ST. LOUIS — Wieland, a global supplier of high-quality copper and copper alloy solutions, is expanding its operations in the St. Louis region, investing $500 million in a new facility. Construction began in early March. The expansion will retain 800 jobs. Wieland, which manufactures products for the electric vehicle industry, contributes to the nearly 16,000 skilled metals industry workers in the area. The company also makes parts for construction, munitions, coinage and electronics. Wieland maintains recycling facilities in Granite City and produces welded copper tubes in Cuba, Mo. The St. Louis region ranks second in the United States for minerals and ores exports, primarily including metals and metal products, according to the St. Louis Regional Freightway.
LINCOLN, NEB. — Assemble Lincoln, Lancaster County’s standing committee overseeing the development of Lincoln’s Downtown Convention Center, has selected the Garfield Public/Private site near South 13th and M streets as the location for Lincoln’s convention center. After a process that began in fall 2023 following two feasibility studies in 2022 and 2023 by CSL, commissioned by the Downtown Lincoln Association, Lincoln Downtown Rotary #14 and Visit Lincoln, three sites were shortlisted as finalists in July 2024. The convention center is estimated to come with an investment between $111 million and $120 million and have an impact of $18.5 million in total economic output annually, supporting 230 jobs and generating nearly $1.3 million in tax revenue per year. Next steps in the process to develop the site include beginning outreach and preliminary negotiations with landowners of the parcels being considered for development, submitting Lancaster County’s Turn Back Tax application to the state, understanding the anticipated timeline of approval of the application and when funds would become available if approved, determining a schedule for issuing design, preconstruction and construction management request for proposals and building a master schedule and budget for development of the site. The selected site is situated directly across …
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. — Cushman & Wakefield has arranged limited partner (LP) equity financing for the development of 505 S 5th Street, a Class A student housing project in Champaign serving students attending the University of Illinois’ Urbana-Champaign campus. The project will be located adjacent to campus and in the heart of Campustown. The development site is fully entitled and shovel-ready, with groundbreaking slated for this month. Completion is anticipated ahead of the 2026-2027 academic school year. The community will feature 241 beds and amenities such as a fitness center, yoga studio, sauna, study rooms, business center, clubroom and outdoor lounge area. Kristian Brown, Travis Prince, Shawn Lubic, Victoria Marks, Susan Tjarksen and Brendon Urban of Cushman & Wakefield arranged the financing on behalf of Hartman Capital, a Champaign-based firm specializing in student housing at the University of Illinois. Quilvest Capital Partners, a global private investment firm, provided the LP equity.
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, ILL. — Logistics Property Co. LLC has acquired a nearly 6-acre site at 2700 York Road in Elk Grove Village located just west of the Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Construction on the site is expected to commence in May. When complete, the development will feature a 123,000-square-foot rear-load warehouse with 16 dock doors, two drive-in doors and 125 auto parking spaces. Aaron Martell and Ben Fish of Logistics Property Co. worked with Ed Lowenbaum of Cresa on the purchase. Jacob & Hefner Associates is the civil engineer. The project is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2026.
NORTH OLMSTED, OHIO — New tenants have opened at Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted, a western suburb of Cleveland. Prime Time Sports & Framing is a custom framing shop specializing in sports and entertainment memorabilia. The 7,916-square-foot space, located in the Dillard’s wing, features autographed memorabilia from Cleveland Browns and The Ohio State University players. Tracy’s Trinkets & Treasures, located near Phoenix Theatres, features more than 30 local and small handcrafted businesses. The 7,828-square-foot store offers a variety of goods, including organic bath products, candles, jewelry, wreaths, t-shirts and baked goods. Coming soon to Great Northern Mall are Build the Pho, One Pot and Texas Roadhouse. Projected to open this spring, Vietnamese restaurant Build the Pho will occupy 3,800 square feet with a patio. Slated to open in the fall, One Pot will serve Korean barbecue in its 5,600-square-foot space with a patio. Texas Roadhouse will occupy 7,900 square feet near JC Penney and is scheduled to open this fall. Operated by Pacific Retail Capital Partners, Great Northern Mall spans 1.2 million square feet with a mix of 100 national and local brands.
NEW YORK CITY — Local lender and private equity firm Kriss Capital has provided $32 million in financing for an adaptive reuse project in Manhattan’s Tribeca area. The borrower, a partnership between local firms Urban Capital Group and Prosper Property Group, will use the proceeds to acquire and convert a former textile warehouse into a five-unit residential building with ground-floor retail space. The design team includes SOMA and Turett Collaborative. Residences will come in three- and four-bedroom floor plans and have an average size of 3,500 square feet. Andy Iadeluca of New Development Capital arranged the debt. GRA Equities and PZ Realty Investments are also partners on the project, construction of which is underway and slated for a mid-2026 completion.
NEW YORK CITY — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $5.2 million sale of a 9,640-square-foot retail building in the Rego Park area of Queens. C-Town Supermarkets anchors the building, which features 100 feet of frontage along 63rd Drive and is also home to three other service-oriented retailers. Joseph French Jr. and Kodi Traver of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller and procured the buyer in the transaction. Both parties were private investors that requested anonymity.
WRENTHAM, MASS. — Shaq’s Big Chicken, a food-and-beverage concept by NBA legend and TV personality Shaquille O’Neal, will open a new restaurant in the southern Massachusetts city of Wrentham. The square footage was not disclosed. The restaurant will be located within Wrentham Premium Outlet Malls, which is owned by Simon Property Group, and is scheduled to open in the coming months. Other tenants that will also soon debut new stores at the property include apparel retailers Vuori, La Vie en Rose and Rag & Bone.
NEW YORK CITY — LEEP Dual Language Academy Charter School has signed a 13,241-square-foot lease expansion in Brooklyn. The school’s footprint now spans 37,924 square feet across four floors within the building at 5323 Fifth Ave. in the Sunset Park neighborhood, where it first opened in 2019. Martin Cottingham, Michael Gottlieb and Patrick Steffens of Avison Young represented the school in the lease negotiations. Comjem Associates owns the building.
NEW ORLEANS — Gencom, a Miami-based investment firm, has acquired a portfolio of two connected hotels located in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans. The 758-room hospitality portfolio includes The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans and the Courtyard by Marriott New Orleans French Quarter/Iberville. Situated along the city’s historic Canal Street, The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans comprises 528 hotel rooms and suites. The hotel features about 48,000 square feet of event space, a fitness center, indoor pool and a 25,000-square-foot spa. The Ritz-Carlton also offers Davenport Lounge, a jazz bar and lounge, and the M Bistro eatery. The property opened in 2000. The adjacent Courtyard by Marriott French Quarter/Iberville offers 230 rooms, as well as a coffee shop. The building was originally constructed in 1878 as a department store and was converted into a hotel in 2012. The property is located within walking distance of Bourbon Street, the Caesars Superdome and the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Both hotels have recently undergone multi-year renovation programs. The Ritz-Carlton was refurbished with updates to guest rooms and public areas, including a $15 million upgrade to its Maison Orleans Club Level. Additionally, all guest accommodations and public spaces at The Courtyard by Marriott …