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HOFFMAN ESTATES, ILL. — Somerset Development has selected Wight & Co. to provide design services for Bell Works Chicagoland, a redevelopment project transforming the former 1.6 million-square-foot AT&T corporate campus in Hoffman Estates into a mixed-use complex. Plans call for office, coworking, retail and community space. Wight & Co. will serve as the project’s master architect, redesigning its shell and core, public spaces and individual tenant spaces. Wight plans to transform the 67,000-square-foot solarium that served as the AT&T food service area into an event center. Other plans include an 80,000-square-foot conference center and a 29,000-square-foot fitness center. Somerset refers to the project as a “metroburb” and has completed one such project in Monmouth, N.J. The AT&T headquarters, built as the Ameritech Center in 1990, was originally designed by Wight & Co. principal Dirk Lohan.

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CHICAGO — Developer Fifield Cos. will break ground on 740 Aberdeen on Tuesday, July 16. The 11-story, transit-oriented development will offer 188 luxury apartment units in Chicago’s River West neighborhood. The project is scheduled to open in fall 2020. The building will be located less than a block from the CTA Chicago Blue Line station and includes a public park designed by Hitchcock Design Group. Units will range from 540 to 1,513 square feet. Amenities will include a party room, coffee bar, coworking space, fitness center, bike storage, sun terrace, pool and grilling stations. Plans also call for an 80-space parking garage and 2,400 square feet of ground-floor retail space. FitzGerald Associates Architects is the project architect with interiors designed by Morgante Wilson Associates. McHugh Construction is the general contractor.

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COLUMBUS, OHIO — Six new retailers have been confirmed as part of the $500 million expansion of Easton Town Center in Columbus. The retailers include Ivan Kane’s Forty Deuce Café & Speakeasy, Arhaus Furniture, Pins Mechanical Co., The Beeline, Forbidden Root Restaurant and Brewery and Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea. At Forty Deuce, the ground floor will include a café serving burgers and desserts while the upstairs will incorporate a hidden speakeasy. The new Arhaus store will span 17,500 square feet. Ohio-based Pins Mechanical has already opened with 30,000 square feet of bowling, foosball, pinball, duckpin bowling and ping pong. The Beeline is a 3,000-square-foot bar with outdoor entertainment space. Forbidden Root’s 12,000-square-foot location will be its first outside of Chicago and is scheduled to open late this month. Crimson is a Columbus-based coffee roaster. The expansion of Easton will encompass 140,000 square feet of new retail and restaurant space, 125,000 square feet of office space and 750 residential units, all set to open in late 2019 and early 2020. Co-developed by The Georgetown Co., L Brands and Steiner + Associates, Easton is a 1,300-acre mixed-use development in northeast Columbus.

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Larkspur-at-Shadow-Creek-Pearland-Texas

PEARLAND, TEXAS — California-based Drever Capital Management has broken ground on Larkspur at Shadow Creek, a 257-unit multifamily community in the southwestern Houston suburb of Pearland that will be marketed to seniors age 55 and above. The property will be situated on 12 acres and consist of a 215-unit primary apartment building with 18,000 square feet of amenity space, as well as 42 private cottages. The first units are expected to be complete in the second half of 2020. Drever also recently completed Larkspur at Twin Creeks, a 243-unit age-restricted community in metro Dallas, and is planning another age-restricted project in New Braunfels, a suburb of San Antonio.

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PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, MICH. — Henry Ford Health System has unveiled plans to revitalize the site of a former Kmart property in Plymouth Township with a new outpatient medical center. The multi-story, 120,000-square-foot center will offer specialty care services, as well as an emergency department and ambulatory surgery center. Kmart closed its doors at the site in November 2017. Henry Ford is expected to close on the purchase of the property in mid-August. Construction is slated to begin shortly thereafter and be completed in 2021. Gensler and Hobbs + Black Associates Inc. are the project architects. With the new facility, Henry Ford’s footprint in western Wayne County will expand to three outpatient facilities.

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The-Independent-Austin

AUSTIN, TEXAS — A partnership between Los Angeles-based CIM Group and Austin-based Aspen Heights Partners has completed construction of The Independent, a 58-story residential tower in downtown Austin that is known locally as the “Jenga” building. Rising 685 feet and encompassing 363 condominium units, The Independent is the tallest tower in Austin. The building is situated on 1.7 acres at the corner of West Third Street and West Avenue overlooking Shoal Creek. The Independent houses one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units, as well as penthouses, and all residences feature 10-foot ceilings and private patios or balconies. Amenities include a pool, fitness center, resident clubhouse, a spa, theater, business center, dog park and a children’s play area.

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LAWRENCE, KAN. — The Opus Group has begun construction on a new three-story student housing community near the University of Kansas. The project will include 120 units accommodating 312 residents as well as 8,200 square feet of retail space. The development is the first in Lawrence to use the new Smart Code portion of the city’s zoning code, requiring the project to incorporate more civic space and encourage less automobile usage. Residents will be able to take public transportation from a bus stop adjacent to the property. A biking and hiking trail from the property will lead directly to campus. Indoor amenities will include a fitness center, spa, clubroom, game room, podcast booth and study spaces. Outdoor amenities will include a terrace area along 23rd Street in front of the retail space for public use, as well as a pool, fire pits, gas grills and fitness area. The project is a joint venture with The McKinney Fund & Co. Central Bank of St. Louis and Central Bank of the Midwest provided construction financing. Completion is slated for July 2020.

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COLUMBUS, OHIO — The Pizzuti Cos. has purchased the former Grant Oak Apartments in Columbus and is scheduled to begin construction immediately on the redevelopment of the site. Located at the southeast corner of Grant Avenue and Oak Street in the Discovery District, the project will include a combination of renovation work, new construction and site improvements. Phase I will include a renovation of the four westernmost buildings and will result in 70 market-rate studio and one-bedroom units. Completion is slated for spring 2020. Phase II will include a new-construction, five-story building with a mix of studio, one- and two-bedroom units. The 80-unit property will include walk-up units along Oak and 9th streets. Pizzuti expects to break ground on Phase II in the fall with completion slated for late summer 2020. Sullivan Bruck Architects oversaw the design of the renovated portion and Lupton Rausch Architects Inc. designed the new-construction building. Elford Inc. will serve as the general contractor on both portions of the project.

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Union Bank Plaza, Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — KBS Real Estate Investment Trust II has launched a $20 million renovation of Union Bank Plaza (UBP) in downtown Los Angeles. Improvements will include an updated retail center, conference center, outdoor seating area and lobby. The property is located at 445 S. Figueroa St. In addition to the building renovation, KBS has embarked on a spec suite program, building out tenant suites without a committed tenant. Of the first eight suites currently under construction, two have been pre-leased. UBP includes a 701,888-square-foot office tower, two-level retail center, two-acre landscaped outdoor plaza and a four-level parking structure. Swinerton Builders will handle construction. The first round of demolition work will begin immediately with completion set for early 2020.

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BELLEVUE, WASH. — Alliance Residential Co. is entering into the Bellevue market with a new construction senior living community to open in 2021. The property, Holden of Bellevue, will be a 136-unit assisted living and memory care facility located at 112th Ave. NE in Bellevue’s Highlands community. Architecture firm Ankrom Moisan designed the mid-rise building, and Alliance Pacific Northwest Builders was the general contractor.

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