Monday, April 15, 2019

HFF closes sale and financing of Ashford on the Bayou in Houston, TX



Ashford on the Bayou1001 South Dairy Ashford, Houston, TX

HOUSTON, TX, April 15, 2019 – HFF announces that it has closed the sale and financing of Ashford on the Bayou, a 126,811-square-foot office building in Houston, Texas.

Susan Hill

HFF marketed the property on behalf of the seller, RPD Catalyst, LLC, and procured the buyer, Hartman Income REIT.  Additionally, HFF worked on behalf of the new owner to secure the five-year, fixed-rate acquisition loan with RGA Reinsurance Company. 

H. Dan Miller
Ashford on the Bayou is strategically located between two of Houston’s prestigious submarkets, the Energy Corridor and Westchase, which are home to some of the most influential and important energy-related companies in the world, including Conoco, Shell Oil, BP America, Citgo, and more. 

The five-story property is situated on a heavily-wooded 2.5-acre site at 1001 S Dairy Ashford just south of Memorial Drive and Interstate 10 along Houston’s Buffalo Bayou. 

 Currently 55 percent leased, the newly renovated asset offers 26,000-square-foot average floorplates and an attached seven-story, 467-space parking structure.

The HFF investment advisory team representing the seller included senior managing director H. Dan Miller and analyst Johnny Kight.  HFF’s debt placement team included senior managing director Susan Hill and managing director Steve Heldenfels.

 
Johnny Kight
Holliday GP Corp. ("HFF") is a Texas licensed real estate broker.

About RPD Catalyst, LLC

Headquartered in Los Angeles, RPD Catalyst, LLC has owned or acquired more than 7.63 million square feet of residential, retail, office and industrial properties in 15 states and 31 U.S. markets.  

To learn more, please visit: www.rpdcatalyst.com.


About Harman Income REIT


Hartman Income REIT is one of Dallas and Houston’s premier property management companies.  Hartman has owned and operated commercial office properties since 1983 in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.  For more information, please visit: www.hi-reit.com.


Steve Heldenfels

CONTACTS:

H. DAN MILLER, CCIM, SIOR
HFF Senior Managing Director
(713) 852-3500


SUSAN HILL
HFF Senior Managing Director
(713) 852-3500


KRISTEN MURPHY
HFF Director, Public Relations
(617) 338-0990


Avanath Acquires Blunn Creek, a 280-Unit Affordable Housing Community in Austin, TX for $35.15 Million



Rendering of Blunn Creek Apartments, Austin, TX

AUSTIN, TX, April 15, 2019 — Avanath Capital Management, LLC, a private real estate investment manager and Registered Investment Adviser, has acquired a 280-unit affordable housing community at 701 Woodward Street in Austin, Texas. The asset was acquired for a total consideration of $35.15 million.

Avanath purchased the apartment community from Hunt Companies, which was represented in the transaction by ARA Newmark.

Built in 2002, Blunn Creek is a family LIHTC community comprising 12 three-story structures and a community building. The property is 96.4% occupied and 98.6% preleased, with historical occupancy averaging 98% over the last three years.

“Avanath recognized this as an opportunity to purchase a sizable community in a superior location in a submarket with high demand for affordable housing and limited affordable housing options,” says John Williams, President and CIO of Avanath Capital Management.

John Williams
“Blunn Creek is well-positioned to continue its strong occupancy.”

Williams notes that, according to Austin’s Strategic Housing Blueprint, the city will need 60,000 new housing units for low-income families, plus another 75,000 market rate units to meet its housing needs for the next decade.

“Austin is an ideal market in which to invest affordable housing capital since it is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the U.S., and homeownership is prohibitive in this market for families with low incomes,” says Williams.

Contact:    
              
Lexi Astfalk
(949) 955-7940


Western National Group and Banner Oak Capital Partners Launch Strategic Multifamily Investment Partnership


Patricia Gibson
IRVINE, CA – Western National Group, a fully- integrated multifamily acquisition, development, construction, and property-management firm based in Irvine, California, and Dallas, Texas–based Banner Oak Capital Partners, LP, a real estate investment management firm focused on providing growth and investment capital to best in class operating partners, have launched a strategic joint venture that will invest in multifamily projects throughout California’s major markets.  

The programmatic investment vehicle will provide general partner capital, as well as select limited partner capital, for both the acquisition of existing properties and for ground-up development projects.

Additionally, the venture may seek the investment of third-party limited partner capital on a project-by-project basis, according to Michael Hayde, CEO of Western National Group.

“Banner Oak has an excellent track record of successful multifamily real estate transactions and has a reputation of high integrity,” says Hayde.

Michael Hayde
“We are confident that this partnership is with the right people and has all the necessary elements for future success in the market.”

“We are delighted to partner with a company having such extensive experience and depth of knowledge in the multifamily market," stated Patricia Gibson, CEO of Banner Oak Capital Partners.

"The Western National team has impressed us with their commitment to excellence, collaborative culture, and disciplined approach. We look forward to making meaningful investments across California with a best-in-class developer and operator,”

Contacts:    
              
Alex Caswell/Lexi Astfalk
Brower Group, Inc.
(949) 438 6262



The UP Companies Expands with Addition of Hustle UP, LLC


Paul Renaud
St. Louis, MO -- The UP Companies (UPCO) has expanded its family of companies dedicated to serving owners, general contractors and subcontractors in St. Louis with the addition of Hustle UP.

Hustle UP is an MBE-certified business offering general labor, selective demolition, general clean up, site maintenance and final cleaning services.

