NIAGARA FALLS — An upscale hotel, residential and retail development in downtown Niagara Falls took a big step forward Wednesday.

The City Council greenlighted negotiations between a state development agency and the Hamister Group, following the announcement that the Buffalo-based group was selected from among seven proposals to develop 310 Rainbow Blvd., at Old Falls Street, 300 feet from the entrance to Niagara Falls State Park.

“I was born in 1966, and all I’ve ever seen them do is knock the buildings down, so to see something actually get built in my lifetime is big,” said Council Chairman Sam Fruscione.

He added that he hoped to see prevailing wages and 100 percent local hiring for the estimated 219 construction jobs that would be created to go with 130 permanent positions.

“It’s a great idea, and another sign that the city is moving in the right direction, and good things are beginning to happen,” said Councilman Charles Walker.

The $22.4 million, 109,000- square-foot project on about nine-tenths of an acre — where a balloon launch business closed in 2008—calls, preliminarily, for 104 upscale hotel rooms, 24 residential units and up to 8,000 square feet of ground-level retail space. It would stand five to seven stories tall.

Christopher Schoepflin, president of USA Niagara Development Corp., the state’s economic development agency in the Falls, said the project offered the most private investment and least amount of public dollars among the five leading proposals, all of which incorporated lodging and retail space.

“A truly mixed-use building is something we have been striving for, and now to leverage some public investment with some potential significant private dollars is exactly what we’re trying to accomplish,” Schoepflin said.

Construction could start in 2013, he said, with an opening in 2014.

Mayor Paul A. Dyster heralded the development as another positive sign for the city.

“It’s the first time in a generation that we have had a prime development block in such a key location so unencumbered that we could offer a request for proposals,” Dyster said.

“We felt we’d achieved enough positive momentum with the downtown redevelopment overall that it was an opportune time to test the market, and I think our confidence was rewarded.”

Dyster said his administration, along with Schoepflin, has contacted the other finalists to see if there could be interest in other downtown sites.

msommer@buffnews.comnull

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City Council approves hotel project

February 23, 2012 in Business

Gonzaga University plans to spend $14 million to build a parking garage on campus. Later it plans to replace its aging student union building called the COG.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)

Gonzaga University will break ground this spring on a $14?million, four-level building that will add about 650 parking spaces and ground-level dining options for students and area residents.

The new building, which will replace a surface parking lot, will be bordered by Hamilton and Cincinnati streets and DeSmet and Boone avenues. When finished in January, the 250,000-square-foot Gonzaga Retail and Parking Center will be the new home for GU’s campus bookstore and eventually several retail businesses.

The school has no plan yet to sign retail leases because it expects to need the space for a temporary dining hall in the future.

GU’s student dining hall is currently in the COG Building in the center of campus, which will eventually be demolished to make way for a larger University Center.

The proposed University Center will become the location for a larger student dining hall, along with meeting and event areas.

No dates have been set for starting the University Center project, said Chuck Murphy, vice president of finance. Design and construction for the building will take about three years. Murphy said preliminary plans for the center call for roughly 150,000 square feet. The existing COG is roughly 34,000 square feet.

GU trustees have said they won’t move forward with the University Center project until they’ve raised enough money for it, Murphy said.

“We do not have a cost estimate yet” for the University Center, he added.

The money to build the retail and parking facility comes from private donations, with fees and lease payments expected to maintain it, according to GU.

In addition to a new bookstore, the ground level of the parking building will be initially used for academic conferences and meetings, special events and general uses, Murphy said.

Adding more campus parking has been an ongoing focus of campus officials, in part to alleviate concerns among Logan neighborhood residents who have had to deal with GU parking sprawl.

The retail and parking building is the first major construction project on campus since completion of Coughlin Residence Hall in August 2009.

Spokane-based ALSC Architects designed the new facility. Vandervert Construction will be the general contractor.

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Gonzaga adding building for parking, retail - Thu, 23 Feb 2012 PST

Developer Derwent London has been granted planning permission to redevelop the former Queens Cinema site in west London by Westminster City Council. Derwent plans a residential led scheme on the Westbourne Grove site.23 Feb 2012

The proposals cover 21,400 square feet and will include 16 new residential units and 2,700 square feet of ground floor retail space. Derwent applied for full planning permission for the scheme, located at 96-98 Bishops Bridge Road, last November.

