AUSTIN, TEXAS — Barings and B&Z Development LLC plan to break ground on 701 Rio in west downtown Austin next Wednesday, Jan. 8. Situated in the Original Austin Neighborhood at Rio Grande and 7th streets, 701 Rio will span 120,983 square feet of office space across five floors. JLL is leasing the property on behalf of the ownership group. The design team includes architect BGK and Colorado-based general contractor Hensel Phelps. Barings, a subsidiary of MassMutual, is a $335 billion global asset management firm.
DALLAS — Metropolitan Capital Advisors (MCA) has arranged two loans to finance RedBird Development Group’s redevelopment of RedBird Mall, an enclosed regional mall in southwest Dallas formerly known as Southwest Center Mall. MCA arranged a $7.1 million acquisition loan through Dallas-based Graham Mortgage for the mall’s former Sears department store. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UT Southwestern) has agreed to lease the entire 150,000-square-foot wing of the mall. The new RedBird Medical Center is slated to open in 2021. MCA also arranged a $12.7 million construction loan to finance the redevelopment of the former Dillard’s department store that will be occupied by medical office and job training users including Parkland Hospital, Work Ready U and Work Force Solutions. Origin Bank provided the construction loan. The Growth South Fund, a private equity fund that targets south Dallas, also provided financing for RedBird’s Mall redevelopment. RedBird Development Group is an entity headed by Peter Brodsky, Terrence Maiden and Jon Cochran. The new RedBird Mall will feature 300,000 square feet of office space, 400,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, apartments and a Courtyard by Marriott. Palladium USA is building the multifamily component, according to The Dallas Morning News.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Dalfen Industrial has acquired a 243-acre undeveloped parcel in Orlando, where the company plans to build a 2.8 million-square-foot speculative industrial project. The Class A asset will be situated along State Road 417 near the interchange with Lee Vista Boulevard and Orlando International Airport. Dalfen plans to construct multiple facilities on the site, ranging from 100,000 to 1.5 million square feet. Total construction could exceed 3 million square feet when all phases are complete, according to the developer. The first building is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2021. The seller and price of the vacant property were undisclosed. “With this project, Dalfen Industrial is satisfying a strong need in Orlando, as there are a limited number of development projects in our market geared toward bulk users,” says Jared Bonshire of Cushman & Wakefield, who represented Dalfen in the land sale transaction. “While there are projects of this scale along the I-4 Corridor in Davenport, Apopka and Lakeland, this development is the first of its kind for Orlando.” Dalfen Industrial is a Dallas-based buyer of industrial real estate, primarily focused on strategically located urban infill warehouses and distribution buildings. The developer recently acquired a 1.9 …
NEW YORK CITY — JLL has brokered the $150 million sale of River Street Assemblage, a 3.2-acre waterfront development site in the North Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, to Two Trees Management Co. LLC. Located at One River Street, the property includes 285,020 square feet of buildable space and is zoned M3-1 for a variety of retail, office, manufacturing and mixed-use projects. The site also includes a portion of water, piers and platforms along the East River and River Street. Brendan Maddigan and Stephen Palmese led a JLL team that represented the seller, Con Edison, in the transaction.
EWING, N.J. — Portuguese-inspired barbecue concept Pork Chop’s BBQ has opened a 2,700-square-foot restaurant at Capitol Plaza, a 355,000-square-foot retail center in Ewing, a northern suburb of Trenton. The restaurant will serve barbecue meats and seafood as well as a variety of sides and will also offer catering services. Capitol Plaza’s office segment, 1001 Spruce Office Center, anchors the retail center with hundreds of employees and visitors. Other tenants include Planet Fitness, Foot Locker, Marshalls and numerous retail and dining options. Levin Management Corp. handles leasing and management of the retail center.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Senior Resource Group (SRG) has opened Maravilla at The Domain, the company’s first community in Texas. The project is located in the heart of the residential area of The Domain, a high-density mixed-use development in the North Burnet neighborhood of Austin. The seniors housing community comprises an 11-story south tower, six-story central tower and seven-story north tower, with subterranean parking, courtyards and a swimming pool. The 370,000-square-foot development offers 144 independent living, 54 assisted living and 34 memory care units. Residents have begun moving into Maravilla’s independent living apartments located in the central and south towers, and will start moving into the assisted living and memory care residences in the north tower this month.
LYNN, MASS. — Callahan Construction Managers has broken ground on Breakwater, a 331-unit apartment complex in Lynn, a northern suburb of Boston. A joint venture of The Dolben Co. and Minco Corp. is developing the two-building waterfront apartment complex on the site of the former Beacon-Bel Chevrolet lot, which had stood vacant for 35 years. Amenities will include a fitness center, game room, pet wash, outdoor firepit and direct access to the waterfront. HDS Architecture is designing the complex.
DELTONA, FLA. — Amazon has unveiled plans for a new fulfillment center in Deltona, a city situated nearly 30 miles northeast of Orlando. Atlanta-based Seefried Industrial Properties will develop the more than 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center near Interstate 4, where large items will be picked packaged and shipped. Items will include sports equipment, patio furniture, pet food and large household goods. Amazon is expected to create more than 500 new jobs in Deltona. A timeline for construction of the Deltona facility was not disclosed. Currently, Amazon operates facilities in and around Orlando, Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville.
ALEXANDRIA, VA. — Washington, D.C.-based developer and investment manager PRP is converting its 12-story, 209,000-square-foot office building at 4900 Seminary Road in Alexandria into apartments. PRP is financing the $81 million project using equity raised through Crowdstreet, a crowdfunded real estate investing platform, as well as $53 million loan from Pacific West Bank. The $27 million in crowdfunded equity was raised through 450 investors and represents the largest individual commercial real estate project equity raised online to date, according to Crowdstreet. The office building at 4900 Seminary Road is adjacent to Mark Center and Interstate 95 and is less than 10 miles from the Pentagon, Amazon’s future HQ2 site and downtown Washington, D.C. Located within an Opportunity Zone, PRP is planning the project to hold 213 apartments, featuring studios and one- and two-bedroom layouts. The planned building will feature a package room, lounge, library, screening room, firepits and a deck. Construction on the office-to-residential conversion is scheduled to begin in March, with initial occupancy expected in the fourth quarter of 2021.
COLUMBIA, MD. — Costello Construction has entered the construction phase of the $25 million Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel renovation and redevelopment project. The 290-room hotel is located on the shores of Lake Kittamaqundi in downtown Columbia. Locally based Costello Construction has owned the property since December 2017. The renovation plans include a complete exterior improvement, two new structural additions to add 76 guest rooms, remodeling of all tower rooms and the addition of terraces to lakefront units. Once complete, the hotel will comprise 212 modern guest rooms and join Marriott’s Autograph Collection. The hotel will feature rooftop pool, restaurant, café, fitness center, rooftop bar and lounge and more than 10,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor event space. Costello Construction will self-perform the site work and concrete work on the project.