Inland American Lodging Group bought The Fairmont Dallas for $69M as part of its efforts to expand more aggressively into full-service hotels, Inland's Dan Lombardo tells us.

Dan says Inland is a fan of Texas (did someone say fan! . . .oh not one for cooling). ?We have a lot of other properties besides hotels in Texas. The economy has performed well there in the past few years, and Dallas is one of those gateway cities for meetings,? he tells us. Worth noting: This is Inland's second acquisition in Dallas in less than a year. In October, the REIT bought a 407-room hotel at City Center and converted it into a Marriott (renovations to its guest rooms and public space are set for completion by year's end). Dan says the Inland portfolio is mostly limited-service Marriott Garden Inns, which are doing great as the lodging sector rebounds, but the REIT wanted to get into full service.

We're padding the Dallas stats with this sale, as the city already ranks among the top nine metros (accounting for 60% of all hotel trades valued in excess of $10M) showing the biggest jump in hotel investment with more than $287M spent from '09 through May '11. Cushman & Wakefield hospitality and gaming head  Eric Lewis says large, mostly coastal markets, are seeing higher RevPAR and occupancies from the return of business and leisure travelers. ?We're seeing this translate directly into higher investment volume in these markets and lending volumes as well.?

SALES

Tampa-based Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT acquired a Richardson data center for $28.9M. The 20k SF facility on 1.5 acres is fully leased by a national health organization. The facility includes more than 10k SF of technology infrastructure equipment, redundant power, and an air-cooled chiller infrastructure.

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Ibmak Investements purchased 72k SF of industrial space at 1417 and 1433 Wainwright in Carrollton from Genuine Parts Co. Dave Anderson of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller.

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Corinthian Real Estate purchased 6,500 SF of retail space at 3300 SE Loop 820 in Forest Hill from Forest Hill Loop. CBRE's Stroud Arthur  repped the seller.

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Digital Realty Trust acquired Datacenter Park Dallas from its JV partner for $53.2M. The 797k SF seven-building development property is in Richardson. Digital Realty Trust recently completed the development and lease up of the first 105k SF building at 1232 Alma Rd, according to SEC filings.

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6505 Paramount sold the 579k SF Aviall Distribution Center at 2750 Regent Blvd in Dallas. Transwestern's Thomas Clarke represented the seller.

NEW BUSINESS

Two real estate companies, Tonti Properties and Kodiak Capital Partners, joined forces to form New Start Capital, with a specialty in working with TIC ownership groups who face refinancing or foreclosure of their performing or non-performing multifamily and commercial properties. Rick Perdue is VP of New Start Capital and director of acquisitions for Tonti Properties. Kodiak Capital Partners is led by Denny Landers and Robert Schults.

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Richfield Hospitality signed a deal to manage the 431-room Sheraton Fort Worth Hotel & Spa for its owners, Presidio Cos. The property recently underwent a $48M renovation.

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NAI Robert Lynn opened a new downtown Fort Worth office in the DR Horton Tower at 301 Commerce St. NAI Robert Lynn plans to grow the company's presence in Fort Worth dramatically over the next few years from the four brokers launching this office. Todd Hubbard will serve as president of the Fort Worth operation. Michael Newsome will serve as market director for industrial in Fort Worth.Matt Siegel will be VP and Lauren Perry will be an associate.

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Cadence McShane Construction Co was selected by the Arlington Independent School District to complete the new two-story 45k SF expansion to Arlington High School at 818 West Park Row Dr in Arlington. Huckabee is providing the architectural services. The project has a July 2012 targeted completion.

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JBC Retail was tapped to lease Knox Street Promenade at 4415, 4425 and 4447 N Central Expressway as well as 4430, 4438 and 4447 McKinney Ave in Dallas. Total SF is almost 38k SF with almost 20k SF available. JBC Retail?s Mike Cagle and Taylor LeMaster are the brokers.

