DALLAS-More deals and higher dollar count have driven Dallas-based Holliday Fenoglio Fowler to a record-breaking first quarter. It's all thanks to lower interest rates and a leveraging of real estate assets by institutional investors.

DALLAS-Directors Row LLC has given up on leasing and bought a 40,761-sf warehouse in Dallas' Brookhollow section. The marble fabricator already has crews on site retrofitting the building for its operation.

AUSTIN-Travis County has cut a list of nine architects for a 60,000-sf building down to three. A five-member team will have its recommendation for the commissioners by Tuesday. Final interviews already have started.

DENTON, TX-Years of waiting draw to a close as a Virginia-based developer kicks off an 80,000-sf build-to-suit project for a FEMA Processing Center. The 11 1/2-acre development upon completion in April 2002 brings a consolidation of two Denton sites.

KILLEEN, TX-A Grubb & Ellis Co. broker in Dallas, who's in charge of selling vacant 7-Elevens nationwide, has found a taker for a Killeen store. The couple has paid $180,000 for the retail site in comparison to one in Phoenix that has just netted $475,000.

AUSTIN-Research and development in Austin might have to take a back seat to logistics and distribution in a few years. Lots of land and proponents hope to turn the corridor into an L&D hub, a potential bolstered by cargo capability expansion at the airport.

BALCH SPRINGS, TX-An interior building at the Elam Village Shopping Center in Balch Springs has a new owner, Retirement Realty Equities. The seller's broker describes the sale as a bread-and-butter deal for the buyer.

DALLAS-It's not going to happen, say several Texas real estate professionals when asked about the likelihood of electronic transactions. A good portion of the deal can be done online, but clicks just aren't enough to close the deal.