DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – The Dallas housing market has seen its largest boost in more than two years.

According to the latest index by S&P/Case-Shiller, the price of existing single-family homes in the Dallas area increased by 3.8 percent in May over the same month last year. It was one of the largest increases in the group’s comparison of 20 major U.S. housing markets.

Other markets showing year-over-year gains in May include Phoenix (11.5 percent) and Minneapolis (4.7 percent).

Dallas-area home prices remain about 6 percent below their peak in mid-2007. However, David Brown of Metrostudy Inc. believes shrinking supply and increased demand will continue to push prices upward.

Dallas is the only Texas city included in the Case-Shiller index.

HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) – Imagine getting to work, restaurants and shopping, not by car but by boat. A local development firm plans to make that a reality in Houston.

Locally based Caldwell Cos. will break ground this year on The Boardwalk at Towne Lake, a waterfront development to be built along the master-planned community’s 300-acre lake, complete with boat parking. The development will include restaurants, shops and offices centered on a large green space.

The Caldwell Cos. also announced the addition of a new 120,000-sf Kroger grocery store to be built in the 2,400-acre Towne Lake at the southwest corner of Tuckerton and Barker Cypress Roads.

HOUSTON (Houston Business Journal) – Construction may be slowing slightly in Texas, but crews are hard at work in Houston.

The total contract value for all construction projects in the Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land metropolitan area was up 7 percent in June over the same month in 2011. The lion’s share of construction was residential, jumping 28 percent in June to nearly $553 million.

On the other hand, nonresidential construction in Houston fell 17 percent to $318.96 million, according to data from McGraw-Hill Construction.

Total month-over-month contract value across Texas fell 9 percent in June . Non-building construction, which includes streets, highways, bridges, dams and reservoirs, fell 41 percent. Nonresidential construction dropped 19 percent. Like Houston, however, residential construction rose in June, up 25 percent to over $11 billion.

During the first half of the year, Houston had a 15 percent increase in construction contract value while contract value is down 7 percent statewide.

HOUSTON (REBusinessOnline.com) – A Houston real estate services firm has acquired a six-story office complex north of League City.

The Richland Companies picked up the 104,091-sf Bay Plaza Office Complex at 711 W. Bay Area Blvd., just east of I-45 near Baybrook Mall.

Richland will also manage the property, which is 89 percent leased to tenants including BP and San Jacinto College.

DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – A North Texas apartment developer is planning its largest complex yet.

JLB Partners is looking to build a 1,400-unit community in place of existing apartments built in the 1960s along Skillman Ave. and Amesbury Dr.

The three- to six-story buildings will top a 19-acre site and link to the new Ridgewood Trail, a four-mile path to be completed next year. It will be near the DART orange and red lines.

DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – An Ohio developer is hoping for a hole-in-one in Dallas’ CityPlace neighborhood.

Forest City Enterprises is preparing to break ground this fall on a 20-story mixed-use tower at McKinney Ave. and Blackburn St. The three-acre site, formerly the Hank Haney Golf Center, will house about 400 apartments and 37,000 sf of retail space.

The estimated $100 million project is about a block from a DART light rail station and is on the M-Line trolley route.

ROUND ROCK (Community Impact Newspaper) – An Austin suburb once plagued with high office vacancy is now doing better than most of the region.

Vacancy rates for large office spaces in Round Rock were nearly 50 percent last year; today the rate is at just 7.76 percent. According to real estate firm Oxford Commercial, Round Rock now has the second-lowest vacancy in Austin’s submarkets and is below the 14 percent vacancy rate for the entire area.

Data from Oxford show just 46,083 sf of Class-A office space available in Round Rock, compared with 295,652 sf a year ago. Much of the space was leased by Emerson Process Management when they relocated from Austin in May.

Oxford Senior Vice President Kevin Kimbrough believes the sharp decline in vacancy could spark new development in the city.

RICHARDSON (Dallas Business Journal) – A North Dallas suburb purchased a hotel with plans to replace it with retail.

The City of Richardson finalized its $1.5 million purchase of the Continental Inn at 758 S. Central Expwy. from Baldez and Chandrika Patel, and has begun demolition of the motel to make room for future retail development. The site is part of the 197-acre West Spring Valley corridor that was identified as a redevelopment area in the city’s 2009 comprehensive plan.

The city also acquired an adjacent .339-acre property for $700,000 from Duckwin LLC.

DALLAS (Dallas Morning News) – An upscale North Texas hotel chain is set to open its latest location in a converted coffin factory in Dallas’ South Side.

The 76-room Nylo Dallas South Side will open this month at 1325 South Lamar in the 101-year-old Dallas Coffin Co. building. The urban-loft boutique hotel will incorporate some of the buildings original elements such as concrete floors and exposed ceilings.

Along with 950 sf of indoor meeting space and 4,500-sf rooftop terrace, the five-story hotel will include a Soda Bar, rooftop infinity pool, as well as a bar and lounge with views of downtown Dallas.

Nylo Dallas South Side will be the chain’s third North Texas location.

HOUSTON (REBusinessOnline.com) – A new northwest Houston shopping center will bring the area’s first Whole Foods.

Locally based Read King Inc. is developing a 135,000-sf shopping center near the corner of Louetta and Cutten Roads, east of Vintage Park. The center’s key anchor, Whole Foods Market, has pre-leased 40,000 sf, making it their first area location north of I-10.

Construction is slated to begin in January 2013 and is expected to open by July.

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – Real Estate Center Director Gary W. Maler was one of nine Texas A&M graduates named 2012 College of Architecture Outstanding Alumni this week.

The selection committee said Maler, who earned a master of architecture degree at Texas A&M, “has lifted the Real Estate Center to global prominence after a private-sector career spearheading some of Houston’s most notable developments.”

“Gary provides unparalleled industry knowledge and energy,” said Jonathan Brinsden ‘92, chief operations officer of Midway Companies. “His powerful combination of strategy and creativity make him a profound and powerful industry leader.”

A frequent public speaker on real estate issues and public policy, Maler, who has led the Center since 2005, is often in contact with Texas’ top policymakers seeking his perspective and insight from the Center’s research.

“Under his leadership, the Center has become one of the most highly respected and trusted sources of research and information that is heavily relied on by members of the legislature, the governor’s office, state agencies and the business community,” said Susan Combs, Texas’ comptroller of public accounts.

He led the establishment of Texas A&M’s comprehensive institutional real estate asset management plan and was part of the team that developed Texas A&M’s Research Park.

Before coming to the Center in 1978, Maler was an operations superintendent for commercial properties at Friendswood Development Company, performing market feasibility studies and helping supervise construction of large-scale, mixed-use projects including Greenspoint, Kingwood and Copperfield developments. He also coordinated Friendswood’s special projects in other regions of the country.

The group, nominated by former students and selected for their outstanding achievements and professional leadership by a college committee, will be honored at the college’s 2012 Outstanding Alumni Awards Banquet, set for 7:30 p.m. Oct. 26 in the Grand Ballroom of Texas A&M’s Memorial Student Center.

For more information, go to http://one.arch.tamu.edu/news/2012/7/24/2012-outstanding-alumni/