News and Notes on Trends, New Projects and Construction In the Commercial Real Estate Development Pipeline Around the U.S.
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Developer Hopes to Tap Foreign Capital for Chicago Convention Center
A Chicago businessman hopes to finance a multi-hotel complex and convention center near O'Hare International Airport in part by using a program that exchanges capital committed by foreign investors for U.S. citizenship.
The project proposed by the Intercontinental Regional Center Trust of Chicago (IRCTC) and Chicago developer Anshoo Sethi would combine convention center facilities with multiple hotels.
The development will be financed in part through the U.S. Immigrant Investor Program, also known as EB-5
(See related CoStar story), created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.
Over the course of two years of construction and the first 10 years of operation, the development is projected to produce a total economic impact of $2.6 billion, with $1.1 billion in wages benefiting local workers, and tax revenue bringing in several million dollars a year.
The LEED-certified development is expected to create more than 4,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs.
"There is no doubt that [the project] will play a huge part in bringing back jobs and revenue that was lost during the recession," Sethi said. "We are excited to be part of the rebuilding of this area."
Starbucks To Serve Up $172M Plant in Georgia
Starbucks Coffee Co. has broken ground on its first company owned manufacturing facility, a $172 million plant where the company will make its VIA Ready Brew and the coffee base for its Frappuccino blended beverages and many ready-to-drink beverages.
The 180,000-square-foot plant is expected to create 140 manufacturing jobs, in addition to hundreds of indirect jobs related to construction, shipping and other supply chain functions, according to the company. The beverages are currently manufactured abroad and will be on-shored back to the U.S. once complete in early 2014.
The Starbucks Soluble Plant will be the Seattle-based company's fifth U.S. manufacturing facility. The four U.S. roasting plants currently employ more than 830 employees in Kent, WA; York, PA, Sandy Run, SC, and Carson Valley, NV.
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Greystar Continues Multifamily Expansion On West Coast
Charleston, SC-based Greystar continues its aggressive push westward as both buyer and developer, breaking ground with a joint venture partner on a mixed-use project in Redmond, WA, and unveiling its renovation of the Roosevelt Lofts in downtown Los Angeles.
Greystar and Los Angeles-based Resmark Apartment Living have started work on the 134-unit Elan Town Center, a six-story development at 16355 Cleveland St. near retail and restaurants at Redmond Town Center as well as recreation and entertainment at the 640-acre Marymoor Park.
The center is next to the Redmond Regional Connector, a 27-mile walking and biking trail that will connect Old Town with Redmond Town Center when complete in spring 2013, according to Ziv Cohen, COO, Resmark Apartment Living, a division of The Resmark Companies, a full-service real estate investment advisor. The apartment project includes 7,735 square feet of ground floor retail, restaurants and convenience shops and aims to achieve LEED Silver certification.
The design architect for Elan Town Center is Weber Thompson with Compass Construction serving as the general contractor. The development is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2013.
In Los Angeles this week, meanwhile, Greystar will hold a "grand reveal" of the Roosevelt Lofts, a 12-story building that opened in 1927 and was acquired by Greystar out of bankruptcy proceedings last year for $95 million (CoStar COMPS #2510817). The residential project at 7th and Flower was partially converted to condominiums in 2006, and Greystar invested $5 million to complete the remaining 71 condos.
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Second Phase of One Rincon Hill Breaks Ground in SF SoMa District
Principal Real Estate Investors and Urban Pacific Investors, LLC (UPI) broke ground this week on phase two of One Rincon Hill, a 52-story, 299-unit residential development in San Francisco's South of Market (SoMa) District.
The project designed to achieve LEED certification is a companion to the existing 64-story first-phase tower.
Construction began this month, with occupancy planned for summer 2014 and final completion in fall 2014. The 485,000-square foot Phase II is expected to be the largest residential project currently under construction in San Francisco.
"The iconic development will bring much needed housing to the San Francisco residential market, while at the same time, adding another high-quality real estate property to the fantastic city skyline," said Rod Vogel, managing director at Principal Real Estate Investors.
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KBR to Build 14-Story High-Rise Tower in Silver Spring
Guardian Realty Investors LLC has awarded KBR Building Group a contract to construct The Premier, a high-rise residential tower in Silver Spring, MD, designed by WDG Architects.
KBR will provide construction management services for the 160-unit building targeted for LEED certification. The community is situated between two commercial office buildings and will offer six levels of parking, including two below grade. Amenities include bike storage with changing room, rooftop terrace, lounging clubroom and ground-floor retail.
Construction is scheduled to start this month, with project delivery anticipated in winter 2013.
KBR is a Houston-based global engineering, construction and services company.
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Hardin Construction to Build S. Austin Apartments
Transwestern Real Estate Co. has tapped Hardin Construction to serve as general contractor for a mixed-use multifamily development surrounding the landmark Broken Spoke dance hall in southern Austin.
Construction of the project called The 704 is scheduled to begin this summer and complete in spring 2014.
The seven-acre development will include four apartment buildings offering a total of 378 one- and two-bedroom units and 20,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space, as well as a five-level parking garage.
The 704 will occupy property immediately north and south of the Broken Spoke, which will continue to operate during the construction period. The project's architect of record is Wilder Belshaw Architects of Dallas.
St. Petersburg Shopping Center Slated For Redevelopment
Prudential Douglas Elliman's Retail Group announced that the Baywalk Midcore Shopping Center will undergo a remodeling and reconception into The Shops at St. Pete, a mixed-use development two blocks from St. Petersburg's waterfront.
The 100,000-square-foot mixed-use complex at First Avenue North and Second Street North will include retail shops, restaurants and entertainment facilities when it opens in July 2013. The remodel will consist of two levels of shops, dining and entertainment venues, plazas, water features and design elements.
Faith Hope Consolo and Joseph A. Aquino, the chairman and executive vice president, respectively, of Prudential Douglas Elliman's Retail Group are overseeing the project.
The 61,288-square-foot plaza level will be topped by 37,788 square feet on the terrace level. More than 30,000 square feet of retail tenants have already committed to The Shops at St. Petersburg.
Trammell Crow Named Master Developer For Commerce Park
Trammell Crow Co. has been granted a five-year exclusive option agreement to serve as the master developer for the City of Lauderdale Lakes' 22-acre Commerce Park Project.
The Community Redevelopment Agency selected TCC from a list of several other candidates and voted unanimously to execute the agreement after negotiations had been completed. The Commerce Park site is located at NW 31st Ave. and Oakland Park Blvd. and can accommodate up to 325,000 square feet of industrial, office or
retail space.
The Trammell Crow development team will be led by Senior Managing Director Bob Abberger and Vice President Court Corbino. The project’s brokerage and marketing activities will be managed by the CBRE Ft. Lauderdale office lead by Vice President Chris Wood, Senior Vice President Harry Tangalakis and Senior Associate Tom O’Loughlin.
Trammell Crow Co., one of the nation’s leading developers and investors, has developed or acquired over 525 million square feet of buildings with a value exceeding $55 billion.