Steve Brown Real Estate Report

[tamtagon]

Despite record activity, Wall Street still thinks Dallas market is dismal

My eyes almost rolled out of my head when I got the latest urgent report from Moody's Investors Service. For years, the folks on Wall Street have bashed the Dallas real estate market – been there, done that. But when Moody's once again lists Dallas as one of the 10 worst real estate markets in the country, I didn't know whether to laugh hysterically or fall over in a fit. I decided to chuckle. It's a tired joke that Moody's still thinks things are so dismal in the Dallas real estate market that you need a Hazmat suit and extra life insurance.

It's a report with a specific point of view - broadly, of businesses who profit from real estate values. Dallas is an excellent value for the money if you are tennant.

[gc]

With this mirror, you'll always look hot
Builders' show features dizzying array of ... well, a lot of stuff
Steve Brown - DMN
10:07 PM CST on Thursday, January 20, 2005
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...col.bfe83.html

I was straightening my collar in the mirror the other day, and my reflection was engulfed in flames. No, I hadn't gone to hell. At the National Association of Home Builders show, I stumbled upon the "Looking Glass Fireplace." It's a gas fireplace that doubles as a mirror when not in use. Push a button, and your image dissolves in real fire. It's just the thing to put sinners back on the straight path. I can't imagine why else you'd want one. But that's the way I felt about a lot of the products at the show. More than 100,000 housing industry members traveled to Orlando last week to tour almost 2 million square feet of exhibits. They could see the latest in everything from attic insulation to bathtubs. The dizzying array was often a bit pointless.

Two manufacturers touted remote controls that allow you to run your washing machine and turn on the dishwasher while lying in bed or lounging in the den. Some of the latest microwaves in bright colors were so fresh from the design shop that the control knobs were marked in Japanese. Stainless steel remains king of the hill in kitchen appliances. But wood-fronted dishwashers and refrigerators are gaining ground. (My granny had one of those you put ice blocks in.) A high-end manufacturer was even selling industrial-looking refrigerators with clear glass front doors. Boy, that would make you keep your fridge clean. Bathroom fixtures are multiplying at a frantic rate. They have faucet handles that look like everything from Flash Gordon's pistol to a pig's tail.

And the synthetic materials for floors and countertops are so good you can't tell them from the finest wood and stone. I found that out when I asked a sales rep if a sink was one of the modern composites. "That's Italian marble," she sniffed with disdain. Wine coolers and closets are the hottest items this year. One manufacturer was pushing a wine vault large enough to house a VW Beetle. "It's not just an appliance; it's a room," the salesman said. I didn't ask how much it was, let alone how much the wine would cost to fill it up.

Westmount heads out

Westmount Realty Capital – a major investor in downtown Dallas – is making a play in the suburbs. The real estate investor has bought part of the former Alcatel USA campus in Plano and plans to market it to business tenants. The two buildings at 1000 Coit Road were remodeled in 1998 and have about 420,000 square feet. Along with 180,000 square feet of office space, the complex includes a warehouse and full-service cafeteria. "This property is an exciting addition to Westmount's value-added portfolio and perfectly aligns with the company's acquisition criteria," said Westmount president Clifford Booth. The project comes with office cubicles for 700 workers and enough high-tech gear to accommodate almost any tenant. Westmount hired Capstar Commercial Real Estate Services and Binswanger Cos. to market the property.

CityHomes building sale

An investment partnership put together by Dallas real estate broker Newt Walker has bought the CityHomes building at Cole and Fitzhugh Avenues. Mr. Walker said the group bought it as an investment, and CityHomes owner Centex will move out. The group will try to find a retail tenant or make it available for a bank. CityHomes uses the building – formerly an art supply store – as a marketing center for its Uptown townhomes. The sale was arranged by Staubach Co. and Worth Ross & Associates.

Stemmons offices sold

New Jersey-based Diversified Capital has purchased the 7610 Stemmons Freeway office building in Dallas. The previous owners defaulted on the mortgage on the six-story, 128,000-square-foot building. Regions Bank provided financing for the purchase, which was negotiated by broker Garrett Sherman. "The purchase of 7610 Stemmons marks Diversified's third major acquisition in the Dallas area," said Bruce Stern, vice president. "This reflects our strong belief in the underlying fundamentals of the market."

Ah, the good ol' days

I'm stuck in the past. My house is 85 years old. I drive a car made during the Eisenhower administration. And most days I wear a wristwatch from the 1920s. So you can understand why I didn't see a problem with letting mass transit riders have access to one of Dallas' biggest office buildings – the 42-story Cityplace tower. Last week I whined about the project blocking right of way from the building to DART's subway station. Doors from the tower's lower lobby to the rail station are barred to the public. Real estate management professionals were quick to tell me my thinking is hopelessly naïve. In today's super-security-conscious environment, commercial real estate operators are increasingly cutting off access to the public.

The ubiquitous corporate security pass is workaday fashion. When the Cityplace tower was planned in the early 1980s, no one envisioned a day when such workplaces would be tightly restricted. Of course, I can remember when tall office buildings in downtown Dallas had public observation areas where you could go up and look out over the town. There wasn't a lot to do in Dallas back then. We used to go to the airport just to watch planes take off. I guess that's out of the question now, too. I'll just go home and watch The Waltons. Good night, John Boy.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[freewaytincan]

I'm stuck in the past. My house is 85 years old. I drive a car made during the Eisenhower administration. And most days I wear a wristwatch from the 1920s. So you can understand why I didn't see a problem with letting mass transit riders have access to one of Dallas' biggest office buildings – the 42-story Cityplace tower. Last week I whined about the project blocking right of way from the building to DART's subway station. Doors from the tower's lower lobby to the rail station are barred to the public. Real estate management professionals were quick to tell me my thinking is hopelessly naïve. In today's super-security-conscious environment, commercial real estate operators are increasingly cutting off access to the public.

The ubiquitous corporate security pass is workaday fashion. When the Cityplace tower was planned in the early 1980s, no one envisioned a day when such workplaces would be tightly restricted. Of course, I can remember when tall office buildings in downtown Dallas had public observation areas where you could go up and look out over the town. There wasn't a lot to do in Dallas back then. We used to go to the airport just to watch planes take off. I guess that's out of the question now, too. I'll just go home and watch The Waltons. Good night, John Boy.

I'm glad he said it. It makes me feel better about my own complaints of the same issues.

But then again, I usually do have my own ways of getting into places...

[texman]

Of course, I can remember when tall office buildings in downtown Dallas had public observation areas where you could go up and look out over the town. There wasn't a lot to do in Dallas back then. We used to go to the airport just to watch planes take off.

I do that...

[gc]

Atmos Energy's generosity to city is a rare gift in itself
09:50 PM CST on Thursday, February 10, 2005
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...col.a8346.html


Usually when a CEO goes to City Hall, it's to ask for something. Why else confront the vagaries of the public sector? But Atmos Energy Corp. chairman Robert Best came downtown from North Dallas on Wednesday to make a special delivery: a block of downtown office buildings. That kind of largesse is rare in Dallas. "Everyone always says to me, 'How come Fort Worth is so far ahead of you downtown?' " said Dallas Mayor Laura Miller. "I tell them it's because of the support of their Bass family. "Now we have a Bass-type gift for downtown Dallas." The Dallas energy company is handing the city the deeds to a handful of buildings it owns on the southeast side of downtown that house TXU Gas, which is now a part of Atmos.

The gift could be a much-needed catalyst for downtown. Some real estate types are already speculating that one or more of the buildings might be used as a carrot for Cleveland developer Forest City Enterprises if it commits to its plans to redevelop the Mercantile National Bank Building. Ms. Miller called this week's $6 million offering from Atmos "the most dramatic thing that's happened in a long time in Dallas. For them to do this for us is unprecedented and extraordinary." She and the City Council members on hand to formally accept the Atmos gift were grinning as if they'd just won the lottery. You can understand why. The last time anyone gave the city such a gift was in 1976, when Mobil Oil Co. donated the landmark Magnolia Building. It was refurbished into office space and, a few years ago, converted into a hotel.

