The new scheme would involve increasing the retail and restaurant space by 6,662sq m to 16,020sq m

Plans for the redevelopment of Frascati Centre in Blackrock, Co Dublin, one of the most controversial shopping centre schemes of the early 1980s, have been lodged with Dn Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

The proposal is for the part demolition of the existing shopping complex and its extension towards the Blackrock bypass and Mount Merrion Avenue, increasing the retail space by more than 50 per cent and adding an extra storey to the height of the building.

The application is being made by Frascati Investments 2012 Limited, a company owned by the Roche family, whose eponymous department store was once the anchor tenant of the shopping centre. The family sold Roches Stores to Debenhams in 2006, but retained the freehold of the Frascati Centre.

The shopping centre was built in the early 1980s on the site of a Georgian mansion, Frascati House, one of the three principal residences of the FitzGeralds, Dukes of Leinster, along with Leinster House in Dublin and Carton House in Co Kildare.

An application for a major redevelopment of the centre was rejected by the council in 2006. Unlike the new proposal that application had a significant residential element with 65 apartments. A three- storey car park was also sought. The scheme was rejected by the council on the grounds that it would endanger public safety by causing a traffic hazard.

The new scheme would involve increasing the retail and restaurant space by 6,662sq m to 16,020sq m. There would also be 556 underground parking spaces. The developers also propose undertaking road improvements as part of the development.

The Frascati Park Residents Association, which represents homeowners beside the centre, said it would hold a meeting shortly to discuss the proposals. A spokesman said it would demand a cast-iron guarantee in the planning permission that there would be no construction work at night.

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Redevelopment of Blackrocks Frascati shopping centre sought

The site of a proposed new bridge at Green Avenue to Penticton Indian Band lands.

image credit: Submitted

Update: 5 p.m.

A third crossing over the Okanagan River channel could open up land for new development later this year, according to Penticton Indian Band Chief Jonathan Kruger.

Im pushing hard for a set date of building this bridge by September, he said this week after the federal government confirmed it would contribute $500,000 for design and engineering of the long-awaited crossing at Green Avenue.

Were tired of talking about this; we want to make this happen, said Kruger.

Satikw Crossing is intended to provide access to 60 hectares of land sandwiched between the river and the Penticton airport.

The development area would be leased to builders by the locatee owners and the PIB would collect property taxes, Kruger said, and the broader community would benefit from new jobs and increased economic activity.

A funding announcement from Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada noted the site is expected to one day boast a 150-room hotel, 23,000 square metres of retail space and 25,000 square metres for a business park.

Kruger said no lease agreements have been signed yet, but once we start seeing the reality of a bridge being built, Im sure well see those tenants start lining up.

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Update: Chief says new bridge could be underway by September

Published: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at 7:04 p.m.

Demolition began Wednesday on McFarland Mall as developer Stan Pate is moving toward construction of a new retail center called Encore Tuscaloosa.

Expected to reach between 250,000- and 350,000 square feet of space, the estimated $75 million investment will feature a nationally-known anchor store and three to four additional restaurants when it opens in late 2015 or early 2016.

"It's my encore and, in a lot of ways, the encore for McFarland Mall," Pate said.

Pate said the development is meant to be a follow-up to the Midtown Village development that Pate began.He sold the site in 2005 to Cypress Equities, a Texas-based development company affiliated with former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach.

He said it also is meant to add to the Shoppes at Legacy Park, the $62 million, 250,000-square-foot shopping center on a 16.25-acre tract planned for the former Cedar Crest neighborhood by Alumni Development & Construction LLC of Clanton.

"We see them complementary, not just competitive. These two projects speak to the strength of the Tuscaloosa community," Pate said.

The former Books-a-Million building will be demolished along with the rest of the structures on the 40-acre site, but T.J. Maxx, Dollar Tree and Shoe Station are expected to return once the project is complete.

Pate also said he intends to bring in amenities and offerings for children and young adults, a market that has been underserved since the April 27, 2011, tornado wiped out Chuck E. Cheese in the former Wood Square shopping center.

"I, personally, think it's a high priority to answer the needs for an experience for children," Pate said. "The adults are looking for it, and the children are certainly looking for it."

Link:
McFarland Mall demolition makes way for new shopping center

A Cathedral area business owner says it's about time a vacant lot at 2067 Retallack St. is redeveloped into retail and residential space.

