Audrey Cooney acooney@wickedlocal.com

MondayFeb24,2020at3:36PMFeb24,2020at3:36PM

HANOVER The Patriot Cinemas behind the Hanover Mall will remain open during demolition and construction at the mall site, according to a representative from the movie theater company.

Ultimately, the movie theater will be demolished to make way for 297 apartments and townhouses planned as part of Hanover Crossing, a development project slated for the current site of the mall and theater. The property on Washington Street currently occupied by the empty mall will be the site of the open-air retail and entertainment space. Market Basket, a movie theater and two restaurants have already signed on to be part of the new development.

The mall is now closed, and demolition there is set to begin soon. In the meantime, the empty building served as a training ground for local firefighters.

Lloyd Sova, vice president of development for project developer PREP Property Group Inc., said last fall that development at the current mall site will likely be completed in February 2021 and that businesses will open the following month. Demolition for the residential units, which cannot begin until the commercial space is finished because of the areas waste water system, is set to begin in April 2021, he said. Construction of the residential development is planned to finish in November of 2022.

Several other businesses on the outskirts of the mall property will stay open during construction, and continue to operate once Hanover Crossing is complete.

Follow Audrey Cooney on Twitter at @Audrey__Cooney.

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Patriot Cinemas will stay open during Hanover Mall construction - Wicked Local Hanover

By TED CARTER

Tenants of metro Jacksons suburban office market are expected to begin filling up space at a pace that exceeds new vacancies, an outcome the market failed to achieve two of the past three years.

Credit a 10-year slowdown in new office construction for increased prospects that net absorption will move into a positive range and stay there for at least a few years, Integra Realty Resources Inc. said in its 2020 Viewpoint report on the metro and Central Business District office markets. The two markets began the previous decade with an inventory of 26.1 million square feet and ended it at 26.9 million square feet. A recent slide into negative net absorption began in 2017 with 185,243 square feet left vacant and another 96,678 square feet remaining empty in 2018, Integra Realty Resources market survey found.

Absorption is the difference between vacantspacein a previous tracking period and the current available space.

A rebound to 145,506 square feet into positive absorption occurred last year but Integra sees negative absorption of 17,707 square feet for 2020. That should be the last venture into the negative range for at least the next four years, though none of the annual positive absorptions totals is expected to rise above 50,000 square feet, Integra said.

Ahead for the suburban market are decreasing vacancy and stabilized leasing rates, the report says. By contrast, the stagnation that has marked downtown Jacksons occupancies and lease rates for the last decade is expected to remain, Integra Realty Resources said.

The recovery of the suburban office market has been spurred along by a significant reduction in the number of new office buildings constructed since 2009, reported Integra, a national commercial real estate valuation and consulting firm with an office in Ridgeland.

On the negative side, metro Jacksons Central Business District remains in the third phase of a recession, said Integra, citing a failure of downtown Jackson to edge up either occupancies or lease rates.

Addressing the flexible warehouse and industrial market, Integras 2020 Viewpoint predicts the new distribution and supplier facilities built in support of Hinds Countys $1.5 billion-plus Continental Tire plant will make up most of the new supply of industrial space over the next 12 to 24 months.

Integra noted it has seen enough revived growth in the industrial sector to say the first phase of an expansion is under way.

Positive absorption is continuing, and lease rates have remained stable, Integra said in its annual market survey report.

Fewer Vacancies, More Options

Just how positive is absorption for Class A office space?

The last decade closed with The District at Eastovers newly constructed five-floor, 120,000 square-foot multi-tenant office property with adjoining garage building 100 percent leased, Integras report noted.

A proposed 95,000 square-foot building just east of the Highland Colony Parkway is 90 percent pre-leased.

In the meantime, strong market prospects have led developers to propose a 40,000 square-foot multi-tenant building with a parking garage in Ridgeland along Highland Colony.

In addition, Highland Colony is set to gain several new office buildings at its intersection with Mississippi Highway 463.

New supply will keep lease rates stable as occupancy rates are controlled by new supply, the Integra report said.

As strong as absorption rates are expected to become, Integras 2020 forecast is for an 8.1 percent vacancy rate for metro office space. But after 2020s negative net absorption, the metro market wont see negative territory for at least the next three years, according to Integra.

Net absorption is forecast to grow positive by 9,159 square feet by the final quarter of 2021, Integra says.

The positive absorption is projected to continue through 2024, with tenants leasing 20,615 square feet above new vacancies in the fourth quarter of 2022; 24, 260 in 2023; and 32,732 in the final year of the forecast.

Those projections show strong improvement for the metro market from the start of the previous decade and the accompanying pain of the Great Recession. The fourth quarter of 2010 ended with 262,613 square feet of product above net absorption, a circumstance that led to a drop of 5.47 percent in asking rents and 10 percent vacancy rate.

