AUSTIN, TEXAS — The ITEX Group, in partnership with the Housing Authority City of Austin (HACA), has reopened Pathways at Gaston Place, an affordable seniors housing community in Austin. HACA owns the property, which was initially built in 1978 to provide housing to the elderly (62 or older), disabled or those displaced by natural disasters. ITEX provided development and construction services for the redevelopment project. Gaston Place was in need of repairs, renovations and upgrades to meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These changes, along with several common area upgrades throughout the community, will help provide improved homes for residents just north of downtown Austin. Gaston Place is currently 100 percent occupied.
LADY LAKE, FLA. — SRI Management LLC has opened Village Veranda, a 125-unit assisted living and memory care seniors community in Lady Lake, about 50 miles northwest of Orlando. Gordon Cos. developed the community for owner Village Veranda Lady Lake LLC. SRI Management is the operator. The 117,000-square-foot community offers 100 assisted living apartments up to 875 square feet and ranging from studio to two-bedroom options. In addition, the facility offers 25 memory care apartments between 350 and 449 square feet. Forum Architecture & Interior Design Inc. was the designer on the project, while Core Construction led the building team.
HAWAII — Standard Communities, in partnership with the State of Hawaii and Honolulu-based Stanford Carr Development, has unveiled a $223.9 million public-private partnership that will reposition 1,221 affordable housing units across six properties on the islands of Oahu, Hawaii and Maui. “Leveraging private funds through partnerships like this is a more efficient use of state resources,” says Gov. David Y. Ige. “It’s more cost effective to sell the leasehold interest and have Standard Communities and Stanford Carr Development bring private capital to pay for renovations and other capital improvements through the sale.” In the first transaction, Standard Communities acquired five of the six properties for a total of 995 units. The sixth is expected to close in the coming months. The seller was Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. (HHFDC), a state-run agency. The new partnership preserves all the units as affordable housing for the long-term, though the exact length of that deal was not disclosed. The portfolio will undergo an $85 million rehabilitation. Residents will receive project-based rental assistance. As part of the rehabilitation, unit interiors will be renovated, building systems will be modernized and the common areas will be updated to house a comprehensive offering of services and …
CEDAR PARK, TEXAS — iSports Cedar Park Ltd., an entity formed by a coalition of local real estate professionals and led by developer Eric Perardi, has broken ground on a 206,000-square-foot athletic complex in the northern Austin suburb of Cedar Park. Situated on 15.4 acres at the corner of U.S. Highway 183 and Scottsdale Drive, the complex will house tenants dedicated to elevating athletic performance. These include Austin-based Chaparral Ice, which will operate the facility’s two regulation-sized hockey rinks, and Nashville-based D1 Training, which has trained and rehabilitated famous athletes such as Tim Tebow, Von Miller and Peyton Manning. iSports is also seeking tenants that can operate the complex’s private gym, competitive cheerleading and gymnastics programs, sand volleyball courts, rehabilitation facilities and sports retail stores. Construction is expected to last a little more than a year, with the development team hoping to open the complex by next summer.
HOUSTON — The Jenkins Organization, a locally based developer and manager of self-storage properties, has opened EaDo Storage, an 850-unit facility located at 1025 Sampson St. in downtown Houston. The Class A property spans 110,000 square feet and offers climate- and non-climate-controlled space. Additional features will include gated entry, electronic security monitoring throughout and space for a live-in, onsite manager.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Hotel Motel Inc. has broken ground on Cambria Hotel Fort Lauderdale Beach, a 104-room hotel in Fort Lauderdale. The property is located at 2231 N. Ocean Blvd., which is within walking distance to North Beach. Amenities will include a swimming pool with ocean views, meeting space and a fitness center. The hotel is expected to open in 2020. Jai Motawni owns Hotel Motel Inc., which has developed several hotels in South Florida. This will be Cambria’s second hotel in Fort Lauderdale, joining Cambria Hotel Fort Lauderdale Airport South & Cruise Port.
ZELIENOPLE, PA. — Commercial developer and design/build firm Al. Neyer has broken ground on Jackson Distribution Center, a 220,000-square-foot industrial project in Zelienople, located north of Pittsburgh. The Class A facility, which is being developed as a joint venture project with Bell Properties, will feature 32-foot clear heights, at least 22 dock doors, T-5 light fixtures and an advanced sprinkler system. Jackson Distribution Center will be located near I-80 and I-79, State Route 19 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, as well as within 30 minutes of downtown Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh International Airport. Approximately 27 percent of the space is preleased. Completion is scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year.
LINDENHURST AND HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — Simply Self Storage has opened two facilities on Long Island totaling 1,945 units. The first property, located in Lindenhurst, totals 1,022 units and offers security cameras, a keypad entry, indoor and outdoor lighting, vehicle storage and packing supplies. The second facility, located in Hauppauge, includes 923 units and offers the same services and amenities as the Lindenhurst facility.
BOSTON — Simmons University has filed a 10-year plan with the city of Boston that outlines a series of campus upgrades, including the development of a 21-story, 1,100-bed residence hall on Avenue Louis Pasteur, according to reports by The Boston Globe. The newspaper notes that the school has been negotiating for at least a year with developers on a multi-phase plan that would include leasing its residential campus and funneling proceeds into the development of the new residential tower. The residence hall is still in the concept phase, according to the university, but plans are in motion to soon begin renovations to its main building and Lefavour Hall.
SAVANNAH, GA. — Premier Design + Build Group has broken ground on a 285,527-square-foot cold-storage facility for Frozen Assets Cold Storage in Savannah. The facility is expected to be complete in spring 2020 and will offer warehouse storage with 50-foot clear ceiling heights, a 19,518-square-foot blast freezer, two freezer rooms, boxing room, and an ammonia refrigeration system that will allow the freezers to maintain temperatures between 38 and minus-10 degrees. The building’s exterior will feature 39 truck doors, 54 trailer positions, 68 parking stalls and a drive-in door. The property is situated on 20 acres at 2375 Tremont Road, six miles south of the Port of Savannah. Samantha Skopek of Premier will oversee the design and construction. Harris Architects Inc. is providing architectural services, Swift Structural Design LLC is providing structural engineering services and Thomas & Hutton is providing civil engineering and landscape architecture services for the project. This is the first project for Premier in the state of Georgia.