By LYNETTE HAALAND, Four Points News
The Quinlan Crossing retail center in Steiner Ranch was acquired by Houston-based Whitestone REIT for a total of $37.5 million, making it Whitestone’s fourth community centered property in Austin.
“Quinlan Crossing meets all of the key elements of our investment strategy and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be adding this premier property to our Austin portfolio,” said James Mastandrea, Whitestone chairman and CEO.
Whitestone (NYSE:WSR) initially entered Austin in late May with the purchase of Davenport Village and has since expanded its holdings in the Austin market to four properties.
Quinlan Crossing retail center was acquired by Whitestone REIT for $37.5 million.
Whitestone was attracted to Steiner Ranch’s “strong” demographics that include average household income of $117,000 and a median home value of $443,000. The company release stated that Steiner Ranch is one of Austin’s “most desirable communities” due to its amenities, exemplary schools and its close proximity to the lakes and to major employers.
Quinlan Crossing is anchored by a Randalls grocery store and includes Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt, Zack’s American Bistro, Steiner Eye Care, Quinlan Park Dental and Resolute Fitness. It serves over 4,000 households in the Steiner Ranch area.
“What attracted us to Quinlan Crossing is its complementary mix of national and local service-based tenants, which is at the heart of our ‘community centered property’ business model,” said Mastandrea. “It’s a highly visible, prime location within the desirable and affluent Steiner Ranch community and it has upside potential with a developable pad.”
There have been some changes at Quinlan Crossing this year including the closing of 4 Hip Chicks and the consolidation of Millie & Mox to Millie & Mox Schoolhouse.
Whitestone plans to implement its redevelopment and repositioning plans as part of its strategy, Mastandrea said.
He added that Quinlan Crossing, which is approximately 95 percent leased, is immediately accretive to earnings and has a secure and strong cash flow stream.
Quinlan Crossing highlights
- Immediately accretive to earnings with annual “in-place” net operating income of approximately $2.4 million,
- Class-A neighborhood community center, built in 2012, with a total of 109,892 square feet of leasable space plus a developable pad with all entitlements and utilities available for the site,
- Located in an established and desirable high-traffic area of Austin with over 25,000 residents who live in the three-mile trade ring, with strong demographic fundamentals,
- 95 percent leased,
- Low, near-term tenant rollover risk provides stability and a secure cash flow stream.
The acquisition of Quinlan Crossing was funded from Whitestone’s $500 million credit facility.
The Quinlan Crossing acquisition increases Whitestone’s Austin footprint to approximately 356,000-square- feet of leasable space in one the fastest growing in America, producing net operating income of over $8.4 million per year, according to the release.
Austin is currently ranked No. 1 in population growth, is ranked No. 1 as the “Next Big Boom Town in the U.S” by Forbes Magazine, was ranked as the “Best City of the Decade” by Kiplinger in 2010, has an unemployment rate of only 3.4 percent and has been dubbed “Silicon Hills” due to its proliferation of high-tech companies, according to the Whitestone release.
“Including our three San Antonio properties, which we manage out of our newly opened division office in Austin, we now have a total of 644,000 square feet in the two cities and are one step closer to meeting our objective of becoming a leading owner and operator in each of these markets,” Mastandrea said.
Whitestone expects to close on additional acquisitions from its deep pipeline of value-add and high-yield acquisition targets in high-growth, business-friendly markets, the release said.
Founded in 1998, Whitestone is a fully integrated real estate investment trust that owns, redevelops, repositions, leases, manages and operates what it calls “community centered properties”. The company focuses on value creation in its community centers, concentrating on local service-oriented tenants. Whitestone is internally managed with a portfolio of 68 commercial properties in Texas, Arizona and Illinois.