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As sustainability continues to expand throughout the retail sector, a new study of shopper attitudes suggests that that going green can be both good citizenship and a potent marketing tool. However, the survey also indicates that retailers, owners and operators have a lot of customer education on sustainability ahead. “It’s going to be a big push on our part and on our retailers’ part,” said Carol Sullivan, vice president of marketing for Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s West Coast operations. The firm commissioned the e-mail survey study by Alexander Babbage Inc. in order to guide retailer and owner strategies at the…

Work has commenced on the comprehensive renovation of Jackson, Miss.’s landmark King Edward Hotel. The $82 million conversion of the lodging facility into a Hilton Garden Inn hotel with residential units is being spearheaded by a joint venture consisting of Watkins Partners, HRI Properties and New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister. Vacant for the last four decades, the 85-year-old King Edward (pictured) is located in the city’s historic downtown area, which has been tapped for revitalization. When the redevelopment of the property is completed, it will feature 186 guestrooms, 64 apartments, 5,000 square feet of meeting space and a…

The Rezidor Hotel Group has announced the development of what will be its 30th property in Russian and the Commonwealth of Independent States. The new project, Park Inn Kazan, will include 174 rooms, and is set to open in Kazan, Russia, in the second quarter of 2011. A pioneer in the Russian lodging market, Rezidor was one of the first international hotel firms to establish full development and operations offices there. The company currently has a number of projects under development in the region, including three new Radisson hotels in Moscow, as well as planned developments in Georgia, Kazakhstan and…

Cousins Properties Inc. is de-emphasizing the industrial property side of its business with the sale of several parcels of land in business parks in metro Atlanta, and with the resignation of two of the Atlanta-based REIT’s industrial division’s executives, who will not be replaced.According to the company, the land sale means that it will not pursue new speculative industrial development in the Atlanta market.”It’s the beginning of a process to exit industrial real estate,” a spokesman for Cousins told CPN this morning. “We’ve had successes along the way with our industrial properties, but they aren’t part of our core. To…

Indianapolis-based developer and contractor Lauth Group is expanding its Intech Park on the northwest side of Indianapolis and is also about to begin construction on the first of two bulk distribution buildings at the North Pointe Industrial Park in Charleston, S.C. The additions at Intech Park, Indiana’s largest office park, comprise a new office building, a new hotel and a new office tenant. A Lauth spokesperson declined to name any dollar amounts. Construction on Intech Four, a 150,000-square-foot spec Class A office building, will begin this fall, with completion scheduled for the third quarter of 2009. Once completed, a Lauth…

At a time when many U.S. banks and investors are shying away from investing in new projects, United Investment Co. and SNS Property Finance International–both of the Netherlands–have formed a joint venture to establish a $1 billion real estate investment and development fund dedicated to the U.S. retail real estate market. The fund will operate under the direction and management of United Investment’s U.S. holding company, UDC Global and its development arm, N3 Real Estate of Fort Worth, Texas, which will act as the exclusive developer for the fund. The fund will focus on credit tenant net lease retail transactions….

LaSalle Hotel Properties and LaSalle Investment Management have announced the creation of a joint venture in order to invest in U.S. urban and resort hotel properties. The venture will have up to $250 million in capitalization which, with potential leverage, could result in a total investment approaching $700 million.The venture will last up to seven years, with an anticipated acquisition period of three years. Real estate investment management firm LaSalle Investment Management, a member of the Jones Lang LaSalle Group, will own 85 percent of the venture, with LaSalle Hotel Properties owning the remaining 15 percent. LaSalle Hotel Properties will…

Editor-in-chief Suzann D. Silverman spoke with Ford Motor Land Development Corp. chairman Sean McCourt for CPN’s April 16 issue about achieving green and other initiatives in this difficult economic environment. What follows is their discussion about the company’s ongoing efforts to repurpose manufacturing sites that must be shut down, as well as further information on its brownfield redevelopment project.CPN: You’ve shut down a number of plants in the past few years. What has been your approach to disposing of them?McCourt: We don’t close the plant and then sell the plant. … Our objective is to first of all address any…

With a number of retailers in bankruptcy and others closing stores – as reported yesterday by CPN — talk of a “crisis” in the industry is in the air. But is the state of retail a bone fide crisis along the lines of the early 1990s real estate depression, or just a more ordinary down cycle in a business universally acknowledged as cyclical? CPN spoke with two retail industry experts this morning to get their take on the direction the industry is taking, and the impact on retail real estate: Bernard J. Haddigan (pictured), managing director, national retail group of…

Investors are flocking to opportunities created by the credit crisis, and Sky Development Inc. and SunVest Communities are the latest to ride the wave, creating the $300 million joint SkyVest Real Estate Opportunity Fund to capitalize on the economic, financial and property market dislocation. “Tons of opportunities are yet to come due to the economy and credit crunch,” Gavin Susman (pictured), a managing member of the joint venture & COO of Sky Development, told CPN. “There will be a huge downfall of properties that cannot support their loans.” The fund will invest in distressed residential and commercial projects, both directly…