkadia.com

LAUREN GEARY Marketing Coordinator T: +1 346 444 8968 lauren.geary@berkadia.com

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±41,543 sf of land located on the west side of Patterson St. just north of Cornish on the north side of I-10 in the Heights neighborhood. Property is adjacent to White Oak Bayou and the White Oak Hike and Bike trail.

Patterson benefits from easy access on DRYER and off I-10RD with its own±32,640 exit from the freeway immediateDR. on ramp just past ±3.95 ACRES | HWY 35 & RICE SF | 710and WAUGH the light at Shepherd. Patterson reaches across I-10 to the south side making it well located and easy to get to retail,

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Pricing: $45 PSF, all offers will be responded to.

KRISTEN MCDADE Senior Director T: +1 713 469 4509 kristen.mcdade@berkadia.com

LAUREN GEARY Marketing Coordinator T: +1 346 444 8968 lauren.geary@berkadia.com

SWC of Waugh Dr. and D’Amico St., just one block from the newly restored Buffalo Bayou Park.

IN THIS ISSUE

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24

26

14

Market

Scoop

Services

Features

Sales & Leases 1-3, 7, 11-13, 15, 17-23, 29

Environmental Services 30, 43 Legal Services 41 Photography 18 Real Estate Loans 13 Signage Services 44

Events 32, 34, 36 Social 33, 35, 37 Bulletin 30-40

Coworking: Buzzword or fixture? 8-10 Where there's a Wheless, there's a way 14, 16 Event Recaps 26, 27 CIVIL FAIR PLAY Permitting Paralysis 24-25 RAY'S BUZZ Ray interviews Axis Point Developers 42

4

April 2017

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phone 713.974.4292 fax 713.974.5846

Letter from the Publisher

YOUR COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKETING SOURCE

PUBLISHER

Ginger Wheless ginger@REDNews.com

EDITOR

Margie Gohmert info@REDNews.com

STAFF WRITERS

Dear Readers,

Hope you’ve had an outstanding first quarter and are upbeat about your deals to come.

Last month we researched the evolving trends that are affecting the retail market and this month we talked to office experts about the trends in the office market.

A major contributor to this trend is the evolution of how a young work force now chooses to collaborate professionally in today’s world and flexibility seems to be a key factor. Another factor is 15 million people self-employed since the Great Recession and this equates to 10.1% of all U.S. workers. What this means to the office market in general doesn’t seem to be a big concern to the office experts, however, as long as the property owners are attuned to the market. Flexibility in adapting their office buildings to accommodate coworking space is important (see pages 8 – 10).

Next month we’re headed to ICSC Las Vegas for the annual RECON convention and look forward to seeing all of you retail brokers there. Don’t forget to pack your comfortable shoes and be sure to come by to visit us!

Best Regards,

Ginger Wheless

Janis Arnold janisarnold1@gmail.com Anna Demmler marketing@REDNews.com Brandi Smith info@REDNews.com

CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Ray Hankamer rhankamer@gmail.com

EMARKETING DIRECTOR

Rahul Samuel emarketing@REDNews.com

ART DIRECTOR

Steven Smith digital@REDNews.com

ACCOUNTING

Benton Mahaffey accounting@REDNews.com

MARKETING DIRECTOR

Anna Demmler marketing@REDNews.com

SALES

Ginger Wheless ginger@REDNews.com

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Buzzword or fixture?

Texas experts weigh in on the future of coworking

Wyatt McCulloch CBRE

Mike Fransen Parkway Properties

Julia Georgules JLL

BY BRANDI SMITH

Last month’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival is a reminder of what Texans already know well: Austin is one of the hottest spots in the country when it comes to technology and innovation.

The festival’s “Interactive” track drew more than 30,000 people to sessions highlighting smart cities, digital journalism and more over the course of five days. The other 360 days of the year, the crowds are smaller, but the ideas and passion are still there.

“In Austin, we saw young, growing companies, maybe just funded out of a capital factory,” said Mike Fransen, senior vice president and managing director of Parkway Properties. “They didn’t really have anywhere to go. They weren't mature enough as a company to be ready to sign a five-year lease.”

Fransen says Parkway bought Thomas Properties in 2014 and was trying to determine what to do with a number of downtown assets, potentially tapping into that huge pool of entrepreneurs who had nowhere to operate. In 2015, he helped bring WeWork to Texas when the Brooklyn-based company opened its first space at 600 Congress Avenue in Austin.

WeWork, started in Brooklyn in 2010 by Adam Neumann, offers shared space and services for those customers who don’t need to lease a huge office long term. The company’s website says its mission is “to create a world where people work to make a life, not just a living.”

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April 2017

The idea is called coworking and is a concept that has been adopted in cities all around the world as a way to collaborate and innovate.

path,” said Gene Zaino, founder and CEO of MBO Partners, a company that offers independent consultant services.

“It’s a place where you can go and be somewhat in the public, but in a private space. You have access to amenities, networking events and an opportunity to meet other people to make business connections,” said Julia Georgules, JLL’s director of research for local markets. “It doesn’t differ that much from the more traditional executive suite concept. You’re seeing more open work space within those coworking companies available to people now.”

The number of independent workers has increased since the Great Recession, when many companies were forced to tighten their belts and lay off employees. As a result, those companies needed less space and vacated offices they sometimes had held for years. According to Georgules, the combination of laid-off workers with ideas and more sublease space on the market than ever before culminated in a boom for coworking.

In 2010, Austin had just eight coworking spaces. That number doubled by 2013 and, according to Avison Young, there WeWork Austin are 52 today. In fact, approximately 200,000 square feet of downtown space is devoted to coworking, according to Mike Kennedy, managing director of Avison Young’s Austin office.

“... a place where you can be really nimble …”

One of the main drivers behind the push for coworking is the growing independent workforce in America. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 15 million people were self-employed in 2015, which translates to 10.1 percent of all U.S. workers.

“The independent workforce is a critical entrepreneurial force in America. Even in the midst of a rebounding job market and economy, independence remains a viable and desired career

Renting coworking space provides those independent workers a home base without tethering them too tightly or for too long.

Courtesy: WeWork

“I think it is a nod to increase flexibility. It's a nod to a different kind of working environment,” Fransen said

Though the communal nature of the coworking setting might seem like it lends itself to industries such as tech startups, Texas real estate experts have seen individuals from a wide array of professions succeed by choosing the less traditional route.

“A lot of consulting groups are moving in that direction because they're usually out in the field at least a couple days a week, either on site with a local client or they're traveling to other cities in the country. Maybe they only touch down in the office on a Friday or a Monday or just when they have down time,” said Wyatt McCulloch, senior associate at CBRE’s Downtown Houston Office. In those instances, he explained, paying rent for a full office just didn’t make financial sense.

In some cases, coworking space can also be used as a transition from one office space to another.

Mike Kennedy Avison Young

Gene Zaino MBO Partners

“I've seen financial services consultants who are breaking off of the bigger firm and starting their own firm. They go into a coworking space for 60 days until they can establish a permanent office,” said Lucian Bukowski, executive vice president of CBRE’s Occupier Team in Downtown Houston.

“Coworking is an option if you're looking for a place where you can be really nimble and get your business off the ground before you make a commitment to a longer term, more traditional office lease.”

Though professionals who utilize coworking can come from almost any industry, a clear majority appear to come from a specific generation: millennials.

Kennedy called coworking “a natural progression in the millennial lifespan.” It creates Reception Area an interesting dynamic in buildings that host open, collaborative spaces.

“You have coat-and-tie professionals who had previously been riding the elevators with others in like attire. Now they’re sharing the space with individuals who are wearing cargo-shorts, flips flops and earbuds,” Kennedy said.

“... jump into it for that day ... “ Having experienced success with bringing a coworking company to Austin, Parkway Properties is introducing TechSpace to Houston. The company will lease the first two floors of Parkway’s 2101 CityWest building in the Westchase District.

TechSpace will offer “95 private office suites totaling 450 workstations” in roughly 46,000 square feet, according to its website. The space offers a reception area, a common lounge and a pyramid lounge.

“Especially in Houston, we need this kind of use.

Energy needs this kind of use,” said Fransen. “There’s a lot more open space, a lot more benching going on. It's just a different experience.”

Lucian Bukowski CBRE

Greg Fuller Granite Properties

TechSpace describes its first Houston location as “smartly configured” with floor plans designed to foster collaboration. The campus includes “interconnecting and scalable offices, fullyequipped conference rooms and thought-provoking collaboration lounges combined with energetic community experiences.” The space also features an on-site technology platform that TechSpace bills as “enterprise-class, Tier 1 IT infrastructure complete with a private, firewalled data network, dedicated and burstable internet connectivity and advanced voice telecommunications.”

Fransen, who pointed out he in no way spoke for TechSpace, but was happy to work with the company, said it offers Courtesy: TechSpace a variety of options for potential tenants. He said an open seating area provides a space for those who want more than a booth at Starbucks from which to work.

“That’s for someone who doesn’t need a special space. They just need a desk or a seat for the day, for the week, or whatever. They walk into this space and jump into it for that day,” said Fransen.

Damon Thames Colvill Office Properties

In North Texas, Granite Properties is currently working on two spaces for which coworking space is being considered. The company has already leased approximately 25,000 square feet in its Plano tower Granite Park V to Common Desk, a Dallas-based coworking community. Now Granite is looking at similar options for its Granite Place and Factory Six03.

The latter is what used to be Dallas’ West End Marketplace. Built in 1903, the brick-and-timber building was home to lots of ‘80s nightlife, but went dark for more than a decade.

“There are many firms that prefer open, collaborative, historic buildings,” said Granite’s president and COO, Greg Fuller. “Factory Six03 was an opportunity to provide a larger building in a market that traditionally doesn't have this type of space.

Dallas just doesn't have the old buildings that some of the older markets have.”

Fuller added that, though the building has historic appeal on the exterior, it will be completely refurbished inside.

Already, Granite has secured its first tenant; Blue Cross Blue Shield will occupy the top two floors, stretching across roughly 40,000 square feet. Fuller said there’s plenty of room for more companies to move in.

“The building breaks up logically in various spaces and various sizes. We can accommodate from 2,500 square feet to 150,000 square feet,” he said.

Beyond open seating is a suite program, according to Fransen, which is enough space for a small and evolving company. It allows flexibility for employees as the organization grows.

“The beauty of TechSpace is Granite Park V the relative flexibility to open a connector between two 10-person offices to make that a 20-person office. Then maybe there's another connector that turns it into a 40-person office,” Fransen said. “That's something relatively new to Houston, because those smaller-pocketed coworking environments top out around 10,000 feet.”