Two of the former Lone Star Gas buildings on Harwood Street are art deco palaces that developers have been eyeing for apartment conversions. The others range from a single-story warehouse to a 12-story office tower built in the late 1970s. Atmos had planned to sell its buildings until Ms. Miller and others at City Hall suggested the donation. Even with the tax write-off, Mr. Best estimates that "what we will be giving up is four or five million dollars we could have gotten if we sell this." So why do it? "We are a citizen of this community," he said. "It's something we could do to help."

Equity finds suitors

Chicago-based Equity Office Property Trust's recent decision to sell some of its high-profile Texas holdings has caused a stir in the property investment market. Last fall, the real estate investment trust put for sale signs up at almost $800 million worth of buildings in Dallas and Houston. Some of the biggest North Texas properties have already found suitors. CarrAmerica Realty is negotiating to purchase the three-building Colonnade office complex on the Dallas North Tollway in Addison, real estate brokers say. And a CB Richard Ellis investment fund is shopping Equity Office's Las Colinas buildings including 545 Carpenter Freeway.

Medical project

Developer Predium has bought 10 acres on Preston Road south of State Highway 190, where it plans to build a medical office and retail project. The property was assembled from 15 owners and includes the Hawkins Nursery property facing Preston. "It's now the largest development site on Preston Road south of 190," Predium principal Seth Weinstein said. "We expect to create an extraordinary and unique project."

Star Creek

Dallas Cowboys Football Club owners Jerry and Stephen Jones will be in Allen next week to kick off their latest land development. The Star Creek project on State Highway 121 west of North Central Expressway will include a residential community and commercial space. The Jones family's Blue Star Land LP is developing the 529-acre project.

Kodiak Capital

A new Dallas real estate investment company is making its first property acquisitions. Kodiak Capital Partners LLC was set up in September by Dallas businessmen D.W. Landers and Bob Schults. Mr. Landers was formerly a partner with investor Gaedeke Landers Inc. Mr. Schults has been in the real estate and home building business in Dallas and Virginia since the 1980s. Kodiak Capital just sponsored the purchase of a $21.5 million office building in Bradenton, Fla.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[St-T]

Atmos did a great thing by donating the building to DTD. I hope this will spur more in the "Dallas Business Comunity" to support and help DTD.

[gc]

Historic hospital site for sale
Woodlawn complex eyed for residential, retail development
Steve Brown
09:25 PM CST on Thursday, February 24, 2005
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...col.94300.html

During the last 20 years, widespread development has turned Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood into one of the country's most popular urban districts. But the view at the northwest corner of Oak Lawn Avenue and Maple Avenue hasn't changed since the early 20th century. That's when first red brick building in the old Woodlawn hospital complex was put up, in 1913. Lately, the vacant hospital complex, with its grove of big oak trees and big lawn, has slumbered while the area around it boomed.

That's about to change.

The Dallas County Hospital District has decided to sell the vacant complex, and developers and preservationists are eyeing the deal with interest. The 8-acre property has the potential to become one of the biggest mixed-use developments in Oak Lawn. Developers and architects say the combination of historic buildings and new high-rise or mid-rise construction would be perfect for a residential and retail complex. The hospital district – which previously planned to use Woodlawn for a health service center – is advertising for a real estate broker to market the property. The folks at City Hall are keeping track of what happens because of the property's potential.

"It's key to revitalization of the Maple Avenue corridor," said council member Veletta Forsythe Lill, who represents the Oak Lawn district and sits on the Parkland Foundation board. "Redevelopment is needed to provide some energy on that corner." One sticking point for developers might be the lawn and trees in front. For Woodlawn to receive historic tax credits, a builder would no doubt have to keep them. Woodlawn is one of the last historic medical properties in the Southwest. The two three-story buildings replaced a wood frame hospital that had been on the site since the 1890s. Parkland Hospital paid Dallas County $2 million for Woodlawn in 1996. It's now appraised on the tax rolls at more than $8 million.

Fairview shopping

The Collin County town of Fairview's slogan is "keeping it country." Residents of the community east of North Central Expressway near McKinney love the rural life. But that doesn't mean they don't want a place to eat out and shop. So developer John Chong is building what's considered Fairview's first shopping center. Fairview Plaza is under construction on Stacy Road near State Highway 5. The 18,500-square-foot retail complex will contain a restaurant, shops, a fitness center, cleaners and a salon.

Pending sales

More word is getting out about Equity Office Property Trust's pending sales. California investors are negotiating to buy two of the real estate investment trust's buildings in North Dallas, real estate brokers say. Los Angeles-based BentleyForbes is looking at the Sterling Plaza office building in Preston Center near the Dallas North Tollway and Northwest Highway. BentleyForbes already has property in North Texas. And Los Angeles real estate investor Colony Capital is shopping the 8080 Central tower on North Central Expressway. Equity Office put most of its Texas buildings up for sale late last year.

Apartments sold

Austin-based CWS Apartment Homes LLC has purchased the 308-unit Gates of Normandie Apartments & Townehomes in North Dallas from M&M Properties. Built in 1999, Gates of Normandie is at the southwest corner of Coit Road and Churchill Way just west of North Central Expressway. "The quality of this asset and its excellent location were very attractive to the purchaser," said Chris Paul, president of LaPaul Partners, which negotiated the sale. "The viability of the Park Central market will continue to increase with the imminent completion of construction of the High Five intersection."

Industry mourns

The North Texas real estate business lost two longtime industry players in the last week. Charles "Chuck" Delsanter, a veteran homebuilder and land developer in North Texas, died on Feb. 18. Mr. Delsanter was born in 1940 in Ohio and worked for Chase Manhattan, IBM and Olin Corp. before going into the home building business. His most recent company was Delterra Realty Advisors. And Jimmy Platt, a longtime familiar face in the title business in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, died Feb. 20. Mr. Platt was a Dallas native and was senior vice president of Republic Title of Texas Inc.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[tamtagon]

The 8-acre property has the potential to become one of the biggest mixed-use developments in Oak Lawn.

Fantastic.

Now if the city would just prompt an expansion of the nationally renowned Cedar Springs entertainment district and rezone for commercial application the acreage bounded by Oak Lawn - Throckmorton - Maple - Lemmon, the city would secure the revitalization of the Maple Avenue corridor.

[gc]

Condos' charm
They're the new dream home for empty nesters, and a boon for builders
11:45 PM CST on Thursday, February 24, 2005
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...dos.5d87d.html

For a growing number of North Texans, the "American Dream" no longer means a typical house in the suburbs. Instead, more and more buyers are opting for condominiums and townhouses. Developers are responding with dozens of new projects from Uptown to The Colony. John and Kristi Valencia are about to trade their North Dallas "rambler" for a trendy townhome in Uptown. "It's a big change for us – moving south," said Mr. Valencia, who works in McKinney. "We are going to be in walking distance from McKinney Avenue and will have Turtle Creek and the Katy Trail nearby." The Valencias, who are in their early 50s, have been in their home for about 13 years.

But with the kids heading off to college, the couple decided they didn't need a big traditional house and yard. "We have a pool now and nobody is in it, but we keep paying for maintenance," Mr. Valencia said. "The timing is right for us to do this." David and Renee Winter have already taken the plunge. Last fall, they sold their 6,000-square-foot house in University Park and moved to an Uptown high-rise. "We'd lived there 18 years, and we were at the point where we needed to do some major remodeling to accommodate our lifestyle," Ms. Winter said. The Winters said they were attracted to the "inner-city urban lifestyle." Plus, they enjoy traveling, so a high-rise makes sense. "It's been great to walk away from the yard man and the pool man and everyone else," Ms. Winter said. "When it's time for a trip, I can just lock the door and go."

Along with young professionals, empty nesters like the Winters and Valencias are driving the craze for condos and townhouses. And the boom is no longer confined to the center city. Brett Williams' company is planning a 15-story condo tower on Arapaho Road near the Dallas North Tollway. "There are a lot of people up here that have a million-dollar home and 6,200 square feet and don't want to go to Turtle Creek," Mr. Williams said. "They don't want to leave the neighborhood." Developer Lucy Billingsley recently began marketing her company's first townhouse and condo project in its Austin Ranch community in The Colony. When Ms. Billingsley decided to build 50 condos and townhouses on Windhaven Parkway, she began her marketing efforts with the apartment dwellers at Austin Ranch.

