SEATTLE — Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), the Seattle-based e-commerce giant, is planning to open a chain of department stores to boost its sales in clothing, household items, electronics and other areas. The news comes from a Wall Street Journal report citing “people familiar with the matter.” The first stores are expected to open in Ohio and California and, at around 30,000 square feet, will be smaller than a typical department store. “It is unclear what brands Amazon will offer in the stores, although the company’s private-label goods are expected to feature prominently,” the Journal reports. This is not Amazon’s first foray into brick-and-mortar retail, despite being perhaps the largest e-commerce disruptor of the sector. Amazon made big waves in 2017 by purchasing high-end grocery chain Whole Foods Market for nearly $14 billion. It has also, in recent years, experimented with concepts such as small-scale, checkout-free grocery stores.
CHICAGO — Chicago-based real estate development firm Sterling Bay has broken ground on 345 N Morgan, a 200,000-square-foot office and retail building in Chicago’s Fulton Market. Sterling Bay acquired the development site in 2014 and originally intended to break ground in March 2020, but the project was halted due to COVID-19. Designed by Eckenhoff Saunders Architects, the building will feature private outdoor terraces, a 5,000-square-foot roof deck, bar and lounge, fitness center, coworking library and high-tech conference spaces. The construction timeline is 13 months, enabling tenants to move in as early as September 2022. Skender and JLL Construction are building the project. Sterling Bay secured roughly $100 million in combined construction loans from senior lender Bank OZK and mezzanine lender PCCP.
WARRENVILLE, ILL. — McShane Construction Co. has completed Arden Residences in Warrenville, about 30 miles west of Chicago. Interforum Holdings was the developer for the 364-unit luxury apartment complex. The four-story property offers 201 one-bedroom units, 153 two-bedroom units and 10 three-bedroom units wrapped around a 386-space parking garage. Amenities include a fitness center, yoga studio, business center, library, massage room, sauna, arts and crafts room, pool, barbecue areas and two pickle ball courts. Baranyk Associates served as architect.
MAGNOLIA, TEXAS — Austin-based Stratus Properties (NASDAQ: STRS) has received construction financing for the initial phase of Magnolia Place, a mixed-use development located northwest of Houston. Veritex Community Bank provided the three-year, $14.8 million construction loan for Phase I. The first phase of development will revolve around the construction of two retail buildings totaling 19,000 square feet, five pad sites and various pieces of infrastructure. In addition, construction is underway on a 95,000-square-foot store for regional grocer H-E-B at the adjoining 18-acre site. At full buildout, Magnolia Place will consist of four retail buildings totaling 35,000 square feet, five retail pad sites, 194 single-family homes and 500 multifamily units.
KELLER, TEXAS — Locally based developer Realty Capital Management and South Carolina-based Greystar are underway on construction of Keller Center Stage, a 38-acre mixed-use project on the northern outskirts of Fort Worth. The initial phase will consist of The Lyric at Keller Center Stage, a multifamily community with Class A amenities that is being developed by Greystar, as well as 24,000 square feet of commercial space and a community event lawn. The latter two elements are expected to be complete by the third quarter of next year, while the apartment community is slated for full completion in the third quarter of 2023. At full buildout, Keller Center Stage will comprise 475 multifamily units, 57 single-family homes and 60,000 square feet of office, retail and restaurant space.
LOS ANGELES — Standard Communities and Faring have formed a joint venture with plans to create more than $2 billion of middle-income housing across California over the next 18 to 24 months. The strategic partnership, Standard-Faring Essential Housing, will engage in both ground-up construction of middle-income rental housing and the acquisition and conversion of existing market-rate properties. The partnership recently created more than 650 units of dedicated middle-income housing in Southern California with a total capitalization of over $400 million. The transactions utilized tax-exempt bond financing provided by CSCDA Community Improvement Authority, a state program that seeks to improve the availability of housing for Californians earning approximately the same as the area median income (AMI). Upon taking ownership, CSCDA Community Improvement Authority worked with Standard-Faring Essential Housing as project administrator to immediately lower rents for new residents who qualify with incomes between 80 percent and 120 percent of AMI. “By focusing on middle-income housing, California cities can ensure that middle-income families and essential workers such as first responders, hospital and healthcare staff, and teachers can afford to live near their jobs in the communities they serve,” says Jeffrey Jaeger, principal and co-founder of Standard Communities. “This joint venture will provide …
RANDOLPH, N.J. — Developer Value Cos. has broken ground on the final phases of Gateways at Randolph, a rental community in Northern New Jersey. The final phases will deliver 104 two-bedroom residences across four buildings and a 7,000-square-foot leasing office. Upon full completion, Gateways at Randolph will consist of more than 1,000 units, with the newest residences ranging in size from 981 to 1,100 square feet. Communal amenities include a pool, fitness center, playground, volleyball court and grilling areas.
SEATTLE — GTIS Partners and Ryan Cos. have formed a joint venture to develop 65 S Horton St., a last-mile industrial/urban logistics property in Seattle. The project is expected to cost approximately $42.5 million. Totaling 126,646 square feet, the four-story building will offer dual freight elevator access to floors two through four, and the ground floor will feature a loading dock, shipping/receiving space, 10 covered docks and 85 parking spots. The site is located in one of the city’s qualified opportunity zones, adjacent to several Port of Seattle terminals and one mile south of downtown Seattle.
BROOKLYN PARK, MINN. — Taco Bell is building a restaurant with a new drive-thru concept in Brooklyn Park, a suburb of Minneapolis. Construction is underway on the 3,000-square-foot, two-story restaurant. Completion is scheduled for summer 2022. Known as Defy, the new restaurant concept was developed in partnership with Minneapolis-based Vertical Works Inc., a design company that works with quick-serve restaurants, retailers and healthcare tenants. In 2020, Border Foods, one of the largest privately held Taco Bell franchisees in America, enlisted Vertical Works to create a new restaurant design. With Defy, Taco Bell and Border Foods will partner on their 230th restaurant and 82nd new restaurant build. The concept reimagines the traditional drive-thru experience with four lanes, three of which are dedicated to mobile or delivery order pickups. This way, customers who order via the Taco Bell app or third-party delivery services can skip the line. The drive-thru lanes are situated below the restaurant kitchen. Additionally, digital check-in screens enable mobile order customers to scan in their order via a unique QR code. Food is delivered in a contactless manner via a proprietary lift system. The Defy footprint is smaller or equal to existing Taco Bell store footprints. There will be …
OCONOMOWOC, WIS. — Wangard Partners has selected Greenfire to build its new Olympia Fields Apartments in Oconomowoc, about 34 miles west of Milwaukee. The development will include 178 luxury apartment units along with a pool and clubhouse. Seven buildings will house a variety of unit sizes, including studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. The project will be built on the site of the former Olympia Resort, which is currently being demolished. Construction is expected to begin in October with completion slated for fall 2022. Kahler Slater will serve as architect and R.A. Smith as civil engineer.