Construction is expected to begin in early 2013 with completion due in late 2014.

The proposed plans for the former Queens Cinema were draw up by architects Stiff and Trevillion. Plans are to retain the art deco facade and build 18,700 square feet of apartments, together with retail space. The developer is targeting art galleries and boutique retailers as potential tenants of the retail units.

The development will build on the success of nearby Notting Hill and Westbourne Grove, the developer said.

The planned apartments will be a mix of one, two or three bedroom units. New public space on the opposite side of Queensway will also be created.

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Derwent to redevelop former Queens Cinema

Rendering of a building at the proposed Bay Meadows Station development in San Mateo.

Rendering of a building at the proposed Bay Meadows Station development in San Mateo.

The owner of Bay Meadows has started courting suitors to lease more than 1 million square feet of Class A office space to be constructed in five buildings on the site of the former horse race track in San Mateo.

Property owner Wilson Meany Sullivan expects construction to be completed by early 2014 for the office space which is the second phase of the Bay Meadows mixed-use development. When completed, Bay Meadows will be the largest transit-oriented development in the state.

Combined, the five buildings on Delaware Street called Bay Meadows Station will have up to 1.5 million rentable square feet of office and retail space. Each building will be certified LEED Gold.

Office space for rent will range from 95,000 square feet to 185,000 square feet, according to Wilson Meany Sullivan. The development sits between the Hillsdale and Hayward Park Caltrain stations.

Phase 1 of the Bay Meadows project was officially completed with the construction of the new Kaiser Medical Center and includes housing, office and retail space.

Phase 2 will also feature townhomes, condos and about 15 acres of park space. The final development will include 1,171 residential units, up to 1.5 million rentable square feet of office space and approximately 90,000 square feet of retail space, according to Wilson Meany Sullivan.

“Companies who find a home here will embrace the vision of Bay Meadows Station and will be an integral part of bringing this community to life,” Christopher Meany, partner at WMS, wrote in a prepared statement. “Built to rigorous environmental standards, this urban office campus is at the forefront of contemporary and creative office space. Bay Meadows is perfect for people who want to work and live in the most sustainable, innovative and comfortable atmosphere possible.”

More here:
Bay Meadows leasing office space

Staff Report
Published Feb. 20, 2012

The commercial real estate market in the Columbia metro area showed steady improvement during 2011 as vacancy rates for office, retail and industrial space dropped, according to NAI Avant’s commercial real estate report.

Citing the latest labor reports, NAI Avant noted there has been six consecutive months of positive growth. In December, 348,500 people were employed in the Columbia area — 21,600 short of its peak in 2007.

“This positive trend was a contributing factor to the performance of Columbia’s commercial real estate market, which ended the fourth quarter with positive net absorption in all market segments,” the report said.

While vacancy rates are going down, the report also noted that neither office nor industrial space were under construction at the end of the quarter. But retail appears to be growing as three new buildings totaling 66,775 square feet were delivered during the quarter and another space totaling 22,711 square feet.

The industrial market ended the fourth quarter with a net absorption of 792,756 square feet. The vacancy rate for the fourth quarter was 10.6%. The average asking rental rate dropped 2 cents to $4.06 per square foot from $4.08 at the end of the third quarter. Flex space went for $8.34 a square foot while warehouse rates averaged $3.79 per square foot.

The office market ended the fourth quarter with an 8.9% vacancy rate, down from 9.3% for the previous quarter. Overall about 134,496 square feet of office space was absorbed during the three-month period.

The vacancy rate for downtown Columbia office space averaged 10% for the quarter. In the suburbs, Forest Acres averaged 18%, followed by St. Andrews, 11.2%; Dutch Fork/Irmo, 8.8%; Lexington, 8.5%; Northeast Columbia, 7.6%; and Cayce/West Columbia, 7.5%.

The average asking rate for all classes of office space was $14.63 per square foot, slightly down from $14.67 for the third quarter. Rent for Class “A” space average $17.13 per square foot, Class “B” was $14.51, and Class “C” was $11.51.