"We put out one postcard and got tremendous response," Ms. Billingsley said. "We have 25 meetings lined up with potential buyers and are scurrying to get our materials together." Other developers are putting up townhouses and condos along the tollway in Plano's Legacy Town Center and in Addison Circle. Jason Leeds recently began building a 36-unit townhouse complex near the corner of Inwood Road and Mockingbird Lane in North Dallas. Called Park Cities Townhomes, the two- and three-story units are replacing an aging apartment house and will start at about $273,000. "Of the five we've sold so far, only one is to an empty nester," Mr. Leeds said. "The balance are single professionals."

Companies' incentive

Researchers don't track condo and townhouse construction the way they do apartments and homes, but analysts say the wave of construction is growing. "A lot of builders are shifting to the townhome product to separate themselves from the pack," said Ted Wilson of Residential Strategies. "They are more likely to get a better margin with townhomes." Single-family home lots are usually surrounded by plenty of land. For condos and townhomes, it's harder to find construction sites with the proper zoning, but you also won't find a dozen competitors on every corner. Even some of the biggest single-family home builders, including Ryland, Ashton Woods, Pulte and D.R. Horton, are turning to the condo and townhouse market, Mr. Wilson said. And apartment owners are taking advantage of the boom by turning their rental units into condos.

Post Properties, one of the biggest apartment landlords in Uptown, has begun converting some units there. And apartment owner Power Properties just finished its latest series of condo conversions – this one in North Dallas. The Paradiso Condominiums on Meadow Road started out as a 1960s apartment complex. Developer Braden Power gutted the project and created 45 condos around a resort-style courtyard and pool. "We are going as fast as we can to keep up with the sales," he said. "We sold five last weekend." The one-, two- and three-bedroom condos sell for between $130,000 and $240,000, and most Paradiso buyers are in their 20s and 30s. "It's first-time buyers that are professionals working in the downtown area," Mr. Power said. "They are buying more than a condo – they are buying a community." Mr. Power is already working on his next conversion, which is on Gaston Avenue in East Dallas.

Part of the trend

How great is the demand?

"The demographics are improving," said analyst Mike Puls with Foley & Puls. "There is a national trend for urban living. "On a national level, 2004 was a 16-year high for condo and townhouse starts. It's happening in lots of places." In the Dallas area, "we've been behind the curve because of our weak economy, but that's getting better," he said. Buyers who've made the switch say they have no regrets. John Williams and his wife recently moved from a 3 ¼ -acre spread in southern Oklahoma to a 2,000-square-foot Turtle Creek townhome. "We don't have anything against suburban areas, but there was an urban lifestyle we preferred," said Mr. Williams, who moved to Dallas for a new job. "We are five minutes from the Dallas Museum of Art and the symphony and within walking distance of all the restaurants we like," he said. "We can lock it up for two weeks and head to Mexico in the summer and not worry about anything."

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[psukhu]

Fantastic.

Now if the city would just prompt an expansion of the nationally renowned Cedar Springs entertainment district and rezone for commercial application the acreage bounded by Oak Lawn - Throckmorton - Maple - Lemmon, the city would secure the revitalization of the Maple Avenue corridor.

It would be nice to have the same zoning as State-Thomas in the boundary you defined. (reduced set back, taller buildings, better sidewalks, etc)

[noelamador]

City's center filling, some stats indicate

Maybe it's not so down

12:17 AM CST on Friday, March 4, 2005

By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

Downtown Dallas' office market isn't the disaster many people think it is.


While some surveys still show that more than a third of downtown's office space is empty, the number is less than 20 percent for newer buildings.

Years of steady leasing and the conversion of many old office buildings into apartments have eaten away at the amount of empty space downtown.

And although some surveys still show that more than a third of downtown's office space is empty, the number is less than 20 percent for first-class buildings.

"The vacancy downtown decreases by almost 10 percent if you look at the numbers the way they should be," said John Zogg, senior vice president of Crescent Real Estate Equities, downtown's biggest office landlord.

Of course, how you spin the numbers is the issue.

With about 4 million square feet of empty first-class buildings, downtown's supply is less than total vacancies in Las Colinas and along LBJ Freeway.

And the inventory of empty first-class buildings ? mostly those built from the 1970s onward ? downtown is about the same as in the Telecom Corridor or in Far North Dallas, according to the latest surveys.

Real estate brokers say the older buildings downtown that make the vacancy numbers look outrageous aren't worth considering. Many of those properties built in the 1960s or earlier are mostly vacant.

"The obsolete buildings are never going to be leased as office buildings and shouldn't apply to the vacancy," said Greg Biggs, who heads broker Julien J. Studley's Dallas office. "I'm not going to show tenants the obsolete stuff that has asbestos in it."

Even then, "there is still plenty of vacant space downtown where tenants can find office space," he said.

Narrower focus

Investment banker Challenger Capital Group Inc. is moving its offices from Uptown to 10,500 square feet in the Trammell Crow Center on Ross Avenue.

Staubach Co. vice president Lance McIlhenny represented Challenger in the hunt. "We focused on looking at about 15 buildings" in downtown and Uptown, Mr. McIlhenny said. "Almost every building in the city could have done an 8,000- to 10,000-square-foot lease."

Coming downtown wasn't as big a concern for Challenger as finding space in a quality building at the right price, he said.

Jon Altschuler, whose company Stream Realty Partners LP just relocated from Las Colinas to the J.P. Morgan Chase Tower on Ross Avenue, said many of the older buildings no longer vie for office tenants.

"We look at 20 buildings that effectively count for the leasable space in downtown Dallas that a Class A tenant would want to occupy," Mr. Altschuler said. "They are more than 80 percent occupied, which is one of the best markets in the city."

At the end of 2004, the office vacancy rate for first-class downtown buildings was about 14 percent, according to Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc. While that number is up from two years ago, it's still lower than the suburbs' vacancy rate of about 18 percent.

"The big vacancy downtown is in buildings that will never be used again as an office building," said Daryl Mullin, a senior director with Cushman & Wakefield. "The conversion of these properties to alternative use is absolutely a positive thing for downtown Dallas, and we need to see more of it."

Residential redos

One-time office buildings including the Davis Building, Kirby Building, Dallas Power and Light Building and the Interurban Building have already been redeveloped as apartments.

Others, including the Republic National Bank Building, Fidelity Union Life towers, 1600 Pacific, the Mercantile National Bank Building and the Praetorian Building, are earmarked for residential conversion.

Downtown proponents are pushing real estate consultants to take these properties and others off the vacant office building rolls. "There is no reason why some of these buildings are still counted," said Nancy Hormann of the Central Dallas Association.

Vacancies persist

CoStar Group, the largest U.S. office-market research firm, took several old downtown office buildings off its latest fourth-quarter survey. But for the time being, CoStar is keeping some properties, such as the Mercantile buildings, on its list.

"It is not a question whether or not the buildings are appealing or desirable," said CoStar's Mark Klionsky. "The fact is they exist and are vacant and if a tenant showed up wanting to occupy that space, they would be welcomed.

"When the zoning is changed or the construction process begins, we reclassify those buildings as 'demolished' and remove them from the active inventory," Mr. Klionsky said.

No room for new space?

While some of the oldest downtown office buildings are being turned into apartments, developers are studying plans for new ones.

7-Eleven Inc. is being wooed by developer Billingsley Co., which wants to build an office tower in the Arts District.

And Hunt Consolidated Inc., which bought a building site on Akard Street last year, has drawn up plans for another office tower.

"It doesn't surprise me about Hunt because of their commitment to downtown," said Mr. Biggs.

"7-Eleven is a terrific opportunity for downtown, and I hope they land there."

The landlords trying to fill up downtown skyscrapers would just as soon not see any more office construction.

"This market cannot afford to have new space downtown," said Mr. Zogg.

"Vacancies are still too high."

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[Tnekster]

I was having a conversation with someone in Plano this week about the economy in Collin county. All I kept hearing about was how bad it is up there. Foreclosures hit another record and they can't seem to get traction anywere in the economy. I was a bit surprised to hear that. Downtown seems to be doing pretty good compared to our suburban neighbors to the north. It will be interesting to see how the city center does in this business cycle.

