Monthly Archives: January 2020


In Houston, a new facility for The Center for Pursuit held its groundbreaking on a site in the East End.

 

An interpretation of mixed-use development, The Center for Pursuit’s next-generation facility broke ground this week in Houston’s East End, where it will relocate in 2021 to serve, support and empower the city’s adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

From its new campus, which starts construction next month, the nonprofit organization will also reach out into its neighboring communities with programs, public spaces and some retail, including a café.

Sitting on 3.8 acres of previously paved property, the new facility will encompass four buildings totaling 129,000 square feet, a 7,000-square-foot park and a 257-car parking structure.

The new buildings include a residential tower of 41 units; a programs building for adult training, employment services, and adult activities; a health and wellness building with fitness, medical clinic, cafeteria and café; and an administration building housing a welcome center, conference space, incubator workspace for other non-profit startups and one of the vocational programs.

A United Way agency, the 60-year-old organization now serves 450 clients, has 40 residents and provides daycare to 300 severely disabled adults, many of which arrive by Metro van daily, according to organization sources at the groundbreaking event.

The pedestrian-friendly project’s new location on an infill parcel near downtown is served by Houston’s Metro Rail, something key to site selection, project leaders said at the event, attended by representatives of city, county and state government, related agencies, East End community leaders and current clients.

Including property acquisition and improvements, the project’s total cost has an estimated value of $71 million, said Charles C. Canton, the center’s president, and CEO. Construction is slated to begin in early February, with completion substantially completed in early 2021, he noted in a follow-up statement.

Funds raised to date have included the sale of the organization’s long-term facility on six acres overlooking Buffalo Bayou as well as a phased capital campaign. The most recent push, tagged “Strive,” closes the remaining $16.5 million sought, Canton said.

Part of the new project’s vision process (and fundraising) was a 4,000-mile bike ride to assess best practices at 30 facilities coast-to-coast, led by David C. Baldwin of SCFPartners, a board member and Pursuit Foundation trustee, and a series of charrettes. Integrating and providing choice to the spectrum of constituencies served by the facility was paramount to the planning, he said.

Historic Community, Industrial Neighborhood

Houston’s East End is a multi-ethnic community where many of the city’s early industrial properties are under redevelopment, re-purposing, and replacement by both commercial and residential uses, especially townhomes.

Meanwhile, Buffalo Bayou Partnership last fall revealed its park and recreation master plan for the five-mile stretch of the bayou winding through the East End.

With gentrification concerns, a neighborhood issue, having community input as part of the new center’s planning process so that there was a relationship of trust established, said Marilu Garza, chief development officer for the organization.

Gensler’s Houston office designed the campus, excluding the residential tower, designed by Tramonte Design Studio with contractor Arch-Con.

The larger project team also includes landscape architects TBG Partners and construction by Harvey-Cleary.

“The beauty of the design is that it supports The Center’s mission of everyone having value and purpose,” noted Kristopher Stuart, Gensler principal, and design director, in a follow-up inquiry. “The Center for Pursuit and its board are to be applauded for the bold initiative they are taking to imagine a facility that not only serves their clients differently but also helps the rest of the society imagine a different role for these unique individuals.”

Open and Activated for Opportunity and Outreach

The project required creating a collection of buildings that serve their unique purpose while embracing the unique East End community, Stuart said. The buildings incorporate warehouse-style brick and exposed, painted steel beams to “reflect the historically industrial yet emerging character” of Houston east of downtown. In addition, the “aspiration” was for the facility to be embedded in the life of the surrounding community as well as a participant in it.

Garza noted the new site and build-out has higher visibility for the organization. “We want to be seen,” she said. “It’s important that the community embrace us.”

Canton said, “We’re excited by the quality of the new buildings.” To have renovated the existing ’70s vintage existing facility was cost-prohibitive. Hanover Co. acquired the property last year as part of its plans for a mixed-use development.

