Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Plano's Latest Class A Office Building

Construction has almost commenced on the $88 million office tower in Plano. Set to open this month, the building is located at 5851 Legacy Circle, Plano, TX. It will be a single tenant owner-occupied by EnCana. It's a class A, 13 story building totaling 320,000 SF. This will be the first of a three-building Plano complex that will house operations for Encana Oil & Gas (U.S.A.) Inc. EnCana is one of the largest natural gas producers in North American, with operations stretching from western Canada to Texas and Louisiana.

Monday, August 20, 2012

New Tenant Representation Shop In the North Dallas Office Market

I am Josiah Ford.
After a long enough wait. I have branched out on my own in Commercial Real Estate. Why have I branched out on my own at 26? Because I see the opportunity to provide something others do not provide. True customer service. We all have had a bad experience somewhere, even recently where we felt as though we were not giving the best service possibile. I can imagine that it left you wondering if you recieved the best product or service possible.

My firm will change that by providing dilgent and effective tenant representation geared toward the tenant in the Plano/Frisco office sub-markets. These two sub-markets show huge growth potential, quality office space and various incentives for the business. I have invested the time and money to get the same real estate market information as the large shops. Therefore, when I come to your office I will be able to provide you with every bit of information available for your business to make the best decision its real estate needs.

If you are ready to get great service contact me at my direct line 214-425-3525

Be sure to frequently visit my blog as I will be frequently updating it with market insights.

Thanks DFW,

Josiah Ford - President
JFI Brokerage

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

The Dallas Convention Center celebrates receiving LEED EB Silver Certification


Dallas, TX - The Dallas Convention Center announced today that they have been awarded the LEED® EB (Existing Building) Silver Certification established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).

Interim Director Al Rojas said “The LEED Certification exemplifies our commitment to providing the highest quality space for our customers and employees. We understand the importance of these efforts which not only lower costs but improve the environment for generations to come.”

LEED EB addresses the operation and working of existing buildings. Upgrading an existing building to “green standards” is far more difficult than designing and building an entirely new building to operate in a way that it has less impact on the environment.
This rating system helps building owners and operator’s measure operations, improvements and maintenance on a consistent scale with the goal of maximizing operation efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts. Building upgrades and improvements were combined with an aggressive adjustment to the operational procedures to earn the credits leading to the certification.

The Convention Center’s green building programs and features include: alternative transportation options, energy efficient lighting with reduced mercury content; environmentally sensitive cleaning products and practices; reduction of indoor potable water through low-flow fixtures and the replacement of one cooling tower; and a comprehensive recycling program.

The Center has achieved a remarkable 58.7% saving on electricity consumption and 55.6% savings on the consumption of natural gas since the start of the project.

The Dallas Convention Center’s LEED EB® Silver Certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council. “The urgency of USGBC’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and the Dallas Convention Center serves as a prime example of just how much we can accomplish.”

The Dallas Convention Center is a 2.2 million sq. ft. facility that has demonstrated a constant commitment to service, technical and culinary excellence, as well as environmental sustainability.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

17SEVENTEEN MCKINNEY


The 17 Seventeen and Park 17 project, designed by Good Fulton & Farrell Architects, is a development of a 13-story office tower and 19-story residential tower sited together on a single six-level parking garage podium with new retail construction wrapping three sides of the block. Equidistant from the Victory development and the Arts District, and sited at the crossroads of uptown and downtown, this project is arguably at the epicenter of the new Dallas urban landscape. The 17Seventeen office tower was Pre-Certified Gold by USGBC in January 2009 under the LEED CS rating system, and the Park 17 residential tower is pursuing LEED NC certification.


17Seventeen McKinney, a 379,000 square foot Class AA office building under construction in Uptown, has secured the title of the first gold LEED-precertified high-rise office building in the Dallas area. The U.S. Green Building Council has completed Pre-Certification of the building, which is slated for completion in the spring of 2010. Granite Properties, the developer of the office tower, launched an initiative three years ago to make new developments environmentally friendly. In addition, Granite said it decided to convert existing buildings it owns to environmentally conscious properties.

URBAN HERITAGE
The block of 17Seventeen is a modernist version of an Italian hill town, raised above the surrounding area on the 6-story plinth, with both residential and office occupants taking advantage of the 7th level amenity deck and it’s immediate views of the Dallas skyline. Contained within the block itself will be 292 apartments, 379,000 square feet of office space, a bank, a restaurant and an additional 6,000 square feet of retail space. Within 1/2 mile of the American Airlines Center, Victory Plaza, the W Hotel, the House of Blues, the Ritz Carlton, the Crescent Hotel and shops, the Winspear Opera House, the Wyly Theater Center, Annette Strauss Artist Square, the Meyerson Symphony Center, the Nasher Sculpture Garden, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Crow Collection of Asian Art, the proposed Museum of Nature & Science, the Arts Magnet High School, First Baptist Dallas, First United Methodist Church of Dallas and Guadalupe Cathedral, occupants of the project are easily within a 10 minute walk of any of these venues. Consequently, the Community Connectivity and Development Density of this project is a top sustainable feature.

SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES
As a part of the commitment of Granite Properties to maintaining leadership in corporate sustainable office construction, the building has been reviewed to insure that in-coming tenants will be able to meet the increased requirements of the newly released LEED version 3 for Commercial Interiors. LEED-CI version 3 sets a higher baseline standard for water efficiency as a prerequisite to achieving certification than was used in the previous LEED Rating Systems. In order for the future tenants to achieve the 20% water efficiency prerequisite, the team has increased the water efficiency of the core building, even though it had previously exceeded the LEED-CS version 2.0 standard by 30%. These adjustments will enable tenants to pursue LEED Certification for their commercial interiors under LEED version 3 and will aid Granite Properties in pursuing LEED-EBOM for the building when the project becomes eligible.

BY THE NUMBERS
A brief overview of the achieved LEED Core & Shell credits utilized in the building pre-certification is listed in the following table:

Sustainable Sites 12
Water Efficiency 3
Energy and Atmosphere 4
Indoor Environmental Quality 9
Innovation in Design 5
Total (LEED-CS v2.0) 37

North Texas Green Building Council

TRINITY RIVER AUDUBON SOCIETY


As the first of several Trinity River Corridor projects scheduled for completion, the Trinity River Audubon Center is a true testament to designing within the context of the natural environment and to private/public partnerships. The project Owner is the City of Dallas and the facility operator is the Texas Audubon Society. The award winning 20,000 square foot facility is a nature center promoting the coexistence between people and the land. Located a few miles south of downtown Dallas among 120 acres along the Trinity River within the Great Trinity Forest, the facility is a gateway to the local environmental ecosystem. Aligning with nature as the central theme of the facility, the primary emphasis of the center is education and recreation, related to the history of the site along the Trinity River. The program includes exhibits, educational classrooms, research laboratories, as well as teaching nature in nature. The site reclaims existing landfills, transforming them into native tall grass prairies. Surrounding the center, a series of forest, wet prairie, emergent water, open water, and island environmental communities support a variety of wildlife habitat. The Audubon Center was completed in October 2008 and is currently seeking Gold level LEED certification. The project was recently recognized in 2008 with a Greater Dallas Planning Council’s Built Environment Design Award.

DESIGN
The concept for the building design embraces the three major environmental biomes of the north Texas region- the restored black-land prairies, cross-timbers forest, and river bottom marshy wetlands. The site context served as the inspiration for the building concept as the design reveals the surrounding natural habitat.

SITE
The site, initially the City of Dallas Deepwood landfill located within the Trinity Corridor, was selected as the site for the center. The site originally contained more than 1.5 million tons of construction debris, 30 feet deep and rising 30 feet high.

SUSTAINABLE FEATURES
Brownfield Redevelopment - The closed landfill in southeastern Dallas is a visionary restoration project that reclaimed 120 acres of the Great Trinity River Corridor. Once an illegal construction waste landfill site, it now fulfills the goal of returning this land to nature for the use of future generations. The Trinity River Audubon Center sits west of the capped rolling hills replanted with tall prairie grass and hardwood trees that were once dominant on the Texas Blackland Prairie.
Stormwater Control - The Trinity River Audubon Center is designed to reduce erosion. At the base of the hills, a series of cascading wetland marshes and ponds captures and polishes runoff from adjoining neighborhoods and prairies before returning the cleansed water to the river.
Water Efficient Landscaping - Many native North Texas trees and prairie grasses have been planted throughout the site. Native plants are usually very hardy and need little supplemental watering.
Heat Island Effect - The “heat island effect,” re-radiation of heat from asphalt and concrete, causes many cities to be warmer than surrounding rural areas. This effect is reduced at the Audubon Center by using light colored paving, permeable materials for pavement and shading existing paving. A green or vegetated roof on the administration wing minimizes heat absorption.
Water Use Reduction - In the US alone, more than four billion gallons of water get flushed down the toilet every day. Low flow toilets, lavatories and shower heads have been installed throughout the facility to reduce water consumption by at least 20%.
Recycled Content Materials - Many materials made from recycled content are used throughout the Audubon Center. For example, the rubber floors contains 84% recycled content, most of which came from recycled tires.
Regional Materials - The Trinity Audubon Center utilized many local building materials. One example is concrete. All the gravel and sand is extracted from local quarries. In addition to this fly ash was used as a partial substitute for cement. Fly ash is a by-product from coal plants that would normally go into a landfill but in this case it was used to make concrete.
FSC Certified - The Trinity River Audubon Center is encouraging responsible forest management by using FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified Cypress siding.
Low-Emitting Materials - VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds) can be hazaraous to one’s health over long periods of time. The Trinity Audubon Center uses adhesives, paints, carpets and woods that are low-emitting.
Daylighting and Views - Recent studies show that daylighting promotes better health and physical development. Using natural day light also reduces the need for artificial daylight during the day. The Audubon Center is designed to have maximum daylight and views to the exterior without gaining internal heat from the bright Texas sun.
Rapidly Renewable - Trees take many years to grow but there are many materials that grow much faster and can be harvested in ten years or less. Materials such as bamboo, wool, cotton, straw, wheat and cork are considered “rapidly renewable.” The Audubon Center has beautiful bamboo flooring throughout the facility.
Rainwater Harvesting - Irrigation provided from municipally provided potable water can create a large demand on the city and the environment. At the Trinity River Audubon Center, rainwater is captured from the roof, stored underground, and then used to water plants near the building.

