Dallas developer banks on e-commerce with large industrial constructing east of Houston

California chemical distributor eyes DFW Airport project
A California-based chemical distributor is working on expanding its North Texas footprint with a new campus near DFW International Airport.
Coast Southwest, a 35-year-old company with operations in California, Texas, Utah, Arizona and New Jersey, is planning an office and distribution complex in Irving. (more…)
Randall Davis Launches New Luxury Condo Project

Warehouse Sector Reaches New Heights as User Demand for Flexibility, Variation Increases
Trammell Crow is developing Park 8Ninety, a 127-acre project in the southwestern Houston suburb of Missouri City that will feature elevated clear heights, large floor plates and ample parking spaces for both automobiles and trailers.
By Nazir Khalfe, Principal, Powers Brown ArchitectureHaving designed multiple millions of square feet of speculative and build-to-suit industrial buildings in my career, I’ve witnessed some striking trends over the past two decades, especially with the advancements made in tilt-wall construction.
The ability to go higher and store and ship more product with today’s technology is creating an ever-changing landscape for industrial product. We have witnessed the boom of e-commerce, advancements in logistics and automation, and all the while tried to keep up with the dynamic market forces that produce a successful industrial park.

Nazir Khalfe, Powers Brown Architecture
Since the Great Recession, demand for industrial space has been at a premium, not only in Texas but also in most markets throughout the United States. Out of necessity for how our lives are changing, the industrial market has become the darling of the real estate industry. In 2020, thanks to the exponential growth of e-commerce activity and manufacturing jobs, we are breaking new ground on how a standard industrial park looks, feels and operates.
While COVID-19 has not changed the expansive, open-space feel of warehouses where social distancing is inherently built-in, the pandemic has started to impact the industrial world on the development side.
Developers and REITs are starting to see better returns on investment, as well as additional opportunities to expand their holdings. These opportunities came about as supply chain disruption during the first few weeks and months of the stay-at-home orders identified a weakness in the ability to keep necessary goods stocked for mass distribution.
With that need in mind, we are not only seeing greater demand for speculative space across the nation, but more requirements for flexibility and for variation within those spaces. (more…)
Geoform – 2020 AIA Houston Design Award – Divine Detail

ENR Texas & Louisiana Snapshot: Post HTX

Work continues on Post HTX, the repurposing of Houston’s former central post office at 401 Franklin St. into a mixed-use complex containing office, retail, entertainment and dining. The $95-million, 550,000-sq-ft project by developer Lovett Commercial is led by a team of lead design architect OMA New York, executive architect Powers Brown Architecture and general contractor Harvey Builders. IMEG Corp. is providing structural design. (more…)
Hallmark Floors

Here’s How Offices Of The Future May Compete With Remote Work

View Chimera
Here’s when the 20-story luxury condo/hotel shaping SA’s skyline will open
One of the tallest and most anticipated downtown developments under construction in San Antonio is making progress.
In January 2018 construction began on the Arts Residences and the Thompson Hotel, a 20-story high-rise tower at 123 Lexington Ave. across from the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. Completion of the hotel and the first of 59 residential units is set for this summer. More condos will be completed throughout the year depending on demand and customizations, according to DC Partners. (more…)
Dallas firm breaks ground on distribution center in north Houston

Trammell Crow Co. has broken ground on a 352,303-square-foot speculative distribution center in north Houston, the Dallas-based firm announced Feb. 28.
Trammell Crow is developing the project, dubbed Rankin 45 Distribution Center, as a joint venture with New York-based Clarion Partners. The companies also partnered last year to acquire the former Weiser Airpark in Cypress and adjacent land. They plan to build an industrial project on that property as well. (more…)
Pre-sales begin at Houston’s luxury residential tower The Paramount
It's safe to assume a new residential tower will offer luxury units when it celebrates the grand opening of its sales gallery. And without a doubt, The Paramount in the River Oaks area is expected to debut as a lavish new housing building when its opens to the public.
For now it's accepting offers starting at $1 million for its 50 units, which can be previewed at an interactive 4,500-square-foot sales center on the ground floor near the intersection of Westheimer and Weslayan. (more…)
Dallas developer plans 45-acre industrial park in NW Houston

A Dallas-based real estate developer plans to build a four-building industrial business park in northwest Houston that is scheduled to deliver by the end of 2020.
Jackson-Shaw confirmed it has purchased a 45-acre parcel at the intersection of FM 1960 and Bobcat Road to build an industrial business park, dubbed Nexus Park NorthWest.
(more…)Luxe Randall Davis condo tower opens sales center, begins presales

Hines delivers first phase of industrial park in south Houston

Houston-based Hines has completed the first phase of an industrial park just inside Beltway 8 near Missouri City, and the second phase is underway.
The first phase of the Boulevard Oaks Business Park project delivered four buildings, which encompass 450,000 square feet of Class A industrial space. (more…)
Class A Industrial/Flex Campus EDGE 470 Breaks Ground

Seefried, USAA Break Ground on 221,393 SF Ella West Crossing Industrial Project in North Houston

Randall Davis unveils design for Westheimer tower
Randall Davis has finalized plans to build a high-end condominium tower in the River Oaks area, the Houston developer’s newest towering addition to the urban landscape.
Davis, whose most recent project was Arabella, a contemporary structure on San Felipe with glass balconies and a spalike indoor pool, said the design for his new building will have a more classic style. (more…)
Luxurious River Walk condos keep breaking records ahead of grand opening
Remember when The Arts Residences broke a record last summer by being the fastest-selling condominium project in Texas? It's time to add another accolade to the development's list, as it has now topped off — or finished its vertical construction — with a little less than a year from its targeted completion date.
But that's not all. Eager buyers have been scooping up the one-, two-, and three-bedroom condos at an incredible rate, leading The Arts Residences to be 85 percent pre-sold already. (more…)
Koontz Completes 327,000 SF Foster Ridge Distribution Center in Northeast San Antonio