"It's been my pet peeve for over a decade. It's a prime piece of land. Kitty corner from a Safeway on 13th Avenue that's been sitting empty for 23 years," said David Loblaw, owner of Chocolates by Bernard Callebaut on Robinson Street.

Tonight between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., the City of Regina is hosting an open house at the Westminster United Church on 13th Avenue to get community feedback on the proposed development.

Besides retail space, the four-storey building is expected to have 16 underground parking spaces, about a dozen residential units and a garden on the roof top.

Diana Hawryluk, the city's director of planning, said the feedback at the open house will be evaluated and used to inform a report to the Regina Planning Commission in May or June for a decision. Before construction begins, the building would require the city to rezone two of the five lots from residential infill housing to local commercial. "It's a mixed-use building, which is something we promote within our new official community plan," she explained.

Loblaw remembers when that lot became vacant after a store and two homes burned to the ground 23 years ago.

He is planning to attend the open house to find out more details about the retail component. One reason is Loblaw might be interested in expanding his business into the development's retail space.

"We need so much more retail space in this area it's just amazing," he said.

"I'm sure (the developers) are going to have a lineup of hundreds of people wanting to get in there. So, I don't think they're going to have any problem filling that retail space."

Originally posted here:
Open house tonight for redevelopment of vacant Cathedral lot

KUCHING: Despite Kuching having a booming retail sector which has profusely developed over the last couple of years, the high influx of retail spaces have led to lower retail rent rates and property prices.

According to CH William Talhar Wong & Yeo Sdn Bhd (WTWY) in its Sarawak Property Bulletin, retail rents have not been able to attract the kind of rates commanded two years ago.

Owners have had to lower their rents below RM20 per square foot (psf) in order to secure new tenants or retain old ones, WTWY highlighted in its report.

It further added that retail property prices have also waned somewhat compared to recent years to less than RM2,000 psf with malls vying for the same retail tenants who have not been increasing in tandem with the rise in retail spaces.

In addition, WTWY highlighted that current occupancy has dropped to around 70 per cent to 75 per cent from more than 80 per cent, less than five years ago.

The market seems to be showing signs of saturation with occupancy rates anticipated to drop further in the next year or so, it opined in the report.

With four new shopping malls having opened in 2013 and a handful more under construction, WTWY believes that the retail sector does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Maintaining a competitive edge in terms of appeal, layout, design and size will be relevant for survival.

The booming retail sector continued to manifest itself in 2013 with the completion of malls in Kuching including ST3, City One, Eastern Mall and Summer Mall.

WTWY noted that while CityOne is a mega mall by Kuching standard, Summer Mall encompasses the whole concept of a one-stop center for Samarahan for shopping, leisure and entertainment.

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Retail sector in Kuching marred by lower rent rates, property prices

One of the main gateways into Arbutus is expected to undergo a major change if a project by Catonsville developer Steve Whalen gets underway.

The project, Arbutus Station, will bring two commercial buildings near the intersection of Sulphur Spring Road and Waelchli Avenue.

One building will be a 20,000-square-foot mixed-use commercial building with office space on the top floor and retail space on the first floor.

The other building will be an approximately 7,000-square-foot restaurant.

The project is expected to cost between $4.5 and $5 million, Whalen said.

"I can't remember how long it's been since anyone has invested that much into the Arbutus community," Whalen said.

Because there is a tenant on the property whose lease isn't up until December 2014, construction wouldn't begin until April 1, 2015, Whalen said.

Whalen said in an email that the community input meeting on the project had been held in December and the hearing officer's hearing for development plan approval could be scheduled within 90 days.

After that approval, it would take another three or four months to complete final construction plans and have the county issue building permits, according to his email.

The project is expected to take about nine months to complete, which means it wouldn't be finished until late 2015 or early 2016, he said.

Read the original here:
Project could bring new restaurant and retail business to Arbutus

A $20 million development along Miss. Highway 12's frontage area will soon hold a seven-space retail center and a full-service, 117-bed Holiday Inn, Cotton Mill Marketplace Developer Mark Nicholas confirmed Tuesday to aldermen.

The project will transform the area next to the Mill at MSU development, which itself aims to transform the historic E.E. Cooley Building into a conference center and construct a hotel, and complement the project, Nicholas said. It, along with The Mill at MSU project, will completely redevelop the Russell Street-Miss. Highway 12 corridor, a tract of land officials call the front door to the university.