Rebounds for absorption began the following year and continued through 2016. Whopping net absorption of 527,197 square feet occurred in 2014. The next years net absorption totaled 308,053 square feet, according to Integra.

Absorption went negative in 2017 and 2018, with 185,247 square feet left vacant in 17 and 96,678 square feet in 18. The market returned to positive absorption in 2019, with 145,506 square feet absorbed above new vacancy inventory.

Today, the suburban market for Class A office closely parallels the rest of the South and nation, with landlords getting an average of $27 a square foot, compared to $26 for the region and $28 for the nation. Metro Jacksons suburban Class B office space rents of an average $19 a square foot fall slightly behind the region, $20; and nation, $21.70.

Metro suburban capitalization rates a measurement of risks in a deal derived as a ratio between net operating income and the value of the retail property average 7.5 percent for Class A and 9 percent for Class B, surpassing both the region and nation in both categories.

Meanwhile, the 8.3 percent cap rates for Central Business District Class A space significantly surpass a cap rate of 6.7 percent for the South and nation.

However, Class A and B asking rents for the CBD are well below the region and nation at $20 and $15, respectively.

So are the CBDs vacancy rates of 26.8 percent for Class A and B. CBDs in the region show vacancy rates of 15.2 percent and 15.8 percent for the nation.

Tenant Shuffles

Meanwhile, net office space absorption may increase, but commercial real estate broker Micah McCollough attributes that mostly to tenants shuffling around the metros 26.9 million square feet of office space, a recent example being Horne CPAs exchanging of 80,000 square feet at the Butler Snow building in Ridgeland for 60,000 square feet of a 90,000 square-foot building it built nearby.

And, he said, its not like office jobs are growing on trees to create demand for more space. Nor is it a plus for landlords that the average space devoted to each office worker has dropped from 300 square feet to 200 square feet, noted McCollough, vice president and associate broker at NAI UCR Properties in Jackson.

Its a tenants market and probably will always be until we can find a way to produce new office-producing jobs, he said.

As well as the Class A market is doing, said McCollough, it is hard to make money in a locality with low-to-no rental rate growth and rising construction costs.

With leverage belonging to tenants, the term as is is seldom heard in lease negotiations, the broker added, and lamented that landlords continue to have to invest $30 to $40 a square-foot in tenant space every five years. Its really hard to make money, at the end of the day, he said, and added:

If there was never another office building built in Jackson, it would probably be fine.

Like McCollough, Jackson commercial real estate broker Scott Overby sees a suburban and CBD office market dominated by a lot of moving around, not new product. Were just moving pieces of the pie around instead of growing it, said Overby, principal of The Overby Company.

Overby said the musical chairs in which tenants are engaged makes sense for them. Long-term tenants dont like the disruptions of renovating while still in the space. They also follow a natural tendency to want new quarters after 10 to 15 years. You ask, Where is the next location we can go?

They typically find new landlords willing to do the work to make things ready for a move-in, Overby said.

Some Activity for Industrial

Flex warehouse has been a slumbering workhorse but is showing signs of responding to a wake-up call, Integra Realty Resources said in the 2020 Viewpoint. Steady new construction of flex buildings and the attractiveness of their office and warehouse options led to the Viewpoints faith in a recovery, Integra said.

James Jim O. Turner II, a managing director at Integra, put the growth in flex space south of Pearl and north of Ridgeland. But the industrial-dominated southern end of U.S. 49 from Jackson to Florence will need relief from prolonged highway work before it can expand, he said.

The upside is that the multi new highway lanes near Florence should give better access to the flex properties and could help spur tenant growth and new construction. Florence and Richland should see a revival in their flex markets, Turner said.

Add retail and commercial to the growth mix, he advised, and cited strong school districts and easier access between interstate highways and U.S. 49 as reasons why. Once it is easier to access employment centers, growth in all sectors will follow, Turner said, reflecting on the impact of new large employers such as Continental Tire, which recently began operations on a mega-site off Interstate 20 east of Clinton with a workforce of about 3,000.

Continentals impact on industrial real estate will be significant, said MCollough, the associate broker at NAI UCR Properties. But he said he has received reports that Continental wont have the kind of economic ripple effects in east and south Hinds County that Nissan brought northern Madison County. Making tires for commercial trucks doesnt require the lengthy list of suppliers and contractors that automobile manufacturing does, McCollough noted.

A similar expectation comes from Overby, the Overby Company principal. I personally havent seen a huge spurt in growth, he said.

But Continentals presence will have a positive impact by showing other industrial-space users we have an employment base for manufacturers and are a good bet for investors, Overby said.

The broker said hes getting strong leasing from flex warehouses around Brandon and Gluckstadt and some sections of Jackson. Building owners like the ease of modifying the properties for different uses, Overby said.