Since then, The Center for Pursuit has moved its administrative functions, programming, and daycare for severely disabling clients to a temporary facility south of downtown. The organization’s residential building, however, remains in use until the completion of the new residential building on the new campus, so that residents need only be moved once, Garza said.

Margaret Wallace Brown, city planning director, said the center’s new campus is an example of transit-oriented development, a city initiative.

At the groundbreaking, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner spoke of Houston’s notable diversity, adding “being diverse means little if you’re not inclusive,” which the new facility has as part of its mission. The beauty of the center’s build-out — for a population often overlooked, he said — “speaks to our city’s values.”


A beer tap is kept locked in a Washington, D.C., WeWork location

Bye Bye, Booze: WeWork Killing Kegs At North American Locations NationalCoworking January 27, 2020, Ethan Rothstein, East Coast Editor Bisnow/Ethan Rothstein A beer tap is kept locked in a Washington, D.C., WeWork location. WeWork’s free beer taps, one of the defining attributes of the halcyon days of the coworking company, are almost kicked. WeWork is phasing out free beer and wine at it North American locations, a spokesperson confirmed to Bisnow Monday. The company doesn’t have kegs at all of its 600-plus locations, but they were staples of WeWork’s earliest outposts, which were also its most successful, according to WeWork’s financial disclosures last year. By the end of February, the taps will all be phased out, the spokesperson said. Business Insider first reported the change Monday morning. “Data from an expanded member satisfaction survey we conducted last year indicated many of our members wanted a greater variety of beverage options, and we are pleased to roll out these expanded offerings, including a selection of cold brew, kombucha, seltzer, and cold teas, in response,” WeWork said in a statement. “As part of this beverage refresh, WeWork will also phase out on-tap alcoholic beverages in U.S. and Canada locations and aims to complete this process by the end of February.” The beer and wine taps are expected to be replaced with nonalcoholic options, rather than removed. The decision came as a result of new WeWork Chairman Marcelo Claure’s go-forward plan for the business, and was prompted by a member survey, not as a cost-cutting move, a WeWork source said. Booze will still be served at WeWork happy hours and other events, the source added. Alcohol was once a pillar of WeWork’s identity, from bottomless-drink member parties to CEO Adam Neumann’s infamous penchant for shots of tequila. But the company was sued in 2018 by a former executive who said she was sexually assaulted twice at WeWork events, which she claimed “center around partying and reflect the frat-boy culture that starts at the top.” That litigation is still ongoing and is in the discovery phase, according to New York State court records.  A month after the sexual harassment suit was filed, WeWork shifted its alcohol policy, from offering unlimited drinks and blatantly promoting consumption to a four-drink maximum. While the company claims cutting kegs isn’t about costs, its other recent stratagems have focused squarely on its blood-red balance sheet. After losing $1.25B in Q3 2019, WeWork nearly stopped leasing new spaces altogether in Q4, laid off 20% of its staff and has sold several previous acquisitions, including its stake in women-focused co-working company The Wing and digital meeting startup Teem in the last month.


Tewodros T.

Ed is a wonderful person to work with, very knowledgeable, took his time to show me every available option and available when needed.
Houston Realty Advisors Inc.
5.0
2020-01-27T16:21:09+00:00
Ed is a wonderful person to work with, very knowledgeable, took his time to show me every available option and available when needed.

Richard N.

Ed was very knowledgeable and aggressive about getting our business location we wanted. He had a no-nonsense approach that helped us land our perfect location for our business. Our questions and concerns were answered quickly and accurately by Ed that helped us move forward with our dream. Houston Realty Advisor help made our dream come true!
Houston Realty Advisors Inc.
5.0
2020-01-27T16:15:44+00:00
Ed was very knowledgeable and aggressive about getting our business location we wanted. He had a no-nonsense approach that helped us land our perfect location for our business. Our questions and concerns were answered quickly and accurately by Ed that helped us move forward with our dream. Houston Realty Advisor help made our dream come true!

Kevin B.

