NewsTalk Texas

TEXARKANA, ARK. - Construction of I-49 from Texarkana to the Louisiana border is scheduled to begin before the end of May 2013.

The final contract was awarded to I-Highway Construction Inc., a Colorado construction company, for $16,110,526. The project should be complete by spring 2015.

The purpose of the project is to construct a four-lane divided roadway on 4.2 miles of Hwy. 71, south of Doddridge. The work will extend from the Louisiana state line to Doddridge, south of Texarkana.

This is the final project from Texarkana to Louisiana and eventually will be a part of I-49. This combined with the completion of the northern loop in Texarkana, Ark., will provide a four-lane divided interstate-type roadway from Louisiana to Hwy. 71 north of Texarkana.

Read more at the Texarkana Gazette.

TEXARKANA, TEX. - Rodeway Inn, a 74-room hotel property located at 5105 North Stateline Ave., has been sold to a private investor. The two-story hotel was constructed in 1985 and operated as a Comfort Inn until 2007.

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services managed the sale of the property.

Source: Marcus & Millichap

TEXARKANA - Texas A&M University-Texarkana (A&M) and Texarkana College (TC) announced a building and land swap.

With the swap, the university will convey all of its property on Robison Rd. to Texarkana College including the Aikin Building, the academic building, 3.25 acres near College Bowl and the Moss Library. In exchange, the university will receive the college’s farm and $340,000.

The college will lease the academic building until July 31, 2016, then pay $340,000 to finalize the deal.

It make sense for the university to make this arrangement before planning on future construction at the University Drive campus, according to A&M System Chancellor John Sharp.

In the 1970s, A&M and TC shared the Robison Rd. location. A&M, then East Texas State University, served upperclassman, and TC served those seeking an associate degree or certificate.

With the state’s approval of A&M accepting freshman and sophomore students, the university began construction of a new campus at Bringle Lake. The university moved most of its business to the University Dr. in July 2010, after it first building was completed. The buildings have sat empty since.

The college’s farm is near Redwater. The college has owned the property since the 1970s, and for years it served as a place for students to study farm animals and plants. However, in the last decade, it has not been used as it once was.

Read more at the Texarkana Gazette.

TEXARKANA, TEX. - Since the Texarkana Convention Center opened Oct. 5, 2011, business has been booming. The facility has brought 65 jobs and increased sales tax revenue.

“We have been very, very busy since opening the Hilton Garden Inn and Texarkana Convention Center,” said Jack Daugherty, principal of Daugherty Property Group.

The 24,500-sf space has served more than 90 groups since opening, with more than 10,000 attendees.

The more than 12,000-sf Grand Ballroom seats 1,000 people for a banquet or 1,200 for a reception. As a theater, the ballroom can seat 1,330 people.

The attached 98,086-sf Hilton Garden Inn has 154 rooms, a pool and restaurant. The entire project cost was $24 million and was funded through hotel taxes, according to previous stories.

Read more at the Texarkana Gazette.

NEW BOSTON, BOWIE COUNTY - Renewable Energy Group (REG) has acquired a 15 million gallon-per-year biorefinery at 280 Texas Ave. The company paid $300,000 in cash and issued 900,000 shares of its common stock to North Texas Bio Energy for the multi-feedstock biorefinery 22 miles west of Texarkana.

The purchase marks REG’s second Texas biodiesel production facility, following a 2008 acquisition of a Houston-area plant.

The New Boston facility began production in June 2008 and sat idle for four years.

The plant will undergo some construction and minor upgrades prior to the facility’s start-up, which is expected in first quarter 2013. REG expects to hire nearly 20 full-time, green-collar employees, providing family wage jobs and full benefits.

Other indirect jobs include truck drivers for the hundreds of inbound and outbound trucks that will channel through the plant each month.

Source: Renewable Energy Group

Read more at the Longview News-Journal.

TEXARKANA, TEX. - Texarkana Community College received a $300,000 grant donation from the Horace C. Cabe Foundation to benefit the Texamericas Center.

The grant will be doled out in increments of $100,000 a year for the next three years. Located near the Red River Army Depot, the center is designed to educate and train both the workforce and students to work on various military vehicles.

Read more at KSLA.

TEXARKANA, TEX. - The new Texarkana Convention Center is set to open October 8 at 4610 Cowhorn Creek Rd. Officials say the 25,000-sf facility has a 12,000-sf ballroom, two meeting rooms, and a patio and pavilion for outdoor events.

The attached 98,086-sf Hilton Garden Inn has 154 rooms, a pool and restaurant. The entire project cost was $24 million and was funded through hotel taxes.

The project is a partnership between the City of Texarkana, Texas and the Daugherty Property Group. See Texarkana building permits for more.

Across the state line, construction continues on the $18 million Texarkana Arkansas Convention Center and Holiday Inn Hotel at 5200 Convention Plaza Dr.

