By Kevin Green, Midtown Alliance President and CEO

Just two weeks ago, few people had even heard the term social distancing. Yet in a very quick turn of events, we now find this as our temporary new normal. Since cities are made to bring people together and to seed social interaction, our current reality is a hard condition to wrap your mind around, but its here and its necessary. As we pull together as a community to get through this weird global episode, we can be assured that this too shall pass. Once consigned to a chapter in history, it also seems reasonable that many of us will have new appreciation for returning to normal and being able to come together, mix and gather as a community and a society things many of us may have taken for granted a week ago.

When our city is back to normal as it will surely be and hopefully soon we know that public infrastructure is what knits our city together. Without a network of streets, sidewalks, crosswalks, benches, bike racks, signals and signs, there is no city. Although well all be adapting to changing conditions in the near future, our work to create an excellent urban experience continues.

Our urban infrastructure in Midtown has evolved over the last 150 years with one incremental solution built on another by well-intentioned planners and engineers. The sum total of all these changes adds up to our current infrastructure, which may be far from ideal and efficient for current needs. This has led to retrofitting, like turning one-way streets back into two-way, bringing back on-street parking and rethinking space on our streets dedicated exclusively to cars.

Increasingly, designing for the future means incorporating more flexibility, and offering people an abundance of quality choices for how they get around and what they do. It also means proceeding with a sense of urgency.

Authored by the community in the late 1990s, our original Blueprint Midtown master plan is one plan that got executed. The Blueprint set out the vision for what Midtown wanted to become: a mixed-use destination, where buildings meet the sidewalks in a way that enhances the public realm and supports walking as a primary choice for how to get around.That identity has been integral to almost every land use and transportation decision in Midtown ever since.

It only makes sense that the approach to infrastructure projects we take on needs to match the multi-purpose identity of the buildings that get built alongside it.

Roughly 60% of our 2020 budget is dedicated to public improvement projects, ranging from new traffic signals and open space to an expanded network of bike lanes. We want to deliver projects that offer people more options for how they can use a given space or corridor. People who spend time in Midtown want options. Here are some creative examples of infrastructure improvements that Atlanta residents, workers and visitors can look forward to using in Midtown in the near term:

Making a Brand New Street: 15th Street Extension

Improving existing roadways is something we get a chance to do fairly often, but its a rare opportunity to build an entirely new street. With a big assist from the Georgia Department of Transportation, the City of Atlanta and private partners, Midtown Alliance will create a new street grid connection between West Peachtree and Williams Streets that offers people a range of travel options. This new corridor will deliver wide sidewalks, crosswalks, a dedicated bike lane in both directions, and two motor vehicle lanes in each direction that can help alleviate some of the pressure on 14th Street during peak periods. Construction is slated to begin in 2021.

How Six On-Street Parking Spaces Can Become a Mini-Park

Some 95% of respondents to our 2019 Midtown Community Survey said they wanted to see more parks and smaller plazas throughout the district. Were actively looking for different ways to create these spaces, including by reimagining the public right-of-way. One such opportunity is the intersection at Peachtree Street and Peachtree Place, which draws a lot of foot traffic because it features retailers and feeds into the Midtown MARTA station a block away. The Commercial Row Commons project would trade out a handful of on-street parking spaces and rebuild a street median to create a multi-use plaza that would support local retailers, provide a venue for public programming and events in collaboration with the Atlanta History Center, and realign the intersection to make it safer for pedestrians and drivers alike. Construction is projected to begin later this year.

Developers Designing Publicly-Accessible Spaces into their Projects

Midtowns Development Review Committee advocates for developers to build high-quality projects that maximize the potential of their land, fit the districts character and meet its needs for the next century. One recent win came with the design for Midtown Union, a transformative mixed-use project with office, residential and retail space, as well as a boutique hotel. The project will extend Arts Center Way between West Peachtree and Spring Streets, adding a private road that will feature green space, retail space and pedestrian walkways that connect Midtown Union to the Midtown Arts District and the Arts Center MARTA station. Many more developers have the opportunity in front of them to think about how these types of features can create an increased return on their investment, expressed both financially and socially.

Tell us what you think.

Working with our partners at the City of Atlanta and State of Georgia, we have more than 20 additional projects that will be advancing in 2020. Our staff wants to know what you think about these projects. Please accept this invitation to make suggestions about our work, and where you see other opportunities to incorporate multi-use, multi-function design into our projects. Email us at [emailprotected], and for background reading check out our monthly updates on capital projects found here.

