BAYONNE, N.J. — Woodmont Properties, in partnership with Baker Residential, has broken ground for Woodmont Bay Club at Bayonne, an apartment community located in northwest Bayonne. Situated on four acres, the four-story property features nine studio, 123 one-bedroom, 64 two-bedroom and 24 three-bedroom units, ranging in size from 650 square feet to 1,500 square feet. Additionally, the 220-unit community features a 232-space ground-floor parking garage, a 3,000-square-foot rooftop terrace, a strength and cardio center, a business center, a game room, a pet spa, a golf simulator, a pool and sundeck, landscaped courtyards, picnic areas and a package collection service. Construction is slated for completion by spring 2019.
NEW YORK CITY — The School Construction Authority and MPCC, as general contractor, have broken ground for the Public School 144 addition, an expansion at Colonel Jeromus Remsen School, located at 93-02 69th Ave. in the Forest Hills section of Queens. The $52.4 million, four-story addition will house 26 classrooms, an entrance lobby, an outdoor play area, a cafeteria, offices and a medical suite. The Pre-K through fifth grade school currently serves 894 students. Designed by Urbahn Architects, the expansion will accommodate 590 students and eliminate the need for temporary modular, outdoor classroom facilities. The project team includes MPCC, Leslie E. Robertson Associates LERA, Loring Consulting Engineering, YU + Associates Engineers, Edgewater Design, Lumen Architecture, Cerami & Associates and Schiavone Designs.
ROSEMEAD, CALIF. — Panda Express, which first opened on the West Coast in 1983, has opened its 2,000th location, with the newest location in New York City. Located in Manhattan, where Panda Express marked its East Coast expansion in 2015, the new restaurant is at the corner of Broadway and 111th Street. The 1,500-square-foot restaurant will provide seating for up to 38 guests. Since launching its first traditional New York City location two years ago, Panda Express has opened five additional New York City restaurants, with an upcoming opening in Brooklyn before the end of the year.
WOBURN, MASS. — Colliers International-Boston has arranged $53 million in joint venture equity financing for the construction of a dual-branded Hilton Hotel at 369 Washington St. in Woburn. Thomas Welch, Adam Coppola, John Poole, Tonia Jenkins and Richard Lillis of Colliers arranged the joint venture equity for owner Boston-based Madison Properties. Whitman Peterson is the equity investor and Concord Hospitality Enterprises Cos. is the developer/operator partner for the project. Since acquiring the now remediated site, Madison Properties has received entitlements for the hotel and three retail pad sites, already leased to Red Robin and Chick-fil-A, which is slated to open in 2018. The developer will break ground for the dual-branded Homewood Suites and Hampton Inn & Suites this month.
NEW YORK CITY — Madison Realty Capital has provided a $15 million bridge loan for a mixed-use development site located on three adjacent parcels in Brooklyn: 936 and 948 Myrtle Ave. and 258-264 Throop Ave. The borrower, a developer, has received approval for a 154,699-square-foot, three-building, mixed-use project. The developer plans to construct a residential project with rental and condominium units in three interconnected buildings with ground-floor retail space. Site excavation is nearly complete, and the borrower is moving forward with foundation work while pursuing approval for additional support through the Inclusionary Housing and Food Retail Expansion to Support Health programs.
NEW YORK CITY — Savanna has launched a $35 million capital improvement plan at Falchi Building, a five-story, 711,194-square-foot office and retail building located in the Factory District of Long Island City in Queens. The capital improvement program will be focused on modernizing the lobby and common areas, including the building systems, and reconfiguring the retail spaces to maximize value. The lobby renovation will revitalize the building entrance and improve the existing ground-floor retail space, which is a food-focused corridor similar to Chelsea Market. The new lobby will include Stonehard flooring, an accent wall with LED backlighting at the entrance, rectangular linear light fixtures, built-in retail millwork kiosks with stone countertops, and black porcelain accent subway tile. The lobby and retail corridor work is scheduled for completion in early 2018. Savanna has retained Cushman & Wakefield to manage leasing efforts at the property.
BUDA, TEXAS — Exeter Buda Land LP, an affiliate of Philadelphia-based Exeter Property Group, will develop approximately 600,000 square feet of industrial space on a speculative basis in Buda, a city just south of Austin along the Interstate 35 corridor. The company expects to begin construction of Phase I, which will deliver 300,000 square feet, in early 2018. The project is expected to create at least 50 new jobs.
FENTON, MO. — BJC HealthCare’s Clinical Asset Management Division and CoreLink have signed industrial leases totaling 150,000 square feet at Fenton Logistics Park, on the site of the former Chrysler plant in Fenton. Starting in January 2018, BJC will occupy 80,000 square feet in Building I. The 160,000-square-foot facility was completed in May. CoreLink, which designs and manufactures precision surgical instruments and implants, will occupy 67,000 square feet in Building II upon completion next summer. The facility will also total approximately 160,000 square feet. In addition to Buildings I and II, Building III will add an additional 168,000 square feet when it is completed in summer 2018. Building IV has been approved and fully entitled by the city of Fenton. Construction of the 157,500 square-foot building is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018. The park’s developer, KP Development, acquired the former Chrysler plant in November 2014, and has since invested $12 million in site improvements. The first four buildings represent an additional investment of $65 million. All told, the park is expected to span 2.1 million square feet, including nearly 1.2 million square feet of manufacturing, logistics and warehouse space; 480,000 square feet of office/warehouse and flex …
PHOENIX — PetSmart has opened its 1,600th store in North America. The newest store opened Thanksgiving week in El Paso, Texas. In addition, the pet specialty retailer opened its Casper, Wyo., store in October, marking PetSmart’s presence now in all 50 U.S. states. The store in El Paso features nearly 18,000 square feet of space and includes a Pinnacle Pet Nutrition Shop, which is a new feature in all new PetSmart stores. The shops are about 550 square feet and offer 400-plus items across several brands, and an expanded collection of pet food. PetSmart, Inc. is specialty pet retailer. The company operates more than 1,500 pet stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, as well as more than 200 in-store PetSmart PetsHotel dog and cat boarding facilities.
OVERLAND PARK, KAN. — Developer and manager Midas Hospitality Group has broken ground on a 123-room Home2 Suites by Hilton in Overland Park. The 65,000-square-foot extended-stay hotel will be located at 7121 W. 135th St. Completion of the $16.5 million project is slated for late 2018. Home2 Suites will offer fully equipped kitchens, a fitness center, business center, indoor pool, outdoor living area and pet-friendly environment. Thomas Construction is the general contractor, while Gray Design is the architect.