PENSACOLA, FLA. — The Paces Foundation has opened Brownsville Manor, an affordable housing community for seniors in Pensacola. The property offers 88 one- and two-bedroom units and is over 80 percent leased. The units will feature heating and cooling units, high-efficiency water heaters and water-saving showers and plumbing fixtures. Brownsville Manor is the second affordable housing community that The Paces Foundation has built for seniors in Pensacola. The first, Fairfield Manor, was awarded a LEED Platinum certification and opened five years ago.
BUFORD, GA. — Topgolf Entertainment Group will open a new 72-bay Topgolf venue in Buford in spring 2021. Construction is currently underway at the two-level property, which will feature climate-controlled bays. The asset will be situated within The Exchange at Gwinnett, 35 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Topgolf Entertainment expects to hire 250 employees at the new site. This will be the fourth Topgolf in Georgia, joining locations in Alpharetta, Midtown Atlanta and Augusta. Fuqua Development is building The Exchange at Gwinnett, which is located adjacent to the Mall of Georgia. The mixed-use project will include office, retail and residential spaces.
ONTARIO, OHIO — Industrial Commercial Properties LLC (ICP), a Cleveland-based commercial real estate development company, has finalized an agreement with the City of Ontario to redevelop a former General Motors Co. stamping plant. Located about 65 miles northeast of Columbus, the 270-acre site could accommodate up to 2 million square feet upon full buildout, according to ICP. The Ontario plant closed in 2010 after GM’s bankruptcy restructuring in 2009. The city took possession of the property in 2018. ICP plans to redevelop the site into Ontario Commerce Park and says occupancy could begin as early as next year. The first tenant will be specialty film producer Charter Next Generation, which will occupy 45,000 square feet. ICP has also redeveloped former GM sites in Batavia and Moraine, Ohio.
DES MOINES, IOWA — First Hospitality has opened a 124-room Home2 Suites by Hilton hotel in Des Moines. The property is located at 2650 University Ave. on the Drake University campus. The hotel features two meeting spaces totaling more than 1,000 square feet, an indoor pool and an outdoor patio space with a firepit. Michael Weldon will serve as the hotel’s general manager. As a result of COVID-19, Hilton has created the Hilton CleanStay program in partnership with RB, maker of Lysol. This program includes increased cleaning schedules, changes to amenities and services and social distancing requirements. The project joins First Hospitality’s growing national portfolio of more than 7,000 hotel rooms.
SYCAMORE AND SPRINGFIELD, ILL. — Knoebel Construction has completed two Jiffy Lube locations in Sycamore and Springfield. The automotive service centers each span 3,500 square feet and each cost $1.2 million to build. Knoebel has also been selected to build six additional Jiffy Lube locations in four Midwest states for Stonebriar Auto Services, a Jiffy Lube franchisee. Those projects are in Cape Girardeau and Nixa, Mo.; Lake Hallie and Manitowoc, Wis.; Jeffersonville, Ind.; and Machesney, Ill. Completion of those facilities is slated for early 2021.
SAN DIEGO — The Southern California division of Trammell Crow Residential (TCR) has started construction of Simone, a 36-story apartment project located at 1401 Union St. in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood. The project is a joint venture between TCR, Pacific Life Insurance and AAA Management. The high-rise will feature 358 market-rate apartments, five penthouses, 32 subsidized apartments for low-income residents, 32,000 square feet of resort-style amenity space and parking. Designed for LEED Gold certification, the 612,000-square-foot community is slated for completion in 2023. The 30-story residential tower will sit atop a six-story podium with three levels of underground parking and four levels of above-ground parking. Apartments will range from 577-square-foot studios to 1,097-square-foot two-bedroom units, as well as five 1,500-square-foot penthouses on the 35th and 36th floors. Interior unit amenities include gourmet kitchens, stainless steel appliances, hard-surface flooring, walk-in closets and all-tile bathrooms. Amenities will include a rooftop pool, spa and entertainment space; a Sky Club with panoramic city views, gourmet demonstration kitchen and indoor-outdoor lounges and dining spaces; a 4,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor fitness center; a 10,000-square-foot outdoor lounge with a movie project screen; dog park, pet lounge and spa; Amazon lockers; a bike repair shop with storage; and a …
ST. LOUIS — Kwame Building Group will serve as construction manager for The City District, an $81 million mixed-use project in North St. Louis City. The project will revitalize 10 blocks in the historic O’Fallon Park neighborhood. A series of new construction and redevelopment initiatives will reimagine 610,000 square feet into retail, single-family and multifamily homes, and community greenspace. The project will be built in two phases with completion slated for spring 2025. The O’Fallon neighborhood is home to many large and historical homes, according to Kwame. In Phase II, $1 million will be invested for the rehabilitation of 26 existing homes. Several large, single-family homes will be converted into multi-use rental properties. AMJ Investment Group is the developer and Jackson Design Group is the architect. Other project partners include the City of St. Louis and Alderman John Collins-Muhammad.
EDINA, MINN. — The Edina Housing Foundation has selected Lupe Development Partners and Ecumen to develop 118 units of affordable seniors housing in Edina. The project would be built on a parcel of land near Southdale Mall that the foundation owns. With rents ranging from $650 to $1,600, the proposed development will be affordable to seniors with household annual incomes ranging from $22,000 to $58,000. Ecumen will manage the property upon completion. The project team will work with the City of Edina to develop public art and community programing components. The development will feature one- and two-bedroom floor plans. Amenities will include a fitness center, community room, business center, package and mail center, green roof and walking path connections to the city’s trail system. The next steps are for the project team to begin the development planning and approval process with the city and obtain construction financing. Pending approval, construction could begin in spring 2022.
HOUSTON — The Dinerstein Companies, a locally based developer, has topped out Aspire Post Oak, a 383-unit apartment building located across from a Whole Foods Market in the Galleria area of Houston. The high-rise building will consist of seven floors of parking below the 33 residential floors. Units will feature an average size of 1,210 square feet and will be furnished with modern kitchens, smart technologies and individual washers and dryers. Amenities will include a 24-hour fitness center, infinity pool with tanning decks and adjacent aqua lounge, indoor and outdoor resident event space, a dog park and concierge services. Ludlow & Associates Construction is the general contractor for the project, which will also include 15,506 square feet of retail space. Dinerstein expects to begin leasing Aspire Post Oak in the second half of 2021, with rents starting at $3,000 per month.
HOUSTON — Trammell Crow Residential will develop Allora Northwest Crossing, a 378-unit apartment community that will be located at 5550 Bingle Road in northwest Houston. Units will feature individual washers and dryers and stainless steel appliances, while amenities will include a fitness center, pool, dog park and a bike storage room. Chris Caudill of NAI Partners represented Trammell Crow Residential affiliate Maple Bingle Apartments LLC in the acquisition of the 16.8-acre development site. Clay Pritchett and Zane Carman, also with NAI Partners, represented the seller, an investment group led by Claude Anello. Allora Northwest Crossing is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2021.