HOUSTON-A NJ architect will team with a Houston firm to design the 270,000-sf branch building for the Federal Reserve Bank.

HOUSTON-Old Republic Exchange takes over as the new owner of an 18,000-sf shopping center along the Gulf Freeway in the city's southeast sector. The 16-year-old center sits on one-acre in a major retail corridor.

HOUSTON-The Atlanta-based Brookdale Group has contracted to buy the Eldridge Place I & II office towers in west Houston. The sales price is expected to be in excess of $50 million.

AUSTIN-General Bandwidth, a telecommunications equipment manufacturer based in the city, is quadrupling its office space, leasing an extra 80,000 sf at 12303 Technology Blvd. Founded in June 1999, the firm has grown from four employees to 225 and plans to add another 75 by year's end.

HOUSTON-Old World Venice collides with the New World economy with a 600,000-sf retail center, Portofino, prepping to open its doors for business. The $75 million project includes an arched bridge, canal with gondola taxis, waterfalls and centerpiece fountain.

AUSTIN-Promontory Point has changed hands, with the new owners - a Dallas-based partnership - shelling out more than $20 million for the six-building complex. Apple Computer Inc. leases 100,000 sf of the 235,000-sf complex.

IRVING, TX-New York City-based Citigroup, the nation's largest financial group, is taking over The Associates First Capital Corp., headquartered in Irving, TX, in a $29.4 billion pact announced yesterday. The Associates, around since 1918, will lose its name with Citigroup planning to operate the newly crafter consumer finance unit under the banner of CitiFinancial.

COLLEGE STATION, TX-It's a sign of the times: 60% of the respondents to a Texas Association of Realtors membership survey say they are doing business on the Information Highway, according to results released from the Texas A&M Real Estate Center in College Station. The highest use reported by respondents is property listings followed with a close second for advertising purposes.