KANSAS CITY, MO. — Developer LANE4 Property Group has begun demolition of the former Bannister Mall, which is located at Interstate 435 and Bannister Road in Kansas City. The site will house The Trails, a proposed 467-acre mixed-use development. The project will include more than 1.5 million square feet of office space and a 1 million-square-foot retail component. An 18,500-seat professional soccer stadium, which will house Kansas City’s major league soccer team, the Wizards, will anchor The Trails. In addition to the stadium, the complex will include 12 soccer fields for hosting local, regional and national tournaments.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Tremont Realty Capital has assumed operational control of the 260,000-square-foot Church Street Station, located in downtown Orlando. Kuhn Church Street had taken out a $43 million first mortgage for the mixed-use property with Boston-based Tremont in 2007. Tremont has enlisted CNL Commercial Real Estate to manage the property. Current Church Street tenants include the Orlando Magic and the Cheyenne Saloon and Opera House.
NEW YORK CITY — Meltzer/Mandl Architects has completed the design for The Smith, a 13-story mixed-use building located at 75 Smith St. in the Boerum Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The building will feature a 93-room hotel on floors one through four, 50 residential condominiums on floors five through 13, 1,100 square feet of medical office space, and retail space fronting Atlantic Avenue. The condos will be primarily two-bedroom units, but the 12th floor residences will comprise duplex units with rooftop terraces. The property will also feature 64 parking spaces and below-grade storage space. The building’s exterior is a brick and panelized façade, and the building steps down to four stories along its State Street frontage, in keeping with the look of the surrounding neighborhood of brownstones and townhome residences. The project’s developer is Boymelgreen, and general contracting services are being provided by Alisa Construction. The project’s timetable was not released.
WILTON MANORS, FLA. — LG Wilton Park has broken ground on Gables Wilton Park, a mixed-use development encompassing 19,000 square feet of retail space and 72 apartments. The property, which is located at the intersection of N.E. 21st Court and Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors, was designed by Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Pasquale Kuritzky Architecture. Delivery is slated for the third quarter. Also planned on the site are 10 residential buildings containing 73 three-story apartments.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — At the end of January, Grand Rapids-based Locus Development will break ground on Thirty-Eight, a mixed-use project located at the corner of Weston and Commerce in downtown Grand Rapids. The eight-story, 80,000-square-foot mixed-use development will include 35 one- and two-bedroom apartments on floors two through six; eight two-story penthouse condos on floors seven and eight; a 30,000-square-foot office component; an open-air rooftop bar space that accommodates up to 150 people; and 10,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space dedicated to small shops and restaurants. Additionally, a seven-story parking ramp with space for more than 360 vehicles is being constructed as part of the project. The parking structure, which will include the city’s first green roof, will be situated adjacent to the mixed-use building and will offer direct access to retail, offices and residential units from each level. The approximately $26 million project was designed to achieve LEED certification. Prior to construction, Adtegrity.com signed a lease for 15,000 square feet of office space at the building. Situated on the second and third floors, Adtegrity.com’s new office will have space for up to 50 employees. The company is expected to take occupancy in the second quarter of 2010. …
MAUI, HAWAII — Alexander & Baldwin will resume construction of two projects in Maui. The company originally planned to start work on the projects in late 208 but the permitting process pushed back construction until the end of 2009. The mixed-use, master-planned, 19.9-acre Kahului Town Center will be divided into quadrants divided by two intersecting roads. The first phase of office condominiums will be located at the corner of South Puunene and Kamehameha avenues. The project will be built in phases over 6 to 10 years. Located at the corner of Kane and Vevau streets, Aina O Kane, A&B’s other delayed project, will feature 103 residential units and 22,000 square feet of retail space on 3.8 acres.
LAS VEGAS — CityCenter Holdings LLC, a joint venture between MGM MIRAGE and Infinity World Development Group, has revealed changes to the scope of CityCenter in Las Vegas. The changes include postponing the opening of The Harmon Hotel & Spa until 2010 and the cancellation of The Harmon residential condominium component. When complete, The Harmon Hotel & Spa will offer 400 rooms and suites. The residential component would have offered 200 residential units, of which 88 are under contract to be sold. Purchasers will be entitled to receive refunds of deposits and given the opportunity to purchase units at the Residences at Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, Vdara and Veer Towers. With the cancellation of The Harmon residential component, as well as other additional cost savings, the company now anticipates total cost savings of $600 million instead of its previously stated savings of $400 million. Additionally by postponing The Harmon Hotel, CityCenter will defer approximately $200 million in construction costs to complete the interior fit out of The Harmon. All other components of CityCenter remain on schedule for a December 2009 grand opening.
FRIENDSWOOD, TEXAS — Groundbreaking is set to occur for HomeTown Center, a 60,789-square-foot mixed-use project located at 502 S. Friendswood Dr. in Friendswood. The $9 million project is owned by Buzbee Properties. The three-story building features office and retail space on the first and second floors, as well as nine residential lofts on the third floor. Groundbreaking will occur in the first quarter of 2009. Tenants already signed on for the project include Buzbee Properties, HomeTown Bank, a coffee shop and a title company. In addition, groundbreaking occurred this month for Park Plaza, a $2.2 million multi-use project also located in Friendswood at 907 S. Friendswood Dr. The two-story office and retail project totals 21,600 square feet. Office tenants will include the project’s developer, Crystal Creek Developers, as well as P.E. Square Engineering Consultants and Everest Design Group.
LOS ANGELES — Next Century Associates LLC, a partnership between Los Angeles-based real estate investor Michael Rosenfeld and an entity in the D.E. Shaw Group, has unveiled plans for a $2 billion mixed-use project to be located on the 5.75-acre Century Plaza site, which is located at 2025 Avenue of the Stars in Century City area of Los Angeles. The 1.4 million-square-foot project will feature a 50-story mixed-use tower offering a 240-room five-star hotel, 163 hotel residences and 100,000 square feet of office space; and a 50-story residential tower offering 130 luxury residential condominiums. Additionally, the project will feature 115,000 square feet of retail shops and restaurants, a spa and a fitness center. “The original design of Century City envisioned a lifestyle center around individual vehicles, parking in subterranean garages with access to both homes and offices through these garages,” explains Rosenfeld. “Green space was designed to be experienced as decorative rather than interactive and walking was limited to designated pathways, some underground.” The company is now transforming Century City into a place where walking and the outdoor experience are prized. The project is being designed by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, with the landscape and gardens designed by Ken …
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Two West Fulton LLC — which includes Chicago-based RSC & Associates, Grand Rapids-based CWD Real Estate Investment, and Grand Rapids-based Triangle Associates — has secured financing for its Gallery on Fulton project in downtown Grand Rapids. The Grand Rapids office of Fifth Third Bank, Macatawa Bank and Founders Bank funded the total commitment of $29 million for the project. The mixed-use development will include the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, a 3,600-square-foot retail component, 56 luxury apartments and a parking garage for more than 250 cars. The building is being designed to achieve LEED certification, and will feature “living” exterior walls of evergreen ivy, a “white” reflective roof and a roof garden gallery. In addition to exhibit space, the five-level, 37,000-square-foot arts center will house a film theater, a ceramics studio, an intimate black-box theater and an open-air terrace gallery. Completion of the project is expected in 2010.