[gc]

Condos galore; any takers?
Who's buying into the building boom is a hot topic around town
11:08 PM CST on Thursday, March 24, 2005
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...col.a297c.html

The most frequent question I get asked these days isn't about the strong-mayor election or what's going to happen to the Mercantile tower downtown. What people really want to know is who's going to live in all those new condo towers on the drawing board? Dallas is in the middle of an unprecedented high-rise residential boom. More than a half-dozen projects are in the works in Uptown alone, including the W Dallas Victory Hotel and Residences, the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton, Cresta Bella, the Azure, and condo towers at the Stoneleigh Hotel and Maple Terrace.

High-rise living isn't new in Big D. It started in the 1920s with residential "hotels" such as the Stoneleigh, Argyle and Cliff Towers. Dallas' penchant for residential towers was rekindled in the 1960s and continued through the 1990s with a series of buildings, mostly along Turtle Creek. In the 1970s when people said they lived in a Turtle Creek high-rise, Dallas folks would raise their eybrows and suspect they were relocated New Yorkers.

But there aren't enough East Coast expats to account for the current boom. Along with Uptown's building binge, developers are trying to convert a handful of downtown skyscrapers into condominiums. Who'd have guessed that the former LTV Building on Elm Street, for example, would wind up as trendy center-city residences?

Dallas architect Mark Humphreys – who's working on a proposal to convert the 19-story Statler Hilton building on Commerce into condos – said these projects are "changing the urban life of the city. The environment will be completely different when these projects are done." Other North American cities are even farther along in their transformations. In Vancouver, dozens of high-rise residential projects are in the pipeline. And in Las Vegas, more than 50 new condo and apartment towers are on the market.

Of course, not all these high-rise units will be sold to owner-occupants. An estimated 20 percent to 30 percent of the condos are going to investors. One Dallas agent told me about an out-of-state buyer who bought units in both the Ritz and W buildings. But even if a fourth of the high-rise purchases are by investors, that still leaves a lot of units to fill. How many suburban empty nesters really want to move into the big city? I guess we'll find out.

Boulevard at Uptown

A residential developer has bought a vacant tract across the street from Uptown's popular West Village complex. Boulevard Builders paid $3.8 million for an almost three-acre tract at Cole Avenue and Blackburn Street. "The property is deed restricted for townhouse construction," according to broker Worth Ross, who handled the sale. Boulevard Builders has other townhouse projects in the Oak Lawn area and near Mockingbird Lane and North Central Expressway.

Richardson offices sold

Another empty Telecom Corridor office complex has a new owner. Prime Art and Jewel, a Dallas-based jewelry manufacturer, bought the five-building Waterview Plaza complex on Waterview Parkway in Richardson. The company will move its operations from the Stemmons Freeway corridor in Dallas to the 224,000-square-foot office complex. The buildings previously housed facilities for CompUSA and Kodak and have been empty since 2003, according to Steve Simon and Jeff Smith of Transwestern Commercial Services, which handled the sale. Lennar Partners sold the buildings for an estimated $9 million.

Crow building at D/FW

Trammell Crow Co. has broken ground on an airfreight and distribution center at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The 35-acre project on West Airfield Drive will have three buildings that total almost 350,000 square feet. The complex is scheduled to open this fall, and an expansion is already planned. Worldwide Flight Services will be the lead tenant. Gromatzky Dupree & Associates of Dallas is the architect, and Arlington's Bob Moore Construction Co. is the general contractor.

New businesses

A new Dallas commercial brokerage, Beaird Commercial Realty, has been set up to handle primarily land transactions. Partners Dan and Ben Beaird have more than 40 years' experience in local real estate. Kevin S. McGovern has started his own commercial property firm in Las Colinas. McGovern Commercial Realty will specialize in office tenant representation. Mr. McGovern previously worked for 13 years with CB Richard Ellis.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[HarryMoto]

Boulevard at Uptown

A residential developer has bought a vacant tract across the street from Uptown's popular West Village complex. Boulevard Builders paid $3.8 million for an almost three-acre tract at Cole Avenue and Blackburn Street. "The property is deed restricted for townhouse construction," according to broker Worth Ross, who handled the sale. Boulevard Builders has other townhouse projects in the Oak Lawn area and near Mockingbird Lane and North Central Expressway.

So this is for that non-West Village empty parcel that's just been sitting there like an eyesore? Cool. I wonder when they'll start construction. With the Mondrian's retail, the finish-out of WV, and now this, Blackburn's gonna be rockin'

[Mballar]

with all of the money circulating through Dallas, I don't think that these units will be vacant for long.

[gc]

Fee fight puts focus on choices
Sometimes, buyers don't need full-service brokers
Steve Brown
09:24 PM CST on Thursday, March 31, 2005
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...ecol.a3b8.html

A couple of weeks ago, I stayed at the historic King Edward Hotel in Toronto. It's a grand place with first-class service, and a huge corner room with a marble bathroom cost me about $200 a night – a good deal, I thought. The last time I was in New Mexico, I stayed in a roadside inn at the airport. I spent only $65. I could have opted for nicer digs, but I was taking an early flight home and just wanted a clean place to catch some Zs. The experiences were light years apart. So was the price. I made the choice. There's a nasty fight going on in Austin about consumers' choices in paying real estate fees. Traditional brokers usually charge around 6 percent commission – it's supposed to be negotiable. They're fighting to limit the low-cost operators who charge $100 or so just to put a house on the multiple listing service.

The residential sales industry has been feuding over this for almost three years, and this month the Texas Real Estate Commission will take up the issue again. The real estate agents say discount brokers hurt the industry and the public. Indeed, if you are a traditional real estate agent, you surely don't like the idea of a start-up advertising on the radio that it can list a house for sale for just $99. And that's about all they do – put the house on the MLS. If you want any other services, you pay extra or hire someone else. But it's not fair to traditional agents when the buyer's agent winds up doing extra work because the seller hired a low-cost provider.

Millions (dare I say billions?) of dollars in fees are up for grabs, and the state commission will have to decide whether to put limits on bargain real estate firms that operate in the state. I still have a problem with telling people they have to pay for a full-service real estate company even if they don't want to. Sure, they're getting valuable expertise and service from traditional real estate brokers. And agents deserve to be paid for the hard work they do. But should home sellers be forced to pay for something they don't need or want? At the King Edward Hotel, I had a luxury spa, a gourmet restaurant and a concierge and doorman who treated me like Donald Trump. At that New Mexico motel, I got an ice machine. They didn't even have HBO or Showtime – talk about roughing it. But I didn't feel cheated. I got what I paid for.

Park Cities pricier

Buyers seem to be ignoring the buzz about a home price bubble. Real estate agent Bob Edmonson of Allie Beth Allman points out that the average home price in the Park Cities topped the $1 million mark in February, up 22 percent from early 2004. The median price in Highland Park and University Park last month was $932,000, an increase of about 28 percent. The 54 houses sold had a total value of about $58 million. That big increase in prices came despite a 13 percent drop in total sales in the Park Cities.

Adolphus Tower sold

The Adolphus Tower in downtown Dallas has been bought by a partnership set up by Henry S. Miller Co. and its affiliates. The 27-story office tower at Main and Akard streets was built in 1954 and renovated in 1998. It has 181,000 square feet of space and is more than 60 percent leased. The building is connected to the historic Adolphus hotel. A partnership created by Vance C. Miller, chairman of Miller Cos., and Terry Gwin, president of HSM Equity Partners Inc., bought the building from a Lehman Bros. affiliate. Terms were not disclosed. "We think it's time for downtown Dallas with all the money being spent there," Mr. Gwin said. "The Adolphus Tower was an undervalued asset, while most of the buildings we look at today are overvalued."

Boston firm buys

A Boston investor has purchased three Dallas-area office and industrial buildings. Cabot Properties Inc. bought the 302,639-square-foot property portfolio from ITW Mortgage Investments for $16.3 million. The buy includes Northway Plaza on Belt Line Road in Farmers Branch, which has four one-story buildings totaling 131,147 square feet, and Royal Park Tech on Springlake Road in Farmers Branch, two one-story buildings totaling 60,661 square feet. Valwood Business Center, two one-story office buildings with 110,831 square feet on Valwood Parkway in Carrollton, was also part of the deal, which was arranged by GMH Capital Partners.

