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​PLANO – Construction has wrapped up on the first of five buildings in the next phase of Billingsley Co.'s International Business Park.

Work started on the buildings near the northwest corner of the Dallas North Tollway and Bush Turnpike early last year. 

The four-story, 187,100-sf office project includes a 9,000-sf amenity center building with conference facilities, food service, and a fitness center.

The building also has a coffee bar, private ground-floor outdoor space, and green space with a walking trail. 

Adolfson & Peterson Construction is the developer. GFF designed the project. JLL is marketing the building. ​

The Real Estate Center has more on DFW real estate news:

• Local office news
• ​​Texas Quarterly Commercial Report

​​​CEDAR HILL – Canada-based Walton Group Holdings Ltd. has purchased 400 acres near Joe Pool Lake.

The property on Lake Ridge Pkwy.​​​​​​ west of ​​US 67 will have 1,100 single-family homes.

A builder will take majority of the l​​​and. Negotiations with rental home and senior housing developers are still in the works. 

Vanguard Real Estate Advisors brokered transaction.

Get more DFW-area news on the Real Estate Center's website:

• Dallas housing reports
• Texas Housing Insight
• Home Price Index
• Housing Activity Data
• Housing Affordability Data

​​​​Source: Dallas Morning News

​WASHINGTON – Three Texas cities have landed on WalletHub's list of the top ten small cities to live in America.  ​

Sugar Land, ranking fifth overall, was second in economic health. It was 39th in affordability, 162nd in quality of life, 277th in safety, and 540th in education and health. 

No. 8 Southlake had the highest median annual household income at $230,700.​ It had the lowest housing costs and the second-highest percent of population with a high school diploma or higher.

The Tarrant County city was sixth in economic health, 14th in affordability, 191st in safety, 521st in quality of life, and 569th in education.

Cedar Park, ranking ninth overall, was fifth in health, 42nd in affordability, 178th in safety, 404th in quality of life, and 427th in education and health. 

Keller, which was 95th nationally, had the fifth-lowest housing costs. 

Other cities in the top​ ten rankings are:

• No. 1 Sammamish, Wash.;

• No. 2 Lexington, Mass.;

• No. 3 Carmel, Ind.;

• No. 4 Needham, Mass.;

• No. 6 Milton, Mass.;

• No. 7 Brentwood, Tenn.;​ and 

• No. 10 Redmond, Wash.
  

WalletHub compared more than 1,200 U.S. cities with populations between 25,000 and 100,000 based on 43 livability indicators. 

​​​​AUSTIN – Lincoln Ventures has broken ground on Waterloo, a 30-story student housing complex at 2400 Seton Ave. 

The 241-unit complex will offer studi​​​o and one- to six-bedroom units. It will have two stories of affordable housing at 50 percent and 60 percent median area income. ​​​

In exchange for adding affordable units, the city has allowed for a taller project, making the tower the tallest in the West Campus neighborhood.

Amenities will include a rooftop terrace, pool, spa, fitness center, lounge, and conference and study rooms. 

Construction will be complete in 2022. 

Hip Hop Design Studio and BOKA Powell are the architects. JE Dunn Construction Group Inc. is the general contractor. ​

The Real Estate Center has more news like this online for free:

​​WACO – Amazon Inc. is building a 700,218-sf distribution center and warehouse on 9​3 acres at 200 Exchange Pkwy.

Developer BL Companies secured a permit to develop the project this summer.

The project will create up to 1,000 jobs. ​

Get more Waco-area industrial news on the Real Estate Center's website:

• "Waco's Wild Rise"
• Waco real estate news
• ​​​​​Texas Quarterly Commercial Report

​Source: Waco Tribune-Herald

​​​LUBBOCK – Friends of McAlister Park and the city have broken ground on a five-acre dog park at Marsha Sharp Fwy. in the northeast portion of McAlister Park. 

The $800,000 dog par​k will ​have three fenced-in areas, benches, restrooms, food truck area, and walking trail. 

Construction will be complete next summer.

Get more Lubbock real estate news on the Real Estate Center's website.