Andrew Alizzi Avison Young

Fuller said he’s looking at the possibility of hosting a coworking space in Factory Six03 because he suspects the approach will only gain popularity.

Courtesy: Granite Properties

“I don't think it's a fad. I think that the desire for flexibility on the part of large and small tenants is here to stay,” he said.

Continued on Page 10 >

Continued from Page 9

“... something to create a stir …”

He says users will need to take more time to educate themselves about the pros and cons of coworking, subleasing and leasing.

As more people start using coworking space instead of a traditional office, it begs the question: what kind of impact will this have on the office market?

“We view this as an actual enhancement to us,” he said. “If you're growing quickly, even though you may be comfortable signing a longer-term lease, it is a bit of a relief to know about something like TechSpace. It Factory Six03 won't be uncommon to see a combination of space being occupied by someone in a building that has this sort of coworking.”

Damon Thames, vice president of Colvill Office Properties in Houston, believes coworking space is and will be successful because it acts as “incubator space,” allowing small companies to grow and possibly move up (literally) a few floors in the same building as their business grows.

“Coworking space is competition for traditional office space because with any business it is going to have to compete with what makes the tenants most happy,” Thames said.

McCulloch disagreed, arguing tenants who would historically lease traditional space will continue doing so, while startups and smaller companies will lean toward a more flexible arrangement.

“... in the elevator …”

As the market responds to the introduction of coworking space, many developers are faced with the decision of whether to add it to their projects.

“I don't think it's a threat. I do think it's another option,” he said.

“We're spending a lot of time trying to figure out the next generation and catering to them,” Bukowski said. “I think companies are smart to be nimble and look ahead, but I don't want to bet all of my chips on the next generation and how they want to work and how they use space.”

Added Bukowski: “I think it has a very valuable function in the marketplace, but I don't think it's going to revolutionize the office market. It's not going to change the way 95 percent of the users use their office space.”

He said so far, though coworking has certainly established itself as a trend, it hasn’t moved the needle yet.

Andrew Alizzi, research coordinator for Avison Young’s Austin office, said developers should consider three scenarios when weighing the value of coworking space.

“A lot of people are using it as a buzzword, something to create a stir, but I don't see a significant need for coworking space,” Bukowski said. “It's just open-plan executive suite space with a sexier name on it.”

According to Georgules, the idea has already had a “huge influence” on the traditional commercial real estate industry, as we’ve seen in examples such as Factory Six03’s open, communal-style lobby.

“Coworking is showing building owners what’s possible in a space through design and communal areas, how you can really engage the people utilizing the space,” she said.

3) A developer can reserve some space within a building for companies that outgrow their coworking space.

“One of the key mistakes a lot of companies are making is they're not planning for enough space beyond the collaborative environment. Tenants need a space where they can have private phone conversations,” said McCulloch. There has to be enough space where users can go work quietly when they need to. Otherwise, open plans are not always the best for every employee in every situation of the day.”

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In that vein, Bukowski encouraged developers to consider the differing needs of clients. For example, he pointed out, an open space is an exceptional forum for stimulating teamwork, creativity and an exchange of ideas. It is not ideal in other scenarios.

“If you need space to concentrate, it's hard to focus if there's a lot going on,” he said.

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“There's what I call ‘Class A office etiquette’ issues you have to make sure you understand because you do have different demographics bumping into each other in the elevator,” he said.

If all of that works for a developer, there is then the issue of space: just how much is needed for coworking?

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A developer must also consider the personality of the building and potential coworking tenants.

Fransen said that’s something he encountered when WeWork moved into 600 Congress.

2) A developer can directly designate floors of a building to coworking and operate as a landlord for that space.

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Adding coworking isn’t without risk. Alizzi pointed out that the concept’s popularity skyrocketed after the Great Recession, so it has not yet been tested by an economic downturn to determine its longevity.

1) A developer can bring in an established coworking provider, such as WeWork or TechSpace, to lease a space in a building to create a coworking environment.

205 Heights

other large or established companies. On the other, there are startups and small companies who may only want a desk space.“

Coworking also generates increased density for a space, leading to more wear and tear, according to Kennedy. Instead of five people per 1,000 square foot in a traditional space, coworking environments can often have twice that, he said. Parking can also be a challenge.

“Landlords are finding that coworking office space attracts different types of companies,” Alizzi said.

“On one hand, there are tech companies and

Fransen traditional office and coworking can 2ndsaid Floor workCity hand hand, one feeding into the other.

One in West

Courtesy: Yardi ATRIX

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Courtesy: TechSpace Parkway

Having worked through those issues, Parkway is excited to celebrate TechSpace’s opening this month at 2101 CityWest.

Added Fransen: “To make it sustainable and make it successful, everybody's got to be realistic and understanding of practical implications of putting this sort of use in your space, especially in Houston."

•

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Where there's a Wheless, there's a way:

how a 1940's deal led to 2017's hottest Houston-area market

BY BRANDI SMITH

“It took 70 years to come to fruition,” William “Bill” Wheless III, president of Wheless Properties chuckles as he surveys a map of more than 5,000 acres nestled along Lake Houston.

Bill Wheless’s grandfather, William M. “Fishback” Wheless Sr., J.S. Abercrombie and others purchased the property in the 1940s before the City of Houston erected a dam along the San Jacinto River, creating the lake in 1953. That was shortly after Wheless Sr. and Abercrombie bought the acreage that would become Cinco Ranch in Katy.

William Wheless, Sr.

“Their initial plan was to buy both properties, sell Lake Houston and keep Cinco. It turned out just the opposite. They ended up selling Cinco first because it was marketable faster,” says Bill.

The reason for the Katy property’s marketability was simple: access. It fronted on Westheimer and was bisected by the Grand Parkway. For almost half a century, the only way to reach the Lake Houston property was to travel north on US Hwy 59 and turn

William “Bill” Wheless III, president of Wheless Properties

east on FM 1960, which was just a two-lane blacktop road during those years.

the largest section of close-in undeveloped land in Houston, but it was too difficult to access.

“The Lake Houston property was a total forest,” Bill recalls.

“My father, Meade Wheless, and I worked with our adjoining property owners to make the West Lake Houston Parkway a reality in 2003,” he says. “It was a time-consuming ordeal, but well worth the effort.

Looking back, I remember that the major property owners had difficulty getting several small landowners to participate in the project.”

Once Lake Houston was created, he says his grandfather began considering options to develop it.

His first project: the Atascosita Country Club, built in 1956. Ralph Plummer, who later designed Houston’s Champions Golf Club, designed the course.

“My grandfather had Ben Hogan, who was a very famous golfer, come play a round with him to christen the course when it opened,” says Bill. “I still remember every Friday night they had a bingo game.

My grandfather would be the one calling the numbers. He loved that.”

In 1973, the Wheless and Cinco Ranch Abercrombie families sold the country club, along with adjoining acreage, to Johnson-Loggins, Inc., which developed a subdivision around it. That was the only construction in the area for many years.

“Prime property” In the ‘80s, Bill says the family began studying the Grand Parkway and decided they needed something similar at Lake Houston. They had major holdings in

That wasn’t the only delay, though; while laying out the would-be parkway’s route, surveyors discovered an eagle’s nest. The entire road had to be rerouted 500 yards to the west so as to not disturb the eagles, resulting in a two-year construction delay.

“There was a silver lining: in that two-year period of time, prices escalated dramatically,” says Bill. “We didn’t think so at the time, but it was a good thing that happened.”

Once the parkway was complete, Bill says developers began positioning themselves and the area has seen steady growth in recent years.

“It is prime property,” Wheless said. “It’s 30 to 40 years behind everywhere else, which is why there’s the availability of land here.”

“A real bedroom community” The Wheless Abercrombie Group has since sold most of its holdings in the area to developers. The list includes Duester & Wilde’s Walden on Lake Houston, Perry Homes’ Lakeshore, KB Homes’ Lakewood Pine Estates, Taylor Morrison Homes’ Stillwater on Lake Houston and Ron Holley’s Summer Lake Ranch.

Lakewood Pine Estates was initially part of a 1,133acre parcel purchased by Bill and his partners in 2003 from the Scanlon Estate. After working on the utilities and drainage for many years, the property was resold to various parties.

Atascocita Country Club

Photo courtesy gulfadvisor.com

Continued on Page 16 >

Bill Wheless’s grandfather, William M. “Fishback” Wheless Sr., J.S. Abercrombie and others purchased the property along Lake Houston in the 1940s before the City of Houston erected a dam along the San Jacinto River, creating the Lake in 1953 < Continued from Page 14

Several years after the Scanton deal, the Wheless Investment Group of friends and family bought a 69-acre tract between Lake Houston and the Parkway from Summer Lake. Bill says acquiring the land with the hope of bringing utilities to it was a big risk, but one they felt would be worth it.

“People will pay a premium to look at water,” he said.

A few years later, his group sold that waterfront property to Taylor Morrison Homes for what is now Stillwater on Lake Houston, a 191-homesite gated community that will eventually include a rec center, pool, open-air pavilion and playground, according to the Lake Houston Area Economic Development Partnership (LHAEDP).

Dryden Street Investments has recently purchased a 14.5-acre tract fronting on the parkway just south of Will Clayton Parkway with the intention of building apartments on the site. Another forthcoming residential project is the 280-unit Echelon Apartments, being developed by Indianapolis-based The Garrett Cos. Nearby, Martin Fein Interests’ luxury apartments, just announced in January, are planned on a 17.9-acre site just off the parkway. Robert C. Wilson Interests reports strong leasing activity for its 304-unit Trails at Lake Houston Apartments along the West Lake Houston Parkway and Beltway 8.

Those communities are relatively small compared to the 1,000-acre The Groves located on property that once belonged to the Wheless and Abercrombie families. It is now owned by Indianapolis-based Castlelake LP and is being developed by The Ashlar Co. It will feature 2,200 single-family homes, 540 apartment homes, a 10-acre community center, a pool and two sites for future schools.

Says Bill: “All the major players are focused on this area right now.”

A huge selling point for homeowners in the area is that schools are within the Humble Independent 16

April 2017

School District, which was ranked No. 7 out of the more than 40 Houston-area school districts by Niche, a website that “rigorously analyzes dozens of public data sets and millions of reviews to produce comprehensive rankings, report cards, and profiles for every K-12 school, college, and neighborhood in the U.S.”

and the parkway. It includes tenants such as Apache Industrial Services and FMC Technologies.

