By Anne CosgroveFrom the December 2019 Issue

At the Georgia Tech campus in Atlanta, construction of The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design was completed this past fall. With classes set to begin in the 37,000 square foot facility in January 2020, this green building was primarily funded through a $30 million grant from The Kendeda Fund, a private family foundation based in Atlanta that focuses on community-driven solutions. The new campus building houses two 64-person classrooms, two 24-person class labs, two 16-person class labs, a 16-person conference room, makerspace, an auditorium, a rooftop apiary and pollinator garden, and office space for co-located programs. The building has been designed and constructed to achieve Living Building Challenge 3.1 certification (meaning that it gives back more to the environment than it takes through its construction and operation).

Early on in the design process, the project team made the decision to focus on water consumption in the building. As part of the sustainability focus for the building and Georgia Tech, the facility is designed to annually collect more water than it uses. Conventional flush toilets, known to be heavy water consumers in buildings were bypassed. In their place, a bank of composters in the buildings basement accepts waste from foam flush toilets and waterless urinals. These foam flush toilets use a few ounces of water per flush, and the composterstransform human waste into material that will enrich soils in the surrounding landscape.

Water from the sinks, showers, and drains is treated and infiltrated on-site. A constructed wetland, filled with native plants and dedicated to demonstrating the power of nature to create clean water, is situated at the entrance of The Kendeda Building. This wetland filters graywater before it is infiltrated back to the groundwater through a drainfield located on the lower part of the site.

According to the building design documents and project team analysis, when the building is at full capacity, 13% of its total water usage is expected to be used for creating the foam to flush toilets (0.04 gallons per flush (GPF)). This is compared to 77% of water usage going to toilet flushing in a traditional building, using 1.28 GPF.

There are six restrooms throughout the buildingon each of the two floors, there is a mens, womens, and gender inclusive restroom. The family restrooms contain a shower. There are 12 foam flush toilets, four waterless urinals, and 10 low-flow sinks.

Facility Executive asked the Georgia Tech facilities management team about the restrooms, particularly the composting toilets in the building.

For the Net Positive Water Cycle pursued for Living Building Challenge certification, water traveling in and out of the restrooms is part of a closed loop. How do maintenance practices differ from traditional buildings?

The operation of The Kendeda Building restrooms is very different from traditional, commercial restrooms as the buildings wastewater is not connected to the sewer system. To be net positive in water use, we have to assure at least 95% of water captured on-site actually stays on-site. We accomplish this by using all graywater (e.g., water from sink drains, shower drains, and floor drains) for site irrigation and groundwater recharge. All condensate from the HVAC systems and rainwater is also captured. The buildings blackwater waste is captured in a leachate tank, so any nutrients that remain can be extracted and repurposed as non-edible fertilizer at an off-site facility. Leachate removal is handled through a third-party vendor.

Do cleaning and maintenance practices for the foam flush toilets differ from traditional water flushing toilets? What training, if any, has been necessary?

The cleaning practices inside of the restroom are very similar to traditional restroom facilities. There is a foam solution that sits inside of the toilet tank area and must be refilled approximately every 4-6 weeks. Clivus [of Lawrence, MA] is the manufacturer of the toilet and graywater system, and they have been contracted to manage all maintenance needs for the composting toilet system. This includes raking of the waste pile and maintenance of the sump pumps.

The primary training needed is for users. Because foam flush toilets are uncommon, the toilets flush process can be confusing for the typical restroom visitor. In The Kendeda Building, the automatic foam flush toilets start producing foam when triggered by a motion detection device in the stall. This means that the flush process is automatic; the user has nothing to do with the flushing process once they enter into a stall. However, since there is no traditional flush sound to indicate the process is complete, it can be confusing. Weve placed educational signs in the restrooms to help users navigate this unfamiliar experience.

Please describe the procedure for removing solids from composting units. How often? Who performs this task? What equipment is used?

Solids that enter into the composter have to go through a very long decomposition process. This process can take years to complete. Once the material has completely decomposed, it will form a usable, non-edible fertilizer. (The fertilizer will not be used on anything grown for human consumption.) The leachate is removed by the septic vendor hired by Georgia Tech. That vendor has to provide us a manifest from a local processing site located in the city of Cartersville. They will handle all the nutrient separation and reintroduction of cleaned water back into the water system.

