ATLANTA — Ardent Cos. plans to add a food-and-beverage destination within its Piedmont Center office campus in Atlanta’s Buckhead district. Dubbed Oxton, the project will transform 35,000 square feet of ground-level office space along Piedmont Road to a collection of eateries that will spill into Piedmont Center’s tree-lined courtyard. Atlanta-based Square Feet Studio Architects is leading the design that will span about an acre of the campus. Ardent plans to break ground in the third quarter. Piedmont Center comprises about 2 million square feet of offices and connects to PATH400, a greenway connecting various neighborhoods in the Buckhead area. Along with consulting on Oxton, Bridger Properties will handle the retail leasing assignment. Westbridge is also a consultant for the project.
Development
CHICAGO — Woodlawn Central LLC is moving forward with the development of Woodlawn Central, an $895 million mixed-use project spanning eight acres in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood. The development team recently hired Transwestern Real Estate Services as its commercial real estate services provider. Woodlawn Central is poised to transform the area into a walkable, transit-oriented district with easy access to civic amenities such as the Obama Presidential Center, Jackson Park, the Museum of Science and Industry and the University of Chicago. Woodlawn’s Apostolic Church of God conceived and planned the project. The Network of Woodlawn, which was founded in 2009 to improve the neighborhood’s quality of life by building infrastructure to support better education, safety, health and economics, gave substantial input on the project. In addition to 870 homes ranging from affordable workforce options to market rate, luxury and seniors housing, Woodlawn Central will support a diverse range of Black businesses, creators, innovators and residents with much-needed community assets. Plans call for a 154-room hotel, small performance theater, vertical greenhouse and microgrid energy facility. The retail, hospitality, cultural, service, tech and transit options have been planned to nurture Black-owned businesses and generate employment opportunities for residents. According to the development team, …
Legacy Partners, Griffin Capital Break Ground on 380-Unit Multifamily Development in Aurora, Colorado
by Jeff Shaw
AURORA, COLO. — A joint venture between Legacy Partners and Griffin Capital has broken ground on Legacy Metro 525, a 380-unit apartment community in Aurora. The transit-oriented development will be adjacent to the Sable light rail station and near I-225 and Highway 83. Legacy Metro 525 will offer a mix of 380 studio to three-bedroom apartments, with an average unit size of 846 square feet. It is scheduled for completion near the end of 2025. Legacy and Griffin Capital closed on the construction financing with a loan from Poppy Bank of Santa Rosa, Calif. The developers purchased the site, located at 525 S. Dawson St. in southern Aurora, in September 2022. Cushman & Wakefield’s team of Wade Fletcher, Jim Capecelatro, and Mike Kboudi brokered the sale transaction.
Lovett Industrial Receives $24.9M Construction Financing for Rialto, California Project
by Jeff Shaw
RIALTO, CALIF. — Lovett Industrial has received $24.9 million in construction financing to develop Rialto II, a 114,115-square-foot, Class A industrial development in Rialto. Once completed, Rialto II will feature 36-foot clear heights, two grade-level doors, 12 dock-high doors, a 130-foot truck court and 90 parking stalls. The six-acre site is located at 1910 W. Renaissance Parkway. The three-year, fixed-rate loan is through American Realty Advisors. Peter Thompson, Samuel Godfrey and Jordan Leake led the JLL Capital Markets debt advisory team.
HTG, Mount Hermon AME Church Break Ground on Affordable Seniors Housing Community in Fort Lauderdale
by John Nelson
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — Housing Trust Group (HTG) and Mount Hermon African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church Inc. has broken ground on Mount Herman Apartments, an affordable seniors housing project in Fort Lauderdale. The seven-story property will be located at 750 NW 4th St. and offer one- and two-bedroom units ranging from 650 to 950 square feet. Apartments will be reserved for income-qualifying residents 62 and older who earn at or below 25 and 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), with rents ranging from $425 to $1,225 per month. Amenities will include a rooftop pool and pool deck with lounge seating, fitness center, multipurpose clubroom with kitchenette and an outdoor community gathering space. Services provided at the community will include 24-hour resident assistance and a resident assurance check-in program, adult literacy training and assistance with light housekeeping, grocery shopping and laundry. Funding sources for Mount Hermon Apartments include $32.6 million in 9 percent LIHTC equity syndicated through Raymond James, a $33 million construction loan through TD Bank, a $7.5 million Freddie Mac loan through Berkadia and a $640,000 loan from the City of Fort Lauderdale. HTG and Mount Hermon AME Church plan to open the property in late 2024.
Swinerton, Monteith to Construct Mass Timber Office Building for Live Oak Bank in Wilmington, North Carolina
by John Nelson
WILMINGTON, N.C. — A joint venture between two Southeast-based general contractors, Swinerton and Monteith Construction, will construct a four-story mass timber office building on the Live Oak Bank campus in Wilmington. The 67,000-square-foot property will be the fourth building on the campus and the first to be 100 percent mass timber, a sustainable building method that more developers are opting to utilize. The local office of LS3P designed Building Four to achieve LEED Silver certification. The property is expected to accommodate 200 Live Oak Bank employees upon completion, which Swinerton and Monteith are expecting in early 2024. Swinerton’s sister company Timberlab will provide both the glue-laminated timber and the cross-laminate timber fabrications for the Building Four project.
Fitness Concept Signs 38,400 SF Lease at Grove Central Mixed-Use Development in Miami
by John Nelson
MIAMI — Club Studio, a fitness retail concept and part of Fitness International LLC, has signed a 38,400-square-foot lease at Grove Central, a mixed-use development underway in Miami’s Coconut Grove neighborhood. A joint venture between Miami-based developers Terra and Grass River Property is developing Grove Central, which is expected to open in 2024. The project will feature a 23-story residential tower with 402 multifamily, workforce and co-living units, a new 1,250-space public parking garage and a total of approximately 170,000 square feet of neighborhood-oriented retail space. Other retailers committed at the project include Target, Sprouts Farmers Market, Total Wine and Five Below. Grove Central is situated adjacent to the Coconut Grove Metrorail station, The Underline linear park and U.S. Highway 1.
SKOKIE, ILL. — Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has unveiled plans to add up to 200,000 square feet of healthcare space to its redevelopment of Westfield Old Orchard mall in Skokie. The medical space is expected to be available for leasing in 2024. Greg Gerber and Chris Cummins of JLL will handle the leasing assignment. In 2022, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield unveiled plans for the redevelopment of Westfield Old Orchard mall to include health and wellness amenities, luxury residences and open green space. Currently, there are 17 restaurants, 143 retailers, two fitness studios and 1.7 million square feet of retail space.
NEW YORK CITY — New York City-based development and investment firm Lightstone has completed the 216-room Moxy Hotel in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. Moxy is part of the Marriott family of brands. Designed by Stonehill Taylor with interiors by BASILE Studio, the boutique establishment houses four food-and-beverage concepts, including a fine dining restaurant and a rooftop bar. Other amenities include a fitness center, coworking spaces and meeting and event rooms. Rates start at $179 per night.
EAST BRUNSWICK, N.J. — Locally based financial intermediary G.S. Wilcox has arranged a $20 million construction loan for a 146,570-square-foot industrial project in the Central New Jersey community of East Brunswick. The speculative warehouse will feature a clear height of 36 feet, 18 loading docks and parking for 91 vehicles and 15 trailers. Bridget Wilcox and Al Raymond of G.S. Wilcox arranged the three-year loan through an undisclosed regional bank. The borrower/developer was also not disclosed.