Tarrant Business

Centergy Retail releases first look at proposed Left Bank project

Centergy Retail has completed buying 35 acres west of the Trinity River off West Seventh Street where it plans an a grocery-store anchored development to include a hotel, apartments, shops and offices.

 West Miller, Centergy president, said the location, being called the Left Bank, would be ideal for such retailers as Neiman Marcus and Whole Foods, but stresses the company is talks with a lot of national retailers for the site.

 “We don’t have a deal with Neiman Marcus,” Miller said. “We have talked to them. We have talked to a lot of department stores.”

 The area is ready for a traditional grocery store, though, he said.

 “There are several good grocers out there and my job is talk to all of them,” Miller said.

 Neiman Marcus has a store in Ridgmar Mall. Target, in the adjoining Montgomery Plaza development, has a grocery section.

 Centergy bought the bulk of the West Seventh Street property from Chesapeake Land Co.

 Centergy late Monday released the first renderings of what the Left Bank could look like.

_ Sandra Baker

 

No reason state's housing recovery won't continue says Dallas Fed

Strong regional economic growth helped the Texas housing market rebound faster than other areas of the country, and there’s no reason it won’t continue, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said in a report Thursday.

 Job growth, particularly in the energy sector, and the overall expansion of Texas’ economy has boosted home sales that are now reaching pre-housing-boom levels. As a result, home prices and apartment rents have risen faster than usual, the report said.

 Through April, the state’s home sales rose at an annualized 23 percent, a rate of increase seen just before the housing collapse, the report said.

 “Further improvement is anticipated in the housing sector,” the report said. “Anecdotal reports from Dallas Fed industry contacts suggest a very competitive marketplace for buyers, with multiple offers on homes driving up prices.”

 Exiting-home sales have risen statewide and in the major metro areas by 33 percent since the start of the housing recovery in 2011, the report said.

 And through the first quarter, Texas home prices exceeded by 7 percent the prerecession peak recorded in the fourth quarter of 2007, said report authors D’Ann Petersen, a business economist, and Christina Daly, research analyst, with the Dallas Fed.

 Home prices nationally are 13.8 percent below their peak six years ago, the report said.

 “Texas prices have especially improved since single-family demand began turning the corner in late 2011,” the report said. “Prices rose 6.2 percent in the 12 months ended March 31.”

Single-family home sales in Texas in the first quarter reached 53,937 homes, a 17.5 percent increase from the same quarter of 2012, the  Texas Association of Realtors reported in May.

_ Sandra Baker

Irving-based Omni buys five resorts, including Austin's Barton Creek Resort & Spa

Irving-based Omni Hotels & Resorts said Wednesday it is buying five resort properties from KSL Capital Partners entities, including the Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin. 

The properties will be reflagged under the Omni brand on July 1, the company said. 

The properties also include the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa in Rancho Mirage, Calif., the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, N.C., and the Homestead in Hot Springs, Va. 

Omni said the acquisition extends its resort portfolio to the West Coast and add other important locations, as well as adds 2,362 rooms and 304,000 square feet of meeting space. Omni owns the Omni Fort Worth Hotel across from the Fort Worth Convention Center. 

“By purchasing all five of these properties, Omni has significantly enhanced our growing resort collection in terms of scope, scale and prestige,” said Mike Deitemeyer, Omni’s president, in a statement. 

Omni owns and operates 60 luxury hotels and resorts in North America. KSL is a private equity firm specializing in investing in travel and leisure properties.

_ Sandra Baker

Rising home prices means fewer Tarrant area homeowners underwater on mortgages

The number of Fort Worth-Arlington area homeowners underwater on their mortgages is falling thanks to higher home prices.

CoreLogic, the California-based residential property information provider, said 7.2 percent, or 27,148, of all residential properties in Tarrant, Wise, Johnson and Parker counties, with a mortgage were in negative equity at the end of March. That compares to 9 percent, or 34,031 properties, in negative equity at the end of the first quarter of 2012, CoreLogic said.