Three joining Crow

Jim Lob, Michelle Stanley-Donaldson and Dolores Wood-Euart have left Grubb & Ellis Co.'s Dallas office to join Trammell Crow Co. The team has become a part of Crow's Dallas-Fort Worth corporate advisory services group. The new Crow Co. members are advising Plano-based Rent-a-Center on a potential headquarters move.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[gc]

Where jobs go, realty may follow
And employment in D-FW is growing, estimates show
Steve Brown
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont....a0780845.html
09:25 PM CDT on Thursday, May 12, 2005


Real estate activity and job growth are the economic sector's odd couple. Whichever direction the employment market is heading, real estate is along for the ride. No wonder the period between 2001 and 2003 was so dicey for the Dallas-Fort Worth property market. North Texas lost almost 133,000 jobs. But now the tide has turned.

The latest statistics from the Texas Workforce Commission show that the D-FW job market is on the mend. The 2004 job gain estimates for North Texas were recently upped from around 25,000 to 47,000. And the preliminary employment growth numbers for the 12 months ending in March were estimated at more than 46,000. Recent announcements of local hiring by companies including Countrywide Financial and Fluor Corp. will add to the job market in North Texas this year. But for demand for homes, apartments and office space to meet industry expectations, the 2005 job market in Dallas-Fort Worth will have to top last year's total.

Office tower purchased

A North Dallas office tower has quietly changed hands. A partnership represented by Means Knaus Partners bought the 15-story 10000 North Central tower, a stone-and-glass high-rise that was built in 1986. The building, which has almost 300,000 square feet of space, was purchased from an affiliate of J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc. Peloton Real Estate has been hired to market the building, which is about 90 percent leased.

A new tenant

Arizona Tile has leased 100,000 square feet of distribution space near Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. The company, which is expanding to North Texas, is taking space in International Commerce Park I, a 401,797-square-foot distribution center being built by Bandera Ventures and Crow Holdings in the airport's North Foreign Trade Zone. "They are a big importer and were able to take advantage of savings provided" by locating in the tax-free zone, said Craig Hughes of Cushman & Wakefield of Texas. He handled the lease with Rick Hughes and Noel Hutcheson of Cushman and Larry Leon of CB Richard Ellis. Bandera and Crow announced plans for the distribution center last summer.

Gold shovel time

More than a year after announcing the project, Crescent Real Estate Equities and the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. are breaking ground on the Ritz-Carlton Dallas and the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton at McKinney Avenue and Pearl Street. Workers have been busy in the last week putting up the construction fence, and construction is set to start on May 25. At a morning ceremony, there will be a tent, speeches, golden shovels and all the other required accoutrements of a Dallas groundbreaking.

One more complex

Chicago-based apartment investor AMLI Residential Properties Trust is adding to its holdings in the hot central city market. AMLI bought the 244-unit Quarters at Cityplace apartments, a rental complex built in 2000 near the southeast corner of Lemmon Avenue and North Central Expressway. The company already has properties in nearby Bryan Place and the Knox-Henderson district. The apartment complex is listed on the tax rolls for about $20 million and was sold by a partnership set up by Dallas investor J.D. McCaslin.

Shopping center sold

An investment partnership has paid $19 million for a northeast Dallas shopping center. Heritage Property Investment Trust and International Real Estate Corp. bought the Skillman Abrams Shopping Center, a 133,088-square-foot center just south of LBJ Freeway. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler LP arranged the sale by Dunhill Partners. The shopping center is anchored by Tom Thumb, Blockbuster, Sigels Liquor, GNC and Subway.

Going up

True to their word, the folks at Granite Properties have begun construction on Granite Park Three, an office tower near the southeast corner of the Dallas North Tollway and State Highway 121. The 369,000-square-foot, 14-story office will be the largest building in the West Plano and Frisco office markets. It's set to open in July 2006.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[noelamador]

Investment group buys downtown tower
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...c.8e8b5b7.html
Sale terms not revealed; California company sees opportunity in Dallas
11:01 PM CDT on Monday, June 13, 2005
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

A downtown Dallas office skyscraper has been purchased by a nationwide investment group. A partnership assembled by Berkely Industries is buying the 50-story 1700 Pacific tower.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed, but the building had been for sale for more than $80 million.

The 50-story 1700 Pacific had been on the market for more than $80 million.

Berkely is a family-owned company that has operated out of Los Angeles for the last five years but will be moving to Dallas. Jon Hamilton, a Berkely principal, said the purchase represents a good opportunity.

"With all the good things going on in downtown Dallas, you can still buy a first-class property for 50 percent of replacement cost," he said. "It's just a matter of time before it goes up" in value.

Mr. Hamilton has hired Lincoln Property Co. to manage the 1700 Pacific tower and Trammell Crow Co. to take over leasing.

"Right now the building is around 65 percent occupied," Mr. Hamilton said. Built in 1983 at Pacific Avenue and Harwood Street, the red granite tower contains about 1.34 million square feet of office space.

The skyscraper was sold by a partnership organized by an affiliate of Cousins Properties.

"When these buildings change hands, it's always a good sign," said Joel Pustmueller of Peloton Real Estate Partners, a real estate brokerage firm downtown.

"The new owner is coming in and making a commitment to this market, and it usually causes an increase in leasing activity in the building."

Mr. Hamilton said his family has invested in real estate all over the country for 50 years.

In the 1990s, Berkely developed a North Dallas apartment community ? the St. Moritz on Arapaho Road ? which it still owns.

"We have a very long-term investment perspective," he said. "We are not much for selling our properties."

With all the redevelopment under way downtown, Mr. Hamilton said it was a good time to make a buy.

"Other downtowns all across the country are becoming very hot," he said. "Dallas has not yet caught up."

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[gc]

Crossing the concrete divide
7-Eleven's plans send Uptown prices across the freeway
08:55 PM CDT on Thursday, June 16, 2005
DMN - Steve Brown
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont....17cf2169.html

For years, Woodall Rodgers Freeway has been a great divide. On the north side of the concrete and steel canyon, land prices soared in Uptown. To the south of the highway, property values snoozed. Not anymore.

The announcement that 7-Eleven Inc. is moving its corporate headquarters to the Arts District and plans for more than $300 million in additional cultural facilities have caused prices just south of Woodall Rodgers to jump. "Six months ago, you could buy development sites down there for $40 and $50 per square foot," said real estate broker Newt Walker. "Now it's all $70 and up." Indeed, prices for some choice sites are now rumored to be $100 and up – a level the area hasn't seen since the go-go days of the 1980s. "It's because of all the hoopla from the 7-Eleven announcement," Mr. Walker says.

The convenience store giant announced in April that it would be the lead tenant in a $100 million office, retail and residential complex to be built near the intersection of Woodall Rodgers and Routh Street. At the opposite end of Woodall Rodgers, the forest of construction cranes at the Victory project is catching the eye of other builders.

Since the availability of developable land in adjacent Uptown is shrinking, who wouldn't go a couple of blocks farther south to save money and find a good development tract? The folks that are said to be looking near the Arts District include developer ZOM Texas and other residential builders. But they'd best hurry. In the area between Ross Avenue and Woodall Rodgers – the new gold coast for in-town development – all but a handful of sites are already in the hands of developers or the public sector. Nothing like a lack of building sites to push prices even higher.


EDS manager?

Real estate execs are expecting an announcement soon about whom Electronic Data Systems Corp. has hired to run its real estate operations. For the last few months, the Plano-based information services giant has been interviewing real estate companies about managing its real estate needs – which it now does in-house. The job would include overseeing the 2,600-acre Legacy business park in Plano. Brokers familiar with the deal say that EDS has decided on Trammell Crow Co. to handle its property. The two firms are reportedly still working on the contract. EDS representatives had no comment about the deal.


Crescent tenants

Uptown's anchor Crescent complex is getting some new office tenants and hanging onto others. Crescent Real Estate Equities said this week that it has signed a handful of office leases in its namesake project. Credit Suisse First Boston USA Inc. leased 17,227 square feet in the Crescent, relocating its offices from J.P. Morgan Chase Tower on Ross Avenue. CB Richard Ellis negotiated the lease with Crescent. Stanford Group Co. leased 10,301 square feet for its office, which was formerly in Las Colinas. CB Richard Ellis also handled that lease. Bear Stearns Cos. – represented by Staubach Co. – renewed its 34,396-square-foot lease in the Crescent for 10 years.

