News

Dubai, which is fast becoming one of the world’s top resort destinations, will get a new America-themed resort centering on an 800-room upper-upscale hotel, courtesy of Zabeel Properties. Adding to the profile of the project is news that actor Brad Pitt, working with architectural firm GRAFT, will have a hand in the design of the resort. While Zabeel has not yet disclosed the exact location or the name of the new hotel and resort, it has revealed a central theme of the project–environmental sustainability. The developer will seek LEED Gold certification with the intention of creating a luxury destination that…

Frank Gehry’s signature undulating, asymmetrical forms will mark the exterior of the architect’s first New York City residential building, according to newly released renderings.The design will mark the Beekman tower, a 904-unit project under construction on Spruce Street between William and Nassau Streets in Downtown Manhattan. When complete in 2009, the 76-story, 1.1  million-square-foot  tower will rank among the biggest new projects Downtown, along with the four office towers scheduled for completion early in the next decade at the World Trade Center site. According to the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center’s Web site, the Beekman project is also one of…

The crane collapse that killed one worker and injured two others this morning on Manhattan’s Upper East Side again throws a spotlight on construction safety issues. Today’s fatal accident occurred at a residential tower under construction on East 91st Street in Manhattan’s Upper East Side district. As it fell, the crane severely damaged a residential building across the street. At a hastily called press conference broadcast by local radio station WINS and other outlets, Mayor Michael Bloomberg (pictured) said, “We don’t know why it snapped off, but we will certainly do an investigation.” The mayor, who was surrounded by a…

The Providence skyline is headed for change now that construction has commenced on the new 13-story headquarters for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. The 327,000-square-foot building, designed by the architectural firm of Symmes Maini & McKee Associates, will be a study in sustainable design with an anticipated LEED Silver certification. BCBSRI’s new home will be located downtown at Waterplace Park, just across from a commuter rail station. SMMA worked with the healthcare concern to determine the best location for the new facility, which will sit adjacent to two new residential properties in a burgeoning mixed-use area. When…

Hines REIT has announced the purchase of two buildings in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The firm purchased the buildings, 4050 and 4055 Corporate Drive, from Dividend Capital Trust. The buildings are single story class A industrial warehouses, located within the DFW Trade Center, a 180-acre office park four miles from the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. Combined, the two buildings total approximately 650,000 square feet and function primarily as distribution, light manufacturing and office facilities. Currently, the buildings are 100 percent leased, with tenants including Kay Chemical and Verizon. “4050 and 4055 Corporate Drive have a stable and high quality tenant roster…

The Hudson River Park Trust held a press conference yesterday to celebrate the park’s 10th anniversary and discuss future improvements. The press conference, which commemorated the tenth anniversary of the Hudson River Park Act, was used to update the public on the park’s progress and the agency’s vision for the future. The park will undergo a great increase in construction in the coming years, with $110 million of additional construction activity set to commence shortly to complement the $170 million of construction currently underway in the park. The park is currently 40 percent complete, and the Trust expects to complete…

The British Bankers’ Association has just announced that it has wrapped up its review of the composition of its London Interbank Offered Rate Contributor Panels, but contrary to heavy media speculation that changes would be made to LIBOR, the BBA did not alter a thing. The review commenced in April. The last changes to LIBOR were made a decade ago. The Contributor Panels are the banks that contribute to LIBOR rate-setting procedures, and under review were the panels for Australian Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Danish Krone, Euros, Japanese Yen, New Zealand Dollar, Swiss Francs, Sterling, Swedish Krona and U.S. Dollars. As…

Duke Realty Corp., with CBRE Capital Markets Group as its new equity partner, plans to accumulate all build-to-suits projects into a joint venture with CB Richard Ellis Inc., the companies said today. The new venture will include the acquisition of up to $800 million of newly developed bulk industrial build-to-suit projects over the next three years. The new partnership allows Duke Realty to recycle capital while maintaining relationships with key national tenants.CBRE Capital Markets served as Duke Realty’s equity placement agent in the transaction. The initial portfolio included six properties, totaling approximately 5.2 million square feet of industrial space with…

A financing package valued at $109.5 million has been put in place for a 13-property office portfolio in metropolitan Louisville, Ky. CBRE Capital Markets orchestrated the deal on behalf of borrower Fenley Real Estate. Fenley was able to walk away with first mortgage financing in the form of an on-book loan at a three-year fixed-rate from GE Real Estate. Encompassing 923,000 square feet of Class A office space, the portfolio features 11 buildings in suburban Louisville and an additional two buildings in the city’s Central Business District. A total of 100 tenants–some with Fortune 500 status–make their home at the…

Construction of Foundry Square I, a 336,000-square-foot office building in Downtown San Francisco, has recently reached completion. Developed by Glenborough L.L.C., the building will become the global headquarters of Barclays Global Investors. Foundry Square I carries the address of 400 Howard St. and sits across from Transbay Terminal in the city’s South of Market Financial District. Webcor Builders served as the general contractor on the project and Studio Architectures designed the 10-story structure, which also features about 10,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. Barclays pre-leased the entire property in 2005. “We’re pleased to have Barclays take the whole building,…