NewsTalk Texas

WICHITA FALLS - Midwestern State University (MSU) contributes about 6.2 percent of the metropolitan area's gross regional product, according to a report Yoshi Fukasawa and John Martinez with the university.

The report shows the university's various sources of revenue brought in $88,500,892. Tuition and fees accounted for about $30 million of that while state funding produced another $31 billion. The rest came from a variety of federal and other funding.

MSU employs 724 full-time workers and 795 part-time workers, creating more than $37 million in wages and salaries in 2010-11.

The report also showed the university spent nearly $36 million for expenses ranging from utilities and supplies to repairs and insurance.

MSU also adds to tourism, the report said. Figures from 2010-11 showed more than 36,000 people from outside Wichita Falls visited the campus. The athletic program alone had an $11 million impact.

For cities and counties, see the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.

Read more at Wichita Falls Times Record News.

COLLEGE STATION - The Texas A&M University Board of Regents moved forward with a quartet of construction projects at Texas A&M, including giving the go-ahead for a $120 million expansion and renovation of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

An $8 million project has been approved to renovate Francis Hall, a structure that was first occupied in 1922 and is one of the campus' oldest buildings. The redone building will serve as a headquarters for the construction science department, which has around 700 students and 30 faculty members.

The Regents appropriated $9.1 million for costs related to the renovation of the Corps of Cadets dorms. The project would renovate the four-floor Lacy Hall, which is located to the east of Coke St., by rebuilding it into 110 two-bed dorm rooms. The project is expected to begin in May with "substantial completion" expected in April 2013.

A $21 million project has been approved to build a Physical Education Activity Program (PEAP) building, which will be about 115,000 sf and located on the west side of Penberthy Blvd. north of the Mitchell Varsity Tennis Center.

The space is intended to serve as a permanent home to PEAP, which teaches around 25,000 students. It is currently housed in the Read Building, which is below Kyle Field and is expected to be razed for the stadium's renovations.

A five-year lease was authorized with Panda Express, which would rent 900 sf of space in the renovated Memorial Student Center for either $60,000 a year or a graduated percentage of gross sales ranging from 12 percent to 20 percent.

Under the agreement, Panda Express also would pay about $550,000 for its tenant finish-out.

Read more at The Eagle.

COLLEGE STATION-BRYAN - The Bryan-College Station economic index grew for the fourth consecutive month, rising from 119.6 in November to 120.2 in December — which also was up compared to the December 2010 index of 119.5. The index is compiled by Karr Ingham, an Amarillo-based economist.

The value of all construction experienced the most growth of the indicators, increasing nearly 241 percent from $38,852,959 in fourth quarter 2010 to $132,364,099 during 4Q 2011.

In Bryan, a $12.5 million permit was issued in December to build a new wastewater treatment facility, while in College Station new residence permits totaled $9 million for the month and a $5 million permit was issued for a new apartment complex.

Single-housing permits grew notably as well, increasing from 111 issued for 4Q 2010 to 135 for 4Q 2011.

Existing home sales rose nearly 13 percent for 4Q 2011 compared to 4Q 2010, while the average home price grew 2.2 percent.

Retail spending showed modest growth, rising 1.5 percent quarter over quarter, and 0.2 percent annually when comparing 2011 to 2010. Automobile sales were up about 10 percent when comparing 2011 to 2010, increasing from about $274 million to about $302 million.

Read more at The Eagle.

SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio retail market has remained relatively stable throughout the course of 2011.

The fourth quarter 2011 survey of local retail properties closed the year with a citywide vacancy of 12.8 percent — unchanged from the previous quarter and slightly improved compared to 13.0 percent recorded at the close of 2010. In all, retail properties experienced 372,242 sf of positive net absorption for the year.

Source: NAI REOC San Antonio

AUSTIN - The first expansion phase at Westminster Manor, a nonprofit home for seniors at 4100 Jackson Ave., is finished.

Westminster Manor is in the midst of a $100 million plan to double in size, adding 75 apartments, plus other amenities. The first phase of Westminster's expansion included constructing a new five-story building, with two levels of underground parking.

Once complete, the community — which houses about 370 people — will be able to add more than 100 residents. The expansion will almost double Westminster's size to 645,623 sf.

When complete, the expansion will feature a spa and indoor pool, exercise studios, a healthy living dining bistro, a renovated hall, walking trails and a putting green. The project is slated to be finished in 2013.

See previous NewsTalk Texas.

