OAKLAND, CALIF. — The City of Oakland has agreed to sell its share of the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum complex to African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) for $105 million. Mayor Sheng Thao signed off on the city’s sale of the property, where the MLB’s Oakland Athletics currently play. Revenue from the sale to AASEG will be used to close part of the city’s budget deficit — $117 million this year and $175 million next year. Payments for the sale of Oakland’s 50 percent stake in the Coliseum site to AASEG will be made in installation over the next several years. AASEG is also in talks to purchase the portion of the Coliseum owned by the Athletics, which is still paying off the team’s 2019 purchase of Alameda County’s share of the site. The Athletics plan to finish the season at the Coliseum before moving to Sacramento for at least three seasons. The team’s long-term plan remains to build a stadium in Las Vegas.
NEW YORK CITY — The École, an independent French-American bilingual school, will open a 46,000-square-foot elementary and middle school at 123 E. 23rd St. in Midtown Manhattan. The school will occupy a portion of the ground floor and the entire second and third floors of the 12-story building and will also have its own entrance. Michael Berger of Colliers brokered the lease negotiations. Williams Equities owns the building. The school is expected to open in advance of the fall 2025 semester.
SAN DIEGO — GPI Cos., in partnership with the University of California, San Diego, has completed the development of 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive, an academic facility in at the corner of La Jolla Village and Villa La Jolla drives in San Diego. The nine-story, 114,000-square-foot building is directly across from the university and serves as a gateway to the main campus. The building includes academic, administrative and research space and will be a hub for students, faculty and patients, as well as the home for various programs offered by UC San Diego Health Sciences and UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies. Additionally, Bird Rock Coffee Roasters will occupy ground-floor retail space at the building. The project team included Gensler’s San Diego office as architect and Swinerton Builders as general contractor. JLL will manage the building.
CHICAGO — Brookfield Zoo Chicago has unveiled its “Next Century Plan” that will reshape more than 100 acres, representing nearly half of the zoo’s existing property. The zoo has outlined a 15-year campus plan in four phases, with further improvements projected over 30 years. Plans call for new, immersive experiences with the preservation of historical structures and includes nearly all existing zoo areas. The zoo also plans to expand its current property westward. The investment is expected to reach $500 million from public and private funding. The first phase of the project is underway and includes completed projects such as the $10 million renovation of the Seven Seas dolphin habitat, reimagining of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fountain, new animal habitats within the Hamill Family Nature Plaza and the opening of the Philip W. K. Sweet Jr. Animal Care and Conservation Center. Culminating the end of Phase I is Tropical Forests, a $66 million project underway that creates four new outdoor habitats crafted to emulate the natural homes of gorillas, orangutans and monkeys. Tropical Forests, set to open in 2025, also includes a new Gorilla Conservation Center. Architectural and planning teams for the project include Booth Hansen, Jones & Jones Architects …
AMARILLO, TEXAS — Adolfson & Peterson (AP) Construction has completed the Potter County District Courts Building, a 158,250-square-foot civic project in Amarillo. Designed by HOK Group Inc., the new building houses courtrooms, a jury assembly area and county offices, as well as courtroom in-custody holding and records storage spaces. Additional security enhancements include a separate sheriff’s access area with a vehicle sally port, as well as separate access points for judges and other elected officials. Construction began in March 2021.
EL PASO, TEXAS — The El Paso City Council has approved a proposal to develop an $80 million concert venue and has formed a public-private partnership with the operator, Colorado-based hospitality firm Venu (formerly known as Notes Live). The site spans 17 acres of city-owned land and will anchor the Cohen Entertainment District on the city’s northeast side. The venue will be known as Sunset Amphitheater and will have a seating capacity of 12,500. The City of El Paso is providing $30.6 million in performance-based incentives under the terms of the partnership deal. Construction is set to begin this fall and to be complete in 2026. Venu is also planning to open a $220 million concert venue in the northern Dallas suburb of McKinney.
ST. PAUL, MINN. — Kraus-Anderson has begun an extensive renovation project for St. Paul Public Schools at Hidden River Middle School and Wilson School, which will serve as a temporary location for the school community while Hidden River is remodeled. The combined construction cost of both projects is $40.2 million. Designed by DLR Group, the 98,491-square-foot project will feature a full interior remodel for Hidden River, including new mechanical and electrical systems. A 3,600-square-foot addition will create a new main entrance at the northeast corner of the building, and a 7,200-square-foot addition will expand the kitchen, loading dock and mechanical room. Completion is slated for fall 2025.
HOUSTON — General contractor Tellepsen Construction is underway on the Center for Biotechnology, a 17,450-square-foot academic project on the campus of San Jacinto College in Houston. Designed by Pfluger Architects, the facility is a laboratory suite with an entry lobby fitted with lockers, a breakroom and workroom for students and staff. Completion is slated for May 2025.
LAKEWOOD, COLO. — Colorado Christian University (CCU) is nearly the completion of $170 million of new facility construction at the Lakewood campus, just west of Denver. The facilities include Leprino Hall, an academic building; Yetter and Rockmont Halls, apartment-style residence halls; Anschutz Student Center; and the soon-to-be-completed Armstrong Center. The 60,000-square-foot Armstrong Center will enable the school of music to return to CCU’s main campus, expand the library, offer a 500-seat performance theater and provide the university with its first dedicated chapel. Additionally, CCU is investing $45 million for a new science and engineering building and athletic facilities.
ATLANTA — The board of directors of Atlanta BeltLine Inc. and Invest Atlanta have approved the Atlanta BeltLine budget for the 2025 fiscal year. Totaling $172 million and marking a 12 percent increase over the 2024 budget, the funding will be directed toward the goal set in 2005 of developing 5,600 units of affordable housing by 2030, as well as acquiring land for the completion of trail construction on the planned 22-mile corridor by the end of 2030. Funding sources for the budget include $69 million from the tax-allocation district (TAD); $49 million from donations; $32 million from the BeltLine special service district (SSD); and $20 million from federal grants. “This is a historic and exciting time for Atlanta BeltLine as we get closer to completing the trail while meeting important goals,” says Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine Inc. “Supported by our new budget, we will exceed our goals for affordable housing, accelerate the pace for trail work and invest in more economic opportunities for all.” The new funding will help The BeltLine to develop more affordable housing than originally set out by the 2005 BeltLine Redevelopment Plan, which is notable since development costs have risen significantly …