Saturday, December 13, 2008

ASHE: REMINDER: Comment Period on Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities

Building Industry professionals have an opportunity to comment on the American Society for Healthcare Engineering's 2010 Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities. See ASHE: REMINDER

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Developments in...

Arizona
Westcor, a subsidiary of Macerich, is developing the two million s.f. Market at Estrella Falls in Goodyear, AZ. Garrett Newland is Westcor's vice president for development. Source: shoppingcenters.com and azcentral.com

Indiana
Construction Manager, Paric Corp. of St. Louis completed a $42 million, 172-unit senior living project, Startford at Clay West, in Carmel for the Stratford Cos. The Lawrence Group provided architecture and interior design services. From Midwest RE Journal

Michigan
Colin Kraay, investment advisor for Grubb and Ellis Paramount Commercial in Grand Rapids; Susan Jackson, interim VP of business development for The Right Place, Inc., an economic development firm for Grand Rapids; and Kevin Hegg, VP of Ashley Capital in Detroit discuss the diverse development opportunities in Grand Rapids. See the Midwest RE Journal article

New York
Plans to expand the Salmon Run Mall have been approved by Watertown. The mall is owned by a subsidiary of The Pyramid Companies Source: shoppingcenters.com

The State of Real Estate in Cleveland

Scott Garson, VP of NAI Daus; Bob Garber, managing partner with CRESCO Real Estate; Bob Nosal, managing director with Grubb & Ellis; and Charles Williams, vice president of KeyBank Real Estate Capital participated in a roundtable on the state of commercial real estate in Cleveland for RE Journals.com.

People on the Move

Tere Blanca, senior managing director of Cushman & Wakefield of Florida, recently became chair of the Beacon Council economic development partnership in Miami. During this slow economy, she urges real estate brokers to communicate at all levels – even to the extent of over-communicating – and to approach project consistently. See the article on Globest.com

Trisha Haddon became director of business development at Dobbins Group in Chicago; Craig Czerkies became a broker associate at Caton Commercial Real Estate Group in Plainfield; Eric L. Enloe moved into a managing director position at Integra Realty Resources, Inc. in Chicago; Matt Nix moved to VP of development – residential and mixed-use development and Mike Yungerman moved to VP of development – industrial development at Opus North Corp. in Chicago; and James R. Vender became an associate at Stone Real Estate Corp. also in Chicago. (From Crain's Chicago Business)

Real Estate Florida Names 25 Top Brokers

Real Estate Florida profiles 25 top commercial brokers in that state, chosen from 70 submissions. Their “Broker All-Stars” are (in no particular order):

- Avery Klann, Senior VP of Apartment Realty Advisors in Boca Raton
- Mike Davis, Executive Director at Cushman & Wakefield of Florida, Inc. in Tampa
- Scott Henley, Vice President – Office Division, CBC Benchmark in Jacksonville
- Dean Saunders, Broker & Owner, Coldwell Banker Commercial Saunders Real Estate
- Alex Evans, Sales Associate, CBC Benchmark in Jacksonville
- Ronald C. Muzii, Jr., Senior VP, HREC Investment Advisors in Boca Raton
- David J. Preve’, Founding Principal, CRESA Partners in Miami
- Alan Kleber, Senior Director, Cushman & Wakefield in Miami
- Stephen Nostrand, Executive VP, Colliers Abood Wood-Fay in Coral Gables
- Stuart Gordon, Senior Director of Leasing, Flagler Development Co. in Miami
- Danet Linares, Senior VP, Foram Group in Miami
- Steve Garrity, Director of Leasing & Laurie Alden, Senior Leasing Representative, Highwoods Properties in Tampa
- Christian R. Lee, Vice Chairman, CB Richard Ellis in Miami
- Dorothy Jackman, Associate VP, Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services in Tampa
- David J. Murphy, Senior VP, CB Richard Ellis in Orlando
- Scott Stephens, Principal, HREC Investment Advisors in Tampa
- Evan P. Kristol, Senior VP – Investments, Marcus & Millichap in Fort Lauderdale
- Barry M. Wolfe, Vice President – Investments, Marcus & Millichap in Fort Lauderdale
- George Livingston, Chairman, NAI Realvest in Orlando
- Barbara Liberatore Black, Vice Chairman & Founding Principal, CRESA Partners in Miami
- David Conn, Executive VP, CB Richard Ellis in Tampa
- Richard D. Solik, Senior Director, Cushman & Wakefield of Florida in Orlando
- Steve Ernst, Senior Transaction Director, CLW Real Estate Services Group in Tampa
- John Guitar, Senior Director of Leasing, Flagler Development Group in Orlando
- Todd Brandon, VP, UGL Equis in Tampa