The retail market saw little change from the previous quarter. The vacancy rate rose to 6.5% in the fourth quarter compared to 6.4% for the third quarter. Overall, about 42,000 square feet was absorbed in the fourth quarter. The average asking rate for the Columbia market was $12.10 a square foot. Downtown Columbia had the highest average retail rent at $14.49 per square foot, followed by Forest Acres, $14.08; and Lexington, $13.87.

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NAI Avant reports improvements in commercial real estate market

The Greece Town Planning Board approved the site plans for the Stoney Creek Development project for 846 Long Pond Road at their meeting Wednesday night. The development will bring a 33,000 square foot Bryant & Stratton college campus to the area.

The plans for the 17.7-acre site also include a 17,000 square foot retail/service building and an 11,000 square foot retail/office/service building. Site developers 846 LPR, LLC said a child care center may fill the latter space.

The developers made a series of changes since the board postponed its decision on the proposal at its Feb. 8 meeting. These changes include enhanced landscaping along Long Pond Road, modified parking lots to provide room for buses, decreased parking space with green space left for possible future expansion, modified decoration including the addition of two flagpoles, and more.

One major reason the board did not approve the site plans on Feb. 8 was because of concerns over the need for a traffic light at the site's Long Pond exit. Though traffic experts judged the light unnecessary, the developers will install all the underground circutry and equipment it would need should it be built in the future.

"It's gotten better, but I think it has a way to go," said Deborah Janowicz, who lives across the street from the development. Janowicz said she will be able to see the campus from her bedroom window and that its construction -and noise from the site when it opens- will affect her entire neighborhood.

Janowicz said when she moved in, the Stoney Creek site was zoned residential. She hoped more neighborhoods would be built, not a small college campus and strip mall.

"Greece doesn't need more empty retail space," she said.

Stoney Creek property owner Laurence Glazer addressed Janowicz and her neighbors' concerns after the meeting.

"I think their issues have been dealt with very carefully," Glazer said. "They'll be happy with the end result."

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Site plans approved for Bryant & Stratton campus on Long Pond Road

New construction of a $165-million project near the TD Garden will provide the area with space for a hotel, apartments, restaurants and retail businesses, according to the Boston Redevelopment Authority.

The BRA approved the construction of The Merano, a project in the Bulfinch Triangle that will create 240 construction jobs and 275 permanent jobs, according to a BRA press release.

The project will consist of a 210-room Marriott Courtyard hotel as well as 230 residential apartments, restaurants and retail stores on the ground level, said John Meunier, COO and vice president of project management and development at the Boston Development Group, which is heading the project.

“The approval of The Merano is a sign of the great economic development momentum in the Bulfinch Triangle,” said Boston Mayor Thomas Menino in an email to the BRA. “With the addition of 230 units of housing at The Merano, on top of the more than 800 units already under construction or under review in this area, the Bulfinch Triangle is well on its way to becoming a 24-hour residential neighborhood.”

The Merano complex project is part of a larger ongoing development project to revitalize the economy in the Bulfinch Triangle and North Station area, said Melina Schuler, assistant director of media and public relations at BRA.

“Projects like The Merano are key to improving the city and moving these revitalization efforts forward,” Schuler said.

Meunier said he believes The Merano project will have a positive impact on the Downtown Boston area.

By adding a nationally branded hotel alongside residential apartments, more people will be residing in the area, resulting in more “pedestrian activity” at the street level, he said.

Schuler said the $165 million cost is mainly funded by private investors and developers who view Boston as a valuable city to invest in and expect their projects to do well.

The BDG agreed to contribute $50,000 to a traffic study by the Boston Transportation Department of the Bulfinch Triangle neighborhood, according the press release.

The BDG will also contribute $75,000 to support neighborhood improvements, $300,000 to the Boston Crossroads Initiative, $12,000 to the Bulfinch Triangle Streetscape Improvements Initiative and $500,000 for a future neighborhood park, totaling about $1 million in public improvements, according to the release.

The BRA first approved the plans for The Merano in 2008, which included two hotels, office space, stacked parking and space for retailers and restaurants, according to the release.

But due to the closure in office occupancy after the economic recession, the plans were revised to replace the offices with residential apartments, Meunier said.

Richard Parr, the director of policy at A Better City, a nonprofit organization that aims to improve transportation, land development and more in Boston, said it is a great thing to construct more residential buildings near the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

Vibrancy and economic activity will spill over into the parks, Parr said.