Are there any lessons learned thus far in the restrooms operations and maintenance in this new building?

According to Marlon Ellis, area maintenance manager for The Kendeda Building, teaching users about the foam flush toilets will be important. Until these toilets become more common, the user will expect a common, water-filled toilet, says Ellis. Theres no standing water in the toilet, nor do we have the force of water entering the toilet bowl, so these toilets can only handle human waste and tissue. Other objects discarded in the toilet will not flow through the drain. Educational signage is a must for these restrooms.

For maintenance, Ellis notes, The composter system maintenance is fairly common to any maintenance facility. There is a sump pump inside the composter that requires routine maintenance, but thats it. The system is very efficient and saves money on operation and maintenance.

The Kendeda Building For Innovative Sustainable Design was designed by Lord Aeck Sargent, with subcontractors Newcomb & Boyd and Biohabitats leading on the integrated water system (the Net Positive Water Cycle). A diagram of the facilitys system can be found online at: http://livingbuilding.gatech.edu/water-petal.

Cosgrove is Editor-in-Chief of Facility Executive magazine. To read more about The Kendeda Building for Innovative Sustainable Design, visit the Georgia Tech website.

Do you have a comment? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below or send an e-mail to the Editor at [emailprotected]

Does your facility have sustainability or other environment-related goals or plans? Check out all the latest facility management news related to sustainability and the environment.

Visit link:
Restrooms That Recapture Water And Waste - Facility Executive Magazine

Most of the amenities at the newly built North Loop development the Nordic are geared to appeal not only to its office tenants but also to neighborhood residents.

A first-floor food hall will soon offer gourmands a chance to taste fare from four up-and-coming chefs. A public plaza features not only patio seating with fire pits but also multiuse outdoor space for neighborhood gatherings. In the adjacent condo building that is part of the development, a restaurant with several state-of-the-art golf simulators lets sport enthusiasts practice their swings.

"This is a destination where people can come and enjoy all the amenities," said Carrie Eggleston, development project manager for developer and owner United Properties, as she stood Monday in the plaza. "They can swing a golf club over there, get dinner over there, grab a cocktail."

United Properties spokeswoman Sheila Thelemann chimed in calling the Nordic and plaza "the living room and backyard of the North Loop."

In July 2017, United Properties, with the help of general contractor RJM Construction, began construction of the 10-story, 205,000-square-foot Nordic office building. The Nordic was built on a parking lot at 729 Washington Av. next to the Loose-Wiles Building that United Properties also owns.

The first office tenant to move into the building was digital-media company the Ovative Group, which moved into its space at the Nordic in the spring. Co-working company WeWork opened its third Minneapolis location in the building when it moved onto four floors of the building in July.

The Nordic team signed another office tenant, which it declined to identify, last week. The only unleased office space is the eighth floor, about half of which is close to being converted into spec suites for those companies who want prepared office space.

Another recent addition to the Nordic office building is the FRGMNT coffee shop, which opened earlier this month and operates seven days a week in the lobby. In mid-December, the North Loop Galley food hall is slated to open connected to the office building lobby.

The Pittsburgh-based Galley Group plans to host four emerging chefs at a time to provide a variety of food. The chefs will have 12-month leases to test their menus at the food hall before they potentially open their own brick-and-mortar restaurants once they get established, said Cody Michael, bar lead for the North Loop Galley.

"We have the opportunity to make it a neighborhood space," said Madison Shogry, assistant manager and event coordinator at the Galley.

The first round of chefs will be Ono Hawaiian Plates, Soul Fu, Wrecktangle Pizza, and Thigh Times, a chicken thighs eatery concept.

An empty retail space of about 4,000 square feet remains on the first floor of the Nordic that management is still deciding how to best utilize.

The furnishings and other interior design of the Galley as well as the Nordic office lobby and the plaza was done by nearby Studio BV. Keeping with the Nordic theme, the design incorporates Scandinavian elements such as wood accents and contemporary furniture anchored by a large free-standing fireplace in the lobby and custom fire pit in the plaza created by artisan Keith Wyman.

A large metal sculpture shaped like the head of a deer created by Los Angeles artist Nathan Mabry is expected to be erected in a couple weeks in the plaza.

LHB was the lead architect for the Nordic office building and lead designer for the Sable condo building. In addition, the firm was the landscape architect for the project and designed the plaza. Hartman-Cox was the design architect.