Read more at the Austin Business Journal.

AUSTIN - Austin-based Ardent Residential has broken ground on Gibson Flats, a 202-unit apartment complex at 1219 S. Lamar Blvd., that will be part of an emerging apartment boom along S. Lamar Blvd.

Slated for vacant land at S. Lamar and Gibson St., the first apartments in the five-story building are expected to be ready for tenants by mid-2013, with the project scheduled for completion in late 2013.

The project will include ten units to be leased at below-market rates, according to Brett Denton, a principal in Ardent with Art Carpenter.

The area mirrors the rental squeeze facing the Central Texas region, where job growth and newcomers, coupled with a relative lack of new apartment construction, are sending rents and occupancies soaring. Austin area apartments were about 96 percent full by the end of 2011.

Read more at the Austin American-Statesman.

HOUSTON - Hansen Partners has sold a small collection of buildings in its Campanile office and retail complex in the Museum District, but will continue to manage and lease the projects for the new owner.

The buildings, near Montrose and Richmond, were purchased by two subsidiaries of Equitas Commercial Real Estate Holdings.

The properties are east of Montrose and consist of:

• 4119 Montrose, a five-story building with 26,929 sf, completed in 2003;
• 4203 Montrose, a six-story building with 52,515 sf, built in 2007;
• a 1920s-era mansion that was converted into 4,320 feet of commercial space; and
• a parking garage.

The properties are 100 percent leased to about 45 tenants.

Read more at the Houston Chronicle.

TEXAS - For the tenth straight year, Texas has been ranked the top exporting state, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The value of state exports in 2011 totaled more than $249.8 billion, an increase of 20.7 percent from $206.9 billion in 2010.

Texas' top exporting industries in 2011 were petroleum and coal products, chemicals, computer and electronic products, non-electrical machinery and transportation equipment.

Read more at the Austin Business Journal.

ROUND ROCK, PFLUGERVILLE - Real estate market data for the Round Rock and Pflugerville Multiple Listing Service area for December and previous months include:

Source: Austin Board of Realtors

Read more at the Community Impact Newspaper.

KATY - Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. has sold the 274-unit Westborough Crossing multifamily complex to Mosaic Residential Inc. for $12.9 million, or approximately $47,000 per unit.

The 197,264-sf apartment community is at 2031 Westborough Dr. and consists of one- and two-bedroom units in 19 buildings.

It was built in 1984 in the Katy Fwy. West submarket and was close to 95 percent occupied at the time of sale.

Read more at CoStar Group.

ARLINGTON - TNP Strategic Retail Trust Inc., a public non-traded REIT, has purchased Woodland West Marketplace, a two-building, 176,414-sf retail property at Bowen Rd. and Park Row Dr. The purchase price was $13.95 million excluding closing costs, according to SEC filings.

Woodland West Marketplace is anchored by Tom Thumb Food & Pharmacy. Other tenants include the U.S. Post Office, Hallmark, Tuesday Morning, Bank of America and Goodyear.

The property is 87 percent leased.

Read more at Dallas Business Journal.

EL PASO - Dunkin’ Donuts has signed a multi-unit development agreement with a new subsidiary of Sizzling Platter LLC to open eight new stores. Sizzling Platter also acquired the two existing Dunkin' Donuts stores in El Paso.

Sizzling Platter, based in Salt Lake City, owns 22 Little Caesars locations in the El Paso market. Sizzling Platter bought the Dunkin' Donut stores at 9114 Dyer and 1105 Yarbrough as part of the deal.

Sizzling Platter plans to open two to three Dunkin' Donuts stores this year in El Paso and all eight within five years, according to Ted Morton, chief executive officer of Sizzling Platter. The company is working closely with Dunkin' Donuts to identify locations for the new stores.

Read more at the El Paso Times.

SAN ANTONIO - More than 4,000 new apartment units should hit the market in the San Antonio area this year as developers and investors respond to demographic trends and the difficulty that would-be first-time homebuyers are having qualifying for a mortgage loan.

According to Austin Investor Interests, conservatively, 10,000 new units will open in the San Antonio area in the next two years.

In fourth quarter 2011, more than 2,400 new apartment units started the permitting process, the highest quarterly number since the early 1980s.

The new projects are being added largely to the North and Northwest sides of the city, as well as to near-downtown locations such as the Broadway corridor.

