SAN ANTONIO — Houston-based DC Partners will develop Thompson San Antonio Hotel, a 162-room hospitality project that will be located in the RiverWalk area of San Antonio. The 20-story property will also include 58 residences. Amenities will include 5,000 square feet of meeting space, a pool with cabanas and a bar, fitness center and a spa. Construction is expected to begin within the next month, according to realtynewsreport.com.
HUNTSVILLE, ALA. — Mazda and Toyota leaders have selected Huntsville as the site of their new joint venture auto manufacturing plant. The automakers will invest $1.6 billion in the facility, located approximately 14 miles from Toyota’s existing Huntsville plant. The new plant will have the capacity to build 300,000 vehicles annually, with production split evenly between the two lines for each company to produce the Toyota Corolla and Mazda’s crossover model that will be newly introduced to the North American market. The facility is expected to create up to 4,000 jobs, and production is expected to begin by 2021. The joint venture plant marks the 11th U.S. manufacturing facility for Toyota.
ATLANTA — Granite Properties has formed a long-term partnership with Third & Urban for the recapitalization and development of two warehouse properties in Atlanta’s West Midtown district. The partnership will create a portfolio to include the recapitalization of Complex, an adaptive reuse project Third & Urban unveiled in December 2016. The building is 80 percent leased to tenants including Proof of the Pudding, Bold Monk Brewing, Look Listen and LTX Solutions. The project is on track to be fully leased by June. In addition, the partnership will acquire and develop a group of warehouses located at 1218 and 1236 Menlo Drive, also in the West Midtown district. Similar to Complex, the new development — dubbed Inland Tract — will offer creative flex space for tenants that need both office and warehouse space.
NASHVILLE, TENN. — HFF has arranged a $26.7 million construction loan for the adaptive reuse of the former May Hosiery textile mill in Nashville. The development is located at 425 to 431 Chestnut St. and 510 Houston St. in the city’s Wedgewood Houston neighborhood. Danny Kaufman and Christopher Knight of HFF arranged the two-year, floating-rate loan through LoanCore Capital on behalf of the borrower and developer, Chicago-based AJ Capital Partners. Proceeds of the loan will be used for the renovation and remaining lease-up of the property. Constructed in 1909, the 120,000-square-foot facility was originally home to May Hosiery, which made socks through most of the 20th century. AJ Capital Partners is redeveloping the property into a mixed-use space featuring 80,000 square feet of creative office space and 40,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. In addition, the project will include a private rooftop terrace and central outdoor spaces. At the time of closing, the development was 47 percent preleased to Tuck-Hinton Architects, Southcomm Media, Dream Technologies, Parson’s Chicken & Fish and Blockhouse Barbers.
FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS — JPI will develop Jefferson East Branch, a 741-unit multifamily community that will be located in the northern Dallas metro of Farmers Branch. The property will be situated near Addison Circle, a development that spans 500,000 square feet of office space and 120,000 square feet of retail space. Construction of Phase I, which will deliver 390 units, is slated to begin in late 2019, with the first occupancy scheduled for summer 2020. Construction of Phase II, which will deliver 351 units, is expected to begin during the spring of 2020.
CHADDS FORD, PA. — Cushman & Wakefield Senior Housing Capital Markets has raised equity and arranged $20.5 million in financing for the construction of The Residence at Chadds Ford, an 84-unit independent living, assisted living and memory care community in the Philadelphia suburb of Chadds Ford. The borrower is LCB Senior Living, which is building the community. It will be the company’s 15th seniors housing property, and its first in the Philadelphia metro. The community is located along the Delaware border, 11 miles north of Wilmington. The community will consist of a three-story building on a 2.3-acre site. It will offer 64 independent living and assisted living apartments, as well as 20 memory care beds. The project is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2019. Webster Bank is providing $20.5 million of non-recourse construction financing at 65 percent loan-to-cost for the joint venture between LCB and its institutional partner. The Cushman & Wakefield team involved in the transaction included Rick Swartz, Jay Wagner, Aaron Rosenzweig, Jim Dooley and Caryn Donahue.
ALPHARETTA, GA. — Developers of the Hotel at Avalon and Alpharetta Conference Center celebrated the grand opening on Tuesday, Jan. 16, marking the final phase of Avalon, the 2.4 million-square-foot mixed-use development in the northern Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta. The $112 million hotel and conference center were developed in a public-private partnership between Stormont Hospitality Group, Long Wharf Capital, North American Properties (NAP) and the City of Alpharetta. The 330-room hotel features a 24-hour fitness center, access to Club Avalon Concierge and proximity to the variety of shops, dining and entertainment venues offered within Avalon. The hotel’s food and beverage options, Fifth Group restaurant’s South City Kitchen Avalon and Starbucks Coffee, will open this month on the ground floor. The Hotel at Avalon and 65,000-square-foot Alpharetta Conference Center offer 44,000 square feet of adaptable event space, including a second-story pool terrace overlooking Avalon Boulevard. In addition, the development includes two ballrooms, an executive boardroom and smaller meeting rooms. Atlanta-based architect Cooper Carry led the design of the hotel, and Chicago-based Perkins + Will designed the hotel and conference center interiors. The Johnson Studio at Cooper Carry designed South City Kitchen Avalon, and Brasfield & Gorrie was the project’s general contractor.
MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO. — Midas Hospitality has opened Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in Maryland Heights, about 20 miles northwest of St. Louis. The $25 million project is Marriott’s first dual-branded hotel in the St. Louis area. The 119,000-square-foot property is located at 11918 Westline Industrial Drive, formerly home to Clayton Engineering. The hotel includes 96 rooms for the Residence Inn and 88 rooms for the Fairfield Inn & Suites. The property features a fitness center, indoor pool, meeting rooms, guest laundry facilities and backyard seating areas with a grill and pergola. Midas Hospitality will manage the hotel, which was built by sister company MC Hotel Construction.
CHAMPAIGN, ILL. — The Opus Group, in partnership with The Carlyle Group, has broken ground on a 14-story student housing property at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The building will feature 218 units ranging from studios to four-bedroom apartments for a total of 548 beds. The building’s shared amenities will include an indoor basketball court, fitness center and spa on the second floor. Group study rooms and lounges, along with a coffee bar, will provide additional spaces for students to gather on the third floor. The fourth floor will feature a club room with pool tables, ping pong tables and TVs leading to an outdoor amenity space with a pool, fire pits and grilling stations. Completion is slated prior to the 2019 fall academic semester. Opus Development Co. is the project developer, Opus Design Build is the design builder and Opus AE Group is the architect and structural engineer of record. Creative License International is the interior designer. Cardinal Group will manage the property.
DETROIT — Detroit City FC has unveiled plans to open a 75,000-square-foot indoor soccer facility in Detroit. Located in the former City Sports Center ice skating rink at 3401 E. Lafayette St., the new Detroit City Fieldhouse is currently undergoing renovations and is projected to open in September 2018. Detroit City FC is financing the renovations to the new facility, including installing new turf, energy-efficient lighting and providing additional cosmetic upgrades. A clubhouse will eventually be built between the two fields. Detroit City Futbol League, a neighborhood-based recreational adult soccer league that has been in operation since 2010 and includes more than 32 teams, will use the facility. The property will also become home to youth soccer clubs and leagues. City Sports Center formerly served as a practice facility for the Detroit Red Wings.
