Civic

RIVERSIDE, CALIF. — The University of California, Riverside (UCR) and American Campus Communities (NYSE: ACC) have broken ground on North District, a mixed-use community anchored by new student housing buildings. The project will be situated on the university’s campus in Riverside, a city located in the Inland Empire about 60 miles east of Los Angeles. Upon full build-out, the project will feature up to 6,000 new student housing beds, new dining facilities, an NCAA Division I competition field, a field house sports facility, functional open spaces, multi-use spaces that can serve as classrooms, meeting spaces and study areas, and more than 100,000 square feet for retail, commercial and university services. The project, a redevelopment of the former Canyon Crest Family Housing site, is part of UCR’s vision for creating a “living-learning” campus, much like other mixed-use developments seek a live-work-play environment. The university projects enrollment will rise from approximately 24,000 students today to 35,000 by 2035, necessitating the new student housing beds. “This project will help us prepare for this tremendous growth,” says UCR Chancellor Kim Wilcox. “Part of this vision includes residential life programs that will provide a balance of privacy while embracing community to enhance the overall academic …

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TEMECULA, CALIF. — C.W. Driver Cos., as general contractor, has started construction of Mt. San Jacinto College’s (MSJC) new $43.3 million, 350,000-square-foot Temecula Valley Campus in Temecula. The project consists of a seismic retrofit and tenant improvement of an existing office building, creating a new campus and addressing current classroom shortages. The building’s twin five-story, 175,000-square-foot towers will be converted from office space into classrooms, laboratories and offices to serve MSJC students. The fifth floor will be entirely lab space. Other upgrades will include a kitchen, fitness center and lounges for students and faculty use. Located at 41888 Motor Car Parkway, the first phase of the 27-acre campus includes all seismic retrofits and full build-out of three floors. The phase is slated for completion in time for the fall 2020 semester. The second phase is scheduled for completion by summer 2021. PMSM/Nineteen Six Architects is serving as architect for the project. MSJC acquired the property from Abbot Laboratories with Measure AA facilities bond funds, which were approved to fund improvements to existing facilities and purchase new assets to accommodate increasing student enrollment.

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HOUSTON — The Houston Waterworks Team is underway on the expansion of the Northeast Water Purification Plant, a project valued at approximately $1.7 billion. The project aims to shift a growing population’s reliance on groundwater to surface water and represents the largest design-build project for a water treatment plant that is underway in the country. The team has tapped McCarthy Building Cos. for several aspects of the larger project, which is expected to be fully operational by early 2025. McCarthy will construct a 30,000-square-foot raw water intake pump station building as well as a central plant as part of its involvement.

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NEW JERSEY — CBRE has arranged the $8.27 million sale of nine civic properties from the Youth Consultation Services (YCS) portfolio in New Jersey. The properties comprise a mix of youth centers and schools located in Montclair, Hackensack, Newark, Somerdale, Gloucester, Estell-Manor, Vineland and Blackwood. Three different buyers purchased the assets, one of whom bought seven buildings as part of a sale-leaseback with YCS. The two other buyers purchased buildings that had been recently vacated by YCS. CBRE’s Charles Berger and Elli Klapper, along with Randy Eigen and Donald Sperling of Brokerage Services, represented the seller in the transaction.

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LENEXA, KAN. — Easterly Government Properties Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust, has acquired a 169,585-square-foot Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regional headquarters in Lenexa. Originally constructed in 2007, the two-story office building is situated on a 30.5-acre parcel. The EPA completed a renovation of the property in 2012. While headquartered in Washington, D.C., the EPA also operates 10 regional offices throughout the country.

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URBANDALE, IOWA — The Urbandale Community School District has selected Stahl to construct a two-story, 118,000-square-foot elementary school. The $28 million building, located at 7110 Prairie Ave., will replace the existing Olmsted Elementary. In addition to classrooms, the building will feature a kitchen and cafeteria, gymnasium, administration area and auxiliary spaces. Urbandale’s new school is part of a $59 million bond referendum and long-term facilities plan for the district to meet the growing need for additional education space to accommodate children in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. Once complete, the school will house up to 650 students. Completion is slated for May 2021. DLR Group is the architect.

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Broward County Convention Center rendering

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — General contractor Balfour Beatty has signed a $780 million agreement with developer Matthews Southwest, making Balfour Beatty the design-build lead for the over $1 billion expansion of the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale. The project will add 525,000 square feet of meeting space to the complex, plus a 29-story, 800-room Omni Hotel. Located on Florida’s southeastern coast approximately 25 miles north of Miami, the completed convention center will total 1.2 million square feet. The expanded property will include 350,000 square feet of contiguous exhibition space, a 65,000-square-foot waterfront ballroom, modern technology, new dining concepts, enhanced water taxi access and a waterfront plaza with public access. The Omni Hotel will add 73,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space; multiple restaurant options including a rooftop bar; an 11,000-square-foot, full-service spa and fitness center; and over 30,000 square feet of pool decks. The hotel will be positioned along the city’s famed Intracoastal Waterway with a scenic view of the Atlantic Ocean. Matthews Southwest has called on London-based firm Balfour Beatty for projects in the United States before. The company was hired by Matthews Southwest to build the Omni convention center hotel in Dallas and a residential …

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PROVO, UTAH — Mountain Classic Real Estate (MCRE) has purchased Brigham Young University’s Amanda Knight Hall for an undisclosed price. MCRE plans to restore the property to its historical Gothic-style architectural significance. Located at 800 N. University Ave. in Provo, Amanda Knight Hall was constructed in 1939 as a women’s dormitory. The building was used as the first Provo Missionary Training Center, as well as the Church Language Training Mission Center from 1964 to 1976. Since then, the property has served a variety of short-term academic and auxiliary purposes for BYU. Kreg Peterson and David Bauman of CBRE represented the seller, Brigham Young University, in the deal.

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KANSAS CITY, MO. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has selected the Kansas City region for the relocation of the Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue cites affordability, easy commutes and quality of life for the site selection process. “The Kansas City region has proven itself to be a hub for all things agriculture and is a booming city in America’s heartland,” he says. “There is already a significant presence of USDA and federal government employees in the region, including the Kansas City Ag Bank Federal Reserve.” In August, USDA had announced that it would undertake the relocations largely to attract and retain staff. The organization says it has been difficult to recruit employees to the Washington, D.C. area given the high cost of living and long commutes. While 90 percent of USDA employees are located outside of the D.C. area, ERS and NIFA are the only USDA agencies that don’t have representation outside of the national capital region. Out of NIFA’s 315 positions, 294 will relocate while 21 will stay in D.C. Of the 329 ERS positions, 253 will relocate while 76 will stay in D.C. …

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NEW ORLEANS — Easterly Government Properties Inc. has acquired a 137,679-square-foot Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Field Office in New Orleans. The seller and sales price were not disclosed. FBI-New Orleans is a four-story, single-tenant facility located on a 6.6-acre site. The FBI’s New Orleans Division oversees federal operations in all of Louisiana, including six satellite offices in Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe and Shreveport. This build-to-suit construction was originally completed in 1999 and renovated in 2006. The project is now 100 percent occupied by the FBI until August 2029 under a non-cancelable remaining lease term. Additionally, the FBI has an option to renew the lease for an additional 10-year term, expiring in 2039. The building has numerous security features such as a security crash traffic barrier, 24/7 security, visitor screening center and bullet-resistant interior walls, doors and a roof. Easterly Government Properties now owns nine of the nation’s 56 FBI field offices and is the single-largest private owner of FBI field offices in the country.

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