HOUSTON, Dec. 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Whitestone REIT (NYSE: WSR) continues to grow occupancy by drawing expanding businesses to its properties located in the high growth markets of Frisco, TX and other surrounding areas of Dallas.
Continuing its resiliency despite the pandemic, Whitestone is pleased to announce local realtors Re/Max DFW Associates and United Real Estate Dallas are opening at The Shops of Starwood to expand their businesses and capture additional market share from the national trend of businesses and consumers fleeing high tax, high regulatory cities for the business-friendlier confines of Dallas and its surrounding communities. These additions increase occupancy at the center to 100%, and will contribute 16% additional NOI in 2021.
According to Bisnow, recent corporate moves to the DFW area are:
PGA
McKesson
Charles Schwab
Uber
Core-Mark
Whitestone owns properties in proximity to all of these locations.
A November 30th article by Cushman & Wakefield, "Corporate Migration to Texas" ranked the Dallas/Ft Worth area first for corporate migration, citing factors like Favorable Tax Environment, Affordable Housing and Quality of Education, Accessibility, and Real Estate as major reasons why corporations are moving to this high growth city. With a growth rate of over 71% over the last 10 years according to the Dallas Morning News, local realtors have taken notice and are adjusting accordingly.
Whitestone’s The Shops at Starwood is surrounded by luxury living and a robust daytime workforce. Located in thriving Frisco, which was voted The #1 Best Place to Live in America by Money Magazine in September of 2018, The Shops of Starwood is in a desirable neighborhood where the average household income is over $178,000 and home values are in excess of $600,000. The Shops at Starwood provides a unique mix of convenience and elegance and is home to a variety of award-winning restaurants, including TruFire, Kotta Sushi, J. Theodore’s, Bottled in Bond and Tupy’s.
Whitestone Chairman and CEO Jim Mastandrea commented, “With these corporate moves, the value of Whitestone’s real estate continues to increase as additional foot traffic is driving leasing, and leasing is driving revenues. According to research done with Placer.ai, the traffic at Starwood has rebounded to approximately 90% of pre-COVID levels, lending to the robustness and the resiliency of our markets.”
RE/MAX DFW Associates is moving into a larger office at the higher profile property of The Shops at Starwood to be their base of operations. Owners Mark & Kay Wolfe will be employing approximately 125 agents based at The Shops at Starwood office and will focus on the surrounding Collin County market.
United Real Estate Dallas is also expanding by opening its second office in the metroplex. They presently boast over 500 agents in the metroplex and opening a second location in Frisco will expedite their North Dallas growth strategy.
About Whitestone REIT
Whitestone is a community-centered shopping center REIT that acquires, owns, manages, develops and redevelops high-quality neighborhood centers primarily in the largest, fastest-growing and most affluent markets in the Sunbelt.
Whitestone seeks to create Communities That Thrive through Creating Local Connections between consumers in the surrounding communities and a well-crafted mix of national, regional and local tenants that provide daily necessities, needed services, entertainment and experiences.
Whitestone is a monthly dividend paying stock and has consistently paid dividends for over 15 years.
Whitestone’s strong balanced and managed capital structure provides stability and flexibility for growth and positions Whitestone to perform well through economic cycles. For additional information, please visit www.whitestonereit.com
About RE/MAX DFW Associates
RE/MAX DFW Associates is the largest RE/MAX Company not only in the Texas real estate market but throughout the entire Southwestern United States RE/MAX DFW Realtors have been guiding home buyers and home sellers through the real estate process for over 30 years Our offices are located "deep in the heart of Texas" in the Dallas, Flower Mound, Coppell, Las Colinas, Carrollton, Plano and Frisco real estate markets.
About United Real Estate Dallas
United Real Estate Dallas is part of the largest fully integrated network of real estate and auction professionals in the nation. The company has been an innovator in real estate marketing since 1925. Our Management team knows the needs of agents in urban and metropolitan markets. We address those needs by providing powerful marketing programs along with technology-based services that are unique to the industry. For additional information, please visit www.unitedrealestatedallas.com
About Placer.ai
Silicon Valley-based Placer.ai is the most advanced foot traffic analytics platform allowing anyone with a stake in the physical world to instantly generate insights into any property for a deeper understanding of the factors that drive success. Placer.ai is the first platform that fully empowers professionals in retail, commercial real estate, hospitality, economic development and more to truly understand and maximize their offline activities. Find more information here: https://placer.ai/
Investors Contact:
Kevin Reed, Director of Investor Relations
Whitestone REIT
(713) 435-2219
ir@whitestonereit.com