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The New Way to Think About Streets and Plazas: Multi-Purpose, Multi-Functional - SaportaReport

@jlo is designing footwear in her spare time. Jennifer Lopez's footwear range, being launched at @DSW stores and DSW.com today, includes sky-high sandals, sexy stilettos, boots, booties and sneakers.The shoe thing for me goes deep, it goes deeper than I love shoes,' Lopez said in an interview.When I was a little girl, I used to look to my idols and wish I could have their jacket or their outfit or their jewelry or their shoes, and it was always so expensive and we could never do that. At DSW, we can do that with quality and high fashion, she said. Her JLO Jennifer collection retails from $59 to $189.On the heels of Hustlers, her Super Bowl halftime performance and her role on World of Dance, where shes executive producer and a judge, along with being the face this season of Coach, Versace and Guess, Lopez was asked about any new projects and how shes dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.Its such a scary, tricky rime right now. Im going to be working from home the next few weeks, working on scripts and branding. In the meantime, trying to make lemonade out of lemons, and enjoy the time with the kids and just trying to stay positive and do all we can as a family to help in this situation and quarantine and set the right example, she said.Tap the link in bio for more of our interview with @jlo.Report: @lisajlockwood #wwdfashion#jlo#shoes#dsw

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LVMH Sets Plans for Cheval Blanc Hotel on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills - WWD

Yesterday, Tom Hanks shared with the world that he and his wife, Rita Wilson, had tested positive for the coronavirus. Of course, people started paying attention, because while most Americans don't yet personally know anyone affected by the global pandemic, everyone knows Tom Hanks. As an icon of Hollywood, Hanks is not only one of the most likable movie stars, he's also considered a role model for millions of Americans.

Hanks's measured response to his diagnosis is also a model for businesses of every size trying to keep going during this crisis.

Specifically, Hanks mentions his approach to what happens next. "Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no?" Hanks shared on social media. That'sa brilliant reminder that in a world where there are far more circumstances than what you can control, the best thing you can dois slow down the panic and focus on the next thing you need to do for yourself, your family, and your colleagues.

Binge-buying toilet paper and hand sanitizer donothing except point out the fact that, as Americans, we're probably not as good at washing our hands as we should be. Panicking about circumstances you can't control does nothing except create more panic.

Instead, create a plan. And when I say plan, I meanfocus on what you need to do today for your team and your business. Set them up for success so that they're able to be productive tomorrow. Then, tomorrow, do the same thing. Anything more than that isn't realistic when you have no idea what your business will face in three days or weeks or months.

Your goal is to keep things moving in the right direction even as the world feels like its lost its way. Things won't be the same, and your business might not be the same, but there is another side.Don't freak out. Make a plan.

Or, in the event that remote work isn't an option, determine how you will communicate what you expect of them directly and transparently.Even when you can't plan far into the future, a little honesty and humility goa long way. By the way, figuring out how to keep your team on your payroll might be costly, but if you're able, there are few better investments you can make than people. Fortunately, it looks like there will soon be help on this front as well.

As the wise manSolomononce said,Gam zeh ya'avor, or"This, too, shall pass." Your job, as a leader, is--one day at a time--to be sure you're in the best position possible when it does.

Published on: Mar 12, 2020

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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Tom Hanks Tested Positive for Coronavirus. His 12-Word-Response Is a Lesson in Handling a Crisis - Inc.

The historic Yellow House in downtown Edgartown is set to have a dash of red on its awning this summer, with the athleisure company Lululemon signing a multi-year rental deal to move from its former location across the street and become the restored buildings first retail tenant in two decades.

Its a rapid transformation for the 18th century building that only six months ago was barely even yellow, its smashed windows, stripped shingles, decaying roof and gray siding all daily reminders of nearly 20 years of neglect in the heart of Edgartowns main street.

Over the winter the once-dilapidated building, now owned by the town and leased to businessman Christopher Celeste, has been the subject of a $2.5 million makeover by Conover Restoration. The smash of sledgehammers and grind of heavy machinery have been daily indicators of the expansive public-private project. During a walk-through this week, project manager and contractor Gery Conover said the work is on schedule and set to be finished by May, with Lululemon planning to open around Memorial Day.

And the Yellow House is now officially yellow again, thanks to a recent paint job.

Our feeling all along was how do you activate the corner of Summer and Main, said Mr. Celeste. This is the top of Main street one of the best locations in Edgartown and it has lain fallow for 18 years. We hope this will bring it back to life.