And law firm McKool Smith PC renewed its 88,249-square-foot lease. McKool Smith has been in the Crescent for 14 years. Staubach handled its lease, too. "We are 95 percent leased, and one reason we are doing very good with this project is because of our tenant list," said Crescent senior vice president John Zogg. The Crescent's tenant rolls include more than 70 financial services firms.


Behringer Harvard deal

Investor Behringer Harvard has purchased a Plano office building. The Addison-based real estate firm acquired the Parkway Vista Building at 5072 Plano Parkway. Built in 2002, the two-story property has 33,467 square feet and is 97 percent leased. Tenants include American Express Financial Advisors and SouthTrust Mortgage Corp. Trammell Crow Co. has been hired to manage the property.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[rantanamo]

ZOM downtown would be greatness.

[psukhu]

Maybe rising downtown land prices will put some of the ugly parking lots out of business causing them to sell to developers?

(i.e. not able to pay the higher property tax with the parking fees)


I've said this before, but someone (like the city) needs to step up and build some large parking garages with retail store fronts. I would always prefer to park in a garage to protect my car from UV rays and hail.

[tamtagon]

Maybe rising downtown land prices will put some of the ugly parking lots out of business causing them to sell to developers?

(i.e. not able to pay the higher property tax with the parking fees)


I've said this before, but someone (like the city) needs to step up and build some large parking garages with retail store fronts. I would always prefer to park in a garage to protect my car from UV rays and hail.

I'm thinking the numbers would crunch differently, but not sure. Even if the amount of ownership tax were to double within a couple years, that might not be enough additional overhead to put someone out of business. The tax increase would probably go hand-in-hand with greater income from a more productive lot.

I agree that the city should supply parking garages, the bigger the better and built as a component of downtown public transportation network. Whether heading into downtown's neighborhoods for work or entertainment, the garages should provide climate controlled direct access to DART Rail and MATA trolleys.

The opportunity is here for the city to manage downtown gentrification and deliver a very cost effective contribution toward increasing the convenience and popularity of a trip into the city - for Metroplex locals as well as out of towners. If you stay where a car ride is needed to get to the city, you park once and a 5-10 minute train or trolley ride puts you within a 5-10 minute walk of all destinations in the CBD, Oak Lawn, East Dallas and South Dallas. The point to point rail ride will be equal to or less than amount of time spent driving, and the cost would be less.

City Hall/Convention Center, West End, Natural History Museum, CitiPlace, Fair Park, and the Farmers Market are ideal locations for garage/rail interface.


-------Perhaps these garages could be built to fund MATA.

[rantanamo]

that's an idea

[Tnekster]

ZOM downtown would be greatness.

Yes, maybe they will do something in the 30+ story range. I would love to see the north end of Ross fill up with high rise living. ]

[barrycb]

I've said this before, but someone (like the city) needs to step up and build some large parking garages with retail store fronts.

The City is doing that as a part of the Gulf States apartment construction, and have eyed the lot between the Magnolia and Neimans on Elm for another. I think yet another will be the garage for 1200 Main.

[Mballar]

D-FW foreclosures drop to 4th place
But May report could be just a blip instead of a trend, experts say

10:37 PM CDT on Wednesday, June 22, 2005


By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News

Sometimes fourth place can be good news. The worry is that it won't last.

A new national report shows that the Dallas-Fort Worth area ranks No. 4 in home foreclosures among major U.S. cities. North Texas had recently been No. 1.

National and local housing analysts say that it's too early to celebrate and that foreclosure rates may go back up.

"I think it's just a blip," said George Roddy of Addison-based Foreclosure Listing Service.

Last week, Foreclosure Listing Service reported that postings of homes slated for foreclosure at next month's auction were down 16 percent in the D-FW area from a year ago. About 2,159 residential properties are scheduled for forced sale next month, the fewest in 24 months.

On Wednesday, RealtyTrac Inc. said the D-FW area dropped behind Chicago, Philadelphia and New York in its survey of May foreclosures.

"This may be a one-month anomaly or the beginning of a trend, depending on what we observe in the coming months," RealtyTrac CEO James J. Saccacio said.

Texas still accounted for about 12 percent of U.S. foreclosures in May – second only to Florida.

Nationwide, homes in foreclosure decreased 2.5 percent in May, according to RealtyTrac.

Also Wednesday, Foreclosure Listing Service said commercial property foreclosure postings in North Texas continued to decline.

For July's foreclosure sale, only 67 commercial properties – including offices, shopping centers, apartments and hotels – are scheduled for sale. That's a 24 percent drop from July 2004.

So far this year, commercial foreclosures are down 20 percent in the five-county area.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com
_______________________________________________

Top Foeclosure Markets
Based on May rates:

1. Chicago

2. Philadelphia

3. New York

4. Dallas

5. Los Angeles

SOURCE: RealtyTrac Inc., Irvine, Calif.

[gc]

[SIZE=3]Top Foeclosure Markets
Based on May rates:

1. Chicago

2. Philadelphia

3. New York

4. Dallas

5. Los Angeles

SOURCE: RealtyTrac Inc., Irvine, Calif.

^^ Look at that list. Who says Dallas can't hang with the Big Boys??

[Tnekster]

^Looks like we are top tier after all.

[noelamador]

Dallas office building spree takes shape

Can city stomach a binge?

11:30 PM CDT on Thursday, June 23, 2005
By STEVE BROWN / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont....3c7480dd.html

Is central Dallas ready for an office building boom?

Eager developers hope so. But some market analysts and landlords aren't so sure it's time for a building binge in Uptown and the adjoining Arts District.

"In my career, I've never seen anything like this," said John Zogg, senior vice president with Crescent Real Estate Equities, downtown's biggest office landlord. "I don't understand where these developers think the demand for these buildings will come from."

Last year, expanding and relocating tenants leased about 400,000 square feet of additional office space in Uptown and downtown.

A half-dozen office projects in the works for the area could add more than 2 million square feet of office space in the next two years.

The latest announcement came this week.

Houston developer Hines and Ross Perot Jr.'s Hillwood real estate firm unveiled two office towers at the Victory project that will contain about 400,000 square feet in the first phase, called One Victory Park.

"If you look at the other Class A buildings in the immediate area, they are almost full," said Hines senior vice president Clayton Elliott. "We are seeing demand from several larger users" who want to lease office space in new buildings.

Other developers must be seeing the same thing.

Along with Hines and Hillwood, companies that plan to build in Uptown include CarrAmerica Realty, Lincoln Property Co. and Harwood International.

Across Woodall Rodgers Freeway in the Arts District, new buildings are in the works by Billingsley Co., Hall Financial Corp. and Hunt Consolidated.

Harwood's project will be located on Harry Hines Boulevard, about three blocks from the Victory complex. Harwood is also building Uptown's Azure condominium high-rise.

"Now that Azure is under way, we are going to be devoting 75 percent of our time" to the office project called St. Ann Court, said Gabriel Barbier-Mueller, Harwood International's chief executive.

Harwood International has already built four office projects in Uptown since the 1980s. "We have been full in our projects and so we have a reason to build," he said.

Mr. Barbier-Mueller also believes there is a demand for a new generation of office space in central Dallas.

"The premium buildings in Uptown and downtown are almost 20 years old," he said.

While the landmark downtown skyscrapers were built in the 1980s, their quality tops new buildings planned, and they are cheaper to rent.

"Rental rates are in the high teens and low $20s (per square foot annually) for existing product in the area, versus Class A new construction where rents will be in the high $20s," said Daryl Mullin with Cushman & Wakefield of Texas, a real estate brokerage firm. He agrees that "efficiency in a new building is a valid argument" for some tenants, but the cost will be too high for others, Mr. Mullin said.

"I know that the Uptown office market is recovering faster than some others," he said. "But since it's in such close proximity to downtown, it's hard to believe there is enough demand to justify constructing new office buildings ? particularly to the magnitude that developers are talking about."

