SAN ANTONIO — California-based AHV Communities has begun work on Farm Haus, a 142-unit duplex rental community in northwest San Antonio. Residences will feature two-, three- and four-bedroom layouts with quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, two-car garages and private fenced yards. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, communal kitchen, conference room, great room, bocce court and a dog park. Construction will be carried out in five phases, with preleasing set to begin in April and full completion slated for the second quarter of 2022. Monthly rates will range from approximately $1,775 to $2,200.
BOSTON — A partnership between Lendlease and Ivanhoe Cambridge has acquired land at 60 Guest St. within Boston Landing, a mixed-use destination in the Allston/Brighton area, for the development of a 320,000-square-foot life sciences building. The parcel sold for $67 million. The project will be situated on 1.1 acres, rise nine stories and offer traditional office space in addition to lab and research/development space. SGA Architects is designing the building, construction of which is targeted to begin in June 2022. Coleman Benedict and Kerry Hawkins of JLL represented the seller of the land, NB Development Group, and procured the partnership as the buyer.
FORT LEE, N.J. — Locally based developer Weiss Realty Co. is planning a 31-unit apartment project at 2130 Center Ave. in Fort Lee, located across the Hudson River from Upper Manhattan. Designed by architecture firm Bilow Garret Group, the 36,800-square-foot project will include parking for 51 vehicles and amenities such as a rooftop terrace, fitness center and coworking spaces. The site is located immediately adjacent to the I-95 thoroughfare leading up to the George Washington Bridge. Approval from the Fort Lee Planning Board is still pending. Weiss and his development firm have been honored by the Greater Fort Lee Chamber of Commerce in the past for their contributions to the evolving city.
STONECREST, GA. — Hallmark Venture Group Inc. has acquired The Mall at Stonecrest, a 1.2 million-square-foot regional mall in metro Atlanta. The seller and sales price were not disclosed, but The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the mall was last appraised at $84 million. Hallmark Venture is planning to transform the 29-acre mall site into a mixed-use destination that will include apartments, a sports and entertainment complex, cosmetic superstore, aquarium, medical offices, transportation facilities and restaurants. No construction timeline for the redevelopment was disclosed. Situated in southeast DeKalb County, Stonecrest features more than 100 national and regional retail chains that include Macy’s, Dillard’s, J.C. Penney, H&M, Forever 21, Victoria’s Secret and Round One. The mall’s occupancy rate was more than 90 percent at the time of sale, according to Hallmark Venture. The Boca Raton, Fla.-based buyer is retaining Urban Retail Properties LLC to manage and lease Stonecrest. The Chicago-based firm has managed the mall since 2012 and will oversee the development of the mall’s next phase.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — A partnership between BLG Capital Advisors, Magellan Development Group, Geolo Capital and Wanxiang America Real Estate Group is nearing completion of Thompson Austin, a 212-room luxury hotel that will be located in the downtown area. The property is expected to open over the summer and will house several food and beverage concepts and amenities such as a pool, fitness center, game room and indoor and outdoor meeting spaces. Thompson, which is part of the Hyatt family of brands, also recently opened flagship hotels in Dallas and in San Antonio.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital has provided a $28.9 million construction loan for Legacy Riverside Senior Living Community, a 264-unit affordable project in Fort Worth. Units, which will feature studio, one- and two-bedroom options, will be reserved for renters earning 60 percent or less of the area median income. Amenities will include a clubhouse, pool and walking paths. Phil Melton, Jeff Bradley and Cindy Hamm of Bellwether originated the loan on behalf of the borrowers, Legacy Multifamily Development and RISE Residential Construction, which will develop the property in partnership with Garland Housing Finance Corp.
CHICAGO — The Sable at Navy Pier, a 223-room, seven-story hotel, opened today at Chicago’s Navy Pier tourist attraction. James McHugh Construction Co. and Powers & Sons Construction Co. were the general contractors for the $100 million project. Developer ACRON USA owns the hotel, which is part of Hilton’s Curio brand. Maverick Hotels and Restaurants is the hotel operator. Every room at the hotel offers a waterfront view of the Chicago skyline. Construction involved integrating the new building into the pier’s existing structure. Construction began in June 2018 and was completed in October 2020, but the opening of the hotel was delayed due to COVID-19. Navy Pier itself has been closed since last fall and is expected to reopen this spring. The Sable name comes from the USS Sable, which served as a Great Lakes luxury cruise ship prior to World War II. KOO LLC was the project architect and interior designer, while Thornton Tomasetti served as structural engineer.
CHICAGO — Optima Inc. has topped off Optima Lakeview, a 198-unit luxury apartment project in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. The seven-story, transit-oriented development includes 14,000 square feet of street-level retail space. First move-ins are scheduled for spring 2022. Work on the project, which is situated on the site of a former Treasure Island grocery store, began five months ago. Optima is serving as both architect and general contractor. Optima Lakeview will feature 40,000 square feet of amenities, including a rooftop sky deck, indoor basketball court, golf simulator, fitness center, yoga room, sports lounge, dog park, game room, demonstration kitchen, business center and two conference rooms. Units will feature keyless entry and smart thermostat and lighting. Optima says the units are significantly larger than what’s currently available in the market in order to accommodate dedicated space for a home office with the rise of the work-from-home model.
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. — Skybox Datacenters is underway on the development of Skybox Chicago I, a 189,000-square-foot data center in the suburban Chicago community of Elk Grove Village. The project is the first facility being developed as part of a new partnership between Skybox and Prologis Inc. The partnership will focus on data center markets across Chicagoland. Completion of the first facility is slated for November.
ROSELLE PARK, N.J. — Greystone has arranged a $65 million construction loan for a 325-unit multifamily project at 10 Westfield Ave. W. in the Northern New Jersey community of Roselle Park. The project will include the development of 16,000 square feet of retail space and a 518-space parking garage and an amenity package that consists of a courtyard, lounge, fitness center and meeting rooms. ACORE Capital provided the loan to Capodagli Property Co. Drew Fletcher, Miryam Kops and Bryan Grover of Greystone placed the debt. Completion is slated for 2023.