Lamar Hunt family enters Houston Industrial real estate arena

Jeffrey Brown, FAIA inducted into the TCA College of Fellows

Jackson Shaw breaks ground on Humble industrial project
OMA and Powers Brown Architecture Unveil Adaptive Reuse Design for Houston’s 1962 Central Post Office Building

Conn’s opens 656,658-SF Distribution Center in North Houston

New Office Development Breaks Ground in Katy – Spec Project to Rise West of Houston
long-anticipated post office redevelopment in downtown houston moves forward
Almost four years after purchasing downtown Houston’s former Barbara Jordan Post Office, Lovett Commercial is finally ready to unveil formal plans for it.
The Houston-based developer has scheduled a groundbreaking ceremony for the project on June 27, according to a media alert. Formal plans and renderings will be released at that time, but the media alert confirms that the over 550,000-square-foot building will become a mixed-use development featuring "international cuisine, retail, art, music and innovation."
(more…)Retail, office space proposed for downtown St. John’s parking lot

Building will cover ‘very, very underutilized’ property, Mayor Danny Breen says
Merritt to build 860,000-square-foot warehouse in Harford County

Merritt Properties is planning an 860,000-square-foot warehouse in Harford County, adding to the region's growing industrial market.
The building will be the first at the new 98-acre Tower Logistics Center at 1225 S. Philadelphia Blvd. in Perryman off Route 40. Development of the warehouse with more than 150 dock bays, four drive-in doors and 200 trailer parking spaces, will begin in the fall.
Leasing for the facility is underway, said Noelle Hewitt, a spokeswoman for Baltimore-based Merritt. Bill Pellington and Jon Casella of CBRE's Baltimore office have been hired as brokers.
The large warehouse is expected to be completed in late 2020 and will add to the growing industrial market in the suburban Baltimore area. (more…)
Powers Brown Architecture’s Jeanette Shaw says quality control can boost the bottom line

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT SLATED FOR HOT CORNER IN SOUTHWEST HOUSTON
Houston-based 4M Investments and New York-based Clarion Partners have formed ajoint venture to build the Waypoint Business Park in the southwest Houston submarket. The project, on more than 60 acres at the northwest corner of Beltway 8 and U.S. 90, is designed to contain 850,000 square feet of warehouses in multiple buildings next to Ben E. Keith, Best Buy and FedEx.
Principal Real Estate Investors launches expansion of SE Houston Industrial Park
By Katherine Feser

Principal Real Estate Investors will expand its Bay Area Business Park with a third phase that will add 1.33 million square feet to the southeast Houston industrial submarket, Stream Realty Partners announced.
Stream, a real estate development and management company, got approval to expand the park following Principal's acquisition of 95 acres adjacent to the park, which was developed on 137 acres at Red Bluff Road and Bay Area Boulevard beginning in 2009. Stream developed the park, which will total at least 3.35 million square feet with the expansion.
Phase III will consist of three buildings of 250,000, 300,000 and 784,000 square feet, with the largest building expandable to 1 million square feet. The project is near Port Houston's Bayport and Barbours Cut shipping terminals.
(more…)POWERS BROWN ARCHITECTURE PROMOTES AJ BRENEMAN, AIA, RID TO PRINCIPAL
Powers Brown Architecture, an international professional services firm practicing architecture, interior design, programming and urban design, has promoted AJ Breneman, AIA, RID, to principal in the firm’s Houston office. She most recently served as a Senior Design Manager.
“AJ came to Powers Brown Architecture fresh out of architecture school and quickly proved her acumen and agility in translating her academic architectural design skills to the commercial marketplace. Her exceptional design talent, coupled with her skills in client relations and professional leadership, have enabled her to ascend from team member to Design Team Manager, and now, I’m proud to say, Principal,” noted Jeffrey Brown, FAIA, Founding Principal and CEO.
Galleria-area condo Arabella’s first residents to move in next week
Galleria-area condo Arabella's first residents to move in next week
Powers Brown Architecture & AEC Cares Volunteers make upgrades at Santa Maria Hostel in Spring Branch

High-rise Spotlight: Arabella in River Oaks District

520K SF plastic resins facility in Cedar Port Industrial Park begins construction
Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. is developing a 519,224-square-foot facility (left) for Plastic Bagging & Packaging Inc. next to PBP's existing facility (right).
PBP currently is on 68 acres at 515 E. Grand Parkway S. in Baytown, and the new facility is being constructed adjacent to the company’s existing building.
Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. is the developer for the 519,224-square-foot project, which is being built on land acquired by an affiliate of Canadian real estate investment trust Artis REIT this past spring, according to a press release from Trammell Crow. Jim Pratt and Mike Taetz with Colliers International represented PBP in the deal.
The new rail-served distribution facility is expected to be complete in summer 2019. It will feature 32-foot clear-height distribution space, 60-foot speed bays, a 65-foot clear-height roof pop-up for an indoor silo, and approximately 8,000 square feet of office space.
The facility’s form, fill and seal production line will be able to process 70 tons of resin per hour, and there will be about 9,500 track feet of rail for PBP to store and switch rail cars. Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe serve PBP’s property.
(more…)90K SF distribution center in Katy breaks ground
High Point West, an 89,440-square-foot industrial distribution center, broke ground in mid-August. It's located on a 7-acre parcel at 1039 Schlipf Road in Katy.
The Katy area will soon be home to another industrial facility.
Houston-based developer Mars Properties LLC and general contractor Houston-based LaGrone Services Ltd. broke ground Aug. 20 on High Point West, according to a press release from Los Angeles-based CBRE Group Inc. (NYSE: CBRE), whose Houston office is handling the marketing and leasing. Investment costs were not disclosed.
The Class A, 89,440-square-foot industrial distribution center will be on 7.25 acres at 1039 Schlipf Road and is expected to be complete by spring 2019, per the release. It includes a 2,000-square-foot office area, 32-foot clear height, heavy power capabilities and access to controlled truck courts, per leasing materials. Houston-based Powers Brown Architecture is the architect for the project.
(more…)Spec industrial development breaks ground in Baytown