Newland’s Summerwood development has been an anchor in the area for many years.

The residential and industrial development boom has been followed by a commercial boom.

Retailers such as Target, H-E-B, Lowe’s, Walmart, Kohl’s, Office Depot, Ross, Charming Charlie, Dollar Tree, Petco, Kroger and many others have set up shop in the area.

“That is so important.

People want their kids to go to a good school,” says Bill. “It’s become a real bedroom community.”

Educational opportunities in the area extend far beyond K-12, however. Lone Atascocita County Park is an excellent multi-use Star College and San development site in one of the most rapidly developing Jacinto College also have areas in Houston campuses there. ...“right here, right now”...

The draw of this amount of undeveloped land is compounded by its close-in location. Thanks to the West Lake Houston Parkway, a trip to Downtown Houston is a short drive away. A trip to Bush Intercontinental Airport takes mere minutes. It’s also a quick shot to the booming epicenter of petrochemical processing on the east side of the city.

“Everything is popping up right here, right now,” says Bill.

As the oil industry shifts from upstream to downstream, so has its workforce. The result: huge amounts of industrial development southeast of the lake. Generation Park, a mixed-use business park, spans 4,000 acres and is just off Beltway 8

“You’re drawing from both sides,” Bill explains, pointing to the north and south. “You have a very pleasant environment. Now you have access to it.” ...“any deal can be fun”...

Though most land has been scooped up, Wheless Properties is working to sell a 14.88-acre site situated along the West Lake Houston Parkway just south of Atascocita High School and across the parkway from the soon-to-be-developed Atascocita County Park.

“It’s an excellent multi-use development site in one of the most rapidly developing areas in Houston,” Bill says.

It, he points out, is one of the family’s final holdings in an area first targeted by Fishback Wheless and J.S. Abercrombie 70 years ago.

“It has certainly been a privilege to help fulfill the vision of my grandfather and his partners,” says Wheless. “Any deal can be fun, but when you have a personal interest in it, it’s even more so.” •

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Presented by the Central East Texas Alliance (CETA) with the support of Entergy Texas, Inc., our generous sponsors, and our members:

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LANDLORD & TENANT REPRESENTATION • SITE ACQUISITION • SALES & LEASING • REAL ESTATE CONSULTING • PROPERTY MANAGEMENT College Park Plaza For Lease

3091 College Park Dr., The Woodlands •

Class “A” Office Space For Sublease

Havenwood Office Park For Lease

28420 Hardy Toll Rd., Spring

25700 I-45, Spring

1,600 to 3,200 SF (2nd generation restaurant space) available

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Close proximity to St. Luke’s, Memorial Hermann, Houston Methodist and Texas Children’s Hospitals

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Suitable for Medical Office Tenants

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Conveniently located on College Park Dr. (SH 242) at I-45 in The Woodlands.

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Super Walmart, Lowe’s, At Home, Burlington and Kohl’s are in the immediate trade area.

Woodlands Town Center For Lease

Space Available: 12,100 SF Total -Suite 100: 7,900 SF

• 250,000 SF of Class ”A” office building, designed as LEED Silver Certified with high-end finishes

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• Attractive 4-story, tilt wall and glass office building

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4.0/1000 Parking Ratio

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Less than 1 mile from Major Area Landmarks: ExxonMobil Campus, Southwestern Energy, Hardy Toll Road, I-45, and Grand Parkway

• 4-level covered parking garage with 4/1,000 parking ratio

• Stunning views of The Woodlands Waterway with floor-to-ceiling glass windows • On-site full service restaurant • Full service Fitness Center and Conference Facility • On-site security and key-card access

Westgate Crossing Mixed-Use Development For Lease

321 S. Persimmon St., Tomball • •

Approx. 15,000 SF office/warehouse building on 1.59 acres Flexible building with 9,000+ SF of climatecontrolled space and approx. 5,800 SF of sprinklered warehouse space

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Heavy Power. Ample Parking.

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Located next to Baker Hughes’ Tomball campus and Western Hemisphere Education Center.

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Great access to SH 249 and the Grand Parkway.

Tomball Mixed Use – Build to Suit For Lease

Research Forest Dr. & Egypt Lane, The Woodlands • 60,000 +/- SF Mixed-Use development at the NEC of Research Forest Dr. & Egypt Ln. with retail, restaurant, professional office and other commercial space available.

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• In The Woodlands, located on main ingress/egress point at the intersection of FM 2978 and FM 1488 with over 60,000 vehicles per day.

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11133 I-45, Suite 120, Conroe •

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Main entrance endcap with excellent visibility and signage opportunities

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Direct access and visibility from I-45 North, across from new master planned community, Grand Central Park

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Large open showroom space with separate work area and retail sales area with high end finishes.

• Located between the ExxonMobil Campus and The Woodlands Town Center with direct access to I-45

10101 Woodloch Forest Dr., The Woodlands • Class “A” Building with rare opportunity for prestigious co-tenancy with McKesson Healthcare and Schlumberger

• Full service Fitness Center and Conference Facility

River Bend Station Retail Sublease

Harmony Commons Shopping Center For Lease

Grand Pkwy @ Discovery Creek Blvd •

Woodlands Submarket

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19,200 +/- SF New construction retail shopping center

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Frontage on Grand Parkway 99 @ Discovery Creek Blvd., and Rayford Rd., E. of I-45

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Adjacent to HEB Grocery Development, near Kroger Market Place and Walmart.

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Significant Commercial growth near The Woodlands, Springwoods Village, Exxon/Mobil Campus

The Preserve Office Park For Sale or Lease

25420 Kuykendahl Rd., Tomball

SEC of Calvert & FM 2920, Tomball • 2-story professional office/mixed use building:

• Only 7 Offices Left

• SEC of Calvert and FM 2920, inside the City of Tomball at the lighted intersection.

• 2.5 miles from Grand Parkway 99

• Located in Woodlands Submarket, at the corner of Kuykendahl Rd. and Preserve Way, near Creekside Village

• 5 miles from David Wayne Hooks Airport, one of the largest private airports in the country specializing in general business aviation services.

• 1,250 SF -12,500 SF contiguous space available • High-end finishes including granite, wood floors, and crown molding

• Proposed uses include; professional and medical office users, and retail use

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Class “A” Office Space For Sublease

5 +/- Acres For Sale

21 Waterway Avenue, The Woodlands

Rayford/Foster Lane, Spring

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Located on The Woodlands Waterway, in the heart of Town Center, within walking distance to The Woodlands Mall and many restaurants

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Woodlands Submarket-Close proximity to Exxon Mobil new corporate campus

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1,081 RSF, 2nd floor professional office, has reception area and 3 private window offices with a view of The Waterway. Adjoining suite conference room use is negotiable. Garage parking available

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Lot size: 5.563+/- acres with 2 houses and 1 Office

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281.367.2220 jbeardcompany.com This information contained herein has been obtained from reliable sources; however, The J. Beard Company, LLC and The J. Beard Real Estate Company, L.P. makes no guarantees, warranties or representations to the completeness or accuracy of the data. Property submitted is subject to errors, omissions, change of price, prior sale or withdrawal without notice.

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EXCELLENT ACCESS & CONNECTIVITY - Vessel/barge unloading - approximately 862’ frontage on Houston Ship Channel, multiple railway tracks and heavy truck loading.

PROSPEROUS INDUSTRIAL COMMUNITY - Surrounded by major corporations such as ExxonMobil, GE Energy, KinderMorgan, Jacintoport International, Shell, Enterprise, Chevron, Technip and DuPont.

civil fair play

Permitting Paralysis

Land Use Approvals in the Houston Area Over 50 cities in the metro Houston area have formal zoning codes, including: • Memorial Villages • Bellaire/West U./Southside Pl. • Bay Area communities • Baytown/Mt. Belvieu

BY OMAR IZFAR ATTORNEY

Although Texas, and in particular, Houston, celebrates a reputation as an entrepreneur’s dreamland, we have a consistently increasing body of land use and development regulation. Densification brings growing pains in the form of land use conflicts and, in many cases, results in more regulation, both public and private.

Development in metro Houston is regulated by more sophisticated land use controls than many realize. The persistent rumor that the City of Houston’s lack of formal zoning codes results in a lax regulatory environment inside the City and around the metro Houston area creates false expectations for developers. Developers neglecting to do their homework experience problems in the form of delay, cost and unexpected limitations on their projects.

24

April 2017

• Katy/Fulshear • Pearland/Friendswood/Manvel Does Houston actually have zoning?

Houston has limited forms of both actual zoning districts, as well as districts that operate just like zoning districts where increased land use regulations apply based on geographic location:

• Sugar Land/Missouri City/Stafford/Richmond

• St. George’s Place TIRZ zoning

Within these cities, developers fight the same zoning battles as the rest of the country against constantly revamped and increasingly sophisticated regulations.

Rezonings take time, often several months, and developing in these areas without proper due diligence and accessible expertise is fraught with peril.

• Historic Districts

What can the neighborhood do about it?

• Minimum Lot Size/Setback Districts

As Houston densifies, neighborhood opposition to development of all type increases, even if the City issues all required permits. Townhouses, apartments, industrial expansions, large towers, even churches and schools have been targeted by organized, often aggressive opposition. The underlying objections run the gamut from aesthetics to noise, to light pollution, to diminution of value, to even outright prejudice.

Consider the controversies surrounding the Ashby High Rise , the White Oak Music Hall, the Fountainview Low Income Housing Project, and many others. Neighbors sued the developers of the Ashby High Rise and the White Oak Music Hall alleging common law nuisance.

The Ashby case was resolved in favor of the developer.

The Music Hall case is pending. Another opposition tactic involves invoking regulatory authorities on real and alleged non-compliance with local ordinances.

Recently, the City of Houston’s noise ordinance was brought down against the Music Hall. Neighborhood opposition sometimes results in reactive regulations designed to prevent the battles that have just been fought, which may produce problems for the next developer, even if the regulation will not stop the current one.

• Airport zoning

• Special Parking Areas • Major Activity Centers These districts look and operate virtually identically to zoning districts in zoned cities. Within these zones and districts, development is significantly restricted, often in a way that is similar to traditional zoning.

