EDWARDSVILLE, ILL. — Amazon has unveiled plans to open two fulfillment centers in Edwardsville, approximately 30 miles northeast of St. Louis, Mo. The two facilities will create more than 1,000 full-time jobs. Each facility will span more than 700,000 square feet and be located where employees pick, pack and ship items. One building will specialize in handling larger items such as big-screen televisions, sports equipment and kayaks. The other building will handle smaller items such as books, toys and electronics.
BOLINGBROOK, ILL. — Peak Construction Corp. has broken ground on a four-story, 77,000-square-foot Marriott Residence Inn in Bolingbrook, approximately 30 miles south of Chicago. The hotel will feature 103 rooms, a swimming pool, outdoor patio with picnic area and a multi-purpose sports court. Hallmark Investment Corp. and Love Hotel Management Co. are overseeing the project. Norr Architects is providing architectural services, and Manhard Consulting Ltd. is the civil engineer. The project is slated for completion next spring.
FARMINGTON HILLS, MICH. — Compatriot Capital Inc. has acquired Jonathan Holtzman’s remaining ownership interest in Village Green Holding, a privately held developer, owner and manager of apartment properties headquartered in Farmington Hills. Compatriot Capital and Village Green had been co-owners of the company since 2011. Holtzman stepped down as chairman and CEO but acquired a majority ownership in select apartment communities owned by Village Green. Village Green will retain its name and maintain its property management, acquisition and development business model. Village Green, established in 1919, manages $4.5 billion in real estate assets and approximately 40,000 units at more than 150 properties. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Compatriot directs the real estate investment strategy for Sammons Enterprises Inc., a global holding company with assets in excess of $71 billion.
TOLEDO, OHIO — Reichle Klein Group has brokered the sale of an 87-unit apartment property in Toledo for $1.2 million. Devonshire Apartments is a three-building property that is situated on 4.8 acres at 902 Gribbin Lane. Australia-based First Eleven LLC sold the property to an investor based on the East Coast. Walter Plath and Harlan Reichle of the Reichle Klein Group represented the seller in the transaction.
NEW YORK CITY — French billionaire Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière has purchased a 100,000-square-foot office and retail building in Manhattan for $525 million. The building is located at 693 Fifth Ave. in Midtown’s Plaza District. The 20-story property’s retail component houses the flagship store of international luxury brand Valentino. It includes four full levels of retail space with 50 feet of Fifth Avenue frontage. Notable office tenants include Carpenters Workshop Gallery, Louis Licari and Phillips Auctioneers. Thor Equities acquired the building in 2010 from Japanese department store Takashimaya for $142 million. Thor then restructured the interior to create a multi-level retail space, which Valentino occupied in 2013. The renovation included a modern floor-to-ceiling window façade from the ground level through the eighth floor. Thor also worked with designer David Chipperfield to create a new building lobby. Thor Equities owns a number of other properties on Fifth Avenue including 685 Fifth Ave., the future home of the new Coach global flagship store. “We continue to believe strongly in the retail and office market on Fifth Avenue and throughout New York City,” says Joe Sitt, Thor’s CEO. “However, after successfully implementing our business plan of improving this prime retail and office location …
The retail market in Memphis has continued to improve over the past year with new developments now open for business and redevelopment projects popping up across the metro area. Memphis, most commonly known for its blues and barbecue, has recently become the dreamland for those looking to lease, buy or redevelop assets. Vacancy rates are falling, new tenants and stakeholders are entering the market and retail investment sales continue to be in high demand. With several new development projects in the pipeline, the metro area is looking to capitalize on the new infrastructure. Memphis, located in the southwest corner of Tennessee within Shelby County, boasts a large metropolitan statistical area comprising Crittenden County in Arkansas; Benton, DeSoto, Marshall, Tate and Tunica counties in Mississippi; and Fayette and Tipton counties in Tennessee. One of the most attractive features of life in Memphis is the area’s remarkably low cost of living, which has allowed Memphis to become the city where one eats and stays instead of eats and plays, adding increasing demand on the commercial real estate market. According to a variety of real estate professionals doing business in the area, national and international investors and developers are looking to Memphis because …
MADISONVILLE, OHIO — Skanska has signed a $51 million contract with RBM Development to oversee construction of the Dolce Lifestyle Hotel and Conference Center in Madisonville, approximately 10 miles northeast of Cincinnati. The project is a redevelopment of a former warehouse site and will convert an existing parking garage into a 239-room, 131,233-square-foot boutique hotel and conference center. The full-service, nine-story hotel will feature meeting spaces, 16 event spaces, a rooftop garden, outdoor dining area and a combined restaurant and lounge. Construction is scheduled to begin this month and is slated for completion in December 2017.
ROSEVILLE, MINN. — Weis Builders has broken ground on Cherrywood Pointe of Roseville at Lexington, a 115-unit senior living community in Roseville, approximately eight miles northeast of Minneapolis. The four-story building, to be located at 2666 Lexington Ave. N., will consist of 85 independent and assisted living units, 24 memory care units and six private care units, which serve as an alternative to traditional nursing home care for those needing higher levels of care on a long- or short-term basis. L&M Associates is designing the 173,145-square-foot community, which is scheduled for completion by July 2017. United Properties will own the facility. Cherrywood Pointe of Roseville at Lexington will feature a dining room, private dining, overnight guest rooms, underground parking, decks and patios, a movie theater, fitness center, hair salon, bistro and group transportation.
RICHTON PARK, ILL. — Novak Construction has completed a new 184,000-square-foot, $18.3 million Walmart Supercenter in Richton Park, approximately 35 miles south of Chicago. The store includes a grocery, produce and bakery area; vision center; photo center; electronics and sporting goods departments; credit service station; indoor and outdoor garden center; and indoor pharmacy with drive-thru. The 28-acre site also included two detention basins, a frontage road, retaining wall, parking for 800 cars and a full-service fueling center. The adjacent roadways were widened to accommodate the new store, and traffic signals were added to the intersections. Construction took eight months to complete. Merriam, Kan.-based BRR Architecture Ltd. designed the project.
ANN ARBOR, MICH — Lowe Enterprises Investors (LEI), in a joint venture with a foreign investment client, has acquired the 149‐room Hampton Inn Ann Arbor for an undisclosed price. LEI plans to renovate the guest rooms, bathrooms and fitness center. Amenities at the hotel, located at 925 Victors Way, include an indoor pool and spa tub, fitness center, complimentary hot breakfast and a 24-hour business center. Hodges Ward Elliott represented the undisclosed seller in the transaction.