(North Austin) - Construction is still underway on the expansion of Simon Property Group's Domain shopping center in North Austin. The 600,000-sf expansion is the biggest retail project under construction in Austin.

The expansion will include a new Dillard's, smaller retailers and office space, and a Gold Class Cinema, an upscale movie theater where tickets will sell for about $20. The movie theater will be the fifth U.S. location for Village Roadshow Ltd. The 208,000-sf Dillard's will be the retailer's first new Austin-area store in more than a decade.

Dick's Sporting Goods, one of the new anchors, is already open, as are 438 apartments above the stores. Most of the other components will open in February 2010. The Westin Austin hotel at the Domain is scheduled to open in March 2010.

Whereas the original Domain is filled with high-end stores such as Neiman Marcus and Louis Vuitton, the expansion will include familiar mall brands such as Aeropostale, Bath & Body Works and Payless Shoes.

Aside from the Simon project, there is little other retail development going on in Central Texas. The recession, retail downturn and slowdown in the lending markets for commercial projects has stalled or shelved other projects. Austin is on track to add about 1.2 million sf of retail space this year, down from 2.8 million sf in 2008, according to the Weitzman Group.

One of the highest-profile delays has been for the retail phase of Endeavor Real Estate Group's Domain project, which is just east of Simon's Domain. Endeavor plans to add a Whole Foods Market, Saks and Austin's second Nordstrom to its development but postponed the retail phase this year because of the downturn. Recently, Endeavor said it would be at least three more years before that work starts.

September, however, brought news of the region's first major retail project to be announced in nearly three years, the Trails at 620, a $70 million, 300,000-sf center planned at RM 620 and Wilson Parke Ave. Pending City of Austin approval of a site-development permit, the developers, Rodney Speaks and Leslie Perry Sloan, hope to break ground by June and anticipate a summer 2011 opening.

For a visual of the location of the Domain expansion, see the basic site plan featured in the Austin American-Statesman.

(Fort Worth) - Imagine an encounter with Paluxysaurus jonesi, the intimidating 60-foot-long, 12-foot-tall official state dinosaur of Texas that roamed these parts about 112 million years ago.

Or being caught in a virtual prairie thunderstorm as you walk among a herd of freestanding life-size longhorns in the Cattle Raisers Museum.

Perhaps stargazing is your cup of tea, and you can do just that in the Noble Planetarium, where live feeds from the Hubble Telescope offer a real-time view of our solar system. You may get lucky and witness an asteroid or a meteor shower live.

These and many other jaw-dropping interactive experiences await when the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History opens Nov. 20, 2009.

What began in 1945 as the Fort Worth Children’s Museum has evolved into a dazzling 166,000-sf, $80 million state-of-the-art complex that will thrill children and enable adults to find their inner child.

(Rockport) - Work on the new Holiday Inn Express has begun. The new 69-room three-story hotel will replace the current one in Rockport. New requirements by Holiday Inn necessitated the move.

The current Holiday Inn Express will take on another name when the new hotel is completed. The building permit for the new hotel is valued at $2.2 million.

(Tyler) - Southside Bank is expanding its presence around its Beckham Avenue headquarters. The bank has started construction on a two-story, 10,265-sf building at 1305 S. Beckham Ave.

The building will be the new home for the bank's Trust Department, which has $665 million in assets under management and 15 employees.

Southside also started work on a branch on Highway 64 West just outside Loop 323. The full-service branch will include four drive-up lanes.

The Beckham Avenue facility and the new branch are slated to be open by late summer 2010.

(Austin) - Central Texas existing-home sales jumped nearly 38 percent in October as buyers took advantage of a federal tax credit for first-time homeowners and favorable mortgage interest rates.

It was the biggest year-over-year percentage gain in more than four years and encouraging news for a housing market that struggled for much of 2009. 

