LA MARQUE, TEXAS — Public Storage is underway on a 606-unit expansion project in La Marque, located southeast of Houston. The expansion will add 87,124 net rentable square feet of climate-controlled space to the existing facility, which also features RV parking with some larger 90-foot, drive-thru units. California-based Public Storage is both the operator and owner of the facility. Triad Construction is the general contractor for the project, which is slated for a November completion.
WORCESTER, MASS. — The University of Massachusetts (UMass) has completed a $350 million academic project at Chan Medical School at the university’s Worcester campus. The building encompasses 350,000 square feet of lab, educational, research and administrative space across nine floors that will be used to support the work of all three graduate schools on campus. Shawmut Design & Construction provided general contracting and construction management services for the project. ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge designed the facility in collaboration with ZGF Architects.
NEWPORT, N.J. — The LeFrak Organization has begun leasing Bisby, a 34-story apartment tower in Newport, located across the Hudson River from Lower Manhattan. Designed by Minno & Wasko Architects & Planners with interiors by Woods Bagot, Bisby houses 385 units in studio, one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom configurations. Amenities include a coworking center, golf simulator, dedicated content studio and a dog spa, as well as a 33,000-square-foot landscaped rooftop terrace with a pickleball court, dog run and an outdoor kitchen. Rents start at $3,445 per month for a studio apartment.
ST. LOUIS — Locally based Good Developments Group is redeveloping a former industrial manufacturing site in St. Louis into Crunden Martin, a 500,000-square-foot mixed-use project. The property will serve as the initial phase of the 100-acre, $1.2 billion Gateway South Advanced Building Collaboration District, which is scheduled to break ground in the third quarter. Tom Ray of CBRE will market the space for lease. Phase I redevelopment plans include revitalizing the site’s seven conjoined buildings into a mixed-use workspace featuring prototyping spaces, offices, food-and-beverage retail, production facilities and other amenities designed for construction-focused tenants. Gateway South will feature more than 1.5 million square feet of light manufacturing facilities across a mixed-use neighborhood south of the Gateway Arch. Crunden Martin is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2026.
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — Bank OZK has provided an $84 million construction loan for Phase I of The Nora District, a 40-acre mixed-use redevelopment project in downtown West Palm Beach. Steven Klein, Brian Gaswirth and Mateo Bolivar of JLL arranged the financing on behalf of the borrowers, NDT Development, Place Projects and Wheelock Street Capital. Phase I of Nora District, which will include more than 150,000 square feet of adaptive reuse and new development, broke ground in June 2023 and is slated for completion in early 2025. As part of the project, the developers are converting turn-of-the-century railway warehouses into ground-floor shops and restaurants. Phase I will also include more than 55,000 square feet of second-floor showroom space and creative Class A offices. Confirmed retailers in Phase I include Loco Taqueria & Oyster Bar, H&H Bagels, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, The Garret Group, Juliana’s Pizza, Celis Juice Bar and Café, Del Mar Mediterranean Restaurant, Sana Skin Studio, Mint, The Spot Barbershop, Rumble and Solidcore. Future phases of Nora District will include The Nora Hotel, a 201-room boutique hotel developed in partnership with BD Hotels and Sean MacPherson.
MELBOURNE, FLA. — Driftwood Capital has delivered Element by Westin Melbourne Oceanfront, a 130-room beachfront hotel located at 2655 N. Highway A1A on Florida’s Space Coast. The hotel represents the first beachfront hotel to open in Brevard County since 2020 and the first beachfront property for the Element by Westin brand. Driftwood Hospitality Management operates the hotel, which features complimentary breakfast for guests, a fitness center, complimentary bike rentals, saline pool and pool deck overlooking the beach and restaurant Ebb & Flow. The hotel is situated within a short drive of Patrick Space Force Base, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the John F. Kennedy Space Center.
WILMINGTON, N.C. — CBL Properties has signed female apparel retailers Free People and FP Movement to open new stores at Mayfaire Town Center, a 610,000-square-foot open-air shopping mall in Wilmington. The affiliated brands will open their stores on Main Street totaling 5,500 square feet this fall. Additionally, CBL is set to open a new Claire’s store this month and reopen Chick-fil-A later this summer. Vochos Urban Mexican Kitchen and Potbelly Sandwich Shop are also set to debut their restaurants at Mayfaire soon. CBL is also expanding Reeds Jewelers, which has been a tenant at Mayfaire since the mall opened 20 years ago. The retailer will operate a newly expanded store on Inspiration Drive spanning 9,000 square feet. Set to open in July, the flagship store will carry Rolex and David Yurman brands and feature a bar and lounge. CBL also agreed to relocate and expand lululemon, which has been a tenant since 2021, to a new 5,200-square-foot store on Main Street. Rack Room Shoes also recently relocated to a new 4,000-square-foot store.
LEXINGTON, KY. — Choice Hotels International Inc. has opened a 114-room Everhome Suites hotel in Lexington, the brand’s first in Kentucky. Situated off I-64, the four-story property is owned by the developer, New Circle Investments, and managed by H&W Hotels. Every room at the extended stay hotel features a fully equipped kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator, dishwasher, stovetop, microwave, flatware, cookware and counter space, and select rooms include washers and dryers. Amenities include complimentary Wi-Fi, a market, grills, fire pit, laundry facilities and a fitness center featuring Peloton bikes. With this opening, Choice Hotels has four Everhome Suites open, with more than 10 set to open over the next 12 months, 20 under construction and 60 in the planning stages.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — Knighthead Funding has originated a $22 million loan for the refinancing of The Luna, a newly built apartment community located at 1009 8th Ave. S in Nashville’s Edgehill neighborhood, roughly two miles south of downtown. The two-year, fixed-rate loan will feature interest-only payments and be used to take out a maturing construction loan. The borrower is a joint venture led by developer CA South. Built in 2023, The Luna features 108 apartments with monthly rental rates ranging from $1,650 to $4,300, according to Apartments.com. Floor plans include studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts ranging in size from 520 to 1,350 square feet. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, clubhouse, pet play area, pet washing station and a business center.
MIAMI — PMG, a development and investment firm with offices in New York City and Miami, has received a $668 million construction loan for the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami. Located at 300 Biscayne Blvd, the building will rise more than 1,000 feet and will house 387 private residences and 205 hotel rooms and suites, as well as retail and restaurant space. The latter component will include Peacock Alley, a concept that is part of the Waldorf Astoria band. The Waldorf Astoria is part of the Hilton Hotels (NYSE: HLT) family of brands. Christopher Peck, Chris Drew, Brian Gaswirth, Jimmy Calvo and Mateo Bolivar of JLL arranged the financing through Arkansas-based Bank OZK and New York City-based Related Fund Management on behalf of PMG. According to South Florida Business Journal, condo sales launched in 2021, and the formal groundbreaking took place in 2022. At the time of the loan closing, more than 90 percent of the residences had been pre-sold. Vertical construction of the property is slated for mid-2028 completion. Hotel guests and residents will have access to a shared suite of amenities. These will include: Residents of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel & Residences Miami can also utilize a …