First Hartford Pledges 5.7-Acre Willis Retail Site for a Loan

Willis Retail Associates LLC and First Hartford Realty Corporation, the publicly traded retail developer based in Manchester, Connecticut, pledged a 5.668-acre tract in the Moran Ranch Commercial reserves in Willis as loan collateral, Montgomery County Clerk records show. The deed of trust, dated Oct. 19 and recorded Oct. 22, runs to lender BCL CRE 3 LLC. For a Willis builder or broker, it is the first recorded sign of a national retail developer on this parcel.

Why it matters

First Hartford Realty Corp (OTC: FHRT) builds and leases retail centers nationally, with a track record anchoring supermarkets and pharmacy chains and a recent Texas project in Edinburg. Its name alongside a Willis-specific entity on this collateral ties the company to the Moran Ranch Commercial reserves, the commercial portion of the Moran Ranch development in Willis on the I-45 corridor. The deed does not identify a tenant or state whether the money funds new construction, acquisition or refinancing, so none of that is reported here.

The numbers

The promissory note referenced in the deed of trust reads $11,751,010 in our OCR read of the filing, not yet confirmed against a clean copy. It is secured by the 5.668-acre Reserve B parcel, legally described as part of the Moran Ranch Commercial Section 1 reserves. Willis Retail Associates LLC and First Hartford Realty Corporation are named as co-grantors; Jay A. Lajone, trustee, and BCL CRE 3 LLC are the grantees. The filing runs 22 pages under Montgomery County instrument number 2026112243.

What’s next

No building permit or tenant announcement has surfaced for the parcel yet. The deed itself is the only public record of the financing so far, and any construction activity on the Reserve B tract would be the next verifiable marker. For other developer moves across the Houston market, including a new industrial shell in northwest Houston, see our ongoing coverage.