"We're still in an environment where the Austin region is losing more jobs than are being created," said Eldon Rude, local director for Metrostudy, which conducts housing research in Austin and 32 other markets nationwide. "There remains a lot of uncertainty out there."

The Austin Board of Realtors reported Wednesday that 1,823 single-family homes were sold last month, compared with 1,322 in October 2008.

Pending sales — transactions expected to close in November — were up 47 percent, an indicator of another strong month.

Last month, 64 percent of sales were for homes priced between $100,000 and $249,999 — a typical range for first-time buyers.

The median price was $182,000, down 5 percent from a year earlier.

Experts say the tax credit, along with low mortgage rates, will continue to feed sales in the coming months.

But some experts are cautious about the Austin economy.

Major high-tech employers have cut manufacturing jobs. And construction jobs have disappeared with the slowdown in commercial development.

Rude noted that traffic from relocation buyers — people moving to Austin for new jobs — is down significantly.

(Austin) - ATCO Advisory Services acquired The Shops at 360 in downtown Austin from 360 Novare-AU LP for $4.9 million, or approximately $356 per square foot.

The Shops at 360 is a 13,762-sf retail space at 360 Nueces St. It is on the ground floor of 360, a mixed-use building and high-rise condo. The Shops is 96 percent leased with tenants like Garrido’s Restaurant, Royal Blue Grocery, Optique and Lora Reynolds Gallery.

The Weitzman Group Inc. negotiated the deal.

(Dallas) - Design specifics for the George W. Bush Presidential Center have been revealed. According to the Los Angeles Times, the 225,000-sf project will cost an estimated $250 million.

The design will tip its hat to the former president's home state, from the pecan wood paneling inside to the wildflowers, bluebonnets and prairie outside.

The plans for the complex will include a museum, library and policy institute at Southern Methodist University (SMU). The complex will be on 23 acres on the east side of the campus, about five miles from downtown Dallas.

The three-story building will feature a life-size Oval Office that opens up to a Texas Rose Garden overlooking the Dallas skyline. It is expected to be completed by early 2013.

(Dallas) - Texas Premium Foods signed a renewal to stay in its 50,400-sf space at 4051 La Reunion Parkway in Dallas. The property is Building 27 of the Turnpike Distribution Center.

The building is 302,200 sf and was built in 1983. It is in the Eastern Lonestar/Turnpike industrial submarket. The building has 30 loading docks.

(Texas City) - A New Jersey-based marine construction firm was awarded a $61.8 million contract Wednesday to deepen the Texas City Ship Channel.

The dredging contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will add 5 feet to the channel depth to accommodate larger ships headed to and from the Port of Texas City. Larger ships mean fewer trips to deliver and drop off product at the port which dramatically reduces shipping costs.

Part of the funding for the channel includes a $17.5 million local match, all of which will be paid by Texas City oil refineries BP, Valero and Marathon, as well as oil pipeline and transportation company Enterprise.

A portion of the funding for the dredging project also is coming from the federal stimulus package. The total cost of the dredging project, including studies and engineering work that began last year, is $70.8 million.

The City of Odessa issued 24 single-family residence building permits with a total construction value of $4,460,625 during October 2009. For the same month, the City of Odessa issued seven new town home permits with a total construction value of $720,000. All seven permits were issued for contiguous addresses on Gillespie Ln.

(Georgetown) - The Wesleyan at Estrella, located at 139 Estrella Crossing in Georgetown, broke ground on a $9.8 million assisted-living facility.

The 116,361-sf project will be a two-story, 60-bed home with accommodations for seniors and Alzheimer’s patients. Estimated completion is one year.

The project is part of the larger senior living community on a 40-acre campus at William’s Drive and Estrella Crossing in Georgetown called The Wesleyan at Estrella.

In January 2008, the 124-apartment independent-living facility was opened, The Wesleyan at Estrella.

Travis, Williamson and Hays County Appraisal Districts have released the 2009 property tax rates. Some of the cities include Austin, Round Rock and San Marcos.