The story of the Yellow House is part history, part saga. Dating to 1750, the colonial Georgian structure once belonged to Capt. Charles Pease and is one of the oldest buildings on Main street. Owned for decades by the Hall family and formerly home to a bookstore, the building was left unoccupied for decades and fell into disrepair in the 21st century.

Rehabilitation was a long time in the making. Mark Alan Lovewell

Three years ago, the town decided to take the property by eminent domain, paying the Halls $3 million for the building and surrounding land. After a series of starts and stops and some legal wrangling over a public bid process, Mr. Celeste and his daughter Julia Tarka signed a 30-year lease to take over the property and rehab it. The lease provisions include $100,000 in payments to the town and a commitment to complete a full renovation of the property to make it suitable as a commercial retail space.

The Celestes already own and operate Rosewater Market & Takeaway, one door down from the Yellow House on South Summer street, Rosewater Wine & Spirits on Main street, and the Dairy Queen franchise on Upper Main street. The family has also torn down a small retail building on Summer street that is now a two-story building housing the childrens clothing store, Rosebud.

Work began on the Yellow House portion of the project this winter by Conover Restorations. Although a tear-down would have made financial sense, Mr. Celeste and Mr. Conover said this week, the town and historic district required the developers to renovate the building. The building has been extended approximately 15 feet on its western side, and a far wing was taken out because it was not salvageable. Other than that, it looks like a newer version of the Yellow House of old.

Its not a restoration, but it is a rehabilitation, if you will, Mr. Celeste said. Where we could, weve kept as many materials as possible. The goal was, if you looked at it from the outside, it would look like a spiffed up version of the old building. And from the inside, it was built to last . . . Theres some funky aspects of how the house was originally built.

Walking through the building this week, those funky aspects were readily apparent, history literally seeping out of the old floorboards and walls. The original building had a dirt floor cellar, so the first step in the restoration involved jacking up the 30-ton building six feet and replacing its foundation. That process unearthed ancient glass bottles and a 1903 theatre ticket to a Shakespeare festival in Oregon.

The building also had numerous twisted tree logs that were used as supports in the walls. Mr. Conover intends to save as many of them as possible. He has also preserved nearly all the 200-year-old timbers in the second-floor apartments, and plans to leave them exposed when the building is completed.

Its some thrift-Yankee type thing, he said. Thats just the way they used to do it in the old days. You take a tree, and you flatten it off and put in the stud. One hundred per cent original and in its original location.

Contractors Jeff Lucier and Gery Conover. Mark Alan Lovewell

The early plan for the restored building was to house two businesses on the first floor and have three apartments on the two floors above. But that changed when Lululemon said it wanted the entire first floor retail space and could commit to at least a five-year lease, with opportunities to extend it for multiple years further, Mr. Celeste said. He said he received a handful of interested applicants over the winter, but that Lululemon was a trusted renter who he believed would benefit the financial interests of the town, which owns the building.

Im really happy about it, Mr. Celeste said. Theyve been in Edgartown for six years, contributed to the community, invested in programming, and even though theyre a national business, theyve shown that they can provide a lot to downtown Edgartown as well.

The retail space is about 1,500 square feet, and will have a storefront and entrance on Main street. Lululemon is working with the builders to design the space to their specifications although the space will still have the ability to be sectioned into two retail spaces. Mr. Celeste said he intends to rent one of the apartments to Lululemons manager, and hopes the other two apartments will go to workers in Edgartown. He said Lululemon plans to be open 10 months of the year.

Their intention is to not just be a seasonal location, Mr. Celeste said. Edgartown is a charming, walkable business district, and for those of us trying to operate year round business we understand you are trying to make friends in the winter and money in the summer. Those businesses open in the winter do it because they understand part of what makes the Island feel alive. This will help that.

Rosewater Market is also open year round, save for a brief closure after Christmas.

Mr. Celeste said the $3 million investment was not without risk. The buildings former owner, attorney Benjamin Hall, has brought a number of legal challenges, including to the eminent domain taking by the town and subsequent permitting decisions by the Edgartown zoning board of appeals and historic district commission. Although some complaints have since been dismissed, others remain pending in superior court. The town cannot indemnify the family against any rulings made by a judge.

Mr. Celeste said the legal disputes pose no threat to the projects May completion date.

Were not stopping until someone tells us to, he said. My hope is that we have not done this all in vain and that we are not at the receiving end of a negative legal outcome.

