RW’s TX CRE Brief: 07/02/21

Did you know? Texas has 27 Commercial Airports, 16 Sea Ports, 11 Interstate Highways,
32 Foreign Trade Zones, 46 Freight Railroads, and 624 miles of Coastline!

This week’s newsletter includes:

1)    TX specific deals, announcements and news.
2)    Other news of interest
3)    Economic data & policy
4)    Books, courses, podcasts – Recommendations
5)    City Spotlight
6)    Upcoming Events
7)    New Contacts – Thank you and Hello

1) DEALS / ANNOUNCEMENTS / NEWS

AUSTIN

NewsTalk Texas and the Austin Business Journal both reporting on a massive mixed-use development in East Austin.  Two Class-A office buildings (420k sf), Mid-rise apartment community (370-units), Ground level retail, (12k sf), and open space & parkland.

ConnectCRE reports that Greystar Real Estate Partners recently broke ground on Symphony Square in Austin.  It will include 388 apartment units, 160K sf of office space, and 5,000sf of retail and restaurant space.

REBusinessOnline shares that California based Hertz Investment Group Acquiresd422-Unit Multifamily Portfolio in Northwest Austin.

ConnectCRE reports that Aquila Commercial has been chosen as the leasing agent of Prominent Pointe in northwest Austin. Owned by Vanderbilt Office Properties and Starwood Capital, the two class A office project comes in at 256k sf.

 DFW/METROPLEX

Dallas Morning News reports that Plano’s Shops at Legacy North has sold to Florida-based CTO Realty Growth.  Reported sales price was $72.5M and the mixed-use center was 83% leased at the time of sale.

ConnectCRE shares that RealPage has named a new CEO.  Dana Jones will take over the role on August 2nd. 

Bisnow is reporting that Goldman Sachs is looking to create a new Texas hub, potentially looking to build its biggest campus outside of NYC.

Dallas Business Journal is reporting that office lease terms are getting longer after wave of short-term renewals during Covid — but flexibility is still key.

Bisnow shares that Dallas Affordable Housing Developer Convicted of Bribery after paying tens of thousands of dollars to a member of the Dallas City Council and the city’s Housing Committee.

HOUSTON

The Houston Chronicle Reports that Swedish developer, Skanska broke ground on a 28-story office tower – 1550 on the Green.  Skanska press release here.  CBRE’s Kristen Rabel, Parker Duffe, & Joul Douthit have been tasked with finding tenants for the building.

NewsTalk Texas reports that Springwoods Village is rebranding to City Place, and is planning to add thousands of residential units.

NewsTalk Texas reports that Weitzman & H-E-B have broken ground on Manvel Town Center, one of the largest open-area retail projects in Houston’s History with H-E-B anchoring the project.

Bisnow reporting that Houston’s office market is experiencing 30% Vacancy, -1.3M SF Of Absorption — Houston's Office Market Hurt In Q2, But Landlords Expect Q3 Turnaround.

2) OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

NewsTalk Texas reports that lumber prices are falling but remain high.

TAMU’s NewsTalk Texas shares that California lost 23 Corporate HQ’s to Texas in the first half of 2021.

Good piece on Bisnow regarding The Future of Office. Howard Hughes’ Jim Carman,  Granite Properties’ Michael Dardick, Cawley Partners’ Bill Cawley, Perkins& Will’s Brigette Preston, Cushman’s Chip Colville, and Hartman Income REIT’s Dan Jones all quoted. 

Governor Abbott’s monthly Texas Business Bulletin was released and it boasts that Texas had the highest growth rate of all of the large states in the country.

In the something I really don’t understand category, Realtor Magazine is reporting that Decentraland Foundation has sold more than $900M in virtual land.

3) ECONOMIC DATA & POLICY

Texas A&M’s Real Estate Research Center reports that the Texas labor market recovery has lost some steam.

U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reports that the goods and services trade deficit was up in May to $71.2 billion, an increase of $2.2B over April.

Wells Fargo’s U.S. Economic Outlook Report for June 2021 is increasing its real GDP forecast to a whopping 7.3% (> consensus), which if achieved would be the highest since 1951.  It’s also forecasting: Robust personal consumption numbers. Higher CPI at 4% (> consensus).  Ongoing Supply shortages.  And, the Fed maintaining its current inflation targets. 

Texas A&M Real Estate Research Center reported on The Texas Border Economy in its most recent research release, showing that economic recovery along the TX/Mexico border has slowed.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 850,000 in June, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 5.9 percent.

4) BOOKS, COURSES, PODCASTS - RECOMMENDATIONS

Sandler’s “How To Succeed Podcast” this week featured Mike Montague interviewing John Ruhlin, the author of “Giftology: The art and science of using gifts to cut through the noise, increase referrals, and strengthen retention.” Takeaways: Start a gratitude list of those who impacted your career and life and let them know you appreciate them.  Write at least one thank you note a week.  Make any communication or gifting 1,000% about the recipient, not you! 

As we head into the Independence Day weekend, I definitely recommend The American Story podcast. This week’s podcast tells the story of Thomas Jefferson’s and Johns Adams’ last 4th of July. 

5) CITY SPOTLIGHT

Rockwall, TX:  I recently met with Rick Johnson, the Chairman of Rockwall’s Economic Development Committee.  He gave me a full tour of the city and offered a really good overview of the city and what the EDC is trying to accomplish. Many thanks to Rick for his time and service to his community.

Rockwall is in Rockwall County, and on the Eastern side of the DFW Metroplex.  The county is one of the smallest in TX but is one of the top-5 fastest growing in the US.  It boasts quality education, healthcare, housing, retail, recreation and entertainment just outside of Dallas. As well, it boasts an impressive list of primary employers with advanced manufacturing, corporate HQ’s and others contributing to the economic health and growth of the city.

6) UPCOMING EVENTS & IMPORTANT DATES

July 13: DALLAS. Bisnow. “The Evolution of DFW Office: The State of the DFW Office Market After the Pandemic.”

July 13-15: AUSTIN. InterFace. Student Housing Conference.

July 20: DALLAS. Dallas Business Journal. 40-Under-40 awards virtual event.

July 21: AUSTIN. Bisnow. “The Future of Downtown Austin: Iconic Projects, Urban Development, Connectivity & Creating a Competitive CBD.”

July 22: HOUSTON. Houston Business Journal. The State of Commercial Real Estate, Retail with Annjee Solanki, National Retail Director for Colliers.

7) NEW TX CONTACTS AND FOLLOWERS – THANK YOU AND HELLO

#StephanieFuhrman, #MatthewHines, #Keny Strove, #StevenMcCord, #PatrickBuckoff, #ChrisLove, #PatrickLey, #RebeccasSigrist, #JeffJohnson, #RichardGreeg, #AnthonyImburgia, #KentMyers, #JordanFeatherton, #VolneyCampbell, #JordanFetherton, #StephanieFuhrman, #MatthewHines, #Keny Strove, #StevenMcCord, #DaveMiller, #AndrewFreitas, #DaveKeyser, #NancyPotolesi, #VivienKratzert, #ScottIrwin, #Christopher(Kip)Smith, #AmySt.Denis, #KaraSugimoto

THANK YOU!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s TX-CRE-Brief. If you see something that might be of interest and should be included in a future brief, please send it along via DM on LinkedIn or by e-mail to TX.Sales.Leadership@pm.me. 

And please, by all means, support the sources I link to above. 

Thanks everyone!