First move-ins at luxe condo Arabella slated for October

Exclusive: Houston developer buys 12 acres in NW Houston for spec industrial project
An aerial view of Satsuma Station Industrial Park, a 115-acre industrial park in northwest Houston.
Click here for full article.Med Clinic coming to Baytown
Metal Construction News – Galveston Transit Terminal

Dallas developer building another spec industrial project in Houston
Dallas-based Crow Holdings Industrial announced last week that it broke ground on Victory Commerce Center, a spec industrial project in the southeast Houston area.
The project is a 349,050-square-foot Class A, cross-dock, tilt-wall distribution building, according to a press release. It’s at 2851 E. Pasadena Blvd. in Deer Park, near the Port of Houston. The building is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2019, per the release. Houston-based Powers Brown Architecture designed it, and Katy-based Rosenberger
Powers Brown Architecture promotes Prestenbach

Hotel breaks ground in massive mixed-use development in northeast Houston
A Courtyard by Marriott hotel broke ground last week in Generation Park, Houston-based McCord Development Inc.’s 4,000-acre master-planned commercial park at the northeast corner of Beltway 8.
Oxford, Ohio-based Hotel Development Services is developing the hotel — the company’s first in Texas — on a 1-acre site, according to a press release. Expo Construction Group is the general contractor, and Mark Carlsen Design and Powers Brown Architecture worked on the project’s design and architecture. HDS will partner with American Hospitality Management to oversee the hotel’s day-to-day construction and management.

The five-story, 144-room hotel will include more than 2,000 square feet of meeting space, a business center, 24-hour market, large fitness center, outdoor pool, casual workspaces and a bistro offering grab-and-go food options and Starbucks Coffee, per the release. Twenty-four of the rooms will have balconies overlooking a plaza, and the hotel’s design will be integrated into the pedestrian promenade of Redemption Square, a 52-acre mixed-use district within Generation Park. (more…)
Large industrial development breaks ground in Humble

Koontz Begins Work on 327,000 SF Distribution Center in San Antonio
Foster Ridge Distribution Center, a 327,000-square-foot industrial facility in northeast San Antonio, is slated for a first-quarter 2019 completion.
SAN ANTONIO — Koontz Corp., a San Antonio-based development firm, has begun work on Foster Ridge Distribution Center, a 327,000-square-foot industrial facility in northeast San Antonio. The property will be situated on a 21-acre site that is located near a distribution center leased to Dollar General and an 871-acre site that was acquired by H-E-B last fall. The cross-dock facility will feature 32-foot clear heights, 75 dock-high overhead doors, 130-foot truck courts and an ESFR sprinkler system. Foster Ridge Distribution Center will be able to accommodate a single large user or multiple smaller tenants. The groundbreaking ceremony will be held later this week and completion is slated for the first quarter of 2019. Houston-based Powers Brown is serving as the architect for the project and San Antonio-based R.C. Page is serving as general contractor. HFF arranged financing for the project through Voya Financial Inc. and Dallas-based Catlyn Capital Corp. Click here for full article. Taylor Williams, Rebusiness OnlineMarket Center Renovation Pays Homage to Denver’s pa


thompson san antonio and the arts residences celebrate groundbreaking

Groundbreaking next week for Thompson San Antonio Hotel/The Arts Residences

with thanks

Jeffrey Brown, FAIA Named CEO of Powers Brown Architecture

Brennan enters Denver market with 150,000-sf industrial bldg

Powers Brown Architecture Announces International Expansion
Firm Opens Canada Headquarters in Toronto
HOUSTON – October 26, 2017 – Powers Brown Architecture announces the opening of the firm’s Canadian Headquarters in Toronto providing architecture, interior design and urban design services to Ontario and surrounding provinces. Building upon the firm’s successful Canadian operations, this brings the firm’s total number of offices to five including the two-year-old Atlantic Canada location, the firm’s first international office, along with its Houston, Washington, D.C. and Denver offices. (more…)Surge Homes has big plans for micro condos
Units under 500 square feet started around $150,000, but prices went up
The model unit at the new Parc @ Midtown gives new meaning to the word small - for Houston, at least. The 468-square-foot condo shows like one of those apartment mock-ups at Ikea - the ones demonstrating how a few pieces of undersized furniture with the right accessories can turn a few hundred square feet into a functional, even inviting, home. When the model unit was being staged, the designer had to return several pieces of furniture because they were too big, the Parc's developer said during a recent tour of the property, which is just starting to welcome its first residents. (more…)FBI Atlanta Hosts Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Its New Mercer Atlanta Location

Private terrace-top pools under construction in luxe Houston condo tower
John Cadenhead, AIA, Promoted to Director of Design

Kristen Stapper, AIA, and Roman Mendez, AIA, Promoted to Project Manager


Boutique Thompson Hotel And Condos Planned For The River Walk

Denver’s Energy Benchmarking Ordinance: What it Means for the Denver Real Estate Market