Meanwhile, Mr. Conover and his team are working on the buildings final touches, finishing walls, staircases and adding the Yellow Houses characteristic green shutters. For the town, the project represents a major commercial redevelopment on full display in the heart of the historic village, with its distinct New England architecture.

That entire part of the block has been a walk-by zone, Mr. Celeste said. I think it is going to be transformative,

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Yellow House Construction Stretches to the Finish Line - The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News

Site of redevelopment: Clark Mill Complex, 900 Passaic Avenue, East Newark. Photo via Google Maps.

New housing, retail, and commercial spaces will be coming soon to a sprawling facility along the banks of the Passaic River, as a Queens-based developer will commence construction shortly on a project thats looking to re-imagine the areas industrial heritage.

Last October, we reported on plans to revitalize whats known as the Clark Mill Complex at 900 Passaic Avenue in East Newark. The 13 acres of land on the block once housed what was the countrys largest thread manufacturing firm.

The brick industrial buildings on the land were constructed in 1875 and are part of East Newarks Clark Thread Company Historic District, which is listed on both the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places. The East Newark Planning Board unanimously approved an application to revitalize the land via owners East Newark Town Center LLC, an affiliate of Alma Realty.

Designed by Haldeon-based Bleeker Architectural Group, the development will adaptively reuse eight structures on the property into 616 residential units, 91,022 square feet of retail space, and 4,388 square feet of commercial space. The rental apartments at the East Newark Town Center will consist of one- and two-bedroom units sporting 14-foot ceilings, highlighting the industrial attributes of the existing buildings.

The transformation of the brick complex will include the restoration of a smokestack from the propertys past, but also includes construction of a new parking garage with over 1,350 spaces that sports a rooftop terrace and tennis courts. In addition, 105,769 square feet of vacant space for an undetermined future use is included in the approvals.

The property is just a block from the Tops Diner and located in the neighborhood where the East Newark, Kearny, and Harrison borders collide. Newark Broad Streets train station is just over a half-mile walk away via the Clay Street Bridge and Harrisons PATH station is roughly a mile from the premises.

While neighboring Harrison has a well-publicized building boom underway, the impending redevelopment of the Clark Mill Complex is easily the largest project to hit East Newark in decades. Its set to kick off soon; the Jersey Journal reports that construction of the East Newark Town Center will begin as soon as permits are issued.

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616-Unit Renovation of Historic East Newark Factory Set to Break Ground - Jersey Digs

York Dispatch Editorial Board Published 4:26 a.m. ET March 6, 2020

Malls are facing an existential crisis.

That's nothing new. Large retail shopping complexes have been dying for decades, to the point that there are books of photographs taken in abandoned malls.

The owners of the York Galleria in Springettsbury Township are trying to keep their property from joining that list, with interesting results.

Since 2015, the mall has seen three of its four anchor stores,JCPenney, Sears and finally The Bon-Ton, close. Boscov's remains, and the former Penney site is now home to Gold's Gym and Marshall's. The other anchors sit empty, as do many shop fronts.

More: Springetts changes rules to allow mini-storage at York Galleria

More: Penn National chooses York Galleria Mall for first mini-casino

Owners CBL & Associates have plans for the spaces. A mini-casino is slated to go into the former Sears site at the west end of the building, which required some wrangling, including getting Springettsbury Township to backtrack on an ordinance saying the municipality didn't want to even be considered for the Penn National casino.

And now CBL is taking another step away from the Galleria's retail roots by bringing a mini-storage unit to the former Bon-Ton site.

After much discussion and hand-wringing, and against the wishes of the York County Planning Commission, the township board of supervisors last week voted3-2 toapprovea zoning change to allow the storage area use.

"I think when we look to the future of the mall, the best we can do at this point in this era of retail transformation is stabilize the occupancy and activity in the mall," said Charles Wurster, a supervisorwho voted in favor of changing the ordinance.

The Galleria isincluded in a "town center" overlay on the township's zoning map, a designation intended to develop a walkable retail area. A town center overlay specifically prohibitedmini-storage until now.

Alex Snyder, the attorney representing storage unit companyW.P. Carey, said the retail market doesn't support "big box"stores anymoreand that the next logical step to maintaining the mall would be mini-storage.

"We think this is a way to take a building where there's nothing wrong with it, and put a use in that there really is a need for in the township," Snyder said. "From the outside, no one will know any different other than the building will be fixed up and repaired."

