ALTOONA, IOWA — VanTrust Real Estate is developing Altus Commerce Center on 75 acres in Altoona. The project represents VanTrust’s first in Iowa. Construction on the first building is expected to commence within the next few weeks with completion slated for the second quarter of 2022. Building A will span 265,200 square feet with 148 parking spaces, unit heaters and LED interior lighting. Marcus Pitts, Austin Hedstrom and Tanner Hedstrom of JLL will lead leasing efforts.
KNIGHTDALE, N.C. — Merritt Properties plans to build a light industrial business park in Knightdale, a metro Raleigh market near Interstates 540 and 87. The company bought 35 acres off Hinton Oaks Boulevard in the East Wake County town for $2.5 million. The development, known as Merritt Midway Business Park, will include up to five flex and light industrial buildings totaling 271,450 square feet. Properties will range from 28,800 to 84,700 square feet and feature 18-foot clear heights, with leasable bays starting at approximately 3,300 square feet. Merritt expects to deliver the park during the fourth quarter of 2021. Merritt Midway Business Park should help satisfy pent-up demand for industrial space as the northeast Wake County submarket is 95 percent occupied and has seen 4.4 percent rent growth over the past 12 months. Barry Bowling of CBRE represented Merritt in the land transaction, and Jimmy Barnes of NAI Tri Properties represented the undisclosed seller. Barnes, Ed Brown and Michael Wallace of NAI Tri Properties will help oversee leasing for Merritt Midway Business Park. Baltimore-based Merritt owns 736,740 square feet of flex/light industrial product across two developments in the Raleigh-Durham area. The company’s first project, Merritt TW Crossing in Durham, delivered …
SAN ANTONIO — Dallas-based multifamily developer RightQuest Residential has broken ground on Luckey Ranch San Antonio, a 264-unit apartment community on the city’s west side. The property will be located on a 13-acre site adjacent to the Luckey Ranch master-planned community. Units will feature one- and two-bedroom floor plans and will be furnished with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops and individual washers and dryers. Amenities will include a pool, fitness center, business center, media room, outdoor grilling areas, package lockers, a pet park and onsite storage space. Project partners include Allen, Texas-based Cross Architects, San Antonio-based civil engineering firm Macina, Bose, Copeland & Associates Inc. and Houston-based general contractor Nations Construction. The Houston Group provided construction financing for the project. The first units are expected to be available for occupancy in spring 2022. Rents will start at $1,075 per month for a one-bedroom unit.
ATLANTA — Rosé Bistro & Champagne Bar, a Parisian cuisine and wine bar concept, is set to open this fall at Atlantic Station, the 138-acre retail, restaurant and entertainment destination in West Midtown Atlanta. Located at 232 19th St., the bistro will feature a wine list and French dishes for brunch, dinner and light bites. Houston-based Hines is the property management firm at Atlantic Station. Situated near Atlantic Green, Rosé Bistro & Champagne Bar will offer a raw bar, indoor and outdoor dining and a full bar with cocktails including rosé champagne punch and French 75. The 1,634-square-foot bistro is the newest restaurant to join the tenant mix at Atlantic Station. With additional tenants to be announced, Atlantic Station plans to open tenants such as Azotea Cantina, LINDBERGH and Toscano Ristorante Italian this year. Another current tenant is the Regal Atlantic Station, which just opened back up after being closed since October 9, 2020 due to COVID-19.
MILFORD, CONN. — Valley Tool & Manufacturing LLC has acquired 8.1 acres in Milford, located in the southern coastal part of the state, for the development of a 100,000-square-foot industrial facility. Jon Angel of Angel Commercial LLC represented Valley Tool & Manufacturing in its site selection and acquisition of the land assemblage, which consists of seven parcels that were purchased in two separate transactions. Construction is underway, and the facility is expected to open by the end of the year.
NEWARK, N.J. — A team of industry professionals that includes New York-based Legacy Engineers and New Jersey-based architecture firm Clarke Caton Hintz (CCH) is underway on the $50 million redevelopment of Newark Symphony Hall. The building was originally constructed in 1905 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The development team is repositioning the building in three phases over five years. Earlier this month, the team unveiled the new façade and streetscape. The project will also upgrade the city block, adding bike lanes, a central island and transportation access. New Jersey-based consulting firm Reh + Main Design & Development managed the selection process of the historic preservation architect for the initial phase of the project.
NEW YORK CITY — Paramount Group Inc. (NYSE: PGRE) has announced plans to overhaul the base and interior spaces at 60 Wall Street, a 47-story office tower in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District. The project is set to kick off when the building’s sole occupant, Deutsche Bank, vacates the tower next summer. Paramount Group plans to invest $250 million for the renovation, according to New York Business Journal. Originally built in 1989, the 1.6 million-square-foot tower is LEED Gold-certified and sits along Wall Street with Pine Street bounding the property on the north. Paramount Group, a New York City-based owner and manager of Class A office towers, has tapped architectural firm Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF) to oversee the renovation. The firm has also selected Paul Amrich and Howard Fiddle of CBRE to lease and manage 60 Wall Street for tenants to replace Deutsche Bank. The revitalization plan includes opening the base of 60 Wall Street’s façade with new triple-height windows and a vast skylight to allow for more natural lighting. The renovation is set to also include the installation of a 100-foot green wall, which will improve air quality and provide greenery to the tower’s public spaces. The indoor green wall …
COLUMBIA, MD. — JLL has arranged an $82.6 million construction loan for the development of Marlow, a 472-unit apartment community with 32,340 square feet of ground-floor retail space located in downtown Columbia. Mark Gibson, Jamie Leachman, Drake Greer and Jackson Cabot of JLL secured the floating-rate construction loan on behalf of the borrower, an affiliate of The Howard Hughes Corp. The four-year loan includes a one-year extension option. Located at 6200 Valencia Lane, Marlow will total 510,181 rentable square feet and include studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans, in addition to eight loft units with two-story layouts. Initial delivery of the apartments is expected in fall 2022. The Marlow will be part of Merriweather District, Howard Hughes Corp.’s 14 million-square-foot master-planned development. Merriweather District will total 2.3 million square feet of office space; 320,000 square feet of retail space; 1,900 multifamily units; a 250-room hotel, community pavilion; and about 60 acres of open space. The Merriweather District features Symphony Woods, a 40-acre parkland area, and Merriweather Post Pavilion, a music and community venue.
LOS ANGELES — Farco Properties has acquired an 0.29-acre development site located near the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. A private seller sold the property for $5 million. Located at 647 W. 28th St., the multifamily site provides a development opportunity on the area’s “Fraternity/Sorority Row” within walking distance of USC. The site, which is currently unentitled and used as a parking lot, is within a designated opportunity zone and is classified as a tier 3 transit-oriented community. Farco Properties plans to develop a multifamily property on the site. Laurie Lustig-Bower and Kamran Paydar of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction.
MESA, ARIZ. — Marwest Enterprises, as developer, and Willmeng Construction, as general contractor, have broken ground on a 235,000-square-foot build-to-suit industrial facility for Canada-based ElectraMeccanica Vehicles Corp., a Canada-based designer and manufacturer of environmentally efficient electric vehicles. The facility will feature an assembly line and manufacturing plant, research center, 22,000-square-foot office space and 19,000 square feet of lab space. ElectraMaccanica will lease the building from Marwest Enterprises. Ware Malcomb is serving as architect and Hunter Engineering is serving as engineer for the project. Situated on 18 acres adjacent to the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, the facility will have the production capacity of up to 20,000 vehicles per year and employ 200 to 500 people. Completion is slated for spring 2022.