Read more at KTBS and the Texarkana Gazette. For more news about Texarkana MSA, see NewsTalk Texas.

TEXARKANA - The Texarkana metropolitan statistical area (MSA) led Texas in job growth as a percentage from July 2011 to July 2012, according to the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University. Texarkana experienced 7 percent employment growth during that time.

Other MSAs in the top five include Odessa at 6.8 percent, Corpus Christi at 4.3 percent, Midland at 3.8 percent and Tyler at 3.3 percent.

The bottom five of the 25 total MSAs include Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood at 0.0, Wichita Falls with -0.3, the Beaumont-Port Arthur with -0.6, Abilene with -0.8 and the Brownsville-Harlingen area with -3.6.

Overall, the state of Texas experienced 2.2 percent job growth.

Read more at the Texarkana Gazette.

TEXARKANA - American Healthcare Investors and Griffin Capital Corporation have purchased the 32,000-sf medical office building at 1902 Moores Ln. for $6.5 million on behalf of Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II.

The two-story, multi-tenant facility is in close proximity to Christus St. Michael Hospital, a 312-bed medical center. Constructed in 2005 on a two-acre parcel, the building is currently 100 percent leased to Collom and Carney Clinic and Ambulatory Surgery Centers of America.

The purchase was part of 14 medical office buildings Griffin-American acquired for $106.7 million. The 14 properties are spread throughout the country including four Texas offices — totaling 180,000 sf — in Rockwall, San Angelo and Schertz.

Source: American Healthcare Investors

Listen to Podcast 138 for this story...and more!

HOOKS (TEXARKANA, TEX.) - Construction on the Red River Army Depot’s Maneuver Systems Sustainment Center (MSSC) has reached the third phase. The $40.5 million phase, situated on ten acres, will add 232,000 sf to the center and be built to LEED Silver standards.

The facility will consolidate operations that are currently dispersed throughout various buildings on the depot. It will overhaul and repair combat and support vehicles.

Construction on phases one and two of the MSSC began in 2008 with the tactical vehicle processing facility. Phase one includes 36,000 sf and phase two, the tactical vehicle repair facility, is 26,000 sf.

The three-phase project is funded by the Military Construction and Veterans Appropriations Bill. The final phase of the facility is scheduled for completion in 2014.

Read the full story at PRLog and the U.S. Army.

TEXARKANA, TEX. - Encore Multi-Family LLC is completing construction on the Class A, 168-unit Encore Waggoner Creek with plans to open in July 2012. The $14.9 million, 150,534-sf project is located at 6210 Gibson Ln. at Pleasant Grove Rd.

As reported in July 2011, the complex — consisting of seven, three-story residential buildings —  will include a leasing office and clubhouse. The clubhouse will house a fitness center, media center, Wi-Fi urban lounge and coffee bar.

The complex contains 84 one-bedroom and 84 two-bedroom units ranging from 760 sf to 1,052 sf. Rental rates are estimated to range between $779 and $930 per month.

Source: Encore Waggoner

TEXARKANA, TEX.-TEXARKANA, ARK. - The U.S. Census Bureau has released population estimates for July 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011 by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and by counties. The 2011 city populations will be released in June 2012.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

TEXARKANA, TEX. - Demolition has been completed on the abandoned Griff King Courts brick-and-cinder-block public housing units. The units dated back to 1954.

The demolition marks the beginning of the third and final major Rose Hill redevelopment phase by the Housing Authority of Texarkana, Texas (HATT). Removal and demolition operations are slated to be complete by June.

Construction will then begin on the $20 million, 25-building Rose Hill Ridge apartment complexes on the former Griff King site at 1125 Stuckey St., according to HATT officials.

Rose Hill Ridge, which will have 122 family apartments with one- to four-bedroom units, will have solar panels and a rainwater conservation system. Once construction is finished, the apartments will have units ranging from 780 to 1,551 sf.

Of the 122 new units, 30 will be public housing while the rest will be tax credit housing.

For more about the Rose Hill redevelopment, see NewsTalk Texas.

Read more at the Texarkana Gazette. 

TEXARKANA, TEX. - After two years of redeveloping public housing in the Rose Hill neighborhood, the efforts of the Housing Authority of Texarkana, Texas (HATT) have mixed results, according to a survey report by Texas A&M University-Texarkana.

The report released to HATT’s Board of Commissioners indicates that tenants are still primarily African-American (98 percent). On average, residents are older than 19 and have become more educated than reported on in the first survey, which was released in February 2011.

Of the 154 to 159 residents surveyed, 92 percent said they were greatly satisfied with the new complexes, except for limited storage space.

The university began tracking Rose Hill demographics in 2010 as part of HATT’s plan to revitalize the neighborhood.

Two years ago, the authority demolished Covington Homes on Milam Street (built in 1942 as Bowie Courts) and built the $16 million Oaks at Rose Hill townhouse apartments on the site.

Earlier this year, HATT razed Steven Courts, built in 1942 on West 15th St., and built the $18 million Pecan Ridge townhouse apartments.