LEASES

Mastec signed a 20k SF industrial lease at 7613 Pebble Dr in Fort Worth. Lee & Associates? Donnie Rohde, Tyler Baucom, and Nick Holbeck  represented the landlord, Riverbend Properties. Transwestern's Frank Jester represented the tenant.

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AYC Group leased 31k SF of office/warehouse space in Gateway East Business Center Building II at 4009 Distribution Dr in Garland from Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services SVP Susan Singer and market director Chris Stout represented the landlord. Hudson Peters Commercial's Sara Fredericks represented the tenant.

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Total Turbine Services leased 10k SF of industrial flex space in Trinity West Business Park Building 1 at 2550 114th St in Grand Prairie from William J. Owen Trust and OMO Investment Co. Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services SVP Michael Spain and VP Jim Ferris represented the landlord in the direct deal.

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Samsung Telecommunications America leased 104k SF of industrial space at Plano Tech Center at 1000 Klein Rd in Plano from RREEF America REIT II Portfolio. CBRE's Dave Anderson, Pat O'Keefe, and David Liggitt represented the tenant.

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Regus Group-North Dallas renewed almost 20k SF of office space at 5601 Bridge St in Fort Worth from Bridgestone Realty. CBRE's Steve Rigby, Baron Aldrine, Peter Danna, Mike Cleary, and Mike Kay represented the tenant. Grubb & Ellis' Chris Wright repped the landlord.

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Whataburger Restaurants leased 41k SF of retail space at US 380 and Custer Road in McKinney from Hayco Realty. CBRE's David Copeland  and Jeff Kittleson represented the tenant. The duo also repped Whataburger  in a 38k SF space at 3320 E Broad St in Mansfield from The Shops at Mansfield.

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Optimal Blue renewed and expanded into a 10k SF lease in Parkwood Place in the LegacyPark. Finely Morrow?s Chris Morrow repped the tenant. JLL?s Steve Everbach, Jeff Eckert, James Esquivel, and Conor McCarthy repped the landlord, KBS Realty Advisors.

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Newsom Designs signed a new lease at 12921 Valley Branch in Dallas for 36k SF. Transwestern's Brant Landry represented the tenant.

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Becks Prime inked an almost 19k SF ground lease at 5931 Forest Ln in Dallas. The Retail Connection?s Mitch Traub repped the tenant.

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Austin Bridge & Road renewed and expanded its lease at 6330 Commerce Dr in Irving for 30k SF. Transwestern's David Wetherington represented the tenant.

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Magellan Health Services renewed its lease at 1301 Collins for 10k SF. Transwestern's Kim Brooks and Fletcher Cordell represented the landlord, Pearlmark Real Estate Partners. Kim also worked with Justin Miller to rep landlord, KBS Realty Advisors in a 10k SF renewal for Advanced Neuromodulation Systems at Tollway North Office Park.

PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

SmithGroup hired Leslie Brennan as director of biz dev for its Dallas office. Leslie is coming to SmithGroup from Fort Worth-based Hahnfeld Hoffer Stanford where she held the roles of associate principal and director of business development since 2005. Prior experience also includes 12 years with GC and design builder Haws & Tingle in Fort Worth, where she served as VP and director of business development.

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Matt Miller joined the corporate tenant advisory group in the Dallas Colliers International office as a senior associate. He will join Scott Morse, Scott Jessen, and Susie Webb and will focus on tenant advisory services specializing in strategic planning, consulting and transaction management services. He was previously with Newmark Knight Frank.

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Jones Lang LaSalle promoted several staffers including: Brooke Armstrong to SVP for office tenant representation; Michael Swaldi to SVP for industrial; Kevin Morrison to SVP for corporate solutions; Chelby Sanders to SVP for corporate solutions; Valle Caldwell to VP for project and development services; Jennifer Wood to VP for property management; and Terri Lazzari to assistant property manager for property management.