Magnolia Medical Tower appears anew after Velocis recently completed renovations to the medical district building it purchased last year. The commercial real estate investment fund spent $1.5 million in renovating and restoring the 89,727-square-foot Fort Worth property at 1307 Eighth Ave. “Now that the Magnolia Medical Tower renovations are complete, the quality of the asset and the building’s prime location offers current and potential tenants a unique, convenient workplace in the heart of the Fort Worth medical district,” said Jim Yoder, Velocis principal, commenting in a news release. Yoder said he expects increased occupancy and overall value as a result of the renovations.
Implementing the renovations was Dallas-based interior design and architecture firm Staffelbach, which began work in January. Upgrades involved all six floors and the parking garage. The project entailed modernizing the building’s elevators, upgrading common areas, applying new corridor finishes, renovating lobby areas and reconstructing restrooms. Doors were upgraded for what Velocis called a “more cohesive look” and to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The structure also has upgraded fire alarms, new paint, new signage and a new canopy over the walkway bridge leading from the parking garage roof to the office building. The building, formerly known as Medical Arts Building, is adjacent to Baylor All Saints Medical Center. Built in 1985, it is 74 percent leased by private doctors and medical service firms. Handling building leasing is a team from Lincoln Harris CSG, including Nat Klein, Banks Newton and Jason Manske. This building marks Velocis’ second purchase in the Fort Worth market. The fund purchased Ridglea Village in October 2011. Tenants of that 112,117-square-foot retail center include Campisi’s restaurant, La Madeleine, FedEx Kinko’s, Eurospa and Haltom’s Jewelers. http://velocis.com
SPANISH VILLAGE SOLD Spanish Village, a 145-unit apartment building at 5700 Meadowbrook Drive in Fort Worth, has been sold, according to Bill G. Jordan, regional manager of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services’ Fort Worth office. Boyan Radic, Doug Banerjee, John Barker and Mason Green, investment specialists in the Fort Worth office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, a private investor whose name was not disclosed. The buyer, a limited liability company, also was secured and represented by Radic, Banerjee, Barker and Green.
AUTO FINANCING FIRM BUYS PROPERTY Sapience Partners Ltd. of Dallas has sold a 43,428-square-foot, two-story office building in Bedford to a financial services company for its new headquarters. In an all-cash transaction, Calvert Family Holdings of Colleyville, which specializes in automobile financing, acquired the property at 1320 Tennis Dr. The site once housed Sapience’s restaurant software development business, Aloha POS, which was sold to NCR Corp. in 2011. “This building is in remarkably good condition for being vacant so long,” said Karen Simon, executive vice president and managing partner of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services, commenting in a news release. Representing the seller in the transaction were Simon and Erik E. Blais, Bradford’s market director. Representing the buyer was Josh Born of Keep Real Estate Holdings LLC.
BENTALL KENNEDY ACQUIRES AMAZON.COM DISTRIBUTION CENTER Almost a year after announcing its presence in the bustling Alliance development, Amazon.com’s distribution center has been sold to real-estate investment firm Bentall Kennedy. The company recently snapped up the newly opened 1.1 million-square-foot facility in Haslet near Fort Worth, acquiring it from Hillwood Development Co. on behalf of an institutional investor for an undisclosed amount. The center occupies 68 acres on Westport Parkway near Fort Worth, and within the AllianceTexas master-planned development. Amazon confirmed in January that it had signed a 15-year lease with Hillwood to use the building, which was then under construction, as a regional fulfillment center for small items such as books and games. Amazon centers near Dallas and San Antonio handle larger items. The Haslet center opened on Oct. 16. “Amazon’s tenancy alone makes this property a highly desirable investment, and the building will retain a high value when the lease expires in 15 years,” David Nielsen, senior vice president, Bentall Kennedy, said in a news release.
SKYWALKER SNAPS UP FORT WORTH SITE SkyWalker Property Partners has acquired a fully leased industrial asset in South Fort Worth for Hangover Opportunity Fund LLC, which was formed in 2010 to build a $100 million portfolio of office, industrial and retail properties in Texas. The lease is held by May Group International, an aluminum gasoline price sign manufacturer. The property is at 1200 Forum Way S. in Carter Industrial Park. Its 60,000-square-foot and 78,000-square-foot office-warehouses serve as the corporate headquarters and production facility for the 67-year-old company. “It’s a solid core industrial asset with a good-quality long-term tenant,” said Theron Bryant, principal of SCM Real Estate Services of Arlington, in a news release.
IPA brokers Bedford apartment sale Institutional Property Advisors (IPA), a multifamily brokerage division of Marcus & Millichap, has brokered the sale of The Creek on Park Place in Bedford. The 220-unit apartment complex at 2001 Park Place Blvd. offers one- and two-bedroom apartments plus amenities such as a swimming pool, dog park, playground, fitness center and laundry facility. Representing the seller in the transaction were Will Balthrope and Drew Kile of IPA and Nick Fluellen and Bard Hoover of Marcus & Millichap. The buyer was a 1031 tax-deferred exchange investor based on the West Coast. Neither the buyer nor the seller was identified.
DSW, Havertys coming to Alliance Town Center DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and Havertys have announced locations at Alliance Town Center, the 1 million-square-foot retail component of the master-planned AllianceTexas community in North Fort Worth. Construction of the 35,000-square-foot Havertys is set to begin in December, and the 15,000-square-foot DSW is expected to break ground later this year or early 2014. Both stores are scheduled to open Labor Day weekend of 2014. Alliance Town Center is a joint venture of developers Trademark Property Co. and Hillwood Investment Properties.
CBRE sells Legacy Park in Plano CBRE’s Dallas multi-housing group has sold The Encore, a 196,664-square-foot luxury apartment community at 4700 Tribeca Lane in Plano, near Legacy Business Park. Representing Zale/Corson Group, the seller, were Charles Cirar, Ryan Reid and Jeremy Faltys of CBRE. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “The sale of this community provided an investor a rare opportunity to acquire a state-of-the-art, mid-rise community in Dallas’ most affluent neighborhood adjoining Legacy Business Park and North Plano,” said Reid, an executive vice president of CBRE, in a news release. Zale/Corson Group developed the 240-unit, Class A residential property in 2012. It was 95 percent leased at the time of sale.
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