First of Three Centers Sells From Estate Liquidation

HOUSTON-A Denver-based investment group has bought one of three shopping centers on the market due to the owner's death. The first to go is 58,279 sf of inline space in a 113,810-sf center anchored by an H-E-B grocery store in South Houston.

The Grubb & Ellis Co. team of George Cushing, senior vice president, and Paula Foster, vice president, are selling the package for DR-Three Clear Lake Properties LLC, an affiliate of the Dennis Ranzau Estate, with Amanda Martin Brock as its representative. Cushing tells GlobeSt.com that there was "heated competition" for the purchase and indications are that it traded close to the $10.6-million asking price. Of the 11 offers, the highest one was accepted.

The 6.1-acre center at 1000 Bay Area Blvd. was sold to Antero Realty Fund, an affiliate of Southwestern Investment Group led by Bill Utz and Brian Cuje. The 55,513-sf H-E-B store was not part of the sale.

Cushing says the buyer assumed a $7.2-million loan with a 7.7% fixed-rate interest and another seven years left on the term. The lender is Principal Commercial Funding from the Midwest. The center was 89% leased at sale time. The new owner hired Shawn Ackerman with Henry S. Miller Commercial's Houston office to lease the property.

The H-E-B Center Bay Area Boulevard was built in 1997. The others, developed in the late 1990s, are the Westlake Atascocita and Kroger Center Cypresswood. The Westlake property at 7514 FM 1960 contains 15,000 sf and is fully leased to nine tenants. It includes two freestanding buildings: 6,536 sf leased to Blockbuster Video and 3,000 sf occupied by Whataburger. The Westlake center, with an asking price of nearly $4 million, is under contract to a California buyer with 1031 Exchange funds, Cushing says.

The Kroger Center Cypresswood at the intersection of 10010 Cypresswood and US Highway 249 is tagged at $7 million. It contains 35,458 sf of inline space and the 55,795-sf grocery anchor, like the just-sold asset, is not for sale.