DALLAS-Michael O’Hanlon has joined Behringer Harvard as executive vice president. O’Hanlon also has been appointed CEO and president of the company’s commercial real estate funds, including Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT I Inc. and Behringer Harvard Opportunity REIT II Inc.

 “We’re very pleased to welcome Michael to Behringer Harvard,” said Robert Aisner, CEO and president of Behringer Harvard in a prepared statement. “We stand to benefit tremendously from Michael’s professional experience in operating public, non-traded alternative investment programs as well as his expertise in many other facets of real estate management. We’re confident that Michael’s strong leadership will be particularly beneficial to our opportunity-style investment programs.”

O’Hanlon previously served on the Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT II board of directors and as a member of its audit committee. The 30-year veteran has been active with the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, International Council of Shopping Centers and Urban Land Institute and is a past member of the Real Estate Roundtable.

 Most recently as COO and president of Billingsley Co., O’Hanlon managed their multifamily, office, retail and industrial portfolios. He also served from 2005 to 2009 as CEO and president of Inland Western Retail REIT Inc.

 O’Hanlon also has held management positions at other well-respected real estate and financial institutions. From 2001 to 2005, he was executive vice president and managing director of the Midwestern region of Grubb & Ellis Co. He also has had previous tenures at Cushman & Wakefield Inc., The Balcor Company, Citicorp Real Estate and Citibank REO. He has an MBA from Columbia University and a BS in accounting from Fordham University.

ACQUISITIONS/DISPOSITIONS

COLLEYVILLE, TX-Dallas-based commercial real estate developer Realty Capital sold 5.07 acres in its Meadows Creek development at Precinct Line and LaVaca Trail to US Memory Care, LLC.  The buyer plans to build a two-story, 58,000 square-foot facility with 75 beds to serve elderly residents and those suffering from memory loss.  Realty Capital was represented in house by Mark Boone, director of sales and leasing.

KATY, TX-Schlumberger Technology Corp. purchased 17.72 acres of land on Grand Parkway. The seller was United Central Bank. Griff Bandy and Jon Silberman of NAI Houston represented the buyer.

MESA, AZ-Camden Property Trust of Houston sold its 357-unit Camden Vista Valley at 922 S. Longmore St. to OMNI Capital LLC for $24.5 million.  Camden was represented by Mark Forrester and Ric Holway of the Phoenix office of Hendricks & Partners.

DEVELOPMENTS

ELECTRA, TX-McCarthy Building Cos. Inc. broke ground on the renovation and expansion of Electra Memorial Hospital. The 20,890-square-foot addition will create nine private and five semi-private patient rooms, a new rehabilitation department and a new computed tomography (CT) imaging area. This $11-million project will also include renovations of 15,000 square feet of the existing hospital.

The project is scheduled for completion in spring 2013. Rees Associates Inc. of Dallas is the architect.

LEASES

ARLINGTON, TX- Lyons Group renewed a 1,402 square-foot-lease at 2212 Arlington Downs Rd. Lyons Group has been a tenant at Arlington Downs since 2008. Judy Zoch-Nitzinger with SCM Real Estate Services represented the landlord in this transaction.

CARROLLTON, TX- Securus Technologies Inc. extended its lease to 59,856 square feet at 3000 Kellway Dr. Heather Densmore Shover  and Trae Anderson with Grubb & Ellis Co. represented landlord 3000 Kellway Drive Holdings LP. Jeffrey Ellerman, John Woolsey and Robert Blount of CBRE represented Securus.

FORT WORTH-FleetPride Inc. renewed 9,000 square feet of warehouse space at 912 Blue Mound Rd. Todd Lambeth with Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services represented the landlord in the direct deal.

GRAND PRAIRIE, TX-Amalgamated Sugar Co. leased 154,330 square feet at Parkway Distribution Center, 701-721 S. Parkway from First Industrial Realty Trust. Noel Hutcheson with Colliers International Dallas and Ashley Smith with Colliers International Savannah, GA represented the tenant. Mark Graybill and Donnie Rhode with Lee & Associates and Robert Allen with First Industrial Realty Trust represented the landlord.