"The whole concept with United Properties around the development was the idea of community and in Scandinavia everything is very open and very social and community driven," said Betsy Vohs, chief executive of Studio BV. " It's comfortable. Our goal was to create the living room of the North Loop."

Since it opened this summer, the public plaza has hosted about two to three events per week that allow people to try samples from North Loop restaurants and shops, said Max Musicant, head of the Musicant Group that is in charge of plaza programming.

In addition to the office building, United Properties also built a seven-level parking garage with room for more than 400 vehicles as part of its 57-condo Sable residential building. Originally the building was to feature apartments, but due to pent-up demand in the North Loop, the project shifted to condos, Thelemann said.

The condos are mostly studios and one-bedroom units with a few two bedrooms. Of the 57 condo units, 39 have had closings. United Properties partnered with real estate developer Greco Properties as the residential marketing agent and partner with the BKV Group working on the interior design.

On the first floor of the Sable building, the Thr3 Jack restaurant opened in October serving contemporary American food and offering patrons a chance to rent seating areas with golf simulators. Thr3 Jack is the brainchild of Lucy Robb and her brother Bo Massopust, who wanted to make golf more accessible in the Twin Cities even during the winter months.

"There are a lot of golfers but you can only play golf for part of the year," Robb said.

United Properties is in discussions with how to use about 2,000 square feet of remaining retail space that is available at Sable.

View original post here:
Nordic office building aspires to be 'the living room of the North Loop' - Minneapolis Star Tribune

More apartments are coming to the Manchester area of South Richmond.

Major developers have four different projects nearing completion or under construction that would add more than 1,000 apartments in the next two years.

I think there is an awakening to Manchester, said Drew Wiltshire, managing principal of Thalhimer Realty Partners Inc., the investment and development subsidiary of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, a commercial real estate firm in Henrico County. People are moving over there, and the more people moving there means more people want to live there.

Thalhimer Realty Partners is nearing the completion of its $25 million City View Marketplace development that will add 161 apartments in five different buildings as well as commercial space. The first tenants moved into the three-story rental town houses in September.

The rest of the project located along West Fifth and West Sixth streets between Hull and Bainbridge streets should be ready by the spring.

Manchester offers a different living experience, and it has become a more established community. It is a more vibrant living area now than when we first started there, Wiltshire said.

Demand remains strong for apartments in the area, he said. Rental rates keep rising, while occupancy levels are above 95 percent.

A couple of blocks from City View Marketplace toward the James River and just west of the Mayo Bridge is the South Falls I project, which is quickly rising from the ground.

The 14-story residential tower, being developed by Fountainhead Real Estate Development and WVS Cos., is slated to have 255 apartments and should be ready in spring 2021.

Plans also call for a second 12-story tower to be built there with 210 units. Construction on South Falls II could begin next fall.

East of the Mayo Bridge along Manchester Road and near the former Southern States grain elevators is where Fountainhead and WVS have plans for a six-story residential building with 223 units. Construction on the Hydro development is expected to start in the first quarter.

Work also is underway to turn a former 2.2-acre parking lot next to the Plant Zero complex off Hull Street into a five-story apartment building and a six-story office building. Richmond-based Lynx Ventures is developing The Current, which would include 215 apartments.

The City View Marketplace is part of the nearly 18-acre City View Landing development, which includes the 219 apartments in the City View Lofts and the 10-story Rivers Edge at Manchester apartment tower.

The next phase is the City View Marketplace.

In addition to the 161 residential units spread over five buildings, City View Marketplace has about 13,270 square feet of commercial space to be used for a restaurant, small market or other retail shops.

On the ground floor of the building at Hull and Sixth streets, for instance, Thalhimer Realty Partners is close to signing a lease for the 4,570-square-foot space to be used as a restaurant and market, Wiltshire said.

Heres the breakdown for the space for the City View Marketplace development:

Rents range from $2,350 to $2,475 for the town houses. The other apartments rent for $1,200 to $1,499 for a one-bedroom unit, and $1,800 to $2,050 for a two-bedroom.

Thalhimer Realty Partners want to keep available a 2-acre pad site at Fifth and Hull streets for a possible 36,000-square-foot grocery store.

Were not really sure what we will do with that site, said Wiltshire, noting that the development team would like to find a grocer to take the space. We dont feel like we have anything in hot pursuit for that space from grocery stores. We are keeping our options open.