Professionals Discuss Mandated Green Building

Business Facilities magazine reports that cities are “racing to mandate sustainable building practices.” Discussing the private sector green building are: Brooks Rainwater, director of local relations for the American Institute of Architects (AIA), author of the study, “Local Leaders in Sustainability”; Kenny McDonald, executive vice president of the Charlotte Regional Partnership; Steve Brown, Jr., VP of Denver, CO-based John Madden Co., a real estate development firm; Brian Parno, VP of Stirling Capital Investments, a joint venture between Foothill Ranch, CA-based Stirling Enterprises and Denver, CO-based DCT Industrial Trust Inc.; Stephen T. Del Percio of gbNYC.com, a green building website; Kenneth R. Lewis, president of AC Martin Partners Inc. and board member of the Los Angeles Business Council; Eric Stavriotis, VP at Jones Lang Lasalle in Chicago, IL; and Ashley Katz, communications coordinator for the U.S.Green Building Council. See the article

Monday, October 20, 2008

Green economic recovery could create 2 million jobs

A green economic recovery program could create 2 million jobs - most in the same areas people already work in today - through a $100 billion investment that would combine tax credits and loan guarantees for private businesses along with direct public investment spending. The program aims to boost private and public investment in six energy-efficiency and renewable energy strategies: retrofitting buildings to improve energy efficiency; expanding mass transit and freight rail; constructing “smart” electrical grid transmission systems; and increasing the production of wind power, solar power, and next-generation biofuels. See the Residential Design & Build article.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Who's Qualified to be an Interior Designer

A challenge over the use of the title "Interior Designer" ensues in Connecticut. In that state, a designer must have six years of interior design education and experience to qualify to take a two-day exam, and then pay a state fee. Many other states are developing their requirements. Read An Unfair Ban? by Lynn Doan on Housing Zone.

Congratulations to the Custom Builder Design Challenge Winners

The challenge was to design a home for a (fictional) empty-nester couple in their 60s anticipating retirement. The home is to be built on a wooded piece of property on a lake, and will eventually become the owner's primary residence. Winners were:

1st place: Taco Schmid, Project Manager at Carlson Homes in Scottsdale, AZ

2nd place: Rhett M. Osko, Architectural Design Supervisor at Classic Homes in Colorado Springs, CO

3rd place: Steve Perry, Owner of Steve Perry's Design Solutions in Springville, UT

Best Student Design: John Tomaz and David Pereira, students at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA

Susan Bady, Senior Editor for Design at HousingZone.com gives additional design criteria and the winning designs at Custom Builder Design Challenge Winners Offer Imaginative Plans for Lake House


Competition judges were John J. Kern, partner and director of Balsamo, Olson & Lewis in Oakbrook Terrace, IL and David A. Gravel, president of Enon Hill Design & Development in Wheaton, IL.

The Hotel Guest of 2020

What will hotel guests require 12 years from now? Developers and Designers take notes from the article by Jitendra Jain, an employee of Starwood Hotels and Resorts in Dubai. See: Meet the Hotel Guest of 2020

Can a 260-year-old facility be viable today?

Charity Hospital in New Orleans is a 260-year old facility that was ahead of its time when built. Watch the video by the architecture firm, RMJM Hillier, retained by The Foundation for Historical Louisiana (FHL) to see how preservationists believe it can be a model for contemporary healthcare facilities.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Deals are being made in...

