Transcontinental Realty Investors Inc. and Abode Properties have broken ground on Tower Bay Lofts in Lewisville.
Tower Bay Lofts is a four-story, 308-unit midrise apartment development that will offer amenities including clubhouse, resort style pools, parking garage with observation deck overlooking Lake Lewisville, fitness center, dog park, salon, bocce ball court, storage units, bike rentals and fire pits.
The unit mix is proposed to have efficiency units at 575 square feet, one-bedroom units ranging from 679 to 840 square feet, two bedrooms ranging from 1,036 to 1,292 square feet and two-bedroom penthouse lofts at 1,604 square feet.
“Tower Bay is located in the middle of the primary growth path of the area. It is anticipated that the Lewisville market will continue to be in the forefront of future growth of the greater Dallas area,” said Daniel J. Moos, TCI’s president and CEO.
Abode Properties is a subsidiary of Transcontinental Realty Investors Inc., a Dallas-based real estate investment company.
U.S WAREHOUSE MOMENTUM
FUELED BY E-COMMERCE
Momentum for more warehouse construction in the United States is likely to continue because most of the country’s warehouse stock is decades old and ill-suited for the demands of e-commerce, according to a new report from CBRE.
The average age of warehouse buildings in the Dallas-Fort Worth industrial market is 31 years, newer than the national average of 34 years. Houston’s average building age is right in line with the national average.
But sophisticated users will continue to demand more modern space in D-FW, according to Steve Berger, senior vice president at CBRE.
“More sophisticated tenants are demanding more advanced warehouse and distribution facilities to accommodate the growing e-commerce demand,” said Berger.
“Facilities must operate with a higher velocity, resulting in increased employee counts and the corresponding need for more parking and support facilities. Larger truck courts are required to facilitate improved flow. Higher ceiling heights allow for more dense storage and multi-level pick systems,” said Berger.
While it may appear that developers have raced to erect warehouses and distribution centers in recent years, the new supply has had little impact on the entire U.S. warehouse market. Despite roughly 1 billion square feet of new construction over the past decade, the average age of warehouses rose to 34 years from 26 in that time. That’s partly because that new construction amounts to only 11 percent of the entire 9.1 billion-square-foot inventory.
CBRE analyzed data from 56 major U.S. markets and found that most facilities built before the mid-2000s have limitations for e-commerce distribution, such as low ceilings, small footprints, uneven floors and inadequate docking.
In contrast, modern facilities with larger footprints, high ceilings and close proximity to major population centers are in strong demand. Three quarters of U.S. warehouses that went under new leases in 2016 and 2017 were built in the past five years.
Just keeping the industry’s average building age constant would require the construction of 275 million square feet annually. Actual construction has averaged 100 million square feet annually in the past decade, including a peak of 183 million square feet last year.
“E-commerce has created demand for a new type of warehouse with different dimensions, locations and capabilities than what most of the existing U.S. supply offers,” said David Egan, CBRE global head of industrial and logistics research. “Given that only a small portion of the overall market is truly modernized, there is a strong case for new construction and redevelopment of outdated facilities in many markets.”
Many of the oldest markets are in the Northeast, led by northern New Jersey with an average warehouse age of 57 years, Pittsburgh (56), Boston (44) and Philadelphia (44). The youngest markets mostly are in the West and South, led by California’s Inland Empire (20 years), Las Vegas (23), Phoenix (26) and Atlanta (29).
ANOTHER XTO PROPERTY
FOR SALE IN DOWNTOWN FW
JLL is marketing another XTO Energy Inc. property. The real estate firm announced June 5 that XTO is selling 714 Main, its 24-story office building at the corner of Main and Seventh streets in downtown Fort Worth.
Built in 1921 and renovated in 2010, 714 Main has 185,757 square feet of office space.
JLL Executive Vice President Ryan Matthews will lead marketing efforts for the property.