The developers could go in a different direction, such as having a more dense mixed-use project, he said.

The City View Landing development came about when Thalhimer Realty Partners bought the former Reynolds Metals Co. South plant in December 2013.

The first phase, which was completed in 2016, involved the renovations of three high-bay manufacturing warehouses into 219 apartments called City View Lofts and office space.

The second phase the 10-story Rivers Edge at Manchester with 212 apartments opened last year. Thalhimer Realty Partners sold off that 1.8-acre parcel in early 2017 to Richmond developers Guy Blundon and Mark Purcell for their project, but Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer manages it.

South Falls and Hydro projects

Tom Papa, a principal of Fountainhead Real Estate Development, said the three projects that his company and WVS are developing will provide some commanding views of the James River.

We are up to the sixth or seventh floor [of construction], and the views are just spectacular, Papa said. When you go there, you will just be blown away with the views. Its just a blossoming of Manchester.

Construction started about four months ago on the South Falls I project on an island between the James River and a canal just west of the Mayo Bridge. A former cardboard paper mill had used the site.

The developers built a two-vehicle bridge from a connector road off Hull Street to the island and gifted the bridge and the road to the city of Richmond. An existing bridge will be demolished.

This is probably the first bridge built by private developers in the city of Richmond in the last 100 years, Papa said.

The 14-story building will have 255 apartments.

The developers are using pre-cast concrete construction, which enables the project to move along more quickly.

The apartments will be built above a parking deck so that the units are above the Richmond floodwall, Papa said. The commercial space will face the canal side.

The 12-story South Falls II building, with 210 units, is planned to go just to the west of the South Falls I building.

That site is being designed for apartments right now. But that could change depending upon demand, Papa said.

There has been surprising interest from several office users that have reached out to us about putting up an office building. We are going ahead with plans to make it an apartment building unless an office user comes along in the next several months, Papa said.

Across Hull Street and east of the Mayo Bridge from those projects is where Fountainhead Real Estate Development and WVS are planning the six-story apartment building, called the Hydro, with 223 units.

The South Falls I and Hydro projects should cost about $100 million, with an additional $50 million to be spent on the South Falls II project, Papa said.

The Current mixed-use project calls for a five-story apartment building with studio, one- and two-bedroom units.

The project also will have a 70,000-square-foot office building, as well as street-level space reserved for retail, restaurants and similar uses. The Current is taking up the block bounded by Hull, East Fourth, East Fifth and Decatur streets.

The apartment building would wrap around most of the block along East Fourth and Decatur streets. It is slated to open during the first quarter of 2021, said Bernard Harkless, a principal at Lynx Ventures LLC, the projects developers.

The six-story office building would front Hull Street closest to Fifth Street. It should open by the end of next year, Harkless said.

About 16,700 square feet of retail space would be on the ground floor of the apartment building along Fourth Street and the office building along Hull Street.

Lynx Ventures has signed on a retail tenant, but Harkless said the developers are not disclosing the name or space size at this time. No office tenants have signed leases yet, but the company is working with a couple of potential office tenants, he said.

More:
More than 1,000 apartments in Manchester are under construction or will be next year - Richmond.com

An apartment building, with a ground-floor restaurant, will be built at the River 1 mixed-use development.(Photo: Rinka)

An apartment building planned for the River 1 mixed-use development in Milwaukee's Harbor District is to have a March construction start.

The 95-unit, four-story building will be built atop River 1's parking structure, said Blair Williams, of Wired Properties LLC.

The apartment building will be completed by around June 2021, said Williams, whose firm is serving as an adviser to River 1 developer Michels Corp.

It will include a sit-down restaurant on the ground floor.

River 1 overlooks the Kinnickinnic River west of South First Street and north of West Becher Street, atthe site of the former Horny Goat Hideaway tavern.

The Milwaukee office of Brownsville-based utilities and infrastructure contractor Michels willanchor thedevelopment's first phase:an eight-story building, with around 130,000 square feet. That building will be completed insummer 2020.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

Meanwhile, plans for a hotel at River 1 will likely be announced within 60 days, Williams said.

Williams declined to provide details before the announcement. Conceptual plans call for a120-room hotel.

River 1 could eventually include one more 50,000-square-foot office building.