Texas


Tenet Healthcare Corp. signed a 10-year office space lease in Dallas. Phil Puckett and Chris Hermann of CB Richard Ellis in Dallas represented Tenet; Mike Lewis and Kirby White represented landlord Crescent Real Estate Equities L.P. internally. Source: CPN


CB Richard Ellis Investors L.L.C. acquired Colonnade I, II and III office complex in Dallas. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P., also of Dallas, represented the seller. Source: CPN

Palmer Logistics leased warehouse space at the InterPort Distribution Center in Pasadena. David Munson of First Industrial Realty Trust Inc. in Houston represented the landlord, USAA Real Estate Co. Bob Berry of The Staubach Co. in Houston represented Palmer Logistics. Source: CPN


An affiliate of Harbor Group International L.L.C. teamed up with ARI to acquire Holly Hall Apartments. American Realty Advisors Inc. represented the seller. The project and companies involved are all in Houston. Source: CPN

Thompson National Properties L.L.C. of Irvine, CA and Morgan Management L.L.C. of Rochester, NY have formed a joint venture, Thompson/Morgan Properties L.L.C., to acquire apartment properties in Texas and areas east of the Mississippi River. Tony Thompson is CEO of Thompson National Properties. Source: CPN

Dallas-based Behringer Harvard (REIT) has acquired One BriarLake Plaza (also in Dallas), a 20-story tower with over 500,000 square feet of office space. Jason Mattox, chief administrative officer for Behringer Harvard. Source: CPN


Virginia
Argon ST renewed a lease in the Argon Plaza in Fairfax. Tom Rogers and Charles Dilks of Grubb & Ellis Co. represented Argon ST. Brian Connolly Jr. and Robert VeShancey of Jones Lang LaSalle represented the landlord, Shorenstein Properties L.L.C. Source: CPN

Monday Properties is planning a 35-story office tower in Rosslyn. DCS Architects is the design architect and Cushman & Wakefield Inc. is the leasing agent. Source: CPN


Washington

Four Seasons will open its hotel-condo in Seattle at the end of October. NBBJ designed the 21-story tower and worked on the interiors with BraytonHughes Design Studios of San Francisco.
Source: Hospitality Design

Amazon Inc., has expanded the potential size of its headquarters in Seattle. The project includes five phases totaling 11 buildings adjacent to the city’s streetcar line. The buildings are slated to have a combined 100,000 sf of street-level retail space, and to qualify for LEED-Silver certification. Paul Allen’s Vulcan Real Estate is the developer. Schnitzer West, a joint venture that includes Portland, OR-based Schnitzer Investment Corp. is partnering with Vulcan on the first two phases. Amazon may financially assist in constructing a portion of the project. Jeff Watson and Grant Yerke of the Broderick Group have the direct leasing assignment for the building. Source: Globe St.com

Wisconsin
The village of Pleasant Prairie, WI has approved plans by Uline, Inc. for a $100 million facility. Mike Pollocoff is village administrator and John Steinbrink Sr. is village president. Source: Globe St.com

Newsworthy in...

New York

BBO Seidman L.L.P. leased space at 100 Park Ave. office tower in Midtown Manhattan. Howard Ecker & Co. represented BDO Seidman. Paul Glickman, Tara Stacom, Mitti Liebersohn, Alexander Chudnoff, Diana Biasotti and Jonathan Tootell all of Cushman & Wakefield Inc. in New York represented the owner, SL Green Realty Corp. Source: CPN

Paramount Group Inc. of New York closed on the $1.5 billion purchase of a 45-story office tower in Midtown Manhattan. Eastdil Secured L.L.C. also of New York represented the seller. Source: CPN

General Growth Properties Inc. plans to redevelop South Street Seaport in Lower Manhattan. The project plans include a 42-story residential, hotel and retail building. Source: CPN

The Museum of Art and Design has recently opened its new home in Manhattan. Brad Cloepfil, AIA, a principal of Allied Works Architecture in Portland, OR, designed the 10-story facility, significantly altering the original building exterior. Commenting on the fate of the original building were Kate Wood, executive director of Landmark West, a local preservation group and Ada Louise Huxtable, former architecture critic of The New York Times. Holly Hotchner is the museum’s executive director. Source: Architectural Record

New York City’s Willets Point redevelopment plan was approved with moderations at a City Planning Commission meeting. The redevelopment will turn a largely industrial, 13-block area into 5,500 apartment units and more than 1.5 million square feet of commercial space. Pat Boone, president of ACORN NY, is one of many who disapproves of the project. MA Realty, which owns 44,500 sf of industrial land in Willets Point, agreed to have New York City Economic Development Corp. acquire its property. Source Globe St.com

