Construction has begun on the first of 12 Best Western Atria prototypes–which were just announced in October–with the tourist-driven market of San Antonio hosting the initial hotel in the fall. San Antonio developer and hotel owner Ajay Patel will be the first to open a Best Western Atria prototype, which is an upper mid-scale concept. The 100-room property is being built in southwest San Antonio’s Westside Peak development and is expected to be complete in the fall. “The Atria prototype is our response to developers who want an upper mid-scale avenue to competitive pricing, while maintaining the brand recognition and…

Pharmaceutical and health care products concern Wyeth has just announced that it is in the process of building a manufacturing facility at Suzhou Industrial Park in China’s Jiangsu Province.The approximately 1.3 million square-foot facility, which carries a development price-tag of $280 million, will be one of the largest nutritional manufacturing plants in the world.Wyeth is developing the property, which will focus primarily on the production of infant formula milk powder, to address an increasing demand for nutritional products in China. Construction of the plant just kicked off and is on target to reach completion in 2010.Wyeth is no stranger to…

A 38-step staircase that World Trade Center evacuees used to escape the devastation of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks was moved on Sunday to a location outside 7 World Trade Center.The relocation of the stairway, which had connected Vesey Street to the north end of Austin J. Tobin Plaza, will allow construction to begin on Tower 2, a 1,278-foot-tall skyscraper. “[Removal of the staircase] will allow excavation down to 80 feet, so construction can start on Tower 2’s basement,” said a spokesperson for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. If the staircase was not moved, excavation would…

Forest City Development and the Etkin Johnson Group have begun construction on Enterprise Park at Stapleton (pictured), a three-building, 441,000-square-foot office and industrial park at the site of Denver’s former Stapleton International Airport.  The first building will total 153,000 square feet and feature 30-foot-clear ceilings.  The other two buildings, with 24-foot-clear ceilings, will be 139,695 square feet and 148,900 square feet. All three will include 10-foot-high glass windows, suiting them for office, showroom, R&D and assembly uses, and a front park/rear load configuration will favor warehouse/distribution tenants.  The Etkin Johnson Group has operated in Denver since 1981 and currently owns…

Crisis management can in fact be a profitable endeavour when handled properly. If you are in business for any length of time you will at some point in time be party–willing or unwilling–to a major crisis that can affect not only the company you work for, but your career as well. A large portion of my practice deals with advising corporations and executives during a crisis to protect the corporate brand and the personal reputations of senior executives and board members. Given that in today’s business world, the likelihood of crisis is much greater than it was in times past,…

With high oil prices making the Houston market relatively resilient in these uncertain times, a new partnership hopes to take advantage with a mixed-use project in the city’s Galleria submarket. High Street (pictured) is a 400,000-square-foot, $105 million mixed-use project on Westheimer Road and will comprise 100,000 square feet of retail, 80,000 square feet of office and 233 multi-family rental residences. Currently under construction, it’s scheduled for completion in late fall 2009 and will be LEED certified. The project is a joint venture of Trademark Property Co. and Coventry Real Estate Advisors; that partnership was just finalized earlier this week….

Taking advantage of available land in the heart of the 11th fastest-growing county in the nation, NDC Capital Partners L.L.C. has partnered with Lexington Luxury Builders to develop almost 100 luxury town home units in the downtown of the Dallas suburb of Plano, Texas. No financials on the project were disclosed. The project, with 98 townhomes planned, will be known as Lexington Park at Rice Field. The site is where Plano’s first high school football stadium had been. The property is located two blocks from a recently constructed Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) fixed light rail station. Downtown Dallas is…