No owner is shackled to one kind of use when a tenant leaves, he said, and noted he recently worked with an owner who easily converted space into a martial arts studio after an HVAC company moved out.

While Overby said he thinks the industrial market can accommodate new buildings of 25,000 to 35,000 square feet, McCollough said returns on rents must improve first.

There is still probably a $2 a square-foot-to-$3 a square-foot difference in what new construction would cost versus if you can find existing product that would work for a user, McCollough said.

That trend could change over the next three years or so, he said, as e-commerce fulfillment continues to become more prevalent in Jackson and supply continues to become more and more restrained.

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Suburban office space absorption headed for positive range; industrial in expansion mode | - Mississippi Business Journal

The mixed-use development on the Wilmington riverfront has been more than four years in the making

WILMINGTON Nearly two years after construction began, the finish line is finally coming into view for River Place on the downtown riverfront.

East West Partners, the developer of the $83 million mixed-use project, will begin to roll out the first of the 92 condominiums to residents starting in March, with more than 90 percent of the units already pre-leased.

Leasing has also begun on The Overlook at River Place, the northern tower of the project, which will include 79 apartments available in studio and one or two-bedroom layouts. Depending on the floorplan, the apartments will range in size from 553 square feet to 1,284 square feet.

The Overlook will begin welcoming tenants in May.

The developer has also unveiled its Overlook residents-only amenities deck, which includes a rooftop pool, fitness center and bar.

Beyond the residential units, River Place will also offer publicly accessible retail spaces including street-level tenants like Mellow Mushroom and Axis Fitness, both of which have entrances at the corner of Water and Chestnut streets.

On the third floor, Circa Restaurant owner Ash Aziz will open his latest eatery with a menu featuring seafood and steak.

The commercial tenants have already been handed the keys to begin outfitting their spaces, which should open starting in May.

Last week, crews completed laying a multi-level staircase that will connect Front Streets soon-to-be-renovated Bijou Park with Water Street, offering guests a new entry point down to the riverfront through River Places property.

In conjunction with the opening of the first wave of condos, the parking deck built on the interior of the property will also open to vehicles. The six-floor deck will include both public and private spaces.

Project manager McKay Siegel with East West Partners said the current timeline has the project being completed by the summer.

Reporter Hunter Ingram can be reached at 910-343-2327 or Hunter.Ingraqm@StarNewsOnline.com.

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River Place to welcome first residents in March - StarNewsOnline.com

This 2019 rendering of Bear Development's Frame Park Commons apartments details what one of the two buildings, along White Rock Avenue and Moreland Boulevard, will look like once it's done. Construction has begun on the two-piece site, which straddles White Rock and includes the former site of Fracaro's bowling lanes.(Photo: JLA Architects/Bear Development)

WAUKESHA - If you're looking for a new apartment, you may not have to look much further than Waukesha in the next few years.

According to the city, people are indeed looking.

In successive fashion in January and early February alone, the city set the stage for the development of two high-density-oriented plans on its south side, pending more-detailed plans that are expected to follow soon.

A third proposal, downtown near Waukesha State Bank, has already advanced through a key financing stage, though construction has not yet begun.

And a fourth development proposal, involving another group of apartments near Frame Park at the what has been called the "gateway"of the city, has reached the construction stage.

Together, they represent a total of 500new apartments in the city, on top of the older rental housing stock that already exists.

Though that seems like a lot of apartments, city officials suggest the opposite is true, saying that the plans and proposals largely fill a need that was identified in a 2018 housing survey.

"When evaluating new housing projects we look carefully at the citys recently completed housing study to make sure they are filling gaps in our housing supply," said Jennifer Andrews, Waukesha's community development director. "The housing study showed a significant existing shortage of housing.The study identified a need for several different types of housing at varying price points. All of the residential projects fill a need identified in the study."

Here's a summary of what's in the works for the not-so-distant future.

On Feb. 4, the Waukesha Common Council approved a term sheet for a prospective tax increment financing district that would incentivize a mixed-use development called River Valley, primarily focused on upscale apartments on the southeast corner of Saylesville Road and Les Paul Parkway.

Parkway LLC wants to build a complex of 170 apartments with rents ranging fromabout $800 to $1,650 per month and in size from 550-square-foot efficiencies to 1,500-square-foot, three-bedroom apartments beginning as soon as this fall.

The preliminary site plan for Parkway LLC's River Valley Apartments shows L-shaped apartment buildings, plus a pair of outlots that could be used for commercial development. The 30-acre parcel is located on the southside of the junction of Saylesville Road and Les Paul Parkway.(Photo: Legistar)

In a memo to the city's elected leaders, Andrews noted the appealing elements the developer wants to build into the plan.

"Similar to other residential communities by this developer, their goal is to create a destination community in which people may live and recreate," Andrews wrote. "To that end, the community will have a strong amenity package including a clubhouse, pool, fitness center, hiking trails, playground, and other amenities designed to enhance resident experience."

