CHANHASSEN, MINN. — RJM Construction has been selected by the city of Chanhassen to serve as construction manager for a new public works facility. The company will begin work on the 83,000-square-foot building in April. With an $8 million budget, the facility will include administrative offices, employee support areas, a fleet maintenance facility and a vehicle storage building. The building is being constructed on land owned by the city. Oertel Architects will design the project.
BOYNTON BEACH AND HOLLYWOOD, FLA. — Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Moss & Associates has completed three school renovations totaling $49.5 million. The firm added 84,745 square feet of space to Forest Park Elementary School in Boynton Beach for $26 million. Classrooms, a cafeteria and a computer laboratory will be housed in the addition. Moss has also finished a 44,086-square-foot renovation to Apollo Middle School in Hollywood. Also in Hollywood, the company completed an 18,484-square-foot project at Boulevard Heights Elementary School. Renovating Apollo and Boulevard cost $13.4 million and $10 million, respectively. Moss will finish a $13.2 million project at Peters Elementary in Plantation, Fla., this month.
MULBERRY, FLA. — The Polk County School Board has purchased 19.65 acres of land from Journey Development for $1.32 million. The Mulberry site will be the future location of an 825-student elementary school. The new facility is being built to relive overcrowding in five area schools. Construction is planned for 2011 or 2012. David Hitchcock and Clay Taylor of Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate in Lakeland, Fla., brokered the transaction.
IRVING, TEXAS — Dallas-based The Beck Group has been selected to serve as the owner’s representative for the city of Irving in its plans to develop a new convention center and entertainment district. The more than $400 million project will be developed on a 40-acre parcel in the city’s Las Colinas neighborhood. Construction, which will be done in three phases, will consist of a 275,000-square-foot conference and event center, a 3,500 to 5,000-seat entertainment theater, 85,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space, and structured parking for more than 2,000 cars. The convention center will feature a 50,000-square-foot exhibit hall, 20,000 square feet devoted to conference and meeting rooms, and a top-floor ballroom that includes a full-service kitchen. The first phase is expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2010, followed soon afterward by the entertainment venue. Plans for Phase III presently include a hotel for the convention center.
SICKLERVILLE, N.J. — Cranbury, N.J.-based Sweetwater Construction Corp. has been selected to provide pre-construction and construction management services for the construction of the $3.5 million Winslow Animal Hospital, located in Sicklerville. Situated on approximately 3 acres at 640 Sicklerville Rd., the facility will comprise 10,500 square feet. It will feature 10 examination rooms, two surgical suites, two dental suites, a physical rehabilitation area, and a special procedure room for endoscopic procedures and diagnostic ultrasound. The animal hospital will include an expansive reception area, food prep and laundry areas, dog and cat wards, a pharmacy and laboratory, and an x-ray room. Groundbreaking is expected to begin in December. The project replaces a 2,000-square-foot facility currently located at 530 Berlin-Keys Road. When complete, it will be the largest animal hospital in a four-county area. It is being designed by Jeffrey Grogan of Conshohocken, Pa., and will be owned by Phillipe Coudrai.
UNION CITY, N.J. — A joint venture between design firms HOK and RSC Architects has been selected to design a new high school for Union City at the site of the former Roosevelt Stadium. A highlight of the 366,550-square-foot facility is an outdoor athletic stadium that will be located on the roof of the building. The stadium will comprise a high-school regulation baseball field, a soccer and football field, and a grandstand area. The high school will also include 66 general classrooms, science and home economics labs, a gymnasium with locker rooms, weight rooms and a new media center that will serve as a library to the general public after school hours. Other features include a 980-seat auditorium, a small black-box performance space, a dance studio, music and choral studios, photography studios, a fashion classroom and a television production studio. The project is being developed by a partnership between the Union City Board of Education, Union City Redevelopment Agency, the city of Union City and the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.
NEW YORK CITY — Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) has brokered the sale of a 35,000-square-foot building located at 406-416 E. 91st St. on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City. The seller, Verizon Wireless, had been using the facility as a garage and service facility. The property was acquired by Convent of the Sacred Heart, which plans to convert the building into a multi-platform physical education facility for its school. Plans for the building could include a pool, a regulation-size gymnasium and other amenities. Peter Hennessy, Janet Woods and Larry Lazerwitz of JLL’s New York office represented the buyer. The seller was represented by David Noonan and Jennifer Schwartzman of Newmark Knight Frank. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Smarter Toddler, an arts-oriented preschool, has opened its second location within Nicole, a luxury rental apartment building located at 400 W. 55th St. in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The preschool will occupy 7,200 square feet on the ground floor. It can accommodate up to 105 children, ranging in age from 3 months to 5 years old. The preschool is already 75 percent filled for the 2008/2009 school year. The 12.5-year lease for the space was brokered by George Gordon of George Gordon Real Estate. Nicole is owned and operated by locally based Gotham Organization. The flagship Smarter Toddler is located on the Upper West Side at 89th Street, also in a residential building.
BOSTON — Winchester, Mass.-based Wise Construction Corp. has completed the interior build-out, renovation and expansion of multiple buildings within the campus of the MGH Institute of Health Professions, located within the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston. The construction included approximately 30,000 square feet within three buildings. MGH’s administrative spaces were relocated to provide additional classroom and library space for the school, which now consists of three buildings.
STAMFORD, CONN. — The Westchester/Fairfield Private Client Group of CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has brokered the sale of a portion of the YMCA building located at 909 Washington Blvd. in Stamford. The two-story building was split into two units concurrent to the sale; approximately 40,000 square feet of the building will remain under the ownership of the Stamford YMCA, which will renovate the space to include a gym, a pool, a fitness center, child care facilities and administration offices. The other unit was acquired by locally based RMS Construction and North Brunswick, N.J.-based Apex Hospitalities, which plan to convert it into a 99-room hotel. The sale transaction was negotiated by Al Mirin, Silvia Pogosyan and Susanne Dengenis of CBRE.