CHICAGO — The Community Builders has completed development of Canvas at Leland Plaza, a $44 million affordable housing property in Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood. The equitable transit-oriented development (ETOD) features 63 units with commercial space, outdoor seating and parking. The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) is providing funding for 16 of the units through its project-based voucher program, representing an investment of more than $13.3 million over the next 30 years. Amenities at the property include package and bike rooms, storage space, a resident lounge and terrace. Financial partners include the City of Chicago, the CHA, CIBC, Stratford Capital Group, Benefit Chicago and ComEd. DesignBridge was the architect, and Leopardo Cos. and KMW Communities served as general contractors.
CHILLICOTHE, MO. — Crossland Construction Co. has broken ground on the new 11,600-square-foot police department headquarters for the City of Chillicothe, located in northern central Missouri. Hoefer Welker designed the facility, which is located at 624 Cherry St. The new headquarters replaces the existing police station. Upon completion, the building will feature spacious training facilities to support officer development as well as private and open office areas. Officer resource areas will be complete with mailboxes, copy machines, radio charging stations and space for evidence processing and storage. To enhance safety, the property will feature a fully enclosed sallyport, which provides direct access to the station and holding areas. There will be dedicated space for taking public reports and conducting private interviews as well as advanced communication technologies integrated throughout. Staff will have access to an exercise room, outdoor patio space, quiet room and communal break room. Additional project partners include BHC Engineering, J&S Structural Engineers and Landworks Studio.
NEW YORK CITY — California-based investment firm Carmel Partners has begun leasing Loden, a 569-unit apartment community located in the Crown Heights area of Brooklyn. Designed by Hill West Architects, Loden offers studio, one- and two-bedroom units that are furnished with stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops and backsplashes and individual washers and dryers. Amenities include a fitness center, game room, lounge, children’s playroom, private dining room and outdoor grilling and dining stations. Rents start at $2,900 per month for a studio. Carmel Partners has hired MNS Real Estate to lease and market the property.
GRAND PRAIRIE, TEXAS — PowerHouse Data Centers, a division of Virginia-based American Real Estate Partners, and the data center development arm of Dallas-based investment firm Provident Realty Advisors, have unveiled plans for a 768-acre campus in the central metroplex city of Grand Prairie. The hyperscale campus will be developed in three phases and will ultimately consist of 24 buildings with a power capacity of 1.8 gigawatts at full build-out. The joint venture has secured all necessary approvals and permits and is moving forward with design and engineering initiatives. Phase I facilities are slated to come on line in May 2026. The project represents the second development in the area for PowerHouse Data Centers, which announced a 50-acre project in Irving last spring.
DALLAS — A partnership between St. Louis-based general contractor Brinkmann Constructors and Asbury Automotive Group has broken ground on a build-to-suit industrial project in Dallas that will deliver a campus-style Porsche and Volvo dealership. The project’s initial phase will involve the demolition of a 600,000-square-foot manufacturing facility and the renovation of an existing Volvo dealership. A 30,000-square-foot addition to the Volvo dealership will feature a 29-bay service shop, parts department and technical facilities. The project also includes the construction of new 140,000-square-foot Porsche dealership with a 70-bay service shop, parts department, tech facilities, offices and a showroom. Praxis3 is the project architect. Completion is slated for early 2027.
CYPRESS, TEXAS — Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Co. will develop a 25-acre retail and restaurant district within Dunham Pointe, a 1,300-acre master-planned community located in the northwestern Houston suburb of Cypress. The new district will total 205,000 square feet, and roughly 50 retail and food-and-beverage operators have already submitted preliminary lease offers for the property, according to Trademark. Construction is expected to begin in the fourth quarter, with the first openings slated for early 2027. At full build-out, Dunham Pointe will also feature more than 2,000 single-family homes and a school.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — New York-based developer Alpine Residential has received $142.7 million in financing for Scholars Village, a 500-unit multifamily project that will be located in Jersey City. The financing consists of a four-year, floating-rate construction loan from Bank OZK and a preferred equity investment from EOS Residential Investors. Scholars Village will comprise two 12-story buildings with studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, as well as 4,101 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. Thomas Didio, Thomas Didio Jr. and Michael Mataras of JLL arranged the debt and equity on behalf of Alpine Residential.
CLARK, N.J. — French cosmetics company L’Oréal Groupe has announced the completion of its new North America Research & Innovation (R&I) Center located in Clark, roughly 13 miles outside Newark, N.J. The $160 million, 250,000-square-foot scientific research center is L’Oréal’s largest outside of France and will complement existing L’Oréal R&I hubs in Brazil, South Africa, India, China and Japan. “New Jersey has served as our scientific hub here in the United States for over six decades, and we are excited to expand our footprint in the state and bring all our scientific teams together in a beautiful and modern new research facility,” says David Greenberg, president and CEO of L’Oréal USA. The North America R&I Center broke ground in 2022 and comprises a 26,000-square-foot modular laboratory, a consumer center for product testing and co-creation (which accommodates up to 400 patrons) and an onsite mini factory to scale final formulations before full-scale productions. Sustainability attributes of the center include 10,000 solar panels, which meet 70 percent of the facility’s energy needs, an eco-retention pond for stormwater management and employee-led gardening and composting initiatives that create a green workspace. According to company representatives, the North America R&I Center will play a “pivotal …
HOUSTON — ACMI Properties, the development arm of the American Center for Manufacturing & Innovation, will develop Exploration Park, a 1.5 million-square-foot build-to-suit industrial park in southeast Houston. The site spans 207 acres on NASA’s Johnson Space Center campus. Plans for Exploration Park currently call for as many as 22 buildings ranging in size from 15,000 to 500,000 square feet with 24- to 30-foot clear heights and rear- or side-load configurations. Construction is expected to begin in the second quarter and to be complete in late 2026. JLL has been tapped as the leasing agent.
NEW CANEY, TEXAS — The East Montgomery County Improvement District (EMCID) is underway on construction of a 210,000-square-foot convention center within the Valley Ranch master-planned development in New Caney, a northeastern suburb of Houston. The facility will feature a 55,000-square-foot ballroom/exhibit hall, nearly 20,000 square feet of meeting space and approximately 25,000 square feet of pre-function and lobby space and outdoor courtyards. Plans also call for an attached 813-space parking garage and connection to a full-service hotel. Completion is slated for fall 2026. Signorelli Co. is the master developer of Valley Ranch and previously owned the land on which the facility will be located.