By A. Lee Graham
lgraham@bizpress.net
The former Luke Honda dealership in Arlington has been sold to Ryan Dodson of Dodson Development, along with fellow Arlington investors Alan Petsche and Victor Irwin. The investors, collectively known as Urban Union LLC, made the purchase for an undisclosed amount. Representing 400 Division LP, a subsidiary of The Van Tuyl Group, the seller, was Bill Bledsoe, automotive real estate specialist with Henry S. Miller Brokerage’s Dallas-Fort Worth Investments-Land Division. The former Honda dealership includes multiple buildings totaling about 60,000 square feet on more than five acres along Division Street, East Street and Front Street in downtown Arlington.
Dodson is no stranger to Arlington real estate, having recently completed several downtown projects, including Block 300, the Abram Street destination that’s home to Flying Fish, Twisted Root and Hooligans Pub, among others. Petsche, a longtime Arlington business owner and graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington graduate, is restoring the Candlelight Inn on Division Street. Dodson and Petsche have “big plans” for the former dealership, according to a Henry S. Miller news release. Those could include restaurants and entertainment venues, office spaces, executive suites and co-working space designed to attract start-ups, entrepreneurs and established businesses.
WESTBEND PLANS REVIVED ALONG UNIVERSITY DRIVE A stalled Fort Worth mixed-use project is back on track. The WestBend development along University Drive promises 84,000 square feet of retail space, including a newly signed anchor tenant, according to project developer Trademark Property Co. About 57,500 square feet of Class A office space will be added to the property, with construction planned to begin in early 2014. Grand opening is set for spring 2015. The expansion will complete the 278,000-square-foot mixed-use project, according to Trademark officials. The site, just east of University Park Village, will include several restaurants along the Trinity Trail, with trailside patios, new public spaces and retailers. Earlier this year, Trademark CEO Terry Montesi announced plans to restart the project. The 2008 recession put the project on the back burner the following year. “We stopped so we could sustain it and keep owning it,” Montesi told a packed audience at an August business luncheon. An on-site parking garage had been partly built when developers put the brakes on construction.
WELLS FARGO BRANCH IN FORT WORTH SOLD A Wells Fargo branch at 8620 N. Beach St. in Fort Worth has been sold. Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services arranged the sale of the 3,966-square-foot leased property, according to Bill G. Jordan, regional manager of the firm’s Fort Worth office. Vincent Knipp, Chance Hales and John Glass, investment specialists also with the firm’s Fort Worth and San Francisco offices, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a partnership that was not named. The buyer, also an unidentified partnership, was represented by Knipp, Hales and Glass. About 13 years remained on the lease, with 10 percent rent increases every five years. The lease is guaranteed by Wells Fargo Bank N.A.
SKYWALKER SNAPS UP LAS COLINAS OFFICE COMPLEX SkyWalker Property Partners has acquired Campus Circle, a three-building, 66,885-square-foot office complex in Irving’s Las Colinas. The single-story structures, at 6301, 6321 and 6341 Campus Circle Drive, are near the Texas 114-Bush Turnpike interchange. SkyWalker purchased the asset on behalf of the Hangover Opportunity Fund LLC through an auction by LNR Partners Inc. The new owner plans capital improvements for the property, which was 79 percent vacant at the time of the sale. Representing the seller in the transaction was Tom Strohbehn of Cushman & Wakefield. The seller’s name was not disclosed.
MANSFIELD APARTMENT COMPLEX BOUGHT BY ADVENIR Real estate firm Advenir has acquired Advenir@Walnut Creek, a 256-unit apartment complex in Mansfield. The property, at 3251 Matlock Road, was completed in 2002 and formerly known as Spyglass. It offers one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans and communal amenities such as a swimming pool, fitness center, business center and media room. Fifty units have undergone interior improvements since May and the new ownership plans to upgrade the rest of the units by 2015. Advenir represented itself in the transaction, with Drew Kile and Will Balthrope of Institutional Property Advisors representing the seller, Kaplan Management Co. in the transaction. Arranging acquisition financing was Braden Harmon of Berkeley Point Capital.
USMD LEASES ARLINGTON SPACE USMD PPM LLC has leased 4,918 square feet for a new oncology suite at 811 W. Interstate 20 in Arlington from USMD Hospital of Arlington LP. Renee Efimoff of SCM Real Estate Services represented the landlord in the transaction.
OTHER LEASES Carol Wilbur Barnest GST Trust has acquired a 25,000-square-foot warehouse at 250 Roberts Cut Off Road in Fort Worth from Brenda Crow Miller. Representing the buyer was SCM Real Estate Services’ Theron Bryant. McKinney Commercial Real Estate’s Paul McKinney represented the local seller. In another SCM deal, Choice ATM Enterprises acquired the 18,000-square-foot Lamar Plaza at 1630 E. Lamar Blvd. in Arlington from Sterling Properties JV. SCM’s Darrel Higginbotham represented the seller. Tom Ritter represented the retail buyer.
Encore Land, a division of Encore Enterprises, has purchased 15 acres at 2011 Callender Road in Mansfield just north of Debbie Road at U.S. 287 for a new residential community to be known as The Villages of Park Hill. The single-family homes will be built by Dunhill Homes, with a targeted opening in late spring or early summer 2014.
Send real estate news to Lee Graham at lgraham@bizpress.net