NEW YORK CITY — Locally based general contractor Archstone Builders is underway on renovations of the McGraw-Hill Building, a historic property at 330 W. 42nd St. in Manhattan. Since its original construction in 1931, the 35-story, 700,000-square-foot building has served as the headquarters of both the namesake publishing giant and Marvel Comics. Capital improvements include a restoration of the original design of the façade, a window replacement program and an upgrade of the entryways and storefront. MdeAs is the project architect, and New York-based Resolution Real Estate Partners owns the building.
Development
NEW YORK CITY — A partnership between Simi Capital Group, an investment firm with offices in New York City and Miami, global asset management firm Cerberus Capital Management and Atlanta-based Stonemont Financial has purchased a self-storage facility in Staten Island. The sales price was $19 million. The partnership plans to demolish the building at 2577 Forest Ave. and convert the site into an outdoor storage facility that will feature industrial parking space. Construction is expected to begin early next year.
BRECKSVILLE, OHIO — The Sherwin-Williams Co. (NYSE: SHW) has broken ground on its new global research and development (R&D) center in Brecksville, a southern suburb of Cleveland. The 600,000-square-foot facility will support product development, coatings research, color technology and process engineering. Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams is also building a new global headquarters in downtown Cleveland that will span approximately 1 million square feet. The company plans to invest a minimum of $600 million to build both the headquarters and the R&D facility. Together, the two facilities will house more than 3,500 employees. Sherwin-Williams estimates it will add a minimum of 400 jobs at these properties over time, an increase of 11 percent to the company’s current local workforce. The R&D center is expected to open by the end of 2024.
KATY, TEXAS — EastGroup Properties, a Mississippi-based REIT, has broken ground on Grand West Crossing 1, a 120,600-square-foot industrial project in the western Houston suburb of Katy. The building, which will be situated within a larger Grand West Crossing master-planned development, will feature 28-foot clear heights and proximity to Interstate 10 and State Highway 290. JLL is marketing the building for lease. Construction is scheduled for a second-quarter 2022 completion. The master plan for Grand West Crossing includes five additional buildings or build-to-suit opportunities.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — General contractor Cadence McShane has completed construction of Broadway Chapter, a 242-unit multifamily project in Fort Worth’s Near Southside District. Developed by CRG Real Estate Solutions and designed by Lamar Johnson Collaborative, the property spans two acres and 320,000 square feet. Units come in studio, one- and two-bedroom formats and include private balconies. The amenity package consists of a pool, dog run, outdoor grilling areas, a fitness center, coffee bar, library, lounge and Zoom rooms. The development team also delivered a 98,000-square-foot parking garage as part of the project.
WESTBOROUGH, MASS. — Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has opened a 350,000-square-foot robotics facility in Westborough, about 30 miles west of Boston, a move that adds about 200 new jobs to the regional economy. The facility will feature corporate offices, research and development labs and manufacturing space for the production of mobile drive units, which are used for inventory selection and transportation in the company’s automated warehouses. Amazon also operates a robotics facility in North Reading, Massachusetts.
STATE COLLEGE, PA. — Austin, Texas-based Aspen Heights Partners has broken ground on Aspen West End, a 96-unit multifamily project that will be located within walking distance of Penn State University’s campus in State College. Amenities will include a two-story fitness room, game room and breakout study areas. Residents will also have access to shuttle service to campus and three outdoor courtyards. Completion of the project, which follows the beginning of construction of the nearby Aspen East Penn student housing development, is slated for 2023.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Austin-based developer Lincoln Ventures has unveiled plans to build a 49-story apartment tower in the heart of Austin’s Rainey Street District. Located at 80 Rainey St., the project will include 644 units as well as retail space. Lincoln Ventures expects to break ground on the tower next summer with completion slated for summer 2025. The site includes two bungalows that will be preserved as part of the project. “The old bungalows, locally run bars and pedestrian-friendly streets are what make Rainey Street a special and desirable destination, so it’s our intent to maintain the vibrancy and unique character of this area and build upon it,” says David Kanne, CEO of Lincoln Ventures. “We will also maintain the character of Rainey Street by bringing in local Austin artists to design public art pieces and will place new, oversized trees along the public parkway section along the entire façade of the building.” The tower’s ground and second floors will include several food and beverage concepts, including a dedicated 2,200-square-foot space that will serve coffee during the day and cocktails at night. A special elevator lobby will offer public access to the 11th-floor pool deck and bar, the first of …
PLANT CITY, FLA. — BayCare Health System has broken ground on South Florida Baptist Replacement Hospital, a $326 million expansion project of South Florida Baptist Hospital in Plant City. Built in 1953, the hospital has undergone 12 major expansions and renovations since opening, including the expansion of the Heart and Vascular Center in 2017. The new project includes 150 private patient rooms with the capacity to expand by an additional 30 rooms, two inpatient bed towers, an 85,000-square-foot medical office building, central energy plant and 1,073 parking spaces. There will be no disruptions with the patients, doctors or staff at the current hospital, according to BayCare Health. Barton Malow is the general contractor for the project and is anticipating a construction timeline of 26 months.
NORTH BETHESDA, MD. — Choice Hotels International Inc. has signed a long-term lease to occupy 105,000 square feet in 915 Meeting St., a 276,000-square-foot office building to be constructed in North Bethesda. The office tower will be situated within Pike & Rose, a mixed-use development owned and developed by Federal Realty Investment Trust. Expected to break ground later this year, 915 Meeting St. will serve as Choice Hotels International’s new headquarters. Bernie McCarthy and Danny Sheridan of JLL represented Federal Realty in the lease negotiations, and Steve London of Savills represented Choice Hotels. The 16-story office building will feature amenities such as a rooftop conference center with collaborative common areas and a fitness center, as well as 9,600 square feet of ground floor retail space, approximately 25,000-square-foot flexible floor plates and 700 dedicated parking spaces. Gensler designed the building to achieve LEED Gold certification. Pike & Rose is a transit-oriented mixed-use development with more than 400,000 square feet of retail, services, dining and entertainment offerings. The development includes 300,000 square feet of existing office product as well, which includes tenants such as Bank of America, JLL, Industrious, OneDigital and Federal Realty’s corporate headquarters. The building is 40 percent preleased to …