Furthermore, developers confront a variety of regulations typically found in zoning ordinances: lot size, setback, open space, parking, signage, traffic, drainage. These regulations are often enforced through the subdivision platting process and the permitting process. Several regulations apply not only within Houston’s boundaries, but within its extraterritorial jurisdiction as well, which extends 5 miles into unincorporated areas. Many land uses are geographically restricted by forced separation by the City of Houston by a specified distance from certain sensitive uses such as residences, churches, school, day care, libraries, etc. hotels, businesses that serve alcohol, facilities containing hazardous materials such as high-piled storage, sexually-oriented businesses, cell towers, and many other uses.

Property tax reform update: SB 2 advances to Senate floor

By Brandi Smith After a more than 10-hour debate, the Texas Senate Finance Committee voted 9-5 to approve Senate Bill 2, the Property Tax Reform and Relief Act, which means it will now move to the full Senate for consideration.

Sen. Paul Bettencourt, a Houston Republican, sponsored the bill after hearing from frustrated property owners all over the state last year. As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Property Tax Reform and Relief, Bettencourt and other state leaders visited seven cities and heard testimony from 321 witnesses. Many, he said, were concerned about double-digit increases in their property’s appraised value each year.

What’s this about the City of Houston enforcing private deed restrictions?

Houston enforces, through its legal department, private deed restrictions for the following issues: • Use • Setback • Lot size • Size, type and number of structures per lot • Building orientation • Fences This is unheard of in zoned cities. In effect, Houston has adopted the private land use limitations in deed-restricted areas as part of Houston’s own regulatory scheme. However, the City Council does not have the opportunity to create these rules, rather the neighborhood does, and then the City legal department enforces them. As the neighborhood amends the rules, the City enforces the amended rules. As a result, regulations are constantly subject to change.

What are Exactions and how are they limited?

Developers often bear significant infrastructure costs in the form of dedication of public easements, the construction of public infrastructure, or the payment of fees in lieu thereof. These requirements are called exactions. Typical examples include water, sewer, drainage, roads. The legal concept of rough proportionality provides that governments cannot require a developer to pay more than their fair share of infrastructure costs when measured in proportion to the impact of their development. Sometimes, governments demand excessive exactions. Whether the exactions exceed the rough proportionality standard is a legal question with an engineering underpinning. Developers should avail themselves of experts and consultants versed in these issues prior to abandoning a project faced with an excessive infrastructure bill.

What are Vested Rights?

Governments, by law, must approve all permits, plats, and other regulatory approvals for a project that comply with the government’s development rules in effect at the time the first application for the project is submitted. This simple and powerful principle protects new development from uncertainty that comes from constantly changing rules. Several exceptions exist, in particularly for zoning codes, so consult with knowledgeable counsel.

Regulatory Opportunities exist: • C ertain performance standards may be lower requirements •V ariances or special exceptions may lower requirements • S pecial parking areas may modify off-street parking standards • S treets and easements may be abandoned to increase options for assembling parcels • E conomic development tools may incentivize desired development such as tax-increment funding, Chapter 380 development incentives, tax abatements, and others How can these issues be identified before development commences?

Outside Houston, due diligence routinely involves a study of the zoning/land use regulations, by lawyers/ consultants versed in the local regulatory scheme.

This level of due diligence is quickly becoming the norm in metro Houston.

The mix of formal zoning along with land use controls closely resembling formal zoning makes metro Houston a unique and somewhat complicated place for development. Familiarity with these regulations prevents problems, efficiently secures required approvals, makes accessible available incentives and generally streamlines the development process. •

SB 2, which is also sponsored by Sens. Charles Creighton, Kelly Hancock, Nicholas Taylor, Bob Hall and Donald Huffines, would create a property tax administration advisory board at the state Comptroller’s office that will oversee the county appraisal districts.

“Different districts can have completely different attitudes. There's no place to complain about appraisal review board members or about operations in the districts,” Bettencourt told REDNews in January. “You can complain to the licensing board about somebody's license, but you can't complain how you were treated or how you were treated differently from one county to the next.”

The bill would also require voters to approve any property tax increase more than 4 percent. The limit is currently 8 percent.

Though Bettencourt introduced the bill on Nov. 29, 2016, its first hearing was on March 14. Some municipal leaders, including Fort Worth’s mayor, spoke in opposition. Betsy Price told the committee that SB 2 would limit local officials. However, other organizations, such as the Greater Houston Partnership, have thrown support behind SB 2.

“In a hearing that lasted over ten hours, we heard from frustrated taxpayers that came to the Capitol on their own nickel to testify on the importance of SB 2,” said Bettencourt. “I have never been more proud of regular Texans coming to the Capitol to speak up for all those who couldn’t be there!”

A similar bill is under consideration in the Texas House of Representatives. House Bill 15, the Property Tax Payer Empowerment Act of 2017, is being considered by the House Ways & Means Committee. It has not yet been scheduled for a hearing.

REDNews will keep you updated on any developments for SB 2 and HB 15.

EVENT RECAP

CREW Austin, CCIM Central Texas Real Estate Summit February 13, 2017

BY ANNA DEMMLER.

Admiral Bobby Ray Inman

Speaker: Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, a retired U.S. admiral who held several influential positions on the U.S. Intelligence Community talks about “Economic Ripples from the 2016 Election”

in Mexico. Additionally, illegal immigration of Mexicans to the U.S. is virtually at zero. Inman suggests that if a wall is to be built, Mexico should build it along their southern border instead of the U.S.-Mexican border, because the majority of illegal immigrants are coming from Central America, South America, and other parts of the world.

• T exas is the second largest exporting state in the

• T he strength of the U.S. dollar is partially due to

What are the economic ripples for the U.S. from the new administration?

• T he U.S. is moving away from a post World War II

era of a multilateral approach to economic affairs.

The European Union, once known as The Common Market and before that the European Coal and Steel Community concept, unified countries through trade, causing a strong economic growth over the years. President Trump appears determined to move exclusively to bilateral negotiations. The U.S. has pulled out of the Trans Pacific Partnership and there is uncertainty about NATO. Additionally, the impact of Britain’s exit from the EU is unknown.

• A ngela Merkel, who Inman says has been the strongest leader in Europe for the last decade, is up for re-election in October. The uncertainty of Merkel’s re-election is the most troubling part, because there has been substantial difficulty within Merkel’s own party ever since Merkel allowed Syrian refugees into Germany. If Merkel is defeated, her loss would create significant uncertainty for economics around the globe.

26

• I f the U.S. moves toward a bilateral negotiation

with Japan to replace the multilateral one that has been negotiated, there will be some economic impact on the U.S. from China and other countries, but the impact will not be as severe as what will happen with NAFTA. march

• M exico is increasingly an attractive place for

manufacturing. Things that were once being manufactured in Asia are now being manufactured April 2017

country. A very significant part of our economy relies on our exports, and Mexico is one of Texas’ largest partners.

foreign countries viewing the U.S. as the safest place to put their money. For instance, Jack Ma, a foreign investor, head of Alibaba, Masayoshi Son, and owner of Sprint, is pledging to create a large number of new jobs in the U.S.

• T he underlying weakness with our trade deals has been our displaced workers. We are buying foreign products because they are better quality and cheaper. We didn’t pay attention to training and retraining our U.S. workface to adapt to a different work environment. We brought in highly skilled foreign workers through E-1B visas – this has paralleled to an overall decline in the quality of U.S. public education and a lack of jobs for locals. There was push back from corporations when asked to hire more U.S. students, because corporations want the brightest graduate students and they weren’t coming from the U.S. A lot of these E-1B students were from Asia and wanted to stay here but due to U.S. immigration laws, they had to go back to their country of origin.

were barely literate, and through short term, computer-aided instructions turned them into first rate aircraft engine mechanics, etc.

• W hen the U.S. went from a draft system to an all-

volunteer military force, we guaranteed a 20 – 30 year pension if you performed well and moved up the ranks. This worked well except for the Air Force and the Navy who, up to that point, had received many bright applicants. To meet their numbers, both the Air Force and the Navy took people who

• T he U.S. has no retraining system in place in

the private sector. A rare example is when the Goodyear manufacturing facility near Tyler, TX almost closed 25 years ago. They were persuaded to turn their outdated factory into one of the world’s best automated radial tire manufacturing facilities. The city of Tyler and Tyler Junior College committed, at no cost to Goodyear, to retrain the workforce to work in a fully automated facility, and it’s still going strong today.

Long Range Economic Impact:

• I f the U.S. puts a surcharge on goods from Mexico,

• I f interest rates go back to the normal 3 – 3 1/2

• I f more countries, ie, China, who is active in U.S.

consumers will pay significantly more for produce coming from Mexico. %, the cost of serving this massive debt we have built up over the last two decades will be almost equivalent to what the U.S. spends on defense annually. real estate investments, tighten controls over the flow of money out of their country, it will have a significant impact on U.S. investment.

Inman’s Projections

• I nman expects a major overhaul in the tax code, and suggests simplifying it by closing corporate and individual loopholes, instead of cutting revenues produced.

• A n increased desire in major infrastructure investments is dependent on roads and bridges needing significant improvement.

• I nman sees no global conflict on the near-term horizon.

EVENT RECAP

CoreNET Houston Market Overview January 31, 2017

BY ANNA DEMMLER.

Dr. Bill Gilmer

Speaker: Dr. Bill Gilmer, Director of the Institute of Regional Forecasting (IRF) at the University of Houston

• H ouston could continue to experience low relative productivity growth. GDP growth has been very weak; however, job growth remains strong.

• H ouston has a weak export sector, especially manufacturing,

but a very strong and robust domestic sector which continues to produce a lot of jobs.

• T he best case scenario is Houston has solid growth underway, and the worst is we’re stagnant until the end of the year or early 2018. However, Houston has no indication of a recession on the horizon.

• H ouston had the advantage of both upstream and downstream productivity so when the price of oil and natural gas declined in 2013, it kicked off enormous refinery construction on the Gulf Coast, but that construction is beginning to wind down.

• 2 017 will be much like 2016 but different in that we’re on the upside.

• H ome sales have been flat since 2012. In areas with little

inventory (Galleria, West U), there seems to be an increased interest, perhaps because buyers think the bust is over. I-10 Corridor also sees some improvement but big price declines in the Woodlands.

• H ouston came out of 2008 with too many small lots and

developed large lots by 2015 but there was no demand.

Re-pricing has occurred to get those small lots back on the market and the key is whether we can still build $250,000 homes in Houston.

