Opus Development Corp. said it plans to erect a nine-story office building on Nicollet Mall for Xcel Energy to lease so it can expand its downtown Minneapolis headquarters.

The 212,000-square foot glass and pre-cast stone building will be built on the southeast corner of Fourth Street and Nicollet, directly across the street from Xcel's eight-story headquarters at 414 Nicollet Mall.

Xcel will be the sole tenant and use the new building to relocate about 750 employees now using leased offices about 21/2 blocks away in Marquette Plaza. Their lease expires in 2016, said Judy Poferl, president and CEO of Northern States Power-Minnesota, an Xcel company.

"This serves to get us closer and get us a more campus-like feel," Poferl

Minnetonka-based developer Opus Group announced Tuesday, June 19, 2012, that it plans to build a nine-story office building on Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis across from Xcel Energy Inc. headquarters. (Courtesy to Pioneer Press: Opus Group)

Xcel has a total of about 1,500 employees in downtown Minneapolis, including 750 at 414 Nicollet.

The utility will keep its headquarters and is considering building skyway access to the new building going up across the street.

The new building doesn't mean that Xcel is planning to add to its downtown workforce, but the company has noticed it needed additional workers when it takes on new projects, such as building transmission lines, Poferl said.

The lease for the new building will have minimal impact on the company's finances since it would have had to negotiate a lease for its employees at Marquette Plaza anyway, Poferl said.

"We believe we got favorable pricing," she said.

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New building will expand Xcel Minneapolis headquarters

Last Updated: June 19, 2012 11:22pm ET

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The office will be across from the HQ and next to Nicollet Residences.

MINNEAPOLIS-Xcel Energy has hired Opus Development Corp. to build a new office building to hold a consolidation of spread-out employees. The energy firm has agreed to a long-term lease on the proposed 212,000-square-foot building, to be built at the southeast corner of Fourth Street and the Nicollet Mall.

The company has about 1,500 employees at its headquarters at 414 Nicollet. The new office will be built across from the HQ over a private parking ramp. Ben Fowke, chairman, president and CEO of Xcel, said in a statement that the new building will improve operating efficiency. Leasing space in this new building is a prudent, cost-effective way to consolidate our operations, meet our future space requirements and create a great environment for our employees, he said.

Opus hasnt released the cost of the build-to-suit project. The company is about to start building the 33-story Nicollet Residences apartment building next door, over the site of the former Powers Department Store. A source tells GlobeSt.com that the entire one-block project is expected to cost Opus more than $160 million to build. The company has already said the apartment tower will cost about $108 million.

Dave Menke, SVP and general manager with Opus, tells GlobeSt.com that the company will begin the new office construction in 2014 and will finish in 2016, to align with current Xcel lease expirations at smaller locations. The new building will be owned by Opus Group. Nelson Tietz & Hoye represented Xcel in the lease deal.

Menke says the Minneapolis area isnt seeing much new office development besides build-to-suit for efficiency. Most of the Minneapolis markets still need substantial fundamental improvements before we start seeing speculative development, he said. The Minneapolis office market is at about 17.5% vacant.

Categories: Midwest, Office, Development, Leasing, Minneapolis

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Xcel Signs for New Nine-Story BTS Office

By Sandy Illian Bosch sbosch@pioneerlocal.com June 19, 2012 1:58PM

Updated: June 19, 2012 5:59PM

School is out, but its a busy summer in the Gower District 62 schools.

Right now, were in the design stage, Superintendent Steve Griesbach said of the building and renovation projects made possible by an April referendum vote, when Gower voters agreed to issue $9 million worth of bonds to pay for improvements to both schools.

And while the School Board searches for the right construction manager to see the project through, other work, including renovation of the Gower West gymnasium, is under way.

We received a grant through Sen. (Jim) Durkins office, which is paying for most of the work, Griesbach said.

The $250,000 grant not only will pay for a new floor, lighting and new paint in the elementary gym, it also will pay for an interactive white board at the middle school and a new sign outside Gower Middle.

The masonry is crumbling on it, Griesbach said. The replacement, which will include an electronic message board, will cost about $30,000.