Major chemical co., local furniture co. ink industrial leases in Houston
The U.S. branch of Tokyo-based chemical company Kuraray Co. Ltd. signed a huge lease at a brand-new industrial park in Houston, while a local ready-to-assemble furniture company inked a warehouse lease to expand its distribution operations.
Both leases were announced June 6.
Houston-based Kuraray America Inc. signed a long-term lease for 465,851 square feet in Avera Cos.’ new Bayport Logistics Park. Houston-based Avera announced last month it would develop the industrial complex in Pasadena, and Kuraray is the first tenant.
John Littman of Cushman & Wakefield represented Kuraray, and Jason Dillee of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord.
Kuraray will occupy two build-to-suit facilities — called buildings 2 and 3 — on 30.5 acres. Building 2 is rail-served and will have a 36-foot clear height, while Building 3 will have a 32-foot clear height.
When it was announced last month, Bayport Logistics Park was billed as a 143-acre industrial complex just south of Avera’s Bayport Industrial Park, a three-building, 738,610-square-foot project announced in June 2016. Now, Avera is referring to the combined 185 acres as Bayport Logistics Park. (more…)
Capri EGM Nabs Comcast Denver HQ

Photos: Peek inside Daikin’s new $417 million manufacturing hub
Just under 40 miles away from Houston's core, an economic juggernaut is quietly settling into its multimillion-square-foot manufacturing hub.
Nearly 1,000 employees have moved into Daikin Industries Ltd.'s new industrial plant in Waller County. The Japanese air-conditioning giant's 4.1 million-square-foot manufacturing plant in Hockley, dubbed the Daikin Texas Technology Park, will eventually employ upward of 4,000 workers, a Daikin spokesperson said. Click through the slideshow for a look inside the facility.
The facility cost $417 million to develop. Overall, it's at roughly 25 percent operating capacity, the spokesperson said.
Around half of the plant is dedicated to manufacturing; the other half handles distribution. On the distribution side of the plant, thousands of boxes of Daikin equipment are nearly stacked wall-to-wall and inch toward the ceiling. Almost any Daikin or Goodman HVAC product – that is, mostly air-conditioning or heating units – shipped in the U.S. will pass through the new Waller County facility. (more…)
Confirmation Bias
by Jeffrey Blaine Brown, FAIA
[pdf-embedder url="http://powersbrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Confirmation-Bias.pdf" title="Confirmation Bias"]E.E. Reed Completes 176,836 SF Medical Office Building in The Woodlands
Bay Area Business Park Wins HBJ’s 2017 Landmark Awards

Powers Brown Architecture Names Lauren Amber Prestenbach Director of Interiors
Powers Brown Architecture Expands Interior Design Offering in Denver

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About Powers Brown Architecture Powers Brown Architecture is a professional services firm with offices in Houston, Washington DC, and Denver. The firm maintains a diverse architecture design, interior design, space planning and urban design practice that spans from regional to international projects. Founded in 1999 by Joe Powers, AIA and Jeffrey Brown, FAIA the firm has built a reputation for specialized design and technical superiority, producing award-winning work and gaining recognition from local, regional, and national organizations.Stranded by Aaron Seward – Texas Architect
“I still get emails about this building, saying ‘Y’all messed up our historic district,’” says Jeffrey Brown, FAIA, design principal of Powers Brown Architecture. “It was a long, slogging project — we lost our shirts on it — but it’s a great project. I’m really proud of it. The current speed of architecture rarely facilitates a project like this, where we had to go over and over our argument. I accept if someone hates this building, but it’s deliberately purposeful in terms of its argument.”
Brown and I are standing on the southeast corner of 25th Street and the Strand, looking across the road at the Galveston Downtown Transit Terminal that his firm designed. To my eyes, there is nothing especially offensive about the building. It has ground-level retail behind an aluminum and glass storefront, the corner featuring a generous, recessed stair that leads up from the street to above the current FEMA flood level. Behind the retail is the terminal for all six lines of Galveston’s Island Transit buses. They pull in on 25th Street, park in one of three spots, unload, load, and pull out on the Strand. Above are three levels of car parking behind precast concrete cladding, whose faded red color and detailing recall some of the facades down the block. Vertical pilasters and a parapet of varying height indicate the four lots the structure occupies, evoking the scale and massing of the older buildings, while a dark stucco fin running up the face points out the entrance to the terminal waiting room. Aluminum steel screens provide ventilation for the parking garage and conceal the cars from the street. The screens are articulated in a way to suggest the punch window fenestration of the connecting urban street wall. (more…)
Conor Commercial Real Estate Completes 213,864 SF Industrial Facility in Metro San Antonio