• T he I-35 corridor would definitely suffer from a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.

th th annual 27 27 annual 27th annual

OUTLOOK OUTLOOK FOR FOR

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Full range of nationwide professional environmental services including: Phase I and Phase II ESAs • USTs • Asbestos • Mold • Lead • NEPA Reports Vapor Assessments • Wetlands • Property Condition Assessments

www.PhaseEngineering.com

BOMA AUSTIN: bomaaustin.org BOMA SAN ANTONIO: bomasanantonio.org CBA: cbaaustin.org/ CCIM CENTRAL TEXAS: ccimtexas.com CREW AUSTIN: crewaustin.org CREW SAN ANTONIO: crew-sanantonio.org CTCAR: ctcaronline.com IREM AUSTIN: iremaustin.org IREM SAN ANTONIO: iremsanantonio.org

CENTRAL SOUTH TEXAS

April 27th annual

OUTLOOK FOR

TEXAS LAND

MARKETS

1 Saturday

TEXAS A&M REAL ESTATE CENTER

IREM San Antonio

April 20 April 21

BOMA San Antonio

Outlook for Texas Land Markets 8am-3:30pm

April 19

* ULI San Antonio: Hemisfair Historic Home Tour – 1pm-2:15pm ULI San Antonio: ULI 8th Annual Golf Tournament – 11am-6:30pm

6 Thursday

BOMA Austin: TOBY Workshop – 8:30am-10am BOMA San Antonio: BOMA Open Committee Meeting – 11:45am

12 Wednesday

ULI San Antonio: Maverick Highrise Tour – 5pm-7:30pm

13 Thursday

BOMA Austin: 2017 BOMA Austin Annual Golf Tournament

20 Thursday

CREW San Antonio: CREW Forum: Before the Big Shift – 11am - 2pm

18 Tuesday

CREW Austin: Networking Luncheon – 11:30am-1pm

19 Wednesday

IREM San Antonio & BOMA San Antonio: Joint Leadership Luncheon – 11:45am-1pm CTCAR: CE Course: “Commercial Condos – Mechanics & Trends” – 2:30pm-4:30pm

April 2017

April 25 11:15am - 1:30pm

* Members Only

CTCAR: Annual Boat Cruise on Lady Bird Lake! – 6pm-9pm TABB Austin: Monthly Luncheon – 11:30am-1pm Texas A&M Real Estate Center: 27th Annual Outlook for Texas Land Markets, day 1 – 8am-3:30pm

21 Friday

Texas A&M Real Estate Center: 27th Annual Outlook for Texas Land Markets, day 2 – 8am-3:30pm

25 Tuesday

CREW SA: Emerging Leaders Series: Property Tax, Accounting and Leasing – 11:30am-1:30pm CTCAR, CREW Austin, BOMA Austin, IREM, CCIM, CETA, RECA, CBA, SIOR, ULI Austin, Austin Apartment Association, AAFAME, ACRES, Austin Board of Realtors, and IFMA: 17th Annual Power Luncheon: America & Texas: A Time of Great Disruption, presented by: Matthew Dowd – 11:15am-1:30pm

CTCAR: Property Info Exchange – 7:30am-9am

32

Power Luncheon

Joint Leadership Luncheon 11:45am – 1pm

3 Monday

17 Monday

RECA reca.org RECSA: recsanantonio.com RETAIL LIVE: retaillive.com TABB AUSTIN: tabb.org/austin_chapter.php TABB SAN ANTONIO: tabb.org/san_ antonio_chapter.php ULI AUSTIN: austin.uli.org ULI SAN ANTONIO: sanantonio.uli.org

TABB San Antonio: Monthly Luncheon – 11:30am-1pm

26 Wednesday

ULI Austin: Monthly Breakfast Series – Developer Shark Tank– 7:30am-9am

27 Thursday

CBA Austin: Golf Tournament – 11:30am-8pm IREM Austin: IREM Spring Social – 5pm-7pm

29 Saturday

* ULI San Antonio: Battle of Flowers Parade Party – 11:30am-4pm

The events listed are confirmed at the time of printing. Please make sure to check with the event host for any changes. For the full listing of events, visit REDNews.com.

CENTRAL SOUTH TEXAS

March SOCIAL

CREW SAN ANTONIO MARCH LUNCHEON Top: L to R, Kelly Rabanal, Angela Odom, Dena Welch, Jessie Ray, Jeff Simmons L to R: Misty Mayo, Kate Silvas L to R: Christy Rhone, Audra Allen

IREM SAN ANTONIO PAST PRESIDENTS' SOCIAL ON FEBRUARY 21 Top: L to R, Howard Haring, Mona Lowe, Lyndsay Walbran, Ginger Miller, Gene Bartosh

2017 FRIENDS OF IREM APPRECIATION LUNCHEON AT COUNTY LINE Back row, L to R: Jeffrey Mechler, Elias Palacios, Jason Ruple, Roger Kaapkem, Linda Rael, Michael Harrison, Donna Schmidt (IREM Treasurer), Brad Bauserman, Sally Flanagan (IREM Special Events Chair), Dick Zucker, Dustin Gerloff, Steve Rogers (IREM President Elect), Mark Maytum, Justin Titus Front row: L to R, Ashley Adams, Natalie Smith (IREM Board Member), Tiffany Dawn Korbell (IREM Board Member), Lyndsay Marie Walbran (IREM 2017 President), Karina Garza

RECA 2017 MARCH MAYORAL TOWN HALL AT FOUR SEASONS HOTEL AUSTIN https://www.facebook.com/pg/recaonline/ photos/

CTCAR HAPPY HOUR ON FEBRUARY 23 AT ST. GENEVIEVE Top: L to R, Cathy Coneway, Bruce Evans from Stanberry Commercial L to R: Tim Renfeldt, Pamela Madere, Jeff Brecht, Teresa Person

April 2017

33

BOMA DALLAS: bomadallas.org BOMA FORT WORTH: bomafortworth.org CCIM NORTH TEXAS : ntccim.com CORENET NORTH TEXAS: northtexas.corenetglobal.org CREW DALLAS: crew-dallas.org CREW FORT WORTH: crewfw.org GFW AR: gfwar.org IREM DALLAS: irem-dallas.org IREM FORT WORTH: fortworthirem.org

NORTH TEXAS

April

REC GFW April 6 * 2017 Annual Meeting 6-9pm

1 Saturday

LADIES IN CRE: ladiesincre.com NAIOP: northtexasnaiop.com NTCAR: ntcar.org SCR GFW: gfwar.org/home-top-commercial.html TABB DALLAS/FORT WORTH: tabb.org/dallas_ ft_worth_chapter.php TREC DALLAS: recouncil.com REC GFW: recouncilgfw.com ULI NORTH TEXAS: northtexas.uli.org

CCIM North Texas

TREC Dallas

April 20

April 27

April Luncheon 11:30am – 1pm

Fight Night XXIX 6:30pm - midnight

CCIM: Midyear Governance Meetings 2017, day 1 – 8am-10pm

13 Thursday

ULI North Texas: A Closer Look at Emerging Trends – 8am-10am

TREC Dallas: Young Guns: ACT Alleyway Cleanup – 9am

18 Tuesday

TREC Dallas: Webinar: Texas, Trade & the Ties that Bind – 8:30am

2 Sunday

CCIM: Midyear Governance Meetings 2017, day 2 – 8am-9:30pm

BOMA Dallas: April Luncheon – 11am-1pm

3 Monday

CCIM: Midyear Governance Meetings 2017, day 3 – 7:30am-7pm

*REC GFW: Member Get Together – 5-7pm

4 Tuesday

CCIM: Midyear Governance Meetings 2017, day 4 – 8am-8pm BOMA Fort Worth: Luncheon – 11:30am-1pm

5 Wednesday

NAIOP North Texas: Luncheon – 11:15am-1:15pm

19 Wednesday

ULI North Texas: Annual DFW Developers Showcase – 5:30pm-7:30pm

20 Thursday

CCIM North Texas: Luncheon – 11:30am-1pm

CCIM: Midyear Governance Meetings 2017, day 5 – 6:30am-12pm

IREM Fort Worth: Luncheon: Fort Worth Economic Outlook & Texas Landscaping – 11:30am-1pm

BOMA Dallas: Industrial Lunch & Learn – 11am-12:30pm

BOMA Dallas: Young Professionals: Urban Scavenger Hunt – 5:30pm-8:30pm

CREW Fort Worth: Luncheon: Walsh Development – 11:30am1pm

6 Thursday

*REC GFW: 2017 Annual Meeting – 6-9pm

7 Friday

ULI North Texas: New Member Breakfast – Fort Worth – 8am9:30am

11 Tuesday

BOMA Dallas: Engineer Lunch & Learn – 11:30am-1pm

12 Wednesday

CREW Dallas: April Industry Luncheon, Speaker: Steve Brown – 11:30am-1pm

21 Friday

NTCAR: Office Tour: CBD/Uptown Experience ULI North Texas: Cultivating Development; The Link Between Food and Real Estate – 7:30am-9am

24 Monday

CREW Dallas: Golf Classic – 10:30am -8:30pm

27 Thursday

TABB DFW: Chapter Meeting –11:30am-1pm TREC Dallas: Fight Night XXIX – 6:30pm-midnight

ULI North Texas: Mobile Workshop & Happy Hour – 3:30pm7pm TREC Dallas: FightNight XXIX Sponsor Party (invitation only) – 5:30pm

34

April 2017

* Members Only

The events listed are confirmed at the time of printing. Please make sure to check with the event host for any changes. For the full listing of events, visit REDNews.com.

