Realty News Report Covering Commercial and Residential News

HOUSTON – Hines has formed a  joint venture with New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYSCRF) to invest in more than $1 billion of office and medical office projects in the U.S.  The venture, called Hines Corporate Properties II (HCP II), capitalized with $500 million of equity, will develop, acquire, own and manage buildings primarily occupied by single-tenant users. Read More »

Transwestern handles the sale of 9o-unit Clear Lake Falls apartments on Highway 3 in Webster, Texas. AK Interests was the  buyer. Seller, Blue Valley Apartments, was represented by Ed Cummins of Transwestern. Read More »

Ralph Bivins Wins Award in NAREE’s Best Columnist Read More »

Sawyer Heights Village retail center, located just north of downtown Houston near The Heights neighborhood, has been sold for $35 million to a joint venture of Inland Western Real Estate Trust Inc. and RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust. The 107,000-sf center, developed by Property Commerce, is anchored by Staples and PetSmart. Read More »

The Woodlands, a 28,000-acre master-planned community north of Houston, is being sold. The Howard Hughes Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire from Morgan Stanley Real Estate Investing its 57.5% legal interest, which equates to a 47.5% economic interest based on the parties’ financial arrangement, in The Woodlands for $117.5 million. In 2010, The Woodlands sold 789 residential lots ... Read More »

Gables Residential has broken ground on the 316-unit Gables Post Oak apartments in Houston, near Loop 610 and San Felipe at the SE corner of Post Oak Park and Post Oak Place, according to a report by Jennifer Dawson of the Houston Business Journal. Northwestern Mutual is JV partner with Gables, Dawson said. Read More »

Two convention hotel proposals are being floated in Austin. Manchester Financial of San Diego has proposed to build a 1,035-room hotel at the northeast corner of Red River and Cesar Chavez streets, on a block owned by local developers Perry Lorenz and Robert Knight. A few blocks away, on Congress Avenue, White Lodging Services has proposed a 1,003-room Marriott Marquis. Read More »

CB Richard Ellis has closed on six office deals totaling 146,987 SF at Sage Plaza, a 519,966 SF, 25-story, Class A office development located at 5151 San Felipe Street in Houston’s Galleria/Uptown area. Bonnie Kelley of CB Richard Ellis represented the landlord, a fund managed by BlackRock, in all five transactions, which include a 55,500 SF office lease to Columbia ... Read More »

Jones Lang LaSalle’s Capital Markets has been hired to market Legends at Cinco Ranch in Houston for sale for Sterling Investco, a Dallas-based multifamily developer. The brand new, Class A, 260-unit community in Houston’s Energy Corridor is expected to fetch in excess of $40 million. The firm has also been hired to secure eight million dollars in construction financing for ... Read More »

Fugro Inc. bought 6671 Southwest Freeway, an eight-story, 148,751-square-foot office building in Houston, Texas. The seller was represented by HFF’s Dan Miller and real estate analyst Brad Elmore. The buyer was represented by Bob Gulley with Moody Rambin Interests. Read More »

Skanska USA has contracted to buy the 18-story Houston Club Building in downtown Houston, reports Nancy Sarnoff of the Houston Chronicle. The 350,000-sf building is located at 811 Rusk at Travis. The 63-year-old building has been mentioned as a possible target for demolition by a group that would build a new tower on the site. Hines is also looking at ... Read More »

SL Green Realty refinanced 919 Third Avenue, which it owns in a joint venture partnership with New York State Teachers Retirement System. The new 12-year, $500 million mortgage, was originated jointly by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and Pacific Life Insurance. The 1.4 million sf, 47-story building is located on Third Avenue in NY. Read More »