GILBERT, ARIZ. — Scottsdale, Arizona-based Diversified Partners has opened Mercy Center, an 11-acre mixed-use development in Gilbert, approximately 22 miles southeast of Phoenix. A mix of retail and office tenants — Galleria Nails, Prizm Dental, Honoré Skin Clinic, Beem Light Sauna, Brickhouse Dental and Willow Midwife — have already opened. Kolache Café and The Cabinet Design Studio are under construction and will soon join the tenant roster. Additionally, Arizona’s largest Starbucks Coffee is open at Mercy Center, which features a two-story design, a 23-car drive-thru, designated mobile order parking, an elevator and rooftop solar panels that supply 80 to 100 percent of the store’s energy needs. The center is designed to serve the needs of the growing medical and residential community surrounding Mercy Gilbert Medical Center and the soon-to-open Phoenix Children’s Hospital – East Valley.
Development
CHANDLER, ARIZ. — Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Porter Kyle has broken ground on The Wayne, a $60 million multifamily build-to-rent (BTR) project situated on an infill site at 1535 N. Dobson Road in Chandler. The first units are slated for delivery in spring 2026. The community will feature 100 one-, two- and three-bedroom rental homes offering two-car direct-access garages and private backyards. Community amenities will include a resident clubhouse with coworking spaces, private offices, a gym, swimming pool and outdoor kitchen, as well as a dog park and community trail system.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions and the University of Texas at Austin are underway on construction of a $145 million student housing project. The development will replace a six-building, 200-bed student housing complex located along Whitis Avenue on the northwestern part of the campus with a 1,070-bed building. The new student housing building will feature a mix of single and double rooms with community bathrooms, an area housing office and a variety of student amenities, including lounges, study spaces and a university-managed conference center. Clark Nexsen and Levy Dykema are the project architects, and Andres Construction is the general contractor. Demolitions of existing structures and preliminary sitework work commenced in June 2024, and the new facility is scheduled to open in advance of the fall 2027 semester.
EL PASO, TEXAS — Dallas-based development and investment firm Provident has broken ground on a three-building, 497,280-square-foot industrial project in El Paso. The project, all buildings of which will feature rear-load configurations, represents Phase IV of Gateway Logistics Park. Buildings 4 and 5 will each span 147,420 square feet and will have a shared 205-foot truck court. Building 6 will total 202,440 square feet and will have a 130-foot truck court and 44 trailer parking stalls. Completion is slated for early 2026. The first three phases of Gateway Logistics Park added 921,759 square feet of space to the local supply. Last fall, in two separate transactions, Provident sold three buildings within the development to Philadelphia-based EQT Exeter: two buildings totaling 576,365 square feet in August and a 345,394-square-foot building in September.
RICHMOND, VA. — The City of Richmond’s Economic Development Authority (EDA) has sold and transferred an 18-acre parcel to the developer of Diamond District, a $2.4 billion mixed-use development in the Virginia state capital. The developer, an entity led by Thalhimer Realty Partners Inc. called Diamond District Partners LLC, will soon begin construction on public works infrastructure and a mixed-use development on the site. The parcel, called Phase 1A, will include six acres of public infrastructure that will be conveyed back to the city and the EDA upon completion. The remainder of the parcel will house a 180-room hotel, 161 workforce housing units that will be reserved for households earning 60 percent of the area median income, 730 market-rate apartments and 30,000 square feet of commercial space that can be expanded. The land sold for $11.4 million. Phase 1B and Phase 1C of Diamond District will include an additional 177 affordable housing units, 625 market-rate apartments and 126,000 square feet of commercial space. Additionally, CarMax Park, the future home of the Richmond Flying Squirrels Minor League Baseball team, is under construction within the Diamond District and is scheduled to open in 2026. Diamond District Partners LLC anticipates breaking ground on …
Joint Venture Secures Financing for Office-to-Residential Conversion Project for Former Duke Energy Building in Charlotte
by John Nelson
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A joint venture between MRP Realty, Asana Partners and Rockefeller Group has received construction financing for Brooklyn & Church, an adaptive reuse project in Charlotte. The project will convert the former Duke Energy headquarters, located at 526 S. Church St., into a 460-unit apartment community with 57,000 square feet of retail space. The financing amount and construction timeline were not disclosed. The Duke Energy headquarters was originally built in 1975. MRP Realty and Asana Partners acquired the building in 2022. The building’s core and shell will be preserved, but the façade will be reskinned with new windows and balconies. Once converted, Brooklyn & Church will comprise 800,000 square feet across 13 stories, with amenities including a rooftop deck and pool with grilling stations, fitness center and spa space, coworking space, bike room and a dog run with pet spa. The property’s loft-style apartments will have 13.6-foot, exposed ceilings. In addition to the apartments and ground-floor retail space, the property will offer a new three-story, 30,000-square-foot retail building at the corner of Church Street and Brooklyn Village Avenue that will be connected to the main building via a 60-foot walkway.
