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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

LIVERMORE, CALIF. — CB Richard Ellis Realty Trust, a REIT sponsored by CB Richard Ellis Investors, has acquired a three-building office campus located within Tri-Valley Technology Park in Livermore. The 219,631-square-foot campus is long-term leased to Comcast through 2023. “We’re in the process of a continuing offering right now,” explains Philip Kianka, CCO and executive vice president of CBRE Realty Trust. “We’re in acquisition mode and the property, with its long-term lease to a reliable company, was a strategic move for us.” Located at 3011, 3055 and 3077 Comcast Pl., the 26-acre office campus features two single-story buildings and one two-story office building. The properties recently underwent major renovations as part of Comcast’s plan to house approximately 1,000 employees at the campus. The campus currently serves as Comcast’s regional headquarters, call center and technical operations center. The acquisition, which is CBRE Realty Trust’s first in the San Francisco Bay area, also fulfills the company’s desire to expand geographically by raising equity through a selective and disciplined acquisition process, notes Kianka. Additional terms of the transaction were not released. — Amy Bigley

EL PASO, TEXAS — Next week will mark the groundbreaking for Freedom Crossing at Fort Bliss, the first shopping center to be built on a U.S. military base. The $100 million, fully funded project will consist of 546,915 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space catering to the military population of El Paso’s Fort Bliss. It is being developed as a joint venture between the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), the military division responsible for providing goods and services to members of the military, and Greenwood, Colo.-based private developer ServiceStar Development Co. As a result of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission’s (BRAC) report, Fort Bliss is expected to see five new brigades and their families move to the base by 2012, amounting to a 60 percent population increase. Approximately $4.8 billion in new construction is currently under way at the base to support this projected growth, and officials knew that expanded retail offerings would be necessary. The only question was what to build. “Should we just build what we always build, or is this the opportunity to do something different and do something special? That’s what made us decide to do this open-air center with a …

COLTON, CALIF. — Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. has acquired two industrial buildings in Colton. The transaction consisted of a 312,000-square-foot building and a 127,000-square-foot facility situated on 19.3 acres in the Cooley Ranch Industrial Park. “This transaction is one of the largest user-sale transactions in Southern California this year,” says Rick John, senior vice president of Ontario, Calif.-based Collins Commercial, which represented the buyer. Aaron Hodgdon, president of The Hodgdon Group, which also represented the buyer, notes that the acquisition will be an addition to Ashley Furniture Industries’ warehouse and manufacturing operation. The acquisition expands the company’s campus to approximately 1.4 million square feet. Gardena, Calif.-based Overton Moore Properties sold the assets for an undisclosed price. David Consani and Jim Koenig of CB Richard Ellis’ Ontario office represented the seller in the transaction. The acquisition price was not disclosed. The Hodgdon Group has represented Ashley Furniture Industries for the last 10 years on the development, purchase and leasing of more than 2 million square feet of industrial and manufacturing space. Additionally, the company is the exclusive representative for the Ashley Furniture Home Stores for retail real estate. — Amy Bigley

SAN RAMON, CALIF. — Bank of the West has signed a lease for 240,000 square feet of office space at Sunset Development Co.’s Bishop Ranch, a 585-acre business park in San Ramon. The San Francisco-based bank will consolidate its East Bay offices into Bishop Ranch 7, a three-story building on Camino Ramon. In a statement, Bank of the West’s President and CEO Michael Shepherd said, “the move to Bishop Ranch allows us to remain in the East Bay, accommodate future growth, enjoy greater efficiencies and provide our employees the high quality working conditions they deserve. With multiple leases expiring in 2010, this was an unmatched opportunity to combine our East Bay offices in a single location.” The bank currently has approximately 1,600 employees in seven separate buildings in Walnut Creek, Concord and Pacheco, Calif. The company plans to take occupancy in late 2010. This transaction marks one of the largest single office leases in the nation in recent months and the largest new lease on the West Coast. Additional details of the transaction were not disclosed. Bishop Ranch is a diverse business community including more than 550 companies in 30 industries. Bank of the West’s holding company, BancWest Corp., is …