SCHERTZ, TEXAS — Conor Commercial Real Estate has delivered Doerr Lane Industrial Park, a speculative cross-dock industrial building in Schertz, a northeast suburb of San Antonio. Situated within Tri County Business Park, the 213,864-square-foot property features 32-foot clear heights, 54 dock-high loading doors, two truck courts and on-site parking for 250 vehicles and 31 trailers. The design team includes Cadence McShane Construction Co. and Powers Brown Architecture. The building is available for immediate occupancy. Terry Warth, Rob Burlingame and Joshua Aguilar of CBRE are marketing the property.
Photos: First look at Cemex’s new U.S. HQ in Memorial City
A colorful, spiral staircase, cement-inspired wall fixtures and a tech-inspired aesthetic set apart Cemex's new U.S. headquarters.
Mexico-based Cemex SAB de CV, a building materials provider, will relocate its U.S. headquarters to 80,000 square feet in 10100 Katy Freeway in west Houstonstarting Jan. 17. The MetroNational-developed building topped out in June and is 240,000 square feet. Click through the slideshow to tour Cemex's space.
Cemex will vacate 42,000 square feet at Memorial Hermann Tower at 929 Gessner Rd., Cresa's Sue Rogers said. Rogers, alongside Steven Heal, represented Cresa in its 10100 Katy Freeway lease. MetroNational represented itself.
Cemex's new U.S. headquarters will serve as a testament to the company's products – there are cement fixtures inset into the walls and portions of Cemex's furniture that is made from cement. The office's main stairwell, a colorful and winding bridge between the second and third floors, has handlebars made of one of Cemex's rebar products. Most of the office's flooring is smooth, exposed cement. (more…)
New southwest Houston industrial park signs first tenant
A new industrial park in Missouri City has landed its first tenant.
Tire Universe leased 42,430 square feet — including 1,400 square feet for office space — at Gateway Southwest Industrial Park. The tire distributor, which has three existing locations in northwest Houston, Dallas and California, will occupy about one-third of the park’s first building.
Joint venture partners San Antonio-based USAA Real Estate Co. and Illinois-based Conor Commercial Real Estate, a member of The McShane Cos., announced plans in December 2014 to develop Gateway Southwest on 36 acres at the interchange of Beltway 8 and U.S. 90 Alternate. (more…)
Planned road changes near Charleston airport spur $150M real estate deal
Exclusive: New co-working space to open in The Woodlands
The Work Lodge, a co-working space in Vintage Park well-known for its slide in the lobby, is opening a second location, this time in The Woodlands.
The new space will be called The Work Lodge at Havenwood and is expected to open in early 2017, said CEO and founder Mike Thakur. It will be located in the new Havenwood development from J. Beard Real Estate Co., which is wrapping up construction.
While there won't be any slide in this location, Thakur expects to still jazz it up.
"We're going to put in some fun stuff," Thakur told the HBJ. "I don't know if I'm ready to shout about it yet, but it will have that playful feel in the co-working space." (more…)
The Power of Simplicity: 8 Moving Minimalist Memorials
Excerpt from Architizer: Click here for full article.
by Maya Sorabjee

Dallas group lands $43.5M in funds to build new Lancaster logistics hub
Dallas-based real estate investment group Copeland Commercial LLC has landed $43.5 million in funds — $33.5 million in acquisition and development financing and another $10 million in equity — to build a new large speculative logistics hub.
The 900,043-square-foot industrial facility, called I-20 Commerce Center, is expected to get underway at 3535 N. Houston School Road in Lancaster in the near future. The facility sits in close proximity to three major interstates, as well as the Union Pacific Intermodal terminal and the FedEx ground facilities.
The development is one of a number of speculative projects throughout North Texas, with capital still becoming available for such logistics hubs.
A JLL team secured the $33.5 million in acquisition and development financing from American National Insurance Co. and raised $10 million in equity from ANICO Eagle LLC, who will be the joint venture partner in the spec project.
JLL's Kurt Griffin and Nathan Orbin led the team on the acquisition of the land and are overseeing leasing of the project. Adam Mengacci of JLL led the team's financing efforts.
Powers Brown Architecture is the project architect for I-20 Commerce Center. (more…)
Concessionaire firm building new HQ in Northfield
Bursting out of an office that is now in the wrecking ball’s path, a concessionaire company is building itself a new headquarters.
Service Systems Associates Inc. is planning a new 45,000-square-foot office building in Northfield.
Building co-developer John Comunale said SSA grew out of its office at the National Western Complex, a space it will need to vacant anyway to make way for the planned stock show redevelopment.
“Their current space is about 11,000 square feet, and they’re on top of each other,” Comunale said. “They’re sharing offices; they’re sharing cubicles.”
One Central Park, as the new building will be called, will take shape at 4624 N. Central Park Blvd., just north of the Drury Inn and Suites off of Interstate 70. Right now the city owns the real estate, but Comunale said they will buy the property in a deal closing next month. (more…)
St. John Properties bets big on spec, cites ‘continued confidence’ in Md. economy
A bundle of 10 speculative buildings spanning four suburban counties and totaling 650,000 square feet are now under construction by St. John Properties.
The projects will produce a total of 400,000 square feet of new Class A office in Anne Arundel, Howard, Carroll and Baltimore counties. In Anne Arundel, for example, four buildings comprised of more than 200,000 square feet are under development.
The Anne Arundel projects include a 126,500-square-foot building at I-97 Business Park.
The new construction "is spurred by our continued confidence in the Maryland economy," Rick Williamson, St. John's senior vice president of leasing, said in a statement.
Williamson said the company's leasing activity this year is showing strength in health care and technology. (more…)
Houston’s first major micro-unit condo project shifts direction
When Novel Creative Development LLC announced plans for Houston’s first major micro-unit condominium in fall 2015, the new developer expected to sell all 550 units before breaking ground in June 2016.
Novel Creative Development was confident it would find a market among young, single working professionals interested in buying affordable homes that are less than 500 square feet. The Houston developer, founded by a group of doctors and real estate investors in New York, unveiled plans to build Ivy Lofts, a 24-story, 550-unit condo project at 2604 Leeland Avenue in East Downtown.
Ivy Lofts, designed by Houston-based Powers Brown Architecture, offered micro-unit condos ranging in size from 304 square feet to 1,001 square feet. Prices started from $119,000 for a 300-square-foot loft to $375,000 for condos 700-square-feet and larger. These units would feature space-saving amenities, such as transformable furniture like Murphy beds and a coffee table that turns into a desk.
However, four months after opening an on-site sales center, Ivy Lofts had secured contracts from only 68 prospective buyers, said Wen Pin Tsai, Novel Creative Development’s vice president of business development. (more…)
Downtown Condo Tower Breaks Ground

