Real Deals: Up, up and away with new FAA headquarters

Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co., in a joint venture with USAA Real Estate Co. of San Antonio, will build the Federal Aviation Administration’s new Southwest regional office center at AllianceTexas. The 357,214-square-foot, 6-story complex will house about 1,600 FAA workers and is set to open in 2015 at the northeast corner of Heritage Parkway and Interstate 35W. The winning design, by Gensler, meets the government’s security and energy efficiency requirements, according to a Trammell Crow news release. Construction is slated to begin in September and to be completed in October 2015. Manhattan Construction Co. will serve as general contractor. The FAA signed a 20-year lease for the deal, with a plan to consolidate area workers in the facility. The FAA has more than 1,000 employees at 2601 Meacham Blvd. “The Trammell Crow and USAA Real Estate Co. team appreciates the opportunity to collaborate with GSA, FAA, and the city of Fort Worth to give rise to a vibrant office environment that celebrates the long and compelling history of the FAA, energizes this section of the city of Fort Worth and the I-35W corridor, and of which we can all be proud for decades to come,” said Tom Finan, a managing director of Trammell Crow in Washington, D.C. The Washington and Dallas-Fort Worth offices of Trammell Crow are involved in the project. Other team members include B & A Consulting Engineers, Haynes Whaley Associates, Mycoskie Mcinnis Associates, Pacheco Koch, and Weidlinger Associates. The General Services Administration was represented by Nancy Lopez of GSA and Kelly Winn of Studley.

Roll out the red carpet Cinemark Holdings Inc. of Plano recently announced that it has closed on 10 acres to construct a 14-screen, all-digital movie theater in little ol’ Roanoke. Scheduled to open in spring 2015, the multiplex will be located north of Fort Worth at the junction of Texas State Highways 170 and 114. When it is completed Cinemark will have 21 theaters. So you may ask, who did the deal? Walking the red carpet should be Ken Reimer, David Davidson Jr. and Edward Bogel of Venture Commercial’s Land Division, who represented the landlord, Roanoke Gateway, in the land sale. Venture is also assisting the developer with the marketing of pad sites. Jay Jostrand of GRACO Real Estate Development represented Cinemark and deserves a red carpet walk as well.

Baker makes VP appointment Pittsburgh-based Michael Baker Jr. Inc., an engineering unit of the Michael Baker Corp., has promoted several employees to new vice president positions. In the firm’s Arlington office Juan Contreras, vice president and statewide office principal for Baker’s Texas transportation operations, has been named vice president. In this role, Contreras provides oversight and operational responsibility for Baker’s transportation business in the Arlington, Austin and San Antonio offices. He is located in the Arlington office.

Backwoods Bigfoot Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has announced the sale of Backwoods Equipment Co., a 17,645-square-foot net leased property at 2727 W. Seventh St. in Fort Worth, according to Bill G. Jordan, regional manager of the firm’s Fort Worth office. Philip Levy, an investment specialist in Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Worth office, had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the seller, River Sharpe Holdings Fort Worth, a limited liability company. The property is a freestanding building with a corporate guarantee from Backwoods Equipment Co. and sits near the intersection of Foch Street and West Seventh Street, fronting West Seventh Street. Backwoods has more than 11 years remaining on an absolute triple-net lease. The landlord has zero maintenance responsibilities and the current lease provides 5 percent rent escalation in 2014 and 2018. The property was fully renovated in 2009 and a new roof was added in 2011.

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Apartments sold Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has announced the sale of Meadow Creek Apartments, a 58-unit multifamily property in Arlington, according to Bill G. Jordan, regional manager of the firm’s Fort Worth office. Boyan Radic and Mason Green, investment specialists in Marcus & Millichap’s Fort Worth office, represented the seller, Fatis Meadow Creek Apartments LLC, in this off-market transaction. The buyer, a Chicago-based LLC, was also secured and represented by Radic and Green. Meadow Creek is located at 805 S. Center St. The property features one- and two-bedroom floor plans ranging from 650 to 860 square feet. It has maintained a high occupancy due to its proximity to the University of Texas at Arlington campus. The buyer plans to perform interior and exterior upgrades and convert it to a student housing complex. This was the buyer’s third apartment acquisition in the Arlington market since 2011.

Other stuff … Bodylicious Fitness LLC has leased a 1,440-square-foot fitness center at 205 N. Davis Drive in Arlington. Bodylicious, a fitness studio, focuses on total wellness of the body and mind. Judy Nitzinger with SCM Real Estate Services represented the landlord in this transaction. … Enterprise Holdings, which operates Enterprise Rent-a-Car, Alamo Rent-a-Car and National Car Rental, has leased 27,232 square feet of office space in Airport Corporate Center, located at 4201 N. State Highway 161 in Irving. The office will bring more than 100 employees to a centralized location, serving more than 150 local car sites as well as Enterprise’s North Texas commercial truck and car sales operations. Cribb Altman, director in the Dallas office of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc., represented Enterprise Holdings in the new lease. Bob Buell negotiated on behalf of the landlord, Atlas CP LLC.

THR center named for Marion Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth administrators celebrated the new $57.7 million emergency care center on June 4 with a traditional tree topping out ceremony and announced the name for the new facility. The Burnett Foundation of Fort Worth committed the lead gift to the project. To recognize the gift, Texas Health Fort Worth will name the 75,000-square-foot facility the Marion Emergency Care Center. The naming honors Anne Marion, rancher, businesswoman, philanthropist and Burnett Foundation president and trustee. One of building construction’s oldest customs, a tree topping out ceremony is celebrated when the last beam of the building’s framework is put into place. A tree is placed at the top of the building to represent growth and good luck for the future. The architect on the project is HKS Architects and the lead construction group is Balfour Beatty Construction. The three-story emergency care center, planned for completion in January 2014, will nearly triple the square footage of the existing department and increase patient capacity from 63 to 90 beds. “Our new emergency care center is the culmination of years of soliciting input from multiple city- and county-wide organizations in order to best create a facility that responds to the needs of our community,” said Dr. John Geesbreght, the hospital’s medical director of emergency services. “I believe Texas Health Fort Worth has done just that.” The Texas Health Resources Foundation also announced and recognized lead donors to the project during the ceremony. Community gifts and pledges have already exceeded $13 million in support of the center’s $57 million budget. Texas Health Resources Foundation President Jay McAuley anticipates another $20 million or more will be secured toward the project before its scheduled opening next January. Other lead donors include: Texas Medicine Resources LLP; the Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth Auxiliary; the Amon G. Carter Foundation; the Preston M. Geren family; and Crystelle Waggoner Trust, Bank of America. – Betty Dillard

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