Parr also said building more houses near transportation creates more density in the core of the city, which is good for the environment and causes a much smaller carbon footprint.

The Merano project will begin construction in the spring and is expected to finish in two years, Meunier said.

Go here to read the rest:
The Merano hotel to spark economic momentum downtown

This artist’s rendering shows what the Infusion Technology Center will look like when it is completed in Innovation Square. (Submitted by Trimark Properties)

Published: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 5:59 p.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 5:59 p.m.

The Infusion Technology Center is one step closer to starting construction at Innovation Square at the former Shands AGH site.

Front Street Commercial Real Estate Group of Gainesville was recently appointed as the property’s exclusive broker. Managing Director Nick Banks said they are looking to fill the space with biomedical and high-tech companies. The center also will need businesses such as law firms to provide in-house services, and retail outlets and restaurants to lease the ground floor.

Banks said he hopes to start signing contracts in the next 30 to 45 days, and construction is planned to start late this year.

“It’s very exciting,” he said. “There’s so much momentum behind this project.”

The 150,000-square-foot building is the first private development in Innovation Square. It will be next to the Florida Innovation Hub at UF, an incubator for technology-based start-ups. It is hoped that workers at the two buildings will collaborate.

“We envision that it is likely when they (the start-ups) do graduate that many will go right next door to the Infusion Technology Center,” said Jane Muir, director of the Innovation Hub.

Trimark Properties, developer of the Infusion Technology Center, also plans to build the UF INSPIREation Hall in the square. John Fleming, managing member of Trimark, said it will be a dormitory for entrepreneur-minded students attending UF. It will be open to students of all majors and ages and, in addition to housing, will have a 150-person space to be used for classes, dinners and events.

Construction is planned to start in early 2013.

Fleming said it was a well-planned strategy that Trimark Properties would one day develop with UF. In Innovation Square, it hopes to help create an environment where people can work, play and live.

“Our hopes are to support the University of Florida’s efforts in creating a really urban, unique research park,” he said.

See the article here:
First private company closer to joining Innovation Square

ATLANTA, Feb. 21, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed has signed contracts with LTL ATL JV and Paradies-Atlanta II, LLC giving the green light to more than 20 retail concessions at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport's international terminal.

The new shops -- which include Spanx, MAC, Tommy Hilfiger and Kiehl's -- will be in the Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal, its new Concourse F and adjoining international Concourse E.

"We're thrilled to be moving forward with these brands for the international terminal," said Aviation General Manager Louis Miller. "I'm confident our passengers will enjoy these world-class shopping options as they travel to and from Atlanta."

Retailers that will open with the international terminal and Concourse F this spring are Brookstone, CNN International News, Clutch, Kiehl's, MAC Cosmetics, Luxury Boutique, Simply Books/French Meadow Cafe, Sunglass Icon, Sweet Auburn Market Cafe (departures level, pre-security), Tommy Hilfiger and Touch Table.

Concourse E locations, which will be phased in throughout the next 18 months, are Able Planet, CNBC News, CNN.com, Johnston & Murphy, The New York Times News/Goldberg's Deli, Magellan's, Pandora/Brooks Brothers, Shades of Time, Soundbalance, Spanx, Sunglass Icon, Swarovski and The Wall Street Journal News.

The Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal and its 12-gate concourse are scheduled to open this spring. The 1.2 million-square-foot facility connects with the existing international concourse, creating a world-class, 40-gate travel complex.

The international terminal will eliminate the need for Atlanta-bound passengers to recheck their baggage. Passengers will access the international terminal via I-75 at Exit 239.

Click here to see a video update of the Maynard H. Jackson Jr. International Terminal.

###

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Hartsfield-Jackson is the world's busiest airport, serving more than 92 million passengers annually with nonstop service to more than 150 U.S. destinations and nearly 80 international destinations in more than 50 countries. The Airport is a frequent recipient of awards of excellence for concessions, operations, architectural engineering and construction - including the 2011 Global and North American Airport Efficiency Excellence Award from the Air Transport Research Society (for more information, go to http://www.atrsworld.org). It is undergoing $6 billion-plus in capital improvements, which include a new, energy-efficient rental car center; a new, 12-gate international terminal (for more information, go to http://www.atlanta-airport.com/internationalterminal/); and aesthetic and functional upgrades to its concourses, people movers and parking services. For more information, go to http://www.atlanta-airport.com. Check out the Airport's YouTube channel by visiting http://www.youtube.com/AtlantaHartsfield, and become a fan on Facebook.

