Happy Friday!
Below, please find this week's real estate news from the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. Noteworthy, are this links to the Real Estate Center's podcast and the ability to subscribe to the newsletter at the bottom of the post.
--------
RECON Real Estate Center Online News June 4, 2010 Copyright 2010. All rights reserved. Material herein is published according to the fair-use doctrine of U.S. copyright laws related to non-profit, educational institutions. Items attributed to sources other than the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University should not be reprinted without permission of the original source.
FOUR SEASONS' SUMMER FALL IRVING (Dallas Business Journal) – Lenders foreclosed on the Four Seasons Resort and Club at Tuesday's property auction for $122 million. The 400-acre property is one of the largest foreclosures in the DFW area in the past eight years. Former owner BentleyForbes spent $60 million renovating the hotel and golf course over the past few years. However, earlier this year, U.S. Bank NA filed against the hotel on a $183 million loan that was taken out in 2006. “BentleyForbes remains certain that its past management efforts and capital investments in the property since originally taking ownership in 2006 have positioned the resort for long-term success," said Tony Manos, chief operating officer of BentleyForbes. "As the hospitality market recovers from the challenges of the current market realities," he said, "the Four Seasons Dallas will be able to fully leverage the extensive improvements to the golf course, guest rooms, hotel lobby and guest amenities implemented and executed by BentleyForbes on behalf of the property.” BOXER
PROPERTY TAKES TWO DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – Houston-based Boxer Property Co. has purchased the Executive Center II and III buildings at LBJ Frwy. and North Central Expy. The eight- and 12-story buildings, which total more than 381,000 sf and are 75 percent leased, were obtained from a California investor. Boxer Property now owns more than two dozen office buildings in the Dallas area.
SQUEAKY CLEAN IN ABILENE COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – On this week's Real Estate Red Zone podcast, hosts Bryan Pope and Edie Craig celebrate the arrival of the Real Estate Center's 2010 Market Reports. Also, Pope talks about this week's National Association of Real Estate Editors conference in Austin, and Craig talks small towns and big deals with the latest real estate news from Presidio, Abilene and Bay City. You can listen to the free podcast from your computer by going to recenter.tamu.edu/podcast and clicking the “play” button beneath each episode. To subscribe, click on the RSS feed found on the podcast page. You can also subscribe through iTunes and download each episode to your iPod. So grab a cup of coffee and join us in the Red Zone. And be sure to tell your friends about us.
HEALTHCARE DIVISIONS UPSURGE DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – Commercial Real Estate firm GVA Cawley is expanding its three-year-old healthcare division because of an increase in demand. Medical facilities in Frisco as well as medical office developments in Mansfield and North Richland Hills are currently underway by the healthcare property group. “Healthcare is one of the only industries continuing to build right now. There is an immediate call for 19 million sf of healthcare-related space nationwide in the next few years and 50 to 60 million sf over the long term,” said David Dees, new director of the medical landlord services division at GVA Cawley.
USAA BUYS MONDRIAN AT CITYPLACE DALLAS (Dallas Business Journal) – The 21-story Mondrian at CityPlace tower in Dallas was purchased by San Antonio-based USAA Real Estate Co. The complex contains 218 apartments ranging from 910 to 2,985 sf. It also has two four-story loft-style buildings and 19,500 sf of street-level retail space. “This investment represents a timely opportunity to acquire a strategically located upscale property, located in a strong market and which ideally matches our multifamily product criteria,” said Pat Duncan, chairman and CEO of USAA Real Estate Co. The building, built in 2005, is at 3000 Blackburn St. and McKinney Ave.
ASTROWORLD TAKES OFF WITH MALLICK HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – The 104 acres formerly home to AstroWorld was purchased by the Mallick Group of Fort Worth. Located along the South Loop between Fannin and Kirby, the property was originally owned by Six Flags, which sold it to Angel/Mclver Interests for $77 million in 2006.
SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY'S FALL DEVELOPMENT RICHMOND (Houston Business Journal) – A community in Fort Bend County for residents 55 and older will begin development this fall after being announced three years ago. The 1,500 single-family homes on 500 acres at SH 59 and Thompson’s Rd. are being developed by Del Webb and Houston-based Caldwell Cos. Del Webb is owned by Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based PulteGroup Inc. Residents could move into the neighborhood as early as summer 2011.
