Craig Realty Group Developing Texas Shopping Mall
Tiarna Takes on University Tower; Rental Market Stays Steady
REAL ESTATE
by Daniel D. Williams
COMMERCIAL
Lone Star
Newport Beach-based Craig Realty Group has partnered with Cumberland Partners LP to develop, lease and manage the 18-acre Silver Lake Centre in Grapevine, Texas.
Silver Lake Centre, a 170,000-square-foot shopping center with restaurants and fashion designer outlets, is eight miles north of the Dallas/Fort Worth airport and adjacent to the Dallas Cowboys Golf Club and the Opryland Hotel Texas, set to open in 2004. It’s also a quarter-mile from one of the nation’s largest shopping centers,Grapevine Mills Mall.
“Through our retail industry contacts and the fact that Grapevine is one of the hottest growth areas in the region, we have the potential to attract many new high-end retailers and restaurants to the market,” said Steven L. Craig, managing partner for Craig Realty Group.
Craig said he has been in contact with potential tenants and expects to make announcements soon.
Craig’s experience with similar projects helped land the assignment, he said. His other retail projects include Carlsbad Company Stores, in Carlsbad; the Cabazon Outlets near Palm Springs; the Woodburn Company Stores south of Portland, Oregon; and the Outlets at Anthem in Phoenix. Craig is also developing the Promenade at San Clemente.
“We are very excited to have Craig Realty Group join the development team for Silver Lake Centre,” said Ted Murphy, managing partner of Grapevine-based GreyHawk Realty Capital LLC, the development manager for Cumberland-Grapevine Partners LP, who will assist in the development and leasing of the project.
Silver Lake Centre will have office and hotel space in the 52-acre project, all owned by Cumberland-Grapevine Partners. Groundbreaking is set for next spring, with a fall 2003 opening date.
Tiarna Nabs University Tower
With new development moving at a snail’s pace in the county, one way to add business is to nab management assignments of existing buildings. That’s just what happened with Newport Beach-based Tiarna Real Estate Services Inc., which took over leasing and management of University Tower, a 10-story, 213,107-square-foot office building in Irvine. Los Angeles-based Charles Dunn Co. was the prior manager.
“We’ve already renewed a number of leases and have begun a few management programs to enhance the property’s bottom line,” said Scott Alleborn, vice president of Tiarna’s OC operations.
Jim Bannan, executive vice president of Tiarna’s Transaction Services unit, will handle leasing. Henry Paciorek is University Tower’s property manager. Founded in 2000, Tiarna has represented landlords in lease transactions valued at more than $180 million and has management contracts totaling more than 5 million square feet of space, including the University Tower deal. Tiarna also has offices in Oakland, Encino and Scottsdale, Arizona.
RESIDENTIAL
Rental Market Steady
A survey by Novato-based RealFacts says local apartment rents held steady in March.
RealFacts said its data shows the strength of the OC market: rents were unchanged during recessionary times.
According to the report, the average rent for an OC apartment is at an all-time high of $1,209, compared to $1,206 in December.
Average rents first broke the $1,000-a-month barrier in 1999 and have increased every month since.
The apartment rate increase has slowed the last two quarters, but still maintains a steady upward trend, which is a sign of strong demand in the tight OC residential market, according to RealFacts.
Average rents currently range from $895 for a studio unit to $1,749 for a three-bedroom apartment.
The survey also looked at occupancy rates. The first-quarter occupancy rate of 94.3% was down moderately from 94.6% in December.
The RealFacts report dispelled any idea that luxury apartments had fallen on hard times: occupancy rates were flat at different price points. There was a noticeable difference in geographical areas, with the North County having lower rates than the South and Central County.
Bits and Pieces:
Santa Ana-based Hall & Foreman Inc. has opened a branch office in Fontana. Hall & Foreman specializes in civil engineering and land planning and development St. Louis-based McCarthy Building Companies Inc., one of the largest privately held construction firms in the United States, is now 100% employee-owned after Michael McCarthy sold his stock. Seventy percent of the company is owned by the McCarthy Employment Stock Ownership Plan while individual company managers hold 30%. Its Newport Beach-based Southern California division is one of the company’s top-performing units, accounting for about 35% of the company’s revenue.
