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​​​​​MIDLOTHIAN – Methodist Health System has acquired 67 acres for the development of a new 190,000-sf full-service acute-care hospital and a 45,000-sf medical office building.

The tract is just west of US 287 near the Midlothian ISD multi-purpose stadium. It will include a 44-bed hospital with the capacity to expand to 80 beds as demand increases.

Construction is expected to start this year with completion slated for 2020. 

This will be the 11th Methodist Health System hospital.

​​​​FRISCO – The Scottish Rite for Child​​​ren Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center, a five-story, 345,000-sf ambulatory surgery center with outpatient clinics and walk-in availability, will start accepting patients in October 2018.

The facility, which sits on 40 acres at the Dallas North Tollway and Lebanon Rd., has an outdoor sprint track and a soccer field for patient rehabilitation and research. It also has conference rooms, a walking trail, and a playground—all of which will be open for community use.

As North Texas continues to grow, the campus is prepared to grow with it.

An additional floor and a half of available shell space is spread throughout the building, including four more operating rooms.

​​​​​​KYLE – Austin Community College has opened its $22.4 million Public Safety Training Center at the Hays campus.

The two-building facility near the intersection of FM 1626 and Kohlers Crossing totals 40,000 sf. It also has a 19-acre outdoor driving course.

In addition to classrooms, building one has a 7,000-sf tactical-training room to replicate real-life emergency scenarios. ​Building two features a 50-yard, 12-lane indoor firing range.

The center was built to prepare students to become first responders in law enforcement and emergency medical service roles. The facility is also available to law enforcement agencies for training.​

​​FRISCO – The city council has approved the rezoning of about 78 acres on the southwest corner of US 380 and Dallas Pkwy. from agricultural to planned development/office/retail/residential.

The move allows for the Lesso Mall development, a one million-sf project that features retail, office, restaurants, multifamily, and hotels. 

The central piece to the project is a multi-level covered mall and Class A office. It is expected to cost between $1.5 billion to $2 billion.

The rezoning comes with a stipulation that 100,000 sf of office space and a retail portion begins construction before a permit is issued for any multifamily development.

A "lifestyle" street with retail, outdoor dining, and office and boutique space will run north-south and bisect the mall area. It is expected to be in the first phase.

​​​​​​​WASHINGTON – National housing starts increased 9.2 percent in August to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.28 million units, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Commerce Department. 

Single-family starts increased 1.9 percent to 876,000 units. Multifamily starts rose 29.3 percent to 408,000 units. ​​

Overall permits fell 5.7 percent to 1.23 million units. In the single​-family sector, permits dropped 6.1 percent to 820,000 units. Multifamily permits fell 4.9 percent to 409,000 units. 

"Although we saw an increase in starts in August, we are likely to see softening in the market in the months ahead," said National Association of Home Builders Chief Economist Robert Dietz. "Affordability is a particular concern because of home price gains, due in part to the high regulatory burden on new home construction. Increasing costs for building materials prompted partially by recently imposed tariffs on a wide range of products are also a concern. Moreover, interest rates are continuing their gradual upward climb."

In the South—the region which includes Texas—starts increased 6.5 percent and permits decreased 2.9 percent. 

​​​​​​​​​​​​WACO – Swan Products is breaking ground on an expansion of its​ location at 700 Jewell Dr.

Two buildings totaling 294,000 sf will be constructed next to the existing 130​,000-sf facility.

In addition to providing warehouse space, the extra footage will create room for new product lines.

The company is investing more than $10 million in the manufacturing property, which produces ten million feet of garden hose weekly.

​The investment should push employment to nearly 300 people during peak production season. The company must add at least 60 jobs to qualify for tax incentives.​

​​​​​​​​​​​​AUSTIN – The Texas economy added 32,000 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in August, marking 26 consecutive months of employment growth.

According to data from the Texas Workforce Commission, the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.9 percent, down from 4 percent in July.

Over the year, the state added 394,500 jobs for an annual employment growth rate of 3.2 percent.

The Texas metro with the lowest nonseasonally adjusted unemployment rate was Midland at 2.2 percent. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission had the highest at 6.6 percent.

