Bradford Expands Senior Brokerage Ranks

DALLAS – Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services has added a 27-year broker as a senior vice president and managing partner, further strengthening its position as a leading commercial real estate employer of seasoned professionals in Dallas/Fort Worth.

Joining the company is Jennifer Gray, CCIM, who’s operated her own firm since 2001. She will continue to focus on northeast Tarrant and Denton counties as she has done for the past 15 years, remaining at her longtime location in Southlake Town Square, 1560 E. Southlake Blvd., now Bradford’s newest office.

Gray’s decision to join Bradford was swayed by its decentralized structure, which is supported by multiple field offices that allow managing partners to have local autonomy. In addition, Bradford provided a larger full-service platform ingrained with a philosophy to deliver the best possible service for landlords, tenants and institutional investors.

Gray’s addition to Bradford’s 25-member brokerage team will boost its roster to 14 female professionals, whose capabilities include brokerage, property management, leasing, construction and finance. The firm’s other female partners include Karen Simon, executive vice president; and Sharon Friedberg, Melanie Hughes, Susan Singer and Leigh Richter, all senior vice presidents. The upper ranks also include Anne Turney, president of Bradford Management Co. Inc., a recognized leader in her area of expertise, and J.J. Kissee, a senior vice president and controller of the 23-year-old firm.

“We are excited to add Jennifer to our roster of proven producers. We will leverage her expertise with our network of relationships, which will allow the firm additional opportunities and growth in the northeast Tarrant County submarket,” says Kevin J. Santaularia, president and CEO of Dallas-based Bradford.

Gray’s forte is working with developers and existing property owners, oftentimes beginning with land acquisition and staying with the project through development, lease-up and disposition. Her pre-leasing efforts included such projects in northeast Tarrant County as Southlake Town Square, Colleyville Town Square, Keller Town Center and The Village at Colleyville.

 ”My specialty is really based on the market,” says Gray, who has brokered transactions for all property sectors. “I see myself as a problem solver, especially right now in the market.”

Gray is a member of the Fort Worth chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women, North Texas Commercial Association of Realtors, National Association of Realtors, Texas Association of Realtors, North Texas chapter of CCIM, and chambers of commerce in Southlake, Grapevine, Keller and Colleyville.

Snider Tire brings 65,000 SF Hub On Line in Great Southwest

ARLINGTON, Texas – Seeing the expansion capabilities of North Texas, Snider Tire Inc. has opened a 65,000-square-foot regional hub following an extensive overhaul of a longtime vacant structure in the Great Southwest Industrial District.

The Greensboro, N.C.-based company’s new hub is located at 840 N. Great Southwest Parkway in Arlington. “It’s a great location and great visibility,” says Michael W. Spain, senior vice president and managing partner of Dallas-based Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services, who represented the buyer of record, Eight Forty Great Southwest Parkway LLC.

The buyer signed a long-term lease with Snider Tire immediately after closing on its new investment property. Scott Voelkel and Gordon Foster of Foster & Co. in Arlington represented the seller, Warehouse Holdings LP.

The buyer had invested 12 to 18 months into searching for expansion space in the Great Southwest Industrial District for Snider Tire. The vacant building’s location at the corner of Great Southwest Parkway and Avenue E caught the buyer’s eye because it’s just 1.5 miles to State Hwy. 161 and 2.5 miles to State Hwy. 360.

Spain adds the structure had been vandalized several times, including the theft of copper lines and wires, but the buyer was undaunted by the make-ready work. “There were some major repairs that needed to occur,” he stresses. The interior build-out included a 3,500-sf office.

With the repairs finished, Snider Tire has vacated 15,000 sf in Grand Prairie, where there wasn’t enough available space to support its expansion plan. “They see a lot of major future expansion in Dallas/Fort Worth,” Spain says.

Snider Tire is one of the largest commercial tire dealers and re-treaders in the U.S. It employs more than 800 workers at six manufacturing facilities and 45 commercial and mechanical service locations in 10 states. The operations include two locations in Houston and one each in Laredo and San Antonio.

Ohio-Based Manufacturer Selects Great Southwest for New Hub

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas – Ohio-based Niles Building Products Co. has leased 12,400 sf in the Upper Great Southwest Industrial District as its operations base for Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and the Gulf Coast markets.

