VALENCIA, CALIF. – IAC has broken ground on a new 1.3-million-square-foot industrial development in Valencia. The new project will be called IAC Commerce Center. It will be the largest industrial center to break ground in North Los Angeles County in 25 years, according to CBRE, which has been retained to market and lease the property. The center will be situated on 70 acres along Witherspoon Parkway, adjacent to the Valencia Commerce Center. It will be completed in three phases. The first phase will include 400,000 square feet. It is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2016. Land development is anticipated to take about 12 months.
DETROIT — Detroit-based Kraemer Design Group PLC (KDG) is on track to complete the architecture, interior design and historic consulting of the celebrated David Whitney Building in downtown Detroit. The building will reopen as a mixed-use facility featuring the Aloft Detroit at the David Whitney hotel in December. The David Whitney Building, built in 1915 to the design of architectural firm Daniel Burnham & Co., was once regarded as one of the most iconic skyscrapers in the Midwest. The 19-story, Neo-Renaissance building has undergone a two-year, $94.5 million renovation restoring both interior and exterior architectural elements, including the four-story atrium. The 136-room boutique Aloft Detroit at the David Whitney hotel will occupy the lower floors and 105 residential apartments will occupy the upper floors. The building will also feature the Grand Cirque Brasserie — a restaurant, 6,670 square feet of meeting and banquet spaces and ground-level retail.
THE COLONY, TEXAS — Several new tenants are set to move into Grandscape, a mixed-use development in The Colony. A Hampton Inn & Suites is projected to open in the fourth quarter of 2015, and a Homewood Suites will open in the fourth quarter of 2016. In addition, Cheddar’s Casual Café and Rock & Brews will open in the summer of 2015. Two more restaurants — Hard Eight BBQ and Mi Cocina — will open in the third quarter of 2015.
NORMAN, OKLA. — Virtus Real Estate Capital, a real estate private equity firm, and Aspen Heights, a student housing development and management company, have partnered to develop a 684-bed cottage-style student housing community near the University of Oklahoma. Construction has begun on the complex, which will be completed in August 2015.
AUSTIN — Cousins Properties Inc. is set to begin construction on Research Park V in Austin. The 173,000-square-foot office development is the last in a five-building complex Cousins is developing. Construction is projected to start later this year and be completed in the fourth quarter of 2015. Cousins anticipates the total development cost for Research Park V will be $44 million.
MCKINNEY, TEXAS — Encore Retail LLC, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Encore Enterprises Inc., has acquired land to develop a 20-acre Class A neighborhood retail development in the master-planned community of Craig Ranch. The development is part of a 2,200-acre business, retail and residential community which will be located near the city limit lines of McKinney and Frisco. The project will be known as Marketplace at Craig Ranch and will be anchored by a grocer with inline retail space as well as five outparcel pad sites along Custer and Stacy roads.
OAK PARK, ILL. — Wood Partners and co-developer Golub & Co. have broken ground on Lake + Forest, a 1.6-acre, 270-unit luxury apartment community in Oak Park. The property is located on the former site of a city-owned parking structure on Forest Avenue. Gensler designed the 21-story, 240,000-square-foot building. The property will include one- and two-bedroom units, approximately 25,000 square feet of retail/office space fronting Lake Street and a total of 588 private and public parking spaces. Tishman Construction is the general contractor for the project. Golub & Co. and JLL will handle leasing for the property. Construction is expected to be complete by spring 2016.
ARLINGTON — Construction will begin in late October on a new Ag-Power retail store in Tyler. Bob Moore Construction is the general contractor and Pross Design Group is the architect. The new store will span 20,386 square feet, with eight service bays. It will be built adjacent to an old Ag-Power store. The steel building will include a brick veneer with storefront glass in the retail area. Completion is scheduled for summer 2015. Ag-Power sells agricultural and consumer equipment and has been in business since 1972.
NAPERVILLE, ILL. — The Springs at Monarch Landing, a new senior living community, is now open in Naperville. The Chicago office of Perkins Eastman and Monarch Landing recently participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 94,000-square-foot health and rehabilitation center. The Springs includes private resident rooms and couples’ suites, with 48 devoted to short-term rehabilitation, 48 to skilled care, and 28 for assisted living memory support. Other building amenities include a physical therapy suite, salon, café, multi-purpose room, outdoor gardens and courtyards, as well as covered access from the existing independent living buildings. The project took nearly 18 months to complete. The Perkins Eastman design team worked closely with Senior Care Development and Monarch Landing leadership to develop the multi-phase master plan for the entire 15-acre campus and complete the interior architecture of the facility.
TRENTON, ILL. — Holland Construction Services Inc. has completed construction of the new Wesclin High School in Trenton. Holland served as construction manager on the $22.5 million project. The new school is more than 120,000 square feet and features two classroom wings, a media center, computer and science labs, band/chorus rooms, a stage and cafetorium, gymnasium and administrative space. The project also includes an outdoor all-weather athletic track and field facility with new grandstands and a press box. FGM Architects Inc. served as the architect on the project.