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.
Civic
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.
THORNTON, COLO. — Linda K. Gash Family Trust has sold a 19,200-square-foot building and additional land, located at 550 E. 124th Ave in Thornton, to Adams 12 Five-Star Schools for $2.21 million. Cassidy Turley Fuller Real Estate’s Esther Kettering and Chris Ball represented the seller in the transaction, and Kato Mitchell of Keller Williams represented the buyer.
BOSTON — The ribbon-cutting ceremony has been held for The Salvation Army Ray and Joan Croc Corps Community Center in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood. The $35 million project consisted of the construction of a 90,000-square-foot building. Features include three gyms, a swimming pool, a soccer field, a learning center, a library, an auditorium, a music room, a chapel and a recording studio. Chelsea, Mass.-based The Architectural Team designed the project.
DALLAS — Warrior Group, a Dallas/Fort Worth-based general contractor, will provide construction management services for renovations of the FretzPark Recreation Center, located at 6950 Beltline Rd. in Dallas. The project entails interior and exterior improvements to the existing 13,600-square-foot recreation center that serves the North Dallas community. The work will include mechanical and electrical system upgrades, lighting replacement, architectural finishes and site work. Construction is set to begin in May, with an estimated completion date of January 2012. GGO Architects, Dallas, is the architect of record, while Dallas-based Pegasus/URS is the program manager for the project.
FORT BEND COUNTY — A partnership was announced between the University of Houston System and Fort Worth-based video game developer and publisher TimeGate. The agreement includes equipment, facility hosting, training and mentoring for student interns. The university will purchase the motion capture equipment and TimeGate will provide space and commercial talent at its Sugar Land headquarters. This will give students the opportunity to learn real-world experience while still in school.
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. — The Korte Co. has broken ground for a $9.5 million exercise facility addition at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The St. Louis-based design-build construction firm will compose approximately 37,390 square feet of space for weight training (both free and machine), aerobic conditioning, Physical Fitness Test-specific exercises, floor aerobics, fencing and spin-cycling classes. Slated for completion in early 2012 and designed to achieve LEED Silver certification, the facility will utilize tilt-up concrete panels with a marble stone veneer to match the existing U.S. AFA building.
LAKE WORTH, FLA.; AND STUART, FLA. — Two transactions, valued at more than $2.3 million were handled by Peter Filomena of Palm Beach Gardens-based Reichel Realty & Investment on behalf of Gulfstream Goodwill Industries. First, located at 7810 S. Dixie Highway in Lake Worth, the 22,000-square-foot former Lighthouse for the Blind building was sold for $650,000 to SEACO III. Additionally, he represented the company in a $1.66 million, 10-year lease from landlord Aaron Rents for 12,800 square feet at 1101 S. US #1 in Stuart.
DALLAS — North Dallas High School and Sam Houston Elementary School, both in the Dallas Independent School District, will undergo renovation projects. North Dallas High School will replace an existing annex building with a new single-story addition that will house science classrooms. The project also involves replacement and upgrades to mechanical and electrical systems, updating existing restrooms and replacement of pneumatic controls on the second and third floors with direct digital controls (DDCs). Meanwhile, Sam Houston Elementary School will replace and upgrade lighting, mechanical and electrical systems, update existing restrooms and replace pneumatic controls with DDCs. Warrior Group, a Dallas-based general contractor, will provide construction management services for both schools. Construction is scheduled to begin in April, with a completion date set for April 2012.
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. — Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Red Apple Development, the development arm of Charter Schools USA, has purchased a 117,000-square-foot facility at 7510 Baymeadows Way in Jacksonville. Situated on an 18.8-acre campus, the property sold for $5.8 million. The buyer plans to renovate the property and open Duval Charter School at Bay Meadows, which will serve students kindergarten through 12th grade. K Dan Shalloway and Jim Morgan of Sperry Van Ness represented the buyer; Bruce Jackson of CB Richard Ellis represented the seller, Ashland Oil, in the transaction.