HOUSTON-An additional 50,000 sf of office space delivers in the downtown district, where a number of historic properties have undergone renovations that are helping to ease the city's chokehold on space. Two new tenants have just signed for space in the 1904 Commercial National Bank Building.

AUSTIN-A recently opened 255,000-sf mall in Killeen already is a candidate for a 45,000-sf expansion. Trammell Crow reportedly is negotiating with two national retailers for the added space.

MCKINNEY, TX-The Sterling Cos. of McKinney, TX, is spearheading developments in Ft. Worth and Houston of a combined 826 units under a fee development agreement with ARL, a regional REIT. Construction is scheduled to begin in four to six months.

AUSTIN-A growing number of Austin commercial brokerage firms will test the capabilities of the Information Highway for showcasing their "bricks" on virtual tours via clicks from prospective tenants. Some brokers say high-tech leasing could make their trade more efficient.

HOUSTON-An office project in west Houston signs its first tenant, HCA/The Healthcare Co., sealing a deal for 100,552 sf of the available 136,800 sf in the two-story structure. HCA plans to house about 600 employees at the site.

AUSTIN-The buy-sell boom in Austin's commercial real estate market results in yet another transaction - the sale of the 132,900-sf Park North Office Building at 8200 and 8240 Mopac. The building is 97% leased.

AUSTIN-Valencia Hotels of Houston is undertaking a 100-room project in southeast Austin near the Austin-Bergstron International Airport. The project is part of the chain's expansion push in the western US, says the president of the franchise hotel

FT. WORTH-Ross Perot Jr.'s Hillwood Properties team gets a new player. An 18-year veteran of marketing communications in the metroplex is being tasked with developing and implementing strategies for three major developments.