FLORENCE, KY. Babies R Us has signed with Lake Bluff, Ill.-based Pine Tree Commercial Realty to anchor Turfway Commons located on the northwest corner of Spiral Drive and Houston Road adjacent to a strip retail center and Sam s Club. The retail center will be converted from an existing 118,000-square-foot Wal-Mart. Construction will begin in mid-2006 with delivery set for spring 2007.
JAMES ISLAND, S.C. — Charleston, S.C.-based Anchor Commercial is developing Cross Creek Village, a mixed-use development on James Island, located along Folly Road. Phase 1 includes a 66,739-square-foot, three-story building comprised of ground floor retail, ranging from 1,272 to 13,174 square feet; an outpatient surgery and associated diagnostics center operated on the second floor by Roper St. Francis Hospital, opening in 2009; and medical office suites on the third floor, ranging from 1,383 to 18,000 square feet. Future phases will include retail and residential components. Construction is projected for completion in April 2009.
ORLANDO, FLA. — Chicago-based First Industrial Realty and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) have acquired 134 acres in Orlando for the development of First Park Groveland. The industrial park will be adjacent to the Christopher C. Ford Commerce Park, along Highway 27. Initial plans include build-to-suit and speculative facilities or land parcel sales to strategic corporate customers. David Murphy and Kevin Hoover of CB Richard Ellis arranged the land transaction.
BOCA RATON, FLA. — Ronald Levine of Meridian Capital Group’s New York office has arranged financing in the amount of $49 million for the construction and conversion of Bacara located at 3201 Clint Moore Rd. in Boca Raton. The 224-unit, 388,792-square-foot luxury condominium complex will be amended to include the ground-up construction of 28 new townhomes. The developer, Ceebraid Signal Corp., is using a portion of the financing to convert the existing 224 units into luxury condominiums.
LEXINGTON, KY. — Todd Harrett of Sperry Van Ness/Skeeters and Associates in Louisville, Ky., has represented the seller, Wexford Property Group, in the sale of Delzan Terrace Townhomes located at 569 Delzan Pl. in Lexington. The 49-unit multifamily community was sold to a Salinas, Calif.-based private investor for $2.9 million. The nine-building community is situated on 2.8 acres and is 92 percent occupied. Chad Sirk of Central Purchase Realty represented the buyer.
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Myrtle Beach-based Shroff Development is building the Towers On The Grove, a 539,024-square-foot, two-building condominium complex in Myrtle Beach. The first 19-story, 269,512-square-foot tower began construction last June and will deliver in November. The building features 221 one-, two- and three-bedroom units, a full-service restaurant and a 10-story parking garage. The second building will also be 19 stories and 269,512 square feet. North Myrtle Beach-based Landmark Builders is the general contractor, and the property is being leased by The Hoffman Group.
LAFAYETTE, LA. — Stephen St. Clair of Marcus & Millichap’s Orlando office and Tom Pate of its Lafayette office have arranged the sale of Diamond Lakes Apartments, a 312-unit, 249,100-square-foot multifamily community in Lafayette, on behalf of the seller, a Mass.-based private investment group, to a La.-based private investment group, for $20 million. St. Clair also represented the buyer. The garden-style community is comprised of 16 two-story buildings featuring one- and two-bedroom units, ranging from 650 to 1,000 square feet. Amenities include two swimming pools, two lighted tennis courts and a fitness center. The property is situated on a 13-acre lot, located at 2700 Ambassador Caffery Pkwy., near Interstate 10 and the Southwest Medical Center.
WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Victor ‘Buddy’ John and Jim Pagett of NAI Avant have brokered the sale of Capitol Square Shopping Center located at 200 Sunset Blvd. in West Columbia. Edens & Avant sold the 8-acre, 83,085-square-foot property to a local private investor for $1.85 million.
RIDGELAND, MISS. — Jackson-based Mattiace Properties and H.C. Bailey Companies are opening Renaissance at Colony Park, a 57-acre, 500,000-square-foot lifestyle center in Ridgeland. The open-air center will consists of a 60 retail stores, 50,000 square feet of office space, five restaurants, five specialty food stores and a Hyatt Place Hotel. Tenants include P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano, The Fresh Market Market, Barnes & Noble, Ethan Allen, Ann Taylor and White House/Black Market, among others. The development will open in March, and is located on Highland Colony Parkway at the northwest corner of Interstate 55 and Old Agency Road.
Since 1995, container volume at the port has increased by approximately 400% and now exceeds 2.3 billion TEU s (20-foot equivalent units). With this growth, national developers have entered the market and started large speculative construction projects totaling more than 4.5 million square feet. However, the market is still relatively small at 23 million square feet. While the port s growth will ultimately create strong demand, there are some questions concerning building size and near-term absorption and overbuilding that will be addressed in the next year. Many of the speculative buildings exceed 500,000 square feet. The Savannah industrial market s vacancy is certainly healthy at 5.4%, but the current state of spec development will probably drive it higher in the short term. Additionally, the amount of vacant space may stall rent growth and keep it in the $3.30 to $4 per square foot range over the next year. At Duke, we were fortunate enough to acquire a fully leased, 5.1 million-square-foot portfolio from local developer Wrenn Blalock, we are also exploring additional land opportunities to maintain our position as a leading developer in Savannah. Our Savannah portfolio includes Portside at Grange Road and Crossroads Business Center, where we will acquire …
