BRYAN COUNTY, GA. — Hyundai Motor Group will open a $5.5 billion manufacturing plant near the coastal Georgia city of Savannah that will be fully dedicated to production of electric vehicles, including batteries. Hyundai expects the facility to be operational within three years. In addition to Hyundai’s direct investment, various suppliers of the South Korean automaker will invest another $1 billion in the project. Between these initiatives, more than 8,000 new jobs are expected to be added to the local economy. Known as the Bryan County Megasite, the plant’s location spans nearly 3,000 acres. The site is adjacent to Interstate 16 and is proximate to both Interstate 95 and the Port of Savannah. The Port of Savannah is the fastest-growing container terminal in the country, according to the development team, and is served by two Class I railroads. A partnership between the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority (JDA) and the State of Georgia owns the Bryan County Megasite. The former entity comprises the development authorities of Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham and Effingham counties. The partnership has spent the last several years making infrastructural improvements to the site in order to improve speed-to-market functionalities for the end user. “From initial …
Development
CARLSBAD, CALIF. — Luminous Capital Management, in partnership with Austin, Texas-based Virtus Real Estate Capital, has acquired 5931 Priestly Drive, an industrial/research and development (R&D) building in Carlsbad. Locally based investment firm Greene Properties sold the asset for $14 million, or $265 per square foot. Situated within Carlsbad Research Center, the 52,800-square-foot property was fully leased to two tenants under short-term leases that expire in 2023 at the time of sale. The buyers plan to implement significant renovations and reposition the property for bioscience R&D and manufacturing. The partial two-story building features approximately 16,000 square feet of space with 24-foot clear heights, as well as heavy power, abundant parking and grade-level loading. Michael Nucci of RW Commercial represented the seller in the deal, while Chris Baumgart of JLL represented the buyer. Baumgart will also handle leasing of the property. John Chun and John Marshall of JLL arranged the equity joint venture between Luminous and Virtus. California Bank & Trust provided financing for the acquisition and conversion.
Aztec Group Arranges $81M Construction-to-Perm Loan for Metro Miami Mixed-Use Development
by John Nelson
HIALEAH, FLA. — Aztec Group has arranged an $81 million construction-to-perm loan for the development of Residences and Shoppes of Highland, a mixed-use development underway in the Miami suburb of Hialeah. The developer/borrower is an affiliate of South Florida-based Dacar Management, a development firm led by Alberto Micha. An affiliate of New York Life Insurance Co. provided the non-recourse, fixed-rate loan, which has an initial three-year term and converts to a 27-year self-amortizing loan. Upon completion, Residences and Shoppes of Highland will feature 244 garden-style apartments in four- and five-story buildings and a shopping center spanning 190,000 square feet. The retail component will house a Publix grocery store and Publix Liquors, HomeGoods, dd’s Discounts, Burlington, Five Below, Famous Footwear and Taco Bell, among others. Sitework has already commenced on the 70-acre project, which is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2023.
Crescent Communities, ParkProperty Capital to Build New Multifamily Community in Richmond
by John Nelson
RICHMOND, VA. — Crescent Communities and multifamily real estate investment firm ParkProperty Capital have plans to develop Novel Scott’s Addition, a new multifamily community in Richmond. The 275-unit property marks Crescent’s first investment in the Richmond area and was made possible through a partnership with Thalhimer Realty Partners. Construction is slated to begin immediately. Located at the former Wesco Distribution site at 2902 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., Novel Scott’s Addition will sit at the northern edge of Richmond’s vibrant Scott’s Addition neighborhood. The location is also adjacent to The Diamond, home of the Double-A Richmond Flying Squirrels baseball team, and just 2.5 miles from the popular City Center neighborhood. The five-story wrap building with a seven-story corner pop-out will offer a mix of studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments with a limited number of lofts on the top floor. First residences are scheduled for delivery in early 2024. Planned amenities include a resort-style pool with expansive pool deck, multiple dining and gathering spaces, including a fireside lounge, library, coworking rooms, dog park and spa, outdoor dining spaces, sky deck and a resident speakeasy. Partners for Novel Scott’s Addition include architecture firm KTGY, civil engineer Kimley-Horn, landscape architect LandDesign, interior designe CID …
PENNSVILLE, N.J. — A partnership between California-based CT Realty and PGIM Real Estate will develop Garden State Logistics Park, a 1.7 million-square-foot industrial park that will be located in Pennsville, about 40 miles south of Philadelphia. Garden State Logistics Park will consist of two buildings totaling roughly 1.2 million and 500,000 square feet. The buildings will be situated on 282 acres and will feature clear heights of 40 feet. Brian Fiumara of CBRE brokered the sale of the land. CBRE has also been tapped to lease the development. Completion is slated for the third quarter of 2023.
BOSTON — The Wentworth Institute of Technology, a private university founded in Boston in 1904, will open a 640,000-square-foot life sciences facility at 500 Huntington Ave. in the city’s Longwood Medical District. Wentworth has selected a joint venture between The Fallon Co., Owens Cos. and Waldwin Development Co. to develop the property. The project is expected to create about 1,900 construction jobs and 1,500 full-time jobs upon completion. A construction timeline for the development, which will include retail and restaurant space, has not yet been finalized.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA — The Opus Group has broken ground on River Road Logistics, a 302,300-square-foot speculative industrial building in Council Bluffs. Located at the intersection of Nebraska Avenue and River Road, the development will feature 34 dock doors, two drive-in doors, 50 dedicated trailer parking stalls, 225 car parking stalls and a clear height of 32 feet. More than half of the building has been preleased. The facility is slated for completion in the first quarter of 2023, and Opus plans to build a second building at the site. Opus is the developer, design-builder, architect and structural engineer. Matt Hasenjager and Denny Sciscoe of Cushman & Wakefield/The Lund Co. are marketing the space for lease.
BROWNSVILLE AND MCALLEN, TEXAS — A partnership between San Antonio-based Bakke Development Corp. and Atlanta-based Batson-Cook Development Co. is underway on construction of two self-storage facilities totaling 1,562 units in South Texas. Both the Brownsville and McAllen facilities will comprise 781 units across approximately 87,000 net rentable square feet of climate-controlled space. Alamo Architects Inc. is the architect for both facilities, and Independent Contractors Inc. is the general contractor. Both facilities are expected to be complete by the middle of next year.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — General contractor McCarthy Building Cos. has topped out the new 365,000-square-foot Texas Children’s Hospital in Austin, construction of which began last summer. The 52-bed facility will provide a range of services for women and children, including neonatal intensive care, pediatric intensive care, postpartum care, diagnostic imaging, acute care and urgent care. The hospital will also have an adjacent, 170,000-square-foot outpatient building that will house specialty care providers and a 1,200-space parking garage. Full completion is slated for 2024.
LONGVIEW, TEXAS — Fort Worth-based developer The Woodmont Co. has broken ground on a 1,400-square-foot retail project for Starbucks in Longview, located about 120 miles east of Dallas. The new coffee shop will be situated at the site of a former gas station and will be devoid of any indoor dining space. Shell construction of the building is scheduled to be complete in June.