DALLAS, June 4, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- American Realty Investors, Inc. (NYSE:ARL) announced Tuesday that the company recently obtained a $12.5 million loan from Vestin Mortgage to complete construction of the 226,911-sq. ft. Four Hickory Centre office tower in North Dallas. Completion is expected in late 2002.
Four Hickory Centre, with its eight stories, plus loft, will be the largest property to date in the Hickory office building series located in Mercer Crossing, a 1,000-acre, mixed-use project developed by American Realty Investors and its affiliates. Four Hickory Centre is located at 12821 Mercer Crossing Blvd.
In contrast to the first two Hickory office buildings, Four Hickory Centre will be topped with gray slate roof tiles to complement a facade of modular red face brick. A buff masonry veneer finish will cover the first two stories and the entire structure will feature panels of gray tinted, reflective "crystal ice" glass. Inside, visitors can walk through a beautifully appointed lobby and common areas to step into the 10-ft. tall custom cabs of the high-speed elevators. Large, open floor plates of up to 28,000-sq. ft. will offer tenants maximum planning flexibility. A separate 700-car parking garage is underway connected to the rear of the building via a semi-circular, glass-covered walkway.
The office, restaurant and retail center sit diagonally across a 5.5-acre lot, facing southeast towards the intersection of Mercer Crossing Boulevard and the nearly completed Lakeway Boulevard, the first two avenues to provide access to the interior of the main Mercer Crossing land mass situated north of I-635. (Some 111 acres extends south of I-635.) For leasing information on Four Hickory or other Mercer Crossing properties, contact J. Dale Ray, II of Capstar at (972) 692-1759, or go to www.regisinc.com.
Until this year, Mercer Crossing Blvd. was the only interior street connecting the main development to I-35E, I-635 and SH-161 by way of Valley View Lane and Luna Road. Now, the north-south gateway extends to intersect with Lakeway Blvd., a 4,600-ft. road project originating from Luna Road, immediately north of I-635, and ending at Senlac Drive. Bisecting the development east to west, the nearly completed four-lane roadway will provide an important second artery into the interior of Mercer Crossing. In addition to vehicular traffic, the Mercer Crossing roadways are conduits for voice and data traveling along fiber optic cable strung through special ducts that run alongside the broad avenues. The fiber optic cable can provide the latest high-speed voice and data service from any or all available providers. Extensive landscaping will cover the road's broad center median, which allows for future expansion of the roadway beyond the current four lanes.
Two additional Mercer Crossing roadways are in the design stage.
One Hickory Centre, headquarters for American Realty Investors, and Two Hickory Centre were completed in 1999 and 2000. One and Two Hickory, four stories each with 102,615 sq. ft. and 96,127 sq. ft., respectively, are widely recognized by their distinctive green steel roofs, highly visible from the three major freeways that encompass Mercer Crossing -- I-635, I-35 and SH-161 (and its extension to SH-190 now under construction).
Other proposed structures in the Mercer Crossing master plan include the 100,000+ sq. ft. Three Hickory Centre and 200,000+ sq. ft. Five Hickory Centre office buildings, as well as a number of luxury apartment homes, retail space and hotels. The smaller office building is slated for the land parcel along Valley View Lane next to Two Hickory Centre. The larger tower is planned to face back towards Four Hickory Centre from the opposing corner at the intersection of Mercer Crossing Boulevard and Lakeway Boulevard.
Also under design is a system of small lakes, waterways and trails that will offer beauty and green space as visual corridors for the tens of thousands of people who will work, live or visit Mercer Crossing. The mixed-use trails are to provide pedestrian access throughout the development and are proposed to reach out to connect with other cities' trail systems as the conduit to establishing a regional trail system.
American Realty Investors is a real estate investment company that holds a diverse portfolio of equity real estate located across the U.S., including office buildings, apartments, hotels, shopping centers and developed and undeveloped land. For more information on American Realty Investors, go to the company's web site at www.amrealtytrust.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT
This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, such as "proposed," "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," or "continue" or the use of the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. In particular, any statement expressed or implied, concerning future events is a forward-looking statement. There can be no assurance that any expectation expressed or implied herein will prove to be correct, or that any contemplated event or result will occur as anticipated.