NEW YORK CITY — In an unprecedented response to unclean conditions amid the COVID-19 outbreak, New York City has ceased its 24-hour subway system, implementing overnight closures beginning in the early morning on May 6. The system’s 472 stations closed for deep cleaning from 1:00 a.m to 5:00 a.m. and will remain closed during those hours until further notice. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the shutdown in response to unsafe conditions, including increased crime and homeless sheltering in the subway, despite the Metropolitan Transportation Authority reporting a 90 percent drop in ridership to less than 500,000 passengers per day. New York City remains the epicenter of the virus, and the state had more than 312,800 cases and 24,700 deaths as of May 5, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ROXBURY, MASS. — A joint venture of Watermark Development Inc. and Horizons for Homeless Children will construct a 140,000-square-foot learning center in Roxbury, a southern suburb of Boston. Located at 1785 Columbus Ave., the center will serve 225 children ranging in age from two months to five years. Horizons, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of young homeless children and their families, will use part of the building as its headquarters. The project is expected to bring approximately 400 new jobs to the area. Studio MLA Architects designed the project. Kaplan Construction will serve as the general contractor. Construction is expected to start later this spring and to be completed in early 2021.
CHICO, CALIF. — Washington, D.C.-based Easterly Government Properties has purchased a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) outpatient clinic in Chico. Terms of the transaction, including acquisition price and name of the seller, were not released. Chico is home to the largest state veteran population in the country, according to the buyer. The facility is part of the Northern California Health Care System and is a built-to-suit clinic that was completed in mid-2019. The property was designed to achieve a LEED Healthcare Silver certification. The property is leased to the VA for an initial, non-cancelable lease term of 15 years until June 2034. The clinic provides a variety of medical and ancillary services including primary care, audiology, laboratory services, mental health, nutrition, otolaryngology (ENT), a pharmacy, social work and women’s health. The facility is located adjacent to the Chico VA Readjustment Counseling Service Center. Easterly Government Properties is a fully integrated real estate investment trust focused primarily on the acquisition, development and management of Class A commercial properties leased to the U.S. government.
NEW YORK CITY — The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has completed repairs of its L train tunnel, which connects Manhattan and Brooklyn. The 12-month project repaired damage to the tunnel caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Under a revised plan from state Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the deans of the Cornell University and Columbia University engineering schools, the project was completed in three months less than its original 15-month estimation, which also included a complete shut-down of the tunnel. Under the revised plan, the tunnel remained operational during the day while repairs progressed in the nights and weekends. The project was also completed approximately $100 million under its original $477 million budget.
YPSILANTI, MICH. — Eastern Michigan University has unveiled plans to relocate the College of Business to its central campus. The move includes the selling of the Gary Owens Building, present home of the College of Business. The Board of Regents approved the sale of the 122,000-square-foot building to River Caddis Development for $2.7 million. Boone Hall will serve as the new location for the College of Business. The building will undergo a renovation beginning in April 2021, but the building’s size will remain at 45,210 square feet. The relocation will reduce utility, maintenance and transportation costs that the university currently incurs by housing the College of Business away from central campus.
FRISCO, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 9,941-square-foot freestanding commercial property net-leased to Kiddie Academy in Frisco, located north of Dallas. Ron Hebert, Ryan Wolf and Vincent Knipp of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller in the transaction. Wolf and Knipp also procured the buyer, another private investor. Kiddie Academy is based in Abingdon, Maryland, and has more than 250 franchised locations across 30 states and Washington, D.C.
IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO — Granite has been awarded a $245 million subcontract by Fluor Marine Propulsion for the concrete placement construction of the Naval Spent Fuel Handling Facility near Idaho Falls. The work includes providing all labor, equipment and materials in order to backfill the excavation site from all bedrock up to the elevation that will support super-structure foundations. The backfill will include approximately 10 million pounds of rebar and 300,000 cubic yards of concrete materials. Construction is underway and the concrete placement phase is slated for completion by summer 2021.
CHULA VISTA, CALIF. — Meridian Development has completed a $15 million infrastructure improvements program at Millenia, a 210-acre, mixed-use urban village in Chula Vista. Meridian is developing the infrastructure projects for property owner Stratford Land. The facilities include a fire station and two neighborhood parks. The Millenia Fire Station, which will be known as Chula Vista Fire Station #10, is located at the corner of Millenia Avenue and Stylus Street. The two-story, 12,500-square-foot building features three double-deep drive-through apparatus bays and accommodations for a 12-person crew. Jeff Katz Architecture designed the green-built and solar-powered fire station. EC Constructors built the property under a design-build process, with Meridian Development serving as general contractor. The infrastructure improvements also include the 1.5-acre Orion Park and the 1.9-acre Stylus Park, both of which are located along the Chula Vista Regional Trail. MIG Inc. designed Orion Park, which features two playgrounds, a dog park, shaded picnic tables, a comfort station, lawn areas and large plazas. Spurlock Landscape Architects designed Strata Park, which features an outdoor game area, fitness training circuit, interactive play area, community plaza, barbecue and picnic areas, and restrooms. Strata Park also offers a 23-plot community garden, open to all Chula Vista residents, …
DENTON, TEXAS — McCarthy Building Cos. has completed the renovation and expansion of the Student Union at Hubbard Hall at Texas Woman’s University (TWU) in Denton. The project featured renovations of 100,754 square feet of meeting, event and dining space, as well as 23,920 square feet of structural additions to the building. Landscaping, irrigation and site utilities systems were also upgraded. McCarthy began the project in March 2018. The company previously completed construction of TWU’s Oakland Complex, a parking garage and an adjoining office building that houses campus police headquarters, human resources administrative spaces, a testing center, retail food service vendor and outdoor patio space. Texas Woman’s University is a public co-educational institution with about 13,000 students at its Denton campus.
MCMINNVILLE, ORE. — McMinnville Properties, which Bill Stoller of Stoller Wine Group owns, has purchased a 285-acre campus in McMinnville. The site houses Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, Wings & Waves Waterpark, The Lodge event and wedding venue, 220 acres of established vineyards and farmland, and a development site designed to accommodate a 99,000-square-foot hotel. The campus is located at 500 NE Captain Michael King Smith Way, 23 miles southwest of Portland and 30 minutes north of Salem. Salt Lake City-based Falls Event Center sold the asset for $9.5 million. Adam Taylor and Buzz Ellis of JLL Capital Markets represented the seller in the deal. The five-parcel property was been a tourist attraction since the aviation portion of the museum, which was not included in the sale, opened in 1991. Currently, the campus features original aviation museum plus the 120,000-square-foot Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, which was added in 2008; Wings & Waves Waterpark, an all-season, family-friendly park that opened in 2011; and The Lodge, a former chapel with a 150-person capacity and event space. The asset also includes established agricultural land featuring a mix of vines and feed grass that is harvested by a third party. Additionally, the campus …