In The Pipeline: CoStar Development and Construction News for July 25-31

In this week's Pipeline, the Ak-Chin Indian Community and general contractor PENTA Building Group break ground on $20 million expansion of a Harrah’s Casino south of Phoenix; a Denver-based electrical contractor completes a new design-build $64 million research facility for the U.S. Department of Energy; Marcus & Millichap is tapped to market 312 acres for a planned mixed-use development site at the future home of the Tulare Motorsports Complex in CA’s Central Valley; an affordable housing developer breaks ground in Inglewood, CA, on a $35 million project for homeless vets; Church Ranch Land Cos. purchases land in Arvada, CO, for a town center with a hotel and big box retail stores. Plus, a non-profit is building a new office in Norwalk, CT; retail news from Madison, WI, and Auburn Hills, MI; and a medical office development starts in Snellville, GA.

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CoStar Group's In The Pipeline is a column on significant land sales, transactions and trends affecting office, industrial, flex, multifamily, mixed-use, hotel and public works developers. Send us news leads about your new project -- and sign up to be added to our distribution list to receive future In the Pipeline columns by e-mail.

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Developer Breaks Ground On Harrah’s Resort Project

The Ak-Chin Indian Community and general contractor PENTA Building Group broke ground last month on the $20 million expansion of the Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino 39 miles south of Phoenix.

The project includes construction of a five-story tower, adding 152 additional guest rooms to the existing 148-unit property, a sculpture and cactus garden and new VIP Suites. The project is scheduled for completion in July 2011.

Owned by the Ak-Chin Indian Community and managed by Harrah’s, the property features a 40,000-square-foot casino with gaming machines, poker, blackjack, keno and bingo. The hotel also features four restaurants, meeting and conference space, an entertainment venue and outdoor swimming pool.

The project also marked the re-opening of PENTA’s Arizona office, which was temporarily closed in 2006. The new office for PENTA is located at 7025 N. Scottsdale Road in Scottsdale, AZ. The regional commercial general contractor also has offices in offices in Las Vegas, Reno, Los Angeles and Palm Desert, CA.

OFFICE

Weifield Group Completes Electrical Work for Net-Zero Energy Office Building

Denver-based electrical contractor Weifield Group has completed a new design-build 222,000-square-foot, $64 million Research Support Facility for the U.S. Department of Energy on the campus of the DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The project, which includes a 20,000-square-foot data center, is expected to be one of the most energy efficient buildings in the world, designed to achieve the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum designation - the highest benchmark awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

Weifield constructed a design-build 13.2 KV infrastructure to support the research facility and future campus expansions, installed electrical for all subsystems and helped integrate a 1.2 megawatt photovoltaic system into the building.

"We plan to continue applying our expertise on other federal government projects, as the Energy and Independence Security Act of 2007 requires all federal buildings have to be zero-energy by the year," said Seth Anderson, President and CEO of Weifield Group Contracting.

The U.S. Department of Energy defines net-zero energy as "producing and exporting at least as much renewable energy as the total energy it imports and uses in a year."

About 800 staff from both the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory will occupy the facility. The energy goal for the building is 35kBtu/per square foot per year, which is about two-thirds less than most commercial office buildings. To accomplish this, the buildings will use energy efficiency lighting, day lighting, natural ventilation, wind power, bio-fuels and photovoltaic systems.

LAND SALES

312-Acre Mixed-Use Motorsports Site Listed in CA’s San Joaquin Valley

Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services is marketing 312 acres of a 685-acre planned mixed-use development site at the future home of the Tulare Motorsports Complex.

The asking price is $150.9 million for the 312 acres, which is central to development of what organizers call "the nation’s first fully amenitized, master-planned racing complex." The remaining acreage will be used for roadways, other public improvements and the construction of a speedway and drag strip.

The complex is designed to host all major categories of American racing, including regional and national races sanctioned by NASCAR, Indy Racing League, National Hot Rod Association and other sanctioning bodies, said Bruce Bartleson, a vice president investments and a director of the firm’s National Land Group in Sacramento, who is representing the seller, Tulare Motor Sports Complex LP.

"All the necessary local, state and federal approvals have been obtained, including all zoning, environmental and planning approvals. Project elements include a one-mile D-shaped oval speedway, including a quarter-mile short track, a two-plus mile road course in the infield with seating for 40,000 to 100,000 people, and a quarter-mile drag race facility with seating for 20,000."

The one-square-mile property is located just east of State Highway 99 and the Tulare Golf Course between Turner Drive to the north and Avenue 200 to the south. The development plan includes sites for luxury condominiums overlooking the raceway, a full-service hotel and conference center, extended-stay motels, themed retail centers, a 59.2-acre luxury recreational vehicle park, a driving range, multiplex theaters and 87 acres of automotive-related businesses. A parcel has been set aside for an indoor sports complex that will include skiing, bobsledding and ice-rock climbing.

