News and Notes on Trends, New Projects and Construction In the Commercial Real Estate Development Pipeline Around the U.S.
In The Pipeline is a column on significant acquisitions of commercial
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CA Firm Named Hudson Yards Development Contractor
Related Companies and Oxford Properties Group have retained Sylmar, CA-based Tutor Perini Corp. for the 26-acre, $4 billion Hudson Yards development in Midtown Manhattan.
The civil and building construction company said it has also been retained for the construction of a residential tower just south of the Hudson Yards on 30th Street and 10th Avenue.
Tutor Perini will book the work into its backlog as the developers release various phases of the mixed-use Hudson Yards development totaling more than 13 million square feet of commercial and residential space.
The master plan calls for about 5,000 residences, 6 million square feet of office space, a 1 million-square-foot retail center, a five-star hotel, cultural space and a new 750-seat school. Hard construction is scheduled to begin by mid-year.
The California firm's New York vicinity projects include the Resorts World Casino, recently completed for Genting Berhad; the Greenwich Street Corridor Project at World Trade Center, the JFK Airport runway reconstruction, and other projects.
Trammell Crow, USAA Break Ground On PA Spec Project
Trammell Crow Co. and USAA Real Estate Co. have started work on a 700,000-square-foot Class speculative distribution facility at Mountain Creek Distribution Center in Carlisle, PA.
The two-building industrial project on 113 acres at Exit 44 off Interstate 81 in the Central Pennsylvania industrial market is approved for 1.3 million square feet of
warehouse space designed to achieve LEED Core & Shell (CS) certification.
The first building, scheduled for completion next summer, is designed with cross dock loading, 32-foot-clear ceiling heights and onsite trailer storage.
"The I-81 Distribution Corridor continues to be one of the most active markets in the country, with little to no availability for Class A space greater than 500,000 square feet," says Pat Duncan, chairman and CEO of USAA Real Estate.
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Architecture Index Stays Positive In December
After struggling from a dearth of design projects for most of the last two to three years, the architecture industry is seeing tangible signs of recovery. For the second consecutive month, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) posted a score of 52, indicating growth in billings for nonresidential designers.
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the December ABI score held steady, indicating an overall increase in demand for design services. The index is a forward look at spending on nonresidential construction 9 to 12 months in the future. Any score above 50 marks an increase in billings. The new projects inquiry index was 64, down just a point from a reading of 65 the previous month.
The index ended 2011 in positive territory in November and December after falling back into the 40s over the summer. Kermit Baker, AIA chief economist, is cautious because of the index’s volatile nature.
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Amazon to Open $50M Distribution Center In South Carolina
Amazon.com has announced it will open a distribution center in Spartanburg County, SC. The $50 million investment is expected to create hundreds of full-time jobs at the 1 million-square-foot facility near John Dodd Road scheduled to open in third-quarter 2012.
The Internet retailing giant opened its first South Carolina fulfillment center last year in Lexington County’s Saxe Gotha Industrial Park.
"We had a great first holiday season in Lexington County and we look forward to serving our customers from both Lexington and Spartanburg Counties by the fall," said Dave Clark, vice president, Amazon Global Customer Fulfillment.
Amazon plans to begin hiring for the new center later this year and the facility is expected to be operational this fall.
Developer Receives Approvals for NJ Data Center Project
Russo Development gained approval to build its ninth data center development in the New York metro area on a 71-acre greenfield site in central New Jersey near Exit 12 off Interstate 287.
Russo, New Jersey’s leading developer of single-tenant data center space, expects to begin activity at the Franklin Township, NJ, site early this year. In total, Russo received approval for facilities totaling more than 1.5 million square feet.
The firm has built and continues to own over 2 million square feet of data center space for clients such as Credit Suisse, NYSE Euronext, JP Morgan Chase, and SunGard Availability Services.
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Starwood Hotels Moves HQ to Stamford Waterfront
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has relocated its global headquarters from White Plains, NY, to the Harbor Point development on waterfront of Stamford, CT.
The new 290,000-square-foot headquarters comprises a two-tower office complex in Harbor Point, an 80-acre urban redevelopment converting a former industrial area just south of downtown Stamford into a commercial/residential district. The move, which brings more than 800 jobs to the area, has been in the works for more than two years.
Starwood will pursue LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for the office space redesigned by HOK. Starwood expects to decrease energy use by 15 to 25% and water consumption by approximately 40% from its previous offices.
Starwood continues to operate 27 hotels with more than 4,000 employees in New York State.
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