Ed will not stop looking until he finds the right place for you. I have been using him for about 10 years to do all of my commercial real estate and I would never use anyone else. He is the "bulldog" of realtors and he always comes through with a place that works for us. He never gives up on finding that right place!!!
Houston Realty Advisors Inc.
5.0
2020-01-27T16:17:08+00:00
Ed will not stop looking until he finds the right place for you. I have been using him for about 10 years to do all of my commercial real estate and I would never use anyone else. He is the "bulldog" of realtors and he always comes through with a place that works for us. He never gives up on finding that right place!!!

Pia Krichler-Reuschenberg

Outstanding work, Ed really knows his business, really appreciate the effort. Ed took care of everything, very dedicated and thorough and easy to talk to
Houston Realty Advisors Inc.
5.0
2020-02-13T22:06:17+00:00
Outstanding work, Ed really knows his business, really appreciate the effort. Ed took care of everything, very dedicated and thorough and easy to talk to
5
4

Developers Thomas Roszak and Dan Moceri have turned to a popular type of tenant—co-working—to help jump-start their first Chicago office building.

Unfazed by the harsh light cast on the shared-office sector following industry giant WeWork’s botched effort to go public, the Chicago-based duo announced they’ve inked a 15-year agreement with shared-office provider Firmspace for almost 35,000 square feet at 145 S. Wells St.

Austin, Texas-based Firmspace will move this fall into the top three office floors of the 20-story, 210,000-square-foot building that Chicago-based Moceri & Roszak just finished at the corner of Wells and Adams streets, the companies said in a statement.

The deal breathes some leasing momentum into a property that the firm developed on speculation, or without any tenants signed. Some developers have tried that risky approach in recent years, betting they could win tenants from the flood of companies hiring and pouring into downtown. But most of the spec office development has been reserved for the trendy West Loop and Fulton Market District.

Moceri & Roszak, better known as an apartment developer, wagered it could succeed with new office construction in the Central Loop, where most of the available inventory is in older buildings.

“It was our vision to create a space unlike any other in Chicago, a place that melds boutique hospitality-like design with premier modern office space,” Roszak said in the statement.

The developers still face plenty of competition to fill the rest of the building, especially from new West Loop and Fulton Market buildings that have been proposed or are under construction. Working in their favor: They have space ready now, and Chicago just capped off its best year of office demand since 2007. Plus, fast-growing tech companies have shown more interest in updated Central Loop buildings over the past couple of years.

In Firmspace, Moceri & Roszak has landed a new competitor in the highly fragmented local landscape of shared-office providers, which offer low-risk, flexible space that users can rent by the month.

Three-year-old Firmspace, which has opened just three locations to date—in Austin, Houston and Denver—frames itself as a high-end provider with tight security and privacy for its large number of users from the legal field.

Firmspace CEO and former real estate lawyer Anish Michael said Chicago’s corporate diversity made it a logical place to expand the brand, and 145 S. Wells “made a lot of sense for us with convenient access and walkability” to public transportation. “It was a good fit, and we thought it was our opportunity to enter the market.”

Michael said his company aims to differentiate itself in the co-working sector by providing a more upscale design in a single location rather than opening several around the city like the industry’s largest players, such as WeWork, Industrious and Spaces.

Rapid expansion by those bigger firms and other competitors has brought the total amount of co-working space downtown to around 3.2 million square feet, up from 2.2 million just more than a year ago, according to brokerage Newmark Knight Frank.

Firmspace hasn’t established its rents for Chicago users yet, but Michael said starting rents in other markets range from $500 to $750 per month for a one-desk interior office of 60 to 70 square feet.

Moceri & Roszak has been busy in the heart of downtown over the past few years. Riding the wave of demand for rental units in the city, the firm opened a 33-story, 265-unit apartment building at 215 W. Lake St. in 2017 and cashed out in late 2018, selling it for $121 million. Late last year, the developer broke ground on a 25-story, 215-unit apartment building at 50 E. Randolph St., a block from Millennium Park.