While aldermen supported the proposed financial terms, on an 11-3 vote, the deal isn't done yet. Because the development would use new tax dollars generated by the improvements, the other taxing jurisdictions must approve the arrangement first.

At issue is whether the majority of the tax jurisdictions the city, Waukesha County, the school district and Waukesha County Technical College plus one at-large member agrees that the project is absolutely dependenton the use of $6.8 million in diverted tax dollars to pay for certain development costs.

On Jan. 22, the city's plan commissionbacked a proposal for a tax incremental financing district that's key to the redevelopment of the original portion of theFox Run Shopping Center along St. Paul Avenue and Sunset Drive.

The plan envisions dozens of 72 new upscale apartments, with rents ranging from roughly $1,000 to $1,500 monthly, where the 67,000-square-foot vacant strip mall now sits. It also features a two-floor, 30,000-square-foot medical or office building, near the separate existing Sentry store.

The vacant corner store of strip mall portion of the Fox Run shopping center faces Sentry Foods, one of only two remaining tenants on the property. A redevelopment proposal, which still needs city approval and is contingent on the creation of a special tax district, would convert the property into mostly into residential and office spaces.(Photo: Jim Riccioli/Now News Group)

Two outlots are also identified on the development documents. Either, or both, could involve some commercial uses, or additional residential space. The existing Chase Bank site would be the only building in the original 13-acre Fox Run center toremain.

The Sentry store within the redevelopment area recently closed as a result of the anticipated redevelopment, proposed in October 2019 byVJS Development Group LLC of Pewaukee, Bedford Development of Waukesha and Somerstone LLC of Brookfield.

The potential TIF district, which has already received the backing of the city's plan commission, still needs the support of the tax jurisdictions, meeting as the Joint Review Board. A formal project proposal would follow if the board approvesthe financing deal.

Further along in the pipeline are two plans unveiled in 2019.

The Reserve, anupscale apartment plan alsobuoyed by tax incentive funding, will feature186 living units plus more than2,000 square feet commercial space in a four-phase redevelopment along St. Paul Avenue and Barstow Street near Waukesha State Bank and the Fox River.

In separate decisions, the Waukesha Common Council on Sept. 3 advanced a proposed tax incremental financing district and approved a final site plan for a project that was initially proposed in May by Campbell Capital Group LLC.

This preliminary rendering of a five-story luxury apartment complex called The Reserve of Waukesha shows what a developer has in mind for a now-vacant commercial area near the Fox River and Waukesha State Bank downtown. As envisioned, the complex would include 186 units plus 2,100 square feet of commercial space.(Photo: Poole & Poole Architecture LLC)

Andrewssaid the TIF district is already in place, and city officials are currently working to finalize a development agreement with Mike Campbell, who heads the development partnership.

In documents prepared as part of early plans in the process, Campbell expressed confidence in his investment based on Waukesha's needs.

"The luxury apartment market today consists of an affluent individual who chooses to rent versusown, and is looking for an upscale community in close proximity to work, retail and entertainment," Campbell said in the letter. "The Fox River walking path also encourages a healthy lifestyle that is important to our target audience. This site has all of those qualities."

The construction area is fenced off and excavation work has begun on the 2.5-acre construction site for the 72-unit Frame Park Commons apartments along White Rock Avenue and Moreland Boulevard. Bear Development LLC is building affordable apartments on the site, which includes land that was once home to Fracaro's bowling lanes.(Photo: Jim Riccioli/Now News Group)

Meanwhile, construction has begun on a 72-apartment affordable housingcomplex, Frame Park Commons, at the intersection of White Rock Avenue and Moreland Boulevard. Spurred in part by the fire that destroyed Fracaro's bowling lanes in January 2018, the development is one of the newer projects that doesn't rely on an upscale market.

In her presentation prior to the January 2019 public hearing, Andrewsnoted that when the city created a new tax increment financing district in 2018 to support the redevelopment of the White Rock neighborhood, officials considered what developers would likely favor and what the city's housing survey indicated as a local need.

Bear Development LLC envisioned apartments with affordable rents in two buildings, one on each side of White Rock Avenue along Moreland. The developer began excavating the site in January.

Waukesha also has a mix of apartments renovated from older buildings, intended for other adults or smaller in scale in recent years.

New Perspective of Waukesha, under construction on 5.7 acres at the southeastcorner of EastBroadway and Les Paul Parkway, will consist of 128 living units, including some for assisted care, for seniors. The complex includes related amenities for older adults.

The conversion of part of the original Waukesha County Courthouse and jail on Main and Martin streets into 30 living units, plus a banquet center, opened in 2019. The apartments are intended for upscale tenants.

Downtown Waukesha has also seen apartments Waukesha Lofts on the west end and Clearwater Apartments several blocks to the east fitted into Main Street locations east of Barstow Street in the past decade.

