News and Notes on Trends, New Projects and Construction In the Commercial Real Estate Development Pipeline Around the U.S.
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Roche Selects NYC for New Clinical Research Center
Roche Holding Ltd, which announced last summer it will leave its longtime research and development site in Nutley, NJ, has opted to leave New Jersey for New York City.
The global biotech and pharmaceutical company has signed an 11-year lease with Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:
ARE) and anticipates moving into the 421,000-square-foot West Tower of the Alexandria Center for Life Science, projected for delivery in fourth-quarter 2013.
Switzerland-based Roche's new Translational Clinical Research Center (TCRC) will be the mission-critical presence for Roche Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED) in the U.S. The Alexandria Center for Life Science, located in the heart of the East Side Medical Corridor, will be near New York City's nine major academic medical centers and its numerous ongoing clinical trials.
"We looked at several great properties in New York and New Jersey and selected the Alexandria Center for Life Science for its unique location as well as the dynamic, vibrant, and thriving scientific atmosphere it offers," said Dr. Mike Burgess, acting global head, Roche Pharma Research and Early Development.
"We are honored that Roche, our longtime client tenant in the San Francisco Bay Area, has selected the thriving New York City life science cluster and the Alexandria Center for Life Science as its platform," said Joel S. Marcus, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder of Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. "Roche's move is the latest in the trend of biopharmaceutical companies establishing a mission-critical presence in New York City."
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One Channel Center In Boston Gets $170M Construction Loan
AREA Property Partners and Commonwealth Ventures LLC have secured a $170 million construction loan for One Channel Center, a 500,000-square-foot
office building under development in Boston’s Seaport District.
An HFF team led by managing director Anthony Cutone and director Porter Terry worked on behalf of AREA and Commonwealth to secure the financing for the $225 million project, which will feature an 11-story office building entirely leased to State Street Corp., along with a 960-space parking garage.
The building within the larger Channel Center project, a 2 million-square-foot mixed-use development, broke ground this past summer and is projected for delivery in early 2014.
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Century West Breaks Ground on Koreatown Apts
Century West Partners and Hartford, CT-based insurer Cigna began work for the first phase of K2 LA, a two-building, 303-unit apartment development in Los Angeles's Koreatown.
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The project two miles from the city's CBD includes a first phase at 688 S. Berendo and a second phase at 660 S. Berendo to break ground next May. The first phase is scheduled to be complete in early 2014, while phase two is targeted for delivery in spring 2014.
The project is directly south of Wilshire Boulevard, with the Wilshire/Vermont MTA Station about two blocks northeast offering connections to the Metro Purple and Red lines.
The area has benefited from substantial investment in recent years, making it one of Los Angeles’s most attractive markets.
Formed last year, Los Angeles-based Century West is headed by veteran residential developers Randy and Steve Fifield of Chicago-based Fifield Companies and Michael Sorochinsky of Los Angeles-based Cypress Equity Investments.
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Marriott To Open Hotel In The Bronx
A luxury hotel in The Bronx? That's exactly what Simone Development Cos. has proposed, announcing that Marriott has signed an agreement to operate a Residence Inn as the centerpiece of the developer's new Metro Center Atrium mixed-use project.
Metro Center Atrium is a 370,000-square-foot office-retail-hotel complex that Simone Development, which is headquartered in The Bronx, is constructing as the latest addition to its 42-acre Hutchinson Metro Center campus.
The new Marriott at Metro Center Atrium will be the first luxury hotel to open in the Bronx. The 125-room extended-stay hotel is scheduled to open in 2014.
New York City Council Member James Vacca said the announcement "is a great day for the Bronx," which began a long economic decline in the 1960s but is starting to see the tendrils of resurgence.
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Behringer Harvard to Build Second Tower At BriarLake Plaza
Behringer Harvard REIT I, Inc. announced plans for Two BriarLake Plaza, a 332,000-square-foot, 12-story office tower built on top of a seven-level parking pedestal.
Two BriarLake Plaza will be built on a 1.5-acre site at the corner of W. Sam Houston Parkway and Briar Forest Drive in the Westchase Management District, one of the strongest office markets in Houston.
The first tower, the 502,410 square-foot One BriarLake Plaza was completed in January 2000. Behringer Harvard REIT I did not announce a groundbreaking date for the second tower.
Half the space has been preleased to Samsung Engineering America Inc. to serve as its North American headquarters. Samsung was represented in the transaction by Lucian Bukowski and Garrold Parratt of Jones Lang LaSalle.
Behringer Harvard REIT I, Inc. was represented by Brian McMackin and Clint Bawcom of Cassidy Turley. HPT Management Services, LLC will manage the new office property, and Cassidy Turley will provide leasing services.
LMI to Anchor New Tysons Corner Development
MRP Realty and Rockpoint Group will develop an office building to be anchored by the new headquarters for government consulting firm LMI at Jones Branch Drive in McLean, VA.
Terms of the agreement were not announced for the new facilities for the not-for-profit LMI, which will relocate in early 2015 from its current headquarters at 2000 Corporate Ridge in McLean.
The new 11-story building on the Beltway in Tysons Corner is designed by architecture firm Gensler and will be LEED-certified to Gold or above. The five top-most floors will be available for lease. LMI, represented in the transaction by Cassidy Turley, will own an equity stake in the new building, and occupy the six lower floors.
The building to be located on property near to the Gannett headquarters will take advantage of Jones Branch Drive’s central access to two future Silver Line Metro stations, Tysons Corner and McLean, formerly known as Tysons Central 123 and Tysons East, respectively.
Brinkmann Begins $50M Senior Living Expansion
Chesterfield, MO.-based Brinkmann Constructors have broken ground on the $50 million expansion of the Friendship Village Sunset Hills senior living community in Sunset Hills, MO.
The design-build general contractor and Friendship Village on Sept. 14 began building 10 new independent living units on the community’s 52-acre campus southwest of St. Louis, slated for completion next March. The two-bedroom units range in size from 1,200 to 1,450 square feet.
The first phase includes site infrastructure work to incorporate the relocation of Pointe Drive to accommodate the master plan for the project and associated utility relocations.
Later phases will include a 42,200 square foot clubhouse, a park area with walking paths and underground parking for each new residence.
Joining Brinkmann Constructors on the assignment are St. Louis, Mo.-based Spellman Brady & Company as interior designer and Atlanta, Ga.-based THW Design as architect.
Iowa-based Life Care Services manages the communities. Brinkmann Constructors has completed more than $2.5 billion in projects across multiple industries in 30 states.
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