LEAWOOD, KAN. — Torch.AI, a global artificial intelligence firm, has unveiled plans to expand its operations in Leawood and create nearly 500 full-time jobs over five years as part of a $27 million tax incentive package awarded by the Kansas Department of Commerce. The firm plans to hire more than 100 new professionals this year alone. Torch.AI is also making a significant capital investment in collaborative workspaces for its employees. The announcement comes on the heels of Torch.AI’s $30 million raise in Series A funding to accelerate its overall growth strategy. WestCap Group, a San Francisco-based investment firm, led the funding.
Office
Macy’s Proposes Overhaul of Herald Square Store in Manhattan, Including New Office Tower
by John Nelson
NEW YORK CITY — Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) has unveiled plans to overhaul its flagship Herald Square store at the corner of 34th Street and Seventh Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The plan would add a commercial office tower atop the store. The size and design features of the office component were not disclosed. The plan includes a private investment totaling $235 million by Macy’s that would modernize the public spaces around the flagship store, including upgraded subway access, improved transit connections and pedestrian-friendly and car-free streetscapes at Broadway Plaza and Herald Square. Macy’s would improve Herald Square Subway Station’s entrances and add publicly accessible elevators at Seventh Avenue, Broadway, 34th Street and 35th Street that are compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The renewal plan is expected to generate $269 million annually in new tax revenues for New York City, support 16,290 annual jobs and spark $4.29 billion in annual economic output, according to Macy’s. “Today’s announcement is a resounding vote of confidence for Manhattan and the entire state, and a strong indication that New York’s retailers and consumers will drive this economic recovery,” says Melissa O’Connor, president and CEO of the Retail Council of New York State, the …
ROSEMONT, ILL. — Goosehead Insurance has tripled its office footprint in Rosemont, expanding its space to 17,887 square feet at 6300 N. River Road. The 130,000-square-foot, seven-story office building features a fitness center, onsite café, lounge, conference center, Zen garden and golf simulator. Jonathon Connor and Jason Simon of Colliers International Chicago represented ownership, a joint venture between Farpoint Development and Greco/DeRosa Investment Group. Andrew Kaplan and Ryan Buchanan of CBRE represented Goosehead, which is a Dallas-based personal lines insurance agency.
SUMMERVILLE, S.C. — New Jersey-based Sharbell Development Corp. has broken ground on Downtown Nexton, an urban-inspired mixed-use development in Summerville. Downtown Nexton will be situated on nearly 100 acres between Sigma Drive and Brighton Park Boulevard, about 24 miles away from Charleston. Upon completion, Downtown Nexton will provide retail, dining, hospitality, residential, service, office and commercial options. The first phase of the Downtown Nexton project is slated to be completed in 2022 and will include multifamily residences, a mixed-use building with loft apartments above ground-level retail and several outparcels. In addition, Phase I will feature various walking trails, pocket parks and two ponds with walking trails on the north and south sides of the development. Downtown Nexton will offer over 110,000 square feet of both for-sale and rental office space within several two-story office buildings. The buildings will feature parking, multiple entry points, green space and Nexton’s GigaFi internet services. CBRE’s Charleston office will market the office component for lease. The project will also include three apartment parcels, each with their own amenity packages. One of these parcels is intended to be an age-restricted (55-plus) upscale rental community. Additionally, some of the mixed-use buildings will include upper-floor lofts. Amenities for …
SAN ANTONIO — Colorado-based coworking concept Office Evolution has opened a 7,064-square-foot space at Plaza Las Campanas, a shopping center located at 1846 N Loop 1604 W. in San Antonio. The space includes both common workspaces and private offices. The space is Office Evolution’s first in San Antonio. Following the opening of its San Antonio space, Office Evolution announced that it would open its first coworking concept in Austin in mid-May. That space will be located at 8911 N. Capital Texas Highway and will span 7,845 square feet.
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Frampton Construction Co. LLC, a full-service construction firm, has completed work on The Quin, a five-story office building located at 1940 Algonquin Road in Charleston. White Point is the developer for the project, and JLL is handling the leasing of the building. The Quin is a 110,000-square-foot, Class A property that sits on a four-acre site and features a four-story, 125,748-square-foot parking deck with approximately 300 spaces. Located at Meeting Street and Algonquin Road, The Quin is the first phase of a larger, 10-acre mixed-use development. One of the first tenants for the property is Interior Elements. Designed by McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, the building is constructed of structural steel with exterior finishes of glass, brick, stucco, metal panels and canopies. The parking deck was constructed of pre-cast concrete and features mesh paneling on the two visible sides. The building’s ground floor includes retail space, shower facilities and offices. The top four floors each comprise 22,000 square feet of office space. Additionally, a bike repair center sits at the base of the parking deck, and a public courtyard amenity area featuring a ping pong table, putting green and outdoor seating sits between the office building and parking …
HOUSTON — Colliers International has brokered the sale of a 112,867-square-foot office building located at 1220 Augusta Drive in the San Felipe/Voss submarket of West Houston. Christopher Winters and Jay Kyle of Colliers represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction. The buyer is a locally based investment firm doing business as 1220 Augusta LLC.
PORTLAND, MAINE — Stan Johnson Co. has brokered the $11.8 million sale of an 80,683-square-foot office building in Portland. The three-story property was originally built on 18.3 acres in 1974 and was leased to a single tenant, Consolidated Communications, at the time of sale. Chris Adams and Jim Gibson of Stan Johnson Co. represented the seller, Vermont-based developer Pizzagalli Properties, in the transaction. Josh Soley of Maine Realty Advisors represented the buyer, an undisclosed investor based in California.
ABS National Business Parks Purchases Gardens Plaza Mixed-Use Property in West Palm Beach for $30.6M
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. — ABS National Business Parks has purchased Gardens Plaza, a mixed-use campus in West Palm Beach that comprises of a nine-story office tower, two-story medical office building and a development pad. The locally based developer, Stiles, sold the property for $30.5 million. Gardens Plaza is located on the south side of PGA Boulevard, adjacent to Gardens Mall and less than one mile east of Interstate 95. The property was 85 percent leased at the time of sale to a variety of corporate tenants. The tower spans 86,542 rentable square feet, and the medical office building spans 5,627 square feet and has been occupied by Jupiter Medical since 2016. Christian Lee, José Lobón, Kevin Probel and Kevin McCarthy of CBRE represented the seller in the transaction. Brian Warwick with ABS Altman Warwick LLC worked alongside Amy Julian with CBRE’s Debt & Structured Finance division to secure a 10-year, fixed-rate acquisition loan through JPMorgan. ABS National Business Parks is a New York-based, privately held owner and operator. The company plans to modernize Gardens Plaza, including upgrading to a high-level HEPA air filtration system and updating the building’s four elevators.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. — Limestone Asset Management, via a joint venture with its parent company Orion Real Estate Group, has sold a 23,031-square-foot retail and office center in the Tampa Bay area for $5.3 million. Located at 1914 4th St. N in St. Petersburg, the property was 100 percent leased at the time of sale to six tenants, including Outback Steakhouse and Panera Bread. Ben Mallah of Equity Management Partners Inc. purchased the property in a 1031 exchange. Mark Shellabarger and Ari Ravi of CBRE represented Limestone and Orion, both real estate investment firms based in Miami, in the transaction. Limestone Asset Management originally purchased the property in June 2016 for $2.9 million.