David Cunningham is director of development/construction for Plano-based Granite Properties.

SOUTHLAKEGranite Properties recently announced that its bringing a big project to Southlake. The Plano-based firm will develop a seven-story, 160,733-square-foot office building adjacent to Southlake Town Square (SLTS). GlobeSt.coms Anna Caplan recently caught up with Granites director of development/construction, David Cunningham, who has been working with the city of Southlake for a number of years to bring the project to fruition.

GlobeSt.com: How did Granite's involvement with the project come about?

Cunningham: We have targeted a Southlake presence for over 10 years, and have always preferred to be co-located in the Southlake Town Square because of its rich amenity base. SLTS is the heart of activity for this area, and we have talked with Cooper & Stebbins many times over the years about being the class A office partner in Town Square. The recession and the massive Highway 114 road construction project which started in 2009 shut Southlake off for five years, so we are just now back to where we were in 2007 when we were last working on this project.

GlobeSt.com: How will the new project be similar to other Granite buildings?

Cunningham:It will be very similar in quality, design and finishit will just be a bit smaller at 160,000 square feet in the first phase.

GlobeSt.com: What is it about Southlake that makes this project an attractive deal?

Cunningham: Southlake is a great place to live and to work. It has a super-high quality of life, the highest per capita income in the Metroplex, its home to hundreds of decision-makers and has one of the top school districts in the state. Its also starving for true class A office space, which is what Granite specializes in.Having said that, its a small market, and the Southlake Town Square will be the best location for this limited marketplace.

GlobeSt.com: How will the office building impact Southlake Town Square in terms of traffic/how will it complement the area?

Cunningham: In terms of traffic, not at all. The office components will be located on the Highway 114 frontage. Traffic to and from the office buildings will have direct ingress/egress to Highway 114, with no need to load other areas of the district or any city streets.Once there, Granites occupants will be able to walk to over 1 million square feet of hotels, restaurants, retail shops, doctors offices, dentist officesand if you so choose, you can buy a brownstone and live there as well.Its a true live/work/play placea suburban, urban node desired by most tenants. In terms of benefits, it will deliver up to 500,000 square feet of class A professional office space to a market wanting and needing it. Thats 2,000 jobsand restaurant patrons, hotel patrons, shopping patrons, etc.

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Q&A: David Cunningham, Granite Properties

The Montgomery County Council has set aside plans to renovate its aging office building, following protests from the school board president that the $31 million proposal sends the wrong message as the county attempts to secure more school construction money from Annapolis.

Council President George L. Leventhal (D-At Large) said Tuesday that the matter has been pulled from the agenda of a government operations committee meeting scheduled for Thursday. He said the item was removed not because of school board opposition, but because there is no council consensus on how to proceed.

He said that for the moment the council is one vote short of the six members needed to approve appropriations that do not originate with the county executives office. County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) is opposed to the plan.

[Montgomery leaders urge support for school construction funding]

Asked if the measure would be back on the table this year, Leventhal said it was too early to say.

Renovation of the councils Maryland Avenue headquarters in Rockville has been under discussion in one form or another for several years. Officials say the facility parts of which date to the 1940s is overcrowded and decrepit.

The plan would replace heating and air conditioning systems, lighting and windows, and expand office space for council members and its research arm, the Office of Legislative Oversight. It also calls for renovation of the buildings first-floor auditorium. About $25 million of the estimated $31 million total cost would be covered by proceeds from the sale of general obligation bonds. An alternative proposal calls for renovating the Grey and Red Brick Courthouses for new council offices, also primarily with bond funds, at a an estimated cost of $36 million.

The plans prompted Board of Education President Patricia ONeill to contact Sen. Nancy J. King (D-Montgomery), sponsor of a bill that would provide the county with $20 million a year in state funds to leverage issuance of $700 million in school construction bonds. ONeill expressed concern that the council renovations could undermine the bills chances, although King said it would likely have no impact and added that the bill has little chance of passage this year.

