WESTMINSTER, CALIF. — Shopoff Realty Investments has released plans to redevelop the Westminster Mall into a 26-acre mixed-use property. Located in the Orange County city of Westminster, the project will include housing, walkable green spaces, dining, retail and a hotel in place of the old Sears and Macy’s stores. Shopoff plans to break ground on the new project, named Bolsa Pacific at Westminster, in 2025. The entire transformation is set to include more than 1,000 apartments across three buildings; 100 for-sale townhomes; a 175-room hotel; 25,000 square feet of retail stores; a food hall; and 2.5 acres of green space, including an amphitheater, dog park, pickleball courts and food kiosks.
Development
PHOENIX — Blackstone and Dominium have expanded their partnership to develop Casa Azure, which will bring 196 new affordable housing units to Phoenix. Blackstone will provide $31 million of tax credit equity to support the development. This increases Blackstone’s commitment to expand the affordable housing stock in Maricopa County to a total of 568 new LIHTC units through $79 million of investments. Casa Azure will be an age-restricted property available to those earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income.
Danco Buys 18 Acres in Moorpark, California for Vendra Gardens Affordable Housing Development
by Jeff Shaw
MOORPARK, CALIF. — Danco has purchased an 18-acre development site in the Ventura County city of Moorpark, with plans for a 200-unit affordable multifamily project. The proposed development, known as Vendra Gardens, will feature 80 one-bedroom/one-bathroom units, 68 two-bedroom/two-bathroom units, and 52 three-bedroom/two-bathroom units. It will also include a 2,500-square-foot leasing building and a 2,500-square-foot amenity building. Danco received funding for the project through tax credits by the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee and a grading permit has been issued. The units will be available for those who earn 30 to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), which will account for 65 percent of the total project. Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura’s Matt Benwitt and J.C. Martin facilitated the land sale on behalf of the buyer. The seller was Essex Property Trust.
RENO, NEV. — Prism Realty has announced plans to develop North Valleys Industrial Center, a 143,640-square-foot property in Reno. The Class A building will be located at 9630 N. Virginia St. Prism plans to break ground this summer and complete the project in the second quarter of 2024. The development will offer availability for a single full-building user or can be split to a minimum of 45,000 square feet to accommodate tenants seeking mid-bay space. Plenium Builders will serve as general contractor on the project. DCG’s Joel Fountain, Nick Knecht and Baker Krukow will represent Prism Realty on all leasing activity.
MIAMI — Empira Group, a Switzerland-based institutional real estate investment firm, has acquired a development site at 901 SW Third Ave., formerly known as Empire Brickell, in Miami’s Brickell area. The firm plans to build a 26-story apartment tower comprising 310 market-rate units with roughly 2,500 square feet of retail space on the ground floor. Construction is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2024, with completion slated for 2026. The multifamily high-rise, designed by Coral Gables-based Corwil Architects, will offer a range of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units along with 380 parking spaces. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, lounge area and business center all located on the seventh floor. The building will meet specific environmental and sustainability standards, such as energy efficiency, water conservation, use of sustainable materials and indoor air quality, to achieve at least a LEED Silver certification. The transaction marks Empira’s second development site acquisition in greater downtown Miami in the last eight months. “This investment underlines Empira’s commitment to investing in Miami’s residential real estate market, which is poised for tremendous growth over the next few decades,” says Lahcen Knapp, Empira’s chairman. “Miami has emerged as one of the top U.S. …
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Aventon Cos. has broken ground on Aventon Mikasa, a 336-unit apartment community located in Charleston’s Daniel Island submarket. Set to open for leasing in fall 2024, the property will be situated on 19 acres and comprise multiple four-story, elevator-serviced buildings housing one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Amenities will include a clubhouse with a remote working lounge, game room and fitness center, as well as a resort-style swimming pool. The design-build team includes architect Scott + Cormia, interior designer Studio 5 Interiors Inc. and civil engineer/landscape architect Thomas & Hutton. Aventon Mikasa is the second multifamily development in the Charleston area for Raleigh-based Aventon Cos.
IRVING, TEXAS — Locally based developer KDC has broken ground on an 850,000-square-foot office campus in Irving’s Las Colinas district that will serve as the new regional headquarters for Wells Fargo. The campus will consist of two 10-story, 400,000-square-foot buildings and a connecting parking garage, as well as various open green spaces, all on a 22-acre site. The San Francisco-based bank is consolidating its regional real estate footprint and expects to employ about 3,000 people at the campus, inclusive of the hiring of 650 new staffers. Completion is slated for late 2025.
ARDEN HILLS, MINN. — New Perspective has opened a 146-unit seniors housing community in Arden Hills, a suburb of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The 192,000-square-foot community offers independent living, assisted living and memory care services. The property is New Perspective’s 10th in the Twin Cities metro area. New Perspective Arden Hills will partner with Bethel University, the community’s next-door neighbor, in providing a variety of campus opportunities for those living in the building.
DALLAS — Glenstar Properties has completed the multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion of Premier Place, a 457,900-square-foot office building located at 5910 N. Central Expressway in North Dallas. Glenstar acquired the property, which was originally built in 1985, in late 2019. The project expanded the lobby, renovated the conference room and added a 3,000-square-foot space for an indoor/outdoor tenant lounge with a coffee and cocktail bar. Premier Place also features a 62,000-square-foot LifeTime Fitness facility on the sixth and seventh floors. Five new tenants have signed leases since the completion of the project.
BAYTOWN, TEXAS — Philadelphia-based development and investment firm BG Capital will develop a 281,849-square-foot cold storage facility in the eastern Houston suburb of Baytown. The facility will be situated on a 30.7-acre site within TGS Cedar Port Industrial Park. The site can also support the development of a second building, which would expand the total footprint to about 547,000 square feet. New Jersey-based cold storage operator FreezPak Logistics has committed to operating the facility, which will house a range of temperature-controlled spaces to accommodate operations such as storage, processing, packaging and distribution. Construction is scheduled to begin before the end of the month.