Though one supervisorsuggested turning the space intooffice units,the idea was dismissed by Blaze Cambruzzi, a True Commercial Real Estate managing partner, who said theadjacent casino coming to the mall squandered any chance ofprofessional use.

So it boils down to this: This mall, like so many others, is on the verge of becoming obsolete as a purely retail space. The property owners, like so many others, are reaching out to other industries to fill these spaces that were once lively centers for communities and have become empty shells.

Is it pretty? No. Could there be a better use for the space? Maybe, but what would that be?

The York Galleria could follow the path of the former West Manchester Mall, which was turned inside out in a massive construction project in 2014-15 and now seems to be doing well as the West Manchester TownCenter, anchored by Walmart, Regal Cinemas and Kohl's and featuring a number of pad site restaurants as well as other stores.

But that renovation cost $49 million, and the Galleria is only assessed at $39 million, according to tax records.

The township is allowing the owners to turn the mall into more of a mixed use space, with stores giving way to gyms, casinos and now a storage unit space.

Which makes us think, despite the food court and the remaining retail, at what point will the York Galleria no longer be a mall?

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EDITORIAL: When will the York Galleria no longer be a mall? - York Dispatch

M&G Real Estate and its appointed property developer Qmile Group have announced construction work has started at the 350m Haymarket Edinburgh mixed-use development in the Scottish capital.

Designedby globally renowned architect Foster + Partners, Haymarket will deliver morethan 380,000 sq ft of much-needed Grade A office space along with hotelaccommodation totalling 365 bedrooms and provision for 40,000 sq ft of retailspace.

Thefour-acre site will comprise five buildings, three of which will be offices andthe other two hotels. It is estimated that the office space alone will accommodateup to 4,500 workers.

Inaddition, at the heart of the development will be Haymarket Square, a vibrantnew landscaped public space for the city centre which has been designed tooffer leisure and retail opportunities as well as a social and events space.

M&GReal Estate acquired the four-acre site in 2018 for 49.1m. Following atendering process, the main contractor for Haymarket Edinburghs first phase isSir Robert McAlpine. The contractor is currently on-site delivering HaymarketEdinburghs first building, 1 Haymarket Square, which will provide 110,000 sqft of Grade A office accommodation and has a gross development value of 80m.

Up to500 live direct and indirect construction jobs will be supported on thedevelopment during Haymarket Edinburghs three-year build programme.

Qmile Group has previously worked withM&G Real Estate, Foster + Partners and Sir Robert McAlpine, to deliver the750m mixed-use Quartermile development, also in Edinburgh city centre.

Commentingon the work starting on site, Qmile Group chief executive, Paul Curran, said:Our objective is to make Haymarket Edinburgh a world-class place for business,leisure and hospitality. Our work at Quartermile clearly demonstrated how wecan deliver complex, high-profile projects, so we are very pleased to reunitethe same team on Haymarket Edinburgh.

Thedevelopment has been designed to deliver sustainable commercial and societalbenefits for the city. We will purposefully create a platform for furthereconomic growth within the capital at Haymarket Edinburgh and provide thecitys residents and visitors with inclusive new public space.

Withwork now started on site, the vision for Haymarket Edinburgh is well on its wayto becoming a reality. There has already been significant interest from a rangeof occupiers and we only expect this to increase now we have begun the buildprogramme with the first building, 1 Haymarket Square, scheduled for deliveryduring the second quarter of 2022.

M&GReal Estates director of asset management, Aaron Pope, said: Committing tofund the delivery of this prime mixed-use development in Edinburgh city centrewas a natural choice and perfectly aligned with our investment approach providing industry leading, high quality and sustainable business space thatintegrates seamlessly with the area and provides the kind of environment andfacilities to meet modern occupier needs.

Withwork on 1 Haymarket Square progressing at pace, we are excited to maintain themomentum with commencement of works on the wider development. It will set a newtone for Edinburghs office accommodation and deliver a new attractive quarterfor the city and all who live and work there.

Savillsand JLL have been appointed as office agents and EYCO and Culverwell have beenappointed as retail agents.

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Construction starts on 350m Haymarket mixed-use development in Scottish capital - Scottish Business News

Home Smart Realty franchise opens in Bedford, NH-based Clear Choice opens Mass. office and moreJeremy Belanger, left, senior project engineer at TFMoran was recently selected by New Hampshires Joint Engineering Societies as the 2020 New Hampshire Young Engineer of the Year. The American Society of Civil Engineers-New Hampshire Section nominated him for his work ethic, integrity, enthusiasm for the civil engineering profession and his volunteerism in the community.

