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NEW YORK CITY — The Hudson River Park Trust has selected Manhattan-based Youngwoo & Associates to develop Pier 57, a $210 million redevelopment project located on Hudson River at 15th Street in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District. First built in 1952, Pier 57, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, will be transformed into a vibrant cultural center totaling approximately 375,000 square feet of space. Initial plans call for a 170,000-square-foot public market that will provide year-round, affordable space for artisans and small business to sell their products. Part of the market will be housed in recycled shipping containers. It will be managed by Urban Space Management. The ground floor of Pier 57 will contain a 98,000-square-foot Contemporary Culture Center that will feature a mix of auction space, galleries, cafes, an art library and performance space. The roof of the project will feature a permanent outdoor entertainment venue run by the Tribeca Film Festival, 83,000 square feet of public park space, and 30,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space. A 7,800-square-foot restaurant will be located at the end of the pier and a 30,000-square-foot Underwater Discovery Center, which will be located in one of the pier’s caissons, will …

ONTARIO, CALIF. — Newport Beach, Calif.-based Master Development Corp. (MDC), the managing member of Ontario Two LLC, has leased 269,000 square feet of industrial space in Phase II of its Thoroughbred Business Park in Ontario. An undisclosed tenant will occupy the space, which is located at 1545 E. Locust St., as its West Coast distribution facility. The lease was valued at $3.5 million. In a statement detailing the transaction, Phil Lombardo of Cushman & Wakefield said “the lessee negotiated a very advantageous rental rate at this property; however, MDC enjoyed the benefits of a rapid lease commencement and relatively minor tenant improvements.” MDC Executive Vice President Bryan Bentrott also noted, “this lease was secured and signed at lightning-quick speed, which speaks volumes to the quality of this building and our ability to negotiate a letter of intent and finalize a lease.” Built in three phases from 1996 to 2000, the business park consists of 11 dock-high industrial buildings totaling 2 million square feet. The development is a joint venture between MDC, the landowner, The Johnson Trust and a large midwestern pension trust. Current tenants include Coastal Pacific Food Distributors, Fresh Start Bakeries and Westside Packaging. Michael Chavez and Vince Anthony …

ROCKFORD, ILL. — In what could be considered one of the more unique redevelopment projects proposed, local development partnership Rockford Renewal LLC has announced plans to redevelop the former St. Mary’s School, a Catholic school located in downtown Rockford, into Class A office space. The building, which is located at 118 S. Winnebago St., will be renamed St. Mary Place upon completion. It will feature approximately 13,000 square feet of office space and will be divisible by 750 square feet. The building features 12-foot high ceilings and 9-foot high windows. St. Mary’s School was first built in 1906 but has not housed students since 1974. Rockford Renewal approached the Rockford Diocese about redeveloping the property and purchased it from them earlier this year. With the economy suffering, smaller office projects such as this are becoming more attractive to developers such as Rockford Renewal. “Financially, it’s less risky because you do not need as many tenants and it does not require a lot of equity to bring these buildings back to life compared to a larger building,” says Joe Anderson, a partner with Rockford Renewal. He adds that these things were not the primary reason why his company decided to embark …

TAMPA, FLA. — At the beginning of August, Clark Construction Group is scheduled to break ground on a $62 million project that will house the headquarters for the U.S. Central Command (CentCom). The four-story, 252,000-square-foot building will be located on MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa. “There are always unique conditions when working on-base and in a secure complex, but that’s what we’re used to,” says John Omran, vice president of Clark’s Tampa office. “We’re always faced with possible hurricanes during construction, but through the relationship with CentCom and the Corps of Engineers, if there are challenges, we seem to sit down and work them out.” In February, Clark completed the Joint Intelligence Center, which is the sister building to the CentCom project. “We had an excellent relationship with the Corps of Engineers and CentCom. We wanted to stay on the site and continue the relationship,” he says. Omran believes the project will employ approximately 300 construction workers. More jobs will be available when the headquarters is up and running. Kansas City, Mo.-based Burns & McDonnell designed the project, which is scheduled for completion in April of 2011. — Patty Vaughan

ATLANTA — Turner Construction Co. has broken ground on a 311,000-square-foot office complex for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Known as Building 24, the $93 million design-build project will be located on the CDC’s Atlanta campus on Clifton Road in Atlanta. Completion is slated for June 2011. The project will be built to LEED Gold certification, and Turner will use low-emitting paints and flooring materials in the construction process. The property will also include large windows to maximize natural light. Due to the nature of the CDC campus, the new building will be constructed to provide high levels of security. Turner Construction has worked on a number of developments for the CDC in the past, and was selected for its “presence in the market” and “very thoughtful plan,” says A.J. Bargoti, a project executive in Turner’s Atlanta office. “The team has a good amount of experience building and designing in this campus.” Bargoti says Building 24 will serve as a support facility for a lab is currently being developed. Financing for the project, which was mandated by the federal government, was not outwardly impacted by the recession, Bargoti says. “It’s part of a campus-wide plan that was funded …

