the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Simon Property Group Announces Plans for Domain II
Simon Property Group Inc. announced today a second phase of its Domain project, a mixed-use shopping center which opened in March 2007 in Austin, Texas. Construction on The Domain II will start next month with completion slated for November 2009. The first phase of the 57-acre project features Austin’s first Neiman Marcus, Macy’s, 10 first-class restaurants, 90,000 square feet of class A office space and 400 high-end apartments. The Domain also includes Apple, Barneys New York Co-Op, Borders Books & Music, Burberry, Cole Haan, David Yurman, Intermix, Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Sony Style, Stuart Weitzman, Sur La Table, Tiffany &…
Cushman & Wakefield, Envirosell Form Retail Consulting Partnership
Cushman & Wakefield Inc. and Envirosell, a shopper behavior research and consulting agency, announced today that they have formed a strategic partnership, which will take effect immediately. Prior to forming this partnership, the two firms had collaborated on a repositioning assignment examining tactical and strategic improvements for a major landlord’s portfolio. Envirosell has offices in New York, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Milan, Bangalore and Tokyo, and is headed by CEO Paco Underhill. Matt Winn (pictured), managing director of Cushman & Wakefield’s retail consulting group, said the combination will mean that Cushman & Wakefield will be able to offer clients a…
287-Acre Texas Waterfront Deal Inches Forward
With a sale more than a year in the works, American International Industries Inc. has received environmental updates that improvements will need to be made to parts of the 287 acres of waterfront property in Galveston County, Texas, that the company is endeavoring to sell to Westfield Forest L.P., a subsidiary of Todd Land Co. On April 2, 2007, American International Industries announced that Westfield Forest acquired the land and began development planning which would include a large commercial marina, 160 waterfront lots, town home development, boardwalk restaurants, a pavilion, hotel and amphitheater. The completion of the sale of the…
Perkins & Will to Design New $1B NYPD Academy
New York City’s new 3 million-square-foot police academy, the largest architectural project ever undertaken by the New York Police Department and the city’s Department of Design and Construction, will be designed by the New York office of Chicago-based Perkins & Will, with assistance from architectural design consultant Michael Fieldman Architect. The project carries an estimated price tag of $1 billion, according to a Perkins & Will spokesperson. The academy, on a 35-acre campus in College Point, Queens, will include a main instructional building, field house, firearms and tactical training facility, police museum, accommodations for visiting lecturers, a parking garage, tactical…
Mixed-Use Project with 1.2M SF of Retail in the Works for Chattanooga Area
Opus South Corp. has just revealed plans to develop Hammond Creek, a 168-acre mixed-use project that will center on 1.2 million square feet of retail offerings, in Dalton, Ga., near Chattanooga, Tenn. Opus secured the parcel that will become home to Hammond Creek through real estate services firm Colliers Spectrum Cauble-Atlanta. The live-work-play destination will sit 30 miles south of Chattanooga, fronting the North Dalton Bypass off Underwood Rd. The vast retail segment of the development will be built in three phases, with apartments, senior housing and a small segment of office space to be constructed in subsequent phases. Opus…
Albertis, Citigroup Partnership to Bid on Pennsylvania Turnpike
A partnership of Citigroup Inc. and Abertis InfraeStructuras, a Spanish company that specializes in operating toll roads and other infrastructure, has won the right to bid for a long-term lease of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. All together, the partners will offer the state $12.8 billion to lease the 514-mile road system, which is currently operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, for 75 years. Gov. Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania oversaw the selection of the Abertis-Citigroup partnership over two other partnerships. The governor announced the selection this morning at a conference in Harrisburg. “This is a good deal for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,…
Mixed-Use Project with Large Retail Component Planned for Dallas Area
A mixed-use project that could eventually contain approximately 2 million square feet of retail space is being planned for Forney, Texas, located approximately 20 miles east of Dallas. According to a report in Friday’s Dallas Business Journal, Endeavor Real Estate Group and Meadow Ridge Farm L.P. of Dallas are planning the project. To break ground next year, the development will contain 500,000 to 700,000 square feet of retail space, to open by 2010. According to the report, another 1.3 million to 1.5 million square feet of retail could eventually be added. Three hotels and office space are also planned for…
Comprehensive Online Commercial RE Resource Debuts Today
MyDealBook.com, a social-networking website designed to accommodate the varied needs of cross-industry real estate professionals, is now up and running. The launching of the social media website is indicative of the increasingly important role technology will play in the commercial real estate industry. MyDealBook.com–established by former real estate data site PropertyShark.com CEO Ryan Slack, along with Mark Schacknies and Nima Negahban–brings together professionals in areas ranging from construction and brokerage to appraisal and finance for the purpose of networking, collaborating and expanding business opportunities. Slack said that the new website is the natural extension of PropertyShark.com, which supplies members with…
RECon Report: In Nevada First, Regional Mall to Anchor Casino Resort
It may seem unlikely that any new twists could still be in store for Greater Las Vegas’ retail market. But this morning, the developers of the M Resort, Spa and Casino offered a glimpse of what its developers called a first-of-its-kind for Nevada: the state’s first regional shopping center incorporated into a casino resort. During a presentation at RECon, the International Council of Shopping Centers’ annual convention in Las Vegas, Taubman Centers Inc. unveiled conceptual plans for the 1 million-square-foot retail component of the $1 billion M Resort. Located about eight miles south of the Las Vegas Strip, the project…
Goddard Sells Houston Building, Puts Another on Market
Goddard Investment Group L.L.C. has sold a 135,000-square-foot office building at 675 Bering Dr. in Houston to Griffin Partners for an undisclosed amount. In addition, Goddard is also putting the 218,000-square-foot, 21-story 801 Travis St. tower (pictured) in Houston’s Central Business District on the market. A spokesperson for Goddard declined to comment on the sale and the listing of 801 Travis, but indicated that Goddard planned to remain in the Houston market with its ownership of the 1.3 million-square-foot Heritage Plaza, which the firm acquired in 2005 for about $130 million from ING Clarion. Griffin Partners, the new owner of…