The remaining $60,000 will be used next summer, he said, to upgrade the wireless networks at both buildings.

Meanwhile, the School Board will begin interviewing potential construction managers on July 2.

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Building work begins in Gower schools

Last Updated: June 20, 2012 07:19am ET

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Become a registered member today and dont miss another important story in the Chicago market. Let GlobeSt.com be your source for everything real estate.

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Hines' River Point is the only large spec office in Chicago today.

CHICAGO-New construction is late. This is now the third year of the US economic recovery, and new non-residential development is traditionally supposed to trail a recovery by 18-24 months. The construction industry is still dragging feet, with only about a third of the expected jobs by this time in a recovery cycle.

There is some movement multifamily, taking advantage of the switch from home owning to renting, is seeing a lot of new starts. Theres also cranes in the air for office in the core markets of New York City, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Houston and even Seattle. But for the rest of the country, companies are still holding back on agreements to start new office buildings.

According to experts, many large markets, such as Chicago, today have the large block demand for around four new office buildings, but are seeing one building announced or nothing. In Chicago, only Hines $300 million River Point project in the River North area is moving forward, having finally closed financing with partner Ivanhoe Cambridge after a few failed starts since 2008.

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Is it Time to Start Building Office Yet?

MINNEAPOLIS, June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Opus Development Corporation today announced plans to construct a nine-story, 212,000-square-foot office building on the southeast corner of Fourth Street and the Nicollet Mall. Xcel Energy, whose corporate headquarters are immediately across the street from the new building site on Nicollet Mall, will be the building's sole tenant as the company consolidates office space into a two-building downtown campus. Construction will begin in 2014, pending all necessary approvals, with occupancy in 2016.

Ben Fowke, chairman, president and CEO of Xcel Energy, said the new building will improve operating efficiency for company employees who work downtown and enhance the vitality of the downtown area. About 1,500 Xcel Energy employees are currently based at the company's 414 Nicollet headquarters and in other leased space downtown. "Downtown Minneapolis is our headquarters, and we plan to remain here for the long-term," Fowke said. "Leasing space in this new building is a prudent, cost-effective way to consolidate our operations, meet our future space requirements, and create a great environment for our employees. It also underscores our commitment to our partnership with the city and its business and community leaders to revitalize downtown Minneapolis."

"We are delighted to be working with Xcel Energy and the City of Minneapolis on this exciting development project, which will be instrumental in the continuing vitality of downtown Minneapolis and the redevelopment of the north end of the Nicollet Mall," said Dave Menke, senior vice president and general manager, Opus Development Corporation.

"The investments in transit and other amenities that we have made in downtown Minneapolis help employers attract and retain talent here, which in turn helps grow the economic engine of Minnesota," said Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak. "I thank Xcel Energy for their vote of confidence in downtown, congratulate Opus on the opportunity to redevelop this important site, and look forward to even more vitality in downtown Minneapolis."

The planned Xcel Energy office building is adjacent to the Nicollet Residences, a new high-rise apartment building that Opus Development Corporation is also developing on the adjacent site. Opus expects to begin construction on this project later this year. The new Xcel Energy site is currently a private parking ramp that was constructed in the 1960s.

Nelson Tietz & Hoye represented Xcel Energy on the lease negotiations.

Opus Design Build will be responsible for construction, and Opus AE Group will be the architect of record. The building will be owned by an affiliate of The Opus Group.

About The Opus GroupThe Opus Group is a family of national commercial real estate companies headquartered in Minneapolis, with expertise in development, project management and construction, architecture and engineering, finance, sales and leasing. The Opus Group includes Opus Holding, L.L.C. and Opus Holding, Inc. and their operating subsidiaries, Opus Development Corporation, Opus Design Build, L.L.C. and Opus AE Group, Inc. Specializing in office, industrial, retail, residential living, institutional and government projects, The Opus Group has broad capabilities, deep experience and a proven design-build model that delivers solutions for customers on time and on budget. For more information, visit http://www.opus-group.com.