NORTH TEXAS

March

SOCIAL

LADIES IN CRE STILETTO NETWORK

L to R: Kirstie South, Cassie Watts, Lindsey Jamar Carroll

REC GFW

PANTHER DEN FEBRUARY 23 Top: The Winning Team, L to R, Brian Bowden, Zack Sprinkle, Kadie Midkiff, Kattya Santiago Ansa, Will Henderson, Cody Brewer L to R: Jeff Landon, Ryan Dwiggins, Kristin Gonzales, Larry Lockhart L to R: Andrew Doran, Justin Wells, Gwendolyn Harper, Michael Karol, Monica Luera L to R: Casey Tounget, Tyler Ferguson, John Hamilton, Sarah Walton, Kristin Buchanan, Kevin Brannum

TREC DALLAS

2017 CASINO NIGHT MARCH 2 AT CITYPLACE TOWER Top: L to R, Teddy Leatherman (2017 Casino Night Chair), Alex Zubey L to R: Johnny Begzos, Sarah East, Lindsey Carroll, Esther Cox, Richard Hudicek, San Castro, Brandi Wicks, Eunice Guzman

NORTH TEXAS CCIM

MARCH LUNCHEON AT PARK CITY CLUB TOPIC: TEXAS BULLET TRAIN Top: Networking Attendees smile for the camera L to R: Howard Fuerst, Debi Carter (CCIM 2017 Chapter Vice President), Tim Keith, John McClure (CCIM 2017 Chapter President)

L to R: Lauren Klingsporn, Hannah Hansing, Emily Guerra L to R: Justin Goertz, Ryan Umberger, Josh Hedderich L to R: Munsch Hardtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jackie Dyer, Cate Afrooz, Lauren Smyth, Claire Carroll

April 2017

35

ACRP: acrp.org BACREN: bacren.us BOMA HOUSTON: houstonboma.org CCIM HOUSTON: ccimhouston.org CETA: cetalliance.com CORENET HOUSTON: houston.corenetglobal.org C.R.E.A.M.: creamtx.com CREN: crengulfcoast.com CREW HOUSTON: crewhouston.org FBSCR: fbscr.com

SOUTHEAST TEXAS

April

CETA

CREN

CCIM

April 5

April 7

Focus Series 10:00am - 2pm

Luncheon 11:00am - 1pm

April 20 - April 21 2017 Energy Conference

19 Wednesday

3 Monday

ACRP: Happy Hour-March Madness – 5pm-7pm

5 Wednesday

CETA: Focus Series: The Art of Leaping Cultural & Institutional Boundaries, speakers: Dr. Michael Fortunato & Dr. Morgan Clevenger – 10am-2pm

20 Thursday

*CREW Houston: Namaste & Rose – 5:45pm-8pm

7 Friday

CREN: Luncheon with Howard Rambin of Moody Rambin – 11am-1pm

8 Saturday

CoreNet Houston: Community Reinvestment Challenge 2017 – 8am-4pm

11 Tuesday

CoreNet Houston: Breakfast Meeting – 7:30am-9am

12 Wednesday

Greater Houston Partnership: 2017 State of the County, speaker: Harris County Judge Ed Emmett – 10:30am-1:30am CREAM: Luncheon, speaker: Adam Galland – 11am-1pm NAIOP Houston: Luncheon – 11am-1pm

13 Thursday

21 Friday

FBSCR: Monthly Breakfast Meeting – 8am-9am

19 Wednesday

O’Connor & Associates: Property Tax Forecast Lunch, speaker: Patrick O’Connor – 11:30am-1pm

April 2017

BACREN: Monthly Luncheon: Galveston & Port Partnering – Changes in the Area, speaker: Jeff Solestrom – 10:30am-1pm CCIM Houston: 2017 Energy Conference, 11am-6pm

CoreNet Houston: TechnipFMC’s Campus Tour – 7:30am-9:30am CREN: Marketing Session – 7:30am-9am CCIM Houston: 2017 Energy Conference, 7am-12:30pm

24 Monday

IREM Houston: IREM MPSA Four Day Course – 8am-5pm

25 Tuesday

BOMA Houston: BAC PAC Sporting Clays Tournament – 11:30am Greater Houston Partnership: HYPE Networking Social – 5:30pm-7:30pm

27 Thursday

TABB Houston: Chapter Meeting, speaker: Gordan Quan– 11:30am-1:30pm

ULI Houston: Urban Marketplace – 8am-5pm

18 Tuesday

Greater Houston Partnership: HYPE CEO Talks – 5:30pm-7pm

IREM Houston: Food Fest: The Hungry Games – 4pm8pm CREW Houston: 20th Anniversary Celebration – 5:30pm-7:30pm

CREN Houston: Clay Shoot – 8am-2pm BOMA Houston: Crawfish Boil – 5:30pm

36

GREATER HOUSTON PARTNERSHIP: houston.org HREC: houstonrealestatecouncil.org IREM HOUSTON: iremhouston.org NAIOP: naiophouston.org O'CONNOR & ASSOCIATES: poconnor.com SIOR: sior.com TABB HOUSTON: tabb.org/houston_chapter.php ULI HOUSTON: houston.uli.org

CREN: Happy Hour – 4:30pm-7pm

* Members Only

28 Friday

IREM Houston: IREM CPM Certification Exam – 8am-12pm

The events listed are confirmed at the time of printing. Please make sure to check with the event host for any changes. For the full listing of events, visit REDNews.com.

SOUTHEAST TEXAS

March

SOCIAL

BACREN MARCH LUNCHEON AT LAKEWOOD YACHT CLUB Top: L to R, Jasper Tramonte, Randy Drake, Jerry Wilkins, James Brockway, L to R: Charles Canales, Carson Rutledge

ACRP HAPPY HOUR KICK-OFF TO COOK-OFF AT LITTLE J’S FEBRUARY 28 Top: L to R, Abe Goren, Steve Sapio, Perry Seeberger L to R: John Hay, Marlene Hay, Angie Steadman, Rose Herbst L to R: Michelle Gupton Froehlich, Marty McAdams

CREN MARCH LUNCHEON Top: L to R: Reid Wilson, Steven Stone (CREN 2017 President), Anthony Marrè, Omar Izfar L to R: Elizabeth Palmer, Rebecca Haass, Madeline Gregory

TABB HOUSTON FEBRUARY LUNCHEON Top: L to R, Bill Bumstead (TABB Texas VP), Charlie Cole, Brian Wendler (TABB Texas President) Speaker: David Rae

AVISON YOUNG

FBSCR

2017 RODEO PARTY MARCH 9 AT GOODE COMPANY ARMADILLO PALACE

FBSCR MEETING

Top: L to R, Anna Demmler, Jana Cotterell

Top: L to R, Congressman Pete Olson, Jason Scholtz, 2017 FBSCR President

L to R: Anna Demmler, Ginger Wheless, Andrew Minchew

L to R: Kolbe Curtis, Charlie Herder, Alan Bauer, Ike Samad

CENTRAL SOUTH TEXAS bulletin

AUSTIN, TX

FLEX WAREHOUSE SALE An Austin-based private investor purchased a 7,806 sf flex warehouse building located at 4903 Commercial Park Dr. at an undisclosed price.

Ryan Wilson & Matt Fain with ECR represented the seller, a Georgetown resident.

INDUSTRIAL & FLEX SALE St. Clair Commercial Realty purchased seven buildings (211,000 sf total), located at 5910-6104 Techni Center Dr. with frontage on 183, with plans to rebrand the park as the “Techni Center Business Park.” ECR’s Ryan Wilson & Matt Fain will handle leasing.

Live Oak will be property managers.

WESTERN TRAVIS COUNTY, TX Thomas Ranch, a 2,200-acre project located along Paleface Ranch Rd. to State Hwy 71, with access to Lake Travis & Pedernales River, was approved

by Travis County commissioners. The project will be built in three regional phases (Texas Town, Hilltop, & Cliffside), & will include 3,300 homes & apartments, shops, entertainment venues, restaurants, a resort hotel & spa, & more. The lead developer is Illinois-based Tom D’Alesandro of Blakefield LLC. Alex Durham was promoted to Senior Associate at Colliers International in Austin.

Stewart Geise of CBRE was promoted to Managing Director, Asset Services for Austin, San Antonio, and El Paso Markets.

Stephen D. “Doug” Roberts of Austin was elected chairman of the Texas A&M’s Real Estate Center advisory committee.

W. Douglas Jennings of Fort Worth was re-elected vice chairman for Texas A&M’s Real Estate Center.

Andres Ventura has joined Lead Commercial in Austin as a Tenant Representation Services Executive.

INDUSTRIAL LEASE Merchandise Solutions LLC, represented by Russell Todd & Andy Swanson with Centric Commercial, leased 34,500 sf, located at 15400 Long Vista Dr., from the landlord, Icon LPC TX Property Owner Pool 6 Austin, represented by Ace Schlameus & Darryl Dadon with CBRE in Austin.

INDUSTRIAL LEASE Iron Mountain Information Management LLC, represented

by Zane Cole with JLL, renewed its lease of the 41,656 sf property, located at 2515 Brockton Ave., from the landlord, Icon LPC TX Property Owner Pool 6 Austin, represented by Ace Schlameus & Darryl Dadon with CBRE in Austin.

INDUSTRIAL LEASE Apto Solutions, Inc., represented

by Greg Baxendale with JLL, renewed its lease of the 24,000 sf property, located at 3815-A Jarrett Way, & added an additional 32,000 sf. The landlord, Icon LPC TX Property Owner Pool 6 Austin, was represented by Ace Schlameus & Darryl Dadon with CBRE in Austin.

LAND SALE A Giddings, TX-based investor purchased 2 acres of land at the southeast corner of Elroy & McAngus adjacent to the Circuit of the Americas racetrack. Perry Horton of Lead Commercial LLC represented the seller, a Buda-based investor. Randy Merritt of McAlister & Associates represented the buyers.

OFFICE LEASE Ameriprise Holdings Inc renewed its lease of the 11,114 sf property, located at 9442 Capital Of Tx Hwy, with the landlord, OTR, represented by Troy Holme & Katie Ekstrom with CBRE in Austin.

OFFICE LEASE ST Micro leased 4,242 sf at Reunion Park, located at 8501 N. MoPac Expressway. Jason Steinberg &

Matt Levin with ECR represented the landlord. Keith Zimmerman with Cushman & Wakefiled represented the tenant.

OFFICE SALE Lincoln Property Co. & Goldman Sachs & Co. have purchased the Chase Tower, a 21-story office tower on 289,503 sf property, located at 221 W. Sixth St., for an undisclosed price.

The Travis Central Appraisal District recently valued the property at $166 million. Spire Realty Group LP was the seller.

OFFICE SALE An unidentified investor purchased Tremont Plaza, a 53,164 sf office building on 5.7 acres located at 3001 Bee Caves Rd. No purchase price was disclosed. The property was recently valued for tax purposes at $9,658,967. Travis Central Appraisal District shows the new owner as Padauk LLC Series 2 from Las Vegas, Nevada, & the seller as Hudson Office Partnership III LLC. ECR handled both sides of the deal while Matt Fain of ECR represented the buyer.

RETAIL/RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT Oden Hughes LLC & CWS Capital Partners LLC created a joint venture to build luxury apartments near Whole Foods HQ. Located at 1301 W. 5th St. on a 1.6-acre site, the project will include 226 units and 2,200 sf of retail space on the ground floor. The contemporary styling is by Austinbased Kelly Grossman Architects.

City of Austin documents value the project at $29,000,000. The development is scheduled to deliver in late 2018.

RETAIL DEVELOPMENT An unidentified Houston investor purchased nearly 4 acres of land, located at the northeast corner of State Hwy 71 & Covered Bridge Dr. with a retail development planned.