Springfield, Vt.-based One Credit Union has opened a new branch in the Shaws Plaza on John Stark Highway in Newport, NH the credit unions seventh branch and its second in New Hampshire. The building was designed by the NES Group of Massachusetts and built by JLN Contracting out of Auburn, NH. The branch will be managed by Patty Kober, who has over 33 years of experience in financial services.

Infinity Realty Group of Londonderry has merged with Bedford-based Keller Williams Metro. Broker-Realtors Cheryl Hazzard and Amanda Butler, along with Realtors Terri Byerly and Julie Dolliver, will continue to serve clients from the IRG location in Londonderry.

Munise Ulker has opened HomeSmart Success Realty in Bedford, part of HomeSmart International, which has a 100% commission brokerage model. As part of HomeSmart, Success Realty agents will get to keep 100% of their commission and have free access to productivity software, online marketing materials, live and on-demand training sessions and agent support, Ulker said.

Manchester-based Clear Choice Home Improvements has opened a second office in Taunton, Mass. The decision to expand across New England and open a second office that allows us to service central Massachusetts, southern Massachusetts, Cape Cod and Rhode Island was a logical step in our business growth strategy, said Jennifer Lanigan, marketing director.

The University of New Hampshire has awarded the Parsons Hall-Iddles Wing renovation project to Chapman Construction/Design of Newton, Mass. The 13,000-square-foot project includes improvement of two large lecture halls, two flat-floor classrooms and adjacent corridors and stairwells as well as replacement of the associated HVAC system. In addition, a new student commons space will be created. Architect and engineer is Harriman Associates, based in Portland, Maine.

Paula L. Scales, president of Brookstone Builders Inc., Manchester, has been included in the 2020 Trademark Women of Distinction Honors Edition. The publication highlights the professional accomplishments and stories of women in business.

Versona, a retailer of womens fashion and accessories, has announced it will be opening its first two locations in New England this spring one at the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua and the other at The Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester.

New England Family Housing will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, March 20, to celebrate its revitalization of the Goddard Block in downtown Claremont. The renovation has created 36 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments and three retail and commercial spaces. The event begins at 10 a.m. at 54 Pleasant St., Claremont.

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People and Property: Real Estate and Construction News From Around NH - New Hampshire Business Review

Developers are breaking ground this week in Carrollton on a mixed-use development.

Called The View, the 440,000-square-foot project will include 268 condominiums and 31,000 square feet of retail space.

A project of JK & JY Development LLC, the four-story property at 2700 Old Denton Road is within walking distance of the rail stops for both DART and Denton Countys A-Train.

The View will feature contemporary design with quality amenities that celebrate community, health, shopping and dining, Farooq Wazirali, managing partner of JK & JY Development, said in a statement. We were inspired by the natural beauty of nearby Furneaux Creek Nature Trail, so we brought in the award-winning firm of Humphreys & Partners Architects to help us create our vision of a fine urban living project.

The View will have for sale residences with terraces and ground-level villas with private courtyards.

Prices will start at about $200,000.

This will be a place where people will not only live but can come to shop, dine and spend time with family and friends, said Wazirali. The View is located within walking distance to the Spa Castle, H Mart shopping center and many more stores and restaurants.

There will be large pool deck with waterfalls, and the community center will have a social lounge, fitness center, yoga studio, game room, business center, and fully equipped kitchen and bar.

The project is set to start construction Thursday and will open in 2022.

Links Construction of Denton is the general contractor, and the development manager is Epperson Co of Dallas. The Way Realty Advisors is marketing the project.

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Carrollton project will bring condos and retail - The Dallas Morning News

On a typically bright and crisp fall afternoon in Los Angeles last November, Abbey Ehman and Brad Cox of Trammell Crow Company showed Commercial Observer around the future site of its District NoHo project in North Hollywood.

The starting point was just south of the development, on the rear patio at the historic Lankershim Depot building at 11275 Chandler Boulevard. Today, its a Groundwork Coffee, catering to an ethnically diverse population on a busy corner of North Hollywood. The building, which once housed the Pacific Electric Red Car line, sat dormant for 30 years until its recent resurrection. With new apartments rising nearby and a bustling street-life scene, it was an apt setting to absorb the plans Trammell Crow has for District NoHo and for North Hollywood itself.

Contrary to its name, North Hollywood is not contiguous with Hollywood and is located in East San Fernando Valley, just east of the 170 freeway and north of the 134 freeway. Its long been known as a nondescript area that housed the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and borders places like Sun Valley, Burbank, Toluca Lake and Studio City.