Jones Lang LaSalle Managing Director Corey Siegrist represented Firmspace in negotiating the lease. JLL leasing brokers Mason Taylor and Chris Cassata represented Moceri & Roszak.


Business is still buzzing in the Bayou City. Despite the much-maligned office market sitting at an overall vacancy rate of 21.6%, deals are still getting done. As Houston looks to turn over a new leaf in 2020, we look back at the largest deals of 2019 that helped Houston’s absorption stay in the black.

Downtown Houston Skyline
BURNS & MCDONNELL, 218K SF, 1700 WEST LOOP S, GALLERIA
Houston’s diversification has become a part of the city’s narrative, but energy tenants still made up the majority of the year’s largest deals. Nearly half of the top dozen deals were renewals, indicative of the city’s overall lack of demand. One positive for the city is that no one office market seems to be overly dominant. Powerhouses like the Central Business District and Galleria areas remain strong, but some of the largest deals of the year were in suburbs, where a competitive market has tenants finding favorable deals. With the help of research from NAI Partners, let’s look at the largest leases of the year.
Burns & McDonnell Plaza
ALIGHT SOLUTIONS, 180K SF, 8770 NEW TRAILS DRIVE, THE WOODLANDS
Houston’s second-largest deal of the year is actually 30 miles north in The Woodlands, where the payroll and cloud solutions tech company Alight Solutions struck a deal with The Howard Hughes Corp. for a new four-story, 180K SF office building to be rented and solely occupied by the firm. The build-to-suit office joins a smaller office park along New Trails Drive, where Alight will soon move its employees from its current home on Technology Forest Boulevard when the project is completed early next year.

The Woodlands

KIEWIT ENGINEERING, 156K SF, ENERGY CENTER I, ENERGY CORRIDOR
Houston's 12 Largest Office Leases Of The Year
Houston’s Energy Corridor has been particularly hard hit by the city’s struggling oil and gas sector. Energy Center I has been representative of that struggle, sitting functionally vacant for months. With Kiewit’s deal, the building is now 52% leased. The office isn’t Kiewit’s first in Houston. The firm has another close by at Energy Tower IV and additional offices in The Woodlands.
BANK OF AMERICA, 122K SF, PENNZOIL PLACE, DOWNTOWN

Pennzoil Place

Bank of America, one of the city’s largest employers, has been mixing up its real estate footprint in Downtown Houston. After announcing its plans to vacate its namesake building for Skanska’s new office tower, the bank announced several other changes, including a new 122K SF lease at the iconic southern tower of Pennzoil Place, across the street from its former home. For those keeping up at home, Bank of America Tower is now TC Energy Center and Skanska’s Capitol Tower is now Bank of America Tower.

NOBLE CORP., 115K SF, SUGAR CREEK PLACE, SUGAR LAND

Sugar Creek Place
EMPYREAN BENEFIT SOLUTIONS, 106K SF, 3010 BRIAR PARK, WESTCHASE

Houston's 12 Largest Office Leases Of The Year
Empyrean Benefit Solutions, which manages employee health and benefit programs, was forced out of its offices in the wake of Hurricane Harvey and ended up in Westchase. Since that time, the company has liked what it has seen and decided to turn its short-term lease into a new home. Now that the company has decided to say long term, sweeping renovations will begin at 3010 Briarpark.

DIRECT ENERGY, 105K SF, 2 HOUSTON CENTER, DOWNTOWN

Houston's 12 Largest Office Leases Of The Year

Direct Energy took advantage of the leasing market to downsize its Houston footprint. The electricity retailer is in the process of moving from its 191K SF space in Greenway Plaza to its new 105K SF space at 2 Houston Center. Brookfield Properties’s Houston Center is in the midst of a renovation, adding glass facades, new finishes and redesigned common spaces. Gensler, the architect behind the renovations, is also designing its own new office at 2 Houston Center.