Four groups submitted bids to acquire Starrett City in Brooklyn, although two of them had been rejected earlier this week by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. One of the HUD-approved bidders for the complex consists of a consortium of Citigroup Inc., Westbrook Partners, the Central Labor Council, the Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty and Provident Resources Group. The second is led by The Cogsville Group, which has joined with The Christian Cultural Center, The Housing Partnership Development Corp., and The Clarett Group. The 46-tower Starrett City complex is the nation’s largest affordable housing development. Source: Crain's New York Business

Ohio

Steiner + Associates began Phase Two of a $250 million mixed-use center in Beavercreek. David Zoba is principal and COO at Steiner. Source: Globe St.com

Centro Properties Group announced its $15 million redevelopment of South Towne Centre, a retail center in Dayton. Christmas Tree Shops, Burlington Coat Factory, Jo-Ann Fabrics & Crafts, PetSmart, Value City Furniture andd Fifth Third Bank are among the new businesses in the center. Source: RE Business Online

The Home Depot Inc. of Atlanta has signed two build-to-suit lease agreements with Denver-based ProLogis for regional distribution centers in Redlands, CA and Monroe, OH. Each facility will total approximately 658,000 sf. Larry Harmsen is ProLogis’ managing director and North American head of capital deployment. Source: Globe St.com

Pennsylvania
Hill International, a construction manager in Marlton, N.J., has created Hill International Real Estate Partners L.P., a real estate development services firm that will serve the commercial and hospitality industries across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. The firm has acquired interests in the 2.2 million-square-foot American Commerce Center project in Philadelphia designed by the architectural firm Kohn Pederson Fox. The project will be the tallest skyscraper in Philadelphia. Source: CPN

Making News in...

Michigan

Architect, Kenneth Crutcher has been appointed a Commissioner of the Planning Commission of Farmington Hills. His three-year term expires June 30, 2011. Source: Studio of Kenneth Crutcher Blog

Meridian Capital Group of New York, NY has arranged $2.7 million in financing for the Beverly Hills Apartments in Muskegon. The 138-unit apartment community houses 12 three-story buildings. David Lesser in the New Jersey office of Meridian Capital Group negotiated on behalf of the borrower, Dodgson Southwell Properties. Source: RE Business Online

General Motors Corp. announced that it will spend $349 million on a new 552,000-square-foot engine plant in Flint to build the 1.4-liter, four-cylinder engines for the Chevrolet Cruz and the Chevrolet Volt. Construction is set to begin next month with production slated for 2010. GM is planning to assemble the car at its Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant, pending Detroit City Council approval of tax abatements. The Michigan Economic Growth Authority already has approved tax credits for GM's Volt-related plans. Rick Wagoner is GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Don Williamson is Flint’s mayor. Source: Detroit Free Press

Beaumont Hospital of Royal Oak plans to build hospital facilities on a 15-acre parcel of land currently occupied by the Northwood Shopping Center just east of the hospital. Plans for the site include an outpatient clinic and medical school facilities. Farmington Hills-based Grand Sakwa Properties would purchase 14 acres of city land east of Northwood to build a shopping center with a Kroger supermarket as anchor tenant. Source: Detroit Free Press

The $80 million, 330,000 square foot Shoppes at Gateway Park open-air mall proposed for Detroit will move forward without Chicago developer, General Growth Properties, Inc. Bloomfield Hills developer, Bernie Schrott, is an investor in the project. Source: Detroit Free Press

At Peter Basso and Associates in Troy: Jennifer H. Buschta joined the Electrical Design group; Richard M. Seger became part of the Electrical Engineering group; and Lindsey Whitlock is now a CAD Specialist in the Technology and Support Services Group. Source: Detroit Free Press


Missouri
The new Town & Country Crossing retail center in Town & Country features an equal mix of free-standing buildings and park-like outdoor areas. The project used recycled materials and landscaping that included the planting of more than 1,200 trees and 5,000 plants, and creation of a 3-acre lake. Brinkmann Constructors was the contractor. Ninety percent of materials from a leveled Lucent warehouse and office building were used in the new development, resulting in great savings for developer TNC Investors, LLC and the city. Source: Associated Construction Publications