An early January occupancy is planned for 609 Avenue R, a 60,910-square-foot building owned by DCT Industrial Trust and leased by Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services.

“It was a combination of the location in the Upper Great Southwest, proximity to Highway 360 and the amount of dock coverage with three doors and a ramp,” says Michael W. Spain, senior vice president and managing partner of Dallas-based Bradford. “It suits a distribution user really well.” He and Jim Ferris, a Bradford vice president, represented the Denver-based landlord.

Negotiations went full circle in less than two months, with Niles Building Products signing a long-term lease for a structure with expansion potential. Shannon Bravomalo of Star Commercial Realty in Arlington represented the region’s newest tenant, a leading manufacturer of expanded metal accessories for stucco, plaster, drywall and veneer plaster applications.

The new lease has jump-started a make-ready build-out for the 18,000-sf balance of the shallow-bay building. When it’s done, the vacancy will have 1,000 sf of spec office space and seven dock doors. 

“We want to have it ready for somebody who needs it immediately,” Spain says. “There is not a lot of competing shallow-bay product in the Great Southwest with the amount of doors we have for a vacancy of this size.”

Centerport Business Park Overview

by:  Michael W Spain
Senior Vice President
Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services

The CentrePort Business Park (CentrePort) consists of approximately 8.1 million square feet of industrial space, with the breakdown being 1.1 million square feet of flex product and 7.2 million square feet of warehouse/shallow bay product.  CentrePort is a 350 acre master planned, deed restricted business campus that is located in the middle of the Metroplex, approximately 17 miles from both downtowns of Dallas & Fort Worth, 2 miles south of DFW International Airport.  The park benefits from superior transportation infrastructure with easy access to Highway 183, State Highway 360 and The President George Bush Turnpike.  CentrePort is a transient-oriented business community that is also served by the Trinity Railway Express which offers park and ride opportunities for the employee base and dedicated bus service throughout the park.  CentrePort houses many large corporations such as American Airlines, Uniden, Bank of America, Novo 1, Cott Beverage, to name a few.

The lack of having the Triple Freeport Tax Exemption combined with economic and infrastructure issues caused the vacancy rate to reach 28% at the close of 2004.  However, as the park continued to evolve with improvements in the infrastructure, a growing synergy created with the addition of multi-family and retail projects, and the passing of the Triple Freeport Tax Exemption by theHEBSchool District have led to increased market activity.  As a result the overall vacancy has steadily declined to its current rate of 17%, which is higher than the overall vacancy rate of 13% for all the Great Southwest Submarket.  The majority of the vacancy rate can be attributed to a handful of large vacancies among the warehouse/shallow bay product, as there is currently 1,067,174 SF available which represents a vacancy rate of 15%.  Flex product currently stands at a vacancy of 29% with 336,150 SF available.  Tenant transactions occurring during 2011 include Niagara Conservation purchasing and occupying a 100,423 SF warehouse/distribution center located at 4200 Diplomacy Road, Suncom Holdings purchasing and occupying a  179,407 warehouse/distribution center located at 4250 Cambridge Road and Riex Company leasing 59,889 SF located at 4300 Diplomacy Road.

Rental rates currently stand near all-time lows, however, they have begun to stabilize over the past couple of quarters.  With the high vacancy among the flex product, aggressive rents and increased concessions are being offered to entice tenants and drive occupancy.  Leasing activity is expected to remain strong during the remainder of 2011 and into 2012 as job growth in Dallas/Fort Worth is anticipated to outpace forecasts for the rest of the nation.  Even with the increased leasing activity, rent growth in not anticipated until 2013.

Double Play Fills 58,771 SF of First-Generation Space

FORT WORTH – In one fell swoop, Sun Life Assurance Co. has gained two tenants for the 58,771-sf balance of first-generation space in Railhead Business Station’s largest structure.

The double play came within six months of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services picking up the leasing contract for the 214,190-sf, three-building complex, completed in 2007. Weatherford Artificial Lift Systems Inc. and Traulsen & Co. simultaneously signed leases for 33,673 sf and 24,898 sf, respectively, at 800 Railhead Rd.

“Both deals helped to make the other one,” says Nick Talley, Bradford’s market director in Fort Worth. The unrelated companies’ synchronized decisions effectively lowered construction costs, resulting in upfront savings that benefited tenants and landlord alike.

