WHITEHALL, OHIO — Developer Mark F. Taggart Co. and contractor Fed One Dublin have broken ground on Phase I of a new 140,000-square-foot office warehouse facility in Whitehall, approximately 10 miles east of Columbus. The Air South Commerce Center will be situated inside the Airport South Commerce and Tech Center and is expected to be complete this June. The facility, which will be located at 265-285 N. Hamilton Road, will feature 28-foot to 32-foot clear heights, an ESFR sprinkler system, trailer parking and insulated concrete tilt-up panels. Continental Auto Parks has pre-leased a 50,000-square-foot space in the building and was represented by Matt Osowski of NAI Ohio Equities. Civista Bank provided financing for the project.
WILLOW GROVE, PA. — Montgomery County Housing Authority (MCHA) has partnered with Pennrose Properties to redevelop Crest Manor, a public housing community in Willow Grove that was originally built in 1963. The $17.7 million revitalization includes rehabilitation of 15 of the existing two-story twin buildings, demolition of a two-story twin building with construction of a two-story building in its place, demolition of the existing maintenance facility and the construction of a two-story building in its place. Upon completion the community will feature 15 renovated twin buildings, three newly constructed multi-unit buildings and one newly constructed community and maintenance building, all totaling more than 49,492 square feet. The redeveloped community will provide 46 affordable housing units, ranging in size from one- to five-bedroom floor plans. Wallace Roberts & Todd LLC are serving as architect for the project, and Harkins Builders is the general contractor. The project was funded by Alden Torch Finance/JPMorgan Chase, low income housing tax credits allocated by Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA), PHFA PennHOMES, Montgomery County Housing Authority, Montgomery County Affordable Housing trust funds, Community Development Block Grant funds allocated by Abington Township, and Fulton Bank.
CLUTE, TEXAS — Cencor Realty Services will soon open Phase I of Woodshore Marketplace, a 140,000-square-foot shopping center at the southeast corner of Oyster Creek and Dixie drives in the master-planned Woodshore community near Houston. The anchor for Woodshore Marketplace, a 124,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace, is now open. In addition to the Kroger anchor, Phase I of Woodshore Marketplace will also feature 16,450 square feet of in-line space set to open later this spring, along with three pad sites for freestanding concepts. Steve Chandler, city partner for Cencor in Houston, is directing development of the community retail center. Randy Hopper and Kyle Knight with The Weitzman Group are the leasing agents for Woodshore Marketplace.
THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS — The Signorelli Co. has signed Academy Sports + Outdoors as the third anchor for Valley Ranch Town Center, a retail district inside the master-planned community of Valley Ranch. Academy’s 62,943-square-foot location will open during the third quarter. The 1,400-acre community is located at the intersection of US 59 North and the Grand Parkway in The Woodlands, just north of Kingwood. Also in negotiations are other big box retailers and smaller shops, a selection of restaurants, a multi-attraction cinema and a 10,000-seat amphitheater.
PRIOR LAKE, MINN. — Dominium, an apartment development and management company, has broken ground on an affordable seniors housing property in Prior Lake, approximately 30 miles south of Minneapolis. The Grainwood, located at 5101 Gateway St. SE, will feature 168 units. Unit amenities will include 9-foot ceilings, appliances, patios, balconies and open floor plans. Select units will also feature walk-in closets. Community amenities will include underground parking, a community room with kitchen, craft room, salon, fitness center, outdoor plaza, theater area and fireplaces. The project is slated for completion by next summer.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS — General Assembly Inc. has leased a single-tenant building in Dallas’ Great Southwest Industrial District in a move that will keep its operations in Arlington and get the entire business under one roof. General Assembly will relocate its operations to 1011 Oakmead Drive. The 6,615-square-foot office/warehouse space, located near I-30, more than doubles the amount of warehouse space for the professional merchandising services firm, which supports the retail industry with locations in 19 states and the District of Columbia. The company assembles high-end consumer products. The headquarters team is moving from the Vandergriff Town Center at 200 N. Mesquite St. and warehouse workers are relocating from 320 Dixon Lane. The new location has two loading docks, grade-level doors and enough parking for the entire workforce. A local investor, who was represented by Jim Hazard of E. Smith Realty Partners in the lease deal, owns the new location.
SCRANTON, PA. — PREIT has inked a deal to bring a dual-store format concept to Viewmont Mall in Scranton. Dick’s Sporting Goods and Field & Stream will replace the existing Sears location at the mall. Sears is scheduled to close in July, with the dual-store scheduled to open for business in fall 2017. Over the past few years, PREIT has been implementing an upgrade and improvement program at Viewmont Mall, which features more than 90 retailers, and has recently signed leases with Ulta, Buffalo Wild Wings, Forever 21 and Yankee Candle.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS — Hillwood, BNSF Railway and Packwell plan to build a plastics export packaging facility in the rail-connected Alliance Westport industrial sector, located within Hillwood’s AllianceTexas development in north Fort Worth. The facility will be part of a global supply chain route enabling Packwell, a Gulf Coast resin packager, to ship containerized plastic resins to end users utilizing ocean steamship lines that are affiliated partners with BNSF. The steamship lines operate between the BNSF Alliance Intermodal terminal and Asia via West Coast ports in Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland, Calif. BNSF trains will deliver bulk covered hopper cars from new and expanded Gulf Coast plastics production facilities to Packwell’s new facility at AllianceTexas. Packwell will package the bulk resin and dray loaded containers to the BNSF ramp. The loaded containers will be delivered utilizing a heavy-load corridor from the Packwell’s packaging facility to BNSF’s Alliance Intermodal Terminal, located less than a mile away.
WACO, TEXAS — Polyglass U.S.A. plans to establish a manufacturing operation in Waco. The company will invest $19 million to build a 145,000-square-foot industrial facility at 1701 Exchange Parkway to produce modified bitumen roofing membranes. Employment is expected to reach 45 full-time associates within the first three years of operation. The Polyglass roofing facility in Waco will produce a waterproof membrane system used for commercial and industrial roofing systems. The membrane system is designed to increase roof life expectancy and is also environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The company will receive a grant from the Waco/McLennan County Economic Development Corp., as well as tax abatement participation by the city and county.
CINCINNATI — The AC Hotel Cincinnati by Marriott has opened at Liberty Center, a 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use development. Raymond Management Co. is the developer and operator of the 130-room hotel. Amenities at the hotel include a fitness center, indoor pool, on-site parking, local restaurant dinner delivery and a full-service business center. The property also features AC-branded amenities such as a kitchen, lounge, store, library and meeting space. The 64-acre Liberty Center includes over 800,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space, 75,000 square feet of office space and 240 luxury apartment units. The shopping district opened last October.