Houston medical plaza earns ENERGY STAR® building certification

JLL announced that Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza was awarded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® certification for superior energy performance. Located at 6400 Fannin St., Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza is a 510,000 square-foot, Class AA medical office tower in the heart of the Texas Medical Center in Houston.

ENERGY STAR®-certified buildings are verified to perform in the top 25% of buildings nationwide, based on weather-normalized source energy use that considers occupancy, hours of operation, and other key metrics. ENERGY STAR® is the only energy efficiency certification in the United States that is based on verified energy performance.

2022 marks the first year since 2014 that medical buildings were able to be considered for the ENERGY STAR® certification. Memorial Hermann Medical Plaza earned a score of 97 indicating this building’s superior performance compared to its peers. This award adds to the property’s other accomplishments of LEED GOLD O+M v4.1 Existing Building, and Well HSR (Health and Safety Rating).

Senior General Manager Karen Tucker, LEED AP O+M, and GGP of JLL directs property management for the asset.

Zumper’s year-end report: Interest rates, recession worries weighing down renters

Worried consumers. That’s what Zumper’s Annual Rent Report for 2022 uncovered. The renters whom Zumper surveyed for its end-of-the-year report agreed that the U.S. economy was slipping into a recession, and they expressed little to no confidence that the economy would improve anytime soon.

The report, then, is a bit of a downbeat way to end the year. It’s not surprising, though, considering the uncertainty that comes with rising interest rates and persistent inflation.

A total of 76% of the respondents in Zumper’s year-end report said that they think the United States is in a recession. And 62% of respondents said that they weren’t confident in the country’s economy. A total of 63% said that they had recently moved because their monthly apartment rent was getting too expensive.

In a sign that more renters are struggling economically as 2022 draws to a close, 31% of respondents told Zumper that they were behind in their rent, while 36% said that they are spending more than 45% of their incomes on their monthly rent.

The country’s economic uncertainty has hit the multifamily market, that is made clear in Zumper’s report. According to Zumper, the national median one-bedroom apartment did rise in December, hitting $1,497. But rent growth has definitely leveled off, with the national median one-bedroom rent rising less than half of a percentage point in December.

The national median rents for two-bedroom apartments actually fell in December, dropping 0.1% to $1,822.

What will the future bring for the apartment market? That’s unclear. But demand for multifamily living doesn’t appear to be tapering off, largely because it is so expensive today to buy a single-family home. According to Zumper’s year-end survey, 28% of respondents said that the traditional American Dream no longer involves owning a home. And the percentage of respondents who said that now was a good time to buy a home? Just 27%. A total of 32% of survey participants said that rising interest rates have deterred them from buying a home this year.

Hines Signs Sino Biological as a Tenant at Levit Green

a 53Ac Life Science District in Houston

Hines, a global real estate investment, development, and property manager, in partnership with 2ML Real Estate Interests and Harrison Street, announced a lease at Levit Green, the new 53-acre mixed-use life science district adjacent to the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Sino Biological, Inc., an international reagent supplier and service provider, has leased approximately 10,000 square feet of commercial lab and office space in Levit Green’s first phase, which is slated for completion at the end of this year.

Headquartered in Beijing, China with subsidiaries in Suzhou, China; Taizhou, China; Frankfurt, Germany; and Wayne, Pennsylvania and listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange subsidiary ChiNext (SZSE: 301047), Sino Biological is the world’s leading provider of mammalian cell-based recombinant proteins, antibodies and related contract research services. This new site serves as the company’s first US-based manufacturing facility. Referred to as the Center for Bioprocessing (C4B), the facility will focus on both product manufacture and the implementation of contract research services. Levit Green will further establish its presence in Houston, providing companies, academics, and medical researchers in the world-renowned Texas Medical Center and across the region invaluable access to Sino Biology’s comprehensive offering of bioreagents and CRO services.

To meet the market’s need for immediate lab-ready space, Hines is also delivering two commercial lab and office turn-key suites, at 11,000 square feet and 7,000 square feet, which will be ready for occupancy by Summer 2023. This in-demand laboratory offering will give potential tenants the flexibility to accommodate constantly evolving science needs. The turn-key suites have been designed to an optimal 60%-40% lab-to-office ratio, to accommodate any wet or dry lab R&D use, such as biology, chemistry, and engineering.

Building I at Levit Green—a 290,000-square-foot, five-story building with wet lab and incubator space—is part of the broader nine-building Levit Green masterplan, which will offer a curated mix of research facilities, office, retail, residential, and outdoor amenities. It is equipped with 100% redundant emergency power, enhanced structural vibration attenuation, augmented mechanical systems, 33-foot structural bay depths, and floorplates of more than 60,000 square feet. Additionally, the building will feature best-in-class amenities that include a 5,800-square-foot fitness center and outdoor garden, a 7,000-square-foot conference center, 3,500 square feet of café and restaurant space, and ample on-site parking. The ground floor plan is also programmed to accommodate more than 25,000 square feet of lab incubator space which will provide entrepreneurs and early-stage life science companies with top-tier, strategically located laboratory and office space.