​Source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

​​​​CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – ​​The total cost of the pandemic is estimated at more than $16 trill​ion, or approximately 90 percent of the annual gross domestic product (GDP​​​​​)​​ o​​f the U.S​.​, acco​rding to researchers from Harvard University.

Approximately half of this amount is the lost income from the COVID-19-induced recessi​on; the remainder is the economic effects of shorter and less healthy life.​

According to the report, the crisi​​s cost the economy over $7.59 trillion in lost GDP. 

Health loss totaled around $4.38 trillion in premature death, $2.57 trillion in long-term health impairment, and $1.58 trillion in mental health impairment.

Since the onset of COVID-19 in March, around 60 million unemployment insurance claims have been filed as of September.

The Real Estate Center has more COVID-19 information online:

​​​AUSTIN – One Three Hundred Capital has purchased Cannon Oaks Apartments, a 230-unit multifamily community at 2302 E. William Cannon Dr.

Built in 2001, the property offers two- to four-bedroom units. Rents range from $1,135 to $1,649 per month. 

Amenities include a pool, fitness center, playground, and clubhouse.  

JLL Capital Markets arranged $27.1 million in acquisition financing.

The Real Estate Center has more news like this online for free:

​AUSTIN – Greens Global has acquired the 1,152-unit CubeSmart Self Storage facility at 8023​ W. Parmer Ln. 

Built in 2019, the five-​story property spans 110,505 sf. Units range from 15 to 250 sf. 

JLL arranged acquisition financing. ​

The Real Estate Center has more local commercial real estate news like this online:

• ​Texas Quarterly Commercial Report​
• ​​Austin retail news

​​SAN ANTONIO – San Diego-based Westcore Properties has acquired a 35-building warehouse portfolio from Stonelake Capital Properties.​​

The portfolio includes six buildings in San Antonio: 

• 3331-3365 N. PanAm Expy.,

• 1883-1879 Hormel Dr.,

• 3323 N. PanAm Expy,

• 3535 N. I-35, and 

• 5400 Kaepa Ct.

The deal also includes 15 buildings in Dallas and 14 in Houston. 

The properties, which total 3.1 million sf, are 93 percent leased to roughly 95 tenants. ​

The Real Estate Center has more on San Antonio's industrial ​market:

• San Antonio industrial news​​
• ​​Texas Quarterly Commercial Report​

PLANO – A partnership between LandPlan Development and St. Ives Realty has sold a 39,324-sf ​office building within Parkwood Village.​​

The partnership developed the single-tenant building at 8454 Parkwood Blvd. in 2018.

CBRE represented the sellers. 

The Real Estate Center has more on DFW real estate news:

• Local office news
• ​​Texas Quarterly Commercial Report

​FRISCO – Specialty cleaning product maker Magnus Chemical is leasing 44,144 sf in The Star Commerce Center II at 16005 Gateway Dr.

The 141,960-sf Class A Industrial buildi​ng was completed this year.

Stream Realty Partners represented the ten​​ant. Lincoln Property Company represented the landlord. 

Earlier this year, GEA Group leased 78,000 sf in the facility. 

The Real Estate Center has more on DFW's industrial market:​​​​

• ​​​Texas Quarterly Commercial Report
• Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington industrial news​

​​COLLEGE STATION – On Jan. 1, 2021, the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University will have a new name. Sort of. After 35 years with its current name, it’s going back to its given identity, the Texas Real Estate Research Center.

The Center was officially created and named the Texas Real Estate Research Center by an act of the state legislature in 1971. The name was unofficially shortened in 1986 to assist in marketing.

"The operating environment has changed over the years," said Center Executive Director Gary Maler. "We are no longer the best kept secret in Texas. Omitting the word 'research' from our name has spawned imitators and caused confusion.

"We are reassuming and reasserting our claim to our official name," he said. "Texas Real Estate Research Center defines us properly as an applied research organization focused on Texas and the needs of our business leaders and citizens."

Maler said a "growing list of imitators" is a primary reason for the change. An Internet search for "real estate center" yields more than 2.9 billion possibilities.

The "new" name ushers in the Center’s 50th anniversary year.