Leventhal alerted council members Friday that the school system intends to campaign against appropriations for council facilities.

In the school systems view, 100 percent of the budget should be available for school construction, he said. Their plan is that any available dollar should go to school construction.

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Montgomery council sets aside office renovations after school board protest

Kestrel House, Clanwilliam Place: to be redeveloped for a new seven-storey block with a glass faade and an internal floor area of 4,738sq m (51,000sq ft). Photograph: Eric Luke

office building at Clanwilliam Place in Dublin 2. Mr Kavanagh is also believed to be looking at a number of other potential projects.

The new seven-storey block with a glass faade and an internal floor area of 4,738sq m (51,000sq ft) will be more than three times larger than Kestrel House, a 1980s building overlooking the Grand Canal, which is to be demolished to make way for the new 19 million block. Kestrel House was bought in an off-market deal from quantity surveyors Bruce Shaw Partnership for around 10 million.

Hardwicke has formed a partnership with Ardstone Capital, an independent investment management company, to get construction under way this summer with the intention of having the building ready for occupation towards the end of 2016.

Hardwickes reappearance on the construction front will be widely welcomed at a time when there are relatively few development companies with the resources or the necessary experience to embark on major office projects.

There are already fears that a shortage of new office space in the Dublin area later this year could hamper direct investment.

John Moran, managing director agents JLL who will be the letting agents for the Clanwilliam Place building, said it would be Hardwickes first development in Ireland since they completed 2 Burlington Road in 2001. It was successfully let to the EBS.

The Kestrel House deal is an example of a new feature in the Irish market where local developers are being used as a delivery platform for overseas capital, in this case from Ardstone/CBRE investors. This is a welcome development, matching local construction skills with overseas equity, and helping to deliver both offices and residential units where there are currently acute supply shortages.

Donal ONeill of Ardstone said they were delighted to be working with Hardwicke, a developer whose reputation and experience were widely respected. It is the right time in the Dublin office market cycle to deliver grade-A office properties to suit the occupational needs of tenants seeking city centre accommodation.

Brian Owens, the Hardwicke chief executive, said that along with Ardstone and a first-class design team they would be bringing forward another Hardwicke building which would help alleviate the obvious pent up demand for prime office space in Dublins central business district.

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Hardwicke in 19m canal development

The county's financial advisor says Ward County will collect enough money in the ten year life of its half-cent sales tax to pay for construction of a new jail, the new office building, renovations to the existing courthouse, and highway projects, if there is enough growth in sales tax collections.

That was the message today to the Ward County commission.

Financial advisor Myron Kuntson provided figures to commissioners showing that, if tax revenues grow at a four percent rate, the county would collect about 84 million dollars in the ten years the tax is in force.

That would fund all the building projects, and provide ten million dollars for highway and road projects - as approved by voters in two recent elections.

Knutson said even if tax receipts are unchanged from current levels, there would be enough to pay off the loans for the building projects, although there would not be enough money for the highway funding.

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Tax Should Cover County Plans

Published: Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at 4:36 p.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, March 3, 2015 at 4:36 p.m.

A growing roofing business is moving its headquarters to become the second tenant in the Jonesville Crossing Office Park.

Gulf Coast Supply and Manufacturing, a residential metal roofing manufacturer, will move its sales team, marketing team and other administrative functions to Jonesville from its manufacturing facility in Horseshoe Beach, a town of around 170 people about an hour away.

About 30 employees will come into the newly constructed 7,000-square-foot office space that will open on March 9.

Jonathan Sherrill, president of Gulf Coast, said that the move inland from Dixie County will bring the company closer to its customers and that it will be easier to recruit employees near a larger city like Gainesville.

Its difficult to attract talent in the Horseshoe Beach area. Not too many people want to live out in the woods in that direction, Sherrill said.