North Texas Green Building Council

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Downtown homeless center wins LEED Silver certification


The Bridge Homeless Assistance Center in downtown Dallas has become just the second shelter in the country to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The center is one of only five U.S. homeless shelters that are considered green.

The shelter was designed by San Antonio-based Overland Partners Architects and Dallas-based CamargoCopeland Architects.

The building, in the central business district, was completed in May 2008. The building is designed to maximize daylight and reduce the use of artificial light.

It also includes a graywater recycling system that saves 1.5 million gallons of water each year. The graywater system is designed to capture large volumes of water from showers and laundry facilities for reuse in urinals and toilets.

Dallas Business Journal

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Local investor buys 300 CVS stores

Dallas-based investor Landes Group has bought more than 300 CVS Pharmacy stores located in 33 states.

The properties were acquired in several transactions last year and are valued at almost $1.4 billion, the private company said.

Landes bought the stores from retailer CVS, which will continue to occupy the buildings on long-term leases.

Barclays Capital was the primary investment banker in the transactions.

Landes Group headed by president and founder Brett Landes

Monday, February 22, 2010

Addison develops an edgy side with new apartments

Prospective tenants who walk through the front doors of Addison's new Savoye apartments usually do a double take at the eye-popping design.A wall in the lobby is plastered with bright cushions and big-screen TVs. A metal staircase curves above the round leasing office. And at the top of the stairs is a residents' lounge with enough bling to fill a high-fashion hotel.



Photos by MICHAEL AINSWORTH/DMN
Cabanas are installed near the 'Splash' pool area at the Savoye apartments in Addison. Las Vegas-style pools are what it takes these day to lure renters willing to pay more than $1,000 a month. "The people who come in are pretty blown away by the place," said Carolyn Fredholm, senior community director for the project. "It's not what you expect to see in a community north of LBJ Freeway."

Addison city officials wanted a wow factor three years ago when they teamed up on the project with developer United Dominion Realty.

The Dallas suburb might not seem old enough for redevelopment, but that's exactly what the town is doing – replacing an aging apartment district on its western edge with new housing, retail and parks.

"The design of that project was very important to us," said Addison City Manager Ron Whitehead. "We need more urban residential in town to make everything else work."

The 120-acre development with the unwieldy name of Vitruvian Park is just south of Spring Valley Road near Brookhaven Collage.

The first phase of the $1 billion redevelopment – almost 400 luxury apartments – will open in two weeks.

"We already have 45 leases," said Tom Lamberth, vice president of development for Denver-based UDR, one of the country's biggest apartment builders. "We are off to a good start.

"We are primarily attracting people who are part of the North Dallas workforce," he said.


Uptown comparison

With average rents from $1,200 to $1,300, the project is on par with what's found in Dallas' affluent Uptown district.

"We've been compared to the W Hotel" in quality and interior appearance, Lamberth said. "We wanted to do something a little edgy."

WDG Architecture designed the seven-story building. Thiel and Thiel Inc. did the interiors for the public spaces, which are done in a river of light blue paint, modern furnishings and over-the-top artwork.

"What they are showing there is pretty awesome," said Charles Prince, who's moving from Lewisville into one of the Savoye units as soon as it's ready.

Prince works at the nearby Brookhaven Country Club and has watched construction on the project.

"I've been wanting to move since last year but waited for this project to open up," he said. "I didn't even look at anything else."

Savoye tenants will have two lounges with gourmet kitchens, a movie screening room, an Internet bar and a game room.

Outside there's a "Las Vegas-style" swimming pool and landscaped courtyards with fountains, fire pits and seating areas.

Each apartment includes a full-size front-loader washer/dryer combo and a 42-inch flat-screen TV.

The amenities may sound like overkill, but apartment analysts say they are just part of the new rental home landscape. To lure tenants willing to pay more than $1,000 a month, landlords need more than a stuffy "clubhouse" and mattress-size swimming pools.

"You have to do that if you are going to get some pretty high rents," said Greg Willett, apartment analyst for Carrollton-based MPF Research Inc. "UDR is certainly going for the very top tier at this point in everything they are doing."

To add to the new neighborhood's appeal, the city of Addison is building a $9 million park that will be the centerpiece of Vitruvian Park. Rebuilding is under way on the roads that cut through the project near Marsh Lane and Spring Valley.

"It's going to be especially great when we get the park landscaped and redo the creek area" through the park," Whitehead said. "Once we get all that amenity package together, we think it will be stunning."


Vitruvian vision

There's 16,000 square feet of retail space in the first phase and more planned for later.

Addison, which has about 15,000 residents, ultimately expects to see almost 5,000 housing units in Vitruvian Park.

Of course, the project's years of planning and construction didn't include opening the project during an economic downturn.

Groundbreaking for the second phase will depend on how leasing does and where the economy goes, the developer says.

The new apartments will compete head to head with other luxury rental units on the Dallas North Tollway in Addison Circle and near the Galleria.

The developer is offering leasing discounts "because the construction is still under way," Lamberth said.

UDR is also giving discounts at its new Belmont apartments in Old East Dallas. Such concessions are common for new rental complexes.