“Properties within the downtown core are being aggressively pursued by residential and hospitality developers, and 714 Main provides a rare opportunity to become a key stakeholder in downtown Fort Worth’s vibrant urban environment,” said Matthews. “As one of the largest, historically registered buildings in downtown, 714’s re-development upside is significant. The potential capital investment, if the asset were to be repurposed, will no doubt make this a transformational project for downtown Fort Worth.”
JLL has negotiated the sale of four of the initial seven XTO office assets in Fort Worth, including most recently the Petroleum Building at 201 W. Sixth St. Matthews is leading the marketing efforts for XTO’s WT Waggoner Building at 810 Houston St. and expects to finalize a sale this summer.
Irving-based Exxon Mobil Corp., owner of XTO Energy, announced last summer that it planned to sell six of the buildings and would transfer 1,600 workers from Fort Worth to Houston by 2020.
ALDI BEGINS REMODELING
ALDI has a new look. The grocery chain reopened its renovated Fort Worth store at 5728 N. Tarrant Parkway on June 7. The renovation is part of a $1.6 billion initiative to remodel and expand more than 1,300 ALDI stores nationwide by the end of 2020. Locally, ALDI is investing $66 million to update 54 stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by the end of 2019.
All remodeled ALDI stores feature natural lighting and environmentally friendly building materials.
“Our remodeled store layout will simplify the shopping experience for customers so they can get out the door with everything they need,” said Scott Huska, Denton division vice president for ALDI.
As part of the company’s expansion plans, 25,000 new jobs will be added in stores, warehouses and offices nationwide by 2022. ALDI recently was named to the Forbes America’s Best Large Employers list.
FW GETS NEWK’S EATERY,
2ND LOCATION ON THE WAY
Fast-casual restaurant Newk’s Eatery opened its first Fort Worth restaurant on June 4 and another is scheduled to begin serving diners in September at Champion’s Center.
The new eatery is at 2217 N. Tarrant Parkway in North Fort Worth, making it Newk’s fourth restaurant in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The 4,160-square-foot restaurant in Fort Worth will accommodate 180 customers, including an outdoor patio. Fort Worth NKS LLC, composed of father and son restaurateurs Hooshang Naghad and Cyrus Park, will operate Newk’s in Fort Worth. Naghad has extensive industry experience including owning a fine dining restaurant for almost 40 years, and is a graduate of the French Culinary Institute of New York. Park has been working alongside his father managing operations for 17 years.
“The sincere commitment to modern quality and convenience paired with traditional hospitality is what attracted us to be a part of Newk’s,” said Park. “We believe Fort Worth will appreciate a fine casual restaurant like Newk’s. We’re excited to welcome everyone to become a part of Newk’s close-knit foodie community.”
Newk’s menu includes grilled and toasted sandwiches, more than a dozen entrée salads, soups and hand-rolled pizzas for lunch and dinner. Newk’s also owns its own bakery, making signature dozen-layer cakes every day with flavors such as strawberry, caramel, chocolate and a seasonal feature.
Newk’s Eatery, from Jackson, Mississippi, was founded in in 2004 and operates and franchises more than 116 restaurants in 15 states.
SALE
Community Foundation of North Texas sold its 4,700-square-foot building at 6017 Westcreek Dr. in Fort Worth to VLJ Westcreek Holdings LLC. Bill Behr with Transwestern Fort Worth represented the seller, Community Foundation of North Texas. Tyler Maner and Hanes Chatham with Stream Realty Partners represented the buyer.
LEASES
Two Men and a Truck renewed its 5,182-quare-foot lease at 2211-2229 E. Division St. in Arlington. Clay Balch of Holt Lunsford Commercial represented the landlord, ATCAP Partners.
Carter BloodCare has leased 4,777 square feet of space at the Lincoln Court Shopping Center at 4700 Little Road in Arlington. Jennifer Dyess of Colonial Commercial Real Estate LLC represented the landlord.
Send real deals to Robert Francis at rfrancis@bizpress.net.