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ST. PAUL, MINN. — The University of St. Thomas Board of Trustees has approved construction of a $52 million athletic and recreation complex on the university’s main campus in St. Paul. Upon completion of the athletic facility, the university has plans to construct a $66 million student center on the same campus. “The construction jobs associated with a project of this scope come as good news to the local economy,” explains Jim Winterer, the new service director for the University of St. Thomas. “Beyond that, this is a project that is important to the long-term success of the university.” Construction of the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex will start in late May, with completion slated for fall 2010. The existing Shoenecker Arena, Coughlan Field House and Foley Theater will be demolished to make room for the 180,000-square-foot facility, which will be located east of St. Thomas’ football stadium. The three-level structure will include a 2,000-seat basketball and volleyball arena; an aquatic center containing an eight-lane, 25-meter swimming pool and diving area; and a new field house with a 200-meter track, locker rooms, meeting rooms, training rooms and other support facilities. Additionally, the west wing of the building will house a …

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA. — When DLH Sports opens its 230,000-square-foot DLH Sports Complex in September in Virginia Beach, it will mark the completion of a 5-year process. Long before the recession started affecting the lending markets and real estate projects across the country slowed to a crawl, officials were still straining to push the $18 million development forward. The reason? Location. Developers chose a perfect site situated near the 400-acre Airport Industrial Park, but the land had been previously used as a borrow pit. “That’s where they dig a big hole and borrow the soil to build roads,” says Robert Ruhl of the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development. A decade ago, the gaping hole was filled with construction debris. “You had some stuff down there that probably wasn’t the most environmentally clean.” Plans for the complex were eventually pushed through, and DLH broke ground on the facility 8 months ago. Inside the property, two $1 million turf fields, two swimming pools and weight rooms for professional and amateur athletes will bring a diverse mix of sports players to the property. “There’ll be multi-level professional training going on along with non-professional athletes,” Ruhl says. He hints that the new complex …

BRIDGEWATER, N.J. — New York City-based real estate investment trusts SL Green Realty Corp. and Gramercy Capital Corp. have sold their interests in a three-building office campus located at 55 Corporate Dr. in Bridgewater. The interests were acquired by another REIT, Inland American Real Estate Trust, for $230 million. The office property is situated on 149 acres at the intersection of interstates 78 and 287. The property was originally developed in 1987 for AT&T, which occupied it until 2005. Currently, the property is fully occupied by pharmaceutical company sanofi-aventis USA Inc. as its headquarters. “The existence of assumable debt for the property was one of the key ingredients in being able to transact in this environment,” said Gary Gabriel, executive vice president with Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group and one of the brokers involved in the transaction. He adds that Inland’s strong position in this climate made it one of the few companies today that could come up with the capital to complete a transaction of this size. In addition to its headquarters campus, sanofi-aventis’ largest U.S. research center is located in Bridgewater, bringing its total amount of space within the city to several hundred thousand square feet. Gabriel, …

COLUMBUS, OHIO — This summer, the city of Columbus and Capitol South Community Urban Redevelopment Corp. are knocking down the City Center shopping mall in downtown Columbus to make way for Columbus Commons. Plans for the 8.9-acre project call for a mix of office and retail uses anchored by a city park. In December 2007, New York-based The Georgetown Company was selected by Capitol South to serve as the project’s development manager. MSI was retained as the land use planner for the multi-phased project. With the help of consultants from CB Richard Ellis and input from local community members, Capitol South decided that demolition was the best option for the site. “Our goals were to avoid excess costs and examine all possibilities for reuse of the building before considering demolition,” explains Amy Taylor, chief operating officer of Capitol South. “After looking at the site from many different perspectives, we found that attempting to reconfigure the current structure was vastly more expensive than simply starting over.” Demolition of the 1.2 million-square-foot mall is slated for completion in less than a year. By 2010, the site — which is located south of the Ohio Theater, the Fifth Third Center and the Hyatt …

CARBONDALE, ILL. — A joint venture between Holland Construction Services and JE Dunn Construction has begun site development on an expansion and renovation of athletic facilities at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIU-C). The centerpieces of the $83 million, multi-phased Saluki Way project are a 12,000-seat football stadium and the renovated 8,460-seat Saluki Arena basketball venue. In addition to the renovation, a 53,000-square-foot, two-story addition is planned for the northeast face of Saluki Arena. The $25.3 million football stadium will measure 37,000 square feet in size, and will house 12,000 fixed seats plus lawn seating. Designed by Image Architects Inc., the football stadium will feature concessions areas, as well as a press box and club area with eight private, enclosed luxury suites. Plans for the $29.9 million renovation of Saluki Arena call for new seating, improved accessibility in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, a new scoreboard, new concession areas, additional restrooms and other fan amenities. The $11.5 million addition, which was designed by 360 Architecture, will become the main entrance for the arena, and will include its ticket office, football and basketball team facilities, an auditorium and administrative space. The project is being funded by public and private sources, with …

BETHESDA, MD. — Bethesda-based Walker & Dunlop has merged with Green Park Financial of Bethesda and Column Guaranteed, a subsidiary of Credit Suisse Group. The deal, which combines the three companies under the Walker & Dunlop name, took effect January 31. With the merger, Walker & Dunlop will originate Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD and other loans to an expected annual tune of more than $3 billon. Discussion about the merger began 1 year ago when Credit Suisse started looking into unloading Column Guaranteed. “They thought about selling it, they thought about keeping it and they thought about doing a merger with somebody,” says William M. Walker, CEO of Walker & Dunlop (pictured). “We were effective in convincing them that we were the best alternative.” Walker is joined in the company’s administration by Vice Chairman Kieran Quinn, president of Column Guaranteed. Beekman Advisors and Morgan Lewis & Bockius represented Walker & Dunlop in the merger. Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll represented Credit Suisse. The combined operation means a broader reach and an ability to more personally assist customers outside the Northeast. The company will continue to work out of its Bethesda headquarters, but will also house offices in Atlanta, Baltimore, …

SUGAR LAND, TEXAS — Planned Community Developers is advancing construction for Lake Pointe Village, the retail component of the 190-acre Lake Pointe Town Center mixed-use development, located at the intersection of highways 6 and 59 in Sugar Land. Phase I was recently completed and is currently 100 percent leased to a tenant roster that includes Potbelly Sandwich Works, FedEx Kinko’s, Charles Schwab, Zounds Hearing, Sprint, Hinz Jewelers, Emmanuel Salon, Massage Heights, Isle Pedi Spa, Pearle Vision, Sugar Cycles, Snip-its, Texas Running Co., Hest Fitness, Natural Pawz, Kalologie Skincare and Mattress Expo. Phases II and III are also under way. Phase II comprises a 43,539-square-foot addition that will include an expansion of the existing, Whole Foods-anchored shopping center, as well as the construction of two freestanding buildings. Leases for this phase have already been signed with Azuma Sushi & Robata Bar, Five Guys Burgers & Fries and Mission Burritos. Phase II is scheduled for completion in the first quarter. Phase III will include the construction of two multi-tenant restaurant buildings totaling 20,107 square feet that will be situated along the center’s waterfront boardwalk fronting the 37-acre Brooks Lake. Post Oak Grill has already signed a lease for this phase, which will …