Sherrill said the company has hired around six people from the Jonesville area to work in the new facility and he said he hopes to hire more professionals from the Gainesville area as the company continues to grow.

The company has four stores across Florida, including one in Alachua. Sherrill said that Gulf Coast has hired 75 new employees since 2010 and has seen its revenues double in the same period.

We are on a good trajectory of growth and expect it to double in the next couple of years, so we need to be in an area conducive to that growth, Sherrill said.

Gulf Coast reached out through brokers to Shey Associates Inc. to build an office in the park and construction began Nov 1.

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Gulf Coast Supply moving from Dixie to Jonesville

Tensions between the Montgomery County Council and the school system are a staple of annual budget deliberations, but a proposal to spend $31million to renovate the councils aging office building has turned into more of a schoolyard brawl.

Board of Education President Patricia ONeill on Monday called out the council and accused members of exercising poor political timing by considering the project when school officials are trying to win additional construction money from state lawmakers to address overcrowding.

We have 9,300 children in [classroom trailers], ONeill said. We have children sitting in some classrooms with coats on because of poor heating systems.

Those comments followed an e-mail that Council President George Leventhal sent to council members late Friday warning that the school system intends to campaign against appropriations for council facilities. On Monday, he said ONeill and the board were being unreasonable.

In the school systems view, 100percent of the budget should be available for school construction, he said. Their plan is that any available dollar should go to school construction.

Sen. Nancy King (D-Montgomery) has sponsored a bill that would provide $20 million a year in state funds to leverage the issuance of $700million in school construction bonds. She said Monday that the councils renovation plans likely would have no impact on her measure, which has no better than a slim chance of passage this year.

Schools take up about half of the countys operating budget, and education officials routinely press for millions more than County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) or the council are willing to provide. Council office renovations are one of this years flash points.

The council is weighing a plan to amend its capital improvements budget to modernize its headquarters on Maryland Avenue in Rockville. Parts of the facility date back to the 1940s. The plan would replace heating and air conditioning systems, lighting and windows, and expand office space for council members and its research arm, the Office of Legislative Oversight. It also calls for renovation of the buildings first-floor auditorium.

About $25million of the total cost would be covered by proceeds from the sale of general obligation bonds.

An alternative proposal calls for renovating the Grey and Red Brick Courthouses for new council offices. The Grey Courthouse is vacant with the opening of the new south tower of Montgomery County Circuit Court on Jefferson Street last year. The cost is an estimated $36million, which would also be financed with bond funds.

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In Montgomery, council office renovation proposal draws fire

An office building near Sevenoaks station has been sold by developers for 11 million in a deal which is likely to see it turned into flats.

Development Securities have made an initial profit of 3 million from the sale of Tubs Hill House to residential development business Prime Place, part of construction firm Willmott Dixon.

The property investment business bought the 64,800 sq ft commerical property in November 2013, when administrators acting for Lloyds were selling off assets of the taxpayer-owned bank.

Tubs Hill House in London Road, Sevenoaks, has been sold by developers for 11 million

Since then, Development Securities has applied to turn the offices recognised for its twin towers into residential accommodation, with a planning permission submitted to convert it into 91 apartments.

If the application is approved, the firm will receive another payment of 2 million.

Development Securities executive director Matthew Weiner said: Tubs Hill House will create a desirable new residential tower in Sevenoaks, a key London commuter town where residential demand is very strong.

Willmott Dixon is an experienced residential developer and we are pleased to have secured a sale to such a high-quality partner.

This latest sale demonstrates our trading activities whereby we are able to source sound opportunities and then capture value over the short-term, adding to our strengthening cash flows.

