WHITE SETTLEMENT, TX-Louisiana buyer 7924 Emerald Crest Investments LLC beat out 36 other offers for ownership bragging rights to the 168-unit Crestview Apartments.  The first-time Texas buyer paid north of the $2.8-million asking price in an all-cash transaction.

The complex at 7924 Emerald Crest Blvd. was in foreclosure and the brokers representing the seller--a special servicer on behalf of the bond holders of the CMBS loan JPMCC 2005-LDP2 Emerald Crest Drive LLC--acknowledged the 37 offers received for the class B complex was above their expectations.

“Sixteen of the offers came with non-refundable earnest money,” comments Todd Franks with Cantrell Co. & Partners in Dallas. “All of them were very good offers.” Franks, who partnered with Sam Pettigrew on behalf of the seller tells GlobeSt.com that the asset’s appeal lay in the fact that it boasts an 88% occupancy with plenty of upside potential, thanks to under-market rents. Furthermore, “it wasn’t in bad condition,” Pettigrew notes. “It will require some work, but there aren’t a lot of down units there.”

The buyer ended up with the complex thanks to a hefty earnest payment and a 15-day close. “He’ll clean it up a little, run it properly and increase the rents,” Pettigrew remarks. “This guy wanted to go into the Dallas real estate business, and this was a good fit for him.”

Dispositions

DALLAS-Henry S. Miller Cos. sold the 50,254-square-foot Lakeside Village to Retail Plazas, Inc. Henry S. Miller brokers Vaughn Miller and Robert Grunnah handled the transaction. Lakeside Village was originally developed in 1986 by Property Company of America then acquired in 1994 by Terry Worrell.  Henry S. Miller purchased the property in 1999 through a partnership organized by Miller Investment Partners Inc., headed up at that time by Michael McAuley and David Donosky. The Henry S. Miller Retail Division, headed by Vaughn Miller, oversaw leasing and development of the property during the last 12 years. 

Leases

DALLAS-Lipscomb & Cathey Insurance leased 10,003 square feet of office space at St. Paul Place, 750 N. Saint Paul St.. Jones Lang LaSalle’s Brad Selner and Brooke Armstrong negotiated the lease on behalf of the tenant. Peloton’s Grant Sumner represented the owner, Saint Paul Place Acquisition Partners LP.

DALLAS-Sonkrish Inc. signed a lease for 8,125 square feet at Irving Boulevard Business Center, 2939 Irving Blvd.  Matt Thompson, Phil Rosenfeld and Kevin Brookmole with Colliers International represented the building owner, Two Medicine Realty.

DALLAS -Societe Generale leased 8,344 square feet at Lincoln Centre. The global financial services organization is moving its corporate and investment banking office to Lincoln Centre from the Crescent. Matt Schendle and Meredith Durham of Cousins Properties represented asset owner TIAA-CREF.  Lauren Napper and Seth Weinstein of Newmark Knight Frank, represented Societe Generale.

FARMERS BRANCH, TX-1Sol Tech Inc. leased 52,031 square feet of industrial space at Valwood Park III, located at 1920 Diplomat Dr. Jones Lang LaSalle’s Kacy Jones and Forshey Hoobler represented the owner, RREEF. Tim Strandberg with 3L Realty represented the tenant.

FORT WORTH-Granite Security signed a 21,491-square-foot lease for warehouse space at 1400 Everman Pkway. Nick Talley with Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services represented the tenant. Conti & Sons Ltd., owner of 1400 Everman Parkway, had in-house broker Ryan Wood negotiating on its behalf.    

HOUSTON – ThinOps Communications LLC leased 14,478 square feet at Two Arena Place, 7324 Southwest Fwy. and 17,000 square feet at 6201 Bonhomme. Both buildings are in southwest Houston. Rich Pancioli and Jon Lee of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenant in both transactions. Alex Kakhnovets, Dawn Eastridge and Pamela Roesner of Boxer Property represented the owners.