Unlike many other Dallas neighborhoods, there are fewer new apartment developments to compete with in Addison, said Willett.

"That market is outperforming the metropolitan area as a whole," he said. "But to open any project right now is obviously a challenge."

Dallas Morning News

Commercial real estate transactions

Sales

Shelbo Development bought a 42,000-square-foot industrial building on 10 acres at 2950 W. Miller Road in Garland. Dan Spika of Henry S. Miller Brokerage negotiated the sale with Larry Leon of CB Richard Ellis.

Quorum Equities sold about three-quarters of an acre at 2727 Fort Worth Ave. in Dallas to a California investor. The property is leased to Comerica Bank. Brandon Beeson, Will Walters and Stephanie Mower of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas arranged the sale with Henry Casden.

KPM Ventures purchased the former Two Rows Restaurant at the southeast corner of State Highway 190 and North Garland Avenue in Garland. The 6,100-square-foot building is on 1.6 acres. Don Miller and Kelly Hampton of Venture Commercial Real Estate negotiated the transaction.

A local limited partnership bought a 3,777-square-foot office building at 4343 N. Central Expressway in Dallas. Laguarda Low Architects, which is next door, will use the property to expand. Greg McDonald and Eddie Liebman of the Weitzman Group handled negotiations.

A private investor purchased the 4,921-square-foot Christian Brothers Automotive building at 1804 N.E. Green Oaks Blvd. in Grand Prairie. Philip Levy, Jason Vitorino and Tommy Tucker of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services handled the sale.



Leases

Invacare Corp., a medical equipment supplier, expanded its distribution center to 87,508 square feet at 1825 Westpark Drive in Grand Prairie. Kevin J. Santaularia and Michael W. Spain of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services negotiated the lease with Canon Shoults of Holt Lunsford Commercial Inc.

Hilton Worldwide leased 52,000 square feet of space in the Colonnade III office building at 15303 Dallas Parkway in Addison. The office will be used as Hilton Worldwide's commercial services center. Paul Whitman and Chelby Sanders of Jones Lang LaSalle negotiated the lease with J.J. Leonard, Jay Bailey and Susannah Wallace of CB Richard Ells.

PFC Furniture Industries Inc. leased 30,788 square feet of industrial space at 400 Industrial Drive in Richardson. Joe Whitmer of Transwestern negotiated the lease.

Rochelle McCullough LLP leased 11,381 square feet of office space at Republic Center at 325 N St. Paul St. in Dallas. Daniel Rudd and Billy Vahrenkamp of Grubb & Ellis Co. negotiated the lease with Cris Jordan of Transwestern.

The Wire Connection leased 9,600 square feet of commercial space at 400 Union Bower Court in Irving. Ryan Boozer of Mercer Co. negotiated the lease with Colliers International.

Mattison Avenue Salon Suites & Spa leased 8,250 square feet of retail space in the Watters Creek Shopping Center at U.S. Highway 75 and Bethany Drive in Allen. Matt Wilson and Chad Bradshaw of the Retail Connection negotiated the lease with Ed Coury of Trademark Property.

All American Smile Center, a dental practice, leased 8,170 square feet of space in Promenade North, a retail project at 800 N. Coit Road in Richardson. Perren Gasc of the Weitzman Group handled negotiations.

Glow Networks leased 8,121 square feet of office space at 2140 Lake Park Blvd. from Lennox International. Cribb Altman and Lee Wagner of Grubb & Ellis handled the transaction.

Carl's Jr. has signed a long-term lease with Jon Keller for the former Cactus Jack's restaurant site at 4341 Lemmon Ave. in Dallas. Kelly Hampton and Clay Mote of Venture Commercial negotiated the lease with Hunter McGuire of John Bowles Co.

Dallas Morning News

Peloton to handle Duke properties

Duke Realty Corp. has hired Dallas' Peloton Real Estate Partners to take over leasing and marketing its North Texas office buildings.

The Indianapolis developer said that Peloton will handle the leasing of Duke Bridges III in Frisco, One Allen Center in Allen and 5560 Tennyson Parkway in Plano. The properties total more than 350,000 square feet.

Peloton will also market development sites in Frisco, Coppell and Allen.

Dale Ray of Peloton will be the principal overseeing the Duke Realty properties

Dallas Morning News

Swearingen forms alliance with Glacier Commercial

Renowned Dallas real estate broker Wayne Swearingen is aligning with a local commercial property firm.

Swearingen’s Barclay Commercial Group has formed what is described as a “strategic venture” with Glacier Commercial Realty, the two firms said Thursday.

Barclay Commercial will combine its offices with the Glacier Commercial headquarters at 3890 W. Northwest Highway.

Glacier Commercial is handled by partners Steve Shrum and Andrew Beckman.

Shannon Owens, who has worked with Barclay Commercial for several years, will become a vice president at Glacier.

“This venture, with Swearingen and his 48 years of heavy experience in commercial real estate, will accelerate our [growth] plans,” Beckman said in a statement. “We have all worked together before.”

Swearingen has also formed a new company, Vector PS LLC, to provide real estate consulting services to lenders and courts.

Dalas Morning News

Hall Financial Group hires Kim Butler to run its leasing operations

Hall Financial Group said Thursday that it has hired Kim Butler to head its leasing operations.