HOUSTON METHODIST, 100K SF, 4800 FOURNACE PLACE, BELLAIRE
4800 Fournace Place
Chevron’s former 30-acre campus in Bellaire has been the subject of much speculation since the energy giant listed the campus for sale in 2016. Last year it found a buyer, SLS Properties, which invested heavily in site improvements, most notable of which was a new parking garage. Now the campus has a new tenant, Houston Methodist, where the hospital system will execute its administrative duties.


Julio Laguarta, one of Houston’s strongest supporters of ongoing education in commercial real estate, died Jan. 3. He was 86. Born in Galveston and raised in Houston, Laguarta graduated from the University of Texas at Austin business school in 1956 with a Bachelor of Business Administration. He began working in the commercial real estate sector shortly after graduation and co-founded a land brokerage firm, Laguarta, Gavrel & Bolin, in the early 1960s. “Beyond being the only Houston Realtor in our history to ever go on to serve as president of the National Association of Realtors and being the driving force behind the creation of the Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, Julio was a true gentleman in every sense of the word,” Houston Association of Realtors CEO Bob Hale said. Laguarta’s son, Kirk, who works in commercial real estate as a broker with Land Advisors Organization, called his father an advocate for the profession. “My father was a true leader in the Houston real estate community for many years. He was never too busy to help with forwarding the causes of the real estate community as is evidenced by his long-standing involvement with HAR, TAR, NAR and the Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University,” Laguarta said. “He will be greatly missed by our family and the many folks he touched in the Houston community.” In 1969, Laguarta and his partners were hired by Texas Eastern Corp. to assemble 75 acres in Downtown Houston. That land today includes iconic developments including the Houston Center, the George R. Brown Convention Center and Discovery Green. Beyond his firm, Laguarta had a vision for boosting research and ongoing education within the Texas real estate landscape. That vision evolved into the Texas A&M Real Estate Center, the largest publicly funded organization devoted to real estate research in the U.S. Inspired by the Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies at the University of Connecticut, Laguarta set out to create a Texan equivalent. After approaching multiple universities with his proposal, an agreement was finally reached with Texas A&M University, and the Real Estate Center was established in 1971. Laguarta was appointed to a six-year term on the Center’s first advisory committee and was also elected its first chairman.

Texas A&M, which refers to Laguarta as the father of the Center, went on to establish the Julio S. Laguarta Professorship in Real Estate Scholarship in 1981 to honor his achievements in the field and key role in furthering real estate education. The endowed professorship is within the Mays Business School at the university. Among his many accomplishments, Laguarta held both SIOR and CCIM qualifications and was highly involved with HAR. He became president of HAR in 1967 and was Houston Realtor of the Year in 1968. Laguarta continued to oversee several notable organizations during his career. He became president of the CCIM Institute in 1973, president of TAR in 1975 and president of NAR in 1982. He was also a co-founder of the Houston Realty Breakfast Club, which started in 1967 and is still in service today. Alongside his many professional achievements, Laguarta helped launch the careers of many figures active in the Houston commercial real estate community today. “Julio helped me get my first job out of law school in 1969 at the Texas Association of Realtors. He was my mentor, adviser and most importantly best friend,” Hale said. “I, along with the other 40,000 members of HAR, are better off for having his leadership, and worse off now that he is gone.”


JLL Capital Markets announces that it has closed the sale of Harms Road Business Park, a five-building industrial park totaling 124,000 square feet in Houston’s highly sought-after Northwest Industrial submarket.

JLL marketed the property along with NAI Partners on behalf of the seller, United Equities, Inc. Finial Group, in partnership with Senterra LLC, purchased the asset.

Completed in phases between 2014 and 2018, Harms Road Business Park comprises five single-tenant, crane-served industrial buildings. The park features clear heights ranging from 28 to 30 feet, 22 overhead doors, overhead cranes with capacities ranging between 10 and 20 tons and high-quality office space. Situated on 9.37 acres at 7204-7214 Harms Road, the park is less than 2.5 miles from the U.S. 290 and the Sam Houston Tollway (Beltway 8) interchange, which provides tenants with easy access to the Houston MSA. Harms Road Business Park is within Houston’s Northwest submarket, the largest of Houston’s submarkets.

