McKINNEY, KELLER AND TROPHY CLUB, TEXAS — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of three properties net-leased to Merryhill Schools totaling 27,600 square feet in the northern suburbs of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The tenant, a branch of Nobel Learning Communities Inc., operates a private preschool in each of the facilities. The assets include a 7,800-square-foot building located at 6050 Eldorado Parkway in McKinney, which is shadow-anchored by Market Street grocery store; a 7,800-square-foot building located at 1750 Rufe Snow Drive in Keller, in proximity to Walmart Neighborhood Market; and a 12,000-square-foot building located at 50 Village Trail in Trophy Club, in proximity to Tom Thumb. More than nine years remain on each of the leases, which include three, five-year renewal options and scheduled rent bumps. Chris Gainey and Philip Levy of Marcus & Millichap marketed the properties on behalf of the seller, a fund manager. The two also secured the buyer, a private investor.
UNIVERSITY CITY, MO. — Kwame Building Group has completed construction of the new $3 million Firehouse #1 at Vernon and Westgate Avenues in University City, located about 10 miles west of downtown St. Louis. The new 17,000-square-foot, two-story building replaces the original Firehouse #1, which was more than 100 years old. The new facility features five fire engine bays, a training room and administrative offices on the first floor, with a workout room on the mezzanine. Living quarters on the second floor include 10 bedrooms with 30 beds, a full kitchen and an outdoor deck. The project was funded in part by a $2.6 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant, and University City funded the remaining balance. St. Louis Archimages was the architect.
PEARLAND, TEXAS — MAPP Construction will break ground this month on the 40,000-square-foot build-out of the Chamberlain College of Nursing in the Houston suburb of Pearland. The project, consisting of interior and exterior renovations to accommodate specialty lab spaces, offices and classrooms, is scheduled for completion in May of this year. Other members of the build-out team include Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, Interior Architects and Environmental Systems Design. Baton Rouge-based MAPP previously worked on another project for Chamberlain College of Nursing, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of DeVry Inc.
DETROIT — The state of Michigan announced Friday that it would pay to demolish Joe Louis Arena after the Detroit Red Wings move into their planned new $450 million home in 2017 or 2018. Tearing down the stadium is part of an agreement approved last week between the city and the owner of the Red Wings — a complex $650 million deal still going through government approval, according to The Detroit News. The deal is contingent upon other approvals needed by April 1, 2014 from the Detroit City Council, the Red Wings owners and the Detroit Downtown Development Authority (DDA). The plan calls for a $450 million sports and entertainment center and $200 million in new residential, retail and office development in a 45-block area that reaches from Grand Circus Park to Charlotte Street between Woodward Avenue and Grand River Avenue. The DDA would own the arena and Olympia Development would operate and maintain it.
MAYNARD, MASS. — CTA Construction has completed the new 121,000-square-foot Maynard High School in Maynard, located about 25 miles west of Boston. The two-story building combines three other Maynard School buildings into one complex. The school is comprised of four wings: Wing A houses the gymnasium, locker rooms and classrooms; Wing B includes administrative offices and classrooms; Wing C houses the auditorium, cafeteria, kitchen and academic classrooms; and Wing D contains mechanical rooms. The existing school was demolished and replaced by new athletic practice fields. CTA Construction collaborated with designer Tappé Architects, and project manager Municipal Building Consultants Inc.
JONESBORO, ILL. — A new $10.7 million courthouse, which replaces a pre-Civil War facility that served Union County for 155 years, has opened in Jonesboro, a city in southwest Illinois. Designed by HOK of St. Louis, the new 46,000-square-foot courthouse consolidates Union County’s government services in one location. The courthouse is sustainable and features energy-efficient mechanical systems for heating and cooling. The new facility will cut energy costs by 25 percent compared to the old structure. The design team includes general contractor River City Construction; engineering design firm BRiC Partnership LLC; civil engineering firm Clarida & Ziegler Engineering; and project facilitator Hodgson Associates. The project was funded by a one-cent sales tax in Union County approved by taxpayers in 2010.
ALTON, ILL. — Contegra Construction has completed the two-phase, $6 million expansion of the Scientists at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center in Alton, which is located about 15 miles north of St. Louis. Formed by Lewis and Clark Community College and The University of Illinois, the center’s staff studies major rivers, their watersheds and the human communities that depend upon and impact them. Phase I of the project included three pairs of concrete mesocosm raceways, which pump at total of four million gallons of water and plankton a day from the Mississippi River. The mesocosm raceways, each of which is 75 feet long and 6 feet wide, enable researchers to predict effects on river fish populations and develop conservation strategies. Phase II included a 4,800-square-foot addition that features offices, conference space and two laboratories.
BOSTON — Skanska USA has signed a contract with Harvard Business School in Boston to construct a $57 million educational facility. The 61,354-square-foot Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center will be constructed on the current space of the existing Kresge Hall. Skanska USA is seeking LEED Gold certification for the building. Construction starts in March 2014 and is slated for a May 2016 completion. Headquartered in New York, Skanska USA has approximately 8,300 employees.
AUGUSTA, GA. — Skanska USA has erected the last steel beam for the J. Harold Harrison, M.D. Education Commons building, a three-story, 172,000-square-foot building on Georgia Regents University’s campus in Augusta. The cost of construction was $76.5 million. The building will house two 300-seat auditoriums, a 26,620-square-foot simulation library, 13 learning communities, classrooms and Medical College of Georgia administrative offices. The new building, which Skanska USA will complete by fall 2014, will allow the university to increase the class size of the Medical College of Georgia from 230 to 300 students by 2020 and the College of Dental Medicine to increase its class size from 63 to 100 by 2016.
ARDEN HILLS, MINN. — Stahl Construction has completed work on the 107,500-square-foot Minnesota Army National Guard Field Maintenance Shop in Arden Hills, a northeast suburb of Minneapolis. Designed by BWBR Architects, the $25 million facility includes space for the equipment to maintain National Guard vehicles and provides a centralized location for guard training around the Twin Cities. Along with 36 maintenance/training bays and four warm-up and wash bays, the building also includes tool rooms, offices, classrooms and a fitness area. In addition to constructing the field maintenance shop, the scope of work included approximately 15 acres of paved concrete for the storage of roughly 1,500 military vehicles. Stahl Construction expects the project to receive LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.