Public Input Wanted for Proposed Corpus Christi Tesla Plant

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Nueces County is trying to add incentive for Tesla to pick a site near Robstown for a lithium plant.

The county is looking for public input in a reinvestment zone to better attract the car maker.

“We are supporting Robstown,” said Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales.

She added that county commissioners court is holding a reinvestment zone public hearing on Monday afternoon to give the public a chance to find out more about the proposed Tesla plant.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Nueces County is trying to add incentive for Tesla to pick a site near Robstown for a lithium plant.

The county is looking for public input in a reinvestment zone to better attract the car maker.

“We are supporting Robstown,” said Nueces County Judge Barbara Canales.

She added that county commissioners court is holding a reinvestment zone public hearing on Monday afternoon to give the public a chance to find out more about the proposed Tesla plant.

The $365 million facility would employ 165 people in what are described as high paying jobs, plus another 250 two-year construction jobs.

“This public hearing is the first step,” Canales said. “And I think our job, commissioner’s court, is to make certain that RISD has the tools that it needs to finish what they began when they approved their 313.” Click to read more at www.kiiitv.com.

QDOBA Mexican Eats® Debuts its Vibrant, Flavorful Food to Austin, Texas Through New Ghost Kitchen Partnership

Partnership with REEF Technology expands QDOBA’s flavor-filled menu in Texas, now available through select delivery services

SAN DIEGO, Sept. 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — QDOBA®, a leading fast-casual Mexican restaurant, is bringing its vibrant and flavorful food to Austin, Texas through the first of two ghost kitchens in the area. In partnership with national ghost kitchen operator, REEF Technology, QDOBA’s Austin debut allows an increased number of QDOBA food lovers across the city to conveniently indulge in its tasty menu offerings. Ghost kitchens, also known as delivery-only restaurants, are commercial kitchens optimized for food delivery service apps such as Uber Eats and Postmates.

“Austin is well-known for its lively and flavorful food scene, making it the natural choice for our REEF ghost kitchen launch. It opens the doors to consumers to enjoy our unique spin on Mexican food who haven’t had access to QDOBA previously,” said Karin Silk, CMO of QDOBA. “Our partnership with REEF means bringing QDOBA’s signature flavors, including our well-loved three-cheese queso, salsas and cremas, and handmade guacamole, to Austinites. While this is our first venture into the virtual restaurant space, we can’t wait to share the flavor with additional markets!” Click to read more at www.prnewswire.com.

ProActive Commercial Lending Group, LLC, Offers Rehab Loans to Commercial Real Estate Investors in South Texas

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, UNITED STATES, August 17, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — ProActive Commercial Lending Group, LLC, a private lending company, has offered rehab loans to provide investors quick and easy capital for financing profitable real estate investment deals. The rehab loans come under the company’s “Fix & Flip” programs, designed to help investors apply and receive funds quickly for turning low-priced homes into high value properties for sale in the hot real estate market of South Texas. ProActive makes these loans possible by partnering with the country’s top private lenders and taking risks that no other bank or institution does.

ProActive’s Texas rehab loans enable investors to fund both the purchase and renovation of a ‘fixer-upper’ through a single mortgage, eliminating the need for multiple loans. The rehab loans have interest rates that range between 9.9% to 12% depending on certain conditional factors. The loans include interest-only mortgages in which the borrower is required to pay only the interest on the loan for a certain period. Their terms range from 6 to 12 months with provisions for extension on request. The loan-to-value of the rehab loans are set up to 80% after including repair value (purchase price + renovations budget combined). If borrowers work out their finances sooner than the terms of the loans, they can pre-maturely pay off the amount without incurring prepayment penalties.

Over the years, Texas has cemented its reputation as one of the best places in America for the rehab business, and this is what ProActive aims to promote with its ‘Fix & Flip’ program. With consistently low home prices, a healthy economy, increasing job opportunities, and a good rental market, South Texas rehab loan opportunities are very appealing for commercial real estate investors. Click to read more at www.einnews.com.

Eleven-property Self-storage Portfolio Sells

JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has closed the sale of an 11-property, best-in-class self-storage portfolio totaling 6,550 units in three high-performing real estate markets, the San Francisco Bay Area; Portland, Oregon; and Austin, Texas.