The JLL Industrial Capital Markets team that represented the seller was led by Managing Director Trent Agnew, Director Charlie Strauss, and Analyst Ethan Goldberg as well as NAI’s Travis Land.

“Harms Road Business Park is a highly successful development located within the core of Houston’s Northwest submarket,” said Agnew. “Our JLL team, in partnership with Travis, were able to put together an off-market trade that highlights the desirability of opportunities that offer some additional leasing upside in today’s capital markets environment.”

About United Equities, Inc.

United Equities, Inc. was founded in 1971 as a small brokerage, management and leasing company. Today, the company’s portfolio has grown to include over three million square feet of retail and industrial space. United Equities is a full-service commercial real estate organization providing development, redevelopment, build-to-suit, acquisition, management and leasing services across Texas, in addition to nationwide tenant representation. The Austin office opened in 2004, followed by the Dallas office in 2006, to better meet the needs of an expanding client base. Visit unitedequities.com for more information.

About Finial Group

Finial Group is a full-service commercial real estate firm that provides service focused, turnkey solutions to their client’s commercial real estate needs. The Finial Group offers investment, development, leasing, asset management, and construction management services all under one roof. The Finial Group’s team members are dedicated to building the most revered brand in commercial real estate and maintaining an unrivaled reputation for the quality of service and ability to execute. For more information please visit finialgroup.com or contact the Finial Group by email at info@finialgroup.com or by phone at 713-422-2100.

About JLL

JLL (NYSE: JLL) is a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management. Our vision is to reimagine the world of real estate, creating rewarding opportunities and amazing spaces where people can achieve their ambitions. In doing so, we will build a better tomorrow for our clients, our people and our communities. JLL is a Fortune 500 company with annual revenue of $16.3 billion, operations in over 80 countries and a global workforce of more than 93,000 as of September 30, 2019. JLL is the brand name, and a registered trademark, of Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated. For further information, visit jll.com.


JLL To Buy Peloton Commercial Real Estate

Commercial real estate giant JLL announced plans to purchase Peloton Commercial Real Estate Thursday. The merger will effectively pull Peloton’s Dallas and Houston offices into JLL’s agency leasing and property management business lines.  Ricky Bautista, Unsplash Downtown Dallas As part of the merger, more than 130 Peloton employees will be joining JLL. The acquisition is expected to close in the next few weeks, with Peloton co-founding partners Joel Pustmueller and T.D. Briggs and JLL’s Jeff Eckert leading the statewide integration efforts.  Pustmueller and Briggs will work directly with the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston offices while Eckert will oversee Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas-Fort Worth as the teams integrate.  Peloton Property Management partner John Myers will be named regional leader of property management for DFW. “This is a momentous step in our journey to become a market-leading player in Texas,” said David Carroll, JLL market director for the South Central Region. “With the exceptional growth we have seen in those markets, Peloton’s position as a leading provider of leasing and property management services will greatly enhance our business capabilities and breadth of services. Just as importantly, we look forward to working with a team of professionals that share JLL’s strong commitment to collaboration and culture.” JLL has a long history of growing via mergers and acquisitions, including closing the $2B acquisition of HFF July 1. One of its most notable acquisitions in Texas was bringing The Staubach Co., led by Dallas Cowboys elite quarterback Roger Staubach, into its fold in 2008. Peloton is a leasing and property management firm that launched in 2002. It manages or leases more than 25M SF for clients.


Martin, Disiere, Jefferson & Wisdom, which has been a tenant in downtown Houston’s historic Esperson Building since the law firm was founded in 2000, expanded its footprint to 42,000 square feet, according to real estate brokerage Newmark Knight Frank.