With those additional buildings, River 1 would total over $100 million.

Autoplay

Show Thumbnails

Show Captions

The Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett in December approved a $7.1 million city financing package for River 1. Those funds will be paid through the development's new property tax revenue.

The financing packageincludes $3.4million topay for 70%of aRiverWalkand $2.5 million to make improvements to Becher Street. Additional costs include an environmental cleanup.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.comand followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

Read or Share this story: https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/real-estate/commercial/2019/11/26/milwaukee-river-1-apartment-building-has-march-construction-start/4307608002/

Go here to see the original:
Apartment building at River 1 development in Milwaukee's Harbor District has March construction start - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

UPDATE: Nov. 27, 2019: The worker who had been missing after the collapse was found dead on Tuesday night after an approximately 30-hour search. The name of the deceased has not been released, but Turner Construction confirmed to Construction Dive that he was employed by Gateway Concrete Forming.

"This is an extremely sorrowful time and our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and co-workers at this difficult time," a Nov. 27 Turner Construction statement read. "We want to thank the region's first responders, emergency service workers and Red Cross volunteers for their tireless and selfless efforts through this entire ordeal."

One person was still missing on Tuesday morning after a building under construction by Turner Construction Co. partially collapsed during a pour of temporary concrete formwork on the 7th floor on Monday afternoon in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio, the AP reported and Turner confirmed to Construction Dive.

The citys fire department reportedon its Twitter page that search and rescue efforts had been ongoing for more than 19 hours to account for the missing worker. Its unclear whether the missing person was an employee of Turner or a subcontractor.

Turner said in a statement regarding the Nov. 25 incident that four other workers had been treated and released from hospitals. A Nov. 25 AP clip of the event on a local news media's YouTube channel is below.

Despite this being the second high-profile building collapse in two months, following the partial collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel in New Orleans on Oct. 12, the collapse of buildings under construction is rare in the United States.

The cause of the Hard Rock Hotel collapse, which resulted in three deaths, with one of the deceaseds remains still unrecovered, is still unclear nearly two months later as investigations continue.

There are rumors, however, that the structural issues were apparent before the incident. Footage obtained by CBS News showed that workers were concerned about the safety of the structure prior to the accident.

Since then, at least 12 lawsuits have been filed in civil court against Citadel Builders and other parties involved in construction, such as the developer Kailas Cos., designer Harry Baker Smith Architects and electrical subcontractor All Star Electric. Many of the legal actions alleged negligent construction practices, though nothing of the sort has been proven yet.

Whatever the cause of the incident, crisis management in the aftermath is critical.

Thats especially true in a time when social media can facilitate the spread of false or misleading information. Several contractors and communications experted chimed in on this topic just this week, telling Construction Dive that one misleading tweet, for instance, can spread like wildfire and become almost impossible to manage, if the contractors and other parties involved dont have a strong crisis communication strategy in place before the accident occurs.

If it takes several hours for you to get back to the media or update your employees, in that vacuum of silence people are speculating and misinformation is leaking out, Anthony Huey, president of Columbus, Ohio-based consulting firm Reputation Management.

Though many details of the Cincinnati building under construction at 151 West Fourth St. remain unknown at the time of press, its clear that the building was being constructed at least to the height of 7 stories tall at the time of the incident. Documents online refer to coworking office space for lease at that address.

Cincinnati Fire Chief Roy Winston said, according to the Associated Press, that workers on the fifth floor were injured after concrete was poured on the sixth floor prior to the collapse. Turners statement said the incident occurred during a concrete pour on the seventh floor.

Read more:
Building in Cincinnati under construction by Turner partially collapses, killing worker - Construction Dive

Authorities search for a missing worker following a building collapse at a construction site on Tuesday in downtown Cincinnati. Turner Construction announced that four injured workers were released from the hospital late Monday night, but search and rescue crews worked through the night in search of one missing worker. (Kareem Elgazzar/The Cincinnati Enquirer via AP)

CINCINNATI (AP) A coroners office has identified the worker found dead after he had been missing more than a day in an Ohio building that partially collapsed.

The Hamilton County Coroners Office identified the worker as 58-year-old Preston Todd Delph, of Hebron, Kentucky. He was found dead Tuesday in the rubble at an unfinished downtown Cincinnati building.

Authorities and construction officials say Delph was checking for signs of structural stress and concrete seepage as concrete was poured on a temporary floor above him Monday.