Contact Jim Riccioli at (262) 446-6635 or james.riccioli@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jariccioli.

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Waukesha may soon have 500 more apartments. They are sorely needed, city says. - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Khalid David, CEO and cofounder of TracFlo TracFlo

For Khalid David, construction is a family business. His grandfather immigrated to the US from St. Kitts in the late 1960s and became a carpenter. His dad and uncle followed in their father's footsteps.

David's said he was 12 years old when he first stepped onto a job site, sweeping up while his dad worked side jobs.

"One hundred bucks in a weekend at twelve, that was crazy," David said.

David knew he wanted to work in construction, but he graduated during the recession when construction companies weren't hiring. He ended up working with his father and uncle's subcontracting business, and remembers "hacking together" Google Sheets to keep track of expenses.

He got the initial spark for TracFlo during his time working for Turner Construction. The company was rennovating Madison Square Garden during the summer offseason, and because of the tight timeline, they had to work three shifts a day, working around the clock.

"In a week, you did three weeks of normal paperwork," David said. "It was such a huge problem that the paper process didn't work."

David worked on a digital tool to track and approve change expenses, or the additional costs that come up during a project. Eventually, Turner shut the program down, but after David went to MiT for an MBA, he realized that the idea would have legs as its own company.

David's previous experience was invaluable to him, as he realized that he had spent most of his own life doing market research for TracFlo. His contacts in the industry have been another important advantage. He said that construction is often a business where "you have to know a guy who knows a guy" to get someone's attention and that attempting to use other kinds of marketing is "naive."

"You might need to go to a bar or need to have a cigar with a VP before you get an introduction," David said.

While his history in construction has been largely helpful, his lack of experience in the VC world has sometimes held him back.

"Certain things about startup and venture capital that are industry standards, haven't cracked the construction market yet," David said.

He gave the example of a referral program that someone on his team suggested, where customers who referred another customer could win tickets to a hockey match or a similar event. David instantly thought of kickback laws in construction, which have made people in construction "touchy" about any program that gives something back to them.

Knowing these norms have been helpful for David, but he thinks that they also may have hindered him from trying new ways to market the product.

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The diverse industry backgrounds of five construction tech founders - Business Insider

NOVEL Stonewall Station by Crescent Communities was recently sold to Lennar Multifamily Communities, a subsidiary of homebuilder Lennar Corp. with its eastern headquarters in Charlotte. The mixed-use community features high-rise and mid-rise residential units, light-rail access, and retail space, including a Whole Foods Market. The community has one of the largest displays of public art in North Carolina. (Crescent Communities)

To gauge the economic vitality of Americas Southeast region, consider one example: the Raleigh-Durham area in North Carolina.

After a lull late in 2018, the area has been adding jobs in dramatic fashion. Payroll employment grew over 4 percent annually in the first and second quartersover twice the state, region, and U.S. rates, says Dante DeAntonio, senior economist at economic forecaster Moodys Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Job growth has not been this strong in consecutive quarters since 2006. Health care, professional/business services, and leisure/hospitality account for two-thirds of net new 18,000 jobs in 2019.

The strengthening of the Raleigh-Durham labor market is carrying over into the areas single-family housing market. Prices are 25 percent above their peak in 2007, and new construction is at its high for the expansion, with housing starts back up to early-2000s levels and increasing at a well-above-average double-digit rate year over year, adds DeAntonio.

Raleigh-Durham is not an anomaly. Strong economies, healthy job creation, and significant population increases are also being reported across the Southeast, including major cities Charlotte, Atlanta, Miami, Tampa, and Orlando. These metropolitan areas continue to experience dynamic real estate sectors thanks to strong technology, tourism, finance, and other sectors.

That could change in response to unforeseen circumstances, of course. And, like many other areas of the country, the Southeast is also facing numerous challenges ranging from affordability issues to keeping up with new infrastructure that can handle rapid increases in population.But for now, the Southeast is on a roll.

Charlotte is in a lucky geographic place, being an urban center in the Southeast region of the United States, says Jon L. Morris, senior partner at Charlottes Beacon Partners, a full-service commercial real estate firm. The area will certainly have peaks and valleys, but on the aggregate in the next months, years, and decades, the Charlotte MSA [metropolitan statistical area] will experience continued product growth across all asset classes as the U.S. population urbanizes.

Dimensional Place in Charlotte, North Carolinas Wilmore neighborhood was completed in 2019. Duda|Paine Architects designed the 285,000-square-foot (27,000 sq m) building on a 2.3-acre (0.9 ha) site. Dimensional Fund Advisors signed a 15-year lease, taking all the projects office and meeting space. (Robert Benson Photography)

Atlanta continues its stellar economic run, too. Thanks to Georgia Tech (formally the Georgia Institute of Technology) and the areas many other universities, Atlanta is one of the largest technology hubs in the United States.

