G&E Nabs 2M-SF Leasing Assignment

For Grubb & Ellis managing director Kathy Permenter and senior vice president Russ Johnson, the assignment picks up where it was left off when the duo left CB Richard Ellis last fall. "We'd worked with Regis Property Management (Mercer Crossing's developer) while we were at CB," Permenter tells GlobeSt.com. "Regis just made a wholesale change on all of there leasing over there, and they called us to come back and work on the Mercer project." Grubb & Ellis vice president Heather Densmore is teaming with Permenter and Johnson on the leasing assignment.

Permenter says Regis Property Management LLC is developing infrastructure in the 1,200-acre mixed-use development that fronts Interstate 635 west to State. Highway 121. There is a vertical structure on the drawing board, another Hickory Centre building, but Permenter says no groundbreaking will take place until a user is found. The three-building Hickory Centre buildings one, two and four total 525,653 square feet and are located on Mercer Crossing Boulevard.

In the meantime, there is plenty of space available in the 696.524-square-foot, two-building Fenton Centre at 1501-1507 Interstate 635 and the three-building, 627,312-square-foot Browning Place at 1601-1607 Interstate 635. Johnson says a potential user could take up to 130,000 square feet at Fenton Centre and close to 150,000 square feet at Browning Place. What will help with the leasing, he adds, is that Regis Property Management is adding amenities including a fitness center and a conference facility.

Furthermore, Permenter says, Regis Property Management is an area developer and manager that knows how to be aggressive when it comes to getting the deals done. Though she declined to specify asking rents, area rates are in the $19-$22 per square foot range.