At least four workers were treated and released from hospitals after the floor collapsed. The construction site isnt accessible to the public.

Construction officials say Delph was employed by Gateway Concrete Forming. A man answering the phone Wednesday at Gateway said they had no immediate comment.

Continued here:
Coroner IDs man found dead in collapsed part of building - Daily Reporter

One of the business pioneers of the Seaport District appears ready to grow in a new corner of the burgeoning neighborhood.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals is poised to lease a building under construction in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Industrial Park, the biotechnology company said this week. A lease has not been finalized, but Vertex and development firm Related Beal are in advanced talks for 256,000 square feet of space at Innovation Square, a lab and office project Related is building on Tide Street.

Vertex would use it as a research and manufacturing facility for genetic and cellular therapies, a key part of the companys push into treatments for diseases beyond cystic fibrosis, which has long been its main focus. Earlier this year, the drug maker bought Watertown-based Exonics, which is developing gene therapies for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and Semma Therapeutics, which is working on medicines for type 1 diabetes. Vertex also is moving forward in clinical trials of gene editing treatments.

The question became how are we going to grow those programs if were running out of space at Fan Pier? said Vertex chief executive Dr. Jeffrey Leiden. The answer is a new building.

Vertex looked at sites in Cambridge, Waltham, Watertown, and elsewhere around the region, Leiden said, but settled on the Seaport, where it moved its headquarters and 1,100 employees from Kendall Square five years ago. The companys arrival kicked off a frenzy of office development in the neighborhood that continues today.

Other than Vertex, many of the larger businesses to initially move to the Seaport were law and accounting firms decamping from downtown, but the neighborhood is increasingly becoming a destination for life sciences firms. Alexion Pharmaceuticals and Ginkgo Bioworks have moved into new space, while Foundation Medicine said it plans to lease nearly all of a 16-story building under construction at Seaport Square. More life sciences-oriented projects are in the works, with developers even updating designs for General Electrics once-planned headquarters tower in adjacent Fort Point to better fit world-class biotech tenants.

At Innovation Square a two-phase, 375,000-square-foot project on the eastern edge of the Seaport Related Beal bet that it could build lab space, and the tenants would come.

The company signed Mass Innovation Labs now called SmartLabs and PureTech Health as tenants for the first phase, which opened earlier this year, then launched work on the second phase of the $260 million project without a tenant signed up.

The strategy is now paying off.

One reason Vertex wants to move to Innovation Square and lease the entire second phase in one fell swoop is because its further along than most other projects in the neighborhood, Leiden said, and on track to open in 2021.

Its permitting is done. Its already under construction. That saved us one to two years, he said. That one to two years was essential.

There were other factors as well. Its the right size, Leiden said, and one of a relatively few manufacturing facilities under development in the neighborhood.

Its also close to Vertexs enormous headquarters complex, just a mile up the street.

This is a team sport, what we do, and here the teams all together, he said. We love this area.

Leiden said he expects 300 to 400 people will work in the new building, on top of about 1,600 who already work at Vertexs Fan Pier headquarters. The employees will be a mix of new hires and people moving from Exonics and Semmas offices. He acknowledged that transportation in and out of the neighborhood has become a serious challenge since the company moved there, but said he was hopeful that the other big companies in the area will work together to find solutions.

Were thinking a lot about traffic, Leiden said. There are a lot of companies bringing more people here. We need a better plan.

Tim Logan can be reached at tim.logan@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter at @bytimlogan.

Follow this link:
Vertex is planning a major expansion in the Seaport - The Boston Globe

As he wrapped up construction of his Chicago tower in 2008, developer Donald Trump was confident the building's commercial space wouldn't be empty for long. Talks were underway with seven potential tenants, including some "very fine" restaurants, he said at the time.

More than 11 years later, Trump occupies the Oval Office, and almost all of the 62,000 square feet of space at the bottom of the 92-story skyscraper still sits vacant. Trump's company, the Trump Organization, is now on its third broker for the riverfront space, hiring Cushman & Wakefield last month to court tenants for it.

It's one of the toughest leasing assignments in downtown Chicago. Though the space in Trump International Hotel & Tower offers great views of the Chicago River, it's hard to get to, with no street frontage, and has physical limitations, like low ceilings, brokers say.

