Buttons offices move to Fort Worth’s Austin Plaza
Buttons soul food and jazz restaurant has moved its catering and sales office to Fort Worth’s Austin Plaza, 2401 Scott Ave. The company occupies about 1,200 square feet, making it the largest commercial tenant in the business complex. Since opening its doors in 2008, Buttons has blended Southern cuisine with live music. Overseeing both Fort Worth and Addison locations is executive chef Keith Hicks. “We’re excited about relocating our headquarters to Austin Plaza,” said Herbert Hughes, president of Buttons Management, in a news release. Austin Plaza was purchased six years ago in a joint venture between Fort Worth commercial real estate magnate Jim Austin and East Side Real Estate LLC. It encompasses 16,000 square feet and has eight tenants. More information on Austin Plaza is available at www.austincompany.com or 817-923-9305.
TARRANT HOMEBUILDER BUYS 21 COLLIN COUNTY HOMESITES Our Country Homes of Hurst has purchased 21 custom homesites at The Settlement in Craig Ranch, a 2,200-acre master-planned corporate, residential and retail community in McKinney. “We are one of the few developers in Collin County with well-located custom home lots on the ground, and we have seen a strong interest in these lots this year,” said Miles Prestemon, chief operating officer of Craig Ranch, in a news release. The transaction is Our Country Homes’ first major expansion into Collin County after operating primarily in Tarrant County. It plans to introduce what it calls a new Platinum Series of luxury home designs to Collin County. Construction on a model home and three additional homes is scheduled to begin early this month. Home prices are expected to start in the $500,000s. “We wanted to be in the most active luxury market in Dallas-Fort Worth area and clearly Collin County is the place to be,” said company president Dustin Austin, adding that his firm chose Craig Ranch because of what he called its unmatched signature amenities, Frisco schools and location. Our Country Homes has built primarily in Hurst, North Richland Hills and Keller. More information about Our Country Homes is available at www.ourcountryhomes.com. More information about Craig Ranch is available at www.craigranchtx.com. YATES CONSTRUCTION CHOSEN FOR GRANBURY PROJECT W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co., with offices in Fort Worth, has been selected by United Cooperative Services to develop its Hood County office. The property is located on about 4.2 acres at 320 Fall Creek Highway in Granbury. It will house offices and provide storage facilities for the electric distribution cooperative. The project will add a 9,865-square-foot expansion to the existing facility and demolish some of the existing structure. The new facility will be certified as LEED Silver and will be completed in several phases to allow continued operation during construction. LEED designation denotes meeting standards set by the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. “We have truly enjoyed working as part of this team and are excited about breaking ground on UCS Hood County Office project,” said Randy Powell, senior vice president of Yates’ Texas division. United Cooperative Services is a nonprofit electric distribution cooperative and has served more than 55,000 members since 1938. Maintaining more than 10,500 miles of energized line, the firm serves all or parts of Bosque, Comanche, Coryell, Eastland, Ellis, Erath, Hamilton, Hood, Johnson, Palo Pinto, Somervell, Stephens and Tarrant counties. Privately held W. G. Yates & Sons Construction Co. is based in Philadelphia, Miss. It provides general construction, at-risk construction management, design-build, preconstruction and specialized turnkey services from 20 offices in nine states. More information is available at www.wgyates.com.
