Houston

HOUSTON-The local REIT pays $8.3 million for Pima Norte, a five-building office condo project in Carefree, AZ. The 50,000 sf will be leased rather than sold as condos.

HOUSTON-Lowe Enterprises and Buchanan Street Partners buy the class A tower from Transwestern Investment, opening the play with a plan to put $1.5 million into upgrades.

HOUSTON-With contiguous class A blocks declining and rents rising, more tenants are turning to class B buildings. In the past year, class B's vacancy rate has dropped 8%.

CONROE, TX-Woodforest Development will start infrastructure work by year's end for the first phase of a master-planned community that includes 70 acres of commercial space.

HOUSTON-An Oklahoma City partnership replaces interim financing with $28.9 million in a 75% LTV package for the 377,750-sf build-to-suit for National Oilwell Varco.

HOUSTON-Phillips Development cranks up work on the last phase of the $211-million condo project near Texas Medical Center. The next wave of condos will deliver in fall 2008.

HOUSTON-TA Realty Advisors' Fund VIII buys Retreat at Cypress Station from a local developer. Similar assets in the market are selling for $110,000 per door.

HOUSTON-The buyer gets Parkgreen Apartments and neighbor, Parkway Apartments from unrelated sellers. About $4,000 per door will go into upgrading the class C assets.