Western Rim Property Services - Press Releases

Site Work Ready to Start for $50M-Plus Project

2008-01-16T12:00:00.000-08:00

By Connie Gore, Globest.com

PROSPER, TX - In the coming weeks, Western Rim Investments will start prepping a 41-acre site for 620 units in side-by-side complexes of its highest end brands. The projects will be the first multifamily units to rise in decades in the suburb.

The North Texas-based developer is planning a 50-50 split of its Mansions and Estates brands. If local projections are accurate, the all-in cost will easily top $50 million, including the developer's pledge to complete the extension of Richland Boulevard toward Preston Road. The move opens the door for other commercial landowners of an emerging pocket, in which schools, retail and now multifamily product will rise in the coming year within 1.5 miles of the Dallas North Tollway.

Glenn Garoon, vice president of acquisitions for Western Rim, says the land was acquired in three transactions with Mooreland Development Co. of Dallas. The latest deal rolled the deed to 21 acres. "Our goal is to break ground as soon as possible," he tells GlobeSt.com. "We aren't land bankers." Bricks-and-mortar construction could be under way in 90 to 120 days.

Prosper officials are intent on adding multifamily stock to its housing inventory because starting home prices, upward of $300,000, have stymied growth and kept the population at 6,200 whereas neighbors are growing in leaps and bounds. "Nice high-end apartment projects coming to the town will attract people we'd like to have in the community, but who might not be able to afford the prices of homes," says Dan Tolleson, executive director for the Town of Prosper.

Garoon says it's the demographics that led Western Rim to buy in the region's far outer perimeter. In addition to high income levels, the 41-acre site has an elementary school on one side and a middle school planned for the other side. "That's perfect," he points out.

Town leaders have zoned several tracts for multifamily development, enough for 3,500 units. Right now, there is only one 28-unit complex, built about 30 years ago, inside the city limits.

Kara Porter and Mark Pierce, directors of land services for Capstone Commercial in Dallas, brokered the trio of deals between Mooreland and Western Rim. The developer put the site under contract in May 2007. "They wanted to be the front runners on this end," Porter says.

Western Rim is fine-tuning the design so a rendering isn't available. But the Mansions of Prosper will hold true to its brand, a two-story townhouse-style development with units from 1,292 sf to 2,631 sf and attached garages for each, much like the Mansions of Stonebridge in McKinney. Estates' projects are laid out with three-story buildings, with units of roughly 430 sf to 1,400 sf. And the difference, aside from size, is the Mansions line is considered to be a triple A while the Estates is a more traditional class A.

http://www.globest.com/news/1075_1075/dallas/167538-1.html

Renovations at Villas of Sorrento, Lakes of Williamsberg

2007-12-12T12:00:00.000-08:00

Lakes of Williamsberg, located in Grapevine, Texas, was constructed in 1996. The community contains 224 one-, two- and three-bedroom units which are 60% LIHTC rent restricted. Project amenities include a swimming pool, clubhouse, basketball court, soccer field, children’s play areas, exercise room, coin laundry and is in close proximity to a public bus stop. Capital improvements for this project will run approximately $2,500 per unit.

Villas of Sorrento, located in Dallas, Texas, was also constructed in 1996. The community contains 220 one-, two- and three-bedroom units. The property is 100% LIHTC with 66-units restricted at 50% of AMI and 154-units restricted at 60% of AMI. Amenities include a swimming pool, clubhouse, basketball court, soccer field, children’s play areas, exercise room, coin laundry and an extensive after school program run by a not-for-profit organization.

Red Mortgage Capital, Inc. provided a $7,500,000 Fannie Mae DUS Choice Refinance loan at 5-years interest only for Lakes of Williamsberg and a $4,625,000 Fannie Mae DUS Choice Refinance loan at a 9-year term with 5-years interest-only for Villas of Sorrento. The properties received 10- and 12-month early rate locks, respectively, that reduced mortgage costs by several percent, allowing significant cash proceeds to fund the property renovations, restoring them to new condition.

Western Rim Property Services and its affiliate, Mansions Custom Homes, currently own and manage over 7,500 apartment homes in Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Houston and Tyler, Texas. The goal of Marcus Hiles, the founder and principal owner, is to develop "dream" communities in which everyone would love to live. Each community is designed to be "The Best Place in the City" and for each potential resident to receive the most value for their money.

Kenneth H. Bowen, Senior Managing Director of Red Mortgage Capital, Inc., said, "These excellent properties developed in the mid-1990s with 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits were free from yield maintenance on their old loans and had performed so well that they were eligible for the best refinance terms due to low leverage and high debt coverage ratio."

http://www.redcapitalgroup.com/News/2007/071025.htm

'Mansion' apartments head further northward

2007-11-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Coppell developer plans high-end rentals for town of Prosper

Dallas Business Journal - by Bill Hethcock Staff Writer

A Coppell-based developer has bought land in Prosper and plans to build more than 600 luxury apartments in one of the first multifamily projects for the town in years.

Western Rim Property Services has closed on 20 acres northwest of U.S. 380 and Coit Road, and plans to build more than 300 of its high-end "Mansions" brand apartments on the land, said Glenn Garoon, vice president of acquisitions for Western Rim. The developer has a contract on an adjacent 20 acres and plans about 300 more apartments on it, Garoon said.

"We think it will be a nice addition to that market," he said. "Hopefully we'll start turning dirt after the first of the year."

The seller of both parcels is Dallas-based Mooreland Development Co. The parties would not disclose a sale price.

Mooreland owns 63 acres, including 41 zoned multifamily, so zoning changes were not required, Garoon said.

Strong demographics, including median household incomes topping $100,000, attracted Western Rim to Prosper, Garoon said. The average Western Rim apartment tenant has an income exceeding $100,000, which is almost twice that of the company's typical competitors such as JPI and Fairfield Residential, he said.

