A work site near S.W. 37th and S.W. Wanamaker will become a retail building, its owner said.

Scott Nellis, of Topeka, confirmed a company owned by him is behind a construction project next to CoreFirst Bank, 3701 S.W. Wanamaker. Topekans who drive by the site had called The Topeka Capital-Journal asking for information about what would be built there.

Nellis said he has plans for an 8,000-square-foot retail building, which likely would accommodate multiple tenants. He said he hopes the building will be finished by June.

Many people who live in Topekas southwest outskirts pass by the intersection every day as they go to and from work, Nellis said, so he sees an opportunity to be the first and last retail development as they travel along Wanamaker.

Im excited to be able to provide sort of a south gate to the city, he said. Theres quite a lot of cars that pass by there every day.

Nellis said he hasnt signed any leases with tenants yet, and people who are interested in renting space can email him at scott@nellis.me.

Business classes

offered in February

Go Topeka is holding three classes and a networking meeting for current and aspiring small business owners in February.

Business owners who want more information about taxes can attend a free workshop at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 13 at the Ramada Hotel and Convention Center, 420 S.E. 6th. Gary Knoll and Brad Koehn, of Berberich Trahan & Co., will share basic information about filing business taxes and how recent changes to tax laws will impact business owners.

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Business Watch: Construction site will become retail building

FLORENCE, S.C. The developer for Florence Crossing Center, a new shopping center off David H. McLeod Boulevard with more than 87,000 square feet of retail space, said Panera Bread, Bonefish Grill and Chick-fil-A will open with Academy Sports and Outdoors by the end of the year.

Justin Morris, owner representative of the Seitz Group Inc., said Thursday other businesses also setting up shop at Florence Crossing are Party City, Discount Tire and a few other smaller retailers.

After being contacted, Panera Bread did not want to confirm the location, saying through a spokesman, Panera is continually evaluating real estate opportunities in Florence. However we cannot confirm interest in a specific location at this time.

The Chick-fil-A corporate office did not return any phone calls.

Florence Chick-fil-A owners said they had not been informed of a new restaurant opening. The proposed new location is barely a stones throw away from two Chick-fil-A locations inside and outside Magnolia Mall.

Its news to me. Im not aware of it, David Pate, owner of Magnolia Mall Chick-fil-A, said.

Months ago there was talk of a Cheddars restaurant opening on the corner of Florence Crossing. But Morris said negotiations broke down, and Chick-fil-A showed strong interest.

Morris said the former Pepsi Bottling site, across from Virginia College, should be fully developed in four to five months.

Weve sold or leased all the parcels. Its ready to go for them to come build, he said. Its going to be an awesome site and great for Florence. Everyone weve worked with has made it easy to get things done. The buildings will go up extremely quick.

Morris said his company is in final negotiations with Salsaritas, Sport Clips and Radio Shack to fill out the remaining space.

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Bonefish Grill, Panera Bread, others expected to open first Florence locations at new Florence Crossing Center

BINTULU: Naim Land Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Naim Holdings Bhd, one of Malaysias leading developers and contractors, signed a contract with Sinohydro Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd, for the Chinese company to do sub-structure works for Bintulu Paragons Phase 1A here yesterday.

Sinohydro Corporation is a Chinese state-owned hydropower, engineering and construction company.

Bintulu Paragon, the largest integrated development to impact Bintulu, will integrate residential, business, retail and hospitality components.

Upon completion, it will provide 1.4 million square feet of retail space, Small Office Versatile Office (SOVO) and office suites, condominium towers, corporate office towers and two hotels.

In a press statement, Naims deputy managing director Christina Wong explained that the sub-structure works were those in relation to Bintulu Paragons Street Mall, Small Office Versatile Office (SOVO) and hotel development components, which were within the Phase 1A section of the development.

Since the launch of Street Mall and SOVO units, we have received encouraging response from the Bintulu community, recording average take-up of more than 50 per cent. Initial piling works for these components are progressing on track, she said.