Building I is slated for completion in late 2022, with Sino Biological’s occupancy anticipated for the Q3 2023. JLL represented Levit Green in the lease.

Midway and Arc Capital Partners Acquire Sabine Street Lofts

A joint venture between Midway, the privately owned, fully integrated real estate investment, development and management firm, and Arc Capital Partners, the real estate owner and investment manager known for mixed-use urban infill investments with strong and beneficial impacts on communities, has acquired Sabine Street Lofts, a 198-unit, Class-A, loft-style apartment community located near Downtown Houston on Buffalo Bayou. Tom Fish and Jonathan Paine with Walker Dunlop represented the joint venture in financing the transaction.

Located at 150 Sabine Street, Sabine Street Lofts benefits from its accessibility and direct access to the revitalized Buffalo Bayou Park and is immediately west of Downtown Houston. Completed in 2001, the institutional-quality asset features large one- and two-bedroom floorplans with an average size of 1,017 square feet, approximately 100 square feet larger than the average apartment in Central Houston. Unit amenities include granite countertops in kitchen and baths, 10-foot ceiling heights with exposed ducts, in-unit washers and dryers, stained concrete and wood flooring and private balconies or patios. Community amenities include gated entrances with immediate access to the Buffalo Bayou trail, a fitness center, two resort-inspired swimming pools, outdoor fireplaces, expansive sundecks and pet-friendly amenities. Plans are underway to renovate the property, investing capital specifically into the common areas and project amenities that all residents can enjoy.

Additionally, many of the units will be converted into workforce housing as part of Midway’s MPact program, a new initiative within Midway’s property operations division. Aligning with the firm’s values to be purposeful and community-driven, MPact seeks to support those who are making a difference in our communities. Designed for professionals earning around 80% of the area median income, MPact will provide quality housing to those who have dedicated their careers to serving others.

Additional Midway properties that offer MPact units include Braeburn Village, Villa Del Prado and The Laura, which will debut in 2023 as part of Midway’s future East River mixed-use development.

OwnProp Continues Expansion – Enters Houston Market

The Web3 Technology company fractionalizes investment in 22-story Class A property

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Peter Rex, founder and Executive Chairman of Rex, announced that OwnProp, a Rex company, is continuing its recent geographic growth by expanding its offering to Houston, Texas. This news comes on the heels of OwnProp’s recent expansion into Atlanta. OwnProp is a tech platform democratizing access to high return and cash flowing commercial real estate deals by fractionalizing assets using blockchain technology.

The Rex Company expands to Houston.

“With OwnProp’s technology, we’ll continue to make real estate investments just like this, more accessible,” said Rex.

“OwnProp has successfully closed offerings for hotels, multifamily apartment complexes, commercial office spaces, and now will be offering a 22-story Class A property located in the prestigious Uptown district of Houston,” said Peter Rex. “With OwnProp’s technology, we will continue to make real estate investments just like this, more accessible,” said Rex. Click to read more at www.finance.yahoo.com.

Hartman’s Marketing Team Secures 3 Marcom Awards in Creative Competition

November 3, 2022 (Houston, TX)—The Marcom Awards, a global creative competition administered by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals (AMCP), announced three submissions by the marketing team at Hartman Income REIT Management, Inc. (Hartman), as Gold Award and honorable mention winners, for outstanding achievements in video and print marketing.

Each year, honorable mentions and gold awards are presented to a select few of the competition’s more than 6,000 applicants from over 43 countries and selected from 300 categories in print, web, video, and strategic communications. Entries receiving scores between 90-100 points are platinum winners, between 80-89 points are gold winners and between 70-79 receive an honorable mention. As one of the oldest creative competitions in the world, winning a highly sought-after Marcom award from the AMCP is well respected by all peers and communities in the marketing industry. Hartman’s marketing team was recognized for its commercial real estate leasing FAQ video, CRE insights playlist, and a whitepaper on investing in real estate during times of economic inflation.

Award winners are chosen by Marcom judges who seek out nominations of companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a top-tier standard of excellence. Hartman’s marketing team, led by Vice President of Marketing, Anthony Trollope, symbolizes both the established and upcoming talent in the marketing and communications world. The Hartman team is made up of contributions from Malori Bizzell-Johannes, Sarah Hoopes, Lace Llanora, Erik Cordero, and Judith Roque, each bringing to the award-winning team unique perspectives and focused skill sets.

Commenting on the award, Trollope shared, “receiving the prestigious recognition from our peers for the creativity we pour into our marketing is a humbling validation and a prideful moment for our team.” To learn more about Hartman or view the Hartman marketing team’s winning content, please visit www.hi-reit.com.

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About Hartman:

Hartman is a premier property management company in the Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio markets with more than 59 properties totaling over eight million square feet. Hartman has owned and operated commercial office properties since 1983, offering premium office space at attractive rates for 38 years. For more information, visit www.hi-reit.com.

Contact:
Anthony Trollope
VP of Marketing
Hartman Income REIT Management, Inc.
713.467-2222
press@hi-reit.com