Development

CARY, N.C. — Epic Games Inc., a global gaming company whose products include the hit video game “Fortnite,” has purchased a distressed mall in Cary for its new headquarters campus. The property, Cary Towne Center, spans 980,000 square feet and in recent years lost three of its five anchor tenants, with only Dave & Buster’s and Belk remaining. Epic purchased the 87-acre site from Turnbridge Equities and Denali Properties for $95 million. Stephen Porterfield of Capital Associates represented Epic in the transaction. Founded in 1991, Epic has had its headquarters in Cary for more than 20 years and will continue to operate from its offices at 620 Crossroads Blvd. until completion of the redevelopment, which is estimated to be in 2024. Epic plans to break ground on the adaptive reuse project this year, thanks in part to Turnbridge and Denali getting Cary Towne Center rezoned in late 2019. The developers purchased the distressed mall in January 2019 for $31 million, according to Triangle Business Journal. Turnbridge and Denali had planned to transform the mall into a 4 million-square-foot project dubbed Carolina Yards, but ultimately decided to sell the property to Epic. “Epic shares our vision for transforming Cary Towne Center …

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PHILADELPHIA — DH Property Holdings will develop a 733,800-square-foot distribution center on a 69-acre parcel at 5000 Richmond St. in Philadelphia, a project that is valued at $115 million. The site is located near Interstate 95, about six miles from the Center City area, and will house a 351,800-square-foot side-load building and a 382,000-square-foot cross-dock building. Walker & Dunlop arranged a limited equity partner to assist DH Property Holdings with the project. A construction timeline was not released.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bank OZK has provided $174 million in construction financing for Upton Place on Wisconsin, a planned mixed-use development in Washington, D.C., that will feature 689 multifamily units and 100,000 square feet of retail space. Eastdil Secured arranged the loan. The borrowers and developers, Apartment Investment Management Co. (Aimco) and The Donohoe Cos. Inc., expect to break ground in early 2021 and deliver the project in 2024. Donohoe originally developed the site, situated at 4000 Wisconsin Ave., in 1987 as the headquarters for Fannie Mae. The site has sat vacant since Fannie Mae consolidated its headquarters in downtown D.C. in 2014. Upton Place on Wisconsin will comprise a six- and an eight-story building. The multifamily portion is expected to include 65 affordable housing units. SK+I Architecture designed Upton Place to include most of the existing 825 below-grade parking spaces. Communal amenities will include a rooftop pool, three internal courtyards, barbecue areas, fitness center and a yoga studio.

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CARENCRO, LA. — Amazon has chosen Carencro for a new $100 million fulfillment center, its first in the state of Louisiana. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant currently operates three delivery centers and seven Whole Foods stores in the state. The property is expected to house 500 full-time employees upon completion, which is slated for the end of 2021. The asset will be situated in Lafayette Parish at the former site of the original Evangeline Downs Casino and Racetrack, near Interstates 49 and 10. Employees at the fulfillment center will pick, pack and ship bulky or larger-sized items, such as patio furniture, outdoor equipment and rugs. Amazon expects the facility to span 1 million square feet.

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ATLANTA — Wells Fargo Bank has provided two construction loans totaling $290 million for Midtown Union, a mixed-use development that broke ground last December in Midtown Atlanta. A joint venture between MetLife Investment Management and Granite Properties is developing a 26-story, 612,000-square-foot office building at the project that will serve as the future headquarters of Invesco. Wells Fargo provided the joint venture with a $210 million loan for the office building, for which general contractor Brasfield & Gorrie has completed seven stories. The office tower will feature 24,000 square feet of ground-level retail, a 12,000-square-foot terrace on the eighth floor, a fitness center and 14-foot floor-to-ceiling windows. Cooper Carry designed the building to also feature an HVAC system that features MERV 13 air filters and Needlepoint Bipolar Ionization technology to combat COVID-19. Additionally, a joint venture between MetLife Investment Management and StreetLights Residential received an $80 million loan for Midtown Union’s 18-story, 355-unit multifamily community adjacent to the office tower. Brasfield & Gorrie has completed 12 levels of the residential space and expects to deliver both buildings in the third quarter of 2022. The community will offer studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Communal amenities will include coworking space, …

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MILLS RIVER, N.C. — Collett Industrial has broken ground on a 90,720-square-foot logistics facility in Mills River. The property is being built on a build-to-suit basis for an undisclosed Fortune 500 retailer. ABC 13 News reports the site is located on School House Road, five miles from Interstate 26 and six miles from Asheville Regional Airport. Randall Bentley and Jordan Skellie of Lee & Associates secured the lease on behalf of the developer. Vannoy Construction is the general contractor for the asset, which is expected to deliver in summer 2021.

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SAN ANTONIO — Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) will open three industrial facilities totaling 2.1 million square feet in the San Antonio area over the next two years. Combined, the three new facilities are expected to bring about 1,500 new jobs to the market. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant will open a 1 million-square-foot fulfillment center in 2021 and a 750,000-square-foot fulfillment center in 2022, as well as a 350,000-square-foot delivery station at 8210 Aviation Landing. After items are sorted and at fulfillment centers, they are transported to delivery stations for last-mile distribution to customers. The developers and sites of the fulfillment centers were not disclosed.

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AUSTIN, TEXAS — Texas-based developer Presidium and global investment manager Partners Group have unveiled plans for River Park, a 109-acre mixed-use project that will be located on East Riverside Drive near Oracle’s newly announced headquarters campus. The new master plan for the project calls for more than 10 million square feet of commercial and residential space across office, retail, hospitality, entertainment and multifamily uses. The residential component will also include 400 affordable housing units. River Park will be a multi-phase project that is expected to take 10 to 20 years to fully build out. A new street network of short, pedestrian-friendly blocks and trail connections will link the various uses and connect to the surrounding neighborhood and a new multimodal transit hub. Gensler is leading the design of the project. The team anticipates beginning construction with a 15-acre portion along the southeastern side of the site.

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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Amazon.com Inc. has unveiled plans to open its first fulfillment center in the state of South Dakota. The 640,000-square-foot development will be located in Sioux Falls and is expected to open in 2022. Amazon expects to create 1,000 full-time jobs at the facility. Employees will work alongside Amazon robotics to pick, pack and ship small items to customers such as books, electronics and toys. Since 2010, Amazon has invested more than $1 million in South Dakota, including infrastructure and compensation to employees in the state.

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DENVER — Trammell Crow Co., along with its capital partner Clarion Partners, has purchased an 89.6-acre vacant land site for the development of 104th Commerce Park, an industrial park located at 104th Avenue, just east of the intersection of State Highway 85 and Interstate 76 in metro Denver. Terms of the acquisition were not released. Totaling 1.2 million square feet, 104th Commerce Park will feature five industrial and distribution buildings built in two phases, with spaces ranges from 20,000 square feet to 290,000 square feet, as well as build-to-suit lease options. Tyler Carner, Jeremy Ballenger, Jessica Osternick and Daniel Close of CBRE will handle marketing for the development. Murray & Stafford is serving as general contractor, Ware Malcomb is providing architectural services and Langan Engineering is serving as civil engineer.

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