Berkadia Negotiates Sale of Multifamily Development Site in Metro Charlotte, Buyer Plans 320-Unit Community
by John Nelson
INDIAN TRAIL, N.C. — Berkadia has negotiated the sale of a 28.2-acre multifamily development site in Indian Trail, a southeast suburb of Charlotte. Caleb Troop and Thomas Colaiezzi of Berkadia’s Charlotte office led the transaction on behalf of the seller, High Point, N.C.-based Royal Management. The buyer, a partnership between locally based The Spectrum Cos. and Chicago-based Heitman LLC, plans to develop a 320-unit apartment community on the site called Evoke at Indian Trail. TD Bank is providing construction financing for the project, which is located adjacent to The Shops at Sun Valley and across the street from a Publix-anchored shopping center. The construction timeline was not released.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) has approved a $64 million tax credit for Bayfront Promenade, a 210-unit mixed-income multifamily project in Jersey City. The development will be located on the city’s west side and will include 74 affordable housing units and 10,600 square feet of commercial space. Amenities will include a rooftop terrace, fitness center with a yoga room, coworking lounge, community room with a kitchen area and a children’s playroom. Residents at Bayfront Promenade will also have access to onsite parking, as well as a daycare center and credit union that will both be operated by Greater Bergen Community Action Inc., which was also a co-applicant for the subsidy. The developer is an entity doing business as Bayfront Partners 32 Urban Renewal. The NJEDA delivered the tax credit through its Aspire program, which supports mixed-use, transit-oriented developments that have financing gaps. The capital stack also includes Low-Income Housing Tax Credits issued by the New Jersey Housing Mortgage & Finance Agency. A construction timeline was not disclosed.
INDIANAPOLIS — Bradford Allen has negotiated a lease for TWG Motorsports, parent company of Andretti Global, at the former IndyStar Pulliam Production Center located at 8278 Georgetown Road in Indianapolis. The firm is redeveloping the 245,783-square-foot space to serve as the headquarters of Andretti Global’s INDYCAR, INDY NXT and Formula E teams. The renovated facility will have both office and industrial space and accommodate approximately 300 employees. Construction has begun and will be coordinated concurrently with the removal of several three-story printing presses from the building. The project is expected to be completed by this summer. The facility marks Bradford Allen’s second project for TWG Motorsports, the first being a nearly 400,000-square-foot motorsports facility under construction in Fishers, Ind. Built in 1995, 8278 Georgetown Road served as a production facility for the Indianapolis Star until 2024. Bradford Allen will modernize the building’s technology, introduce tailored workspaces and fabrication zones, and incorporate employee amenities such as a fitness center, dining space and pit-stop performance area. Additional project partners include ABEL Construction Co. and Merriman Schmitt Architects. Both firms have experience with motorsports facilities.
FRANKLIN PARK, ILL. — General contractor F.H. Paschen has broken ground on an 80-unit seniors housing community in the western Chicago suburb of Franklin Park, which is part of Leyden Township. Evergreen Real Estate Group is the developer for the project, which is named Leyden Senior Apartments. The four-story residential building will also feature the new Carl Fiorito Senior Center, a one-story community center that will complement the apartments. Designed by Weese Langley Klein Architects and scheduled to open in summer 2026, the development is a collaborative effort between Leyden Township, Evergreen, owner Leyden Apartments LP and F.H. Paschen. Evergreen will also serve as property manager. The project site is 2.8 acres of vacant land located at the intersection of Mannheim Road and Nevada Avenue. The development is financed through multiple sources, including the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Bank of America, Hudson Housing, Leyden Township and the Cook County Department of Planning and Development. Mesirow Financial participated in the underwriting syndicate for the IHDA financing and served as the lead underwriter for Leyden Township’s General Obligation bond offering.