Property Tax Rates 2009
Round Rock

Taxing Entity	Tax Rate per $100 Valuation
Williamson County	$0.4600
City of Round Rock	0.3966
Round Rock ISD	1.3800
Total*	$2.2366

*Some of the typical taxing entities are included in the total. However, there are numerous taxing entities that need to be taken into account for an actual tax rate calculation.

Source: Travis, Williamson, and Hays County Appraisal Districts

(College Station) - The new Lowe's Home Center permit has been issued for $5.5 million. The location is 4451 SH 6 S at the northeast corner of Texas 6 and Greens Prairie Road.

Officials said hundreds of factors go into deciding where to build a store, including making sure it's convenient for customers. The home improvement store has locations in Bryan and Brenham.

Lowe's officials said the company would make an investment of around $18.5 million for the site, which is considered average for the store.

The City of Seguin will sell 49 acres off Austin St. to a developer who hopes to use it to create an industrial park that could provide a site for Caterpillar subcontractors.

The acreage at 3031 N. Austin St. will be sold to Rector Management Inc. for $1.3 million.

Ken Rector has invested over the years in properties around Seguin. He owns 48 acres across Stremple St., and Seguin Economic Development Corp. (SEDC) Board President Kathy Nossaman said he intended to put the two parcels together to make the site more attractive to potential clients.

Rector said the two properties would be developed as an industrial park. He has talked to a number of possible Caterpillar vendors and suppliers, but has nothing solid — at least not yet. But he’s optimistic.

"Caterpillar hasn't awarded a lot of those contracts yet," Rector said. "But we've been talking to a lot of these suppliers and vendors. This is big for Texas, not just for Seguin. People have no idea the support a plant like that has to have, but its huge and its exciting, and were excited to be a part of it."

(Laredo) - The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Laredo District officially marked the start of the Cuatro Vientos (State Loop 20 extension) construction project on Monday.

The new roadway will consist of a new seven-mile, four-lane roadway that will extend from SH 359 near the Loop 20 intersection, south to Cielito Lindo, and a two-lane portion from Cielito Lindo to Mangana-Hein Rd.

The Cuatro Vientos project, otherwise known as the State Loop 20 extension project, will be constructed by J.C. Evans Construction Company LP at a cost of $33.8 million.

Funding for this project includes $31.5 million in economic stimulus (ARRA) funding with the remainder coming from Coordinated Border Infrastructure funds allocated for use in Webb County.

“Cuatro Vientos Road is a landmark project and of great mobility benefit for the citizens of Laredo, Webb County and the state of Texas,” said Albert Quintanilla, Laredo District Engineer for TxDOT. “The roadway, once completed, will provide a much needed relief route to US 83 in south Laredo.”

In approximately two years, another construction phase estimated at $10.5 million will ultimately expand the remaining two-lane southern portion of Cuatro Vientos to a four-lane roadway as well as tie-in key road thoroughfares into Cuatro Vientos Rd.

A more current construction phase, estimated at $25 million, will construct an overpass at the Loop 20/359 intersection. The present estimated cost for the construction of the entire Cuatro Vientos project is $69.3 million.

A projected increase in population to more than 400,000 in 2020, and a projected increase in traffic in vehicles per day up to 79 percent by the year 2023 on US 83, and the US 83 at Mangana-Hein Rd. and Loop 20 at 359 intersections, were other reasons for the need of this project.

The Central Appraisal District of Taylor County 2009 tax rates:

*Only some of the typical taxing entities are included in the total. However, there are numerous taxing entities that need to be taken into account for an actual tax rate calculation.

The Central Appraisal District of Taylor County is responsible for the fair market appraisal of properties within each of the following taxing entities:

Source: Taylor County Central Appraisal District

(El Paso) - Commanding general of Fort Bliss gets around base in a plug-in electric car. The car can’t go faster than 30 miles per hour, but that’s all general needs. After all, the speed limit on post is never higher than 25 mph.