At the end of the first quarter, downtown Dallas had an office vacancy rate of about 31 percent, compared with about 25 percent citywide, according to Cushman & Wakefield. In Uptown and Turtle Creek, the vacancy is much lower, at 12.5 percent.

Not just offices

Several of the developments in the pipeline include more than just office space.

Hillwood has plans for a 45-story tower in Victory that will include retail space and condos along with the office space.

And Harwood International's project will include two restaurants, an art museum and gardens.

Hall Financial's proposed tower across the street from the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center will provide more than 300,000 square feet of office space on the lower floors and luxury condos above that, said real estate brokers who have seen the plans.

"We are continuing to work on it but not ready yet to make an announcement," developer Craig Hall said last week. "We are still making a lot of changes in the building.

Two of the office complexes planned for south of Woodall Rodgers have major businesses as their anchors.

Hunt Consolidated's proposed office tower at Akard and Woodall Rodgers Freeway will house its offices, which are now in more than 350,000 square feet in the nearby Fountain Place skyscraper.

And Billingsley's One Arts Plaza building on Routh Street will be the new home of 7-Eleven Inc., which is moving from Cityplace a few miles north of downtown. It also will have condos, retail space and a large public plaza.

Space left behind

Of course, corporate moves by Hunt and 7-Eleven will leave empty office space behind.

"There is certainly not enough demand for all of the announced buildings, thus the drive by developers to have a lead tenant before starting construction," said Greg Biggs with brokerage firm Studley Inc. "With the recent announcements of relocations and the increased activity in the market, it will be interesting to see if a developer will make the two- to three-year commitment to start a project without a lead tenant.'

Don't be surprised if that happens.

"It is an indication of how much capital is available in the real estate market," Mr. Mullin said. "This doesn't seem to be based on demand."

Jack Eimer, president of Transwestern Commercial Services' central region, also thinks money is pushing the development wave.

"We've all been to this show before," Mr. Eimer said. "All that pent up capital for existing product is now starting to focus on development."

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[rantanamo]

Why is office building always ahead of demand while housing never seems to catch up?

[Milkman Dan]

I've heard the same argument about the condo market being overbuilt as I have the office market. There is just a whole lot of money available and not too many hoops to jump through to get it.

[Tnekster]

I was especially interested in Craig Hall's proposed tower. Maybe they will finally do something with the Lone Star site. Not to mention it sounds like a big project, similar to the 45 story victory project.

[rantanamo]

I've heard the same argument about the condo market being overbuilt as I have the office market. There is just a whole lot of money available and not too many hoops to jump through to get it.

Guess I should specify. Why is it always that way in Dallas? Places like Miami are obviously having the opposite problem.

[drumguy8800]

I wonder what the Merc, DP&L, Metropolitan, Atmos, etc switches from office-->residential will do for the vacancy rates..?

[Tnekster]

^I have wondered the same thing since an article this week pegged the downtown vacancy rate at 31% but the projects you mention above probably represent almost 3 million sf. I wonder what the current class A vacancy rate is downtown?

[St-T]

^I read this a while ago, but Class A downtown vacancy rate was at 19%.

[rantanamo]

Doesn't one of these Steve Brown reports state the "real" vacancy rate on this very thread?

[dallastophoenix]

yes, i think he wrote about that. whoever it was talked about how dt's vacancy rate is much lower due to the fact that so many buildings are not in any condition to be occupied (therefore, they should be taken out of the equation). add the residentialconversion to that, and dt has a really low vacancy rate.

[LDSR]

This is a good website to look through...

http://recenter.tamu.edu/mreports04/Dallas4.asp.

Year end 2003 Dallas CBD class A vacancy rate was 16.4%. 20.5M sq ft. Looks like there's about 8.7M sq ft of class B space at a 30% vacancy rate. So what's that? 30% of CBD office space is class B?

Scroll down on the linked page for all kinds of good info.

[Tnekster]

Steve Brown:
Excess office space? No prob. This is Dallas

With interest rates low, developers build now and worry later


09:47 PM CDT on Thursday, August 4, 2005




About a quarter of North Texas' office space is sitting empty. Yet Dallas-Fort Worth ranks third in the country in office construction.

If you think that sounds wonky, you haven't been around here long.

Dallas developers are like car dealers – "We're stacking 'em deep and selling 'em cheap!"

Well, maybe not cheap.

But it looks like there will be plenty of new buildings to choose from.

At midyear, 2.8 million square feet of office space was under construction in the D-FW area.

A year ago, less than 250,000 square feet was going up.

Nationwide, Dallas-Fort Worth ranks behind only New York and Washington, D.C., in office building, according to statistics from McGraw Hill Construction Information Group.

Much of what's being built here is earmarked for big companies such as Citigroup Inc. and 7-Eleven Inc.

But in almost every case, those firms are leaving older buildings behind that must be refilled.

That may not be easy.

Still, don't look for a downturn in office building starts. With interest rates low, developers are likely to build today and worry tomorrow about filling the space.

That's the Dallas way.

Shiels apartments?
CWS Apartment Homes LLC, an Austin builder and investor that's already a player in Uptown, is negotiating to buy the Mary Shiels Hospital complex at Howell Street and Lemmon Avenue just west of North Central Expressway.

The developer would put a residential complex on the property.

Oak Lawn redo
The city of Dallas is considering selling a three-quarter-acre tract next to the site of the old Woodlawn Hospital in Oak Lawn.

If it decides to sell, the city's site and the historic hospital land would be combined to create an 8.25-acre redevelopment site at Maple and Oak Lawn avenues.

CB Richard Ellis has been hired by Dallas County Hospital District to advise on the sale of the Wood-lawn property.

"To date, we've heard from about 65 different people" who are interested in the property, said CB Richard Ellis' Jay Lorch.

Addison center sold
The Retail Connection has bought a shopping center in Addison from an affiliate of Dunhill Partners.

The Quorum Plaza II is on the southeast corner of Belt Line Road and Quorum Drive west of the Dallas North Tollway.

It's 90 percent leased and will be remodeled by the new owners.

The Retail Connection bought the shopping center in a partnership with Granite Properties.

T-Mobile near deal
Sometimes having a new, empty office building is the best way to land a deal.

That's certainly worked in Frisco, where developers have lured employers with affordable office space and city economic incentives.

Real estate brokers say another such transaction is in the works. T-Mobile is looking at Duke Realty's building under construction at Warren Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway.

Brokers say the pending lease – being negotiated by Staubach Co. – is for T-Mobile to occupy most of the three-story building with offices and a call center.

Pulte saves home
Pulte Homes builds almost 40,000 houses a year. So why is the big Michigan-based builder worrying about a 100-year-old home in Frisco?

The two-story, 3,000-square-foot, Prairie-style house was in the way of Pulte's new Del Webb Frisco Lakes residential development on the east shore of Lewisville Lake.

The nationwide builder donated the house to the Frisco Historical Association, which moved it to the city's Heritage Village to restore it.

Built in 1905 by Alfred Fletcher, the house was originally part of a 300-acre farm.

[Mballar]

I'm confident that corporate relocations will take care of this problem.

[Tnekster]

Steve Brown:
A 'turnaround' in the Arts District

Tenants are grabbing up leases in the area, developers say


07:09 AM CDT on Friday, September 2, 2005




Developers who remodeled the former Southwestern Life Insurance building at 1807 Ross Ave. in downtown Dallas have reason to crow about their latest successes.

Brook Partners has signed leases in the building across from the Arts District that bring it to about 84 percent leased.

Developer John Sughrue describes it as "a total building turnaround after the fallout of the tech wreck."

He and his partners had to do some fancy footwork when plans to turn the property into a telecom hotel fell through.

Maybe it was just as well. Now the building is home to contractor Beck Group and the Fashion Industry Gallery.

New leases have been signed for 18,500 square feet of space for architect Mesa Design and a 10,000-square-foot restaurant by chef Stephan Pyles on the ground floor. Amegy Bank and the Fashion Industry Gallery are also expanding their spaces.

"All of these tenants will be in place by early November," said Mr. Sughrue, who's moving his office to 1807 Ross from the West End.

"I would chalk all this up to the Arts District being on fire."