Butler is coming to Hall Financial after 25 years at real estate service firm Transwestern, where she was responsible for leasing and marketing office properties in several Dallas markets.

As director of leasing at Hall Financial, she will oversee properties including the Hall Office Park in Frisco.

Butler replaces Jean Farris, who recently retired as Hall’s leasing director.

Butler has served as a director of Dallas’ Real Estate Council, Downtown Dallas and Commercial Real Estate Women. She is a director of the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors.

Dallas Morning News

Pizza Hut to move corporate offices to Plano

Pizza Hut has sealed a deal to move its corporate headquarters from Addison to Plano and is planning to break ground next week, the company said Tuesday.

Pizza Hut will be moving its corporate headquarters from Addison (above) to a 20.5-acre site in Plano's Legacy Business Park. The nation's largest pizza chain, part of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc., and its sister division, Yum Restaurants International, will build a new "restaurant support center" on 20.5 acres in the Legacy Business Park near Corporate and Legacy drives. The building and equipment are expected to cost about $20 million – not counting the cost of the land, which Pizza Hut purchased earlier this month from Trammell Crow Co.

The company did not release the cost of the land.

The new headquarters will be a three-story building with about 170,000 square feet of office space.

The move hinged on an incentive package from Plano – its largest ever – that gives Pizza Hut grants and tax breaks of more than $2 million. That includes economic development grants for costs such as relocation and construction of a new test kitchen, said Sally Bane, executive director of the Plano Economic Development Board. Pizza Hut also will receive property tax breaks through 2021.

Plano is hoping Pizza Hut's arrival will spur new economic activity, as at least 450 jobs move to town.

With the new workers visiting local restaurants and other businesses, "there are a lot of other businesses in town that are going to prosper by having Pizza Hut as a neighbor," said Plano Mayor Phil Dyer.

The lease on the current headquarters expires Dec. 31.

Dallas Morning News

Dallas-Fort Worth commercial property foreclosures surge

Foreclosure postings for several high-profile North Texas properties caused commercial real estate loan default filings to surge this month.

The properties scheduled for forced sale by lenders at next month's foreclosure auctions in Dallas-Fort Worth represent a total of more than $900 million in debt.

About 250 properties, including office buildings, hotels, shopping centers, warehouses and commercial land, are posted for the March sale, according to statistics from Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service.

The two largest foreclosure filings were for the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Las Colinas, with $183 million in debt, and the Mosaic apartment buildings in downtown Dallas, which had $66.5 million in original mortgages.

It was the second month that the Four Seasons has been threatened with foreclosure. Owners of the Irving hotel and the downtown apartment high-rise both say they are still in talks with lenders.

Other large properties scheduled for foreclosure next month include an almost 300,000-square-foot office building at 2370 Performance Drive in Richardson's Telecom Corridor. The building had an original loan amount of $30 million.

The Sheraton Dallas North hotel in Farmers Branch and a shopping center at the Dallas North Tollway and Windhaven Parkway in Plano were also posted for foreclosure by lenders.

March's commercial foreclosure sale will be the largest so far in the current real estate cycle.

"There were some pretty good-size postings for next month," said Foreclosure Listing Service president George Roddy. "I think it's a pivotal year for commercial real estate, and we will see the worst of foreclosures in 2010."

Not all properties posted for foreclosure wind up being sold by the lender. In many cases, the borrower continues to negotiate with the mortgage holder. And sometimes the parties reach agreements to avoid foreclosure.

Dallas Morning News

Las Colinas' Four Seasons back on foreclosure auctions listing

Last month, lenders filed to foreclose on the exclusive 400-room hotel, spa and golf club in Irving in one of the largest postings in North Texas in more than 20 years. U.S. Bank seeks repayment of a $183 million loan on the property, which is owned by Los Angeles-based BentleyForbes.

A sale of the 400-acre property was originally set for Feb. 2 but didn't go through.

"BentleyForbes continues to be in discussions," James Kasim, president of BentleyForbes, said Friday in a statement.

"BentleyForbes remains committed to working out a successful financial structure recognizing the interests of all vested entities that will bridge the challenges of the current situation."

Dallas Morning News

Dallas group buys Dillard's at Southwest Center Mall

El Rey Properties, a Dallas-based limited partnership, bought the old Dillard's department store at Southwest Center Mall for an undisclosed price, representatives of the seller, Dillard Texas LLC, said Thursday.

Plans were not disclosed for the 160,000-square-foot, two-story building at U.S. Highway 67 and Interstate 20.

Southwest Center Mall, formerly Red Bird Mall, had been in bankruptcy since last summer. Unpaid electric bills threatened to shut it down in January when Madison Realty Capital, a private commercial lender in New York, bought the mall out of foreclosure and put it up for sale.

Dallas Morning News

Continental Tire signs first least at First Park DalPort

Continental Tire has leased a 287,827-square-foot distribution space at First Park DalPort off south Interstate 45 in Wilmer.

The facility, which was leased from First Industrial Realty Trust, will be used as Continental Tire's new product distribution center for its Southwest region.

The lease is the first one signed in the business park, which is near Union Pacific's Dallas Intermodal Terminal.