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Sevenoaks' 'twin towers' Tubs Hill House sold by Development Securities for 11m with it likely to become flats

BUILDING PERMITS

PMT2014-04186 75 Bellevue Drive; $5,900,000; I. Peshtigo; Harrington Stanko Construction; A new two story single-family dwelling. The lower level is primarily below grade. A one story guest wing with below-grade lower level is attached via an underground connection. A semi-in-ground pool is attached to the home. the lower level includes three bedrooms and three baths, a family room, a work out space, a rec. room, laundry, mechanical and storage spaces. the main level includes a kitchen, dining, and living room, a bath, mudroom, pantry, fireplace sitting area, work area, and garage. The main level of the guest wing includes two bedrooms, a bath, a great room and a study.

PMT2014-05181 2560 Grape Ave.; $72,800; Albert and Britt Pearson; Ted Hoffman Construction LLC; Interior remodel of single-family dwelling and addition to attached garage. Scope of remodel to include renovation of kitchen, entry, master walk-in closet, and replacement of existing windows and enlargement of other openings. Garage to be expanded to the north and garage roof to be removed and reframed for rooftop deck with access from exterior stairs to the south. Mid-roof inspection required. Reference ADR2014-00276 for Administrative Setback Variance.

PMT2014-05214 2360 Grove St.; $529,120.63; Grove 3; Revielle Custom Carpentry; Three-unit townhomes. Unit A is 1,419 square feet with an attached 445-square-foot garage. Unit B is 1,703 square feet with an attached 445-square-foot garage. Unit C is 1,419 square feet with an attached 445-square-foot garage. LUR2013-00510 and LUR2013-00065.

PMT2015-00268 5387 Manhattan Circle; $205,000; Green Properties; Mountain States Construction; Unit 102: Tenant interior remodel to convert medical testing lab to a general dentistry office.

PMT2015-00340 3100 Arapahoe Ave.; $186,096.69; Roal Properties; the Magnolia Building Co.; Tenant remodel to existing professional office space (2,322 square feet). Scope of work includes demolition and reconfiguration of office space with new layout, including a board room, various individual offices, and a file room. Includes associated MEPs. [Tracks with scope of work listed under PMT2015-00339. 20 percent ADA upgrades included in scope delineated under that permit.

PMT2015-00492 2127 16th St.; $130,163.; BCH Community; Blue Spruce Design & Construction; Repairs and improvements to existing cooperative housing unit. Scope includes residing with stucco (including exterior rigid foam), re-roof of building, new railing at exterior stairs, plumbing repairs/fixture swaps at kitchen and three baths, replacement of boiler, replacement of kitchen hood, addition of two skylights and miscellaneous electrical repairs. Existing PV system will be removed and reinstalled after reroof.

PMT2015-00515 2060 Broadway; $16,426; Twenty-Sixty Broadway; BC Builders Inc; Tenant interior remodel to divide existing office space into two offices with clerestory wall separation. Scope includes replacement of common accessible baths entrance hardware.

PMT2015-00526 350 Ponca Place; $16,283.68; Frasier Meadows Manor; Unit 436: Interior remodel of type B dwelling unit. 224 square feet of remodel to include kitchen, bath, new closet with washer/dryer and addition of a dryer vent, and new 100 amp subpanel. Includes associated plumbing and electrical, and mechanical.

PMT2015-00532 835 Hartford Drive; $43,130; James Berry and Patricia Trustees; McCarver & Son, LLC; Basement finish in single-family dwelling to create two bedrooms, two closets, and utility room. Existing bathroom finishes to be replaced and shower stall to replace existing bath tub. Water heater will be replaced with on-demand direct vent unit.

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Boulder building permits: March 2, 2015

Nearly two years of negotiations culminated late last week in La Crosse County officially selling its Lot C and administrative center in downtown La Crosse for private development and buying Associated Bank to become the new county office building.

But much work remains for the county, city and developers Weber Holdings LLC and Stizo Development to keep these various projects on track to see county staff move to the bank building by late 2016.

A look at how everything came together for the three deals Thursday and what the next steps will be:

The transaction: La Crosse County sold what has been a 2.3-acre surface parking lot for the Law Enforcement Center, 333 Vine St., in downtown La Crosse to Weber Holdings LLC.