With latest building renovation, Midtown becoming the office market for Millennials
A Midtown building built in 1955 will be restored to have office, ground-floor retail, and rooftop event space right as the submarket is undergoing a rebirth of its own.
The Greensheet building at 2601 Main St. was sold to Houston's PLC Capital Corp. for an undisclosed price. PLC Capital plans to renovate the building's facade, entry lobby and common areas.
Renovations should kick off in mid-July and wrap up in September. The building has 10,000 square feet of ground-level retail space that Brent Friedman, president of PLC Capital, hopes to split between a restaurant user and another retail user. Greensheet Inc. occupies the second and third floors of the building, leaving the 12,000-square-foot fourth floor open for leasing. The building's fifth floor, a 2,000-square-foot air-conditioned penthouse space with rooftop access, could be used for an event-venue user. PLC Capital has already been approached by two event-venue users, Friedman said, even though he hasn't started marketing the building yet.
"We're working (with) mid-century modern architecture, so we'll embrace that," Friedman said of the building. "We want to replace existing entryway trim and glass with a cooler, period-specific entrance."
Friedman said he wasn't immediately wooed by Midtown as an office market, but was struck by its ability to attract and retain Millennials. Among other things, he said a recent visit to Tampa's Hyde Park Village, a revitalized historic neighborhood that's attracted both Millennials and office users, made him realize that Houston is lacking in that area. (more…)
Two business moves will kick off new office project in Irving

Memorial City office building tops out
Houston-based MetroNational's first office building north of Interstate 10 is moving toward completion.
The building at 10100 Katy Freeway topped out on June 14, a MetroNational representative said. The 240,000-square-foot office building should deliver in early 2017, the spokesperson said. The core and shell will be complete in fall 2016. Houston-based Anslow Bryant Construction is building the core and shell.
The six-story building is on an 18-acre tract at the northwest corner of Gessner Road and Interstate 10 and is pre-certified as LEED Silver.
The building's sole tenant, Cemex (NYSE: CX), a Mexico-based building materials company, will occupy 80,000 square feet on the second and third floors. Cemex has had an office in Memorial City since 2005. Its current U.S. headquarters are at 929 Gessner Road, suite 1900. Sue Rogers and Steven Heal of Cresa represented Cemex in its lease, and MetroNational represented itself in the deal.
Houston-based Powers Brown Architecture designed the building.
Cara Smith Reporter Houston Business Journal
Powers Brown talks new Midtown offices
Exec: This submarket gives my Millennial workers everything they need
Houston-based Powers Brown Architecture LLC may be the sole tenant inside Midtown's Central Square office development, but being the first one in an office building is a familiar feeling for Jeffrey Brown, founding partner and design principal at the firm.
Powers Brown, which reported $18.61 million in 2015 billings, spent the last 17 years at 1314 Texas Avenue in the Central Business District. Powers Brown was one of the building's first tenants, and Brown said the area's amenities were bleak at best.
"It was a food desert," Brown said. "When we first moved down there in 1999, it was nothing – no clubs, no bars, certainly nothing within walking distance."
Houston's downtown core is now bustling today. The 1314 Texas Avenue building is home to Irma's Southwest Grill, a household name among Houston foodies and a tenant that Brown remembers as a newcomer. A number of now-esteemed downtown restaurants are scattered around 1314 Texas Avenue, including Treebeards, Vic & Anthony's Steakhouse and more. Powers Brown didn't want to move out of the building, Brown said, but the building was sold and pegged to become a residential tower. He wanted to keep his company in an urban environment, too – but finding a building downtown that would take a smaller lease in 2016 was a tall order.
"We’re only a 12,000- or 15,000-square-foot lease space," Brown said. "Nobody downtown wants that." (more…)
first office tenant moves into renovated midtown building
Houston-based Powers Brown Architecture LLC is the first office tenant in a 280,000-square-foot building undergoing a massive renovation at 2100 Travis St. in Midtown.
Powers Brown signed an 11,637-square-foot lease at Central Square, which occupies the entire city block bordered by Travis, Milam, Gray and Webster streets.
David Baker and Evelyn Ward with Transwestern represented the landlord, Claremont Properties. Drew Lewis and Robert LaCoure with Lee & Associates represented the tenant.
Powers Brown, the 10th-largest architectural firm in Houston, relocated from 1314 Texas Ave. Powers Brown said in a statement it will pursue a wellness certification and LEED certification, which will be made possible by extremely competitive rent rates. (more…)
Jeffrey Brown, FAIA Investiture Ceremony
COPT to take a gamble on the University of Maryland
Demand for office space in suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia is still struggling to rebound to pre-recession levels, but at least one D.C.-area developer is rolling the dice that the tenants will come if you build it first.
Columbia-based Corporate Office Properties Trust (NYSE: OFC) plans to break ground speculatively on a 75,000-square-foot office building at the University of Maryland's 126-acre research park. The park, called M Square, is already home the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, and Raytheon.
The planned three-story building at 5801 Research Park Drive was designed by Powers Brown Architecture and is slated to include 25,000-square-foot floorplates and an outdoor plaza.
The vacancy rate in suburban Maryland now hovers at about 20 percent, according first-quarter stats from JLL, with Prince George's County coming in higher at about 29 percent. At the same time, the university's presence has been a positive influence on the office market, generating demand from university spinoffs like FlexEl LLC, which committed earlier this year to leasing 10,000 square feet in College Park for a new research, development and manufacturing facility. (more…)
The Houston Office Has Moved