Robert Allen of First Industrial worked on the lease with Terry Darrow, Kacy Jones and Will Wyatt of Jones Lang LaSalle.

Dallas Morning News

Dallas execs' Valeo Fund aims to invest in undervalued properties starting this year

Four of Dallas' top commercial real estate executives have set up a company to invest in undervalued properties.

Valeo Fund is raising money in Europe, Latin America and at home to make a play in the expected sell-off of billions in U.S. properties.

"We think this is going to be a generational opportunity to buy real estate," said Valeo Fund co-founder Mike Lewis, previously a top officer at Crescent Real Estate Equities. "It's no secret that the banks have over $1 trillion in loans coming due over the next four years.

"We think the opportunity to start acquiring some of these properties will begin this year," he said.

Fred Hamm, a veteran Dallas-based money manager, teamed up with Lewis; Jim Yoder, former managing director at Jones Lang LaSalle; and Steve Lipscomb, previously a national director of Goldman Sachs' Archon Group real estate division.

Valeo Fund plans to raise about $150 million for its first investment fund by this spring and plans to start buying $300 million worth of properties in the fall.

With many commercial real estate values around the country down by more than 40 percent, Valeo Fund is one of a number of new investment groups targeting discount property purchases.

"We believe the time is right to launch our company," said Hamm, who's been working to set up the operation for more than a year. "It takes a long time to build a private equity real estate company.

"We have already made headway with a group of investors, primarily high-net-worth individuals who are looking for the opportunity to come into the U.S. real estate market."

Valeo plans to focus on office and retail buildings priced from $15 million to more than $50 million. It is shopping for building buys in markets stretching from Washington, D.C., to Florida, Georgia, Texas, Colorado and California.

"We want to go to markets where the job growth is going to be," Hamm said.

The latest real estate forecasts say that the worst of the commercial property price shakeout is probably over. And many analysts expect the market to be in recovery by late this year and into 2011.

Billions of dollars in potential investment funds are sitting on the sidelines waiting for lenders and investors to decide to begin unloading properties.

So far, most lenders have opted to delay foreclosing on commercial properties that have lost value and can't be refinanced.

"We think the lenders are going to cease kicking that can down the road," Hamm said. "We think that's is going to start unfolding in 2010."

Dallas Morning News

Downtown buildings sit idly by as renovation projects stall

Downtown Dallas' 52-story Elm Place building was the tallest tower west of the Mississippi when it opened in 1965.

Now the million-square-foot tower is the largest empty building in town, thanks to the owner's decision to shut down.

Elm Place is one of almost a dozen large downtown buildings that have gone begging in the latest real estate boom.

And now that the recession has pulled the plug on most commercial property projects, their prospects have done anything but improve.

"We have just been through the best financial environment we are likely to see in 20 years," said Ted Hamilton, who with his father has redone more downtown buildings than any other developers.

"My sense of things is progress on a going forward basis is likely to be much slower than it has been in the last five to 10 years," Hamilton said. "Every additional building that gets redone will be very challenging."

Hamilton ought to know. His firm has been working since last year to finance a redevelopment of the landmark Lone Star Gas buildings on Harwood Street. Even with backing from City Hall, the credit crunch has made it hard to move the project forward.


Deals that died

Redevelopment deals for several other large downtown derelicts died with the economic downturn.

The huge Butler Building across from Dallas City Hall, landmark Tower Petroleum building on Elm Street and even the blue-clad 211 N. Ervay tower had been set for renovation and reuse before the financial crash hit.

Now those projects are up in the air, and the buildings remain empty.

"There are a certain number of these empty buildings downtown that may not ever be used for anything," said John Crawford, who heads the economic development group DowntownDallas. "At some point, we will need to decide what to do with them.

"But today – with the recession going on – it's not an urgent matter."


Waiting it out

Crawford said the best plan is to wait until the economy and real estate markets recover and take a fresh look as some of these properties.

"I don't think there needs to be a push to tear down all of these empty buildings right now," he said. "At this point, I think there are still residential applications for some of them and office uses for others."

That's what Katherine Seale, executive director of Preservation Dallas, hopes will happen with most of the buildings.

"Tearing them down is the easy way out – to cast them aside as unusable," Seale said. "The best thing we can do is mothball these historic structures so that when somebody is ready to use them they are still there."


EMPTY

Elm Place

1401 Elm St.

The 52-story former First National Bank Building was the tallest building in Dallas for many years. The owners recently decided to close the office skyscraper because the rental income couldn't cover the operating cost.


Statler-Hilton

1902 Commerce St.

The 19-story former Statler-Hilton hotel was touted as the country's most modern luxury hotel when it opened in 1956. But the almost 600,000-square-foot building has been shuttered for almost a decade, and a series of redevelopment schemes failed to get off the ground.


Butler Building

500 S. Ervay St.

The century-old Butler Building across from Dallas City Hall was once Dallas' largest wholesale distribution center. The 510,000-square

-foot, nine-story building was later converted to office space but has been vacant for many years. In 2007, a California developer planned to turn the project into 400 condominiums, but the deal fell through. The property is now derelict and vandalized.