The extension of the Dallas North Tollway and Prosper's highly regarded schools also factored into the decision to build there, Garoon said.

"This is just a logical progression of North Dallas from Frisco, which quite frankly has become difficult to find multifamily (land) in," he said. "You have really high barriers to entry in some of the other (Dallas-suburb) cities. That's why things keep spreading out."

The Mansions brand has large units, large clubhouses and lots of amenities, so the rentals attract people who can afford to buy single-family homes but choose to rent, Garoon said. Units range from 1,100 square feet to 2,600 square feet. Garoon declined to say how much the Prosper apartments will cost to build or how much they will rent for.

The Mansions will be the first apartments to break ground in Prosper in more than 10 years, said Dan Tolleson, director of the city's Economic Development Council. No economic incentives were involved in the deal, he said.

http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2007/11/12/story9.html

Cascades' Future Includes Condos, Marina

2007-10-28T12:00:00.000-07:00

By GREG JUNEK
Business Editor

While Tyler enjoys a renewed rush of building activity pushing farther down the South Broadway Avenue corridor, the west side of town, too, has quietly been growing, with upscale condominiums, homes, new clubhouse construction, townhomes and beautification in natural settings.

Lew Anderton, an owner of The Cascades development, a private community and golf course on the southern and western sides of Lake Bellwood, said building is on a fast track, with high demand.

"We just had the best year we've ever had - bar none," he said.

And a majority of the customers have been local, Anderton said, leading him to believe well-to-do Tylerites have wanted this type of community for some time.

A few years ago when Anderton started developing the community, he described a plan for high-end, multi-million dollar homes, condominiums, a new golf course, nature trails and flora and fauna protection along with man-made touches to enhance the aesthetics. Now, he said, naysayers should take note that these things are coming to pass.

Anderton and Bill Cawley purchased the former Briarwood Golf Course in 2002 and opened The Cascades in 2003.

Four years later, investment in residential structures - speculative and custom - the new clubhouse and some other amenities has totaled about $320.8 million, Anderton said.

CONDOS

Perhaps the most noticeable projects immediately seen when entering The Cascades, aside from the construction of the new clubhouse, are a series of condominium buildings - Cascades Lake Towers - at the edge of Lake Bellwood.

Steve Braley, Cascades president, said the first phase of condominiums will consist of two on the lake and one on the golf course.

Construction began on the condos in November 2006. The first building is scheduled for a January 2008 completion, with the remaining two of the first phase completed in March and May.

"Each building is four stories, with an underground parking garage," Braley said.

Each unit will be allotted two parking spaces in the garage, and owners can either use the stairs or take an elevator up to their floors.

Each building will have four floors, with seven units on each floor. They will include three three-bedroom units, three four-bedroom units and one two-bedroom unit.

Unit size begins at about 1,500 square feet for the two-bedroom unit, which starts in the high $160,000 range, Anderton said.

They top out at about 4,000 square feet with 4 1/2-baths, for about $795,000

Jared Mathews, sales director, said no matter the size of the townhomes, they will share many of the same upscale amenities.

"They all have a high-end finish-out, with granite, stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors and 10- and 12-foot ceilings," Mathews said.

In future condo development, an 18,000-square-foot penthouse unit will be offered, for about $3.5 million. Anderton said this will be the highest-end condo available, with a 12-car, private garage, a private elevator and a dining room capable of seating 55 people.

COTTAGES/MARINA
In addition to the condos by the lake, the addition is working on 15 lakefront cottages, scheduled for a fall 2008 completion. It will also build a marina and lake club.

Residents in the condos or cottages will not have far to walk to get to a restaurant, Braley said. The 90,000-square-foot clubhouse on the hill nearby, and under construction in front of the old clubhouse that served Briarwood Golf Course and now serves as The Cascades offices, will have a restaurant.

The lake club will have a less formal eatery of indoor or outdoor dining and serving salads, sandwiches, coffee and wine. It will also have locker rooms.

The swimming pool is anticipated for completion in the spring and the marina in the summer.

TOWNHOMES
Elsewhere in the development, crews are constructing The Mansions Luxury Townhomes, which will be leased.

When completed within a year, The Mansions will have 320 units. Some are completed and occupied, Anderton said.

Nearby, a European spa is scheduled for a February 2008 opening. Anderton said its amenities will include a health food bar, a coffee bar and a hair salon.

HOMES

Now, 25 homes are occupied, and 25 are scheduled to start construction in the next 60 days, Anderton said. All of the homes to be constructed are in the "million dollar-plus range," he said.

Braley said the development is planning to again have The Cascades Azalea Home Tour during the 2008 Azalea and Spring Flower Trail. About 12 homes will be showcased, and the event will include a luxury car show.

Proceeds will benefit the East Texas Crisis Center and the Tyler Museum of Art.

OTHER AMENITIES

For golfers, a short gain practice complex will open in the spring, Braley said. The complex will be an area for golfers to practice shots of 50 yards or less.

It will have its own putting green and another green for chipping and sand trap practice. It will also have a series of target greens in 10-yard increments for golfers to practice their four-wedge package.

Anderton said another area of the development will have two water features, each consisting of a series of ponds with man-made waterfall connecting them. Water will be recirculated from the lower ponds to the upper ponds for a continuous flow.

The newest area of development, south of the townhomes and north of Spur 364, will be The Mansions Seniors, an age-restricted senior living area, Anderton said. Although no structures have been built, it is scheduled to have 62 homes starting at $180,000. It will also have a seniors' activity center.

And the development is continuing to work to identify and protect the plant and wildlife within its borders, he said. A hiking trail system has been established.