The mining and logging industry saw the largest seasonally adjusted growth in employment from August 2017 to August 2018, growing 15.2 percent. The information industry was the only one to lose jobs with employment dropping 2.8 percent over the year.​

​​​​WASHINGTON – ​​​Existing-home sales for all housing types across the country remained steady in August after four straight months of decline, according to the National Association of Realtors. 

Sales remained unchanged from July at a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.34 million sales. That's down 1.5 percent from a year ago.

The median existing-home price for all housing types was $264,800 last month, up 4.6 percent from August 2017. This marks the 78th straight month of year-over-year gains. 

Total housing inventory also remained unchanged from July at 1.92 million existing homes up for sale. In August 2017, there were 1.87 million homes for sale. 

Inventory is at a 4.3-month supply. Properties stayed on the market for 29 days in August, up from 27 days in July but down from 30 a year ago. 

First-time homebuyers accounted for 31 percent of sales in August. ​

Realtor.com's Market Hotness Index revealed that Midland was among the hottest metro areas last month. Other hot​ metros include Fort Wayne, Ind.; San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.; Columbus, Ohio; and Boise City, Idaho. 

Existing-home sales in the South—the region which includes Texas—fell 0.4 percent over the month to an annual rate of 2.23 million, up from 2.19 million a year ago. The median price grew 3.2 percent over the year to $227,900.​​​​​

​​​​SAN ANTONIO – WaterWalk announces the grand opening of their second Texas location at 5423 N. Loop 1604 W​.

This project covers 153 hotel and apartment suites within The Rim area.​

The extended stay hotel offers one-, two- and three-bedroom accommodations that are fully furnished for business travelers and relocations. It also features unfurnished apartment units with flexible lease terms for guests who prefer to bring their own furniture and settle in long-term.

Amenities and services include a full-size kitchen, in-suite washer and dryer, housekeeping, and a fitness center.

​​​​​KATY – MARS Properties LLC broke ground last month​​​ on High Point West, an 89,440-sf industrial distribution center on 7.25 acres at 1039 Schlipf Rd. 

The building will feature 32-foot clear height, heavy power capabilities, and access to controlled truck courts. Delivery is set for spring 2019.​

​Check out Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land​ Industrial Market Research.

​​​​​BAYTOWN – Abby Development has ​​​​​broken ground on The Lodge at Pine Creek, a 217-unit senior living development on Hunt Rd. just east of the Garth Rd. intersection.

The community will offer:

• one- and two-bedroom independent-living apartments; 
  

• two- and three-bedroom independent-living cottages;
  

• studio, one-, and two-bedroom assisted-living apartments; and 
  

• a memory-care wing with​​ private and semi-private floor plans in a secure environment for those with Alzheimer’s or other memory-related diseases.
  

​​​​AUSTIN – A joint venture between the Preiss Company and TH Real Estate has purchased Aspen Heights West Campus from Aspen Heights Partners.

The newly built, 165,708-sf, student-housing complex at 1909 Rio Grande St. is three blocks from the University of Texas. It has 464 beds across 166 units.​​​​​​

​The 17-story asset is now rebranded as Signature 1909.

CBRE arranged the sale.

​​​​DENTON – United States Cold Storage has opened a 224,000-sf distribution center ​​on Jim Christal Rd. on the city's western side.

​Inside, there is space for 25,802 pallets of goods, with storage temperatures ranging from -120 degrees to 60 degrees.​

​Check out Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington Industrial Market Research.

​​​​​​​​​WACO – A trio of four-story hotels totaling 361 rooms  is planned off MLK Jr. Blvd.

​​​​The L-shaped Cambria Hotel between Bridge St. and Taylor St. will include 132 suites, a bar and restaurant, fitness center, 5,400 sf of event space, ​​and a shared courtyard with the adjacent Even Hotel.

The Even Hotel will include 128 rooms, a bar and restaurant, workout space with equipment in each room, and 1,900 sf of meeting space.

On the other side of Taylor St., a 101-room Holiday Inn Express will have a fitness room, pool, and board room with flexible space.

