LAWRENCEVILLE, GA. — ECI Group and joint venture partner The Griffin Fund have broken ground on The Averly Collins Hill, a $76 million apartment development in Lawrenceville, a northeast suburb of Atlanta in Gwinnett County. The 300-unit, eight-building project will be situated on 22 acres at 700 Collins Road. ECI Construction is the general contractor for the project, and Synovus Bank is providing $46 million in construction financing. The project is planned to deliver concurrently with the nearby 15-story Northside Hospital Gwinnett healthcare tower, as well as a planned active adult housing development. Upon completion, The Averly Collins Hill will feature one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, as well as a clubhouse with a clubroom, fitness center, lounge areas and coworking space. Other amenities will include a pool, dog play area and a coffee bar.
WESLEY CHAPEL, FLA. — Ryan Cos. has opened a new Publix grocery store that serves as the anchor tenant of Innovations Commons, a retail center within the 900-acre Epperson Ranch master-planned development in Wesley Chapel. The city in Pasco County is part of the Tampa Bay metro area. In addition to Innovations Commons, Epperson Ranch will feature 4,000 single-family homes, a 200-room hotel and more than 500 apartments at full build-out. Innovation Commons will also include three outparcel developments slated for additional retail, restaurants and professional services.
GERMANTOWN, MD. — Bethesda, Md.-based Rock Creek Property Group has delivered two life science facilities at 20430 and 20440 Century Blvd. in Germantown, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Situated off I-270 in Rock Creek’s Precision Labs campus, the former office buildings span 32,000 and 52,000 square feet, respectively. Architectural firm Ware Malcomb designed the office-to-life sciences conversion project, which involved upgrading the buildings’ electrical, mechanical and wastewater infrastructure. The single-story facility at 20430 Century Blvd. features move-in ready space suitable for a single headquarters and includes offices and flexible space for laboratory, research-and-development and cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practice) manufacturing. The two-story facility at 20440 Century Blvd. features six wet laboratory suites.
FULTON, MD. — A joint venture between St. John Properties Inc. and Greenebaum Enterprises has purchased a 12.5-acre site within Montpelier Research Park, a business park in the Baltimore-Washington submarket of Howard County. The duo plan to develop two single-story, flex industrial facilities on the site spanning 70,000 square feet combined. Located adjacent to Maple Lawn and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Fulton, the acquired site currently features a 32,488-square-foot office building that the new ownership is marketing for lease. Abby Glassberg and Don Schline of KLNB represented the seller in the land transaction. St. John and Greenebaum estimate they’ll deliver the two industrial facilities in 2026.
MESQUITE, TEXAS — Dallas-based CapStar Real Estate Advisors will develop a 765,668-square-foot industrial project on a 40.4-acre site at 2800 Skyline Drive in the eastern Dallas suburb of Mesquite. The facility is already fully preleased to Canadian Solar, which will use the facility for distribution support for its manufacturing operation next door at 3000 Skyline Drive. Building features will include 40-foot clear heights, 190 dock-high doors and parking for 351 cars and 134 trailers. Jody Thornton, Trent Agnew, Tom Weber and Greer Shetler of JLL arranged joint venture equity for the project with an undisclosed partner on behalf of CapStar. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter and to last about 12 months.
WOODLAND HILLS, CALIF. — California Commercial Investment Group has acquired a 19-acre site adjacent to the iconic Motion Picture & Television Fund campus in Woodland Hills for $30 million. The buyer plans to develop a luxury senior living community encompassing approximately 300 units on the site. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026 with completion planned for 2028. The property is located in the Santa Monica Foothills approximately 30 miles west of Los Angeles. It is just steps from the Calabasas farmers’ market adjacent to the Motion Picture & Television Fund campus. JLL’s Bryan Lewitt represented the seller, Motion Picture & Television Fund. Michael Slater of CBRE represented the buyer.
OKLAHOMA CITY — BancFirst has completed the renovation of its namesake tower in downtown Oklahoma City. Located at 1000 N. Broadway, BancFirst Tower is a 36-story, 507,038-square-foot building that was originally constructed in 1971. Renovations included modernizing the exterior public plaza and amenity spaces, including the lobby and underground concourse. Bockus Payne served as the architect of the project, which began in 2020. Other project partners included Wallace Engineering, Alvine Engineering and Smith Roberts Baldischwiler.
DAYTON, MINN. — CRG has completed The Cubes at French Lake, a 1 million-square-foot speculative industrial development in Dayton, a northwest suburb of Minneapolis. The project marks the largest speculative industrial project to date in Minnesota, according to CBRE. Dan Swartz, James DePietro and Austin Lovin of CBRE are marketing the property for lease. The facility features a clear height of 40 feet, 652 parking spaces, 231 trailer parking spaces, 100 dock doors, four drive-in doors, 60-foot speed bays and a 185-foot-depth concrete truck court. The 65-acre project is located approximately 35 miles from the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and offers convenient access to I-94 via the Dayton Parkway exchange. CRG’s integrated partner Lamar Johnson Collaborative served as the architect and its parent company, Clayco, was the design-builder. Construction began in 2022.
SPRINGFIELD, ILL. — Related Midwest is underway on the renovation of Poplar Place, a 100-unit affordable housing community in Springfield. The waitlist is now open for the community, and the first rental homes are available for lease. Working with the City of Springfield and the Springfield Housing Authority, Related Midwest and general contractor LR Contracting Co. is in the process of transforming Poplar Place, which was constructed in 1950, into a modern community comprising 100 units with single-family and duplex floor plans. The $44.8 million redevelopment includes de-densifying the existing property and fully rehabbing a total of 75 buildings. Plans also call for a 2.5-acre great lawn, a new community center, playground, management office and walking paths. The affordable residences range from two to four bedrooms, with monthly rents between $800 and $925. The units are income-restricted, with qualified incomes ranging between $41,760 and $78,660 based on household size. Evan Lloyd Architects served as architect for the redevelopment.
NEW YORK CITY — Locally based developer The Moinian Group has begun vertical construction of 7 Platt Street, a 35-story apartment tower in Manhattan’s Financial District. The 170,000-square-foot building will house 250 units in studio, one- and two-bedroom configurations, as well as some penthouses. Amenities will include a fitness center, library, coworking pods, lounge spaces, private dining spaces with outdoor terrace access, a gaming area, rooftop deck, golf putting area and a communal entertainment kitchen. The design team includes Rockwell Group and Hill West Architects. Completion is scheduled for late 2025.