Baybrook Mall Expansion Opens Nov. 18

Bisnow took to the floor at the Texas ICSC convention in Dallas Thursday, where we learned that Baybrook Mall's expansion starts opening Nov. 18. But, wait, there's more. We found Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership marketing manager Barbara Cutsinger, who tells us the mall boasts many new tenants, including Zara, which will open its only Houston-area store outside of the Galleria. There's also Grimaldi's Pizza, Kona Grill, Dave & Buster's, Bar Louie and Star Cinema Grill, among many others. She says the openings will be staggered in the coming months.

Dunkin’ Donuts Growing to the West

It’s time to make the doughnuts! We found Dunkin’ Donuts’ Tim Hunt (Kingwood) and Paul Williams (DFW). The duo tells us they’d like to see more stores nationwide. Paul says there’s a lot of stores in the Eastern half of the country and growth is heading toward the Midwest. They like 2k to 3k SF combo locations with Baskin-Robbins on the morning side of the road. For Dunkin’ Donuts standalone stores, they’re looking for freestanding, end cap and in-line sites about 1,800 to 2,220 SF on the morning side of the road. They like CBD and urban locations with strong pedestrian traffic and visibility to the car traffic, too. Specifically, they like easy entry and exit into the parking lot with no more than two turns in or out.

Marriott Is Growing

Marriott International's Ron Stewart (right, with Corinth Properties' Terrence Maiden and Dowdle Real Estate's Lynn Dowdle) tells us Marriott is growing and Texas is the place to be. There is a sea of corporate growth and the metrics are right. He and Lynn have worked together on multiple deals and have more in the works, but they were hush-hush on the deets.

1031 Deals Are Hot

We ran into David Luther, Houston's regional manager for Marcus & Millichap (between Marcus & Millichap's Bill Jordan and Blake Burnett). The trio tells us the Texas market has better ROIs as well as population and job growth that is attracting 1031 money from out of state (particularly from California.) Many are getting up to 2% better ROIs all across Texas. There's also the rush to get deals done before the end of the year, which will keep retail brokers on their toes.