And few people know that Atlanta is one of the three or four most visited metropolitan areas in the U.S., with 51 million visitors last yearmore than Orlando, Las Vegas, or Los Angeles, adds George Banks, founder of Atlanta-based Revel, an experiential retail development and consulting company.We are adding new public and private attractions every day that will bring even more guests. It is great for retail and entertainment but hard on hotels: were either fully booked or half empty.

With low employment plus job growth, a robust residential pipeline, and major infrastructure improvements, the Miami area, too, has the ingredients for continued economic expansion.

The region has a 3.4 percent unemployment rate, and the Miami MSAMiami, West Palm, and Fort Lauderdalehas added 100,000 jobs over the past year and is projected to add 48,000 jobs each year for the next five years, says Robert Given, vice chairman at Cushman & Wakefield in Miami. In October, Spirit Airlines announced it will invest $250 million in a new Dania Beach corporate headquarters, moving 750 employees from Miramar [California] and adding another 250. Were benefiting from companies who want to get out of states like New York and California. Miamis population growth fuels everything. A lot of people now work from home yet do business all over the globe, Given says. The area is expected to add over 500,000 residents over the next nine years. Thats the equivalent of all the residents in Atlanta picking up and moving to Miami!

The economy in communities around Tampa Bay also is robust, with the region reaping the rewards of development seeds planted years ago.We are buzzing and growing by 300 persons per day. We are one of the top 10 markets, says Lucia E. Garsys, deputy county administrator in Hillsborough County. Residential is full throttle; eds and meds are hot and a key source of job growth; medical centers have major expansions in the works. Were also seeing an increase in what I call the James Bond economynew companies doing innovative technology that existed before only in the movies. For instance, entities such as Softwerx are working closely with the Department of Defense to help solve challenging warfighter problems.

And Orlando, where tourism has long been the primary driver of the economy, is reporting new industries springing up. We are continuing to see an increase in diversification of employment growth across all sectors, says Lisa Dilts, principal at Compspring, an independent real estate advisory company in nearby Winter Park. Some of the recent employment sectors that have seen growing activity in the area include high tech, financial service, and logistics. Companies are choosing our market for the location and relative value compared with other top-tier metros across the nation.

The 26-story, 742,000-square-foot (69,000 sq m) Ally Charlotte Center in downtown Charlotte is expected to be completed in 2021, with Ally Financial taking more than 400,000 square feet (37,000 sq m) of space. Developer Crescent Communities is seeking certifications including LEED, WELL Building Standard (a leading global rating system), Fitwel (a building rating system for commercial interiors), and WiredScore (which evaluates internet connectivity in commercial properties). (Crescent Communities)

Charlotte

The economy in Charlotte, North Carolina, is advancing at an impressive pace compared with the citys peers. Job growth easily outpaces that in North Carolina and the United States, and 4.5 percent annualized growth in the first half of 2019 was the strongest since 2016, according to Moodys DeAntonio.

Private service providers are shouldering the burden as goods producers and the public sector have shed jobs over the past year, he explains. The unemployment rate has edged higher this year, but a surge in labor force growth is responsible for the jump rather than weakness in the labor market. Average hourly earnings growth of 4 percent year over year is outpacing the U.S. average thanks to a groundswell of new high-wage jobs. The strength of the labor market has pushed the multifamily housing market to its limits as development booms and rents soar.

The area is expected to outpace the state and the country over the next year even as job growth moderates, DeAntonio says. Finance, logistics, and health care will propel gains, he adds. Expansion of the financial technology landscape will lend support, and the prospect for a big tech win still stands. Longer term, stellar demographics and a business-friendly climate will attract investment and keep Charlotte a top performer.

Beacon Partners Metrolina Park is a class A distribution park on a 135-acre (55 ha) site that formerly housed the Metrolina Tradeshow Expo in north Charlotte. The park contains over 1.8 million square feet (167,000) of space and was completed in 2018. (Beacon Partners)

As new jobs continue to be created through headquarters relocations and a new focus by major companies in the Charlotte market, mixed-use, office, and residential real estate will expand in the area, predicts Jason Munday, managing principal of the Charlotte office of SeamonWhiteside, an engineering and site design firm.

We definitely see continued growth in the greater Charlotte area, Munday says. Job creation is strong. Truist Financial [the result of the BB&T and SunTrust merger] will be headquartered here. Additional major operations include Honeywell, Allstate, LendingTree, and WeWork. Lowes invested recently in a global tech hub. The industrial sector is also seeing an uptick in activity, and the city is rezoning over 1,500 parcels along the Blue Line light-rail corridor for transit-oriented development.