EXPANDING JOBS IN AUSTIN, ROUND ROCK AUSTIN (Austin American-Statesman) – Three companies in the Austin-Round Rock area may receive tax rebates for their expansion projects, increasing the number of employment opportunities in the area. St. David South Austin Medical Center at 901 W. Ben White Blvd. proposed a $72 million expansion that will add more than 100,000 sf and retain 1,157 jobs. Bazaarvoice’s $5 million expansion expects to add approximately 100 employees to its headquarters at 3900 N. Capital of Texas Highway. The Sears Customer Care call center, at 1300 Louis Henna Blvd. proposed a $5 million expansion and plant improvement. Both Austin and Round Rock city councils have given preliminary approval to all three projects, but final approval must come from the state comptroller’s office.
DFW FORECLOSURES UP DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – More than 20 percent of foreclosure postings in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the first half of the year were on homes on which homeowners owed more than the property was worth. Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service said that was more than a 40 percent increase from a year earlier. “Upside-down postings have risen at a much higher pace than overall residential foreclosure posting activity. Generally, the homeowner cannot sell the home for what they owe on the mortgage. And most often, the lender cannot sell the home after reposting it for the amount that they have invested in the mortgage and other costs that the lender has incurred,” Foreclosure Listing Service CEO George Roddy said in a report. More than 6,700 foreclosure postings in the area were deemed as upside-down postings. The biggest increase this year was in Dallas County, where the number of upside-down home mortgage postings has grown 56 percent.
CRAIG RANCH UNVEILS $575M DISTRICT McKINNEY (GlobeSt.com) – The 2,200-acre Craig Ranch has unveiled a $575 million employment district on 250 acres. The complex will include two sites: a 160-acre corporate district and a 90-acre medical district. Forty-five percent of the medical district acreage has been purchased by the Cooper Fitness Center and Spa, Cooper Clinic, the Hospital at Craig Ranch and Tuscarora. KDC partnered with Craig Ranch to develop the 160-acre corporate district which may house two million sf of multitenant office buildings and corporate headquarter facilities. “Craig Ranch is not a planned project. It is already a relevant, quality development with many different components that make it attractive to corporate users,” said Bill Guthrey, senior vice president of KDC. The complex, located along a nearly two-mile stretch of the 12-lane Sam Rayburn SH121 Tollway, is within 30 minutes of DFW Airport and six miles from Collin County Regional Airport.
GRANTING JOBS FOR OWENS CORNING AMARILLO (Amarillo Globe-News) – The Amarillo Economic Development Corp. (AEDC) board approved a grant of up to $1.5 million for job creation at Owens Corning Composite Materials LLC. The plant produces more than 300 types of composite mixtures that reinforce plastic structures. Owens Corning has proposed three expansion plans to the AEDC that would increase the plant’s capacity, creating 100 to 145 jobs. Amarillo’s facility generates an annual profit of $24.5 million and employs 468 workers.
TAX CREDIT BOOSTS EL PASO HOME SALES EL PASO (El Paso Times) – El Paso saw a 28.5 percent increase in existing home sales along with an 8.3 percent increase in median sales price compared with last April. “I think the increase is almost 100 percent due to the tax credit. Most of the sales were due to homebuyers rushing to get a home under contract before the deadline,” said Charles de Wetter, president of Coldwell Banker de Wetter Hovious, one of El Paso’s largest real estate companies. The median sales price of an existing home in April was $124,500 compared with 2009’s $115,000. “I think May’s numbers will come back down. The tax credit pulled buyers forward into April. I do not see it as a trend,” de Wetter said. The median sales price in March was $115,000.
LONGVIEW OPENS DOOR FOR A1 LONGVIEW (Longview News Journal) – Premiere Management completed the sale of the eight-acre industrial site at 6100 Tenneryville Rd. Bought by B2C Properties with the transaction handled by Eberhart and Miller Real Estate Services, the site is to be leased to A1 Door and Window. A1 Door and Window distributes atrium doors, windows and commercial store fronts and is one of the world’s largest door and window manufacturers.
$150M DATA CENTER UNDERWAY AUSTIN (GlobeSt.com) – A 250,000-sf data center will cost Data Foundry $150 million to develop in the southeast quadrant of the city as part of a 40-acre data center campus. Groundbreaking for the first phase, totaling 130,000 sf, is slated for next month with a 2011 completion date. The second phase will add 120,000 sf. The firm, which provides wholesale and retail data center outsourcing along with co-location and disaster recovery services, is currently leasing 40,000 sf in downtown Austin in addition to 5,000 sf in Houston. The other 28 acres of the planned campus are scheduled to be developed over the next several years.
@ THE CENTER To subscribe or unsubscribe to RECON or to view back issues go to the Real Estate Center's website. To send news items for consideration, e-mail Bryan Pope. The Real Estate Center is part of the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University in College Station - the heart of the Research Valley.
-------
Blue skies,
Sam White
979-589-4487
BrazosValleyPremierHomes.com