New Jersey
Crews are completing the paving of a eight-barrel precast arch bridge along the Raritan River in New Brunswick. The bridge is part of the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s four-year, $200-million makeover of the two-mile Route 18 corridor. Thomas Zink is a manager at Mt. Laurel-based Gannett Fleming Inc., NJDOT’s engineering consultant. Sherif Aziz is mid-Atlantic manager for Reinforced Earth Company (RECo) of Vienna, VA, which designed and supplied the structure. Helser Industries of Tualatin, OR, fabricated steel forms; Precast Systems Inc. of Allentown, N.J. cast the 128 arch segments; Concrete Safety Systems of Bethel, PA also cast molds for the project. Mustafa Gok is a project manager at Conti Enterprises Inc. of South Plainfield, N.J., the project’s general contractor. Structural Services of Bethlehem, PA is also involved in the project. Source: ENR

Bed Bath & Beyond of Union, NJ will continue pursue major expansion of its newer concepts and its namesake stores in Canada where it currently has two stores. For 2008, the company will open 50 new Bed Bath & Beyond stores, as well as 12 Christmas Tree Shops, several buybuy BABY stores, and freestanding and in-store Harmon and Harmon Face units. Warren Eisenberg is a co-chairman at Bed Bath & Beyond. Source: Globe St.com

Designer Amir Ilin, owner of Küche + Cucina, Paramus and Madison, NJ and Architect Tony Kowidge of IS & L Architecture Studio, LLC, Fair Lawn, NJ designed a contemporary kitchen for a home in Tewksbury, NJ. See the story on K+BB Online.

Building Industry News in...

Kansas
Entertainment LLC, a joint venture of the Cordish Co. (Baltimore, MD) and the International Speedway Corp., has won the bid to build and manage a new state-owned casino in northeast Kansas. The joint venture will build a $705-million Hard Rock Hotel and Casino to include a 300-room hotel, a casino with 3,000 slot machines and 140 gaming tables, 275,000-sf of retail, and meeting and convention facilities. A temporary casino will operate at the site beginning in 2009. Joe Weinberg is a principal with Cordish. Source: Globe St.com

Maryland
Empire American Holdings L.L.C. purchased 2,877-unit Empirian Village apartment community, in Greenbelt. Abe Miller represented the purchaser internally. Scott Melnick of Transwestern represented the seller. Source: CPN

Massachusetts
CRA International Inc. renewed its lease at the John Hancock Tower in Boston. Lauren Phelan Lipscomb, Mary Ann Marino, and Andrew Hoar of CB Richard Ellis – New England (Boston) represented CRA; David Martel, Gil Dailey, Bill Anderson an Monica Cost represented Broadway Partners, the building owner. Source: CPN

Eastat Realty Capital L.L.C. of Boston is awaiting city approval for a $140M, 248,000-SF office tower in Boston’s theater district. Source: CPN

Developments in...

Florida

The Related Group completed the Icon Brickell in Miami. The complex offers 1,794 residential units, 100-room boutique hotel, five restaurants, and a movie theater. Kor Hotel Group operates the hotel and Arquitectonica International Corp. is the hotel’s designer. Source: CPN

DuPont donated sheets of its Corian® material to help create a high-tech gathering place for hospitalized children and teens at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville. Thomas F. Schuler is the vice president and general manager of DuPont Building Innovations. Corian® meets all 18 preferred characteristics of the ideal surfacing product to help facilitate infection control as defined in the American Institute of Architects: Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities. Source: TFM

RTKL Associates Inc. of Coral Gables has completed the presidential suite at the Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach. RTKL principal, Gina Goodin was involved in the project. Source: Hospitality Design

The Lynd Co. of San Antonio, TX, has expanded into South Florida. Andrew Ginsburg is the new regional office’s Regional VP. Source: CPN

Sunstone Hotels Investors Inc. of San Clemente, CA acquired the 32.6-acre parcel of land at the Renaissnace Orlando Resort, which it owns, for $30.4 million. Source: CPN

Community Reinvestment Partners II LP - a joint venture between Forge Capital Partners LLC of Atlanta, GA and Tampa-based DeBartolo Development - has acquired Fairway Oaks shopping center in Hudson for $7.6 million. The fund was begun to develop, acquire, renovate and reposition retail real estate in the Southeast. Ted Anglyn is director of acquisitions for Forge Capital. CRP II will actively pursue investments in Orlando and South Florida, Georgia, Alabama and the Carolinas. Karl Johnston, senior director with Cushman & Wakefield in Jacksonville commented on the deal. Source: Globe St.com



