HOUSTON – AmReit, a Houston-based real estate development that is slated by be acquired by Edens Investment Trust firm for $763 million, issued an update for its $1 billion redevelopment of Uptown Park in Houston.
Uptown Park is located near the corner of Loop 610 and Post Oak Bouleavrd in Houston. AmREIT reported the following:
• Uptown Park – The Palazzi : A $134 milllion residential development project on the 1.118 acres at the northwest portion of the Uptown Park property. Palazzi will havea 16-story, 238-unit luxury multi-family rental building over 14,000-sf ground-level retail space and structured parking. Construction is anticipated to begin in the second half of 2015.
• 1670 Post Oak – In August 2014, AmREIT and Lynd Development executed an omnibus agreement that provides for a Lynd-controlled venture to develop a 40-story, 350-unit high-rise multi-family project over ground-floor retail with structured parking. AmREIT is anticipated to retain ownership of the 1.58 acres at the northwest corner of Post Oak and San Felipe, known as The Courtyard at Post Oak, and ground lease the site to the anticipated venture.. Total project costs are estimated to be approximately $146 million (excluding land cost) and construction could begin within the next 12 months.
• 800 Post Oak – AmREIT currently owns a 20 percent stake in the Inverness Townhomes. In a joint venture agreement with Trammell Crow Company the townhouse site will be the site of 591,000 square feet of office space and 19,000 square feet of retail space with structured parking. The site is approximately 2.9 acres and is located at the northwest corner of Post Oak Blvd and Uptown Park Blvd. AmREIT and Trammel Crow will each be 5% co-developer members and Principal Financial Group will be a 90 percent owner in the $280 million project. The joint venture anticipates closing on the land during the first quarter of 2015 and construction could begin within the next 12-15 months.
The Tower at Uptown Park – AmREIT said it is in exclusive negotiations with a four-star hotel flag and a hotel development partner for a mixed use development project at the southeast corner of Uptown Park, located at the corner of Loop 610 and Post Oak Blvd. The current development plan contemplates a 37-story mixed-use project including a 310-room hotel, 236–unit luxury multi-family rental project over 18,000 square feet of retail space and structured parking in $200 project, expected to be developed in the next 12 to 15 months.
Late Friday night, Edens Investment Trust agreed to acquire AmREIT for $763 million of $26.55 per share.
In July, another firm Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers Corp. had offered to pay $22 per share for AmREIT. The Eden transaction represents a premium of 21 percent over Regency’s proposal.
AmREIT’s existing properties are concentrated in five of the top metropolitan markets in the southern U.S.: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Atlanta.
Edens develops, owns and operates 100 centers in primary markets throughout the East Coast. Edens has regional headquarters in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami and Columbia, SC.
The Edens purchase of AmREIT, which has been approved by the board of directors, is currently expected to occur in the first quarter of 2015.