Marshall Durrett of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller. The buyers were self-represented.

RETAIL LEASE Houston-based brand Fitness Connection leased 55,000 sf at the Shops at Tech Ridge, located at 13001 N. I-35. Lance Morris & PJ Kaminer of The Retail Connection represented the landlord, RD Management, & the tenant.

RETAIL LEASE Texas Card House leased 5,473 sf at Galleria Oaks, located at 13376 Research Blvd. Rob Merritt & Kim Nordquelle of Retail Solutions represented the landlord. Darren Siegel of Don Quick & Associates Inc. represented the tenant.

CEDAR PARK, TX

RETAIL LEASE Blue Lion Salon Studios leased 4,800 sf at Lakeline Plaza, located at 11066 Pecan Park Blvd. No brokers were identified.

SAN ANTONIO, TX

HOTEL DEVELOPMENT DC Partners & Universal Service Group’s is planning for a 337,000 sf, 20-story luxury hotel development along the River Walk called The Arts Residences, which will include 167 hotel rooms & 66 luxury condominiums. The partnership expects to break ground in Spring 2017.

INDUSTRIAL/APARTMENT REDEVELOPMENT Local developer James Lifshutz plans to convert a 5.4 acre industrial facility near Mission San Josè into apartments.

The industrial facility is a former food packaging plant & will be turned into loft apartments. Lifshutz plans to renovate the 59,000 sf facility into about 55 market-rate loft apartments.

MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT Developer Efraim Varga & investment firm Harris Bay plan to start work by the end of 2017 on Essex Modern City, an 8-acre project located at Essex St. & Cherry St., & worth $150,000,000. The first phase will turn the former pallet manufacturing site into: 80,000 sf of creative office space; 65,000 sf of retail; 248 apartments; 160 condominiums; 80 townhomes & a food hall. The first phase will take about 3 years to build & will cover 5 acres. The developers hope to build a condo tower 8 to 11 stories tall in the second phase.

OFFICE LEASE Metwest Inc., represented by Scott Herbold with CBRE in San Antonio, renewed its lease of the 21,749 sf property located at 607 E. Sonterra Blvd. The landlord is Concord Terrace, LLC, & was represented by Taylor Dorris with Endura.

RETAIL SALE San Antonio-based GrayStreet Partners Olmos Park Village Shopping Center LP sold Olmos Park Village shopping center to Austinbased Ironwood Real Estate for an undisclosed price. The property is located at McCullough Ave. & Hildebrand Ave., and required a $2.8 million loan to buy.

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, TX HOTEL SALE CBRE Hotel arranged the sale of Super 8, a 66-room hotel, located at 4205 Padre Blvd. near Schlitterbahn Beach Water Park. Raju Ramachandran purchased the asset for investment purposes from Michael Klement for an undisclosed price.

ALLEN, TX MANUFACTURING/OFFICE DEVELOPMENT Adolfson & Peterson Construction broke ground on a $47M build-tosuit project for WatchGuard Video, which will relocate to new corporate headquarters on Exchange Pkwy & Andrews Pkwy. AP is the contractor & Fricks Construction Management is managing the 200,000 sf total project.

BEDFORD, TX

INDUSTRIAL SALE Summit Direct Mail purchased 102,549 sf at 2401 Commerce St. from O’Grady & O’Grady Properties. Transwestern’s Todd Hawpe & Clint Riley represented the buyer.

RETAIL SUBLEASE Victory Temple Ministries signed a new 24,808 sf sublease at 5116 River Oaks Blvd. with sublandlord Khaled Properties LLC. Transwestern’s Jeff Givens represented the subtenant.

OFFICE SALE Comegy’s Investment Ltd. purchased 40,112 sf at 17250 Dallas Pkwy from 17250 Dallas Parkway LLC. Transwestern’s Jeff Givens & Alex Bryant represented the buyer.

GRAND PRAIRIE, TX

OFFICE/RETAIL SALE B&B Family Partnership purchased 38,000 sf at 3201 Airport Fwy on 3.4 acres from Aberfeldy Properties. Coldwell Banker Commercial Advisors DFW’s Renee Efimoff represented the buyer.

Colliers’ Greg Hoffman represented the seller.

OFFICE SALE Gaedeke Group sold the 12-story, 285,511 sf office building Banner Place, located at 12660 & 12770 Coit Rd., to Mark Jordan of JP Realty Partners. The office towers were 70% leased when sold.

Creighton Stark & Chris Boyd of Colliers represented the seller.

CARROLLTON, TX

RESTAURANT/ENTERTAINMENT DEVELOPMENT 8020 Hospitality & Brooke Humphries will open a 24,022 sf restaurant & entertainment concept on the entire ground floor in the west Victory Plaza building. Led by Elias Pope, 8020 Hospitality’s will also include HG Sply Co. & Standard Service.

INDUSTRIAL LEASE Casual Living Patio & Fireside signed a new 24,076 sf industrial lease located at 1443 Wainwright Way. Nathan Denton of Lee & Associates represented the tenant. Matt Hyman of Duke Realty represented the landlord.

COLLEYVILLE, TX LAND SALE Michael Tonti of Creekwood Trinity Union LLC purchased 10.367 acres of land located at 2300 Heritage Ave., reports Enriched Data.

The financing institution on this $60,000,000 deal was Creekwood Capital Corporation.

DALLAS, TX HEADQUARTERS DEVELOPMENT Brinker International, Inc. will move its Restaurant Support Center & 500 of its employees to Cypress Waters, which is expected to be completed in late 2018 or early 2019. The office will occupy a 216,300 sf, 4-story, custom build-tosuit building that will sit along North Lake within the development’s centerpiece, The Sound, developed

by Billingsley Co.’s Sound.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Rick Hughes, Maureen Kelly Cooper, & Robbie Baty represented Brinker International.

INDUSTRIAL LEASE Shippers Warehouse, Inc. has signed a long-term lease for a 556,600 sf distribution facility from Duke Realty in Prime Point, a 3,000-acre industrial park located at I-45 & East Wintergreen Rd. This will be the second build-to-suit warehouse Shippers is leasing from Duke Realty at Prime Point.

FLINT, TX SELF-STORAGE SALE Marcus & Millichap helped secure the sale of Best Choice Storage, a 38,526 rentable sf self-storage facility, located at 18949 State Hwy 155 South. Mark V. Diebold & Jon Danklefs of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, & the buyer, a limited liability company.

FORT WORTH, TX FLEX LEASE Bassham Wholesale Egg Co. Inc signed a new 9,600 sf flex lease in Flex Business Park at 120 E. Felix St. Transwestern’s Todd Hawpe & Jeff Given represented the landlord, Adder Felix.

INDUSTRIAL LEASE Grant Air Conditioning Company signed a new 7,250 sf industrial lease at 250 Roberts Cut-Off Road with Carol Barnes GST Trust UWD95. Transwestern’s Gibson Duwe represented the tenant.

Transwestern’s Todd Hawpe & Kirk Kelly represented the landlord.

RETAIL SALE DFJK JV (FieldTech Avionics & Instruments) purchased 11,367 sf at 2200 NE Loop 820 from RCI Holdings. Transwestern’s Todd Hawpe represented the seller.

INDUSTRIAL LEASE Cabot Properties leased 43,161 sf at Trinity Crossing, located at 3100 Roy Orr Blvd. Cannon Green & Luke Davis of Stream Realty Partners represented the landlord. Cushman & Wakefield of Texas, Inc. represented the tenant, Dynamic Glass, LLC. LAND SALE Dr. Lara Abitoye LLC purchased 44,000 sf of land at 2626 Carrier Pkwy. Monika Guzman of Structure Commercial, represented the buyer.

KENNEDALE, TX INDUSTRIAL SALE Rudy & Associates purchased 22,175 sf at 4130 Eden Rd. S. from Westbrook Development Properties. Transwestern’s Todd Hawpe represented the buyer.

Invest DFW CRE’s Cameron Pope represented the seller.

MIDLAND TX LAND SALE Houston-based Marathon Oil Corp. bought 70,000 net acres in the Permian Basin with private company BC Operating. The transaction includes 51,500 acres in the Northern Delaware basin in New Mexico, & the total cost is $1.1 billion in cash

NORTH TEXAS

bulletin

Rendering Courtesy http://3plcentral.com

FRISCO, TX Stream Realty Partners will build several properties within the 152,000 sf office development called Frisco Park 25, located at Preston Rd. & Rockhill Pkwy. FEDC estimates the $300M development will have 2.2M sf at build-out.

PowerSecure Lighting will serve as the anchor tenant with 76,000 sf of it being leased for its North Texas corporate headquarters. Frisco Park 25 has 14 lots on 216 acres zoned for industrial & commercial use. Construction will begin sometime in 2017 & is expected to be complete mid-2018.

Carl Pankratz was hired as NorthMarq Capital’s Vice President in their Dallas office.

Evan Stone joined CBRE Capital Markets as Senior Vice President in Texas.

RICHARDSON, TX MULTI-FAMILY SALE Carter-Haston has acquired Anthem CityLine, a 204-acre transit-oriented development located at 1250 State St. CityLine, at full build-out, will contain 5M sf of office space, 3,925 multifamily residential units, 50 dining & service retail options, two hotels & two parks with about 30,000 sf expected residents & workers.

RETAIL LEASE Richardson Children’s Theatre Inc. leased 9,000 sf at 770 N. Coit Rd. Structure Commercial’s Jeremy Cummings & Eric Deuillet negotiated the lease.

RETAIL LEASE Open Bible Fellowship Church leased 6,000s sf at 300 N. Coit Rd. Structure Commercial’s Jeremy Cummings & Eric Deuillet negotiated the lease.

Todd Griffiths joined Venture Commercial Real Estate as an Associate in the DFW area.

Mark Cypert joined Cital Partners, LLC as their Managing Advisor.

Christopher M. Gibbons joined JLL as the Senior Vice President of the Dallas Retail Brokerage group.

April 2017

39

SOUTHEAST TEXAS bulletin

COLUMBUS, TX RANCH LAND SALE

CBRE’s Darin Gosda arranged the sale of +/- 573 acres of Colorado River frontage 70 miles outside of Houston at the familyowned estate Cook Ranch to an undisclosed buyer. The Cook family still has two remaining tracts available for sale at The Cook Ranch: one that totals +/- 716 acres, & one that totals +/724 acres.

