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​​​​​​​​SAN ANTONIO – Hines is developing Corner Ridge Crossing, a 577,000-sf, four-building project within Cornerstone Industrial Park. 

The project will have two rear-load buildings totaling 198,000 sf; one 127,000-sf front-load building; and one 252,000-sf cross-dock building. 

Tenants can lease spaces ranging from 19,000 to 252,000 sf. 

Amenities will include 28- to 32-ft clear heights, ample car and trailer parking, and two points of ingress/egress. 

Groundbreaking is scheduled for July, and the first spaces will be complete by first quarter 2020. 

JLL will handle leasing.

​​​MISSOURI CITY – Williamsburg Enterprises has broken ground on the latest phase of Sienna Crossing, a 35-acre, 60,000-sf retail development at SH​​ 6 and Sienna Pkwy. 

This phase is preleased to retailers such as 24-Hour Fitness and Spec’s Wine, Spirits & Finer Foods. Delivery is set for first quarter 2020.

Currently, the property houses Academy Sports + Outdoors, IHOP, and Chick-fil-A.

Williamsburg purchased the land in 2014.​

​​​​​​​​HOUSTON – Lovette Commercial will redevelop the 550,000-sf Barbara Jordan Post Office at 401 Franklin St. into a mixed-use development.

The project will offer restaurant, retail, and entertainment space. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for this month.  

The 16-acre property includes a five-story office building and two-story industrial building. 

In July 2018, a $31 million building permit was filed for renovation work at the site. 

​​OMA and Powers Brown Architecture are designing the project. 

​​​​​​MINERAL WELLS – The Baker Hotel and Spa has been purchased, and plans for a three-year, $65 million renovation are in the works.

The restored luxury resort will have 157 guest rooms, a top-floor ballroom, 22,000 sf of event space, a restaurant, lounge, coffee shop, and spa.

Opened in 1929, the property cost $1.2 million to build and has been vacant since 1972.  

The project is a public-private partnership between the city and the owners and developers, including Hunter Chase Construction and Developers, Wells Fargo Advisors, Ryan LLC, Nix Rental Homes, La Corsha Hospitality, Syndicated Contracting Services, and Thiel and Thiel.

The project has been designated in an Opportunity Zone and construction will begin immediately. 

Completion is set for 2022.​

​​​SAN ANTONIO – Offenhauser & Co. has acquired a 30,000-sf warehouse at 533 Delaware St. from Recycle 5.

The former auto-parts warehouse will be rezoned and renovated into office and other commercial space.

​​​​AUSTIN – Construction is underway on White Lodging’s 162-room Moxy Austin hotel at Guadalupe and W. ​26th Streets.

The guestrooms will offer motion-sensor lighting, platform beds, and peg-walls for flexibility.

Additionally, the property will have communal ground-floor space, which will include a Zombie Taco restaurant.

​​​​​​​DALLAS – Texas employment will grow 2.3 percent this year, according to the Texas Employment Forecast by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. 

Based on the forecast, the state will add 292,100 jobs this year. Employment in December 2019 will reach 12.9 million.

This prediction comes after incorporating May 2019's annualized employment growth of 2.1 percent and a moderate decrease in the leading index.

“The manufacturing and mining sectors have slowed this year likely due to increased tariffs, a strong dollar, a weakening world economy, and weaker oil prices,” said Keith R. Phillips, Dallas Fed assistant vice president and senior economist. “While these two important sectors have slowed, the private service-producing and construction sectors have accelerated moderately, leaving overall job growth so far this year at the same pace as in 2018.”

For more Texas employment data, head to the Real Estate Center's website. 

​​​​CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – ​​With the nation’s economy on sound footing and incomes on the rise, U.S. household creation has returned to a more normal pace. However, housing production still falls short, according to the 2019 St​ate of the Na​​​tion’s Housing​ report from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS).​

Several factors may be contributing to the slow construction recovery, including excess supply following the housing boom, which took years to absorb, and persistent labor shortages. However, land prices and regulatory constraints on new development are the most significant factors.

According to the report, the number of homeowners rose sharply, even as the ratio of median home price to median household income rose from a low of 3.3 in 2011 to 4.1 in 2018, a sign of declining affordability. Conditions for would-be buyers vary widely across the nation.

The number of renter households fell for the second consecutive year in 2018, a stark contrast to the increases of the 12 preceding years. Nevertheless, rents are rising at twice the rate of overall inflation. 

The share of U.S. households paying more than 30 percent of their income for housing declined for the seventh straight year in 2017. Much of the progress was among homeowners, though, whose cost-burden rate declined to its lowest level this century. ​Cost-burden rates for modest-income renter households continue to rise.

JCHS expects millennials and baby boomers will continue pushing household growth, spurring demand in the remodeling market and the demand for entry-level homes. 

Rental growth is expected to be solid as well, with 400,000 additional renter households per year expected between 2018 and 2028.

Projections depend on a number of factors, including economic conditions, housing affordability, and the pace of foreign immigration. 

​​​​​NEW CANEY – The Signorelli Company has opened the 336-unit Phase I of The Pointe at Valley Ranch Town Center at 20290 Park Lake View Dr.

The waterfront property features one-, two-, and three-bedroom units near Valley Ranch Town Center. 

Residents have access to a ten-acre beach, pool, outdoor kitchen, fitness center, and package/concierge services. 