JLL marketed the portfolio with Pegasus Group, on behalf of the seller, Pegasus Group sponsored investments and facilitated the sale to SecureSpace Self Storage.

Operating under the Central Self Storage brand, the institutional-quality portfolio includes the following properties:

2100 A St., Antioch, CA
2721 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA
324 S. Main St., Milpitas, CA
6880 Santa Teresa Blvd., San Jose, CA
900 Lonus St., San Jose, CA
13760 E. 14th St., San Leandro, CA
355 W. Hedding St., San Jose, CA
1323 NW 16th Ave., Portland, OR
8200 South I-35 Service Road, Austin, TX
14635 West SH-71, Bee Cave, TX
8327 S. Congress Ave., Austin, TX

Primarily concentrated within the San Francisco Bay Area, the portfolio was a truly unique aggregation of best-in-class real estate in a market that rarely sees scale of this type come up for sale, coupled with more recently built Class A facilities in the highly desirable growth markets of Austin and Portland. Comprising over 650,000 square feet, the portfolio was highly sought after by a mix of capital sources as investors continue to push allocations in real estate and particularly alternatives such as self-storage.

The JLL Capital Markets Investment Sales and Advisory team that represented the seller was led by Managing Directors Brian Somoza and Steve Mellon, Directors Matthew Wheeler and Adam Roossien, and Analyst Jake Kinnear.

Wayfinder Real Estate Completes Sale of Troubadour in Austin

Austin-based Wayfinder Real Estate has completed the sale of Troubadour, a 321-unit apartment community in Central Austin, to an affiliate of Austin-based Christopher Investment Co.

The sales price was not disclosed.

Located one mile north of downtown Austin at 3403 Harmon Ave., Troubadour has experienced unusually strong demand since pre-leasing started in January. When first move-ins began in April, 80 apartments — 25% of the units — were pre-leased. Since then, an average of 14 new residents have signed leases per week.

The community is expected to reach 93% occupancy and fully stabilize by the end of August.

The six-story project is the first community that Wayfinder has completed and sold since industry veterans Mac McElwrath and Chris Sipes founded the company in 2019.

Wayfinder will soon complete the 295-unit Waterview community in Richmond, Texas just west of Houston and has a 362-unit project named Veranda underway in East Austin that will offer a mix of apartments and townhomes. The company also has five multifamily communities in the design and development phase in the Austin metro area and one in the Houston area.

The transaction between Wayfinder and Christopher Investment Co. was conducted off-market.

Christopher owns several other multifamily communities in the Austin metro including The Catherine just south of downtown Austin and The Pearl in north central Austin.

Troubadour offers one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with 16 units reserved for residents making no more than 80 percent of Austin’s median family income.

Community amenities include an outdoor movie theater, a rooftop terrace overlooking the downtown Austin skyline and the University of Texas at Austin, a resort-style pool, and multiple courtyards. Locally renowned artist Chris Rogers produced custom murals located throughout the property.

Troubadour is the final multifamily community to be completed in University Park, the master planned redevelopment of the former 22-acre Concordia University campus between Interstate 35 and the Hancock neighborhood in Central Austin.

Gladstone Commercial Announces Five-Year Lease at Austin, TX Office Building

MCLEAN, VA / ACCESSWIRE / July 28, 2022 / Gladstone Commercial Corporation (Nasdaq:GOOD) (“Gladstone Commercial”) announced it has entered into a 5.7 year lease with Cognizant Technology Solutions U.S. Corporation (“Cognizant”) for 41,225 square feet of its 320,000 square foot, four story office building, located at 717 East Parmer Lane in Austin, Texas, bringing occupancy to approximately 70%.

“We are delighted to have Cognizant in our portfolio and express thanks to their real estate department for their assistance on the deal. We could not have asked for better partners. This transaction shows the strength of the Austin market and the resiliency of the office sector. I would also like to thank Bethany Perez and Colton McCasland of JLL for their untiring work,” said Perry Finney, Senior Vice President of Gladstone Commercial.

Buzz Cooper, Gladstone Commercial’s President, added, “Cognizant is a great tenant to have and adds to the strength of our already impressive roster of tenants. We appreciate the speed and efficiency in which they acted to execute the deal.” Click to read more at www.gladstonecommercial.com.