DEER PARK, TX RETAIL SALE

RIVER OAKS SHOPPING CENTER Weingarten Realty Investors will add a 30-story residential tower to its River Oaks Shopping Center located at Shepherd & West Gray.

Randy Hopper has joined JLL as vice president.

Josh Tillis has joined the Wile Interests, Inc. team as Development Associate.

TCV Enterprises, Inc. has purchased a 3,770 sf building on 23,000 sf land located at 4002 Center St. Wayne Rutledge of Rutledge Commercial Real Estate represented the seller.

HOUSTON, TX INDUSTRIAL/OFFICE SALE Jermar Company LC purchased two adjacent properties: 2617 Bissonnet (18,360 sf office/ warehouse facility) owned by 2617 Bissonnet LLC, & 2607 Bissonnet (2,520 sf office building) owned by Don Barnett. Barrett Von Blon of Davis Commercial Real Estate represented the buyer.

INDUSTRIAL SALE Lane Equipment Co. sold a 15,280 sf industrial building on 0.34 acres at 4005 Chenevert St. to Hou Properties. Neal Thomson of NewQuest Properties represented the seller.

LAND SALE The Zaidi Family Trust sold their 23.380 acre tract of land located at 7810 Fairbanks N. Houston Rd. to Jarrar Holdings, LLC. Brent Fredricks & Bob Gulley of Moody Rambin represented the seller.

The closing was held at Fidelity National Title by Debbi Barela & Crystal Robinson.

OFFICE SALE An undisclosed buyer purchased the 206,553 sf Northborough Tower located at 100 Glenborough.

99% is leased to Noble Energy, but Noble Energy does not occupy the space. Transwestern’s Leah Gallagher, Michele Wogan & Hale Umstattd represented the undisclosed seller.

40

April 2017

OFFICE SALE Davis Holdings LP purchased a 100%-leased, 33,000 sf office building located at 1500 McGowen St. from Skyland Lodge Tract LP. JLL’s Louis Rosenthal represented the buyer. David Husid & Brandi McDonald of Newmark Grubb Knight Franked represented the seller.

OFFICE/RETAIL/RESIDENTIAL RE-DEVELOPMENT Spear Street Capital plans to redevelop former Exxon Mobil Upstream Research Co. HQ, 16.88 acres located at 3120 Buffolo Speedway, into office, retail & urban residential buildings. The site includes a 6-story, 450,000 sf, single-tenant office building, 100,000 sf training center, 13 auxiliary buildings & a large parking structure.

RESTAURANT LEASE Local Foods recently opened a gourmet sandwich shop in Downtown at 420 Main in the area known as Historic Market Square, a 9,000 sf, 3-story space.

Cushman & Wakefield handled lease negotiations.

RETAIL RE-DEVELOPMENT/ LEASE A project called South Cross Center is marketing the site that once contained Outback Steakhouse at Beechnut & Loop 610 (6,300 sf) as a two-story, retail center with 23,450 sf along Jackwood St. NewQuest Properties’ Rebecca Le reports pre-leasing is underway.

RETAIL SALE Lionstone Investments sold Renaissance Center, a 92,279 sf retail center sited on 9.6 acres & located at 6102 Scott St., to Williamsburg Enterprises for an undisclosed price & clear of existing debt. HFF’s Ryan West & Rusty Ramlyn led the team that closed the sale.

LAKE JACKSON, TX

MALL REDEVELOPMENT/LEASE T.J. Maxx & HomeGoods, sister stores owned by Massachusettsbased TJX Companies Inc, will lease 45,000 sf of the former Sears space (97,000 sf total) located in Brazos Mall in Lake Jackson. The former Sears space is being redeveloped by the owners, North Shore Properties Group LLC, in a $25 million project. The first phase is expected to be completed this fall.

PASADENA, TX RETAIL SALE Olivetree Investment Group, LLC. has purchased the 6,800 sf building on 28,793 sf of land at 4441 Spencer Hwy. Bob Clair with Clair Realty represented the sellers. Wayne Rutledge with Rutledge Commercial Real Estate represented the buyers.

ROSENBERG, TX LAND SALE IKA Group LLC sold 3.45 acres at the intersection of Reading Rd. & FM 2977 to Fei Lung Chan. Brad LyBrand & Ori Batagower of NewQuest Properties represented the seller.

Independent broker Yao Renae Chen represented the buyer.

SHELDON, TX CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT Sheldon ISD plans a 570,000 sf collegiate-inspired campus on 185 wooded acres off Beltway 8, one mile from Generation Park. The unnamed campus will house up to 3,500 students, a new 10,000-seat football stadium, & several athletic facilities.

SUGAR LAND, TX INDUSTRIAL SALE STGMJD, LLC purchased a 50,700 sf industrial facility located at 12700 West Airport from Kerbow-Dees, LP. Vicki Yeomans represented the buyer, & Chris Caudill, SIOR of NAI Partners represented the seller.

TEXAS CITY, TX HOTEL SALE Texas City Hospitality purchased the Holiday Inn Express & Suites, located at 2440 Gulf Fwy, for an undisclosed price. CBRE Hotel’s Eric Guerrero, Michael Yu, Rahul Biflani, & Dennis Drake represented the buyer and seller.

TOMBALL, TX LAND SALE Quest IRA Inc. sold 5.09 acres at the intersection of E. Hufsmith Rd. & Hospital St. to Depado Partners Ltd. Rob Whitaker of NewQuest Properties represented the seller.

Kay Whitaker of RE/MAX Vintage represented the buyer.

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classifieds & index Land Law Texas 13 Levcor, Inc. 17 National Environmental Services, LLC 43 Phase Engineering 30 Plus Corp Photography 18 Premier Property Services, Inc. 17 Real Estate Center 28 Showalter Law 41 Somervell Economic Development 7 Stream Realty Partners 20 Tarantino Properties Inc. 5 The J. Beard Real Estate Company 21 The Signorelli Company 19 Waller County EDC 20

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ray’s buzz

BY RAY HANKAMER rhankamer@gmail.com

Ray Interviews Joe Watson, Axis Point Developers Can you give us a bit of your background in commercial real estate, including your many trips to Saudi Arabia and their purpose?

In the early part of my career, like many developers, I worked in several commercial fields including shopping centers, office, apartments, and mixeduse developments. It did not take long to decide to focus on multi-family, both garden and mid-rise communities. For fifteen years I built apartments in numerous cities in six states. A lot of the equity for those developments was supplied by American ex-pats and Saudi investors, which necessitated a total of 23 trips to the Middle East. Those trips jump-started my interest in international travel, and hugely expanded my horizon from the small central Texas town where I was raised.

The oil crisis of the ‘80s was problematic for us, our bankers, and almost everyone in commercial real estate. The last mid-rise developments we built were Parc Royal and La Tour Fontaine, both luxury mid-rise communities, which elevated the standard of development at a time when everyone else was building two story garden apartments.

The water is for wild life and people who love it. We encourage folks to connect to nature and that inevitably improves their appreciation and respect for the natural world we live in-which is a good thing.

We are just weeks from finishing NewPort Lake Estates, a 210-lot gated community in northwest Manvel. No water? Not a problem!

We built three people/fish friendly lakes with water up to the backyards. The lakes have gentle side slopes, piers with arbors, boat docks, a boat house, and wonderfully lush wetlands, which we created without being forced to do so by the Corps of Engineers. The plan was to make the lakes look like God created them, not some run and gun real estate developer.

NewPort has other amenities that set it apart, such as a community garden and an amphitheater for Friday night Netflix movies on a screen placed on a deck over the water, as well as other outdoor facilities.

How did you get into building homes?

We acquired a 3.3 acre tract to build a mid-rise multi-family community at a time when the market was getting softer. The terrific tract on the corner of Brown Way and Yorktown was a short half block from the Galleria.

At a time when the apartment market was “going south and taking the developer with it”, I decided to convert the plan to 40 attached/detached high density townhomes. That was a much better and more successful plan. Had we not changed course, perhaps we would have gone to the same bad movie many of us had already seen.

I really liked the creativity and personal involvement of custom homes and completely enjoyed the wonderful people for whom we built homes.

I still bump into some of those customers from long ago.

How did you get into the lot development business?

Newport Lake Estates

We developed 100% of the land under our homes. We never bought lots from anyone. These tracts ranged from half a dozen homes in the Galleria area to the 496 lot Lake Cove community in Clear Lake with on and off-water lots, canals, and gated sections.

Having developed all our land, it was natural to transition to developing communities for other builders, instead of for myself. I like to plan the community and direct the construction process by being intimately, personally, and even emotionally involved in managing everything, down to the last and smallest detail…just like a movie director. And that is tremendously satisfying to me.

I am told you have developed more waterfront lots around Clear Lake than anyone?

Yes, I believe that is correct. I am a water guy, having been a diver and sailor, racing in the bay and off-shore for decades. Developing waterfront lots is easier for me because water is my great love.

What projects do you have in motion currently and can you describe what amenity packages these projects will have to differentiate them from your competitors?

We recently finished two projects which were not actually on the water, so we created it- we built lakes. Unlike the large majority of other developers, our homeowners actually live on the water’s edge, meaning there are no buffers separating their backyards from the water; and by, the way, no “No Fishing” signs.

42

March 2017

TownHarbour will be adjacent to South Shore Harbour on Clear Lake and is in fact the last large developable tract on the lake. We are building a 2,200 foot long, 140 foot wide canal with homes on both sides. With a minimum lot size of 70’ by 172’, every homeowner will have backyard boat docking. In case you are not a boater, a 140’ wide canal is beyond extraordinary. The boaters will love it.

And yes, we will build substantial wetlands, though not required to do so. The bulkhead wall will be constructed form two-ton limestone blocks we will import.

Joe, you are so diversified in your interests. One side of your brain seems to be extremely frugal and detail-conscious, and the other side brims with conceptual creativity. How did you develop these diverse business talents and how do you think they are influenced by your many hobbies?

Some of my interests do impact my creative thinking in business. I race sailboats, which helps me understand people/homeowners who like water. I am a master diver and a competitive aerobatic pilot, both of which hobbies provide perspective and an appreciation for the environment. I am a photographer who continuously travels the world shooting ancient ruins and street people in such fascinating corners of the world as Morocco and Nepal.

Advice to young people starting out in real estate development?

In addition to the basics, a liberal arts education is very important. Young people should get out of their comfort zones early on, continuously observing, living life, and engaging people. They should expand their range by traveling the world to observe, listen and grow. Take it all in and imagine a better way. Don’t stay in the same bubble in which you were born! •

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