“It was the right fit for the right tenant. The timing of both deals was key in getting both deals done,” Talley stresses. The new tenants are planning first-quarter move-ins to the 91,500-sf shallow-bay warehouse. Bob Scully of CB Richard Ellis represented the tenants.

Traulsen, a subsidiary of ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, has a manufacturing location nearby and needed additional storage space, according to Karen Simon, executive vice president and managing partner of Dallas-based Bradford. Houston-based Weatherford Artificial Lift Systems also has other locations in Tarrant County.

Sun Life’s project includes a 44,240-sf front load/rear park warehouse at 500 Railhead Rd. and 78,450-sf industrial building at 800 Railhead Rd. – both first-generation space and both vacant. Railhead Business Station carries Triple Freeport tax exemption and Enterprise Zone tax abatements.

Simon points out that Sun Life has been highly selective about tenants. “They have a vision for the type of tenants they’d like and the ability to meet the requirements,” she says.

The Bradford team has noticed an uptick in tenant traffic in the Railhead submarket. “Our competition has landed a couple deals just as we have. If tenants are doing first-generation deals, then the rest of the market will fall right behind,” Talley says. “In six months, we took one building to 100% so I think that’s pretty good.”

California-based Plastics Manufacturer Leases Valwood Space for New Shop

DALLAS – With an existing customer base in North Texas, California-based Tri Pack Enterprises is entering the market with a long-term lease in hand for 24,177 sf of warehouse space in Valwood Industrial Park.

Shawn Hall, market director of Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services in Dallas, represented Tri Pack, which had focused its search on Valwood to be close to its customers. The search began nearly one year ago, but it wasn’t until the past month that the right size space and heavy-power requirements became available – Champion Center at 1515 Champion Dr. in Carrollton.

“We had very few opportunities in Valwood in the size with the power component that we needed,” Hall says. “We had other options in the city, but not in Valwood and that’s where they wanted to be.”

Tri Pack’s new location is the result of the owner’s willingness to subdivide a vacant 79,746-sf warehouse that Hall discovered while scouting for heavy-power spaces.

“We approached them because they had the power in place,” Hall says. “The owner approved dividing the space after seeing the numbers worked.”

About 30 days after their initial contact, Tri Pack and Denver-based DCT Industrial Trust were signing a lease. Adam Hammack of CB Richard Ellis represented the landlord.

The majority of the space will be used for production and warehousing, with a small area reserved for an office. Tri Pack, founded in 1994 in Encino, manufactures plastic packaging, parts and containers.

“We’re all hoping they’re going to be in before the New Year,” Hall says.

Cosmic Jump Readying 20,280 SF In Allen For Texas Launch

ALLEN, Texas – Keying in on the city’s demographics, National Trampoline Entertainment Dallas I LLC has leased the 20,280-sf balance of Cornerstone Crossing to introduce Arizona-based trampoline park Cosmic Jump to Texans.

Two months of fast-paced talks secured the win for Susan Singer, senior vice president and managing partner of Dallas-based Bradford Commercial Real Estate Services, who represented the landlord of 1300 N. Central Expressway, Cornerstone Crossing TIC Investors. Steve Koldyke, senior associate of CB Richard Ellis, represented the tenant.

Cosmic Jump signed a five-year lease, jump-starting immediate work on the Cornerstone Crossing space, which traditionally has been used for sports- or fitness-related businesses. The new tenant’s goal is to open in December.

“Allen’s demographics are ideal for National Trampoline’s business and the Cornerstone Crossing building has excellent visibility from Central Expressway,” Singer says.

The 70,200-sf Cornerstone Crossing sits within clear sight of the freeway, tucked in the middle of several million square feet of retail space between the Exchange Parkway and Stacey Road exits. And, statistics show the 85,000-plus population base is made up of spenders, with 47% of annual gross sales emanating from retail trade, according to the Allen Economic Development Corp. Allen’s enviable statistics also include a 2.8% annual growth rate, one of the highest in the region, and a $109,240 per year average household income in 2010.

National Trampoline Entertainment is well-known for its flagship trampoline location in Chandler, AIRWORX, which features 27,000 sf of continuous trampoline area with a special play area for younger children. The family-oriented line-up of activities includes a football agility camp, group events, birthday parties and fund raisers. Cosmic Jump is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jumpz LLC and National Trampoline Entertainment Centers.