COLUMBUS, OHIO — Casto is underway on construction of the first retail phase of Hamilton Quarter in Columbus. This phase includes a 250,000-square-foot shopping center anchored by Target and Hobby Lobby. Both the 125,000-square-foot Target and the 55,000-square-foot Hobby Lobby are slated to open in October. Other planned tenants include Five Below, Aqua Tots Swim School, Beerhead Bar & Eatery, The Nail Boutique, Clean Juice, Sprint and Great Clips. The 40-acre retail site is immediately adjacent to The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center’s planned medical campus. Hamilton Quarter is a 200-acre mixed-use development slated to include 600,000 square feet of office and hotel space and 1 million square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space.
OMAHA, NEB. — Choice Hotels International Inc. has opened the Cambria Hotel Omaha Downtown. The 128-room hotel is the newest addition to Omaha’s NoDo district. The property features a fitness center, multi-function meeting space and onsite dining with local craft beer on tap. The LEED Silver-certified hotel incorporates a number of eco-friendly features, including a solar array on the roof, a saltwater pool that reduces chemical usage, electric vehicle car charging stations and recycled building materials. A partnership between O’Reilly Hospitality Management and Robert Low of Prime Trucking Co. developed the project.
ALBUQUERQUE — Heslin Holdings has completed the redevelopment of West Central Plaza, a retail center located at 4208 Central Ave. SW in Albuquerque. Retailers at the property are now open for business. The company originally acquired the 150,000-square-foot retail property in 2015 with a large, vacant, single-tenant space. The multi-million-dollar renovation included the division of the largest freestanding building at the property, formerly occupied by Kmart, into two anchor tenant spaces now occupied by Burlington and Conn’s Home Plus. Heslin Holdings also added 17,000 square feet of floor space adjacent to Burlington. Dollar Tree now occupies a portion of the new space. Additionally, the redevelopment included the conversion of a multi-shop building at the southwest portion of the property into a single-tenant facility, which Harbor Freight Tools now occupies. A multi-tenant drive-thru pad site was also constructed on the corner of Artisco Drive SW and Central Avenue. Panda Express and T-Mobile are tenants at the pad site. Dunkin Donuts is also constructing a new pad building in the shopping center along Central Avenue.
WESTBROOK, MAINE — Cinemark Holdings Inc., a publicly traded owner-operator of movie theaters, will open a 12-screen venue within the Rock Row mixed-use development in Westbrook, Maine, a western suburb of Portland. The theater, which will be built from the ground up, is scheduled to open in spring 2021. All auditoriums will feature oversized recliners with footrests and cup holders, as well as wall-to-wall screens and enhanced sound systems. Rock Row, a 100-acre development by Waterstone Properties Group, features more than 1 million square feet of commercial and residential space, as well as a beer and food hall, grocery store, medical and wellness campus and an 8,200-seat concert venue. A general contractor for the project has not yet been selected.
ATLANTA — Woodbine Legacy Investments (WLI) has completed a $20 million renovation of W Atlanta-Buckhead, a 12-story, 291-room hotel in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. The renovation began in May 2018. Guest accommodations — 286 guest rooms, four WOW Suites and one EWOW Suite — were enhanced with new headboards, armoires, damask wallcoverings and carpeting, 55-inch TVs, in-room Nespresso machines, beverage bar and artwork throughout. Communal renovations included new furnishings, an upgraded lobby and living room, upgraded fitness center and added Wi-Fi and meeting space throughout the hotel. The design team included architect and interior designer C+TC Studio, which designed the hotel’s rooftop bar, Whiskey Blue; interior designer Studio 11, which designed the lobby; and general contractor Genoa Construction. A second phase of renovation is planned for later this year, which will focus on updating the hotel’s restaurant, Cook Hall.
LAKE CHARLES, LA. — A joint venture between Lotte Chemical USA (KRX: KRW) and Westlake Chemical Corp. (NYSE: WLK) has opened a new chemical plant in Lake Charles, located in the southwest corner of Louisiana near the Texas border. Development costs for the 250-acre campus were estimated at $3.1 billion. The chemical plant produces monoethylene glycol — commonly called MEG — an important ingredient in the making of paper, textile fibers, latex paints, asphalt, resins, antifreeze, coolants and adhesives. With an annual capacity of 700,000 metric tons, the new facility is now the largest MEG plant in the world. South Korea-based Lotte and Houston-Based Westlake expect the plant to generate 250 permanent jobs. According to the Louisiana Economic Development office, approximately 2,000 “indirect jobs” have also been created as a result of this project. “Among Korean petrochemical companies, Lotte Chemical is the first to locate a project in the United States. As such, this project represents a significant investment by Lotte Chemical,” says Jinkoo Hwang, president and CEO of Lotte Chemical USA. “Today also marks the opening of our new corporate headquarters in Lake Charles, and we are very excited to be part of the industrial growth in the region.” …
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Hardware manufacturer Stanley Black & Decker will open a 425,000-square-foot manufacturing plant at AllianceTexas in Fort Worth. The facility will be used to produce a range of tools and devices sold under the Connecticut-based company’s CRAFTSMAN line for homebuilders and mechanics. The groundbreaking of the plant, which is expected to employ approximately 500 people, will be held this summer, with construction slated for a late 2020 completion. Stanley Black & Decker, which operates roughly 30 manufacturing plants across the country, is also in the process of opening a 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center in nearby Northlake.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — A partnership between South Florida-based investment firm PointOne Holdings and Cleveland-based developer/general contractor NRP Group will develop The Knoll at South Congress, a 308-unit multifamily community in Austin. Units at the Class A property, which will be situated on 13.3 acres, will feature stone countertops, designer cabinetry, stainless steel appliances and hardwood-style flooring. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, resident clubhouse, business center, dog park and spa, sky lounge and package concierge service. Construction is expected to begin in the next few weeks.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Locally based developer Gardner Tanenbaum Holdings (GTH) is underway on construction of a 156,000-square-foot industrial facility in Oklahoma City for Corken Inc., a provider of pumps and compressors. Situated within the 104-acre Britton Road Commerce Park, the property offers convenient access to Interstate 35. Corken will utilize the facility, which is expected to be complete in late 2019, for manufacturing and office uses. Metropolitan Capital Advisors arranged debt for the project through Centennial Bank.
BLUFFTON, S.C. — Boca Raton, Fla.-based Halvorsen Holdings is planning to develop May River Crossing, a 70,200-square-foot, Publix-anchored shopping center in Bluffton, 16 miles north of downtown Savannah and 16 miles west of Hilton Head Island. May River Crossing will be situated on 15 acres on the northeast corner of Okatie Highway and May River Road. Publix will occupy 48,000 square feet and will feature a drive-thru pharmacy. There is 21,845 square feet of available space. May River Crossing’s committed tenants include a nail salon, national hair salon and a national cellphone provider. A timeline for construction was not disclosed.