Tower Petroleum and Corrigan Tower

1907 Elm St.

The 22-story art deco style Tower Petroleum building has long been acclaimed as one of downtown's architectural gems. But the 1931 skyscraper and adjoining 17-story Corrigan Tower on Pacific Avenue have been empty for several years. A developer's plans to tear down part of the complex to create a high-rise residential building and luxury hotel have gone nowhere so far.


Mercantile Commerce Building

1712 Commerce St.

The 22-story Mercantile Commerce building has been empty since the 1980s. The building was constructed in 1956 as the Vaughn Tower and later enlarged with eight more floors. It was once part of the sprawling Mercantile National Bank complex.


Mercantile Continental Building

1810 Commerce St.

The 13-story office building has more than 400,000 square feet of space and once housed part of Mercantile National Bank's downtown headquarters operation. It's been vacant since the 1990s. Cleveland-based developer First City Enterprises plans to turn the building with its iconic cowboy sculpture into residential units.


Lone Star Gas buildings

301 S. Harwood Street

Designed by renowned architect Lang and Witchell, the former Lone Star Gas building constructed in 1931 is considered one of Dallas' architectural landmarks. The 13-story art deco office building and three adjoining towers built later have been empty for almost five years. Developer Hamilton Properties is working on plans to convert the vacant offices into apartments and retail space.


211 N. Ervay

The last of downtown Dallas' big blue buildings from the 1950s, the derelict skyscraper is the frequent object of both scorn and praise. Built in 1958, the 17-story high-rise has been empty since the 1980s. California-based investors bought it a few years ago and wanted to make it into apartments, but the project stalled.


Praetorian Building

1607 Main St.

When it opened in 1908, the Praetorian Building with 15 floors was Dallas' first true skyscraper. The office tower's beautiful classic exterior was junked in a 1960 redo, and it's been empty since 1993. Dallas oilman Tim Headington bought the vacant tower in October and is working on a redevelopment plan.


Old Dallas High School

2218 Bryan St.

The oldest remaining high school building in Dallas has seen better days. Built in 1907, the four-story building sits in front of one of DART's busiest rail stations. Also known as Crozier Tech, the building was purchased in 1998 by a California investor who tried to knock it down. The city obtained a court ruling to preserve the landmark structure. But not much has happened with the property since.

SOURCE: Dallas Morning News research

Commercial real estate transactions

Sales

Vanilla Brown Inc. bought the 9911 Lake June Shopping Center from a California investor. The new owner will use the vacant space in the center as offices for its nursing service. Gaines Real Estate Co. arranged the sale with Liberty Real Estate Co.

Signature Home Furnishing purchased a 23,000-square-foot warehouse at 3939 Forest Lane in Garland. Adam Strittmatter and Greg Nelson of Lee & Associates brokered the sale with Doug Molny of Jim Lake Cos.



Leases

Insight Merchandising leased 70,000 square feet of industrial space at 1000 S. Nolen Dr. in Grand Prairie. Donnie Rohde and Ken Wesson of Lee & Associates arranged the lease with Bradford Cos.

Harte-Hanks Direct Marketing leased 21,450 square feet of industrial space at 2005 Great Southwest Parkway in Grand Prairie from Prologis IV Inc. Travis Sapaugh of CB Richard Ellis negotiated the lease.

RP Foods Partners LP leased 13,500 square feet of space at 1225 Capital Drive in Carrollton. Ryan Boozer of the Mercer Co. negotiated the lease with Transwestern.

Arrow Electronics Inc.leased 8,340 square feet of office space at 1820 Preston Park Boulevard in Plano from Alexander & Baldwin Inc. Dennis Barnes and Rick Rensi of CB Richard Ellis negotiated the lease with John Roper of CB Richard Ellis.

Town Square Financial expanded its headquarters lease to 6,393 square feet at 2601 Network Blvd. in the Hall Office Park in Frisco. Jean C. Farris of Hall Financial Group negotiated the lease.

OPC Nail Supplies leased 6,285 square feet of retail space at 3030 N. Josey Lane in Carrollton. Eric Deuillet of Structure Commercial negotiated the transaction.

Banowsky & Levine PC leased 5,109 square feet of space in North Central Plaza III at 12801 N. Central Expressway in Dallas from Younan Properties Inc. Melanie Hughes and Sharon Friedberg of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services negotiated the lease with Trace Elrod of Jackson & Cooksey Inc.

Dallas Morning News

Harkinson Investment buys Carrollton building

Harkinson Investment Corp., working through a limited partnership, has bought a Carrollton office and industrial building.

The 60,530-square-foot building at 2532-2542 Highlander Way was purchased from an affiliate of First Industrial Realty Trust.

The property was built in 1999 and is fully leased.

Ron Hebert, Michael Lawrence and Scott Ryan of Marcus & Millichap negotiated the sale.

The Dallas office of Northmarq Capital arranged financing with Aviva Investors of North America.

Dallas Morning News

Carrollton developer buys Stoneleigh condo tower in Uptown

CTMGT LLC, an affiliate of Centurion American Development Group, beat a group of bidders trying to acquire the unfinished Heritage at the Stoneleigh residential high-rise on Wolf Street near Maple Avenue.

Work stopped on the building in 2008, and creditors seeking almost $5 million forced the project into bankruptcy in May 2009.

About 12 of the more than 20 floors planned for Stoneleigh tower were constructed before work halted.
View larger Photography Photo store A Carrollton developer has purchased a partially built Uptown condo tower.


