LUBBOCK — Texas Tech University has broken ground on a $45 million, 178,000-square-foot residence hall designed by BOKA Powell LLC. The new student housing project will be completed in fall 2012 and is in response to Texas Tech's growing number of students. It will house 516 students in private bedrooms and shared living areas. In addition, a two-story, 22,000-square-foot dining hall, three exterior courtyards and new parking lots are planned. BOKA Powell and Austin Commercial have been selected by Texas Tech, which is striving for 40,000 students by 2020, to lead this design-build project.
HOUSTON — Cadence McShane Construction Co. will renovate Lee High School, located at 6529 Beverly Hill Ln. in Houston, and Ed White Elementary School, located at 9001 Triola Ln. in Houston, on behalf of the Houston Independent School District (ISD). Both school assignments will include selective demolition, window replacement, HVAC upgrades, hazardous material abatement and ADA upgrades through classroom, administrative and restroom areas of each single-story facility. Cadence McShane will also complete extensive site improvements at both locations. Smith & Co. Architects is providing the architectural services for the renovation assignments. Both projects will be completed in August.
TEMPE, ARIZ. — Construction had commenced for a new design studio for students of Arizona State University's engineering program. The eSpace Studio will consist of two main rooms containing interactive design areas, projection screens, whiteboards and writable glass walls, modular elements and display cases. It abuts the first completed eSpace facility at the school, the High Performance Computing Lab. Completion is expected in the fall. Cannon Design is the project architect.
NEW YORK CITY — MDSzerbaty Associates Architecture (MSDA) has been selected to design the conversion of part of the former New York Foundling Hospitall in Manhattan into a public elementary school. PS340 will occupy 95,000 square feet on the lower six floors of the 14-story building, which is located at the corner of Avenue of the Americas and 17th Street. The new school will feature 21 classrooms, a cafeteria and dance studio, a second-floor rooftop playground, a two-story lobby and two-story spaces throughout the building. The construction timetable was not released.
HOUSTON — Cadence McShane Construction Co. has completed the 89,383-square-foot Robert Lee Frost Elementary School on behalf of the Houston Independent School District (ISD). The $12 million facility is situated on 11 acres at 5002 Almeda Genoa Rd. in Houston. It offers 40 classrooms, two science laboratories and a library. The building was constructed to meet LEED standards. The new facility serves as a replacement school for the existing 60,753-square-foot, 47-year-old Robert Lee Frost Elementary School at 5650 Selinsky Rd. in Houston. RDC Architects provided the architectural services for this school construction assignment.
DELRAN, N.J. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the sale of a 10,440-square-foot commercial property located in Delran. The building was constructed in 2008 as a build-to-suit for Kiddie Academy, which occupies it under a long-term, triple-net lease. Ben Sgambati and Alan Cafiero of Marcus & Millichap's New Jersey office represented the seller, a Midwest developer. Michael Lombardi, also of Marcus & Millichap represented the buyer, a local private investor.
SAN ANTONIO — A buyer of 124 acres of land surrounding a Flying J trucking center on the east side of San Antonio has plans to develop a road connecting Foster Road and Interstate 10 for traffic circulation around the Flying J. Jamie Sullivan of Sullivan Commercial Realty represented the unlisted buyer, while Kit Corbin of Grubb & Ellis Co. represented the seller, Louidar LLC. The increased traffic circulation is expected to add value to the smaller parcels of land that will front the new road.
CAMBRIDGE, MASS. — The Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) has sold portions of its Cambridge campus. Lesley University acquired seven buildings from EDS including residence halls and the dining facility. In addition, the two schools will share ownership of Sherrill Hall, which will be used for collaborative library services. Bill McCall and Sandy Tierney of Boston-based McCall & Almy represented EDS in the transaction. McCall & Almy also represented EDS in the subsequent sale of two additional campus buildings to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
GREEN VALLEY, ARIZ. — Grubb & Ellis has represented the Corporation of the Presiding Bishop of the Latter-day Saints in its $1.3 million purchase of 5.4 acres of land at the northwest corner of Desert Bell and La Canada in Green Valley. The parcel will be used for a church, the construction of which will commence later this year. Grubb & Ellis’ Jeff Utsch represented the buyer in the transaction, and the seller, WLC Green Valley Ltd. Partnership, represented itself.
HOUSTON — Cadence McShane Construction Co. will build the 82,000-square-foot Atherton Elementary School on behalf of the Houston Independent School District (ISD). The two-story school will replace an 49,110-square-foot facility that was constructed in 1957. Located at 2011 Solo in Houston, the project will break ground in May with a completion date set for July 2012. The new facility will accommodate more than 500 students from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade. It will include 30 classrooms, two science labs, a library, a full-service cafeteria, a practice gymnasium, administrative areas, a music and choir room, an art instructional space and performing arts area.