Hustle UP joins The UP Companies’ design and build collaborative, which also includes Power UP Electrical Contractors, Square UP Builders and Keep UP Services.

Paul Renaud, General Manager of Hustle UP, will oversee the expansion of Hustle UP and focus on recruiting local residents for employment. Hustle UP offers a highly diverse and extremely productive union workforce.

Michael B. Kennedy Jr.
 All field staff are third party fit-tested and complete a thorough safety orientation before being deployed to any project.

“A professionally managed, financially sound, and reliable business of this nature is long overdue in our region,” said Renaud. “It also creates a clear path forward to execute on our vision to provide meaningful career opportunities for the underutilized workforce in St. Louis and surrounding neighborhoods and to participate in the economic development of our region.”

The addition of Hustle UP further strengthens The UP-SIDE Advantage™, which amounts to the efficiencies and pricing benefits customers receive when combining the services of Power UP, Square UP and Keep UP to create the “best value per square foot” in the Midwest.

“With the full support of our family of companies, we have the resources, capacity and reputation to support contractors' laborer needs immediately and efficiently,” Renaud added.

Hustle UP employee on the job

Hustle UP, located at 2060 Craigshire Road in St. Louis County, is part of local laborers unions 42 and 110 and has a growing client list that includes Marschel Wrecking, Hayden Contracting, PARIC Corporation, HBD Construction and KAI Build.

“Our Hustle UP commitment to improving contractor's needs are groundbreaking in this region and further allows us to better serve our community with local residents on local construction projects,” said UPCO President Michael B. Kennedy, Jr.

“We want to inspire and set a trend for our neighbors by offering employment and opportunity in their hometown.”

To learn more about Hustle UP, check out their new website at www.hustleup.theupcompanies.com.

Contact:

Jennifer Beidle
314-607-9459
jennifer@jbeidlepr.com

Ware Malcomb Announces Completion of New Soylent Corporate HQ in Los Angeles Arts District


Reception Room Soylent Corp. Headquarters, Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES, CA (April 15, 2019) – Ware Malcomb, an award-winning international design firm based in Southern California, today announced that construction is complete on the new Soylent corporate headquarters located within the At Mateo campus in the Los Angeles Arts District. 

Ware Malcomb provided interior architectural and design services for the project. The General Contractor for the Soylent project was HBC.

Radwan Madani
Soylent, a pioneer in food technology, relocated from its previous LA location to accommodate the company’s rapid growth. Located on the third floor of Building 2 in the At Mateo campus, Soylent’s new corporate headquarters design is focused on collaboration. 

The space features open offices, breakout rooms, sample room, game area and a variety of lounge spaces with tiered seating for meetings. A circulation path runs around the entire office area, connecting the five “neighborhoods” or departments within the company. 

Private offices are located around the perimeter of the space, with 10-foot high glass walls allowing daylight to reach the interior. The black and white color palette reflects the foundation of the company’s product branding, and allows for the brand to advance as the company grows. 

Operable windows and roll-up doors let in fresh air and provide access to the exterior areas, including a rooftop patio for employees to enjoy. 

The new headquarters is also home to the Soylent Innovation Lab, a coworking space designed to attract like-minded, innovative technology companies to the Arts District. 

“This new headquarters provides an engaging atmosphere for Soylent employees that truly embodies the company’s innovative and collaborative corporate culture,” said Radwan Madani, Principal of Ware Malcomb’s Los Angeles office. 

“It has been gratifying for our firm to have the opportunity to work on so many exciting projects -- like this one for Soylent -- in the burgeoning Arts District of downtown Los Angeles.”

Bryan Crowley
"Ware Malcomb was a phenomenal partner in designing an incredible space that allows both our Soylent team and our Soylent Innovation Lab members to build culture and synergy that are so important for growing our businesses," said Bryan Crowley, Soylent CEO.  

"We started with two of our Soylent core values, flexibility and collaboration, as inspiration and Ware Malcomb delivered a space that inspires our teams each and every day."  

CONTACTS:

Rachel Reenders
VP Public Relations
KCOMM for Ware Malcomb

Kelly Teenor, Director, Marketing, 949.660.9128, kteenor@waremalcomb.com
Maureen Bissonnette, Associate Principal, Marketing, 949.660.9128, mbissonnette@waremalcomb.com


Crooner Perry Como's Long Island, NY House Listed For Sale at $2.9 Million

Perry Como's house in Sands Point, Long Island, NY   
Photo by Douglas Elliman
                                                                       
LONG ISLAND, NY -- In the 1950s and ‘60s, singer Perry Como' weekly CBS and NBC television shows were seen in more American living rooms than any other performer.

Perry Como
 In a 1958 national poll, he beat Elvis and Sinatra winning a national poll of teenagers as the top male vocalist of the year.

 From singing a command performance for Queen Elizabeth to having three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, casual-laid-back Perry Como was America’s super-crooner whose voice was as smooth as a hot knife slicing through butter.

 He won a Grammy, five Emmys and a Kennedy Center Honor; he was still popular on television specials and Christmas shows until 1994.

Jill Berman
For most of his singing career he and wife, Roselle, lived out of the spotlight, raising their three children in a lovely traditional home in Sands Point, Long Island, New York, which was so close to his heart that he continued to drive by and look at it for years after the couple moved to Florida.

 The Como’s much beloved family home is now for sale, priced at $2.9 million. The listing agents are Jill Berman and Rachel Sha of Douglas Elliman, Port Washington, New York.

Rachel Sha
Como died at age 89 n Jupiter Inlet Colony, FL.

CONTACT: