This Week's Houston Deal Sheet
An affiliate of Equus Capital Partners Ltd. purchased a 757.3K SF Class-A industrial portfolio in north Houston.
The portfolio comprises five industrial buildings constructed between 2008 and 2014. Three of the facilities are shallow bay rear-load buildings, while the other two buildings in the complex offer traditional cross-dock warehouse distribution space. The buyer intends to enhance curb appeal and refresh the look of the industrial park and will rebrand it as Park 845 Crossing.
The acquisition was made on behalf of Equus Investment Partnership XI LP, a fully discretionary value-add equity fund managed by Equus. The complex was 62% leased to 11 tenants at the time of acquisition. Park 845 Crossing is situated near the intersection of Interstate 45 and Beltway 88, along Esplanade Boulevard.
Equus Capital Partners’ Kyle Turner, Scott Miller and Phil Vecchiolli oversaw the acquisition for the firm.
PEOPLE
Lea Anne Leatherwood has been promoted to associate principal of the Houston studio of Perkins&Will. Having previously served as senior project manager in the areas of healthcare, laboratory and research-based projects, Leatherwood will now join the leadership team in the studio’s Science and Technology practice.
Leatherwood has been a part of multiple projects for Texas A&M University and has completed additional university-based science and technology efforts for University of Tennessee, University of Houston, Baylor University and University of Texas Southwestern. Other projects she has been involved with include Chimp Haven, NASA’s Space Medical Clinic and the Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman Women’s University in Saudi Arabia.
SALES
1220 Augusta LLC purchased a 112.9K SF office building at 1220 Augusta Drive in the San Felipe/Voss submarket. The buyer is an investment group. The new owners will occupy a portion of the space along with some existing tenants, with plans to lease-up the remaining space. Colliers International’s Christopher Winters and Jay Kyle represented the seller.
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Baker Katz purchased the remaining retail space of its Ella Boulevard property. The 34.8K SF building is located at 1805 Ella Blvd. Before the purchase, Baker Katz owned about 12.8K SF of the retail center, which it acquired in 2016. An exterior remodel is planned for Q4. Baker Katz purchased the property from Bayview Associates, in care of Kin Properties Inc.
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Bold Fox Development, in a partnership with HistoryMaker Homes, Chesmar Homes and Empire Communities, has closed on 470 acres in Waller for an agrarian-inspired residential community. The tract is along Highway 290, FM 362 and Owens Road, and was purchased from the Wood family. The community will offer about 1,200 homes. Land Advisors Organization’s Duane Heckmann and Kirk Laguarta represented the buyers, while NAI Partners’ Alex Makris and Jeff Pittman represented the seller. Capital advisory services were provided by Land Advisors Capital’s Michael Zarola and Cooper Glass.
LEASES
Fort Bend Memorial Planning Center leased 16K SF at Plaza at Highway 6, located at 15040 Highway 6 in Rosharon. Resolut RE’s Eric Broussard and Benny Nguyen represented the landlord.
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Xavier Educational Academy leased 32K SF, occupying an entire floor at 1001 West Loop South in the Galleria area. While Xavier previously operated out of separate West University, Memorial and Woodlands campuses, the new space will bring all students under one roof. TB Advisor’s Melissa Forrest represented the tenant, while S.E. Covington & Co.’s Scott Covington represented the landlord. The school is being designed by Margaret Douglass of CDI Douglass Pye Inc., and John Furnace of RubiCrown Commercial Real Estate LLC will serve as the general contractor.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
PopStroke Entertainment Group will open the first Texas-based Tiger Woods-designed golf entertainment facility in NewQuest Properties’ Katy Grand development in west Houston. Its experiential, family-driven concept features two 18-hole courses created by Tiger Woods’ TGR Design team. The project also includes a full-service restaurant, a bar, an ice cream parlor, outdoor games and a playground.
PopStroke is expected to open in summer 2022 on a 3.2-acre tract, the last available site in Katy Grand’s Phase II. The new attraction will include an 8K SF restaurant.
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Arch-Con Corp. broke ground on the first phase of the Medical Center of Tomball. Located northwest of Houston off Highway 249 at 155 School St., the project is developed by Bryant + Stacy Group in collaboration with Global Healthcare Partners. Phase 1 is a three-story, 64.4K SF medical office building designed by Browne McGregor Architects. It was 97% pre-leased prior to breaking ground.
FINANCING
Schneider Electric refinanced its 109.8K SF Class-A office property. The transaction was structured with a fully amortizing 25-year term on a 3.5% interest rate. NorthMarq’s Matt Franke arranged the permanent fixed loan for the borrower through its correspondent relationship with StanCorp, a life insurance company.
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NorthMarq’s Matt Franke and Ray Driver secured the refinancing for Westchase Corporate Center, a Class-B industrial-flex building at 10111 Richmond Ave. The transaction was structured with a 15-year term on a 25-year amortization schedule. NorthMarq arranged financing for the borrower through its correspondent relationship with a life insurance company.
THIS AND THAT
Palace Social, the newly imagined reincarnation of Palace Bowling Lanes, will debut this June. Located at 4191 Bellaire Blvd., the 27K SF space has been refashioned into a dining and entertainment concept.
In addition to a 159-seat open area restaurant and lounge, Palace Social will be home to eight bowling lanes along with an extensive 3.9K SF, 600 SF esports lounge, virtual reality games, two multi-sport simulators and three event rooms that can be configured into spaces equipped with oversized flat-screen TVs and karaoke systems.
The contemporary rustic interior was designed by Houston-based Tramonte Design Studio in tandem with Gin Design Group, along with retro chic branding by creative agency BLKBOX.
