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SAN DIEGO — Locally-based BLOKHAUS has launched its communal office space concept, theHIVE, in San Diego. The concept is simple — offer a shared office space for creative entrepreneurs who want up-to-the-second technology and a collaborative environment. HIVEhaus, an entity of the BLOKHAUS enterprise and management arm of theHIVE, is the brainchild of a partnership between Graham Downes, founder of BLOKHAUS, and Jason Harper, a graphic artist and web designer/programmer who oversees BHAUSmedia. The flagship property opened in February at a 6,000-square-foot renovated urban warehouse building, which is located at 770 Eleventh Ave. in the revitalized East Village area of downtown San Diego. The space is already more than 33 percent leased. “We’ve had a great deal of interest from self-employed artists, designers, filmmakers, real estate consultants, programmers, fashion industry innovators and other creative types who’ve been drawn to the upbeat, communal environment,” says Harper. “For many [users], it replaces the solitary home office for the opportunity to share leads, skills and ideas with like-minded professionals. It’s also ideal for those looking to downsize and decrease their overhead.” Individuals can rent a variety of space options, starting with a 6-foot by 6-foot workstation module complete with desk furniture. Additionally, facilities …

CHICAGO — Chicago-based General Growth Properties (GGP), the second largest shopping center owner in the country, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of New York. Approximately 158 properties owned by GGP and its subsidiaries are included in the Chapter 11 protection. Some subsidiaries, including the company’s third-party management business and GGP’s joint ventures, were not included in the filing. GGP currently owns more than 200 shopping centers in 44 states, with a portfolio totaling approximately 200 million square feet. The company will continue normal day-to-day operations at all of its’ holdings. It has already received a commitment for a debtor-in-possession credit facility of approximately $375 million from Pershing Square Capital Management that will provide a source of funds for the company as it proceeds through its restructuring. “Our core business remains sound and is performing well with stable cash flows,” said Adam Metz, CEO of the company, in a prepared statement. “We believe that Chapter 11 is the best process for restructuring maturing mortgage loans, reducing the company’s corporate debt, and establishing a sustainable, long-term capital structure for the company. He added, “While we have worked tirelessly in the past several months to address our …

MOUNTAIN BROOK, ALA. — Birmingham, Ala.-based Evson, a family-owned development firm, submitted plans Monday to the city of Mountain Brook for the $200 million Lane Parke of Mountain Brook Village mixed-use project. The development is located 3 miles from downtown Birmingham and sits adjacent to the Birmingham Zoo and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. When complete, Lane Parke will encompass 210,000 square feet of retail space, 45,000 square feet of office space, residential units and a 75-room hotel. The entire development will be built to LEED certification, and green spaces, walking trails and water features will be prominent throughout the property. A two-phase construction schedule will commence when plans for the project are approved by the city. The 27-acre property will replace the 63,000-square-foot Mountain Brook Shopping Center and the 276-unit Park Lane Apartments currently housed on the Mountain Brook site. During the first phase of the project, tenants in the shopping center — including the anchor, Western Supermarkets — will be relocated to the new development. In addition to commitments from these tenants, officials would like to lease three junior anchor spaces of 10,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet before breaking ground. “We’re very optimistic that the demand is …

COLUMBIA, MD. — idX Baltimore, a division of the St. Louis-based firm, has leased 434,490 square feet of industrial space from RREEF in its Columbia Gateway Commerce Center. Terms of the lease were not disclosed. idX Baltimore was formed in 2005 with idX’s acquisition of Russell-William Ltd., an acrylic manufacturer. The company started life in two buildings in Odenton, Md. Over time, the property’s combined 325,000 square feet started to hamper expansion plans. The company will move into the new space at the end of the summer. “idX was operating out of two separate buildings, which was totally inefficient,” says John Wilhide of CB Richard Ellis’ Baltimore office, who, along with the firm’s Mike Roden, represented idX in the lease. “Columbia Gateway gave them a footprint that would allow them to occupy 325,000 square feet and grow into the 434,490 square feet over the next couple years.” CB Richard Ellis’ Ed Harris represented RREEF. The property encompasses 25,000 square feet of office space, which will undergo upgrades before the company moves in. “idX is a very energy-slash-green focused company,” Wilhide says. “They’re putting in new, high-efficiency HVAC in the office space. They are redesigning the warehouse with high-efficiency air circulation. …

ALEXANDRIA, VA. — Duke Realty Corp. has broken ground on a 1.7 million-square-foot office property, located in its 12-building Mark Center office park in Alexandria, that will house U.S. Army personnel affected by 2005’ Base Closure and Realignment Commission campaign. The development encompasses two office towers, two parking garages and a public transportation center. The property will be built to LEED Silver certification, and construction of the transportation center will follow LEED Gold guidelines. Delivery of the $1 billion project is slated for September 2011. Completion of the project will relocate a substantial workforce into the immediate community. Although most of the workers have been going to work in various offices in the area, the new development will concentrate all the employees in one space. “A lot of these folks already work within 5 miles of here,” says Peter Scholz of Duke Realty’s Washington, D.C., office. “It’s not as if there will be a substantial number of folks relocating from other parts of the country or even other parts of the city. It’s just going to be a matter of people reorienting their commuting patterns.” Development of the site, Scholz says, has not been affected by the recession because the …