The plan: The development company headed by Logistics Health Inc. founder and CEO Don Weber has proposed a $68 million, 255,000-square-foot complex on the block surrounded by Third and Fourth and Vine and State streets that will include an 111,500-square-foot office building, 23,000-square-foot retail space, a cafe, an Associated Bank location with drive-thru, plus 93 market-rate housing units above the retail space. It also will contain 338 parking stalls within the complex, with 112 on the first level and 226 underground, of which 40 spaces will be reserved for county use; another 16 angled spaces of street parking are planned as well.

Sale price: $1 million. The county has pledged to hold the entire amount, plus interest, for when the city and Weber Holdings comes to an arrangement on an off-site parking solution the most likely scenario now is a new ramp that will include 85 spaces dedicated for county use. The county will recoup the $1 million, plus $500,000 it will provide for the Lot C parking, only after all other parties involved in creating the parking are repaid.

The value: The development when completed is expected to add almost $34 million in new tax base that would generate nearly $1 million a year in taxes. Weber Holdings also has predicted the office space could bring 500 new jobs downtown.

Whats next: A spokesman for Weber Holdings said the hope is to start work on Lot C as early as the end of this month, with excavation beginning a month later. They intend to build the south portion of the project, with the housing and retail space, before starting on the office building. The Associated Bank portion must be ready by June 2016, so the business can vacate its current location. The city Plan Commission on Monday will consider an application to transfer the site to the Commercial/Business District. And while Weber Holdings already has submitted preliminary plans for Lot C to the city, the final version still need to be approved by the citys design review committee.

Still undecided: When and what will be involved in perhaps setting up a new tax incremental district for the site. La Crosse officials and financial consultant Ehlers and Associates will look at the different options, including possibly extending one of the bordering TIDs to include Lot C, as it now is within TID 6 that can add no projects after 2016 and is slated to close in 2021. It is desirable to have those TID arrangements finalized by the state Department of Revenues Sept. 30 deadline for making such changes, so the current tax value on the property can be set at zero and all new development and new tax increment is captured by the city to finance the off-site parking and any other improvements. The amount and location of that parking must be resolved as well.

The transaction: La Crosse County acquired this 50,000-square-foot building at 605 State St. on Thursday as well.

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Whats next for Lot C, bank, administrative center

AN ambitious project to build a state-of-the-art office building in Bradford city centre to attract up to 3,500 public sector jobs has been welcomed.

The 20 million scheme would see Bradford Council's Jacob's Well office building in Nelson Street flattened, with the land sold to private developers to build a 200,000 sq ft public sector hub.

It is hoped the new building will attract tenants from across the country, such as Government departments, the NHS or the police, all working under the same roof - although no leases have yet been signed.

And it could be open for business in as little as three years' time.

Lobbying group Bradford Breakthrough, which campaigns for the city's regeneration, said the plan was positive news for the city. Chief executive Colin Philpott said: "It's just what Bradford needs. Bringing more jobs into the Bradford district generally - but into the city centre in particular - is obviously a good thing, for all sorts of reasons.

"I think what is particularly interesting about this is the idea of trying to relocate public sector jobs into Bradford - not necessarily ones to do with Bradford Council."

Alan Hall, of Bradford Civic Society, said bringing Government jobs to Leeds had given a huge boost to its regeneration, so if the same could be done in Bradford it would be a very positive step.

He said: "I wouldn't weep over Jacob's Well as a building going. I don't think it has any great merit at all, really.

"It depends what's built on there and what it looks like, but if it is something which the Council feels will attract employment and investment into the middle of Bradford then that can only be a good thing.

"If it acts as a catalyst to regenerate the centre of Bradford, then that's bound to be a good thing. But we will have to wait and see, won't we?"

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Ambitious 20m city centre office project welcomed as 'just what Bradford needs'