FORT MYERS, FLA. — Stevens Construction will break ground this fall on the 4,600-square-foot Gorovoy Cornea Laser Center, an addition to a 10,580-square-foot, two-story facility. The center, located at 12453 S. Cleveland Ave., will include two operating rooms, recovery rooms and administration offices. Christopher J. Lee Architects designed the space.
Southeast
In the stifling heat of August, the Charlotte office market seemed stagnant and weak. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, Charlotte lost nearly 13,000 jobs in the first two quarters of this year, pushing the unemployment rate to 12 percent. Year-over-year, second quarter office leasing activity fell 32 percent. To further paint a grim picture, Jones Lang LaSalle predicts that downtown Charlotte is in for a double-digit vacancy rate, due to the 2.5 million square feet of office space that will see completion in the next 18 to 24 months. In reality, the future of the Charlotte office market is much brighter than it looks on paper. “At the street level, a lot of brokers remain pretty busy. There are still deals being done; they’re just taking longer,” says Tim Bahr of Charlotte-based NAI Southern Real Estate. It also happens to be the tail end of vacation season, and everything, commercial real estate included, is a bit more sluggish during the twilight of summer than during the rest of the year. “This time of year is typically slow. With the economy, it just seems like that’s amplified things a bit,” he says. The office spaces that are frequently being occupied in …
WHEATON, MD. — A partnership between Arlington, Va.-based Abbey Road Property Group and Bethesda, Md.-based Buvermo Properties has purchased the 102-unit Westerly Park and the 97-unit Woodberry Park from affiliates of Fairfield Residential for $22 million. The 43-year-old properties, which received a $4.8 million renovation in 2007, are located at 2309 Shorefield Rd. in Wheaton. Fannie Mae provided funding for the purchase. Bill Roohan, Mike Muldowney, Andy Boyer, Michael Rudolph and Brian Margerum of CB Richard Ellis’ Washington, D.C., office brokered the sale.
HARFORD COUNTY, MD. — St. John Properties has acquired a 60,000-square-foot office building and a 10-acre parcel of land, assets that were previously owned by Opus East, for an undisclosed amount. The building is located in the Aberdeen Proving Ground at 6240 Guardian Gateway in Harford County. It is fully leased to CACI International, which leases 45,000 square feet of space to the U.S. Army Joint Satellite Command. The undeveloped land can support a three-story, 75,000-square-foot office building.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Batson-Cook has completed the 46,500-square-foot Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture in Charlotte. The property, which includes presentation space, function space and art galleries, is part of the Wells Fargo Cultural Campus. Batson-Cook achieved nearly 100 percent minority participation in the project.
NEPTUNE BEACH, FLA. — Regency Centers will break ground next month on the 74,000-square-foot Seminole Shoppes development in Neptune Beach. The property will be located at the intersection of Atlantic Boulevard and Seminole Road. Seminole Shoppes will be anchored by a 54,000-square-foot Publix, which will deliver next year.
MIAMI BEACH, FLA. — Leslie Beach Associates has sold the 48-room Leslie Hotel to a Miami hotel owner for $8.05 million. The buyer plans to renovate the property, which is located at 1244 Ocean Dr. in Miami Beach. Mark Wohl, Jason Goldfarb and Lawrence Usher of Marcus & Millichap’s Miami office brokered the sale.
ATLANTA — RJ Griffin Construction has finished the 437,000-square-foot Brookwood Condominium tower in Atlanta. The $100 million development includes 22,000 square feet of retail space and a five-level, underground parking deck. Smallwood Reynolds Stewart Stewart Associates designed the building to achieve LEED certification and included such environmentally friendly features as a reflective roof, low VOC carpet and paint and efficient fixtures.
LEBANON, TENN. — Nashville, Tenn.-based T.W. Frierson will start construction this month on a 120,000-square-foot operations facility for Permobil, a wheelchair manufacturer based in Timra, Sweden. The property, located in Park 840 in Lebanon, will include 80,000 square feet of manufacturing space and 40,000 square feet of office space. Permobil will move into the property from its existing Lebanon facility, which is half the size of the new development. The company expects to double its workforce in the next 3 to 5 years. Lebanon-based Manous Design is building the facility to green specifications, which include a solar panel array and the use of bamboo and other recyclable materials. Completion is expected next summer.
CALVERTON, MD. — Merritt Properties has purchased a 123,144-square-foot office building in Calverton from SSK VP Calverton for $6 million. Located at 3901 Calverton Blvd., the four-story building was built in 1983. Merritt will undertake extensive renovations to the property with the goal of achieving LEED-CS Gold certification. Renovations, which include installing T5 lighting with occupant sensors and waterless urinals, should be complete by next summer.