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NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Roper St. Francis Healthcare has broken ground on a $1.2 billion hospital campus in North Charleston, roughly 10 miles outside of downtown Charleston. Completion is scheduled for 2029.  Upon completion, the complex will total 805,000 square feet and feature inpatient beds, an emergency department, critical care beds, operating rooms, a comprehensive imaging department and a hemodialysis unit.  The project team includes E4H Environments for Health Architecture; architecture, design, engineering and planning firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM); and general contractor Barton Malow | Edifice.  “Connectivity and resilience are central to the vision for Roper Hospital’s future campus,” says Anthony Treu, healthcare practice leader at SOM. “As the design architects, we’re transforming a constrained suburban site into a cohesive healthcare destination inspired by the landscapes of the Lowcountry. The result is a future-ready, resilient campus that enhances access and fosters a supportive, patient-focused environment — setting a new standard for the next century of care.” This marks the fourth Roper Hospital location in Charleston since the first facility opened in 1856. Roper St. Francis Healthcare is the Lowcountry region’s largest private employer, with roughly 7,000 staff members. St. Francis currently operates more than 120 facilities across four …

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Independence-Plaza-Manhattan

NEW YORK CITY — Newmark has arranged a $675 million loan for the refinancing of Independence Plaza, a 1,328-unit apartment complex located at 40 Harrison St. in the Tribeca area of Manhattan. A consortium of lenders consisting of Deutsche Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley provided the debt to the borrower, a partnership between Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO) and Stellar Management. Jordan Roeschlaub, Nick Scribani, Jonathan Firestone and John Caraviello led the transaction for Newmark. Independence Plaza consists of three 39-story residential towers, a series of townhomes, an onsite parking garage and four contiguous blocks of retail frontage for a total footprint of 1.4 million square feet. Units come in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, as well as and duplexes, and many apartments are newly renovated and feature walk-in closets, large balconies and washers and dryers. Amenities include a pool, fitness center and a children’s play area. According to the property website, there are currently five units available for rent. — Taylor Williams

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SEATTLE — Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) plans to invest “at least $20 billion” in future cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) innovation campuses in Pennsylvania. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant has identified Salem Township in Luzerne County and Falls Township in Bucks County as the first communities that will host these campuses, with other Pennsylvania communities also under consideration. “I’m proud to announce that we have secured the largest private sector investment in the history of Pennsylvania,” said Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. “Pennsylvania is competing again.” Upon completion, the campuses will house data centers with computer servers, data storage drives, networking equipment and other technology infrastructure used for cloud computing capabilities and generative AI. Specific details about the sites and construction timelines were not released. Last week, Amazon made a similar announcement for a $10 billion data center innovation campus in Richmond County, N.C., which followed an $11 billion investment in Georgia that Amazon announced in January. Amazon stated that the Pennsylvania investment will create at least 1,250 new jobs, as well as thousands of jobs in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center supply chain. The new jobs will range from data center engineers and network specialists, to engineering operations managers, security …

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1345-Avenue-of-the-Americas

NEW YORK CITY — Fisher Brothers and Blackstone Real Estate have received $850 million in CMBS debt for the refinancing of 1345 Avenue of the Americas, a 50-story office tower in Midtown Manhattan. Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Chase and Citibank provided the debt to the locally based co-investors. The refinancing was executed as part of a larger recapitalization of the 2 million-square-foot building, which also saw funds backed by Blackstone acquire a 46 percent interest in the property at a valuation of $1.4 billion. Fisher Brothers also increased its majority ownership of the asset as part of the transaction. The building was 92 percent leased at the time of the loan closing, with nearly 1.1 million square feet of leases signed since 2023. Tenants include the Intercontinental Exchange, Equitable Financial, Fortress Investment Group and law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. Fisher Brothers completed a $120 million capital improvement project at 1345 Avenue of the Americas in 2021. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the project upgraded the building’s exterior, redesigned the lobby with touchless elevators and added a new amenity floor with flexible meeting space, a tenant lounge, wellness center and an indoor terrarium. “The completion of …

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Central-Park-Post-Oak

HOUSTON — Houston-based Midway, in collaboration with 3Edgewood and Parkway, has unveiled plans for Central Park Post Oak, a mixed-use redevelopment project located in Houston’s Uptown District. Formerly Post Oak Central, the co-developers will revitalize the 17-acre campus to include additional retail, new restaurants and green space. Midway and Parkway formed a joint venture to acquire the campus in October 2023 before recently buying out their investment partners. Developed by Gerald D. Hines Interests in the 1970s, the campus currently contains three office buildings totaling 1.2 million square feet and 90,000 square feet of retail space. Redevelopment of the property will comprise more than 150,000 square feet of mixed-use retail and restaurant space, including 60,000 square feet of new construction. Two additional buildings will be developed along Post Oak Boulevard with a “prominent jewel box restaurant” planned at the corner of Ambassador Way. To create a more walkable district, the City of Houston recently completed a $192 million renovation of Post Oak Boulevard that featured widened sidewalks and streets, new lighting and nearly 1,000 oak trees. Midway also plans to reposition several of the site’s heritage live oak trees to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment. “We are reimagining Central Park …