Georgia
JVC America Inc. signed a five-year, 540,000-SF lease at the New Manchester Distribution Center in Atlanta. Bill Doran and Tommy Hughes of Carter Real Estate represented the landlord, ProLogis. Wit Truitt and Chip Watson of CB Richard Ellis represented JVC. Source: CPN


Host Hotels & Resorts Inc. completed $138M renovation of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. Source: CPN

Despite New York-based American International Group’s (AIG) recent financial problems, it’s Atlantic Station project in Atlanta is moving forward. Brian Leary is VP of Real Estate Investment at AIG. Jacoby Development Inc. and the Novare Group both in Atlanta are involved in the project. Source: Globe St.com


Wells Real Estate Investment Trust II has taken majority ownership at Newell Rubbermaid's newly constructed 355,000 square foot global headquarters building in Sandy Springs. Leo Wells is Wells Real Estate Funds president. The closing was brokered by Randy Evans and Mike McDonald of Eastdil. Wells was represented internally by Keith Willby, senior vice president, Capital Markets. Source: CPN

Illinois

BP Plc has signed a 10-year lease at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, owned by Tishman Speyer Properties. Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.'s International Director, Elaine Melonides, and Executive VP, Matt Carolan, represented BP; Vicki Noonan and Eric Myers represented Tishman Speyer internally. Source: CPN

AmTrust Realty Corp. acquired a 1.1 million square foot, 44-floor office building in Chicago. Bruce Miller and Jim Postweiler, managing directors; Peter Harwood, VP; and Bruce Westwood-Booth, Executive VP, all of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. in Chicago represented the seller. Source: CPN

HSBC-North America has chosen Itasca as the site of a new corporate facility, consolidating operations from five facilities. Elaine Melonides and Dan McCarthy of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. in Chicago negotiated the build-to-suit lease. Source: CPN

Opus North Corp. has broken ground on a 391-unit apartment community within the Corporetum Office Campus in Lisle. The five-story building is the first phase of a 16-acre development, the Arboretum Landmark. Matt Nix, senior real estate director for Opus North states the second phase will include up to 150,000 sf of office with construction beginning in 2009. Source: Globe St.com

They're Building in...

Arizona

Macerich, Inc. of Santa Monica, CA and Phoneix-based DMB Associates are creating a $1 billion core urban center in Phoenix. Scott Nelson is vice president of development at Macerich. Source: Globe St.com

Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman announced plans for a new $110-million Hyatt Regency. Anticipated groundbreaking is in 2009 for a 240-key hotel, 24 residential condominiums and 13,000 sf of meeting space. The hotel is being developed by a partnership between Global Hyatt Corp. of Chicago, IL and Valhalla Development Group of Scottsdale. The hotel is part of Hayden Ferry Lakeside, a SunCor Development Co.-owned mixed-use development. Donald Arones, Senior VP at Grubb & Ellis/BRE Commercial in Phoenix and Thomas F. Adelson, Executive VP at CB Richard Ellis in Phoenix commented on the project. Source: Globe St.com




California

Northrop Grumman Corp. signed a 10-year lease for the Continental Tower office building in El Segundo. Eric Lastition, Geoff Ludwig and Greg Walsh of Colliers International represented the landlords, Barker Pacific Group Inc. and Prudential Real Estate Investors. David Kudrave of CB Richard Ellis in Los Angeles represented Northrop Grumman. Source: CPN

Shorenstein Properties L.L.C. of Los Angeles acquired the Main Plaza Towers office complex in Irvine. Source: CPN

In a joint venture, Angelo, Gordon & Co. and Centrum Properties, Inc. purchased the SFO Logistics Center and adjacent 5.2-acre land parcel in San Francisco. Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. secured financing through Capmark Finance Inc. for the deal. Source: CPN

Hines acquired the Citigroup Center in Los Angeles for $280 million. Dave Congdon and Colin Shepherd are senior vice presidents at Hines in L.A. Jones Lang LaSalle’s managing director John McAniff, vice president Tim Miller and leasing director Greg Nassir represented the seller. The Bank of China has leased space in the building. Source: Globe St.com