​​​​​​​MANSFIELD – Institutional Property Advisors have negotiated the sale of two Class A multifamily communities totaling 588 units.

Steadfast Cos. purchased the 274-unit Villaggio Apartments from Carleton Residential Properties and M.R. Development Corp. It was built in 2016 at 1701 E. Debbie Ln.

Weinstein Properties acquired the 314-unit Bex​ley on Main from The NRP Group. It was built at 751 N. Main St. in 2018. ​The property's name was changed from Main Street Lofts earlier this year.​

Both communities feature standard Class A amenities such as pools and fitness centers.

​​​​​​​​​​ABILENE – Pillar Capital Group has sold The Shops at Abilene Village, a 145,000-sf retail power center, for $20.1 million.

Anchored by Academy Sports + Outdoors, the center also houses tenants such as Burlington, Petco, Party City, and Five Below.

Nooner Holdings Ltd. acquired the asset via a 1031 exchange.​

​​​​​Stan Johnson Co. represented the seller. 

​​​DALLAS – Construction is underway on another high-rise apartment​ building in Uptown.

The 13-story Alexan Oak Grove residential tower will have 185 apartments ranging from 600 to 2,600 sf.

It is being built on Oak Grove Ave. near Hall St. by Trammell Crow Residential.

Amenities include a clubroom, conference rooms, a fitness center, an indoor-outdoor bar, a resort-style swimming pool, and a sky lounge on the 12th floor.

The building was designed by Meeks+Partners.

​​​​BAYTOWN – NIT Industrial LLC has purchased 12.8 acres within Cedar Port Industrial Park near Port Houston for the development of a 204,175-sf speculative industrial project. 

The project will encompass four buildings measuring between 50,250 and 51,925 sf that will feature 32-ft clear heights, dock- and grade-level loading doors, and ESFR sprinkler systems. 

Construction is slated to begin in October. 

​AUSTIN – Work will start next month on a 62,000-sf creative office at 1141 Shady Ln.​ in the ThinkEast master-planned development.​

It will be the city's first ground-up development to use a qualified opportunity fund.

A three-story building, designed by Bercy Chen Studio LP, will be the focal point of PlaceMKR and Saxum Real Estate's development. There will also be a 9,000-sf outdoor courtyard around the property.​​

Tenants of the new building could be eligible for tax benefits as long as most of their assets and gross income are derived from the opportunity zone and if their backers' investments come from capital gains.

Newmark Knight Frank represented the buyers and ​will exclusively lease the new development.

​​​​​​TOMBALL – The city council has approved the rezoning of 103.7 acres for Raburn Reserve, a 400-home community between S. Persimmon St. and Huffsmith Kohrville Rd. 

The ordinance will shift the land use from agricultural, single-family 20, and commercial districts to a planned development district.

It allows for ​residential developments to have varying lot sizes and meet certain standards for open space, parks, and building facades.

​​​​​DALLAS – GlenStar and Singerman Real Estate have acquired eight buildings in the Solana Business Park on SH 114.

The office complex, called the Terrance at Solana, has six five-story, 375,000-sf buildings; a six-story, 309,000-sf facility; and a three-story, 129,000-sf building.

Built in the 1980s, the development has been for sale since last summer when it was less than 40 percent leased. Major tenants include Sabre Corp., Verizon, Goosehead Insurance, and Marsh & McLennan.​

The purchase also includes ​the Solana Fitness Club and 20 acres for additional development.

Redevelopment plans include a new conferencing center, fitness center, tenant lounge, patios, and entertainment space. The previous owners already invested about $50 million in upgrades.

HFF marketed the property on behalf of the sellers, Blackstone Group and its affiliate, Equity Office Properties.​​

​​​​​​HOUSTON – Cerberus Capital and Hines have acquired​ the JP Morgan Chase Tower at 600 Travis St. for $627 million. 

The 1.7 million-sf tower is the tallest building in Texas.

The deal also includes the adjacent 407,000-sf Chase Center, at 601 Travis St. 

New York-based Cerberus will own 90 percent of the properties, while Hines will take a 10 percent share.

The seller was Hairiri Interests, operating as Prime Asset Management. 

​Hines has been managing both properties. Colvill Office Properties is handling leasing.

​​HOUSTON – Harris County has inked two five-year leases totaling 48,511 sf at Northwest Crossing III, a 12-story, 305,242-sf office building at 13105 Northwest Fwy.

The engineering department, recovery and resiliency division, flood control district, and community services department will occupy space on the fourth and sixth floors. ​

​​​AUSTIN – RigUp has moved into 24,000 sf at One Eleven Congress, Cousins Properties' 30-story tower at 111 Congress Ave. 

​The new office, designed by MF Architecture​, has room for about 120 people, but executives are negotiating leases for more floors ​to unite all 300 employees under one roof. ​

RigUp still leases space at 98 San Jacinto Blvd. and currently has 30-plus job openings listed online.

​​AUSTIN – Common Desk will open a second local operation sometime this year. 

The space will be on the top two floors of the historic​ Littlefield Building at Sixth St. and Congress Ave. 

It will have a cocktail lounge, greenhouse meeting space, shared desks, and nine conference rooms.​​

The company already had 17,000 sf of space on W. Anderson Ln. It also acquired Link Coworking earlier this year.