GRAND PRAIRIE, TX-NW Sign Industries Inc. leased a 92,500-sf industrial building at 1170-80 109th St. from GP 1170 LLC. Michael W. Spain and Jim Ferris from Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services represented the landlord. Lissa E. Cooke of Cooke, Swaney & Cooke represented the tenant.

HOUSTON- Siemens Corp. expanded its office lease by 22, 817 square feet at Gateway I & II. The tenant will now occupy 53,941 square feet of space in the building. Brad Fricks and Paul Coonrod of Stream Realty Partners LP provided landlord representation for Miranda Office Partners in the agreement.  The property is located at 15333 John F Kennedy Blvd. near the George Bush International Airport.

HOUSTON- QA Holdings LP signed a 60,316-square-foot lease at 5 Houston Center at 1401 McKinney in the central business district. Paul Coonrod and Brad Fricks of Stream Realty Partners LP provided landlord representation for Wells REIT II in the transaction. Trey Strake and Chris Oliver with Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. served as cooperating brokers representing the tenant.

HOUSTON-Telecom Technicians Inc. leased 12,792 square feet at 18209 Chisholm Trail Rd. Coe Parker, B. Kelley Parker, III, John F. Littman and Tim M. Thomas with Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. represented the tenant.  John Kruse of Holt Lunsford Commercial Inc. represented the landlord, Cobalt Industrial REIT.

HOUSTON – Ward, Getz & Associates LLP expanded and extended its lease and will now occupy 5,567 square feet of office space at 2500 Tanglewilde St. Stream Realty Partners LP’s Adam Jackson and Crossley Davis represented the tenant. Landlord Woodlake Properties Ltd. was represented by Terri Torregrossa of Moody Rambin.

MESA, AZ- Mitel took down 83,264 square feet of office space in a 10-year lease at Riverview Point for its U.S. headquarters. Robert Stephens, Kurt Saulnier and Tricia Gumulka with Grubb & Ellis Co.’s Phoenix office represented Mitel in conjunction with Steven Morgan out of Grubb & Ellis’ Atlanta, GA office. Mitel expects to relocate its headquarters to 1146 N. Alma School Rd. from its current location in Chandler, AZ in summer 2012. Bryan Taute and Michael Strittmatter of CBRE represented the landlord.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Greg Abbott joins the Phoenix office of Cushman & Wakefield of Arizona Inc.

Edward Bane joins NAI Houston as senior vice president.

Kacy Jones joins CBRE’s Dallas office as first vice president from Jones Lang LaSalle.

Mark Peterson joins Behringer Harvard in Dallas as head of distribution-retail.

Clay Pritchett joins NAI Houston as senior associate.

MISCELLANEOUS

HOUSTON-The CBD’s historic post office at 401 Franklyn St. was selected as the site for the tenth annual Urban Land Institute (ULI) Gerald D. Hines Student Urban Design Competition.  The ideas competition, open to graduate-level students, provides multidisciplinary teams the opportunity to propose a long-term vision for creating a distinct identity for a new downtown Houston district.

The 2012 competition challenges teams to create a practical and workable scheme for the best use of approximately 16.3 acres owned by the United States Postal Service (USPS).  The competition is based on a hypothetical proposal in which a fictional entity, the Central Houston Foundation (CHF), acquired the option to purchase the site and determine its redevelopment goals and connections to the surrounding areas. According to the scenario, the CHF has committed a large endowment to both community development and the sustainable growth of Houston’s downtown in hopes of generating a revenue stream for its endowment while giving shape to a new downtown district.  In order to meet the owners’ demands, student teams will act as a master developer by proposing a master land use plan for the development site as well as supplying financial projections needed to support the master development plan.

The competition is open to graduate students who pursuing real estate-related studies at universities in the United States and Canada, including programs in real estate development, urban planning, urban design, architecture and landscape architecture. A $50,000 prize will be awarded to the winning team; and each of the remaining three finalist teams will receive $10,000.

The downtown post office was one of several hundred USPS properties put up for sale nation-wide in 2009 to offset the federal agency’s financial losses.  Land planners and real estate experts have suggested numerous possibilities for the property, which have included converting the land into public open space, mixed-use development that includes residential housing, as well entertainment venues. The competition jury consists of renowned experts in urban planning, design and development.