Wong further elaborated that under the contract with Sinohydro, the scope of works involved construction of the lower ground RC podium structure comprising pilecaps, upper ground slab, pipe sleeves, openings, pits and earthing works.

All works are expected to take around seven months to complete, she said.

She also added that Naims collaboration with Sinohydro demonstrated Naims commitment in maintaining its standing as a developer and contractor of quality.

We have previously collaborated with Sinohydro for three projects, namely the Bengoh Dam in Padawan, the 275KV Overhead Transmission Line from Bakun Hydroelectric Dam to Samalaju Industrial Zone in Bintulu and the construction of Sibu-Julau road.

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Naim, Sinohydro Corp sign contract for Bintulu Paragon

Investment in the greater downtown area over the past 17 years has reached $1 billion, bringing hundreds of hotel rooms, dozens of restaurants, wine tasting rooms and retail shops and thousands of square feet of new commercial space to the city center.

This total, reflecting business activity from 1996 to 2013, was announced in a downtown business update report released at the City Council meeting Tuesday.

The $1 billion figure includes disclosed real estate transactions valued at $515 million and private investment of $419 million, including new construction of $342 million.

Its a testament to people having confidence about where Napa is going, said Robin Klingbeil, project coordinator with the citys Economic Development Division.

Major projects built during the past 17 years include flood control improvements, Napa Mill, the Oxbow Public Market, Riverfront and the hotel and restaurants on the west end of First Street.

Mayor Jill Techel cited the $1 billion total as evidence of the worth of Napas flood control projects. Its really effective when I can bring that data to Washington to show the effects of flood protection, she said.

Councilmember Alfredo Pedroza also applauded the figure. I know sometimes theres a fear of change, but well look back one day say, We were right to encourage such investment, he said.

Councilmember Peter Mott commented on the profusion of wine bars. Do we get to the point where we have too many wine bars? he asked. With anything, you can have too much of a good thing.

Weve looked at that, but weve not discussed any type of restrictions. Were looking to fill empty spaces, said Klingbeil.

Studying the years after 1996 is a good baseline because it predates flood control on the Napa River, said Councilmember Juliana Inman. Such analysis also encourages more restoration to overcome past urban renewal botches, she noted.

Originally posted here:
Downtown investment tops $1 billion since 1996

For a third straight year, the vacancy rate of major retail space in the Rochester region remained largely flat a big improvement from a recent five-year stretch that saw the rate grow rapidly.

Commercial real estate brokerage CB Richard Ellis this week put out its 2014 market outlook for the Rochester region. The report looks at the state of and expectations for the commercial, office and industrial real estate markets in Rochester and several surrounding counties.

According to the report, the areas roughly 22.3 million square feet of major retail space retail spaces of 30,000 square feet or more ended 2013 with a vacancy rate of 11.2 percent. That was up just a fraction of a percentage point from 2012 and 2011. Thats down from 2010, when the rate peaked at more than 12 percent and marked the apex of a five-year span that saw the vacancy rate climb steeply from about 8 percent.

The amount of major retail space has been hovering at slightly north of 22 million square feet since 2010. During 2013, the Rochester region saw more than 250,000 square feet of new retail space added, with the biggest drivers of that being the East Avenue Wegmans grocery and the new Van Maur department store at Eastview Mall. Meanwhile, according to CB Richard Ellis, those new spaces were largely offset by the removal of a similar amount of square footage from inventory.

This year is expected to see a number of new major retail spaces open their doors, including the 150,000-square-foot Costco store under construction at East Henrietta and Westfall roads and the University of Rochester College Town development along Mt. Hope Avenue. However, according to CB Richard Ellis projections, Continued stability may be reasonably forecast for inventory and vacancy.

The areas industrial real estate portfolio of roughly 81.7 million square feet (with about a quarter of that Eastman Kodak Co. and Xerox Corp. space) ended 2013 with a vacancy rate of roughly 10.9 percent up about half a percentage point from the year before. However, for industrial space just within Rochester city limits, the vacancy rate was up more than 1 percent in 2013, to 13.2 percent.