Church Ranch Buys 137 Acres in Arvada, CO

Church Ranch Land Cos. purchased land in Arvada, CO, from PSM Properties Inc. for $3.3 million, or about $24,039 per acre. The 137.42-acre parcel is on State Highway 72.

Church Ranch plans to build a town center with a hotel and big box retail stores in Jefferson County. It anticipates it will be a few years before the ground break and construction begin, as it is waiting for the roadway infrastructure to be completed.

The buyer and the seller were self-represented. (By Hubert Davis; CoStar COMPS #1921378)

RESIDENTIAL

$35 Mil Housing Project for Homeless Vets Breaks Ground in Inglewood, CA

Cloudbreak Inglewood, LLC broke ground at 733 S. Hindry Ave., in Inglewood for Westside Residence Hall II, a $34.9 million project to build 196 units of affordable housing targeting homeless veterans.

Westside Residence Hall II. will join the original Westside Residence Hall built in 1993. Westside Residence Hall II will add 196 units of affordable housing. It includes 48 SROs, which share a common living and dining area, and 148 studio apartments. The ground floor provides rehabilitation, job training, counseling, and educational services. The project also includes a parking structure and a landscaped terrace for recreation.

Westside has served more than 8,000 veterans, delivering more than 2 million nights of stay, with program and support services provided by U.S. VETS, West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, and Inglewood Adult School. Cloudbreak is one of the Cantwell-Anderson, Inc. family of companies focused on special needs housing development.

Funding for Westside Residence Hall II comes from the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee through the American Recovery Reinvestment Act; California Housing & Development Infill Infrastructure Program; City of Inglewood Redevelopment Agency and $11 Million in bridge funding from Wilshire State Bank.

"This is one of the first programs in California to be funded by tax exchange credit dollars," says Tim Cantwell, manager, Cloudbreak Inglewood, LLC and president of Westside Residence Hall, Inc. "We expect construction to generate 300 jobs over an approximate 18 months."

Cloudbreak Developments for homeless veterans and families have exceeded $113 million and 2,592 beds have been placed in service at 10 sites across the country, including ones in Inglewood, Long Beach, and Riverside, CA. An additional 1,010 permanent housing units and 160 program beds, with a cost exceeding $130 million, are under development in Inglewood, Compton, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Hawaii.

HFF Arranges Loan for American Cancer Society Facility

The New York office of HFF (Holliday Fenoglio Fowler, L.P.) announced today that it has arranged a $2.3 million construction and permanent loan for the completion of a new 13,400-square-foot building for the American Cancer Society, New England Division in Norwalk, CT.

HFF senior managing director Al Epstein worked on behalf of the American Cancer Society to secure the loan through The Bank of New Canaan, a wholly owned subsidiary of BNC Financial Group. Loan proceeds are being used to finance the new facility on the former site of the Burndy Library of Science & Technology, which has an approximate cost of $5 million. Foundation work is underway and the building will be operational in 2011.

RETAIL

New Target Store Coming to Madison, WI

Target Corp. acquired a 7-acre parcel of vacant land in Madison, WI, for a future retail store. Joseph Freed & Associates sold the property for $10 million, or about $1.4 million per acre.

The parcel is located at 750 Hilldale Way, just off of University Avenue.

The new 150,000-square-foot Target store is scheduled for a 2011 opening. (By Matthew Maloney; CoStar COMPS # 1943401)

JV Breaks Ground on Golden Triangle Center

Landus Development partnered with T.H. Marsh Construction Co. to break ground this month on a multi-tenant, 10,000-square-foot retail development at 3355 University Drive in Auburn Hills, MI.

The Golden Triangle Center project is currently 40 percent preleased to In-Touch Credit Union, which will occupy 4,025 square feet. Up to 6,000 square feet is available and suitable for a variety of uses such as retail, office and medical. Delivery is scheduled for October of this year. The development is near to Oakland University.

Darryl Goodwin and Eric Unatin of Armada Real Estate handle the leasing. (By Elizabeth Gosselin)

MEDICAL OFFICE

Expansion to Emory Medical Center Campus Under Way

Construction has begun for a new office building at the Emory Medical Center Campus on Medical Way in Snellville, GA. The new development will be 40,162 square feet and will feature its own address--1600 Medical Way.

Developed by BremnerDuke Healthcare Real Estate, the new facility will be two stories and is already 70 percent preleased. It will house a spine center and office space for neurosurgical and endocrine specialists. Projected delivery date is July of next year.

Emory Eastside Medical Center is 231-bed health care facility on a 43.59-acre site. It currently has two existing, fully occupied medical office buildings.

RJ Griffin and Co. handles the construction. Lyman Davidson Dooley designed the project and Larry Jarema of BremnerDuke handles leasing. (By Matthew Ficken)