HOUSTON-Wireco Worldgroup Inc. signed a lease expansion for 26,492 square feet of warehouse space at 5301 Polk St. James E. Foreman and Louis “Beau” Kaleel of Cushman & Wakefield represented the tenant. Ed Frantz of CB Richard Ellis represented the landlord, Pelec Central City Ltd.

IRVING, TX-Select Millwork Inc. signed a 10,800-square-foot lease at Union Bower Business Park, 300 Union Bower Court. Colliers International’s Phil Rosenfeld, Matt Thompson and Kevin Brookmole represented the landlord. Jim Svidron with NAI Robert Lynn represented the tenant.

Construction

HOUSTON – Bertling Logistics, Inc. has completed construction of a 52,000-square-foot office/warehouse building on 6.576 acres at 19054 Kenswick Dr. in the Houston International Trade Center. The building will serve as Bertling’s North America corporate headquarters. The land site was purchased in July 2010 from Houston International Trade Center LP.  The facility consists of 12,000 square feet of office space and 40,000 square feet of warehouse/distribution space. Kingham Dalton Wilson Ltd. handled the construction.  Lane Guinn of JLM Commercial Advisors Inc. represented the buyer.

Capital Markets

AVONDALE, AZ- Crown Realty & Development has obtained $5.6 million in first mortgage financing for the 196-unit Edgewater Apartments at 102 S. 4^th Ave. Financing was based on a 7-year term and a 30-year amortization schedule.  James DuMars of NorthMarq Capital’s Regional office and Michael Elmore with NorthMarq’s Los Angeles office arranged the loan through its seller-servicer relationship with Freddie Mac.

BRENHAM, TX-The owner of the 16,066-square-foot Brenham Crossroads, a retail center, obtained first-mortgage financing in the amount of $2.6 million. Tony Gray of NorthMarq Capital’s Houston office, arranged a fixed-rate  mortgage based on a 10-year-plus five term and a 15-year amortization schedule through its correspondent relationship with Symetra Life Insurance Co.

Executive Moves

AUSTIN, TX –Andrew Cornwell has been hired as a research analyst in SRS Real Estate Partners’ Austin/San Antonio office.  Cornwell will contribute to Austin’s research department where he will be updating aerials, running demographics, and making sure the office is abreast of up-to-date retail market trends. Prior to this role, Cornwell was an intern for SRS where he focused on research while working closely with the investment sales team.  Cornwell recently graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor of arts in government and a minor in business.

DALLAS-Behringer Harvard has promoted Robert S. (Bob) Aisner to chief executive officer. M. Jason Mattox has been named chief operating officer. Aisner will continue to serve as presiden, a position he has had since March 2006. Robert M. Behringer, the firm’s founder and previous CEO, will continue to serve as chairman. Mattox, who most recently had the position of chief administrative officer, now will serve as the sole executive in charge of operations. This responsibility was previously shared between Aisner and Robert J. Chapman, who remains with Behringer Harvard as executive vice president with a focus on strategic initiatives.

FORT WORTH- Ty Smith has joined Panther Transaction Group. Smith most recently consulted with numerous Fort Worth investment entities about financial and development related issues. He also has worked in the real estate markets of Fort Collins and Denver, Co. Smith received a B.S. in Communication Studies from TCU and a Master’s of Science in Real Estate and Construction Management from Denver University. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Urban Land Institute and the Greater Fort Worth Real Estate Council.

HOUSTON-Transwestern has hired Micha van Marcke, Vanessa Thon-Barfuss and Chace Pickett to the company’s retail services group. The team will specialize in retail investment strategy, asset management and retail leasing.

TUCSON, AZ – Holualoa Cos. has hired Stanton Shafer as executive vice president, operations.  In his new role Shafer will focusi on managing the company’s 6 million square foot portfolio of national and international properties, including 3,000 apartment units.  Shafer’s background includes 22 years as a successful Capital Markets broker with Cassidy Turley BRE Commercial, joining the company in 1989 when it was Grubb and Ellis. Prior to his career as a real estate broker, Shafer spent 10 years as a practicing real estate attorney.