GAINESVILLE, GA. — Greenville, S.C.-based Pacolet Milliken Enterprises has tapped Greenville-based Carolina Holdings to develop a 460,000-square-foot retail project in Gainesville. The property will span 55 acres at the intersection of Jesse Jewell Parkway and Limestone Parkway. No groundbreaking date has been set. “It’s a fairly big piece of property for the Gainesville community,” says David Winburn of Carolina Holdings. “We really are at the very early stages of it. We’ve just begun figuring out how best lay out the boxes on the site.” It’s so early in the process, in fact, that the company is still waiting on soil tests and other prep work before moving forward with the development’s layout. The location, Winburn says, is one of the “gateway entrances” to the city and will be well-served by a retail project. Winburn says that Carolina Holdings is moving forward with the development because Gainesville is weathering the recession with vigor. “We feel that our site is well-positioned in an area that’s been fairly stable,” he says. Carolina Holdings has targeted the area for a retail project, but with a site location close to Gainesville’s central business district and the proliferation of medical office buildings in the area, that …

MCLEAN, VA. — Hilton Hotels Corp. has signed a lease with B.F. Saul Real Estate Investment Trust for space in its 323,000-square-foot Park Place II office tower for an undisclosed amount. The property is located at 7930 Jones Branch Dr. in McLean. The 10-year lease secures roughly 107,600 square feet of the LEED Gold-certified building for Hilton’s new global headquarters. Dan Evans and Jeff Groh from Jones Lang LaSalle’s McLean office represented Hilton in the transaction. Hilton will relocate its operations from Beverly Hills, Calif., during the third quarter, a move that represents a more effective and efficient way to operate the company. According to a Hilton spokeswoman, from its new perch in Virginia, Hilton will be closer to the high concentration of hotel and real estate companies located in Washington, D.C. An additional incentive arose from a quality of life issue. The cost of living in McLean is much lower than in Beverly Hills, and employees will also benefit from shorter commute times. “Through a rigorous review process, we determined that the Fairfax County location offers us cost savings in the tens of millions of dollars per year,” she says, adding that Hilton has corporate and divisional properties in …

CHICAGO — Willis Group Holdings, a leading risk management and insurance brokerage firm, has acquired naming rights to Chicago’s iconic Sears Tower, along with taking a significant amount of space with the office building. The 110-story tower, which is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, will now be known as Willis Tower. The company is occupying 140,000 square feet, which it has leased for $14.50 per square foot, within the 3.8 million-square-foot building. The naming rights come at no additional cost. The lease agreement with Willis comes at a critical time for building owner 233 S. Wacker Drive LLC, as its largest tenant, Ernst & Young, has plans to vacate its approximately 387,000-square-foot space (including sublease space) for 204,000 square feet within The John Buck Company’s new office tower at 155 N. Wacker Drive. Willis Group is consolidating its Chicago-area operations from five area offices — located at 10 South LaSalle Street, One East Wacker Drive and 222 North Riverside Drive, as well as in Oak Brook and Lombard — and plans to house approximately 500 employees in the new space when it takes occupancy. The move is expected to be complete by late summer. The location will serve …

CANTON, GA. — Jeff Fuqua, president of St. Petersburg, Fla.-based The Sembler Co., has had his eye on Cherokee County, Ga., for a long time. As of the 2000 census, he says, the city was home to 57,634 people with an average income of more than $70,000. With numbers like those, Fuqua knew his 800,000-square-foot Canton Marketplace retail development would thrive. “Cherokee County has become one of the fastest-growing areas in Georgia,” he says. Fourteen tenants will soon open their doors at the $120 million Canton Marketplace, which is located off Exit 19 on Highway 20 in Canton. Bed Bath & Beyond, Best Buy, Books-A-Million, Dick’s Clothing and Sporting Goods, Kirkland’s, Kohl’s, Lowe’s Home Improvement Warehouse, PetsMart and T.J. Maxx will open throughout March and April. Chick-fil-A, SunTrust Bank and The Olive Garden have also taken up residence on outparcels. The idea for Canton Marketplace was hatched 6 years ago, an offshoot of the proposed 415-acre Canton Place. When completed, Canton Place will include residential properties, office space and a hospital. Breaking ground on Canton Marketplace was tough work, literally. “Every project we approach has a number of challenges,” he says. “Being at the edge of the mountains, we had …

WEST BLOOMFIELD, MICH. — The $360 million Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital is nearing completion, and is scheduled to open to the public on March 15. The 730,000-square-foot, all-private room facility, which is attached to the existing Henry Ford Medical Center in West Bloomfield, is the first new hospital Henry Ford Health System has built since 1915. Of the 300 beds at the facility, 191 will open in March, with remaining beds scheduled to open in 2011. In order to ensure a quieter stay for patients, individual rooms do not share common walls or ceilings, which eliminates noise. Other amenities of the rooms include smart technology and space for patients’ families. Adding to the uniqueness of the hospital, a 16-bed inpatient unit has been designated for female patients only. Additionally, according to the president and CEO of the hospital, the facility will be the first to introduce patients to food menus that will contribute to the healing process, as well as integrated wellness programs designed to promote restoring, maintaining and improving health status. Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital will offer full-service medical and surgical services in orthopedics, obstetrics and gynecology, urology, neurosurgery and back surgery, pediatric urology, cardiovascular, women's health, …