LOS ANGELES — AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), through Healthy Housing Foundation by AHF, has purchased the historic Biltmore hotel located at 501 S. Los Angeles St. in downtown Los Angeles. The purchase price and seller were not disclosed. The buyer plans to convert 204-room hotel into residential units for homeless or extremely low-income individuals. Built in 1910, the hotel is the fourth property acquired by the Healthy Housing Foundation since October 2017 for use as homeless or low-income housing. Currently, the hotel has 76 tenants in residence, who will remain in place. The non-profit organization also owns the 150-room King Edward Hotel, the 202-room Madison Hotel and the 27-room Sunrise on Sunset hotel in Los Angeles.
ROSWELL, GA. — Pollack Shores Real Estate Group has purchased a site at 11060 Alpharetta Highway in Roswell, roughly 23 miles north of Atlanta, with plans to develop a new multifamily community. The project is part of a greater mixed-use development that Pollack Shores is building in partnership with Fuqua Development. The site currently houses a strip shopping center that will be razed this fall to make way for the new development. Dubbed Sun Valley, the community will include 300 multifamily units developed by Pollack Shores and 115,000 square feet of retail that Fuqua will develop, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The Atlanta-based firms had a similar arrangement at The Battery Atlanta, where Pollack Shores developed the multifamily portion, dubbed Home at The Battery Atlanta, and Fuqua developed the retail and restaurants. The residential portion of the Roswell project will include a mix of one- to three-bedroom units with granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, a mix of vinyl-plank wood flooring and carpet flooring and walk-in closets. Community amenities will include a dog park, pet washing station, pool, lounge area and a fitness center with a yoga room. Matrix Residential, a subsidiary of Pollack Shores, will manage the community.
PASADENA, TEXAS — Multinational chemicals firm LyondellBasell has begun work on a $2.4 billion manufacturing plant in Pasadena, a suburb of Houston located near the port. Spanning 140 acres, the plant will manufacture propylene oxide and tertiary butyl alcohol, two chemicals used in the production of a variety of consumer goods, including bedding, furniture, carpeting, building materials and adhesives. The plant is expected to begin operations by 2021. An analysis from the Greater Houston Partnership states that the project will have more than $450 million in economic impact on the region.
GARLAND, TEXAS — Digital Realty, a San Francisco-based data center REIT, will embark on a $400 million expansion of its data center campus in Garland, a northeastern suburb of Dallas. The project will add 16 acres to the original site at the intersection of Campbell Road and the George Bush Turnpike. The company’s Garland campus is being developed over a 20-year period in five phases, each of which will add about 280,000 square feet of space and operate at 32 megawatts of critical IT load. The first phase is expected to be operational by late 2021.
GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — PREIT is underway on an extensive redevelopment of the 1.1 million-square-foot Woodland Mall in Grand Rapids. Construction has commenced on a 90,000-square-foot Von Maur department store. The space was formerly home to Sears. This will be the first Von Maur store in the region and is expected to open in October 2019. Other stores expected to open next year at Woodland Mall include Urban Outfitters and REI. Renovations will be made to Victoria’s Secret and Hollister stores. Black Rock Bar & Grill has signed a new lease to occupy 9,000 square feet at Woodland Mall. Diners at Black Rock cook their meat or seafood on hot volcanic granite at their tables. The mall will remain open throughout the renovation process, which is estimated to cost $100 million, according to local media reports.
DALLAS — A joint venture between Balfour Beatty Campus Solutions and Wynne/Jackson has completed the second and final phase of Northside, a 1,500-bed student housing community located near the University of Texas at Dallas. The first phase was completed in 2016 and delivered 600 beds with shared amenities, a parking garage and a variety of restaurants and pubs. The second phase offers 900 beds in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans. Shared amenities include a second resort-style swimming pool, a volleyball court, an indoor/outdoor fitness center, individual study rooms, a sky lounge and 7,000 square feet of additional retail space.
IRVINE, CALIF. — Irvine Co. has completed a $200 million reinvestment at Irvine Spectrum Center, a shopping, dining and lifestyle property located at 670 Spectrum Center Drive in Irvine. The capital improvements program included new store openings, extensive outdoor renovations and enhanced restaurant and entertainment options at the 1.2 million-square-foot shopping center. The following 15 tenants are slated to open Aug. 18, 2018: Apple Irvine Spectrum Center Hello Kitty Café H&M STANCE Gorjana 85°C Bakery Café BLKdot Coffee Afters Ice Cream Concrete Rose Falasophy Robata Wasa SoHa Living The Denim Lab Ra Yoga UnAffected Additionally, Brigade LA, Drybar, Sephora and SST&C will join Irvine Spectrum Center later this year.
CHANDLER, ARIZ. — VanTrust Real Estate has completed the development of Chandler Corporate Center, a Class A office building located at 350 N. McClintock Drive in Chandler. Layton Construction Co. served as general contractor and Butler Design Group served as architect for the 117,000-square-foot building. Situated on 11 acres, the property features a two-story glass entrance enhanced with stone, wood and ceramic tile lobby finishes and integrated LED light fixtures. VanTrust plans to develop the remaining 15 acres of land surrounding the completed property.
CHICAGO — Capstone Development Partners LLC and Harrison Street Real Estate Capital LLC are developing an on-campus student housing and dining community at the University of Chicago. Capstone On-Campus Management will manage the property in shared governance with the university. Known as Woodlawn Residential Commons, the development will house approximately 1,200 undergraduate students and resident staff. The project will also include a dining commons that will be operated by the university and its dining services provider. Elkus Manfredi Architects is the project architect and Turner Construction Co. is the contractor. The development is slated to open in time for the 2020-2021 school year.
KINGWOOD, TEXAS — Austin-based Stratus Properties Inc. will develop Kingwood Place, a 54-acre mixed-use project in Kingwood, a 14,000-acre master-planned community located northeast of Houston. The project, which will be anchored by a 103,000-square-foot H-E-B grocery store, will also feature 41,000 square feet of additional retail space and approximately 300 multifamily units. Construction is scheduled to begin in November.