The replacement museum in Golden Gate Park for the earthquake-damaged California Academy of Sciences will open this week. The 410,000-sq-ft development was designed by architect Renzo Piano and contains a natural history museum, a planetarium, an aquarium, a rain forest and natural science research facilities. Webcor Builders was the contractor. Source: ENR

Hyatt Hotels & Resorts will unveil its first U.S. Andaz in Los Angeles in January. Architecture and interior design firm, Janson Goldstein, of New York, NY is transforming the existing Hyatt West Hollywood into the 257 guestroom Andaz. Source: Hospitality Design

Advanced Real Estate Services Inc. is converting the 207-room California Palms in Santa Ana into a 189-residence apartment community. NorthMarq Capital Inc. structured financing for the project. Source: CPN


AmWear International Inc. subleased 72,925 sq. ft. of space in Corona, CA. The firm will use the building as its administrative offices, warehouse and light assembly. Chris Migliori of Los Angeles-based DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services represented AmWear.
Migliori and Brian Doner of DAUM Commercial also represented the sublessor, Aqua Mix Inc. Source: NREI

Hines is developing the Transbay Tower in San Francisco. Senior VP, Paul Paradis, commented on recent developments. Hines’ team includes deisgner, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, and equity partner, MetLife. Earlier this year, the Transbay Joint Powers Authority board approved a contract with Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects for the transit terminal, which will centralize the region’s transportation network by accommodating nine transportation systems under one roof. The area surrounding the Transit Center will be redeveloped to include the office tower, retail and 3,500 new housing units along. Groundbreaking a Temporary Terminal begins November 2008. Construction of the new transit center will begin in 2010 and be completed in 2014. Source: Globe St.com

Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc. has signed two build-to-suit lease agreements with ProLogis of Denver for regional distribution centers in Redlands, CA and Monroe, OH. Each facility will total approximately 658,000 sf. Larry Harmsen is ProLogis’ managing director and North American head of capital deployment. Source: Globe St.com


Lowe Enterprises Investors, the investment management affiliate of national real estate company Lowe Enterprises, has acquired a 266,000-square-foot industrial distribution facility in central Los Angeles. Lowe Enterprises will assume property management of the facility and lead the capital improvement program, investing more than $5 million to improve the facility. Lowe staff handled the acquisition while the seller was represented by David Fults, Brian McLoughlin, Scott Heaton and Patrick Barnes from the CB Richard Ellis Inc.'s Central Los Angeles Office. Source: CPN


Avalon Bay Communities has begun Avalon Walnut Creek at Contra Costa Centre, a 422-unit apartment project at the Pleasant Hill rapid transit station in Walnut Creek. The project is part of a $400-million redevelopment joint-venture between Avalon of Alexandria, VA and developer, New York-based Millennium Partners. The project also includes 36,000 sf of retail and 19,400 sf of conference facilities. The project is scheduled for completion in 2010. MVE & Partners of Oakland is the architect; law firm, Godwin Proctor LLP, handled the bond sales process for Avalon; Tuan A. Pham is a Goodwin Proctor partner; and James Kennedy is Contra Costa county’s redevelopment director. Source: GlobeSt.com


The University of California at Irvine has begun construction of a new $221 million, 1,763-bed housing project being developed by American Campus Communities of Austin, TX. Wendell Brase is administrative and business services vice chancellor for UCI. The project was designed to meet Gold LEED certification and to promote the use of public transportation, bicycles and walkways. KTGY Group Inc. Architecture and Planning of Irvine is the architect for this and two previous UCI projects. Dan McAllister is a KTGY principal and lead designer on the project. Source: Globe St.com

Monday, September 29, 2008

Free Webcasts, Free Education

Remodeling Online is featuring free webinars focusing on the residential remodeling industry:

- Appliances Update 2008
- Kitchen & Bath: Part 1
- Kitchen Design Trends: Part 2
- Marketing in Tough Times
- Latest Trends in Energy Efficient Appliances
- 10 Tips to Proper Kitchen Ventilation



The webinars are available on-demand. All you have to do is sign up. Go to http://www.remodeling.hw.net/multimedia/webseminars.aspx