Common Desk, a Dallas-based coworking company, leased 29,093 square feet at 3040 Post Oak in the Lakes on Post Oak near the Galleria for its second Houston location. Ryan Barbles and Mathew Volz of Stream Realty Partners represented the landlord, MetLife Investment Management.

Common Desk, which offers an all-inclusive model in its monthly membership, recently leased 25,000 square feet in The Block, a warehouse redevelopment project at 2339 Canal St. in the East End for its Houston debut in late summer 2020. The Galleria location, which is planned to open in early fall 2020, will offer its Fiction Coffee in-house brand, custom art, and finishes throughout the space, private offices for growing teams, hospitality suites for enterprise users and full-service workspace amenities.

Martin Disiere Jefferson & Wisdom expanded and extended its lease for 42,000 square feet at downtown’s historic Esperson Building. The law firm, which previously occupied 39,000 square feet on four floors, consolidated to two floors that have been built out with a traditional yet modern design. Reginald Beavan III and Joshua Brown of Newmark Knight Frank represented the tenant, while Cameron Management represented the landlord in-house. The Houston-based law firm, which has other offices in Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio, has been a tenant of the Esperson Building since it was founded in 2000.

MobisoftInfotech leased 3,998 square feet at 1811 Bering Drive. Larry Vickers of Tarantino Properties represented the landlord. William McCarthy with Finial Group represented the tenant.

Craters & Freighters renewed a 14,165-square-foot industrial lease at 6100 West by Northwest Blvd. Chris Caudill of NAI Partners represented the tenant. Boone Smith and Garret Geaccone with Stream Realty represented the landlord, Agellan Commercial REIT.

Protec Equipment Resources, a provider of sales and rentals of electrical test and measurement equipment, leased an 8,000-square-foot building at 14251 Gulfstream Park Drive in Webster. Coe Parker of Cushman & Wakefield represented the landlord, Enviro Building Systems. Melissa Gerber Brams of Gerber Realty represented the tenant.

Dover Precision Components, a provider of products used in rotating and reciprocating equipment, is constructing a nearly 12,000-square-foot Innovation Lab in Pearland’s Lower Kirby District, according to the Pearland Economic Development Corp. The facility, just north of the company’s 150,000-square-foot manufacturing and operations center at Spectrum Boulevard and Hooper Road, will open in the second quarter of 2020.

Capital Title of Texas has leased 3,000 square feet of office space at 27008 Northwest Freeway, Cypress, from Cymill Partners. Ashley Strickland and Nick Ramsey of NewQuest Properties represented the landlord. Adam McAlpine of McAlpine Interests represented the tenant.

Lake Management Services, a company specializing in the construction, consulting and maintenance of lakes and ponds, leased 15,300 square feet of industrial space at 4318 Bluebonnet Drive. Jake Wilkinson and Chris Caudill of NAI Partners represented the tenant. Clay Pritchett of NAI Partners represented the landlord, Martinez A&M Investments.

Southern Reformed Seminary purchased a 2-acre property with 7,500 square feet of buildings at 26111 Beckendorff Road, Katy. The seminary plans to relocate from its current location off Dacoma and U.S. 290 in northwest Houston. Keith Towne of Re/Max Metro represented the seller. Ashley Casterlin of Davis Commercial represented the buyer.

Gridforce Energy Management leased 12,702 square feet at 1301 Fannin. John Luck, Joshua Brown, Reggie Beavan III and Andy Iversen of Newmark Knight Frank represented the tenant.

Premier Construction & Development purchased a 1.38-acre tract at Shadow Creek Parkway and Kingsley Drive, Pearland. Brad LyBrand and Brad Elmore of NewQuest Properties represented the seller, A-S 143 SC Ranch LP.

Domain Communities, a Houston-based multifamily firm founded by James D. Golden, purchased the 300-unit Iron Rock Ranch apartments in Austin. John Fenoglio of CBRE arranged to finance from New York-based MF1.