HOUSTON — The Houston Waterworks Team is underway on the expansion of the Northeast Water Purification Plant, a project valued at approximately $1.7 billion. The project aims to shift a growing population’s reliance on groundwater to surface water and represents the largest design-build project for a water treatment plant that is underway in the country. The team has tapped McCarthy Building Cos. for several aspects of the larger project, which is expected to be fully operational by early 2025. McCarthy will construct a 30,000-square-foot raw water intake pump station building as well as a central plant as part of its involvement.
DALLAS — A partnership between The Kroger Co. and online grocery retailer Ocado Solutions will open a 350,000-square-foot fulfillment center off Interstate 20 in Dallas, a project that is expected to create about 400 new jobs. Construction is slated to begin in early 2020, and the facility is expected to be operational within 24 months of the groundbreaking. JLL’s Terry Darrow, Elizabeth Jones, Forshey Hoobler and Brian Leonard represented Kroger in the land acquisition. CBRE’s Nathan Lawrence and Krista Raymond represented the seller, Ridgeline. Kroger and Ocado have two similar facilities in development in Monroe, Ohio, and Groveland, Fla. Additional facilities are planned for metro Atlanta and the Mid-Atlantic region.
KATY, TEXAS — LMC, a multifamily developer and operator that is a subsidiary of Miami-based Lennar Corp., has opened The Maddox, a 326-unit apartment community located adjacent to Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital on the western outskirts of Houston. Floor plans consist of one-, two- and three-bedroom units with quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, ceramic tile backsplashes, walk-in closets and smart thermostats. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, an outdoor grilling and gaming area, a community lounge with a bar and workspaces, beer garden and a dog park.
PHILADELPHIA — A joint venture between PREIT and Macerich has launched Fashion District Philadelphia, a 900,000-square-foot retail district housing dozens of shopping, dining and entertainment destinations. The $400 million project is a redevelopment of a former mall, the Gallery at Market East. A range of clothing and accessory retail options include Aeropostale, Burlington, Columbia and ULTA. The Fashion District also houses coworking spaces from REC Philly and Industrious. Other notable anchors of the district include City Winery, AMC Theaters, rotating art installation Wonderspaces, Market Eats food hall, mini theme park Candytopia and Yards Brewing Co.
SAN DIEGO — Noble House Hotels and Resorts, a hotel ownership and management group, has completed a $21 million renovation of the Hilton San Diego Resort & Spa, located at 1775 E. Mission Bay Drive in San Diego. Overlooking Mission Bay, the resort features 357 rooms and suites, an American cuisine restaurant, poolside lounge, waterfront dining, fitness center and full-service spa. The comprehensive renovation encompassed all guestrooms, the hotel’s conference center, executive board rooms, common areas and lobbies. Additionally, the hotel features new paint, flooring, lighting, finishes, wall treatments, technology and furniture. JLL’s Project and Development Services group managed the renovation on behalf of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust, the property owner.
SUMNER, WASH. — Bridge Development Partners has purchased a 3.8-acre land site at 3113 142nd Ave. East in Sumner, a suburb of Seattle, for an undisclosed price. The company plans to develop Bridge Point Sumner South, an industrial building, on the site. Slated for delivery in third-quarter 2020, Bridge Point Sumner South will feature 82,591 square feet of space, divisible down to 30,000 square feet; LED interior and exterior wall pack lighting; ESFR fire protection; 32-foot clear ceiling heights; two drive-in doors; 14 exterior docks; a 125-foot truck court; and parking for 63 cars. Thad Mallory, Taylor Huff, Cam Warren and Blake Bentz of Newmark Knight Frank brokered the deal for Bridge and will serve as leasing agents for the project.
REDMOND, WASH. — The Hotel Group has added the Hilton Garden Inn Redmond, a hotel currently under construction in Redmond, to its management portfolio. Slated to open in first-quarter 2020, the hotel will be the company’s seventh Hilton-branded hotel in the Pacific Northwest. The six-story property will feature 177 guestrooms with Hilton Garden Inn’s signature bedding, in-room hospitality centers with Keurig Coffee and miniature refrigerators, guest laundry and complementary Wi-Fi. The hotel also features more than 2,400 square feet of flexible meeting space including outdoor areas, as well as Fork + Spoke, an on-site restaurant.
DEARBORN, MICH. — Ford Motor Co. has unveiled plans to transform its Research & Engineering Center in Dearborn into a high-tech campus for its thousands of designers, engineers and product development workers. The heart of the project will be a new central campus building, which will sit on the site of Ford’s 66-year-old product development center. Construction of the new building is slated for completion in 2025. The new facility will help Ford speed product and technology innovation and attract world-class talent, according to a news release. Ultimately, the master plan envisions a campus of interconnected buildings that could one day house more than 20,000 employees. The new master plan is the result of a two-year research and planning process led by architect Snohetta. Plans call for an increase in public spaces and shared pathways, as well as coffee shops and restaurants.
SEATTLE — The City of Seattle has selected Alexandria Real Estate Equities Inc. (NYSE: ARE) to develop an approximately 800,000-square-foot mixed-use campus known as the Mercer Mega Block. The life sciences and technology-driven project will be built on the last large, undeveloped site — nearly three acres — in Seattle’s Lake Union submarket. Alexandria won the bid for the project by agreeing to pay $143.5 million for the land and to address homelessness, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. The Seattle City Council approved the development plan on Monday night. The newspaper reports that total project costs could reach $305 million. Plans call for two 13-story office and laboratory towers as well as a 30,000-square-foot community center. Alexandria also intends to develop on-site affordable housing, a farm-to-table restaurant, ground-floor retail space and a pedestrian-only walkway on 8th Avenue surrounded by public spaces with outdoor seating. “We envision our Mercer Mega Block development as a mission-critical campus that can drive the cross-pollination of life science and technology, spur world-class innovations to improve the human condition and significantly enhance the surrounding neighborhood,” says Joel Marcus, executive chairman and founder of Alexandria. The company also says it has strong confidence in the …
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Amazon will open a regional air hub at Fort Worth Alliance Airport in October, a move that is expected to bring 300 new full-time jobs to the region. The build-to-suit project is the first of its kind in the Amazon Air network and will support the Seattle-based e-commerce company’s larger-scale regional needs, including sortation capability and infrastructure to handle multiple flights daily.