FT. WORTH-North Texas is serving as a test market for restaurateur Sam Hamra, who is building a Baymont Inns & Suites in Lewisville while making plans for another in the Northlake section of AllianceTexas.

ROUND ROCK, TX-La Frontera's latest project is pushing the development schedule as plans unfold to build out the full retail component. Preliminary plans, now in the 17th version, call for up to 350,000 sf of high-end retail space.

FT. WORTH-A prime piece of real estate in a bustling Ft. Worth retail corridor has a new owner. Tri-State Commercial has paid a tad more than $16 million for the Hulen Bend Village Center, which had boasted a 94% occupancy at sale time.

GARLAND, TX-A Dallas-area man has secured one of the last big parcels of undeveloped land along Pleasant Valley Road near the George W. Bush Turnpike. Land in that part of Garland has been bringing upward of $19,500 per acre.

AUSTIN-Private Mini Storage has beefed up its stake in the state capital. The Houston-based operator now owns five high-end, climate-controlled facilities and is looking for more.

DALLAS-The Weitzman Group is laying groundwork for a retail play, bringing a high-end specialty consultant into the fold. Details are as closely guarded as those two days ago when an Austin office management shift set up a new division, Cencor Urban Properties.

CARROLLTON, TX-Teams from Henry S. Miller Commercial and Grubb & Ellis have inked a 37,824-sf warehouse deal in Valwood Industrial Park. The RREEF property will be used by Crawford Contracting as a distribution site for electrical supplies.

DALLAS-The Child Care Group has wrapped up a corporate headquarters relocation to the Twin Towers at 8585 N. Stemmons Freeway. The leading nonprofit nationwide has signed a long-term lease for 28,858 sf in the complex's south tower.