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The Opus Group® Plans to Construct New Office Building on Nicollet Mall

SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Trimble (TRMB) introduced today the Trimble 773 Robotic Total Station with VISION technology as part of the Trimble Field Link for MEP and Trimble Field Link for Structures construction layout solutions. The new layout solutions allow general contractors, steel contractors, concrete contractors and mechanical, engineering and plumbing (MEP) trades to easily interpret the measurement of surfaces and positions using live video for increased accuracy and productivity as it relates to the layout of field points.

The Trimble 773 Total Station with VISION Technology enables building construction contractors to remotely see and measure through a live video feed from the instrument on their Trimble Tablet within the Trimble Field Link software. By integrating 2D line-work, point symbols, point names, descriptions and/or point elevations with the live video in the field, contractors can easily locate and stake points as defined in the data file for the project.

"By adding VISION technology to our Trimble Field Link construction layout solutions, we further connect the design aspects of building construction to field based processes," said Pat Bohle, general manager of Trimble's Building Construction Division. "Overlaying 2D line-work and point data from Trimble Field Link job files onto live video from a Trimble total station is the next step in the evolution of our layout portfolio to help provide greater productivity and accuracy for the building construction contractor."

The Trimble 773 Robotic Total Station with VISION technology for Trimble Field Link is available now through Trimble's Authorized Distributors of construction layout solutions for MEP and structures contractors.

About Trimble's Building Construction Business

Trimble's Building Construction Division is a leading innovator of productivity solutions for the building construction contractor. Trimble's solutions target general, concrete, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractors on large and small commercial, industrial and residential jobsites. Trimble is focused on delivering solutions that tightly link office based process and information with the field crewincluding taking Building Information Modeling (BIM) and other design data to the field for highly accurate positioning and layout of foundations and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems. Trimble solutions provide a high-level of process and workflow integration from the design phase through to the finished projectdelivering significant improvements in productivity throughout the building construction lifecycle.

About Trimble

Trimble applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring positioning or location, including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilized to deliver the solution to the user in the field and to ensure communication between the field and the office. Founded in 1978, Trimble is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif.

For more information, visit: http://www.trimble.com.

GTRMB

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Trimble Introduces New Construction Layout Solutions with VISION Technology for Building Contractors

Want to buy a post office?

The Belmont Avenue U.S. Post Office building in Dallas Lower Greenville neighborhood is up for grabs.

Commercial property broker CBRE Group has been hired to sell the 3,592-square-foot building located just west of Greenville Avenue.

The U.S. Postal Service has talked about closing the location for several years. And as part of current cost cutting, they are checking out the market to see what they could get for the building which was constructed in the early 1990s.

They are motivated to said, said CBRE Groups Michael Meaden who is peddling the property along with Jeff Kittleson.

The brokers have gotten a lot of calls about the post office since the big green and white for sale sign went up.

With any centralized Dallas location for sale, you typically get a lot of activity, Meaden said.

And what a location. The Belmont post office is just yards from the new Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market store under construction on Greenville. And its about three blocks from the location of the planned Trader Joes grocery store.

But before any buyer steps up to the closing table on this deal, the City of Dallas must make up its mind on the property.

The building and just under one acre of land it sits on are currently zoned commercial. But the city plan commission is considering a move to switch the zoning to townhouse construction.

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Belmont Avenue post office building just off Lower Greenville up for sale

19 June 2012

GMT Commences New Office Development

Goodman (NZ) Limited, the Manager of Goodman Property Trust (GMT or Trust), is pleased to announce further development progress with the commencement of a new office facility.

With increasing levels of business activity expected to lift demand from office occupiers over the next few years, a new 5,340 sqm office building is to be developed on an uncommitted basis at Central Park Corporate Centre in Greenlane.

The premium office space is ideally suited to large corporate occupiers although its flexible configuration will accommodate a range of businesses seeking high quality space.

Goodman (NZ) Limited's Chief Executive Officer, John Dakin said Our business is continuing to attract strong levels of customer enquiry and we are extremely pleased to be commencing the next phase of development at this strategically located office park.