Work stopped on the Heritage at the Stoneleigh in 2008, leaving a concrete shell with 12 floors and a parking garage standing on Wolf Street.
The bankruptcy court recently approved the sale of the project for $4.55 million to CTMGT, headed by developer Mehrdad Moayedi.

Moayedi said his firm will finish the project.

"I'm going to do the same thing they originally planned, but with a lower [cost] basis," he said Tuesday.

The Stoneleigh tower is only a concrete shell – about 12 of the 20-plus planned floors and a parking garage were built before work halted.

"We hope to start work on the 10 stories that are missing in the next six months," Moayedi said.

The high-rise project adjoins the landmark Stoneleigh Hotel, which was recently remodeled and has separate ownership.

"We are going to make some bigger units in the building and custom finish them," Moayedi said. "Because of our lower basis in the project, we will be able to take our time."

He said the developers already have more than a dozen prospective buyers who want units ranging from 2,500 to 8,000 square feet.

Moayedi said his firm has reached an agreement with original contractor Turner Construction Co. to complete the exterior of the high-rise. Two custom homebuilders will do the interiors.

Centurion American had plans a few years ago to build high-rise residential properties in Dallas' Uptown neighborhood but didn't get them off the ground before the recession hit.

Since then, high-rise condo sales in Dallas and most other markets have stalled.

According to bankruptcy court records, CTMGT beat a $4 million bid for the property by Hayman Woods LLC.

Real estate broker Newt Walker worked with CTMGT on its successful bid for the Stoneleigh property.

Moayedi's Centurion American Development Group was formed in 1990 and has been involved in developing more than 40 residential and mixed-use projects in North Texas, according to the company's Web site.

In December, the company bought more than 400 lots for custom homes in the Fort Worth area from builder and developer Steve Hawkins

Dallas Morning News

Four Seasons resort's foreclosure delayed

Lenders that provided $183 million in financing for Irving's Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas didn't move ahead with a foreclosure scheduled for Tuesday.

The owner of the 400-acre golf course and hotel, Los Angeles-based BentleyForbes, has been in negotiations with the debt holders since fall. In January, the property was posted for forced sale.

BentleyForbes "continues to work toward a positive outcome," the company said.

Dallas Morning News

Dallas Commercial Transactions

Sales

Trojan Elevator bought a 3,040- square-foot industrial building at 113 N.E. 29th St. in Grand Prairie. Steve Montagna of Capstone Commercial negotiated the sale.

Reddoch Agency purchased a 3,784-square-foot commercial property at 8605 MidCities Blvd. in North Richland Hills from Nationwide Insurance. Russell Webb of Stream Realty negotiated the transaction with Crest Haven Properties.

Padrino Foods bought a 20,000- square-foot industrial building at 3200 Conflans Road in Irving. Steve Montagna of Capstone Commercial negotiated the sale.


Leases

Probuild South leased 117,072 square feet of industrial space at 8701 Sterling St. in Irving from Colbalt Industrial REIT II. Bob Scully of CB Richard Ellis negotiated the lease.

Ocular LCD Inc. leased 13,742 square feet of office space at 12700 Park Central Drive in Dallas. Russ Johnson and Sean Dalton of Grubb and Ellis negotiated the lease with Lee Koons and Bob Myers of Myers Commercial.

TR Global Inc. expanded its lease by 12,773 square feet at 12100 Ford Road in Dallas. Jondarious Williams negotiated the lease on behalf of Boxer Property with Tom Fry of KW Commercial.

Classic Soft Trim Inc. leased 12,298 square feet of industrial space in the Skyview Service Center at 1751 Hurd Drive in Irving. Brian Pafford and Jason Miller of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services negotiated the lease.

Yanyee International leased 9,525 square feet of warehouse space in the Twin Creeks Business Center at 1303 N. Watters Road in Allen from Twin Creeks Warehouse Venture. Susan Singer and Chris Stout of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services arranged the lease with Ultimate Relocation Inc.

Minyard Food Stores leased 9,252 square feet of industrial space at 8304 Esters Blvd. in Irving from DCT Industrial Trust. Bob Scully of CB Richard Ellis negotiated the lease with Blake Kendrick of Stream Realty.

Yellow Book Inc. leased an 8,152- square-foot office building at 231 N.E. Loop 820 in Hurst from Yardelle Investment Management LLC. Eric Deuillet of Structure Commercial negotiated the lease with William Sale of Grubb & Ellis.

Fit Logistics Inc. leased 5,667 square feet of warehouse space at 12589 Perimeter Drive in Dallas from DCT Industrial. Erik Blais of Alliance Commercial negotiated the lease with Stephen Cooper of NAI Robert Lynn Co.

Village Bar and Lounge leased 5,200 square feet of retail space at 3920 Rosemeade Parkway in Dallas from MDT Caladium Ltd. Eric Deuillet and Jeremy Cummings of Structure Commercial negotiated the transaction.

The Pub in McKinney leased a 5,000-square-foot space at 204 W. Virginia in downtown McKinney for a new restaurant and bar. Ben Chien and Joseph Duhon of Henry S. Miller Brokerage negotiated the lease.

Real estate editor Steve Brown compiles this list.