Construction is set to begin immediately. The retail space should be completed by late 2014, Nicholas said, while the hotel will take about a year to build.

Nicholas confirmed three chain restaurants, including Hungry Howie's Pizza, Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches and Salsarita's Fresh Cantina, have committed to the project. He stopped short of identifying other potential retailers but did say at least one boutique clothier would located within the Cotton Mill Marketplace development.

The project is still two retailers short of 100 percent occupancy, Nicholas said, but developers will continue to aggressively market the remaining openings.

Continue reading here:
New restaurants, hotel will complement Mill project

INDIANAPOLIS Construction could start in the coming months on a curved 28-story glass tower at the long-vacant site of the former Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis City-County Council voted Monday night to approve providing up to $23 million in city financing for the estimated $81 million building with apartments and retail space.

The site on the eastern edge of downtown has been parking lots since the arena was demolished more than a dozen years ago. The tower is to have ground-floor retail space, 300 apartments and a 500-space parking garage.

The council's 18-9 vote to approve the subsidy came after several council members argued that the city had more important needs, such as hiring additional police officers.

"We are taking millions of taxpayers' dollars and handing it over to a developer," Democratic Councilwoman Angela Mansfield said. "If there is such a need for this (project), the market should be driving it."

The development would be backed by a combination of public and private money, with the city agreeing to contribute funding from a bond sale and land for the project appraised at $5.6 million.

Republican Mayor Greg Ballard said the project will help make the city a more attractive to place to live.

"I look forward to signing the proposal passed by the council and getting construction started on this project this summer," Ballard said in a statement.

Deron Kintner, the city's economic development director, said developer Flaherty and Collins would begin preparing for construction immediately.

"They would move as fast as possible, which means breaking ground in a couple months," Kintner said. "They would want to get it started this construction season."

Originally posted here:
Indianapolis council backs $23 million tower for ex-Market Square Arena site

INDIANAPOLIS Construction could start in the coming months on a curved 28-story glass tower at the long-vacant site of the former Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis City-County Council voted Monday night to approve providing up to $23 million in city financing for the estimated $81 million building with apartments and retail space.

The site on the eastern edge of downtown has been parking lots since the arena was demolished more than a dozen years ago. The tower is to have ground-floor retail space, 300 apartments and a 500-space parking garage.

The councils 18-9 vote to approve the subsidy came after several council members argued that the city had more important needs, such as hiring additional police officers.

We are taking millions of taxpayers dollars and handing it over to a developer, Democratic Councilwoman Angela Mansfield said. If there is such a need for this (project), the market should be driving it.

The development would be backed by a combination of public and private money, with the city agreeing to contribute funding from a bond sale and land for the project appraised at $5.6 million.

Republican Mayor Greg Ballard said the project will help make the city a more attractive place to live.

I look forward to signing the proposal passed by the council and getting construction started on this project this summer, Ballard said in a statement.

Deron Kintner, the citys economic development director, said developer Flaherty and Collins would begin preparing for construction immediately.

They would move as fast as possible, which means breaking ground in a couple months, Kintner said. They would want to get it started this construction season.

Read more here:
Indy eyes tower for ex-arena site

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Construction could start in the coming months on a curved 28-story glass tower at the long-vacant site of the former Market Square Arena in downtown Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis City-County Council voted Monday night to approve providing up to $23 million in city financing for the estimated $81 million building with apartments and retail space.

The site on the eastern edge of downtown has been parking lots since the arena was demolished more than a dozen years ago. The tower is to have ground-floor retail space, 300 apartments and a 500-space parking garage.

The councils 18-9 vote to approve the subsidy came after several council members argued that the city had more important needs, such as hiring additional police officers.

We are taking millions of taxpayers dollars and handing it over to a developer, Democratic Councilwoman Angela Mansfield said. If there is such a need for this (project), the market should be driving it.

The development would be backed by a combination of public and private money, with the city agreeing to contribute funding from a bond sale and land for the project appraised at $5.6 million.

Republican Mayor Greg Ballard said the project will help make the city a more attractive to place to live.

I look forward to signing the proposal passed by the council and getting construction started on this project this summer, Ballard said in a statement.

Deron Kintner, the citys economic development director, said developer Flaherty and Collins would begin preparing for construction immediately.

They would move as fast as possible, which means breaking ground in a couple months, Kintner said. They would want to get it started this construction season.

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Indianapolis council backs tower for ex-arena site