But, another 4.4 percent, or 16,856 homes, were in near negative equity, down from 5.8 percent, or 22,073 homes, in the fourth quarter of 2012.

CoreLogic said Wednesday that about 850,000 residential properties returned to positive equity in the first quarter nationwide.

“The negative equity burden continues to recede across the country thanks largely to rising home prices,” said Anand Nallathambi, CoreLogic’s president and CEO. "We are still far below peak home price levels, but tight supplies in many areas coupled with continued demand for single family homes should help us close the gap."

Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist,  said that during the past year, 1.7 million borrowers have regained positive equity.

Nationwide,  9.7 million, or 19.8 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage, were still in negative equity at the end of the first quarter of 2013. This figure is down from 10.5 million, or 21.7 percent of all residential properties with a mortgage, at the end of the fourth quarter.

 Negative equity, or being underwater, occurs when the borrower owes more on their mortgage than the home is worth.

_ Sandra Baker

Fort Worth-Arlington home prices rise nearly 11 percent in March

Fort Worth-Arlington home prices rose 10.9 percent in March compared to a year ago, according the latest monthly CoreLogic Home Price Index released Tuesday.

The prices don't include the sale of distressed properties.

When distressed sales are included, home prices rose 5.8 percent compared to March 2012.

On a month-over-month basis, excluding distressed sales, local home prices increased 3.2 percent in March compared to February.

Including distressed sales, month-over-month prices increased 1.7 percent, CoreLogic said.

Nationwide, excluding distressed sales, home prices increased 10.7 percent in March, and including distressed sales, home prices rose 10.5 percent. The change represents the biggest year-over-year increase since March 2006, CoreLogic said.

March was also the 13th consecutive monthly increase in home prices nationally, CoreLogic said.

"For the first time since March 2006, both the overall index and the index that excludes distressed sales are above 10 percent year-over-year," said Mark Fleming, CoreLogic's chief economist in a statement. "The pace of appreciation has been accelerating throughout 2012 and so far in 2013 leading into the home buying season."

Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned transactions.

CoreLogic said it expects home prices to also rise in April.

_ Sandra Baker

 

Fewer FW-Arlington homeowners falling behind on mortgage loans

The mortgage loan delinquency rate for the Fort Worth-Arlington area fell to 4.5 percent from 5.2 percent in February from a year ago, according to CoreLogic.

The delinquency rate is the percent of loans that are more than 90 days late. The area includes Tarrant, Wise, Parker and Johnson counties.

In Texas, the delinquency rate fell to 3.9 percent from 4.6 percent in Feburary from February 2012, CoreLogic said. Nationwide, the rate fell to 6.1 percent from 7.1 percent.

_ Sandra Baker

FW's Sundance Square leases first office space in new building

FORT WORTH — Fort Worth law firm Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller is the first office tenant to lease in Sundance Square’s new offic building under construction at Third and Commerce streets downtown.

Shannon Gracey will move this fall from 777 Main, formerly the Carter Burgess Plaza, after 13 years.

"Shannon Gracey is honored that Sundance Square has partnered with us on its new centerpiece for downtown Fort Worth," said Rich Lowe, managing partner of Shannon Gracey. "Consistent with our other downtown offices throughout the state, the Commerce Building will be the ideal location for us to continue to provide practical legal solutions for our business and individual clients in Texas and beyond."

The firm will take up about 36,000 square feet, or the top three floors of the five-story Commerce Building, 420 Commerce Street. The offices on the fourth and fifth floors have terraces on the north and south ends of the building.

"Interest in the Commerce Building, as well as The Westbrook and The Cassidy, has been extremely strong from day one," said Johnny Campbell, Sundance Square president and CEO. "We will continue to sign leases throughout the rest of the year which is a testament to the popularity and demand of the buildings in Sundance Square."