But recently, North Hollywood has become an all-important, millennial workforce-courting hub. With 40,000-square-feet of the We Companys WeWork NoHo space at Lankershim and Magnolia Boulevards unfurling this fall; a savvy community branded the Noho Arts District; and quirky, colorful eateries such as Kahuna Tiki, Urban Kebab and Republic of Pie dotting Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood has become a hip, quasi-bohemian destination.

In December, El Segundo-based Trammell Crow and partner MetLife officially submitted plans to the city of Los Angeles, topping off nearly four years of complex planning for a public-private partnership with the LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. If approved, the transit-centric mixed-use project will breathe new life into the North Hollywood Metro station portal at Lankershim Boulevard and South Chandler, a major junction in the area.

We are enthusiastic about the growth, especially of the entertainment industries located in and around the eastern San Fernando Valley, with District NoHo as the anchor of the creative community, said Ehman, who serves as a vice president at Trammell. The project is representative of the way Los Angeles County will grow access to transit, community open space, quality jobs, experiential retail, and a dense residential community that includes affordable housing. Our vision for the project is an urban village in the Valley, rooted in transit, and infused with art and culture.

Plans for District NoHo call for eight buildings that will house 1,500 apartment units (of which 300 will be affordable units), 500,000 square feet of office and 100,000 square feet of retail space.

The hope, Ehman and Cox explained, is that most of the tenants occupying the 1,200 market-rate apartments will be entertainment or tech professionals; if they are not working at the local North Hollywood overage of various media companies, they will be commuting by Metro to nearby media and tech hubs in Burbank, Studio City, Hollywood and Downtown L.A.

Over the next several years, the San Fernando Valley will continue as a highly desirable location to live, work and play, with the North Hollywood Transit Center at the epicenter of the growth, Cox, a senior managing director of Trammells housing arm High Street Residential, said. When it opens in 2023, the project will bring a diverse offering of residential, office, retail and affordable housing to North Hollywood.

Construction is set to kick off late next year, with the project opening across six phases, and the work is expected to take six to eight years to complete.

Trammell Crow purposefully hired three different design firms master architect HKS, plus KFA and Gensler in order to ensure that the sum of its live-work-play parts did not appear to be drawn by the same hand, as Ehman phrased it.

HKS and KFA have designed the residential buildings, and by agreement, the affordable housing must go up first before any commercial buildings go online. Meanwhile, Gensler has designed the 10-story, 400,000-square-foot office tower that will be laminated with retail shops, as Cox, put it.

North Hollywood has been overlooked for a long time, added architect Greg Verabian, an associate principal at HKS Westwood office, who grew up in nearby Studio City and calls this addition to NoHo transformative.

I drank the Kool-Aid of transit transforming neighborhoods, Verabian said. Its a mechanism that can help a neighborhood evolve.

Trammell Crow and MetLifes proposed redux of the Metro station represents a $1 billion investment in North Hollywood, and the developers are not the only ones gambling on the East San Fernando Valley neighborhood. They have worked their District NoHo plan around the historic train depot building occupied by Groundwork Coffee as well as a 127-unit multifamily structure that Richman Group is currently constructing behind it.

Meanwhile, the developers of NoHo West, an ambitious 170 freeway-adjacent mixed-use project, are racing to open in 2020. When finished, the 25-acre complex at 6150 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, located in the most eastern part of the San Fernando Valley, will encompass 642 apartments, 230,000 square feet of office, and 300,000 square feet of retail with 60 dining and shopping sites, including a Trader Joes, Regal Cinemas and 24-Hour Fitness.

NoHo Wests developers, Los Angeles-based GPI Cos. and Lake Forest, Calif.-based Merlone Geier Partners, have anchored the propertys commercial side with office space carved out of the bones of a longtime Macys department store. Key tenants shoring up the retail component include Urbane Caf, The Stand, California Fish Grill and Ulta Beauty. The property will also feature green space, water fountains, a dog-friendly park and playgrounds.

Construction began in 2018 on NoHo West, which will usurp the erstwhile Laurel Plaza space. Designed by DTLA-headquartered Stir Architecture with design work by Orange County-rooted Architects Orange, the complex will inject some modernity into the largely refurbished-looking community, with signage facing the 170.

This is beyond live-work-play, said Patrick Church of JLL, whos been helping to handle the office leasing at NoHo West. Now the flavor is having a project that has a whole community feeling to it.