Adding to the challenge is the Trump brand, which is so polarizing that many businesses automatically rule out moving there. Last year, the space's previous broker, A-R-C Real Estate Group, even put out a brochure with a photo that omitted the massive "TRUMP" sign on the side of the building, raising questions about whether the broker considered the name a liability.

"It has a lot of negative energy surrounding it," says David Stone, founder and principal of Stone Real Estate, a Chicago-based retail brokerage.

Representatives of the Trump Organization didn't respond to requests for comment, and Cushman declines to comment.

Trump has handed operational control of the New York-based Trump Organization to his sons, but he hasn't divested his real estate holdings, including the commercial space and most of the 339-room Chicago hotel at 401 N. Wabash Ave.

How will the Trump Organization fill the space now? A Cushman brochure says it's "suitable for everything from hospitality, entertainment, office and medical." Stone and two other Chicago real estate experts discuss those ideas and some others here.

See the rest here:
What will it take to fill the space at Trump Tower? - Crain's Chicago Business

LAKEWOOD, Ohio One Lakewood developer is calling the former Trinity Lutheran Church on Detroit Avenue a labor of love.

I would say in the next couple of years youre going to see this entire property come back to life, Bryce Sylvester said.

After it was announced that the structure would be torn down and replaced with a fast food chain, longtime Lakewood residents stepped in to save the structure.

Theres Wendys and McDonalds everywhere. Theres one right across the street.

If the walls of the sanctuary there could talk, they would tell the story of nearly a centurys worth of faith and fellowship.

Its a huge part of the fabric of our city in Lakewood, Sylvester said.

Construction on the building was completed in 1922 and Trinity Lutheran Church held its final service there in 2018.

Frank Scalish owns a Lakewood construction business and said the structure was too good to pass up.

So driving past here a million times when it went up for sale, it sort of peaked my interests, Scalish said.

The city of Lakewood bought the property in late 2018 and has since been sorting through requests from business owners like Scalish, hoping to preserve the space.

Its a really exciting opportunity for our city, Sylvester said, Youve got a small business owner that is going to reinvest in a very important property.

Scalish plans to move his business operations into the former churchs sanctuary and use the buildings back office space for residential apartments.

While hes keeping his eye on the prize, Scalish said the building is a work in progress.

This is a labor of love, as you can understand, Scalish said, And theres a reason why it didnt sell in the first place. Its a lot of work.

Bryce Sylvester with the City of Lakewood Planning and Development office said because the building will now generate tax revenue, the community will benefit financially from the project.

Our schools benefit directly from that as they take a majority of the property taxes, Sylvester said, So in addition to getting a really high-quality project, were also going to be bringing economic impact to the city.

The City of Lakewood is still finalizing its development agreement with Scalish Construction. Renovations and construction on the project are expected to begin by next summer.

Read the original post:
Lakewood church preserved after nearly becoming a fast food drive-thru - News 5 Cleveland

MARSHALL Its been a long road to get to this point. But even with construction bids approved, it will still take over a year to renovate Marshalls 55-year-old Municipal Building.

Last week, Marshall City Administrator Sharon Hanson outlined some of the next steps in the process, from moving city offices to making major changes to the layout of the building. Hanson said city offices will be moving into temporary locations at Southwest Minnesota State University in about three weeks. Construction at city hall on Main Street will likely start this spring, after hazardous materials are removed from the building, she said. Completion of the renovations is anticipated in summer 2021.

The current city hall building was constructed in 1964. Over the past decade, the city has debated how to address problems ranging from the buildings failing boiler to leaks and a lack of handicapped accessibility.

On Nov. 12, the Marshall City Council voted 5-2 to approve a $4.89 million base bid and five alternates from Brennan Companies, of Mankato. Including the base bid, alternates, non-construction related costs and contingency funds, the estimated construction cost would be about $6.139 million.

The city will issue bonds not to exceed $6.5 million for the project, to avoid dropping city reserves too low, Hanson said. Bond payments will be made with existing city revenue and revenue from the municipal liquor store, she said.

Other costs not included in the construction bid would include a $138,000 lease with SMSU for temporary offices at the university campus; and $67,000 to remove hazardous materials from the city hall building. They would also include items like landscaping, furnishings and equipment, and security controls, according to project architects Engan Associates.

Hanson said some costs, like the cost of removing asbestos from the city hall building, are ones the city would have had to deal with no matter what.