[Tnekster]

Steve Brown:
Painted into a design corner



AAC's red brick retro doesn't match sleek towers rising nearby




09:14 AM CDT on Friday, October 21, 2005







Many years ago when I was young and foolish, I painted diagonal stripes on my living room wall.

At the time I thought it was brilliant. Of course, it wasn't.

Stripes are just fine for zebras and race cars, but they don't do a lot for living rooms, let me tell you. Eventually I figured this out.

Sadly, it will take more than a bucket of white paint to fix American Airlines Center.

The Uptown sports arena is a beautiful building – the epitome of early 20th-century design.

And that's the problem. The sleek towers and apartment blocks going up around the arena aren't done nostalgia-style. Indeed, those buildings – as I've said before – may be some of the best of 21st-century architecture.

They make the red brick arena look even more out of date.

Originally, plans for the Victory project called for several buildings in similar retro style to join American Airlines Center. Over the years, those plans were scrapped, and the developers – wisely – quit looking back and moved ahead in architecture.

But that still leaves the massive arena with its period features as the centerpiece of the neighborhood.

Victory's developers would have been better off with the design proposed by architects Kohn Pedersen Fox. It was a streamlined, curving building of glass and metal with soaring light towers along both sides. There wasn't a red brick in sight.

Kohn Pedersen Fox has gone on to work on other buildings proposed for Victory, including a tower planned across the street from the arena.

Two ultra-modern retail and office buildings that will soon rise on the south side of American Airlines Center will partially block the view of the arena from the modern W Hotel across the street.

But no amount of construction will disguise what the arena has become – a building that's been left behind.



Union Tower redo


Developer Hamilton Properties is hoping for an early November start for its latest downtown building redo.

After its successful redevelopment of the Dallas Power & Light Building and the Davis Building, Hamilton Properties will convert the empty Union Tower Complex on Thanks-Giving Square into residential and retail space.

The two-building office complex has been mostly empty since 1992.

Hamilton Properties is close to completing its financing for the more than $100 million remodeling of the two office towers.



On to the next phase


A developer with other projects in Uptown has been tapped to build the next phase of the Cityplace community on McKinney Avenue.

Fairfield Properties has teamed up with Cityplace Co. to build a 256-unit residential and retail project at 3636 McKinney Ave. at Blackburn Street. The 20-story tower will be on the site of the Hank Haney Golf Center.

Fairfield has hired Sawyer Design Associates to work on plans for the Cityplace project and another residential building it has in the works at the nearby Quadrangle retail and office complex.

Fairfield is also building two residential projects in the Victory complex northwest of downtown.



Las Colinas land rush


With the owners hoping to close a deal before year-end, potential buyers are honing offers to purchase the undeveloped land in Irving's big Las Colinas development.

So far the top bidders include Houston developer Hines and Dallas real estate investor Gene Phillips, say real estate brokers who are following the sale.

Hines is the odds-on favorite.

But one of Mr. Phillips' firms recently purchased the 600 Las Colinas office tower, and he owns other buildings in the area.

The Las Colinas property for sale includes about 810 acres zoned for commercial and residential development, including some of the most high-profile properties in the heart of Las Colinas. The land has been owned for more than 10 years by a partnership controlled by New York-based Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association.



Stemmons stars


Susan Arledge of Arledge Partners, Ka Cotter of Staubach Co., and Bill McClung and Mike Wyatt of Cushman & Wakefield have been named as the finalists for the North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors annual Stemmons Award.

The designation honors North Texas' top commercial real estate broker and will be presented next month.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[940]

I didn't live here in the late 90's when designs were being tossed around for the AA Center but I have to say that the Kohn Pedersen Fox proposal was very interesting and does seem to be a better fit with what's being built now at Victory.

[drumguy8800]

I think that, wholistically, the developers are looking at integrating several different styles of architecture. If the AAC was all modern too, there wouldn't be any salvation from brutal Block D. The Terrace is more post-modern than the W, which is more post modern than Block D, which like I noted, is brutally uberchic technohorny.

[freewaytincan]

Yeah, I think it definitely makes the AAC the focus of the development and helps it to stand out.

Does anyone have those old renderings?

[tamtagon]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...1.3439ca8.html

Steve Brown:
Help wanted for real estate market




09:17 AM CST on Tuesday, November 8, 2005


Dallas-Fort Worth isn't winning any blue ribbons in the race for new jobs.

After the huge employment losses North Texas suffered in the last recession, I know I shouldn't whine about the economy's current gains.

But looking at things from a real estate perspective, the local job market leaves a lot to be desired.

Employment gains are the juice that keeps the property market engine humming. New jobs mean new offices, new shops, more apartments to rent and homes to buy.

Last year employment gains in North Texas added up to almost 50,000.

Through the 12 months ending in September, the D-FW area added about 33,000 new jobs. That makes us 12th nationally in adding new workers.

No, it's not the kind of ranking the chamber of commerce can brag about.

D-FW isn't even the state's employment growth leader. Houston has added about 42,000 jobs in the same period, according to preliminary numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And none of Texas' cities can compare to places like Phoenix, with 72,000 new jobs, or Miami, which added 71,500.

Back in the late 1990s, when North Texas' employment was expanding at more than 100,000 positions a year, demand for real estate boomed.

It's remained strong, thanks to near record-low interest rates. But with interest costs on the rise, more than ever it will be up to the job market to fuel real estate demand.

Harvey Rosenblum, who's director of research for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, is betting that the employment market here is stronger than current numbers show.

"When all the revisions come in, we are going to look a lot better," Mr. Rosenblum said.

Real estate developers and investors should hope he's right.

Without more jobs, their business could see a slowdown in the months ahead.


More luxury

Another luxury hotel and residential project is in the works for Dallas' booming Uptown neighborhood.

Crescent Real Estate Equities – which is building the $213 million Ritz-Carlton Dallas and the Residences at the Ritz-Carlton – is looking at another project across the street.

This high-rise at McKinney Avenue and Olive Street would be operated by Crescent's Canyon Ranch resort and living brand.

Look for Crescent also to push ahead with a second tower on its Ritz project, where demand for condos has far exceeded expectations.


Hines in the lead

Houston developer Hines appears to have beat out other potential bidders hoping to acquire more than 800 acres of undeveloped land in Irving's Las Colinas complex.

Although the deal is by no means done, real estate brokers say that Hines' offer topped others for the choice development property. The sale is expected to close before the end of the year.

Hines officials said Thursday that they don't comment on pending transactions.

The 32-year-old Las Colinas project is considered one of the country's most successful large-scale mixed-use developments.


Presbyterians' purchase

A group of purchasers that are part of the Presbyterian Church have bought a Las Colinas office building.

The 31,000-square-foot, two-story building at 6100 Colwell Blvd. was once a part of the Dallas Communications Complex, which includes the adjacent Studios at Las Colinas.

Built in 1989, the building will house offices for the Presbyterian church's administrative, endowment, hospice and senior living operations, according to broker C. King Laughlin, who negotiated the sale. The building will be renamed Presbyterian Mission Center.

Bo Bond of Staubach Co. and Byron McCoy of Holt Lundsford Co. also worked on the transaction.

E-mail stevebrown@dallasnews.com

[psukhu]

.

And none of Texas' cities can compare to places like Phoenix, with 72,000 new jobs, or Miami, which added 71,500.

I'll be showing suburban Dallas to some Miami relatives looking to relocate here over the holidays. According to them, the job market for higher end jobs isn't that great in Miami. Also, the last hurricane to hit them really put a dent in their economy.

[tamtagon]

I'll be showing suburban Dallas to some Miami relatives looking to relocate here over the holidays. According to them, the job market for higher end jobs isn't that great in Miami. Also, the last hurricane to hit them really put a dent in their economy.

As a purchase in El Paso, San Antonio or the Lower Rio Grande Valley becomes more popular among residential retirement investers, it will be interesting to observe the impact on traditional retirement destinations. Even more interesting in Texas will be the impact on traditional business centers like Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston.

[Tnekster]

I'll be showing suburban Dallas to some Miami relatives looking to relocate here over the holidays. According to them, the job market for higher end jobs isn't that great in Miami. Also, the last hurricane to hit them really put a dent in their economy.

Suddenly a vibrant, centrally located, good climate city like Dallas looks really good when compared to the high cost hurricane prone and earthquake prone coastal cities.