Church, along with his JLL colleague, oversees 22 buildings and 6 million square feet of office space from Pasadena to NoHo. Of all of their assignments, Church said that this multi-faceted, multi-genre complex has been the most ambitious they have undertaken. The office specialist, who recently firmed up WeWorks floors at nearby 5161 North Lankershim Boulevard, said he believes NoHo West will benefit from the nearby NoHo Arts District, which he said has boomed really over the last 10 years.

Church recently led CO on a hard-hat tour of the former Macys structure, which rises four full floors [five counting mezzanine level). He said he expects to land either four tenants or a single tenant for the entire 230,000-square-foot building.

More than likely its going to be all entertainment, he said.

NoHo West is just the latest project to capitalize on the NoHo renaissance. The neighborhood is currently dotted with mixed-use plans in development, from the Richman Groups project which will deliver 127 apartments and 12,000 square feet of retail near Metros North Hollywood Station next year to more compact projects like Warmington Residentials Cue NoHo, a set of 20 single-family residences at 10907 Otsego Street.

Yet for the community of North Hollywood, NoHo West represents the culmination of a community that has transformed in only a few short years from an invisible suburb to serious business.

In early 2019, Hollywood-based Titmouse Animation expanded into NoHo as they assumed some 25,000 square feet at 5200 Lankershim Boulevard and 4640 Magnolia Boulevard.

The rents they signed are close to Burbank Media District [rents], said Nico Vilgiate of Colliers International, who negotiated the expansion. As of the third quarter of 2019, Burbank office space rents for $3.59 per square foot, according to Colliers data.

Thats because the Hollywood-heavy Burbank submarket is tapped out.

Burbank [Media District] is close to single-digit vacancy, Vilgiate said. That Hollywood trend has been going on for a while, for the last six years. Theres hardly any space left in the Media District.

Suffice it to say, content continues to grow, Vilgiate continued, alluding to a slew of oncoming subscription streaming services, including Disneys launch last November and WarnerMedias in early 2020. I believe Disney took the place almost as a defensive measure, for future employees as they consolidate the workforce from their acquisition of Fox, he added.

In September, ITV Entertainment announced a high-profile leap from offices at Sherman Oaks Galleria to 5250 Lankershim in North Hollywood. Taking over space currently filled by Kaiser Permanente, ITV signed a 10-year lease for 42,000 square feet and expects to relocate in May. Its fellow tenants will include Bento Box animation studio, Tremendous Entertainment and Sada Systems.

North Hollywood was what I called the backlot of Hollywood, said Glendale-based Colliers International Senior Executive Vice President Gregory K. Barsamian, whose expertise lies in the industrial sector. Proximity is a big issue because the studios are nearby. It was affordable, it was close to the studios. Its been the nucleus of the industry.

Barsamian traces NoHos rise all the way back to 1990 with Hewlett-Packard on Lankershim and Magnolia circa 1990. Back in the 1970s, this tweener little community developed machine shops supporting Lockheed, and leasing later shifted to include porn industry production through the 1980s.

Since 2018, NoHo is seeing an influx of cannabis producers moving into industrial buildings, post-legalization of marijuana.

Now theres a Metro stop [in NoHo], Barsamian said. Its attracting artistic people.

But for all of its submarket heat, the communitys industrial product is rarely top tier.

From an industrial perspective, theres nothing special or pretty (in North Hollywood), its a nondescript Steady Eddie, Barsamian said, adding that its warehouses often have terrible parking, the loading sucks.

While not Class A material, NoHo warehouse space has attracted people running companies out of their bedrooms and their garages needing to grow, he said.

In general across the Valley, where warehouses are being converted into piecemeal soundstages to feed the content frenzy for streamers such as Netflix and Disney Plus, the supply of straight industrial space has been frustratingly low, Barsamian said.

What needs to happen in NoHo, Barsamian continued, is what culminated last year in nearby Sun Valley, when Xebec re-developed a former landfill into two mammoth, state-of-the-art warehouse facilities, one of which is occupied by Amazon distribution-enabler OnTrac. That was a case of taking land that wasnt buildable in the past and figure out what the cost is to make it buildable, Barsamian said.

That strategy was also seen at 11200 Peoria Street, where Penske Truck Rental created a building sitting on pylons like a freeway overpass [with gravel in-fill], he said.

Overall, the submarkets actors do not see North Hollywood cooling anytime soon.

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North Hollywood Grabs the Spotlight - Commercial Observer