This Week's Houston Deal Sheet
Audubon Engineering Co., an engineering, procurement and construction services firm, signed a 72K SF lease at 3505 West Sam Houston Parkway N in Houston for its primary corporate office.
Built in 2013, 3505 West Sam Houston Parkway N is a four-story, multitenant office property totaling 227K SF. Amenities include a full-service café, fitness center, structured garage parking, floor-to-ceiling windows and an outdoor courtyard with seating. Adjacent to Interstate 10, the property is close to the Houston Energy Corridor.
Newmark’s Reggie Beavan, Joshua Brown and Audrey Selber represented the tenant in the transaction. CBRE’s Russell Hodges and Bubba Harkins represented the landlord, Azrieli Group, a real estate and holding company headquartered in Tel Aviv.
Founded in 1997, Audubon Cos. is a group of six affiliate companies with 15 office locations spanning North and South America.
PEOPLE
Uptown Houston’s board of directors announced that John Breeding will retire at the end of the year from his position as president of Uptown Houston District and administrator of Uptown TIRZ and Uptown Development Authority.
Michael Moore will become chief executive starting Dec. 1, the board announced.
Breeding led efforts that resulted in initiatives such as Uptown’s streetscape, Memorial Park’s master plan and redevelopment, the reimagined Post Oak Boulevard and the contribution of more than $265M to Houston’s Affordable Housing Program.
Moore has 30 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. He served as chief of staff to former Houston Mayor Bill White, held the role of senior director of communications for a Fortune Global 500 energy firm, managed the Houston office of an international PR agency and spearheaded regional efforts for the Texas Central high-speed railway.
“On behalf of the entire board, I would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to John Breeding for his 37 years of extraordinary service to Uptown District,” Kendall Miller, chairman of the board, said in a news release. “His unparalleled vision and diligence have brought numerous projects to fruition, and his legacy will benefit Houstonians for years to come.”
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The Signorelli Co. hired Harry Dinham as chief financial officer. He will oversee accounting and finance for the development company.
With nearly 30 years of experience as a senior financial executive and CFO, Dinham has overseen more than $2B in real estate transactions and has experience leading the accounting and finance functions for homebuilding operations, land acquisition, build-to-rent and property management.
Dinham was previously vice president of finance at Taylor Morrison Home Corp. His experience also includes serving as vice president of finance at McKinley Homes, chief financial officer of Traton Homes and chief consultant at HMBO Consulting.
SALES
Newman Kelly’s Logan Kelly represented the seller of a 43K SF office park in northwest Houston. The property was listed on Ten-X and had three bidders. The buyer was a local partnership.
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SVN | J. Beard Real Estate – Greater Houston facilitated the sale of a three-building, 15K SF mixed-use office retail center at 30643 FM 2978 in Magnolia.
Linda Crumley of SVN | J. Beard Real Estate – Greater Houston represented the seller, Lamerie 2978 LLC. Luís Tamborrel of Keller Williams Realty, Tamborrel Group, represented the buyer, BLXCK Investments Corp.
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St. John Vianney Catholic Church acquired two parcels totaling 1.3 acres at 14795 and 14803 Memorial Drive in Houston.
The 14795 parcel sits on the southwest corner of Memorial Drive and is the site of a bank building that will be torn down to develop green space to service the community, funded by St. John Vianney.
The 14803 parcel includes a restaurant that will be redeveloped into office and community space for the church. The additional real estate supports the growth and expansion of the parish.
Jason Baker of Houston-based Baker Katz represented St. John Vianney Catholic Church in the transaction. Claire Salazar and Josh Jacobs of The Blue Ox Group represented the seller.
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Dallas-based Apricus Realty Capital acquired its fourth industrial outdoor storage property with the purchase of 12400 and 12402 Taylor Road in Houston.
The acquisition consists of two buildings totaling 31.7K SF on 5 acres. The secured outdoor storage facilities include a concrete paved yard used for building materials storage and distribution.
Apricus Realty’s Matt Haley, Garrett Marler and Cort Martin self-represented Apricus in a programmatic joint venture with ABR Capital Partners. A programmatic joint venture is a means of structuring a series of commercial real estate investments between sponsors and capital partners, creating an infrastructure for two investors with similar goals to build a portfolio of investments.
LEASES
The Mexican, a fine dining Mexican restaurant, signed a lease in the 2.3M SF Class-A Four Oaks Place campus in Uptown. Transwestern’s Crystal Allen and Kim Bernick represented the landlord, Nuveen Real Estate, in the transaction.
The 10K SF freestanding restaurant is projected to be completed by early 2026. Abel Design Group will be the project architect.
The addition of The Mexican is the result of a years-long strategic plan to find the right operator to place among the existing hospitality offerings in Four Oaks Place, Skylar Huth, director of workplace, retail and mixed-use at Nuveen, said in a news release.
The Mexican’s menu will resemble that of its Dallas location, with several Houston-focused additions. Chodrow Realty Advisors’ Chelsea Padon and Alan Chodrow represented the tenant in negotiations.
CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT
H-E-B in Weitzman’s Manvel Town Center development officially opened on Wednesday. The 106K SF store was the first anchor to open in the development, which is designed to incorporate more than 1M SF of retail, entertainment, hospitality, medical and office space.
The project is at the intersection of State Highway 288 and State Highway 6 in the growing suburban market of Manvel.
Weitzman is managing the development of Manvel Town Center under the direction of Steve Chandler and JoBeth Prochaska. Weitzman’s James Namken and Kyle Knight will handle leasing. In addition to H-E-B, the Weitzman team is targeting destination retail along with restaurants, fitness, home furnishings and other concepts.