Major industrial developments in 2013 included Xerox undertaking a major expansion of a toner plant at its Webster campus and bow hunting and target shooting company Outdoor Group LLC breaking ground on a 70,000-square-foot plant in Henrietta.

The suburban office space market saw a decent 2013, according to CB Richard Ellis, with the vacancy rate there down 1.3 percentage points to 13.8 percent. There is roughly 8.7 million square feet of competitive office space in the areas suburbs. In the citys 7.4 million square feet of competitive office space, the vacancy rate in 2013 was 19 percent down slightly from 2012.

The areas office space supply is going through a big transition, from redevelopment plans for downtown Rochesters Sibley Building that will see some of its empty office space converted into housing to Monroe Community College purchasing more than 500,000 square feet of Kodak headquarters space for its new downtown campus.

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Report: Retail vacancies up slightly in 2013

Two Dallas construction workers were released from the hospital Tuesday after falling from the fourth floor of the Northpoint Crossing Apartments at the corner of University Drive and Texas Avenue, according to safety specialists overseeing the construction site.

Both men were treated for incapacitating injuries. A 35-year-old man was taken to the College Station Medical Center while a 33-year-old was treated at St. Joseph hospital, according to College Station police.

The pair had been on scaffolding installing sheets of siding when they fell just before noon, said Bill Landers, president of Construction Enterprises Inc., the general contractor on site.

Landers said both had been wearing harnesses, according to the supervisor at the site who saw pictures of firefighters cutting harnesses off the men.

The men had been working at the site for about two weeks for a subcontractor from Overland Park, Kan., Landers said.

Construction on the Northpoint Crossing Apartments began in the spring, with Phase 1 expected to be completed in August. The 11.5-acre development will have 603 units, 1,900 bedrooms and retail space.

Tuesday's incident was the fourth construction accident in the Bryan-College Station area since May 2013.

A 49-year-old man died when two shoring panels fell on him while working on a wastewater lift station near the Texas A&M Health Science Center in late May. Four men were injured in June when the steel frame of a barn being built as part of the Texas A&M Equine Complex collapsed. In December, a 25-year-old construction worker died after falling four stories from Kyle Field.

"With the other [construction] accidents in the area, we clamped down on safety," Landers said, adding that his employees receive 30 hours of OSHA training.

Falls are among the top hazards on construction sites, making up almost 36 percent of all construction worker deaths in the U.S. in 2012, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's website.

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Workers released from hospitals hours after falling from construction site

Jan 21, 2014 - 02:22 PM

Work on Trek Apartments, a five-story, mixed-use retail/residential building at the former Cavanaugh block site in downtown Auburn, is progressing rapidly, City Economic Development Manager Doug Lein said today.

Speaking at the Auburn Chamber of Commerces January Business Insider Luncheon, Lein told attendees that the project is moving about three weeks ahead of schedule, according to Landmark Development. The Auburn-based firm broke ground early last October on Trek, which is to be comprised of 128 units of market-rate residential over 12,000 square feet of retail space.

They are currently putting the micro-pilings into the foundation right now, said Lein. They feel that will be done in about two weeks They expect, by the first of March, to be doing all the underground work and getting ready to start pouring concrete. Theyre moving along very, very well.

He added that Landmark currently has two letters of intent from restaurants interested in locating at the retail space on the projects first floor, although nothing has yet been finalized.

Lein also spoke about the pair of neighboring blocks acquired by Seattles Teutsch Partners LLC, which plans to develop the two properties with similar mixed-use retail and residential buildings. Teutsch, in partnership with Pillar Properties and Merrill Gardens retirement communities, is looking to populate the space with a combination of apartments and independent senior living; the exact split, according to Lein, is currently being programmed.

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Three mostly vacant buildings at the corner of Canal and Camp streets will be combined into one luxury apartment building with retail shops in a $15 million project.

The Times-Picayune reports the project by the firm Woodward Design+Build brings together 600 Canal St., 604 Canal and 113-117 Camp St. into one development.