​​​AUSTIN – The Texas unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent in September after dipping for the 13.5 percent high in April 2020 during the peak of COVID-19 im​​p​a​​cts.

The increase was due to the civilian labor force shrinking as the number of individuals actively looking for work contracted, while the unemployed rose.

According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the state added 40,70​0 nonfarm jobs last month.

The national unemployment rate is 7.7 percent.

Amarillo had the lowest nonse​asonally adjusted unemployment rate in the state​ at 5.1 percent. O​​dessa had the highest at 13.2 percent. 

All employment sectors had seasonally adjusted job losses since September 2019. Mining and logging had the largest job loss with employment falling 22.6 percent. Financial activities had the smallest, falling only 0.3 percent.​

​​McKINNEY – KWA Construction has completed Axiom Hub 121, a 246-unit apartment community at 7201 Henneman Way within the Craig Ranch master-planned development. 

The 340,000-sf property offers one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Monthly rents start at $1,150.​

Amenities include a pool with a tanning ledge, car wash facility, sports lounge with coffee bar, 24-hour fitness center, bocce ball court, Amazon package lockers, and coworking space. 

The community was designed by Domus Studio Group and developed by Seneca Investments.

The Real Estate Center​​​​ has more information like this online for free:

• ​​​​Texas Quarterly Apartment Report​​
• Dallas-area multifamily news

​Source: REBusiness Online

​​​MESQUITE – Tustin, Calf.-based Best Choice Products is taking more than 400,000 sf of distribution space for a new shipping hub. 

The hub will be at the Prologis Mesquite business park at 5151 Samuell Blvd.

Cushman & Wakefield handled leasing.

The Real Estate Center has more on DFW's industrial market:

• ​​​Texas Quarterly Commercial Report
• Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington industrial news​

​DALLAS – Cawley Partners is building a 150,000-sf office building at 2221 W. Mockingbird Ln. near Harry Hines Blvd.

Corgan designed the office project, which will include food service facilities, fitness center, and conference center.

Construction on the four-story building begins early next year.​​​​

The Real Estate Center has more on DFW real estate news:

• Local office news
• ​​Texas Quarterly Commercial Report

​​​​​HOUSTON – Realty.com has purchased one million sf of office space from Oxle​​y Leasing.

The deal included 114,711 sf in Dallas and 919,703 sf in the Houston market. 

The Dallas buildings are One West Hills and Two West Hills on S. Hampton Rd. They were built in 1984 and 1977, respectively. 

Oxley purchased​ both assets in 2014 for $​3.3 million.

The Houston assets include 363 North Belt, a 376,277-sf office building.

The Center, a three-building campus totaling 377,126 sf, was also purchased. It was built in 1979 at 8303, 8313, and 8323 Southwest Fwy.

Realty.com will launch its VIP Office Space coworking program at the properties. 

The Real Estate Center has more on Texasreal estate news:

• Dallas and Houston office news
• ​​Texas Quarterly Commercial Report

​​​​LEANDER – The city and Leander Springs LLC, a division of iLand Development Group, is developing a 78-acre mixed-use destinatio​n project.

The $1 billion Leander Springs will be at the southwest intersection of FM 2243 and 183A Toll Rd.

It will have a four-acre crystalline lagoon surrounded by ten acres of boardwalk and commercial development, which includes:

• 1,600 multifamily units,

• 253,000 sf of retail space,
  

• 856,000 sf of office space,

• a 275-key hotel, and 

• 20,000-sf conference center. 
  

The city will provide as much as $22 million in performance-spaced tax incentives.

STG Design is the designer.

​​​SAN ANTONIO – California-based Pabst Brewing Co., brewer of Lone Star and Pabst Blue Ribbon beers, is moving its headquarter to the Rand Building at 110 E. Houston St.

The company recently cl​osed its Los Angeles and Dallas offices. It is renovating two floors in Weston Urban's downtown building. 

Pabst has operated a local office for years now. The expansion will bring the total number of local employees to 115 to 120.  

The Real Estate Center has more on San Antonio's office market:

• San Antonio-New ​​Braunfels office news​​
• ​​Texas Quarterly Commercial Report