O’FALLON, ILL. — Midwest BankCentre has opened a loan office in O’Fallon near St. Louis. The new office serves both commercial and mortgage loan customers. Midwest BankCentre also serves the needs of businesses and nonprofits in southern Illinois, including dozens that received Paycheck Protection Program loans through the bank earlier this year. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the bank is currently open by appointment only. Its location at 920 Talon Drive is situated near I-64. Midwest BankCentre employs a staff of about 280 workers at 18 bank locations around metro St. Louis. Orvin Kimbrough serves as chairman and CEO.
NILES, ILL. — Deibel Laboratories has purchased a 17,450-square-foot office and warehouse facility at 6150 Mulford St. in Niles, located about 15 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. The company, which serves the food diagnostics and personal care industries, is relocating from Lincolnwood. The new facility features 53 parking spaces and one truck dock. Nick Walby of Entre Commercial Realty represented Deibel while Chris Volkert of Colliers International represented the undisclosed seller. Deibel maintains 11 laboratories across North America.
WESTFIELD, IND. — The Woodmont Co., a national developer specializing in retail, has begun development of a new 10,759-square-foot Kiddie Academy in Westfield near Carmel. Located at 1367 Waterleaf Drive, the school will offer full-time care as well as after-school programs and summer camps for children between six weeks and 12 years old. Three Colors Flag LLC will own and operate the property, which is slated for completion in spring 2021.
KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Regal Cinemas will temporarily suspend operations at all of its 536 U.S. theaters beginning Thursday, Oct. 8. British owner-operator Cineworld (LON: CINE) owns Knoxville, Tenn.-based Regal Cinemas, which has about 7,000 screens across its U.S. portfolio of theaters. Cineworld also announced plans to close all of its theaters in the United Kingdom this week. The closures will impact about 40,000 employees, according to Cineworld. “This is not a decision we made lightly, and we did everything in our power to support a safe and sustainable reopening in the United States,” says Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Cineworld. “From putting in place robust health and safety measures at our theaters to joining our industry in making a collective commitment to the CinemaSafe protocols to reaching out to state and local officials to educate them on these initiatives, we are grateful for and proud of the hard work our employees put in to adapt our theaters to the new protocols,” he adds. While theaters in several major markets, most notably New York City, remain closed, many large cities have permitted theaters to reopen at limited capacities in recent weeks. Venues located in Manhattan’s famous Broadway District that showcase plays also …
By Daniel J. Hogan The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt more severely in Southern California than in most areas of the country. The Southland’s high concentration of employment in the tourism and entertainment sectors made it especially vulnerable to the effects of social distancing protocols and the reluctance of many to board commercial aircraft. Not only were job losses particularly acute in the initial months of the pandemic — the subsequent recovery has been lethargic. The rate of unemployment for July in each of the four large Southern California metropolitan markets remained materially above the national average, and in the case of Los Angeles County (18.2 percent) was the highest of any metropolitan area west of the Hudson River save for Yuma and El Centro. As it always has, Southern California will recover and is likely to do so in even more spectacular fashion than before. In the interim, how can multifamily investors position themselves to prosper? San Diego is the ideal market to scrutinize possible changes in renter behavior during the pandemic and consider their potential investment implications. Indeed, a deep dive into this market may provide clues to some of the great mysteries of …
Economic health at the start of 2020 set a foundation for Orlando’s office market that remains in a good position despite headwinds caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Nationally, the United States saw its longest-running period of economic growth before non-essential business was paused. Even with the slowdown in tourism, Orlando continues to see an uptick in local economy-boosting sectors, including defense and technology. Additionally, an increasing number of companies and individuals in the Northeast have eyes on Florida to escape denser urban markets and high state and local taxes, which bodes well for the Central Florida region. Fundamentals stay firm The pandemic significantly curbed a lot of new office leasing activity in Orlando in 2020. However, rents have not experienced a measurable decline to date. As of the second quarter, the total average rental rate was $24.92 full-service. Landlords are generally being patient and are not lowering rents or offering above-market concessions when negotiating new deals. Asking rents will likely stay flat for the coming months until the broader economy kickstarts again or the anticipated new sublease space hits the market and compels landlords to be more competitive. Total net office absorption for the Orlando area posted a negative …
ATLANTA — Third & Urban and FCP have unveiled plans for Westside Paper, a 245,200-square-foot mixed-use project in Midtown Atlanta along the Atlanta BeltLine. The property spans 15 acres and sits on the former site of the Atlanta Paper Co. industrial campus. Construction is underway at the site, which will include 223,800 square feet of office space, 21,400 square feet of retail and restaurant space and 10,000 square feet of outdoor space. Gay Construction Co. is the general contractor. Aileen Almassy, Will Porter and Porter Henritze of Cushman & Wakefield will lease the office space on behalf of the owners. Initial occupancy is planned for October 2021. The developers acquired the land in late 2019 and are working with Atlanta BeltLine Inc. (ABI) to ensure a right-of-way connection to the BeltLine, a network of walking and biking trails throughout the city. Elsas May & Co. originally developed the campus in the 1950s as a packaging plant for Coca-Cola. The property is situated at 950 W. Marietta St., four miles northwest of downtown Atlanta.
SWEETWATER, TEXAS — Georgia-Pacific has announced plans to break ground on a $285 million production plant for the company’s gypsum division near Sweetwater. The new facility will be located adjacent to the company’s existing plant on Highway 1856 in Nolan County. Georgia-Pacific’s gypsum division produces a variety of products used in residential and commercial construction, including sub-floors, exterior sheathing, drywall, roofing and fire doors. The two operations combined will be capable of supplying customers and distribution partners with more than 1 billion square feet of products each year. “The demand for our diverse gypsum products continues to be strong, especially in Texas,” says Brent Paugh, president of Georgia-Pacific gypsum. “By having two production lines in Nolan County, Georgia-Pacific can strengthen its capacity to meet our growing customer needs in Texas’ residential, commercial and industrial construction.” Construction on the new facility is set to begin immediately with completion slated for late 2022. Once operational, the new plant will employ approximately 120 full-time employees. The existing Sweetwater facility employs 115 people with an annual payroll of approximately $9.9 million and is one of 12 Georgia-Pacific manufacturing facilities in Texas. Further details on the design of the new development were undisclosed. Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific …
TALLAHASSEE, FLA. — A public-private partnership between CTG Development Co. (CTG) and Florida A&M University (FAMU) has completed the development of a 720-bed residence hall on the university’s campus in Tallahassee. The new residence hall is Phase I of development on a larger project called Main Street Corridor, which will include a mixed-use building with multifamily units and retail, a new stadium and a field house upon completion. Finfrock is serving as the architect of record and the design-build contractor for the project. The university held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday, Sept. 30. FAMU is holding classes in a hybrid format for the fall 2020 semester.
HIGH POINT, N.C. — Ziegler has arranged $47.8 million in bond financing for a planned expansion project at Pennybyrn at Maryfield, a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) in High Point, just southwest of Greensboro. Located on 72 acres, Pennybyrn currently offers 180 independent living units, 24 assisted living units, 24 memory care units and 125 skilled nursing beds. The planned expansion will add 42 new independent living apartments, with 74 percent of them pre-sold, as well as a 24-bed transitional rehabilitation therapy building. The project will also include improvements to the buildings and exteriors throughout the existing campus. The project team includes borrower and developer ActionPact Development LLC, architect ActionPact Design Group LLC, general contractor Thomas Construction Group LLC, construction manager NewBanks Inc. and Dixon Hughes Goodman as feasibility consultant.