Charlotte Douglas International Airport is one of the primary economic drivers behind the general economic success of the region, adds Morris, and the embrace of mass transit also positively differentiates the area, leading to additional real estate development. The CBD [central business district] is a construction zone in and of itself, Morris says. Given the aging demographic all across America, hospitals and medical office presents huge growth potential as well. Building on that medical base, Novant and Atrium both seem to be in growth mode. That has huge potential for us.

Crescent Communities 20-acre (8 ha) Escent Research Park, under construction in Charlottes University submarket, will have 158,000 square feet (15,000 sq m) of creative office space, with an expansive lobby and a two-story atrium. Escent is expected to be completed in 2021. (Crescent Communities)

Economic diversification bodes well for Charlottes future, says Elizabeth McMillan, senior director of development at Charlotte-based Crescent Communities, an investor, developer, and operator of mixed-use communities. Finance is a current bright spot, with expansions of current banks like Ally Financial and Bank of America, and the announcement that Charlotte will be the new headquarters of Truist. Health care is also a leading industry in Charlotte, as noted with the recent news of expansion by Atrium Health, she continues.

Ally Charlotte Centera 26-story, 742,000- square-foot (69,000 sq m) office tower in downtown Charlotte with Ally Financial taking more than 400,000 square feet (37,000 sq m)is expected to be completed in 2021.

Charlottes Stonewall corridor has seen tremendous growth over the past five years, she continues. In addition to Ally Charlotte Center, a 400-room JW Marriott will also open in 2021. Projects along the Stonewall corridor include Legacy Union [where Bank of America took space and Honeywell is locating its headquarters], Crescent Communities NOVEL Stonewall Station with 459 luxury multifamily units and a ground-floor Whole Foods, plus other mixed-use residential like Uptown 550 by Northwood Ravin and Savoy by Proffitt Dixon.

Even so, the area must deal with challenges such as affordable housing. All residents must be able to afford to live in our city, Morris says. The Charlotte community is learning that lesson and how to get out of our political and sociology-economic boxes to innovate ways that offer every citizen the opportunity to enjoy a safe and vibrant community.

Bond Brothers Beer Company in Cary, North Carolina, opened in 2016, replacing a carpet warehouse. The facility has a 10-barrel system with a 2,500-square-foot (230 sq m) tap room, a 3,500-square-foot (325 sq m) beer garden, and a 3,500-square-foot (325 sq m) brewery. It was designed by New City Design Group and developed by Northwoods Associates. (Duffy Healy Photography 2019)

Raleigh-Durham

North Carolinas Research Triangle area, around the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, is enjoying significant positive momentum across all real estate market sectors, notes Marcus Jackson, principal and a member of Avison Youngs capital markets group in Raleigh.

I believe the Great Recession improved our regions competitive position against the nations larger cities, Jackson continues. Before 2008, we were considered a second-tier city in terms of size and investment climate. Now, we are an institutional investor darling and ranked by ULI as the number-two U.S. market to watch for real estate prospects.

Reflecting investor enthusiasm for the market, the area experienced record-setting quarterly commercial real estate sales volume of $2.3 billion in the third quarter of 2019, bringing volume for the preceding 12 months to an all-time high of $5.6 billion, Jackson notes.

The rapidly growing region has witnessed strong rent appreciation while remaining an outstanding class A apartment value play for tenants and investors alike, Jackson says. The Research Triangle has also undergone rapid urbanization in the last decade, with billions of dollars of public/private investment in our cities urban cores, he adds. ULI now classifies the Triangle as an 18-hour city, increasing our attractiveness to potential talent and investment dollars. There are always silver linings to our down cycles.

New City Design Group of Raleigh transformed an old postal depot in Raleighs artsy Warehouse District into restaurateur Niall Hanleys Morgan Street Food Hall, a 22,000-square-foot (2,000 sq m) hub for more than 25 businesses, including Makus Empanadas, Oak City Fish and Chips, and Cousins Maine Lobsters. The space opened in July 2019. (Duffy Healy Photography 2019)

The Raleigh-Durham region has become increasingly attractive to new residents and businesses alike, benefitting all facets of the regions commercial real estate sector.

Office development has increased notably but remains in line with robust tenant demand, fueling healthy leasing fundamentals and strong rent growth for landlords, says Jackson. Wegmans just opened its first North Carolina [grocery] store in Raleigh and has five more in the works for the local market. Early next year, Amazon is scheduled to open a 700,000-square-foot [65,000 sq m] multistory fulfillment center that uses robotsthe first of its kind in the Triangle.

The Raleigh-Durham area is experiencing a talent/education/quality snowball effect, says Ted Van Dyk, principal at New City Design Group, based in Raleigh. Our strong academic centers are producing top talent, Van Dyk notes. Our tech sector continues to hire and expand, and the excellent quality of life is attracting more companies and talent to the region. Our prospects for growth are strong.

