SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — Phelan Development has released plans for Elkhorn Industrial Park, a two-building, 284,850-square-foot speculative industrial project within Metro Air Park in Sacramento. Located at 4525 W. Elkhorn Blvd. and 4535 W. Elkhorn Blvd, the park will feature a 190,525-square-foot building and a 94,325-square-foot building. Completion is slated for fall 2023. Mark Demetre and Michael Hoo of Colliers’ Sacramento office are handling leasing for the project.
CARTERSVILLE, GA. — Hanwha Solutions, through its clean energy subsidiary Qcells, has announced plans to invest more than $2.5 billion to develop a complete solar energy supply chain across the northern part of the state of Georgia. According to the company, this will represent the largest investment ever in solar panel production in the U.S. and make Qcells the only company in the country with a complete and sustainable solar supply chain. Qcells plans to break ground on a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Cartersville, roughly 43 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta, by the end of March. The plant will manufacture solar ingots, wafers and cells — the elements that make up solar panels — as well as finished panels. That facility is scheduled for completion in late 2024. The company also plans to expand solar panel production at its existing facility in Dalton, approximately 45 miles north of Cartersville, which opened in 2019. The company will hire an additional 535 employees at that facility. “As demand for clean energy continues to grow nationally, we’re ready to put thousands of people to work creating fully American-made and sustainable solar solutions, from raw material to finished panels,” says Justin Lee, CEO of Qcells. …
MADISON, WIS. — JLL Capital Markets has secured $73.8 million in construction financing for the development of Baker’s Place, a 206-unit, mass-timber apartment project in Madison. The financing included a $21.2 mezzanine debt investment from Pearlmark Mezzanine Realty Partners V LP, and a senior loan provided by Bank OZK. Mike Brady and Phil Galligan of JLL represented the borrowers, Wisconsin-based developers The Neutral Project and Compass Properties, as advisors in the project capitalization. Mark Witt of Pearlmark arranged the mezzanine financing. Upon completion, the property will comprise 14 stories, including 8,400 square feet of retail space. Plans for the development include green roofs, exposed mass timber, enhanced ventilation and natural materials, which are estimated to reduce carbon emissions by 42 percent relative to conventional construction techniques. Completion is scheduled for March of 2025.
HOUSTON — Florida-based investment firm LNR Partners has completed the renovation of The Chifley, a 284-room hotel in Uptown Houston that is part of the Tapestry Collection by Hilton family of brands. In addition to upgraded guestrooms, common areas and amenity spaces, the hotel now houses a new food-and-beverage concept called Rouse. Additional amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, outdoor pool and 8,000 square feet of meeting and event space. LNR Partners purchased the hotel in 2021, at which time it was operating under the Sheraton flag. Florida-based Driftwood Hospitality Management now oversees the hotel’s day-to-day operations.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Alliance Residential Co. has purchased a 3.5-acre site at 120 Matheson Ave. in Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood with plans to develop a 302-unit apartment community. Dubbed Prose NoDa, the community will feature one- and two-bedroom apartments ranging in size from 663 to 1,058 square feet. The first units are expected to be available for occupancy in the fall of 2024. Amenities will include a resort-style pool, outdoor kitchen, grilling areas, access-controlled garage parking, dog park, private coworking offices, fitness center and a clubroom. The design-build team includes architect Cline Design and civil engineer McAdams. Prose NoDa is Alliance Residential’s sixth active project underway in the Charlotte area.
MADISON, MISS. — Newmark has arranged a $30 million construction loan for a new four-story, approximately 99,000-square-foot medical office building development in Madison, about 15 miles north of Jackson, Miss. Jay Miele, John Nero, Ben Appel and Michael Greeley of Newmark’s Healthcare Capital Markets group placed the loan through a regional bank on behalf of the borrower, Boldt Healthcare Real Estate Development. Adam Goss and Ron Ott of Newmark provided transactional support. The healthcare facility will be located on Baptist Memorial Health Care Corp.’s medical campus and is anticipated to be completed in the first quarter of 2024.
FRANKLIN, TENN. — In-N-Out Burger, a popular fast-food chain based in California, has announced plans to expand to Tennessee, beginning with a regional office in the Nashville suburb of Franklin. The company plans to open its first Tennessee restaurant in the Nashville area by 2026, which represents the furthest east location for In-N-Out. “We are very excited to provide Tennesseans with our quality burgers, fries and shakes,” says Lynsi Snyder, In-N-Out owner and president. “This expansion is significant for our company. For many years, we’ve heard requests from our customers in Tennessee to consider opening locations near them, further east than we’ve ever been. We very much look forward to serving them in years to come and becoming part of the wonderful communities in The Volunteer State.” In-N-Out was founded in 1948 by Harry and Esther Snyder as a small hamburger stand in Baldwin Park, Calif. The building is considered California’s first drive-thru hamburger stand. Today, In-N-Out operates 385 locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Texas and Utah. The company, which has headquarters in Baldwin Park and Irvine, Calif., employs about 35,000 associates and does not franchise any of its locations.
LANCASTER, PA. — Fernmoor Homes has purchased The Shops @ Rockvale, a 581,462-square-foot retail power center located about 80 miles west of Philadelphia in Lancaster, with plans to undertake a multifamily redevelopment. The New Jersey-based multifamily developer intends to demolish 265,198 square feet of commercial space and construct a 13-building, 416-unit apartment community at the 63-acre site. Brad Nathanson, David Crotts and Dean Zang of Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, represented the seller, New Jersey-based Wharton Realty Group, in the transaction. The trio also procured Fernmoor Homes, which purchased the property for $30.5 million, as the buyer. At the time of sale, The Shops @ Rockvale was home to 40 retailers and restaurants, including Carter’s, Crate & Barrel Outlet, Olive Garden and Cracker Barrel. The redevelopment is valued at approximately $100 million and could take up to five years to complete.
WORCESTER, MASS. — MassDevelopment has provided a $19.6 million tax-exempt bond for the construction of a mixed-income housing project in the central Massachusetts city of Worcester. The site at 120 Washington St. formerly housed the headquarters of Table Talk Pies, and the project is part of a larger redevelopment that will ultimately feature 400 residential units and 20,000 square feet of commercial space. Units will come in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom formats. The borrower and developer, an affiliate of Boston Capital Development, will use the bond proceeds to construct 59 apartments, while the other 24 residences will be financed with Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and other subsidies. Eastern Bank and Rockland Trust purchased the bond. Construction is slated for a February 2024 completion.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Tesla has filed plans with the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration (TDLR) to spend more than $775 million to expand Giga Texas, an automotive production plant in Austin. The filings indicate plans to construct cathode and drive unit manufacturing centers, a battery cell test lab and manufacturing center and a die shop. The expansion of Giga Texas is the company’s largest construction plan since the $5.5 billion for development of Giga Berlin in Germany last year, according to Reuters. Construction began on Giga Texas in July 2020, with initial deliveries of vehicles taking place at a “Cyber Rodeo” event on April 7, 2022. Tesla relocated its headquarters from Palo Alto, California to Austin in 2021. Tesla’s official Giga Texas website states that the plant currently features over 10 million square feet of factory floor on a 2,500-acre site along the Texas Colorado River. The production plant currently serves as the U.S. manufacturing hub for the Tesla Model Y and is planned as the future hub for production of the Tesla Cybertruck. A timeline for the expansion has yet to be announced. However, according to a recent report from Reuters, Tesla is expected to host its investor …