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Amazon-Data-Center_N.C

RICHMOND COUNTY, N.C. — Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has announced plans to develop a new, $10 billion cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) innovation campus in Richmond County, roughly 80 miles east of Charlotte.  According to the Seattle-based company, this marks one of the largest capital investment announcements in the history of the state.  Upon completion, the campus will house data centers with computer servers, data storage drives, networking equipment and other technology infrastructure used for cloud computing capabilities and generative AI.  The project will be situated at one of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina’s Selectsite Readiness Program sites, which are designed to accommodate industries like AI and advanced manufacturing. Specific details about the site and construction timelines were not released. Amazon reports that the investment will create at least 500 new jobs, adding to the more than 192,000 tech professionals already in the state, as well as thousands of jobs in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center supply chain.  “Amazon’s $10 billion investment in North Carolina underscores our commitment to driving innovation and advancing the future of cloud computing and AI technologies,” says David Zapolsky, chief global affairs and legal officer with Amazon. “This investment will position North Carolina …

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NEW YORK CITY — Charney Cos. and Tavros have unveiled plans to build 175 Third Street, a 1 million-square-foot apartment tower in Brooklyn’s Gowanus area. The 27-story building will feature more than 1,000 units, approximately 250 of which will be designated as affordable housing. The development cost, including the land purchase, is estimated at roughly $1 billion, according to the New York Post. The project marks the fifth building on four different sites in the new Gowanus Wharf development by Charney and Tavros. Catalyzed by the major Gowanus rezoning in 2021, the new development will feature a public park along the Gowanus Canal. According to a release, the project will contribute to the rehabilitation of the canal while supporting the continued evolution of the industrial Brooklyn neighborhood. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) designed the new tower along with dencityworks | architecture. BIG previously completed a design for the same site in 2023 for a different owner. Charney and Tavros purchased the site in May for $160 million. “Our design for 175 Third Street in Gowanus is conceived as a three-dimensional neighborhood of building blocks stacked to frame a central park cascading down toward the canal waterfront,” says Bjarke Ingels, founder and …

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CHICAGO — The Chicago Fire FC, a Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise, has unveiled plans for a new, privately funded soccer stadium in downtown Chicago. The Wall Street Journal reports the project would cost roughly $650 million to execute. The club and its owner and chairman, Joe Mansueto, plan to debut the new stadium in spring 2028, along with a surrounding entertainment district. “Soccer is the world’s game, and a world-class city like ours deserves a world-class club — with a world-class home to match,” says Mansueto, who purchased the club in 2018. “This new home will serve as a catalyst for job creation, economic development and vibrant community life.” The Chicago Fire did not release financial terms of the development, but Mansueto says that no public funds will be used in the development of the venue, which is designed to seat approximately 22,000 fans for matches. The stadium’s seating capacity can also be expanded for concerts or other community events, according to the project’s website, DearChicago.com. The venue will be situated along the Chicago River just south of Roosevelt Road. The stadium will serve as an anchor of The 78 as it is anticipated to be Chicago’s 78th neighborhood. The …

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Downtown-Chesterfield-Missouri

CHESTERFIELD, MO. — Locally based developer The Staenberg Group has begun Phase I of a 4.5 million-square-foot mall redevelopment project in Chesterfield, a western suburb of St. Louis. According to local news sources, including The St. Louis Business Journal, the mixed-use project is valued at roughly $2 billion. Known as Downtown Chesterfield, the project is a re-imagining of the former site of the Chesterfield Mall, demolition of which is now complete save for the department store buildings of former anchors Macy’s and Dillard’s. The first phase of new development will involve grading the site and installing infrastructure, creating a 3.3-acre central park and building utilities and streets. At full build-out, Downtown Chesterfield will feature up to 2,363 residential units, including 1,000 to be developed as part of Phase I. Residential buildings will include retail and restaurant space, and the Macy’s building will be repurposed to support retail and office uses. The Dillard’s store will be modernized and upgraded and could re-open in advance of the 2026 holiday shopping season. “This is more than just tearing down a mall — it’s laying the foundation for the future of Chesterfield,” said Michael Staenberg, president of The Staenberg Group. “You’ll drive in off Clarkson …

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Marvel-City-Business-Park

BESSEMER, ALA. — Range Light Investment Partners has acquired the former Mall at Westlake, a 323,000-square-foot shopping and dining destination located southwest of Birmingham in Bessemer, Ala. The Ohio-based investment firm plans to redevelop the property into an industrial flex complex that will be known as Marvel City Business Park. The former mall, which originally opened in 1969, permanently closed 40 years later in 2009 after retail activity migrated elsewhere, according to Range Light, leaving the property available for alternative purposes. “Shopping malls built from the 1960s through the 1990s were the distribution centers of that era,” says Pat Foran, founder of Range Light Investment Partners. “All of the features that made them great malls years ago are the same features light industrial and flex tenants are looking for today.” “There are many more tenants looking for 30,000 to 50,000 square feet than 300,000 to 500,000 square feet in the Birmingham area, and there are virtually no options for them,” adds Foran. “Marvel City Business Park will cater to those smaller bay-sized tenants that don’t need 36-foot-high ceilings and want more affordable rent than what the newer big box developments demand.” Situated on a 40-acre site at the intersection of interstates …

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