In 4Q 2011, apartment occupancy was 91.5 percent and rent averaged 89 cents per sf, up about 4.3 percent from the year before. Class A properties commanded rents of $1.07 per sf and were 93 percent occupied, according to Austin Investor Interests.

Read more at the San Antonio Express-News.

SAN MARCOS - Flight traffic at the San Marcos Municipal Airport has increased more than 40 percent in the past year.

The increase is in large part due to the addition of the new air traffic control tower and Redbird Skyport, according to Stephen Alexander of Texas Aviation Partners, which manages the facility for the city.

Alexander other city staff will be heading to Washington, D.C., to meet with officials about obtaining a terminal radar display for the tower.

The airport commission also approved a recommendation for long time fixed-base operator Berry Aviation to construct a new 18,000-sf hangar for aircraft storage. Completion is expected in about 180 days.

Read more at the San Marcos Daily Record.

AUSTIN - The 840-unit Silvervale Crossing-Brookstone located at 8800-8900 North I-35 has been sold.

The property includes the 336-unit Silvervale Crossing, built in 1981, and the 504-unit Brookstone, built in 1985. Operated as one site, Silvervale Crossing-Brookstone is currently believed to be the second-largest apartment community in Austin.

The unit mix consists of 200 studio, 456 one-bedroom, and 184 two-bedroom units.

GE Capital Realty Inc. of Addison sold the property to FPA Multifamily LLC of San Francisco.

Source: Hendricks & Partners

TEXAS - Five Texas cities “have it going on” even in the face of economic worries, according to a 2011 Newsweek comparison of the 200 largest U.S. cities.

El Paso leads the pack with strong scores for business development; transportation and infrastructure; sustainability; and livability.

Assigning each of those categories a point value, Newsweek ranked its list of “Can-Do Capitals” while considering emissions, education levels and unemployment.

Source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

NEW BRAUNFELS - Rockspring Capital has acquired a nearly 40-acre parcel of land in at the intersection of Seguin Ave. and Klein Rd.

The next phase involves spending $700,000 to prepare the land for residential development. The land purchase consists of 117 lots.

Read more at the San Antonio Business Journal.

AUSTIN - Austin’s rental housing market is getting tighter as people flock to the city. The apartment occupancy rate is now close to 95 percent and expected to get higher.

“The Austin metropolitan area continues to receive between 30,000 and 35,000 in-migrants each year,” City of Austin demographer Ryan Robinson said. He said people are coming from places like California, Florida, Arizona and Michigan, “places that are devastated economically.”

“They may not have a job lined up in Texas, but their prospects for a job are far better than they are in these other states,” Robinson said. Robin Davis with Austin Investor Interest forecasts that construction will start on 10,000 new apartment units in the Austin area this year.

San Marcos was one of the few areas that saw a decrease in both occupancy and rents last quarter, according to the Austin Investor Interest survey.

The most expensive area in the region is downtown Austin. It costs more than $2 per sf of apartment space to live there.

The fastest-growing rents anywhere in the region are in Round Rock, far from the buzz of the central business district, at an annual growth rate of almost 9 percent.

Read more at KUT.

SAN ANGELO - The San Angelo Chamber of Commerce has released San Angelo building permit data for January 2012.

*Totals represent all permit types.

Source: City of San Angelo Permits & Inspections Department

LUBBOCK - Charlie Hamilton of Lubbock Land Company walked builders and developers through the year that was, and offered some thoughts on how the trends might break in the year that is coming.

The number of permits were down 21 percent in 2011, 497 single-family permits taken out, compared to 630 the year before.

Total permit values only fell by 14 percent. In fact, the average permitted value was up 9 percent from 2010, which Hamilton said was a solid sign people were buying bigger houses.

The big bright spot as 2012 takes off is the lack of inventory compared to the last couple of years, Hamilton said, and that adds up to demand for certain sizes of houses not yet built.

The number of permits for houses valued at $200,000 to $250,000 was up 3 percent from 2010, while permits for homes in the $250,000 to $300,000 range were up about 10 percent.

At the $200,000 to $250,000 price range, only 18 homes — not quite three months’ supply — were for sale. The usual construction time for a house of that price range is about six months.

The median home price was up by 3.7 percent from 2010, while nationally the median fell 4 percent. Foreclosures last year were down by 10 percent from the year before.

And one trend that remains is the continued movement toward the south and southwest sides — 84 percent of the new home permits last year were issued for homes in those two areas. 

For the full report, see Lubbock Land Company.

Read more at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

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