ATLANTA — Atlanta-based Third & Urban LLC and Chevy Chase, Md.-based FCP have acquired 15.2 acres along the Atlanta BeltLine. The joint venture partnership will develop a 275,000-square-foot mixed-use project at 950 W. Marietta St. The seller and price of the property were not disclosed. Designed by Perkins and Will, the development will focus primarily on converting an existing warehouse on the site into adaptive reuse space featuring both offices and retail. The project is directly across from the King Plow Arts Center, adjacent to The Foundry at Puritan Mill and near the Westside Park at Bellwood Quarry, which will be Atlanta’s largest green space after its planned opening in spring 2020. Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2020, with an anticipated occupancy in the third quarter of 2021. Atlanta Paper Co., which was originally Elsas, May Paper Co., built the warehouse on West Marietta Street in the 1940s. It was once used to create packaging for The Coca-Cola Co. Later, it was owned and operated by Atlanta-based WestRock, a corrugated packaging company.
WENDELL, N.C. — East West Partners and G.H.K. Developments Inc., the developers behind Wendell Falls, unveiled that Publix will occupy a 48,387 square-foot, freestanding grocery space in Wendell, approximately 11 miles east of Raleigh. Wendell Falls is one of the largest master-planned developments in the Research Triangle. CBRE | Raleigh’s Retail Services and Land Services groups represented the ownership group in the transaction. The store will employee approximately 130 people. An opening date has not yet been announced. Located at the northwest corner of Wendell Falls Parkway and Taylor Road, Publix will join the project’s existing tenants that include KinderCare Daycare, Farmhouse Cafe and Cruizers Convenience Marketplace. Publix at Wendell Falls be the grocer’s seventh store in Wake County. East West and G.H.K. will soon debut a collection of shops and restaurants at Wendell Fallas known as Treelight Square, as well as an office park named The Collective.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. — Sunchase Holdings has completed the disposition of Scottsdale Entrada, a 30-acre former auto mall at the northeast corner of 64th Street and McDowell Road in Scottsdale. Los Angeles-based Banyan Residential acquired the site for an undisclosed price through a qualified Opportunity Zone fund. Banyan Residential plans to redevelop the site into a speculative mixed-use development, which is slated to break ground in April 2020 and deliver mid-2021. Scottsdale Entrada will feature 735 multifamily units, 7,000 square feet of retail space, and a three-story, 245,000-square-foot office building. The office plans call for floor plates of approximately 80,000 square feet, high ceilings, full-height windows and indoor-outdoor space. Office amenities will include an on-site fitness center, game lawns, dog park, pedestrian walkways with direct access to the Arizona Crosscut Canal and tunnel access to Papago Park. Tom Adelson and Erin McClure of Newmark Knight Frank (NKF) handled the transaction. Mike Garlick and Jimmy Hoselton of Newmark Knight Frank will represent the project’s office leasing. DPC Cos. is serving as developer for the project.
NEW YORK CITY — CIM Group has provided a $120 million construction loan for the redevelopment of 685 Fifth Avenue, a 115,330-square-foot multifamily and retail property in Manhattan. The borrower, a partnership of developer-owners SHVO, Bilgili Group and Deutsche Finance, will redevelop and rebrand the residences as 69 Mandarin Oriental and will construct 10 additional floors for the tower. Originally built in 1928, the 20-story building was the former headquarters of Gucci, and current retail tenants include apparel and accessory retailers Coach, Stuart Weitzman and Tag Heuer. Construction is slated for completion in 2021.
PORTLAND, MAINE — A partnership between Capstone Development Partners and the University of Maine System will develop a 577-bed residence hall and student center on the University of Southern Maine’s (USM) campus in Portland. The proposed 209,000-square-foot community will offer apartment-style units alongside academic support space. The partnership hopes to break ground on the project in spring 2020, with Capstone providing financing for the student housing component and the university providing financing for the student center. The design-build team for the community includes architectural and engineering firm SMRT Architects and Engineers, architectural firm Elkus Manfredi Architects and general contractor PC Construction. Capstone Management Partners, the management subsidiary of Capstone Development, is the proposed maintenance and operations provider for the community upon completion.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Minneapolis-based Ryan Cos. will develop a 60-story mixed-use tower at 311 and 321 W. 6th St. in downtown Austin. Designed by Page, the building will rise 770 feet and span 530,371 square feet. Levels 12 through 17 will comprise 120,000 square feet of Class A office space. Levels 20 through 60 will consist of 363 multifamily units, 75 percent of which will be studio and one-bedroom residences. The remainder will be two- and three-bedroom units. The other floors will be reserved for parking and retail. Residential amenities will include a pool, fitness center, media room, pet park and a 3,000-square-foot clubhouse on the top floor. A construction timeline was not released, but Ryan Cos. plans to propose the project to the Austin City Council before the end of the year. BBVA currently occupies a bank branch at the Sixth Street site and plans to lease 4,000 square feet in the new development. CBRE advised BBVA on this project.
TOPEKA, KAN. — Darland Construction Co. has completed the conversion of a former Kmart store in Topeka into Wanamaker Hills Shopping Center. The 108,546-square-foot retail property is now home to Ulta, Old Navy, DSW, Five Below and Petco. Equity Investment Group, an Indiana-based developer, bought the property in 2014. Schwerdt Design Group was the project architect.
Del Buck, vice president of preconstruction at Hoar Program Management (HPM), an affiliate firm of Birmingham, Ala.-based Hoar Construction, has the challenge of saving construction costs in the face of a significant labor shortage that’s hobbled the construction industry. According to research from Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED), 1.5 million construction jobs were lost during the Great Recession. While the industry is still working to fill the void, labor and materials costs have increased dramatically. Turner Construction Co. reports that construction costs have increased 5.9 percent since 2018. Buck emphasizes the importance of developers and owners not accepting the “false premise” that construction costs are outside of their control. Instead, he says that costs can be salvaged using third-party project management firms during the planning stages. These firms can provide preconstruction services, which help stakeholders realize the scope, costs and schedule of a project before breaking ground. Outside of cost savings on the front end, he says owners and developers can also benefit from program management firms as they can help mitigate costs once construction is already underway. Buck spoke with REBusinessOnline about the ever-changing construction industry, outlining his firm’s creative workarounds for lowering costs. What follows is an edited …
DORAL, FLA. – Miller Construction Co. has completed two buildings for Orlando-based Foundry Commercial, creating 318,043 square feet of industrial space within the Miami Central Commons business park. Located at 2301 NW 107th Ave. in Doral, 11 miles northwest of Miami, Building 1 contains showroom space and Building 2 contains industrial space. Foundry Commercial purchased the business park in 2017 and began the major demolition, renovation and expansion in fall 2018. Designed by RLC Architects, Buildings 1 and 2 provide 32-foot clear heights, 54-foot column spacing and a 60-foot speed bay. Puga & Associates served as mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers, and Kimley-Horn served as civil engineer. Coral Gables, Fla.-based Fairchild Partners is the property’s exclusive leasing agent.
MINNEAPOLIS — Owners DRA Advisors and Wildamere Capital Management plan to renovate and rename the office towers located at 900 and 920 S. Second Ave. in downtown Minneapolis. Previously known as Oracle and International Centre, the new name for the 622,173-square-foot property will be Forum. Plans call for an overhaul of the multi-story atrium and construction of a new skyway lounge with conference facilities and spec suites. Construction is expected to begin before the end of the year and be completed in 2020. Katie Tufford, Peter Fitzgerald, Tom Tracy and Courtney Rosoff of Cushman & Wakefield are the leasing agents. DRA Advisors and Wildamere purchased the towers in March.