Regions

Pinnacle Entertainment Inc. takes a big step forward with the development of River City, its planned casino project in suburban St. Louis, Mo., as it taps Yates/Paric to serve as general contractor. Yates/Paric, a joint venture involving W.G. Yates & Sons Construction and Paric Corp., will operate under a contact valued at approximately $149 million for River City, the first phase of which carries a development price tag of $375 million. River City is located in Lemay on 80 acres Pinnacle is leasing from the St. Louis County Port Authority. The project sits 10 miles from the Gateway City in…

The landmark Allerton Hotel on the “Magnificent Mile” of Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue has relaunched following a $12 million renovation. The project included the redesign of all guest rooms and public spaces, the relocation of the front desk from the third floor to its original site on the second floor, and the creation of a new restaurant/bar/lounge known as M Avenue and new ballrooms and meeting spaces. The hotel remained open during the five-month renovation. Andrea Mayer, the Allerton’s general manager, told CPN that the 443-room hotel’s interior décor is “W-esque,” in reference to the chic Starwood brand. She described…

Rockefeller Group Development Corp. has purchased 113 acres in Lakeland, Fla., with plans to develop an industrial park on the site. RGDC plans to build an industrial park of over 1 million square feet on the site, targeting specifically large-scale tenants. The company intends to begin development on the site in early 2009. The site of the proposed development is the former USA International Speedway in Lakeland, which is located between Tampa and Orlando. RGDC is marketing the property as an opportunity for businesses to connect to the 8.5 million people in the area surrounding the business park. The site…

Falcon Realty Services Private Ltd., which has spent 20 years in the land buying and dealing sector in India, has made its first moves into development, the company has reported. The firm is now in the planning plans of eco-friendly developments, including the development of infrastructure and support focusing around industrial hubs, it said in a statement. According to Bhim Yadav, CEO of Falcon, the growth of customers’ interest in environmentally conscious housing and commercial space has led to this new focus. “We have already identified the land and formulated, conceptualized and designed the eco-friendly master planned communities.” The firm…

The joint venture buyer has agreed to purchase College Business Park in Upland, Calif., just east of Los Angeles. The 314,000-square-foot business park sold for $39.9 million to Koll/PER, a limited liability company owned by Koll and the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho. The building is situated in Upland, which is on the border between Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties. The property is approximately 25 acres with 17 single-story office, industrial and flex buildings ranging in size from approximately 13,000 to 23,00 square feet, with tenant spaces range from 6,000 to 14,000 square feet. The business park offers…

CB Richard Ellis Inc. has promoted Ken Rapp, a commercial real estate veteran known for his prolific leasing work with some of Manhattan’s biggest corporations and other high-profile clients, to vice chairman for CBRE’s New York Tri-State region. Rapp, who has been with CBRE 20 years, is the youngest CBRE Tri-State executive to be promoted to vice chairman. Named a “Top 10” producer in CBRE’s New York office more than 10 times, he has also been honored as one of the top sales professionals in the United States. Rapp has arranged more than 10 million square feet in transactions for…

After a slow spring and early summer, a major apartment acquisition near New Haven, Conn., could be a signal that the greater New York City region’s deal pipeline could start to flow more freely before long. “We’re seeing some signs of people doing major deals,” Jeffrey Dunne, vice chairman for CB Richard Ellis Inc.’s investment properties unit, told CPN. Dunne made the observation in light of the $124 million trade of a 764-unit apartment community (pictured) in Hamden, Conn., recently arranged by his team, which also included Patrick Bisceglia and Todd Newman in collaboration with Baltimore-based William Roohan. Elsewhere in…

CB Richard Ellis Investors has purchased Northcreek Office Park in the Buckhead community of Atlanta on behalf of the company’s Strategic Partners U.S. 5 fund. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. According to Real Capital Analytics, a New York City-based research firm, 29 Atlanta office properties sold for a total of $1 billion and an average price of $42 million over the last six months. Office sales in the overall Atlanta market totaled $2.1 billion over the past 12 months. The average transaction carried a cap rate of 6.7 percent and an average cost-per-square-foot of $209. In the…

General Growth Properties has delayed the opening of its 1.4 million-square-foot Las Vegas regional mall development, the Shops at Summerlin Centre (pictured), by perhaps a much as a year. Such a delay would push the opening of the property to 2010, when General Growth anticipates a stronger financial and retail environment. “If we had stuck to our original opening date, I think we would have opened that center probably around 70 percent, maybe 75 percent [occupied],” Robert Michael, president of the Chicago-based REIT, said recently during a conference call. “I think by delaying it… this project will open 90 percent…

Plans to erect an upscale 564,000-square-foot mixed-use project on a 2.7-acre coastal brownfield site in Jersey City, N.J., move forward with the closing of a $27.5 million loan to fund the acquisition and the environmental cleanup of the property. EnviroFinance Group L.L.C. provided the financing for developer Statue of Liberty Harbor North Redevelopment Urban Renewal L.L.C. Known as Liberty Harbor North, the downtown parcel is the former home of Flinktote Co.’s manufacturing plant. Flinkote’s production of shingles that were tainted with asbestos left the property contaminated. However, Statue of Liberty Harbor saw the blighted spot as an opportunity to convert…