HOUSTON — A 133-key, four-story Residence Inn by Marriott hotel has opened at 10421 Clay Road in west Houston. Midland, Texas-based Insignia Hospitality Group Inc. owns and operates the hotel. Dallas-based architecture firm Mayse & Associates Inc. designed the hotel. The 107,631-square-foot extended-stay development offers a custom outdoor seating area with a fire pit, barbecue grill and pool. Lubbock, Texas-based Greenstreet Inc. constructed the project.
SMYRNA, TENN. — Carolina Holdings Inc. has closed on a 10-acre site along Sam Ridley Parkway in Smyrna between Academy Sports + Outdoors and Lowe’s Home Improvement. Three retailers — Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx and Five Below — will occupy the site. The development team for the retail development includes Nashville-based civil engineer Ragan Smith, Nashville-based general contractor Crain Construction and Greenville, S.C.-based architect COR3 Design. United Community Bank provided construction financing for the project. Hobby Lobby is expected to open in the spring, and TJ Maxx and Five Below to open shortly thereafter.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — The Hampshire Companies and joint venture partner Claremont Companies, along with project investment advisor Circle Squared Alternative Investments, have broken ground on the first phase of University Place along the west campus of New Jersey City University. The first phase will include 163 market-rate units and approximately 10,000 square feet of retail on West Side Avenue, along with 177 structured parking spaces, two bike terminals and more than 25,000 square feet of indoor/outdoor amenity space. The residential units will consist of 27 studio apartments, 112 one-bedroom, and 24 two-bedroom units ranging from 550 square feet to 1,300 square feet. Occupancy for the first project is slated for 2017. The remaining phases of development for University Place are expected to be completed and available for occupancy in 2018. The master redevelopment plan calls for eight buildings including a 100,000-square-foot performing arts center/academic building.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Manchester Texas Financial Group, the developer of the Fairmont Austin, has unveiled a design that will be built between the hotel and Austin Convention Center. Known as the Red River Street Canopy Walk, the 33-foot elevated connection will enable Fairmont Austin hotel guests and the public to cross Waller Creek while traveling to and from the second level of the Austin Convention Center. The walkway will also be publicly accessible from the Waller Creek Trail and streets below. Construction recently began on underground infrastructure for the project. Work on the above-ground connection is slated to start in early 2017 and wrap up in May 2017. Manchester Texas Financial worked with the Waller Creek Conservancy to create the concept. New York-based Thomas Phifer and Partners designed the walkway. Austin-based dwg. is serving as the local landscape architect, and Big Red Dog is the project’s civil engineer.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Gables Residential plans to develop Gables Republic Square, a 24-story, Class A mixed-use residential and hotel project in downtown Austin. HFF arranged joint venture equity for the project through The Carlyle Group on behalf of Gables Residential. Due for completion in early 2019, Gables Republic Square will be located at 400 Lavaca St. and will include 221 residential units, along with a separately owned, 159-key Hotel ZaZa. The residential component will feature a ground-floor lobby with residential units located on floors 13 through 24. The Hotel ZaZa lobby, valet, bar and spa will occupy the ground floor, while the hotel ballroom, restaurant and swimming pool will be located on floor seven and guest rooms on floors eight through 12. Floors two through six of the property will be reserved for residential parking, and two levels of subgrade parking will be reserved for the hotel. The residential units will feature granite or quartz countertops, stainless steel appliances, in-unit washers and dryers, wood or wood laminate flooring and balconies. Residents will have access to a rooftop amenity area featuring views of the city, as well as a swimming pool, hot tub, outdoor kitchen, fireplace, clubroom, library and fitness center.
IRVING, TEXAS — The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has opened its new headquarters facility in Irving. ACEP is a national medical specialty organization representing physicians who practice emergency medicine. The new facility encompasses 60,000 square feet at 4950 W. Royal Lane and includes offices for roughly 150 ACEP executives, staff and volunteers. The space also provides training, meeting and collaboration space and an on-site walking trail. Dallas-based architecture and interior design firm BOKA Powell designed the building and Structure Tone Southwest was the project’s general contractor. The ACEP headquarters project team also included Swearingen Realty Group (brokerage/interiors project management), Cawley Partners (developer), RLG Consulting Engineers (civil and structural engineering), Purdy-McGuire Inc. (mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering) and Belle Firma (landscape design). ACEP employees moved into the space in late August.
HOUSTON — Restaurants Nobu and Fig & Olive will open at The Galleria in Houston. The property, which is owned by Simon Property Group, includes more than 75 retail stores and restaurants. Nobu, in a transaction that was brokered by RKF, will open its first location in Houston and second in Texas at The Galleria in fall 2017. The restaurant will serve Peruvian-Japanese fusion cuisine in a 10,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by Saks Fifth Avenue. New York-based Fig & Olive is a French-style restaurant that will also open in fall 2017. It will be the brand’s first location in Texas and the lease was also brokered by RKF. Fig & Olive will occupy more than 7,000 square feet.
PLANO, TEXAS — Daiso Japan, a retail store known for selling items for $1.50, has scheduled a grand opening celebration weekend for its Plano store on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 23-24. The Plano Daiso store is located at 101 W. Spring Creek Parkway, Suite 731. Daiso operates 3,300 stores worldwide with a total of 44 stores in the United States, and plans to open 20 stores throughout Texas. The company’s first Texas location opened last summer in the Dallas suburb of Carrollton.
ATLANTA — Honeywell International Inc., a global technology company with ties to the aerospace and homebuilding industries, plans to build its Software Center in Midtown Atlanta, bringing more than 730 jobs software-focused jobs to the area over the next five years. The $20 million development will also house the company’s Home and Building Technologies headquarters, which will bring an additional 100 jobs to Atlanta while continuing to maintain a presence in Minnesota. Honeywell intends to invest $19 million in the site, which is set to open in the fourth quarter of this year. The company will also use $2 million in grants from the state of Georgia and Invest Atlanta, the city of Atlanta’s economic development arm. Honeywell also expects to use tax credits totaling more than $10 million, assuming the company hires as scheduled.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Opus Group plans to develop a 30-story multifamily and retail development at 365 Nicollet Ave. in downtown Minneapolis. The pet-friendly high-rise will feature 369 apartments and 9,500 square feet of ground-level retail space. Floor plans will range from alcove units to three-bedroom options, including 36 penthouse suites. All units will include granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and floor-to-ceiling windows. On-site amenities include residential parking, a bike lounge with repair station and seating areas, sauna steam room, a yoga room, hot tub, pool and outdoor cabanas. Construction of the project, which is designed to meet LEED certification, is slated to begin in early October with completion scheduled for summer 2018. Opus Development Co. and Opus Design Build will be the project’s developer and design-builder, respectively. Opus AE Group is the architect and structural engineer of record.