Developers hope to break ground in early 2019 and complete the $21.7 million ​project by 2022. 

​​​IRVING – IT services provider Cognizant has launched a technology and service delivery center with an investment of ​​$8 million.

The 50,000-sf facility will create 1,100 new jobs by 2023, providing digital transformation services to​ local industries, particularly insurance, health care, and retail.

Besides servicing clients, the new facility will also serve as a skills development center for local residents, with the company agreeing to dedicate around 10,000 sf of floor space to training activities.

Participants will receive instruction in data engineering and software support, says Cognizant, adding that it will train more than 1,000 people over the next 36 months.

​Chec​k out North Texas Office Market Research.

​​​​​​​SAN MARCOS – Construction is underway on a $94 million tower that will introduce a new form of urban student housing to Texas State University.

The 754-bed apartment will be on private property between N. Guadalupe St. and N. LBJ Dr. near ​​​campus.

The project was called Concho Commons before it was rebranded as Aspire San Marcos.

There will be an 18,000-sf ground-floor amenity open to the public and three levels of underground parking.

The 13-story complex is slated to open by summer 2020.

Renderings show a Target store,​ but a spokesperson for developer Casey Development said they were just prospective models and don't reflect final plans.

​​​​​​​​​FREDERICKSBURG​​ – ​The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will offer a two-day land stewardship conference, “Empowering Women – New Stewardship Traditions,” Oct. 1-2 at the Inn on Barons Creek. 

The conference, funded in part by the Ruth and Eskel Bennett Trust, is an effort to reach women landowners who want to learn more about land stewardship.

​The conference costs $75 and includes meals, break refreshments, and tour transportation. ​​Hotel rooms are available at the Inn on Barons Creek at ​308 S. Washington St. for $99 per night ​​​with the Bennett-TAMU group code.

Tina Buford, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board member from Harlingen, will be the keynote speaker. 

​​The second day will include tours that concentrate on plant identification, tracking and identifying wildlife scat, skeet shoot, and Bow Pros archery shooting demonstration. It ​will continue to Bridget's Basket in Hunt for lunch and a tour.

For more information, go to https://agrilife.org/bennetttrust/. You can also contact Dr. Larry Redmon at l-redmon@tamu.edu, Matt Brown at matthew.brown@tamu.edu, or an AgriLife Extension agent in the region.​​​

​​​​​AUSTIN – Last month, the metro's housing market had its highest-grossing sales for any August on record and the third-highest median price for any month, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. 

Area agents sold 3,034 homes across the metro in August, 3.7 percent more than last year. 

The median price was $322,478, up 8.2 percent over the year. That's the third-highest median on record, trailing June’s all-time high of $326,250 and May’s second-highest level of $325,000.

Strong sales led to double-digit gains in sales dollar volume, totaling $1.2 billion. That’s 10.5 percent higher than August 2017. 

For more Texas housing stats, read the Center’s latest T​exas Housing Insightreport. ​

​​​​​SAN ANTONIO – Clothing retailer A’Gaci has leased 102,485 sf of industrial space at 4958 Stout Dr.

This space will serve as local offices and the main distribution center for the San Antonio-based brand.

“The industrial space on Stout Dr. is uniquely equipped with 18,000 sf of office space, heavy IT infrastructure, 100 percent climate control, and a 2.5-acre truck court,” says Andrew Price, vice president at CBRE in San Antonio.

The facility totals 171,145 sf and is now 100 percent leased.

​​​​HOUSTON – FPA Multifamily and Trinity Property Consultants have acquired Gables West Ave and the West Ave shopping center. 

The properties will be renovated and rebranded as Shops at Arrive (shopping center) and Arrive River Oaks (luxury apartment community).

The ten-year-old mixed-use property at 2800 Kirby Dr. has 397 multifamily units and 193,895 sf of retail. Tenants include Tootsies, Milk & Honey, SAP, and Eddie V’s Prime Seafood. 

The partnership will oversee the rebranding and renovation process, which will wrap up in 2019.

Check out ​Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Multifamily and Retail Market Research.