Midway Building Spec Office Project

Houston-based Midway Companies is developing a new project in Houston's Uptown District dubbed One Parkside, a 13-story office tower near the intersection of Interstate 10 and the 610 Loop, adjacent to Houston's First Baptist Church. The company said it has started looking for tenants to pre-lease space in the building, which will also include a 10-story parking garage and a 2,000 square-foot cafe on the ground floor.

"We're excited to introduce this marquee opportunity, positioned to take advantage of the site from an architectural, view and signage standpoint," Shon Link, Midway Companies' executive vice president of development, said in a statement.

Designed by Houston-based architecture firm Kirksey, the building will have floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as automated and programmable HVAC system controls with energy-efficient variable air volume. Russell Hodges of JLL is leasing the property on behalf of Midway.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Dalfen Secures Sale/Leaseback of Lockwood International HQ

Dalfen America Corp., a private equity firm specializing in real estate and real estate-related investments, has acquired the corporate headquarters and distribution facilities of Lockwood International in Houston in a sale-leaseback deal. Joseph Smith of CBRE represented Lockwood International in the sale-leaseback transaction; terms of the deal or a sale price were not disclosed. The three-building portfolio includes two warehouses and one office building totaling over 201,000 square feet.

"In Texas, our current holdings and active development projects total approximately 3.5 million square feet," Dalfen America Corp. president and chief investment officer Sean Dalfen told GlobeSt.com. "We firmly believe in the continued prosperity of the state, from both an economic and population growth standpoint. And thus we intend to dramatically increase our portfolio over the next 36 months. Over the last two months, we have acquired nine buildings totaling close to 1 million square feet of industrial property in Texas. Both people and businesses continue to flock to Texas in droves. Even with the decline in the energy sector, we believe that the state’s economy is sufficiently diverse and will remain one of the nation’s top performing markets for the foreseeable future."

10203 Wallisville Road is a Class "A" corporate head-quarters facility totaling 201,128 square feet of warehouse and office space built in 1998, 2006 and 2007 on 8.11 acres of land. The office/warehouse/industrial complex offers 24'-26' clear ceiling height, 12 oversized loading docks, 8 dock wells, heavy power, 115 parking spaces and covered parking. With quick access to I-10 and I-610, it is located 15 minutes to downtown Houston, and 30 minutes to George Bush International Airport.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

CBRE Tapped for Plaza of the Americas

Plaza of the Americas in Dallas has been placed on the market for sale as the class A office complex in the Arts District is being marketed by CBRE Capital Markets. Houston-based M-M Properties and Dallas-based Invesco Real Estate are seeking to sell the property, four years after acquiring it for close to $100 million; the current asking price for the property has not been disclosed.

"Having another trophy tower on the market will draw more attention to the Downtown market, bring more investment dollars and ultimately positively impact the sale of Plaza of the Americas," John Alvarado of CBRE told Bisnow. M-M Properties has enhanced the rent roll as well as updated the project since its acquisition a few years ago.

Built in 1980, Plaza of the Americas is a 1,233,266 square-foot Class A office/mixed-use complex in Dallas, Texas. The property is comprised of twin 25-story office towers connected by a 13-story atrium containing two levels of retail and abutting the 407-room Marriott City Center Hotel. The property is located on the expanding light rail system at the Pearl Station and enjoys superior access to all freeways and major thoroughfares that serve the Dallas CBD. The property is currently 74% leased with major tenants including JPMorgan Chase Bank, AIG, Capital One, Thompson Coe, and the United States Government.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Griffin, Shorenstein Form JV for Houston Justice Complex

Griffin Partners and Shorenstein Properties announced this week that they had entered into a joint venture for the possible redevelopment of the former ExxonMobil headquarters at 800 Bell in Houston, Texas, following the recent discussions regarding a new City of Houston justice complex. The JV aims to redevelop the 45-story high-rise in downtown Houston, which will have 1.2 million square feet of space on offer once ExxonMobil makes its move to The Woodlands in April.

"My hope is that this property will be able to meet the needs being explored at City Hall," Fred Griffin, Griffin Partners' chairman, told GlobeSt.com. "I am fully aware that there are many issues that need to be addressed by Griffin Partners, Shorenstein and the city of Houston to determine if 800 Bell meets the needs for a new City of Houston Justice Complex. We are now approaching the city to discuss details."

800 Bell is a 1.2 millions square foot office tower which includes a 45-story office building and a 7-story parking garage covering 2 city blocks in Houston's Central Business District, built in 1962 as the headquarters of Humble Oil & Refining Company, a predecessor to ExxonMobil. The property has convenient access to Interstate 10, Highway 59, Highway 288 and Interstate 45. In addition, Metro's citywide bus service and rail is also accessible immediately in front of the property. 800 Bell is within walking distance of the new connection to the underground pedestrian tunnel system. The building was purchased by Shorenstein in January 2013 for and is currently being leased back to ExxonMobil until that firm's planned move to its new campus later this year. Griffin says that ExxonMobil is leaving the space in good, usable condition, and that the transition could take from 15-18 months to complete.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

CityWest Office Tower Sold

An affiliate of Thomas Properties Group, TPG/CalSTRS, LLC, announced the sale this week of 2500 CityWest Boulevard in Houston, Texas for an undisclosed price to a private party. The 578,284 square foot office tower, designed by Sikes, Jennings & Kelly, was sold along with two adjacent unused land parcels totaling 6.3 acres.

"The closing of this transaction represents another significant step in executing our strategic plan, which includes pruning our portfolio of certain joint venture investments that have been repositioned and stabilized, and reducing our land holdings," said Jim Thomas, Chairman and CEO of Thomas Properties Group. "2500 CityWest is a property that we have successfully repositioned and stabilized. We are pursuing a number of attractive opportunities for the investment of these sales proceeds. We remain committed to Houston as a long-term strategic investment market based on its compelling economic and job growth drivers."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Brookfield Acquires Heritage Plaza for $321.5M

Brookfield Properties Corporation has purchased the 53-story Heritage Plaza in Houston from Goddard Investment Group for $321.5 million (gross purchase price of $325 million net of $3.5 million of closing credits) according to a CoStar report. Goddard originally purchased the building in July 2005 for an undisclosed amount of cash, but The Houston Chronicle estimated the price at $125-$130,000,000.

Heritage Plaza, at 1111 Bagby Street, was completed in 1987 and designed by M. Nasr & Partners. The 1.2 million square foot trophy office building is convenient to major thoroughfares and provides direct passage to adjacent buildings and surrounding amenities via sky bridge. The property is roughly 84% leased with major tenants including Deloitte and EOG Resources.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.