Situated at the front entrance of the estate, the new low rise building will incorporate sustainable design elements and feature 1,400 sqm floorplates together with a lobby cafe.

Scheduled to complete in July 2013, the development has a forecast total project cost of $21.4 million (including land, construction costs and all professional fees). At current market rentals the development is expected to provide a yield on cost of 9.5% once fully leased and income producing.

John Dakin said, With low levels of vacancy in prime stock throughout the southern corridor, the new office building is one of the few alternatives for businesses seeking high quality office accommodation. It extends the range of options available to our customers and reinforces the Trusts leading position in the Greenlane office precinct.

With limited competing supply the timing of the development also allows the Trust to take advantage of the competitive construction pricing that currently exists.

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GMT Commences New Office Development

Peachtree City will spend up to $74,000 to design renovations for the former recreation administration building which is being repurposed for senior citizen activities.

The catch is that the preliminary price tag for construction is $553,000. One of the big reasons for the high cost is that the buildings use is going from an office type occupancy to an assembly occupancy.

Since the building will need to handle the weight load of more people at one time than its original design, it will need structural upgrades such as additional flooring support and a new sprinkler system, according to city staff. Those costs alone account for nearly $200,000 of the total.

Other renovations including some demolition, new walls, ceilings, electrical and replacement of the 16-year-old heating and cooling system will cost an estimated $184,000 of the total.

Yet another $114,000 was initially planned for a proposed drive-under canopy, though Community Services Director Jon Rorie told the City Council Thursday that could be downsized in cost significantly, perhaps being accomplished for about 30 percent of that figure.

The project, if ultimately approved for construction, would be paid for with revenues from a $3 million facilities bond issued by the city to pay for facility repairs and upgrades. Council approved the design plans unanimously at its June 7 council meeting.

The city needs the design plans before a final decision can be made on the project.

The cost estimates were provided by the citys consulting engineering firm, Pond and Company, which will also perform the design work proposed by city staff.

Rorie told council last week that it will take eight to 10 weeks to get the design going, which means construction will likely be pushed to the winter months. That will work out well with the schedule for other improvements in the area to the sewer line and amphitheater upgrades as well, Rorie noted.

Councilwoman Vanessa Fleisch noted that the cost will end up being around $68 a square foot, which is cheaper than the cost of $226 a square foot proposed several years ago for an expansion of The Gathering Place.

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$74K earmarked for rec building remodel; total cost originally estimated at $553K

A downtown building once used by the former Wachovia Corp. for operations is on target for conversion into a new Forsyth County Sheriff's Office early next year.

Known for years as the Phillips Building, the six-story structure on Church Street, directly east of the Winston Tower, will bring together scattered law enforcement offices and provide space for an emergency operations center, and perhaps an expansion of the county jail, in the event of some future need.

"This is sorely needed," Sheriff Bill Schatzman said on a recent tour of the building. "It is an important milestone for the county. This building will not only serve the Sheriff's Office way out into the future, but there are also many opportunities to serve the county in the future."

The Sheriff's Office and emergency operations center will occupy only two floors of the building. The rest is an empty shell for now but has four floors of potential space for future use.

Glenn Wise, the project manager for general contractor New Atlantic Contracting Inc., said that the building is essentially new on the inside. And because the occupied spaces are for law enforcement, many spaces in the building require more than the average grade of construction material.

"We replaced all the windows, and there is a new roof," Wise said. New air conditioning and heating systems are more energy-efficient, he said, and the building has enough generator capacity to keep running in an emergency.

In places where officers would be under potential threat from someone who might come inside the building with a gun, bullet-resistant gypsum wallboard is in place. Interrogation cells will have steel reinforcement in the walls, making escape impossible.

The county has been eyeing the Phillips Building for county offices since 2007, when county officials considered whether it could serve as a new court building.

By the next year, a new plan had emerged: Convert most of the building into additional jail cells, leaving room for the Sheriff's Office.

The potential for using the building as a jail expansion is still there, said Ed Jones, the deputy county manager. The upper floors could be linked to the detention center with a skyway spanning Third Street to the south.

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Work progressing on Phillips Building, future home of Forsyth sheriff's office