Contact:
Al Snedeker
404-382-2364

This information was brought to you by Cision http://www.cisionwire.com

http://www.cisionwire.com/hartsfield-jackson-atlanta-international-airport/r/world-class-shopping-in-store-for-hartsfield-jackson-s-international-terminal,c9223169

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World-Class Shopping in Store for Hartsfield-Jackson's International Terminal

chris atchison Special to Globe and Mail Update Published Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012 11:00AM EST Last updated Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012 11:24AM EST

If the insiders are right, Canada’s commercial property market is about to get an industrial-level facelift.

Their prediction: a slew of shiny new 500,000-square-foot-plus facilities will be constructed in the next five to 10 years featuring ceiling heights of at least nine metres, in large part to accommodate high-tech automated materials handling systems.

More related to this story

The reason developers will move toward building more of these large-scale distribution facilities, explains Stan Krawitz, president of Toronto-based commercial real estate consultancy Real Facilities Inc., is tied to changes in the way Canadians are shopping for everything from books to electronics.

In Mr. Krawitz’s view, the growth of e-commerce is driving the need for an increased supply of high-tech distribution centres across the country as retail sales move increasingly from the brick-and-mortar model of high-street or mall shopping, to virtual browsing and buying.

“Online shoppers spent about $16-billion in Canada last year,” Mr. Krawitz says. “If we look at the U.S. model, where Web sales account for about eight per cent of their retail sales, then you could start to do the math that if we approached eight per cent in Canada, we would need to triple or quadruple the number of distribution-based warehouses we’ll need to accommodate that demand.

“Canadians are by definition slower adopters of technology and changes in retail habits, but we do get there.”

Demand for those large distribution facilities is also being driven by an influx of space-hungry international retailers such as Target, but Mr. Krawitz stresses that it’s largely the growth of online shopping – which is being fuelled in part by an explosion of mobile devices that allow for easy in-store price comparisons and online purchasing – that will push commercial developers to meet the facilities needs of major online retailers.

Market circumstances may be right for a property development boom on the distribution front.

A recent report by commercial property consultancy CB Richard Ellis noted that fundamentals in Canada’s industrial property sector remain strong. The firm predicts that availability rates will drop to 6 per cent this year from 6.5 per cent in 2011, while net rental rates will experience a year-over-year increase from $5.37 to $5.45 per square foot. But the strongest growth opportunities – aside from facilities to support the energy sector – are the large, next-generation warehouse properties, the report concluded.

This trend toward building more distribution facilities doesn’t mean that traditional manufacturing in this country is dead, according to David Bowden, CEO of commercial property consultancy Colliers Canada. On the contrary, he sees a continued need for highly specialized advanced manufacturing facilities.

“Especially where goods are bulky, we’re seeing a return to domestic manufacturing as opposed to having to deal with the cost of shipping those bulkier items such as furniture [overseas],” Mr. Bowden explains. “I think we’re going to see a balance between distribution warehousing as well as manufacturing-specific buildings, but the weighting will be towards the former.”

What does that mean for the lower-ceilinged stock of industrial buildings that were designed largely for light manufacturing use and simply can’t accommodate a distribution-focused conversion?

“For some existing stock, it might mean lower rents, but for others the real estate might be cast into entirely different commercial uses,” Mr. Bowden says.

Jeff Flemington, a senior vice-president with commercial property brokerage Avison Young Inc. in Toronto, points to Ontario towns such as St. Thomas and Cornwall as examples of former manufacturing centres that are seeing a repurposing or demolition of their old supply of light industrial buildings for other commercial uses. Those former factories are being converted into everything from retail spaces, to residential lofts in the case of trendy turn-of-the-century brick-and-beam buildings.

Even in cases where companies do need traditional manufacturing space, he says, many are opting to build new facilities rather than upgrade older stock due in large part to increased relocation costs as land prices continue their steady climb.

The rest is here:
Virtual buying pushes warehouses to new heights