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Denver developer plans small-bay industrial space in Louisville

Photos: Inside Dow Lake Jackson campus
That's where Michigan-based The Dow Chemical Co.(NYSE: DOW) has a five-building research and development complex, dubbed the Texas Innovation Center, underway. One of the buildings called the Diamond Center wrapped up a few weeks ago, said Mike Wyatt of Core Real Estate LLC, the developer of the project. Click through the slideshow to take a tour of the Diamond Center.
(more…)New Houston campus named best deal of 2015 by national publication
The Greater Houston Partnership received Business Facilities' gold award in its 2015 Economic Development Deal of the Year competition for a major campus under construction.
Japan-based Daikin Industries Ltd.' s new $417 million campus in northwest Houston, dubbed the the Daikin-Goodman Comfortplex Campus, claimed the highest-ranking award in the competition. Business Facilities estimates that the new campus will generate $3.9 billion in annual economic impact for the Houston region, creating 4,600 direct jobs and more than 11,000 indirect or induced jobs.
The multistate site selection began in 2013, and Houston was chosen because of Daikin’s $3.7 billion acquisition of Houston’s Goodman Global. The northwest Houston site was chosen for its visibility and the accessible outbound distribution of products made at the plant. (more…)
Realty News Report Award: Best Construction Project of the Year

Rendering of Daikin’s 4 Million SF Houston facility, which is the largest tilt-wall project in the world
(more…)exclusive new details revealed for first micro-condo project in houston
Novel Creative Development LLC has revealed new details for Ivy Lofts, the first “micro-unit” condominium project in Houston. The Houston developer plans to build the 24-story, 550-unit project on a 1.4-acre city block, bounded by Leeland Avenue, Nagle Street, Pease Avenue and Live Oak Street in East Downtown. The land, which formerly housed a Vietnamese grocery store, was purchased in November 2014 for a little less than $3 million.
Novel Creative Development — founded by a group of doctors, real estate investors and midrise condo developers in New York — was inspired by My Micro NY, the first affordable micro-unit apartment building developed by Michael Bloomberg in Manhattan. They hope to bring the micro-unit concept — units that are less than 500 square feet and geared toward young, single working professionals— to Houston's up-and-coming EaDo neighborhood.
“It’s a new concept for Houston,” said Wen Pin Tsai, Novel Creative Development's vice president of business development. “We feel there’s potential for this in Houston.”
construction begins on INOVA office project

work nearly complete on downtown transit terminal

Exclusive: More industrial coming to the Port area
Stream Realty has broken ground on the second phase of Bay Area Business Park, bringing more spec industrial space to what's become a very tight submarket.
The first phase of Bay Area Business Park includes three buildings, delivered in 2009, that total 1.2 million square feet. That phase is 100 percent leased to tenants including Honeywell International (NYSE: HON) and Calpine Corp. (NYSE: CPN)
Groundbreaking set for new condominium tower in Houston

Beverage Distributors’ new home breaks ground in Stapleton

ENR MidAtlantic Announces 2015 Best Project Winners
St. John Properties to build spec office project at Annapolis Junction Town Center
St. John Properties Inc. is taking over a 100,000-square-foot office project in Howard County that will be a central component of the Annapolis Junction Town Center development.
Columbia-based Corporate Office Properties Trust originally planned to develop the office portion of the $180 million, mixed-use Annapolis Junction development, led by master developer Somerset Construction Co. But when COPT signed on, Somerset hadn't determined whether the office project would be built on a speculative basis, said Neil Greenberg, chief operating officer of Somerset. (more…)
United Properties secures big lease, plans more development in Stapleton
COURTESY | UNITED PROPERTIES
United Properties is planning 850,000 square feet of new industrial development at Enterprise Business Center.
United Properties has leased 500,000 square feet of industrial space to Beverage Distributors Co. LLC in what it calls one of Denver's largest-ever industrial leases, and has purchased 45 acres of land in Stapleton to build even more industrial product.
Beverage Distributors has pre-leased 70 percent of one of the new buildings Minneapolis-based United Properties is planning at Interstate 70 and Havana Street. (more…)More spec office breaking ground in Centennial near Topgolf
COURTESY | NEWMARK GRUBB KNIGHT FRANK
The first new phase of Inova Dry Creek will break ground in September.
The first new phase of Inova Dry Creek, a Centennial mixed-use development formerly called the Dry Creek Corporate Center, is set to break ground in September near the soon-to-open Topgolf entertainment complex.
Additions to Inova Dry Creek were announced under its former name in November. Four buildings totaling about 300,000 square feet were built on the Dry Creek Corporate Center campus years ago, but 58 acres of land sat untouched there until it was acquired by United Properties last October.
Current plans by United Properties call for 695,000 new square feet of industrial, office and multi family space in a total of six new buildings on the campus, to be built in phases over the coming years.
The first new phase of the project will be a five-story, 212,000-square-foot speculative office building. The building will be located at 7250 S. Havana St. near Topgolf International, which will open in August.
The Class A office building will include 14.5-foot ceilings, nine-foot window heights, flexible floor plates and will seek LEED Silver certification.
The new building will be only the second speculative building to break ground in the southeast suburban market in the last few years, with One Belleview Station being the first. (more…)UPS to spend more than $35M on distribution center expansion in NE San Antonio

Work is set to begin Sept. 15 and take about six months to complete, according to a construction permit. The site has an appraised value of $5.3 million.
Review of “Tiltwallism” from Texas Architect Magazine (page 9)
MetroNational Developing Office Project on North Side of Katy Freeway in Houston

