ROCKFORD, ILL. — Rockford-based Urban Equity Properties, dba JMZ Properties, has acquired a two-story, 6,500-square-foot property, which is located at 110 N. First St. in Rockford. The purchase price was not disclosed. The buyer plans to renovate the property as a mixed-use commercial and residential property. Melissa Miller of Century 21 Country North represented the buyer; John Funderburg of Doyle, Woodhouse and Moore represented the undisclosed seller.
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. — White Plains, N.Y.-based Houlihan-Parnes Realtors has brokered the sale of 54-60 Centre Avenue in New Rochelle for $2.7 million. The five-story building contains 20 apartments, 10 retail stores and one office. The property was purchased out of foreclosure by a Westchester, N.Y.-based holding company.
ABINGDON, MD. — Ward Properties has broken ground on the 700,000-square-foot Boulevard at Box Hill mixed-use development. Located at the intersection of Woodsdale Road and Box Hill Center Corporate Drive in Abingdon, the 40-acre project will be built in multiple phases. When complete, the development will house more than 450,000 square feet of retail space, 50,000 square feet of restaurant space and 88,000 square feet of office space. Tenants will include Wegmans, national department stores and a 2,500-seat cinema.
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. — In November, Atlanta-based Jamestown will launch the newly redeveloped Warehouse Row, a mixed-use development featuring office suites, lofts and 330,000 square feet of retail and dining space. The property, which started life in 1904 as a series of warehouses, is located on Market Street in Chattanooga. After Jamestown purchased the development in 2006, Hefferlin + Kronenberg Architects helped the firm undertake an exterior and interior renovation of the space. The design studio Revival, Amanda Pinson Jewelry and The Cosmetic Market are among a handful of tenants that recently moved into the property.
NEW YORK CITY — Builders Group has completed the mixed-use conversion of 15 East 26th Street, a 20-story, 97-year-old building located in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, New York City. The former office building now features 65 high-end apartments, 80,000 square feet of office space and SD26, a 15,000-square-foot Italian restaurant. The building was continuously occupied during the project, which posed a challenge on floors that were to be converted into residential space. The restaurant occupies the first three floors, the office space takes up floors four through seven and the apartments occupy floors eight and above.
EDISON, N.J. — The Morris Companies has purchased Edison Towne Corporate Centre, a three-building office and industrial property located in Edison. Situated on 62 acres, the complex includes a 245,446-square-foot office building located at 2147 Route 27; a 99,260-square-foot research and development building located at 2121 Route 27; and a 140,000-square-foot warehouse located at 55 Talmadge Rd. Morris plans to redevelop a vacant land parcel located behind the warehouse building in the short-term. The seller was Starwood Heller. Jose Cruz, Andrew Merin, David Bernhaut and Gary Gabriel, all of Cushman & Wakefield, negotiated the deal. The acquisition price was not disclosed.
NEW YORK CITY — Construction has topped out for the new W New York – Downtown Hotel & Residences located at 123 Washington St. in Manhattan, New York City. Upon completion, the 58-story, 400,000-square-foot building will contain a 217-room W Hotel and the W Residences, which will contain 223 residential condominiums. The hotel will feature a full-service restaurant and bar with an outdoor cafe, a spa and treatment rooms, meeting rooms, and a fitness center. Condo residents will have a private amenities floor that will contain fitness and lounge facilities as well as a rooftop, landscaped terrace. The hotel is expected to open in early 2010. The Moinian Group is developing the W New York – Downtown, with architecture services provided by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects. SHVO is handling sales for the property. The project is situated at the southern edge of the World Trade Center Memorial Site and is one block away from the new Freedom Tower that is currently under construction. The W is the first new hotel and residential tower, and only the second project overall, to be constructed in Lower Manhattan since 9/11.
NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS — The Scooter Store has signed a lease for approximately 56,000 square feet of space at Comal Plaza in New Braunfels. The space will be used to accommodate the growth of the company, which is also headquartered in New Braunfels. The Scooter Store recently hired 500 new employees, half of whom will work at the new location. Nick Tarantino of the Austin office of Tarantino Properties represented the landlord in lease negotiations. Comal Plaza contains approximately 69,000 square feet of office and retail space, and is located at 603 Business I-35.
COLUMBUS, OHIO — The first tenants have been announced for Phase I of Grandview Yard, a $500 million mixed-use project under development in Columbus. Locally based M+A Architects will occupy part of a three-story, 92,000-square-foot office building, which the company is also designing. Jason's Deli will open a 4,875-square-foot restaurant in the ground floor of the same building. Urban Active will open a two-story, 42,000-square-foot fitness center. Finally, a six-story, 126-room Hyatt Place hotel will be constructed. Phase I construction is expected to begin this fall. The project is owned and developed by locally based Nationwide Realty Investors and Capital Square. At full build-out, Grandview Yard will include 1.5 to 2 million square feet of retail, restaurant and office space, as well as more than 600 residential units.
ATLANTA — Edgewood Avenue Storage & Wine Cellar LLC will start building a 133,000-square-foot storage and retail facility during the fourth quarter of this year. The six-story property, which will be located at 653 Edgewood Ave. in Atlanta, will contain storage space, a wine cellar and retail shops. The development is on the grounds of the former Atlanta Metal recycling facility, and site work, which included removing asbestos and properly disposing of contaminated materials, was supervised by the federal and local branches of the Environmental Protection Agency.