LOS ANGELES – The Chinatown Metro Apartments project in Los Angeles has been sold to Meta Housing for $9 million. This stalled affordable housing project consists of two buildings and 152,127 square feet. It is located at 808 S. Spring Street in Los Angeles’ Chinatown submarket. The former office property will be converted into affordable housing units under the City of Los Angeles’ Adaptive Reuse Ordinance. Meta Housing, an affordable housing developer, plans to complete the conversion and deliver 123 affordable housing units to the area in early 2013. Charles Dunn’s Albert Shilton represented Meta Housing. The property was sold by the KOR Group as a short sale through the lender, Bank of America.
MINNEAPOLIS — Dominium executed a purchase agreement with BNC Bank, who currently owns the Pillsbury Lofts. The landmark Pillsbury Mill site is located across the Mississippi River from downtown Minneapolis and will be the site for affordable live-work housing. The development will consist of approximately 240 apartments located throughout three of the historic buildings — A-Mill, South Mill Complex and Warehouse No. 2. The timeline for construction on this adaptive reuse project is approximately 14-16 months. The project team is Dominium and the team lead is Owen Metz. The developer of the project is BKV Group.
ATLANTA — Atlanta Underground LLC, Excel Hotel Group and S&A Industries have opened the first Comfort Suites in downtown Atlanta. Located at 54 Peachtree St. near historic Underground Atlanta, the hotel offers 156 rooms. The hotel is housed in a historic building, which was expanded during Atlanta's 1996 Summer Olympics. The property, which is franchised by Choice Hotels International, is the brand's first adaptive reuse project.
SAN FRANCISCO — Forest City Enterprises has sold its interest in Metreon, a 279,000-square-foot mixed-use project located in downtown San Francisco. The $19 million deal involved Forest City selling a 50 percent interest in the property to Westfield Group, which acquired the property in a joint venture with Forest City back in 2006. “Metreon continues to be a great redevelopment property with significant potential,” said Charles Ratner, president and CEO of Forest City, in a statement. “Consistent with our strategy of reducing overall development activity, we made the decision, in consultation with Westfield, to focus on other West Coast assets and opportunities.” Forest City retains a large presence in the Bay Area. It and Westfield still own interests in the nearby Westfield San Francisco Centre/Emporium mixed-use project. Forest City also recently completed the adaptive reuse of Presidio Landmark Apartments at Presidio National Park. In Oakland, the company developed Uptown Apartments. It also has a project in the pipeline called 5M, which consists of the redevelopment of the former San Francisco Chronicle building into an innovation campus. — Coleman Wood
ALLAMUCHY, N.J. — Construction is complete for part of the adaptive reuse of the Villa Madonna Mansion in Allamuchy. The mansion's infirmary was converted into a pre-school for the Allamuchy School District. The space contains 12 classrooms and four administrative areas. An 8,000-square-foot addition was also constructed. This space contains a gymnasium, a cafeteria and a multi-purpose room. The project was designed to meet LEED certification, with sustainable features that include a solar photovoltaic array, daylight harvesting, energy-efficient lighting and insulated windows. Somerville, N.J.-based SSP Architectural Group was the project architect. Plans are also under way to convert the remainder of the 18,000-square-foot mansion into a catering facility.
PHILADELPHIA — HEI Hotels & Resorts has acquired Le Méridien, a 202-room hotel located in the Center City district of Philadelphia. The 10-story hotel, located at 1421 Arch St., was developed by Memphis, Tenn.-based Development Services Group as an adaptive reuse of the former YMCA building. The hotel features 5,330 square feet of meeting space, a bar, a gourmet restaurant and a fitness center. HEI plans to operate the hotel as well once it opens in May.
POTTSTOWN, PA. — The grand opening has been held for an expansion to Montgomery County Community College’s West Campus, located in Pottstown. Known as the North Hall Facility, the 50,000-square-foot building consists of the adaptive reuse of 16 High Street, also known as the former Vaughn Knitting Mill. The facility contains seven classrooms, faculty offices, an art gallery and studios and continuing education offices. Construction also includes the rehabilitation of a pedestrian underpass, which connects the school to downtown Pottstown. The developer was Vesper Property Group, the projects architect was A.I.A. Architects and the general contractor is Clemens Construction Co.
HACKENSACK AND LIVINGSTON, N.J., AND NEW YORK CITY — Livingston-based Jarmel Kizel Architects & Engineers has completed design work for three new restaurants. The first project is a 1,200-square-foot Bocconi Pasta Pronto & More, located at 363 Essex St. in Hackensack. The restaurant opened in June and is a prototype design for three or four more locations that are planned to open in New Jersey. The second project is Carmine’s Livingston, a 7,300-square-foot restaurant located at 405 Eisenhower Pkwy. in Livingston. The completed project consisted of the adaptive reuse of a former stagecoach stop that had later served as a tavern for 40 years until closing 7 years ago. The final project is a 7,300-square-foot T.G.I. Friday’s that will be located at 1780 Gun Hill Rd. in the Bronx, New York City. Completion is scheduled for this summer. Jarmel Kizel is completing the project on behalf of The Briad Group with assistance from Vornado Realty Trust, the owner of the strip center in which the restaurant pad site will be located.
CAMDEN, N.J. — The grand opening has been held for Market Street Pizzeria & Italian Bistro, a new restaurant located at One Market St. in Camden. The restaurant, which is owned by Jeff Anastasi and Joe Cavalieri, is situated on the ground floor of The Victor Lofts, a 341-unit luxury loft apartment building owned by Philadelphia-based Dranoff Properties. The Victor is located on the Camden waterfront, and consists of the adaptive reuse of the historic RCA Victor cabinet manufacturing building. Market Street features seating for 34, as well as take-out and delivery service for residents of The Victor. Other retailers at The Victor Lofts include The Victor’s Pub, Susquehanna Bank, Miss G’s, Park ‘N Clean Dry Cleaners, Symphony in C and Rita’s Water Ice.
SAN FRANCISCO AND TEMECULA, CALIF. — Forest City Enterprises Inc. has recently received loans, totaling $142.5 million, for two projects in California. The company received a $75 million construction loan for the expansion of The Promenade in Temecula. The loan will fund the 127,000-square-foot, main-street style expansion of the existing 1.1 million-square-foot retail center. The New York State Teachers’ Retirement System, which holds the permanent financing on the existing property, provided the new loan. The financing will convert to a permanent loan upon completion of construction. Additionally, Forest City received $67.5 million in construction financing for Presidio, a 161-unit adaptive reuse apartment community that is part of the historic former military base located at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The financing was provided by Wachovia, RBS Citizens N.A. and the National Electrical Benefit Fund.