ATLANTA — Macquarie CountryWide Trust, the Australian REIT, has agreed to sell its 75 percent interest in 86 shopping centers it holds in partnership with Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency Centers for $1.3 billion. The REIT had $1.38 billion in CMBS debt scheduled to mature on the properties over the next few years. The deal represents 80 percent of Macquarie CountryWide’s U.S. holdings. Global Retail Investors, LLC. (GRI), a joint venture of First Washington Realty and the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), is acquiring the portfolio over 2 years in a three-part process. The first phase will allow GRI to purchase a 45 percent interest of the portfolio for $778.5 million, which is expected to be complete by the end of the month. Following this, GRI will take a further 15 or 20 percent stake of Macquarie CountryWide’s share of the portfolio, with Regency having the option to take a 5 percent stake by March 31, 2010. Regency also has an option to increase its stake in the venture in the third phase, when the remaining 10 percent of Macquarie CountryWide’s stake will be sold. If Regency chooses not to increase its stake in the venture, it will instead receive cash …

COMMERCE AND BUENA PARK, CALIF. — Dune-Westcore GBP, a partnership between Westcore and Dune Real Estate Fund II, has purchased a 760,000-square-foot industrial portfolio in Commerce and Buena Park for an undisclosed price. According to a statement, Westcore Partner Steve Bollert said, “this acquisition was a unique opportunity for Westcore to add to its existing portfolio of industrial properties in urban infill locations. [The company] is continuing to acquire well-positioned assets throughout the western United States, where it believes significant value can be obtained through intensive management and operation of the properties.” The portfolio consists of The Garfield Business Center, a 545,299-square-foot warehouse business park located at 3300-3430 Garfield Ave. in Commerce, and The Commerce Centre at Buena Park, a 224,600-square-foot cold storage industrial park located at 6535 and 6625 Caballero Blvd. in Buena Park. The assets are 98 percent occupied by 18 tenants, including Hilti, US Healthworks, JAM-N-Logistics, Malarkey Roofing, Golden Orchid, ENL Global, Legacy Farms, Fresh Food Concepts and Blue Line Foodservice Distribution. The seller was Prudential Real Estate Investors acting on behalf of institutional investors. — Amy Bigley

ENFIELD, CONN. — CODA Battery Systems, a joint venture between California-based Coda Automotive and Connecticut-based Yardney Technical Products, has signed a lease with Hackman Capital Partners to move into Enfield Business Park, a five-building, office and industrial campus located on 115 acres in Enfield. CODA will be a new anchor tenant for the vacant 587,736-square-foot Manufacturing Building and will be occupying approximately 300,000 square feet of it. CODA will use the space to produce ion batteries for electric cars, and the new site stands to create approximately 600 new manufacturing jobs. “This kind of business, being a green business, is something that we have sought to attract to our facility,” says John Root, senior vice president of asset management for Hackman Capital Partners, the owner of Enfield Business Park. Enfield was originally the North American headquarters for LEGO. However, LEGO relocated its manufacturing operations and is currently only occupying the office building on the site, which has left the Manufacturing and Distribution Buildings vacant and allowed for other tenants to move in. The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development assisted CODA in finding the site. “When you have a large block of manufacturing space such as this facility, it’s …

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Washington-based Advantis Holdings will sever its relationship with GVA Worldwide during the third quarter and will close its offices in Washington; Tallahassee and Panama City, Fla.; Gulfport, Miss.; and Northern Virginia and Newport News, Va. The closures are part of the company’s plan to reduce its brokerage operations. “We’ve made the strategic decision to focus our energies and resources on supporting and improving the viable divisions of property management and construction,” says Chairman Jeffrey Neal in a statement. Advantis Holdings’ will focus on its property management business. The company’s subsidiary, Advantis Construction Co., will also continue to operate, maintaining offices in Atlanta; Tampa, Fla.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Richmond and Norfolk, Va., will remain open. “The current economic environment clearly favors focusing attention and resources on construction and the consultative and advisory parts of our business,” Tim Hague, the company’s former president, says in a statement. Hague will continue to serve Advantis Holdings in an advisory position. — Jon Ross

LEBANON, TENN. — Nissan North America has signed a design-build lease with Opus Northwest for build-to-suit construction of a North American redistribution facility, which will supply parts warehouses throughout the continent. The 717,160-square-foot property will be located on 58.84 acres in Lebanon’s Couchville Pike Business Center. The Class A facility will include 20,000 square feet of office space and is designed to accommodate future expansion of up to 1.2 million square feet. Selecting a suitable site was a competitive process, says Don Kent of CB Richard Ellis’s Nashville office. “Six sites were considered; this one just offered the most advantages,” he says, adding that Nissan is streamlining a number of warehouses into a single location. “It’s going to improve the proficiency of [Nissan’s] distribution. Nissan will have about the same number of jobs as they have in the area now, but the jobs will just be consolidated into one warehouse.” The building will also feature 32-foot clear height, an ESFR sprinkler system and a loading area that will accommodate 275 truck trailers. Kent and Clinton Gilbreath, also of CB Richard Ellis’s Nashville office, secured the long-term lease for Nissan. Occupancy of the building is scheduled for April 2010. —Patty Vaughan