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CHICAGO Ń Magellan Development Group has broken ground for a new retail center within Chicago's Lakeshore East master-planned community. Village Market Center will be a three-story, 105,000-square-foot shopping center located at the southwest corner of the 28-acre development, just northeast of Millennium Park. Three tenants have already signed on at the project, including Roundy's Supermarket, which will occupy a 55,000-square-foot, bi-level anchor space. Other tenants include restaurant III Forks, which is leasing 12,941 square feet, and a breakfast restaurant that is leasing 2,128 square feet. McHugh Construction Co. is the general contractor, and construction is expected to take 1 year to complete. Sustainability will be a priority at Village Market Center, which is being designed to LEED-Silver specifications. The building will have a green roof as well as parking under the building rather than in surface lots. Spaces have been set aside for bicycles as well as fuel-efficient and alternative energy vehicles. The building will also contain high-efficiency windows and low-flow plumbing fixtures. Roundy's will not only be our first tenant in the Village Market, but it will be the first large-scale grocery store in the emerging New East Side neighborhood, said Brian Gordon, vice president of development for Magellan, …

WASHINGTON, D.C. Ń LaSalle Hotel Properties has purchased the Sofitel Washington, D.C. Lafayette Square for $95 million. The hotel is located at 806 15th St., near the White House. It features 237 guest rooms in a variety of room and suite configurations. Amenities include restaurant and lounge options ICI Urban Bistro and Le Bar, a fitness center, a business center and 5,896 square feet of meeting space, including a 1,700-square-foot ballroom. The building was originally constructed in 1880. Hodges Ward Elliott acted as the financial advisor to the undisclosed seller. The sale price equates to approximately $400,000 per room. Ń Coleman Wood

BOCA RATON, FLA. Ń Balfour Beatty Capital Group has entered into a public-private partnership with Florida Atlantic University to develop and manage on-campus student housing at the Boca Raton school's main campus. The first phase of the partnership will include the development of a new $123 million residential facility for upperclassmen and graduate students. The project, which will be constructed in the school's new Innovation Village area, will be built by Balfour Beatty Construction. It will consist of a seven-story building and an eight-story building that will house a total of 1,216 beds. Residences will consist of a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom units as well as some one-bedroom units for resident assistants. Amenities at the new housing community will include a courtyard area between the two buildings with green spaces, an outdoor pool and a sand volleyball court. Other amenities include a fitness center, a convenience store, a computer lab and multipurpose meeting areas. The project will be applying for LEED-Silver certification. It is being designed by Pierce Goodwin Alexander & Linville and will be completed in time for the start of the fall 2011 semester. The project is being developed and will be managed upon completion by …

LOS ANGELES Ń As a way to adapt to today's real estate climate and prepare for a busy year, CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Investors has launched of a focused acquisitions team within its Strategic Partners U.S. Fund program. In the past, acquisition team members focused on different regions of the country and took a soup to nuts approach to handling acquisitions by overseeing all stages of the process. With the launch of its focused acquisitions team, CBRE Investors has created a team whose sole mission is to focus on finding acquisition opportunities for the more than $2.5 billion in capital in CBRE Investors has ready to deploy in the next 12 to 18 months as part of the fund. This is all about execution, says Phil Hench, a principal with CBRE Investors and co-head of the new acquisitions team. This is about us making the decision that we're at the right point in the cycle to pursue new investments and dedcating the right amount of resources to achieve that. There is a lot of opportunistic capital and foreign capital that has entered into the marketplace looking to make strategic purchases in the currently economic cycle, says Mike Kane, a senior …

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF. Ń Newport Beach-based Nationwide Health Properties (NHP) has acquired a majority interest in a five-property California medical office portfolio for $211 million. The seller is California limited liability company Pacific Medical Buildings and some of its affiliates. For the first property, NHP acquired a 65 percent interest in a 140,000-square-foot facility located in Mission Viejo. Its joint venture partner in the property is Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center. NHP paid $67.3 million for the stake, including the assumption of $48.1 million in debt, $14.2 million in cash and $5 million in ownership units of the partnership. NHP purchased a 69 percent interest in a 130,000-square-foot facility located in Orange from a physicians group associated with St. Joseph Hospital of Orange. The $62.3 million purchase price includes the assumption of $50.2 million in debt, $14.2 million in cash and $4 million in ownership units of the partnership. In Pasadena, NHP purchased a 71 percent interest in a 190,000-square-foot facility through a joint venture with a Pacific Medical affiliate. As part of the deal, NHP provided a $56.5 million mortgage loan, of which $49.8 million has been funded; a $3 million mezzanine loan; and $13.5 million in cash. NHP …

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA Ń Minneapolis-based Opus Northwest has been chosen to construct the new Armed Forces Reserve Center Complex in Cedar Rapids. Opus Northwest will serve as the design-builder and Opus Architects & Engineers will serve as architect of record for the $37.7 million project, which is slated to break ground in April. Construction will consist of a one-story, 113,506-square-foot armed forces reserve center and a 56,749-square-foot field maintenance shop. The facilities will contain offices for the Iowa Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve, troop supply and storage areas, a health clinic, a drill hall, a simulated weapons area and a staging center for troop deployment. The project will be applying for LEED-Gold certification. Sustainable measures being considered include energy-efficient mechanical systems, a geothermal HVAC system, insulated exterior wall roofing systems, extensive use of daylighting and lighting controls, and water conservation measures. Completion is expected in August 2011. Opus is calling the project the Iowa National Guard's large construction project since World War II. Ń Coleman Wood

OAK BROOK, ILL. Ń Inland Western Real Estate Trust has completed 10 leases for retail spaces formerly occupied by Circuit City and Linens 'n Things. The leases total 316,050 square feet of big box space. The spaces range in size from 28,000 to 41,621 square feet. The locations include Avondale, Ariz.; Columbus, Ind.; Belair, Md.; Seekonk, Mass.; Phillipsburg, N.J.; Bay Shore, N.Y.; Stroudsburg and West Mifflin, Pa.; and Austin and San Antonio, Texas. Best Bay is leasing three of the spaces, Ultimate Electronics is leasing two, and one space each is being leased to Ashley Furniture, Bed Bath & Beyond, hhgregg, Marshalls and (TJX) Home Goods. All of the leases carry 10-year terms. To date, Inland Western has leased or has under letter of intent approximately 60 percent of the vacant space related to the bankruptcies of Circuit City and Linens 'n Things. Ń Coleman Wood

FORT LEE, N.J., AND WESTON, FLA. Ń Strategic Storage Trust (SST) has acquired two Class A self-storage properties in New Jersey and Florida for approximately $23 million. The Fort Lee property contains 965 units and is located on 1.2 acres at 550 Main St. Occupancy was 88.2 percent at the time of closing. In addition to the three stories of climate-controlled units, the property contains a cellular tower on the roof. The other property is a four-story, 651-unit building located at 16400 State Road 84 in Weston. Occupancy was 86.1 percent at the time of closing. The seller in the transaction, Chicago Five Properties, was represented by CB Richard Ellis. Since its launch a year-and-a-half ago, SST has acquired 28 properties in 14 states. Ń Coleman Wood.