CBRE SELLS RETAIL CENTER AT EASTCHASE MARKET Eastchase Market retail center in east Fort Worth has been sold to an Arizona real estate investment firm. Cole Real Estate Investments bought the property on behalf of Columbus Pacific Properties and Equity Alliance Fund. CBRE Group Inc.’s national retail investment group marketed the property. The purchase price was not disclosed. Covering 265,097 square feet, Eastchase Market is 96.2 percent occupied and features AMC Theatres, Ross, Office Depot, Marshalls, Spec’s, Dollar Tree and Burke’s Outlet, according to a CBRE news release. Five of the tenants have signed new, long-term leases. The center is located at 1600 Eastchase Parkway, along the south side of Interstate 30. CBRE Senior Vice President Chris Cozby and First Vice President Chris Gerard, based in Dallas, and Vice President Kevin Holland, based in Houston, began marketing the property in June 2013. ES&H EXPANDS FOOTPRINT IN GRAND PRAIRIE DISTRICT Louisiana-based ES&H of Texas LLC plans to expand into a newly acquired two-acre paved and fenced tract with a small office building in the Upper Great Southwest Industrial District in Grand Prairie. “The ink was barely dry on the listing agreement when I started knocking on neighbors’ doors. ES&H was the first stop I made,” said Will Dillard, broker associate of Dallas-based Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services, commenting in a news release. “We had a contract three days later.” The all-cash transaction saw Boucvalt Real Estate DE LLC of Austin acquire 3402 Gilbert Road in Grand Prairie for its ES&H affiliate from Guido Construction Inc. The seller, now based in Irving, had outgrown the location. ES&H maintains a fleet of heavy equipment to support its environmental cleanup and emergency response services, primarily focused on the oil and gas industry. It has 14 locations Texas, Louisiana and Alabama. The deal boosts ES&H’s footprint to nearly 3.5 acres just east of Texas 161. The recently purchased land houses a 1,444-square-foot office building constructed in 2009. “It’s a good little property,” said Dillard, who brokered the sale.
JOSEPH E. BRIGGS SNAPS UP ARLINGTON OFFICE COMPLEX Joseph E. Briggs & Associates Inc. has acquired a two-building garden-office complex in west Arlington from A. Fitzgerald Properties Ltd. The buildings, totaling 8,277 square feet, are located at 3603 W. Park Row. The .08-acre tract is 82 percent leased and has a mix of professional services tenants, including a dentist who has been there for almost 30 years. The transaction marks the seller’s close-out of commercial properties developed by the late Harold T. Fitzgerald and the first sale for Casey Tounget of SCM Real Estate Services in Arlington. NEWCRESTIMAGE OPENS GRAPEVINE HOTEL NewcrestImage has opened what it calls the first “dual-branded” hotel property in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The Grapevine facility comprises a 181-room Courtyard by Marriott and a 120-suite TownePlace Suites by Marriott. While maintaining separate branding, the hotels share the same management, sales and housekeeping staffs, as well as an outdoor swimming pool, fitness center and 13,000 square feet of meeting space. NewcrestImage now owns and operates 17 hotel properties and has five under construction and two in various stages of development. OTHER LEASES Phil Rosenfeld and Matt Thompson of Colliers International represented the landlords in leasing 15,000 square feet at 361 Beach St. in Fort Worth to Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations. Representing the tenant was Ryan Boozer of The Mercer Co. Rosenfeld and Thompson represented Tarrant County Properties. NorthMarq Capital has arranged a $6.3 million loan for acquiring The Arbors, a 200-unit apartment complex at 1010 E. Arkansas Lane in Arlington. Originating the three-year loan, including interest-only payments, was Kevin Jenkins of NorthMarq’s Charlotte, N.C., office. John Kasperbauer has leased 3,209 square feet of office space in Westpark Centre, 150 Westpark Way, Euless, from Golden Walkman LLC. Representing the landlord was Darrel Higginbotham of SCM Real Estate Services. Rik Massengale of ReMax Commercial represented the tenant.
Edgerton Emanuel Crandell has leased 1,696 square feet of office space at 418 N. Main St., Euless, from Duvar Family Trust. Representing the landlord in the direct deal was Beaux Riley of SCM Real Estate Services. OSI Environmental Inc. has leased 7,315 square feet of warehouse space at 6800 Exchange Drive, Mansfield, from El Capa II Trust. Representing the tenant was Brendan Smith, market director of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services. Jordan Foster of Peyco Southwest represented the landlord. Monarch Behavioral Therapy has leased 9,229 square feet of flex office space in Premier Business Center I, 3100 Premier Drive in Irving, from a Georgia-based private investor. Representing the landlord was Jason Miller, vice president of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services. Robert Stone of R2S Interests Inc. represented the tenant. Send real estate news to lgraham@bizpress.net