NEW YORK CITY — In a dramatic move, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) has postponed its annual RECon event over rapidly escalating concerns about COVID-19 (coronavirus), according to an announcement posted today on the trade association’s website. In 2019, more than 37,000 industry professionals descended on the Las Vegas Convention Center for the annual retail and real estate networking event, which featured 1,200 exhibitors and 853,000 square feet of exhibit space. In addition to postponing RECon, ICSC has suspended all of its events through June 30 of this year and is currently evaluating alternative dates for RECon. Registration, exhibitor and sponsorship fees will automatically roll over once the new date is announced or can be credited toward any future ICSC event, according to the organization’s website. At this time, fall events, including New York Deal Making, are scheduled to proceed as planned.
BOSTON — DWS Group has completed a 20,000-square-foot expansion of 50 and 60 Staniford Street, two adjacent medical office buildings totaling 193,230 square feet in the West End neighborhood of Boston. The project involved construction of additional lobby space between the two buildings, effectively enlarging and connecting the first floors. Margulies Perruzzi served as the project architect, and Lee Kennedy Co. was the general contractor.
When I talk to out-of-staters about Texas, they often think I mean “Dallas” when discussing the Metroplex as a whole. That’s when I explain how important the Fort Worth market is to our thriving and healthy Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) retail scene. Weitzman, which operates offices in Texas’ major markets, has handled development, leasing and management in the Fort Worth market since our founding 30 years ago. Today, the Fort Worth area is home to some of the state’s most robust residential, commercial and cultural growth. In terms of retail, our most recent market survey shows that as of January 2020, Fort Worth’s retail market is about as healthy as it’s ever been. The Fort Worth-area market, which we’ll call Fort Worth for the sake of simplicity, largely encompasses Tarrant County. Today, Fort Worth reports a total multi-tenant retail inventory of 62.8 million square feet. As a reference, that figure accounts for about a third of the entire DFW retail market inventory, which clocks in at just over 200 million square feet. Fort Worth’s occupancy rate is around 93 percent, a healthy rate on par with the Dallas area’s occupancy. In terms of subcategories of retail product, the numbers of Fort …
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Novel Coworking has opened Novel Coworking Dupont Circle, a 12-story, 190,385-square-foot office building in northwest Washington, D.C. The company acquired the building, situated at 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, in July 2019. The space can accommodate one- to 200-person teams. Situated two blocks from Dupont Circle, the building was originally developed in 1940. Memberships start at $199 per month, private offices start at $575 per month and office suites start at $399 per employee a month. Chicago-based Novel Coworking operates 37 locations nationwide.
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Hilton Hotels has broken ground on Tempo by Hilton Louisville NuLu, a 130-room, six-story hotel in Louisville’s NuLu neighborhood. The property is situated at 710 E. Jefferson St., two miles east of downtown Louisville and six miles north of Churchill Downs, site of the annual Kentucky Derby. Hilton, and co-owners First Hospitality and Weyland Ventures, expect the hotel to open in time for the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Tempo by Hilton will offer a rooftop bar, fitness center, meeting space, complimentary coffee service and public greenspaces. Hilton has more than 30 confirmed deals for the Tempo brand in cities including New York City, Maui, Boston and Washington, D.C.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale of a 713,585-square-foot distribution center fully leased to CVS/pharmacy in Orlando. CVS services 500 stores in Florida and Puerto Rico from the facility. The property is situated at 8201 Chancellor Drive, eight miles south of downtown Orlando and nine miles west of Orlando International Airport. The building was originally developed in 1975 and offers 24- to 35-foot clear heights, 97 dock positions, approximately 500 car parking spaces and 429 trailer parking spaces. The seller was a closed-ended fund owned by a Spanish family office and managed by Exan Capital, an independent real estate fund manager. The buyer was PBV Logistics Center LLC, an affiliate of Phoenix-based logistics investor and developer Tratt Properties. Mike Davis, Wayne Ramoski, Rick Brugge, Rick Colon, Jared Bonshire and David Perez of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller in the transaction.
SANFORD, FLA. — Wendover Housing Partners has unveiled plans for Norton Commons, an affordable seniors housing community in Sanford, a suburb of Orlando. Wendover recently acquired a 4.3-acre site for the new community, with plans to break ground as early as mid-March. The three-story building will offer 68 apartments. Rental rates for Norton Commons apartments are expected to start at $708 per month for one-bedroom units and $837 per month for two-bedroom units. Norton Commons will cost an estimated $15.9 million to develop. Financing includes $1.4 million in LIHTC (Low-Income Housing Tax Credits) from Florida Housing Finance Corp. Slocum Platts Architects is designing the complex, and Roger B. Kennedy is the general contractor. Wendover expects construction to take 10 months.
WEST MEMPHIS, ARK. — AKA Partners LLC has acquired Storage Depot, a climate-controlled self-storage facility in West Memphis, for $8.9 million. The Murray, Utah-based buyer plans to expand the property on the adjacent three acres. Storage Depot is situated at 701 Ark. Highway 77, nine miles west of downtown Memphis. AKA Partners has hired Argus Management to manage the property. Barclays provided acquisition financing. The seller was West Memphis-based DSB, a partnership between David Reagler, Scott Ferguson and LaRand Thomas. Larry Goldman of RE/Max represented the seller in the transaction.
CARROLLTON, TEXAS — Locally based developer Namhawk LLC will develop Carrollton Gateway, a $300 million mixed-use project that will be located adjacent to Interstate 35 in the northern Dallas suburb of Carrollton. The first phase of the transit-oriented development calls for a 325-unit multifamily property with a fitness center, pool and coworking and meeting spaces. Phase II will feature a 150,000-square-foot office building. Namhawk is also planning a hotel as part of the project. Namhawk has selected The Ratliff Group to provide construction and program management services for the project. A construction timeline has not yet been released.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — The Michaels Organization, a residential development and management firm, has broken ground on Zoey, a $59 million apartment community located at 5700 E. Riverside Drive in the Pleasant Valley neighborhood of Austin. The property will feature 307 units in studio, one- and two-bedroom formats and amenities such as a pool, dog wash station, fitness center, coworking spaces and resident lounges. Completion of the project, which will be Michaels’ first in Austin, is slated for late summer 2021. Dallas-based MSC Architects LLC is designing the community. Chinmay Bhatt, Noam Franklin and Cody Kirkpatrick of Berkadia delivered an unnamed New York City-based REIT as an equity partner for the project.