The buildings are clustered near the Central Business District and the French Quarter.

The development will have 44 apartments and 8,000 square feet of retail space.

Construction of the project - branded as the Giani Building - is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2015.

The announcement marks the latest in a wave of downtown apartment projects to meet growing demand as the Central Business District's evolution into a more residential neighborhood continues.

The owner of the property is listed as Canal@Camp Apartments LLC. A spokesman for the owners declined to give more details.

The registered manager of Canal@Camp Apartments is Chandru Motwani, according to Louisiana secretary of state records. Motwani could not be reached for comment.

"When The Giani Building opens in January 2015, it will add luxury housing supply to the foot of Canal Street," Darren Pellegrin of Woodward Interests, the owners' representative, said. "It's all part of the movement to make downtown New Orleans a 24-7 neighborhood."

The seven-story building at 600 Canal St., which dates to 1889, was designed by New Orleans architects Thomas Sully and Theodore Toledano. It was one of the first high-rises on the major thoroughfare, developers said.

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Buildings to combine in retail-residential project in New Orleans

Rendering courtesy of The Noannet Group

The Belclare Wellesley will feature 30 condominium units starting at $1.4 million, as well as various shops and a restaurant.

By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

Construction crews broke ground today on the $35 million Belclare mixed-use development, which will feature 30 luxury condominiums and 9,500 square feet of commercial space.

The development will be built on the Wellesley Inn site on Washington Street in Wellesley Square, which has been a vacant lot for years.

The market-rate Belclare condominiums are set to sell for between $1.4 million to over $3 million, and will feature two and three bedrooms ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet, according to a statement sent on behalf of developers from The Noannet Group. There will also be five affordable units on-site, developers said.

The commercial space will include shops and a restaurant, though developers did not specify further details. Representatives did not say when they expect the development to be completed.

The construction comes after a embattled history for the site of Wellesley Inn, whose development dates back to the late 1800s. The historic building was sold to a developer in 2005 who demolished the building in preparation for a new project. However, the plans were put on hold, leaving a vacant lot in the center of town.

Developers from Noannet bought the land in 2012 and received the town permits necessary to build the new complex this year.

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Belclare Wellesley to feature retail space, 30 condos starting at $1.4m

On the threshold of a tough trail but retailers are optimistic

Higher prices of goods and services as a result of subsidy cuts may pave a tough trail for businesses in the year ahead. However, retail operators in Sarawak are bracing up with a dollop of optimism.

They are quietly confident that sales for the year will be a bit more bustling compared to last year, in spite of the generally perceived gloomy business climate.

Their buoyant sentiment is supported by a few factors such as, more gains from higher number of tourist arrivals during Visit Sarawak Year 2014, the changing lifestyles of people as they demand better quality goods and services and demographic factors such as a spike in population in Kuching and other parts of Sarawak as a result of the states urbanisation agenda.

With new trends in population growth in urban hubs such as Kuching, industry players believe that a ready market is available with an enormous growth potential. This is besides the expectations of capturing a larger aggregate of shoppers in the form of tourist-spending in the coming months. The relatively young retail industry in Sarawak adds another plus factor to perk up current industry confidence.

Meanwhile, retail players are seeking new ways and ideas to draw shoppers to their outlets through various advertising and promotional campaigns as well as point-of-sale events. The Summer Mall managing director Dato Lee Chee Fui said 2014 is going to be a turning point for the local retail industry, although it will be a very challenging year ahead.

The existing retail operators will face more challenges as consumers grapple with lesser disposable income and lower purchasing power arising from higher cost of living.

Despite prices of goods and services going up, consumers may buy less but generally sales will still be growing.

This is because, consumers need to spend during festive seasons and to replenish their supply of food and basic everyday needs.

For Summer Mall, our customers have been increasing since we opened in July last year, which is a good sign for us. Our focus is different compared to other shopping malls as we are targeting the lower to middle income market due to our suburban location in Kota Samarahan, he told BizHive Weekly.

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Prospects for the retail industry and the opportunities ahead