TEMPE, ARIZ. — Construction had commenced for a new design studio for students of Arizona State University's engineering program. The eSpace Studio will consist of two main rooms containing interactive design areas, projection screens, whiteboards and writable glass walls, modular elements and display cases. It abuts the first completed eSpace facility at the school, the High Performance Computing Lab. Completion is expected in the fall. Cannon Design is the project architect.
NEW YORK CITY — MDSzerbaty Associates Architecture (MSDA) has been selected to design the conversion of part of the former New York Foundling Hospitall in Manhattan into a public elementary school. PS340 will occupy 95,000 square feet on the lower six floors of the 14-story building, which is located at the corner of Avenue of the Americas and 17th Street. The new school will feature 21 classrooms, a cafeteria and dance studio, a second-floor rooftop playground, a two-story lobby and two-story spaces throughout the building. The construction timetable was not released.
HOUSTON — Cadence McShane Construction Co. has completed the 89,383-square-foot Robert Lee Frost Elementary School on behalf of the Houston Independent School District (ISD). The $12 million facility is situated on 11 acres at 5002 Almeda Genoa Rd. in Houston. It offers 40 classrooms, two science laboratories and a library. The building was constructed to meet LEED standards. The new facility serves as a replacement school for the existing 60,753-square-foot, 47-year-old Robert Lee Frost Elementary School at 5650 Selinsky Rd. in Houston. RDC Architects provided the architectural services for this school construction assignment.
DELRAN, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 10,440-square-foot commercial property located in Delran. The building was constructed in 2008 as a build-to-suit for Kiddie Academy, which occupies it under a long-term, triple-net lease. Ben Sgambati and Alan Cafiero of Marcus & Millichap's New Jersey office represented the seller, a Midwest developer. Michael Lombardi, also of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer, a local private investor.
SAN ANTONIO — A buyer of 124 acres of land surrounding a Flying J trucking center on the east side of San Antonio has plans to develop a road connecting Foster Road and Interstate 10 for traffic circulation around the Flying J. Jamie Sullivan of Sullivan Commercial Realty represented the unlisted buyer, while Kit Corbin of Grubb & Ellis Co. represented the seller, Louidar LLC. The increased traffic circulation is expected to add value to the smaller parcels of land that will front the new road.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — The Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) has sold portions of its Cambridge campus. Lesley University acquired seven buildings from EDS including residence halls and the dining facility. In addition, the two schools will share ownership of Sherrill Hall, which will be used for collaborative library services. Bill McCall and Sandy Tierney of Boston-based McCall & Almy represented EDS in the transaction. McCall & Almy also represented EDS in the subsequent sale of two additional campus buildings to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
GREEN VALLEY, ARIZ. — Grubb & Ellis has represented the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Latter-day Saints in its $1.3 million purchase of 5.4 acres of land at the northwest corner of Desert Bell and La Canada in Green Valley. The parcel will be used for a church, the construction of which will commence later this year. Grubb & Ellis’ Jeff Utsch represented the buyer in the transaction, and the seller, WLC Green Valley Ltd. Partnership, represented itself.
HOUSTON — Cadence McShane Construction Co. will build the 82,000-square-foot Atherton Elementary School on behalf of the Houston Independent School District (ISD). The two-story school will replace an 49,110-square-foot facility that was constructed in 1957. Located at 2011 Solo in Houston, the project will break ground in May with a completion date set for July 2012. The new facility will accommodate more than 500 students from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. It will include 30 classrooms, two science labs, a library, a full-service cafeteria, a practice gymnasium, administrative areas, a music and choir room, an art instructional space and performing arts area.
FORNEY — Phase I of Forney Parkway, a regional transportation project, has broken ground near Reeder Road and Reeder Lane, just north of U.S. Highway 80 at the CR 212 exit, in Forney. A public-private partnership between the City of Forney and owners of Meadow Ridge Farm, the adjacent property, has facilitated the roadway project. A completion date is set for 2012, with resulting development to begin in the spring of 2013. Phase I of construction includes a two-lane road, which is expandable to four lanes, connecting Reeder Road to U.S. Highway 80 at the future Forney bridge, which will serve as the entrance to the Village at Meadow Ridge Farms, a retail destination. The entire Forney Parkway project will encompass a 2.2 mile-, multi-lane thoroughfare connecting FM 548 to the north to FM 1641 to the south, spanning U.S. Highway 80 and adjacent to the Union Pacific rail line.
NEW YORK CITY — The Fire Department of New York has broken ground for the construction of the Greenpoint Emerggency Medical Service Station in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood. The two-story, 12,400-sqare-foot facility will include garage space for four vehicles, equipment storage space, offices, locker rooms, a fitness facility, a training room, and a 700-square-foot kitchen and lounge area. The building, which was designed by Michielli + Wyetzner Architects, will feature a skylight running the length of the building as well as a double-height, glass-enclosed entry. The opening is slated for June 2012.