Fort Bliss is the first military post in the nation to be designated a Center for Renewable Energy, which means more federal funding and private sector investment there.
It’s all about the Department of Defense’s massive energy tab and national security — the DOD is calling it “energy security.”

“Fort Bliss is the test bed for addressing energy security,” says Douglas Dahle with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. “It is one of the most critical bases in the Department of Defense.”

That investment in renewable energy here, Dahle said, could total about $400 million. Energy security, Dahle said, basically means we will have the power needed to do our mission come hell or high water.

Eventually solar power, geothermal power and a waste-to-energy facility on Fort Bliss could provide enough power for the base to operate completely independent of the local power grid.

Geothermal at Fort Bliss? In 1996, when test wells were dug, hot water measuring 170 to 190 degrees was discovered.

Bliss pays an annual energy bill of about $19 million, but that's expected to spike to more than $80 million by 2025, according to data collected by Fort Bliss officials.

(Fort Worth) - Ellison Office Partners LLC. has purchased the Tindall Square warehouse complex on the east side of downtown Fort Worth. The new ownership group consists primarily of tenants in the complex.

Tindall Square, at Pecan and East Fourth streets a few blocks east of Bass Hall, has four office buildings totaling about 86,000 sf and a four-story records' storage warehouse with 36,000 sf.

The complex is 88 percent leased.

(Dallas) - Two signed leases totaling 21,000 sf have boosted occupancy of the Coit Central Tower to 62 percent, effectively doubling occupancy in the past year and a half.

Other deals are in the pipeline for this 246,955-sf, Class A office building, which was snagged from foreclosure in September 2008.

The newest tenants are Fox Byrd and Co., which took 12,000 sf and Bucher, Willis & Ratliff Corp., which signed for 9,000 sf. Both tenants have ten-year leases and will take the space in mid-December.

Earlier this year, McCarthy Construction moved into 18,000 sf. Finally, Qwest Communications renewed its lease at the building at 12001 N. Central Expy., adding 2,000 sf in the bargain.

After Catalyst CCT LLC of Los Angeles, through its RPD Catalyst Fund I, bought the asset for $18 million, they renovated lobbies, drive-up areas, common areas and added a fitness center and conference center.

The surrounding construction linking I-635 with US 75 was completed.

"Before the construction, the ingress and egress to it was really poor," Nathan Durham, senior vice president with PM Realty Group's Dallas office says. "Now it's phenomenal."

Durham declined to discuss financial specifics of the lease deals, only to say that the asking price is $18 to $19 per sf, plus electricity. Most of the deals being done these days come in at between $17 and $17.50 per sf, he added.

(Waco) - The Waco City Council passed a zone change that could allow the old Dudley Haas beer warehouse downtown to become a mixed-use center with stores, a banquet hall and a restaurant.

That area of downtown is moving from industrial to commercial, as reflected in the land-use segment of the city’s comprehensive plan.

City planning director Bill Falco said C-4 zoning is meant to provide a wide variety of business, residential and civic activities within Waco’s central city. Permitted uses include multifamily residences, clinics and labs, financial service institutions, offices, restaurants, retail stores, hotels and motels, alcohol purveyors and bakeries.

The Rodriguez family, owners of the Ninfa’s Mexican restaurant in nearby RiverSquare Cente, also own the vacant warehouse that sits between Second and Third streets and Jackson and Mary avenues.

Local architect Sterling Thompson, who is working with the Rodriguez family, said the faded-metal exterior will give way to a mixture of brick, stone and wrought iron.

Thompson said crews will renovate the first floor, making it suitable for food service and retail. They will significantly enlarge the second floor, “which primarily will be leased out for office space.”

The family is securing estimates on the work and hopes to get a building permit by year’s end. The planned expansion will create a structure of 36,000 sf. Half the block occupied by the building is vacant land that will be transformed into parking for about 160 vehicles.