More details surface on new luxury condo tower in downtown Houston
Paul TakahashiReporter-Houston Business Journal
A proposed condominium tower in downtown Houston will try to entice apartment renters into owning a condominium with aggressive pricing and a glamorous Hollywood theme.
Private terrace-top pools planned for new Galleria-area luxury condo tower
Paul Takahashi Reporter-Houston Business Journal
A proposed luxury condominium tower in the Galleria area will feature six penthouse units with private swimming pools on their terraces. Houston real estate developer Randall Davis plans to break ground in October on the Arábella, a 33- or 34-story luxury condominium tower on the site of the former Westcreek apartment complex, within walking distance to the River Oaks District, a ultra high-end retail development from San Diego-based OliverMcMillan.
Dakin Industries’ mega campus ready to rise in Waller
By Katherine Feser
Construction is underway at Daikin Industries’ campus in Waller, which will consolidate many of the company’s operations for its Daikin, Goodman and Amana heating and cooling products in Texas and Tennessee.
REIT snags two buildings in Energy Corridor

Christian Brothers Automotive moves HQ
Another spec office park underway
Beautiful Corals and Clear Waters

Spec office building breaks ground in Katy-area mixed-use development
A Little Blurb About Stephanie

United Properties building 650,000 sf Centennial development
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Wal-Mart, another hotel to come to the Galleria Area
A new shopping center under construction in a hot Galleria location counts a big-box store as well as an extended-stay hotel among its tenants.
A site plan for the Shoppes at Uptown Crossing at the southeast corner of Westpark and South Rice Avenue includes a Wal-Mart Supercenter, a TownePlace Suites Hotel, El Pollo Loco, a Chick-Fil-A, a Jack in the Box, aMattress Firm, dentist's offices, an AT&T store and a Starbucks. The size of the Wal-Mart was not immediately available.
There is one 4,500-square-foot site left for lease, according to a brochure from Capital Retail Properties. (more…)
NEW OFFICE BUILDING TO RISE NEAR EXXON MOBIL CAMPUS

CLASS A SIX-STORY TEXAS TILT
SIERRA PINES II, A SIX-STORY CLASS A TILT-UP OFFICE BUILDING IS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN TEXAS. THE PROJECT IS SITUATED ON A SNUG 4-ACRE SITE LOCATED IN THE WOODLANDS, A 28,000-ACRE COMMUNITY IN SUBURBAN HOUSTON, TEXAS.
By: Mitch Bloomquist | Tilt-Up Concrete AssociationCLASS A TILT?
Contrary to a once popular belief, class A tilt is not an oxymoron. Architects, engineers, contractors and developers aware of the architectural potential of tilt-up concrete construction have demonstrated time after time the superb quality that can be expected of the construction method. According to CoStar Group, the world leader for commercial real estate intelligence, “a class A building is an extremely desirable investment-grade property with the highest quality construction and workmanship, materials and systems, significant architectural features, the highest quality/expensive finish and trim, abundant amenities, first rate maintenance and management; usually occupied by prestigious tenants with above average rental rates and in an excellent location with exceptional accessibility.” While these criteria offer a general picture of a class A facility, the label is somewhat subjective and most definitely relative to the market it is in. An excellent location in Houston, for example, may not fit the same criteria as an excellent location in New York City. Essential amenities in one market may not be as important in another. In Houston, every class A facility offers structured parking, for example. As Paul Coonrod, Managing Director of Stream Realty’s Houston office team and Partner in the firm’s Houston office put it, “Houston gets hot!” The intricacies of each market affect these ratings. “Even every submarket is different,” said Coonrod. “Houston, for instance, is divided into nine major submarkets.” (more…)Band Look

Tiltwallism: A Treatise on Architectural Potential of Tiltwall Construction

IIDA Houston City Center Proudly Presents: THE 6TH ANNUAL PRODUCT RUNWAY
New mid-rise building breaks ground near Grand Parkway
Houston-based Freeway Properties has broken ground on the first mid-rise office building to be built west of the Grand Parkway in Katy.
The six-story, 151,000-square-foot building, dubbed Katy Ranch Offices Phase, will be located immediately off the eastbound exit ramp in the 130-acre mixed-use Katy Ranch Crossing complex, and is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2015. The Class A-building will feature 24,800-square-foot floor plates with 45-foot bay depths for flexible space planning.
(more…)Friendship

Statue of Liberty Sunset

Illinois developer enters houston industrial market
An Illinois-based manager and developer of industrial warehouse and distribution facilities has entered the Houston market with its first project.
International Airport Centers broke ground earlier this month on a 225,360-square-foot warehouse property located at 300 West Airtex Blvd. in North Houston near Interstate 45. It is scheduled for completion later this summer. Ed Frantz and Faron Wiley of CBRE’s Houston office have been hired to lease the project.
“Institutional capital has favored Houston due to the market’s sustained growth and excellent opportunities for business development,” Tom Lynch of CBRE said in a release. “This project is an indication of Houston’s continued demand for Class A warehouse and distribution facilities, particularly those with high clear heights.” (more…)
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Transwestern to break ground in energy corridor
Transwestern said Thursday it will begin construction on a 660,000-square-foot Class A office project within the Energy Corridor.
The development, Westgate, sits on a 20.8-acre tract near Interstate 10 and Barker Cypress Road and will consist of three buildings that are 67 percent preleased. Transwestern did not disclose the tenants.
The Houston-based real estate company acquired the land for the development on Sept. 13 from Hearst Corp. for an undisclosed amount.