In the Commerce Building, Del Frisco’s Grille has leased 9,000 square feet between two floors, and Shannon Wynne’s Bird Café has leased 3,883 square feet adjacent to 2,586 square feet in the Land Title Building, built in 1889.

Jack Huff and Kyle Poulson with Transwestern in Fort Worth represented Shannon Gracey. Bill Booker and Robert Gamblin represented Sundance Square.

_ Sandra Baker

Costco plans north Fort Worth location

FORT WORTH — Costco Wholesale, the Washington-based membership warehouse club, is under contract to buy 17 acres of land in the Presidio Junction development in north Fort Worth where it plans its fourth Tarrant County location.

Steve McArthur, a real estate broker with Northwest Atlantic who works with Costco in the Texas market, said the company will begin construction on the store as soon as LNR Property Corp., Presidio’s developer, completes some infrastructure work at the site. Once that site work is completed, it will take Costco about four months to complete the store, he said.

McArthur said the store will likely open in late spring 2014.

The site, 8900 Tehama Ridge Parkway, is on the west side of Interstate 35W and south of North Tarrant Parkway, across from Alliance Town Center.

"We’re expanding in a lot of areas in Texas," McArthur said. "That’s one area we know has good housing growth."

Building permits recently issued by the city of Fort Worth show the store to be 153,847 square feet and will cost $11 million to build.

The store will have about 200 employees, half of which will be fulltime workers, he said.

Costco also has stores in Arlington, Southlake and in southwest Fort Worth.

Presidio Junction is a 300-acre master-planned community of Newport Beach, Calif.-based LNR, which bought the land in 2007. LNR has planned 1 million square feet for shops and restaurants, 1,300 apartments and 750,000 square feet for a hotel, fitness center and Class A office space.

LNR has a regional office in Dallas.

_ Sandra Baker

RadioShack sells warehouse property near downtown Fort Worth

FORT WORTH — In one of his first moves as CEO, Joe MagnaccaÖ , the new head at Fort Worth-based RadioShack has sold property just off the north end of downtown that was purchased by its predecessor Tandy Corp. 40 years ago.

According to deed records, the consumer electronics company on March 18 sold a warehouse that sits on 7 acres on north Hampton Street between Pharr and Nowlin streets to a Midland-based buyer.

The company once referred to the site as Tandy Cabinets, but later as RadioShack Store Fixtures. It was where the company built its store fixtures and displays as well as equipment for other clients. In 2003, the staff there was reduced to 38 workers.

RadioShack also did not return phone calls and an email request for information regarding the sale.

RadioShack sold the property to an entity called Amcap Hampton in Midland and Craig Atchison. Atchison did not return phone calls seeking comment on the purchase.

According to Secretary of State corporation filings, Atchison is associated with several entities, including Amcap Asset Management and Advanced Fabrication & Measurement. He financed the RadioShack land deal with a $2.9 million note with a Midland family trust, deed records show.

In addition to the RadioShack property, Amcap Hampton also bought two residential lots across Hampton Street to the east from individual owners, deed records show.

_ Sandra Baker

North Texas home sales in March continue on a strong note

North Texas existing home sales continued on its strong charge in March, with sales increasing 22 percent from a year ago.

The median price, $168,000, was also 8 percent ahead of March 2012, according to the latest monthly Texas A&M University Real Estate Center numbers.

In all, 7,483 homes were sold in North Texas.

So far this year, sales numbers are also posting ahead of 2012. January through March, 17,397 homes were sold in the 29-county region, up 19 percent from the first three months of 2012. The median sales prices was up 8 percent, to $159,400, the report said.

The inventory of preowned homes is still down and the number of new listings has remained flat, as the number of pending sales in March increased 17 percent, the report shows.

The number of active listings in March, 22,081, was down 22 percent last month. Buyers were under contract to buy 7,466 homes, up 17 percent from March 2012. Houses are selling in an average 65 days, a 24 percent drop from a year ago.

_ Sandra Baker