The report suggested that the authority promote education in the Rose Hill community, with emphasis on employment education and skills development. There also was a recommendation to attract and maintain employment in the area.

Read more at the Texarkana Gazette.

NEW BOSTON - The noise of heavy equipment working was a fitting backdrop to breaking ground on a new wastewater treatment plant at TexAmericas Center.

The $7.5 million sequencing-batch reactor plant will replace the current one, which is vintage 1940s. When completed, it will sit on a six-acre campus on the center’s eastern property and treat about 1.5 million gallons of waste per day.

The new plant will use modern treatment technology and allow for growth. Construction is scheduled to be completed next summer.

TexAmericas is home to several businesses, including defense and logistics contractors and construction and electrical companies.

Read more at the Texarkana Gazette.

TEXARKANA, TEX. - A ribbon cutting was held at the $18 million Pecan Ridge at Rose Hill townhouse apartment complex. The 26-building complex includes the 11 acres formerly occupied by Stevens Courts, a housing complex built in 1942. The site is bordered by Plum, Milam, W.15th and W. 16th streets.

Naomi Byrne, executive director of the Housing Authority of Texarkana, Texas, said Pecan Ridge, which will be ready for tenants in April or May, would have 122 units. Thirty units are already occupied.

The project is praised as the second critical step in rebuilding Rose Hill, one of the city’s earliest residential areas.

Read more at the Texarkana Gazette.

TEXARKANA, TEX. - The spring 2012 semester for Texas A&M University-Texarkana saw a record growth in enrollment. The total number of students enrolled this semester is 1,918, up 91 students compared to the spring 2011 semester.

The school has seen a steady increased student population during its spring semester over the years.

In spring 2010 the school had 1,665 students, just slightly down from the 1,758 students they had for the spring 2009 semester.

Total headcount for the undergraduate sector has increased 24.9 percent when comparing spring 2012 to spring 2009.

Total semester credit hours (SCH) for spring 2012 stands at 18,931. Spring 2011 SCH stood at 16,340.

SCH for spring 2010 was 14,659 and spring 2009 reflected 14,458. There has been a 51.2 percent increase in total SCH in the undergraduate classification when comparing spring 2012 to spring 2009.

Read more at KSLA.

TEXARKANA, TEXAS - The TexAmericas Center board has approved a $5.4 million contract with Heritage Constructors of Texarkana, Texas to build a new wastewater treatment plant.

The plant will be on the east side of TexAmericas’ property, replacing the existing plant. After the new plant is built, the existing plant will be demolished, except for the sludge-drying beds.

The plant will be a sequencing batch reactor (SBR), not common to the area. Sewer plants here are location-based, while sequencing batch reactor technology is time-based, according to David Williams, an engineer with MTG Engineering firm.

An SBR plant takes up less space, does not need a clarifier, has a simple sludge-removal process and has less equipment to maintain, Williams said.

Red River Army Depot and tenants at TexAmericas are among those who will use the plant.

The majority of the funding for the project comes from a 2005 bond issue. Construction is scheduled to be completed in summer 2013.

Read more at the Texarkana Gazette.

TEXARKANA, TEXAS - A reciprocal articulation agreement has been signed by both schools, giving Kilgore College (KC) students an associate’s degree after transferring to Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMU-T).

Presidents from the two schools met in Kilgore to set the collaboration. The agreement is effective through August 31, 2014.

TAMU-T officials said the intent of the agreement is to encourage completion of associate’s and bachelor’s degrees.

Other objectives of the agreement include:

• providing specific advisement for all students at KC who intend to pursue a degree at TAMU-T;
• establishing academic and administrative coordination between KC and TAMU-T; and
• exchanging evaluative information on the program’s outcomes, with the goal of continuous improvement.

Read more at the Texarkana Gazette.

TEXARKANA - Ridership on Amtrak’s Texas Eagle in October was up 19.4 percent and revenue was up 11.5 percent according to Griff Hubbard with Amtrak.

For fiscal year 2011 Texarkana ridership is up 10.1 percent — the biggest gain of any of the Texas Eagle stations — and revenue is up 8.4 percent.

Hubbard said the Texarkana station ridership increase was the biggest gain of any of the Texas Eagle stations. Fiscal year 2011 brought 8,646 passengers, an increase of 779 over last year.

Between fiscal years 2010 and 2011, in terms of revenue, the Texarkana station saw an increase of 8.5 percent.

Travel is also on the rise at Texarkana Regional Airport. Passenger numbers are up over 8 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, rental cars are up 11 percent and parking is up 13 percent, according to Stephen Luebbert with the airport.

A new terminal at the airport is in the works. In August, the airport received a $485,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for an environmental assessment, which is required before construction can begin.

The expected cost to construct the terminal is $21 million, with approximately $6 million over five years projected to come from the city government of both Texarkanas.

Read more at the Texarkana Gazette.