The city relied on architects for advice on building new versus renovating, and when comparing possible city hall locations, Hanson said.

Hanson said city staff have already started sorting and cleaning out office materials in preparation for the move to either storage or temporary offices at SMSU. The moving work will mostly be done after Dec. 20, during the universitys winter break.

We dont want to be disruptive to the professors or students, she said. We are hoping our IT systems will be functional by the 30th, and have the city offices functional by Jan. 2, she said.

Removal of asbestos from the building will start on Jan. 13, and will last through Feb. 21, Hanson said. Construction is anticipated to start soon after. One of the first major steps in the renovations will be to remove and re-pour the concrete slab that makes up the buildings main floor, she said. The change will bring the main floor down to street level, and the construction will also bring the building out further toward the sidewalk. Currently, city halls main lobby can only be reached by stairs or a ramp out front.

Hanson said the way city offices are laid out will be changed in the renovations. Meeting chambers for the city council will be built where the old city police and fire garage used to be. The city offices the public visits most, like Community Services and the building department, will be moved down to the main floor. All the offices will also be about the same size, and none will have windows, Hanson said. Shared spaces like meeting rooms will have windows instead.

The planned renovations will also change the exterior look of the city hall building. Hanson said the design has features like keystones similar to Marshalls city hall building before 1964.

Questions about a lack of parking came up during council discussion of the renovations. While there werent currently plans to build more parking for city hall, Hanson said if there are options for additional parking, the city will pursue it.

The proposal to renovate the city hall building had received some questions and criticism, as well as support. At the Nov. 12 city council meeting where the construction bid was approved, council members Russ Labat and Glenn Bayerkohler voted against awarding the bid.

Labat said this week that his vote was based on a question he had about the renovations.

I wanted to know how much it would cost to build new, instead of renovating, he said. Unfortunately, I never did get an answer.

At the same time, Labat said he respected the process the decision went through. Evaluating whether to renovate the existing building or do something different wasnt easy, he said.

At the Nov. 12 meeting, Bayerkohler expressed concerns about the renovation proposal, and whether there were other possibilities that wouldnt carry a $6 million-plus cost to taxpayers. Bayerkohler said this week that, while he would be willing to meet with Marshall residents to explain the reasons for his no vote, he didnt think it would be appropriate to make a public statement after the council had made its decision on the project.

The proposal to renovate the city hall building had also received some mixed reactions from Marshall community members. In September, when the city council was considering a maximum of up to $8 million in bonding for the renovation project, James Carr told council members there needed to be a reality check on how the project would affect taxpayers. The council ended up voting to issue bonds not to exceed $6.5 million.

Al Greig, one of the Marshall community members who served on the building committee that recommended city hall be renovated, said part of the reason for that recommendation was to help maintain Marshalls downtown and avoid leaving a vacant building.

Its really important to sustain good business relationships downtown, Greig said. The current building, with its main floor above street level, would also be hard to convert into commercial space if the city left, he said.

Greig said initially, when it looked like the project could have a possible $8 million cost, I had reservations that was too much. However, the bids that actually came in were lower.

Scott Williams, another community member who served on the building committee, said he thought the planned renovations are more expensive than the committee had intended.

They took our guidance and blew it completely out of proportion, while remaining on Main Street, Williams said. Williams said the community needed to support Main Street, but he thought the city could have renovated the municipal building without demolishing and reconstructing a concrete floor.

Williams is president of Bisbee Plumbing and Heating, one of the subcontractors in a construction bid for city hall submitted by Bladholm Construction. Bladholms base bid was $5.375 million. The third bid for renovations, from Comstock Construction of Fergus Falls, came in at $5.258 million.

The Brennan Companies construction bid didnt name any local subcontractors. Marshall Public Works Director Glenn Olson said the prime contractors were required to list their main subcontractors, but that didnt prevent them from using other local contractors. Hanson said the city will also be working with local contractors and suppliers where it can. For example, she said, the city plans to use local moving and storage companies for the move to temporary offices, as well as local IT and security companies.

MARSHALL Marshall High School is investigating an incident of a student making comments about school violence, ...

MARSHALL With several inches of snow in the forecast tonight, and more possible later in the week, it looks ...

The rest is here:
City Hall today and in the future | News, Sports, Jobs - Marshall Independent