Longer term, stellar demographics, a deep talent pool, and low business costs will spur investment in Raleigh-Durham, and the region will be a top performer among large economies in the South. The states second-largest metro area will be an above-average near-term performer, Moodys DeAntonio says. Job growth will slow but broaden with strength in consumer and knowledge-based industries thanks to in-migration and investment in high tech.

The three-story, 8,500-square-foot (800 sq m) beer and cocktail bar Raleigh Beer Garden has one of the worlds largest selections of draft beers available in one restaurant. Designed by New City Design Group, Raleigh Beer Garden has a rooftop deck and over 3,000 square feet (280 sq m) of outdoor patio seating. (Duffy Healy Photography 2019)

Like other areas in the Southeast, Raleigh-Durham faces some clouds on the horizon. Our challenge here, as in other emerging 18-hour cities, will be to manage growth and increase transit, infrastructure, open space, and the arts, says Van Dyk. Our success will be short lived without a cogent game plan for our rapidly growing region. Short term, however, our prospects are bright, and a new generation of leaders is emerging to meet our challenges.

Atlantas Cooper Carry designed the master plan for Park Center, a regional campus being developed by Dallas-based KDC Real Estate Development & Investments in Dunwoody, Georgia. The firm also designed the first phase, a 585,000-square-foot (54,000 sq m) structure completed in 2016. Construction is underway on the second building, a 22-story office tower containing 670,000 square feet (62,000 sq m) of space. The project is pursuing LEED Silver certification. (Nigel Marson Photography Inc.)

Atlanta

Technology remains one of numerous bright spots in Atlantas urban and suburban environments.

A strong, talented labor pool continues to foster jobs, says Adam Schwegman, partner and senior vice president of retail leasing in the Atlanta office of North American Properties. Creating the right environments in walkable centers of commerce for these skilled workers will be the challenge. Today, Atlanta is full of disconnected suburban office parks and strip malls. Trail connectivity is becoming a major trend, with the Beltline and Alpha Loop proving trails can become oceanfront property.Colony Square in Midtownone of the citys original mixed-use projectsis about halfway through a redevelopment that will help connect residents, he notes. North American Properties is creating Midtowns living roomwalkable to transit; full of amenities; a community destination for office workers, neighborhood residents, and tourists alike at Colony Square,

Schwegman says. Next year we will open several new restaurants, a food hall, and a theater, all surrounding an active green space. Surprisingly, despite the fundamentals, this environment does not currently exist anywhere in the Midtown core.

The convention and tourism sector also has seen significant growth, as have the major health care providers in the market, says Kevin Cantley, president and chief executive officer of Atlanta design firm Cooper Carry. The growth of the film and music industries has led to the development of significant studio, soundstage, and related facilities, he adds.

Above and below: North American Properties is renovating Colony Square in Atlantas Midtown. When completed in 2021, the reimagined Colony Square will encompass two office towers and loft office buildings totaling 940,000 square feet (87,000 sq m); 262 residential condos; a 466-room hotel; and 160,000 square feet (15,000 sq m) of entertainment, retail, and restaurant space, including food hall Main & Main.(North American Properties, Beyer Blinder Belle, Lord Aeck Sargent)

Every indication suggests that a significant volume of real estate development and construction activity will continue, says Cantley. Demand continues to outstrip supply, as is indicated by ever-increasing rents across major market sectors, with only a few exceptions, he adds. The Atlanta Regional Commission projects Metro Atlanta will grow by 2.9 million people by 2050. Accommodating such a significant growth in population will require ongoing new development.

One of the major developments underway in Atlantas north-central perimeter is Park Center. Designed by Cooper Carry, the development is anchored by 1.7 million square feet (158,000 sq m) of office space scheduled to be occupied by State Farm Insurance.

It is a transit-oriented, mixed-use development in an area transitioning from dependent commercial uses to a walkable urban place that is now both commercial and residential served by an expanded MARTA [Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority] heavy-rail station, says Cantley.

Design architect Duda|Paine Architects of Durham, North Carolina, architect of record HKS of Atlanta, and interior architect Gensler (Atlanta) collaborated on NCRs 762,000-square-foot (71,000 sq m) global headquarters campus in Atlanta, which opened in October 2018. (Robert Benson Photography)

Design architect Duda|Paine Architects of Durham, North Carolina, record architect HKS of Atlanta, and interior architect Gensler (Atlanta) collaborated on NCRs 762,000-square-foot (71,000 sq m) headquarters campus in Atlanta, which opened in October 2018. It is a project of developer Cousins Properties, owners representative JLL, and NCR. Located near Tech SquareAtlantas technology and higher education hubNCRs new global headquarters is expected to attract the next generation of engineers and creative employees entering todays evolving workforce.

Los Angelesbased CIM Groups $5 billion Centennial Yards, one of the largest mixed-use projects in the Southeast, is another example of still-robust building activity, says Moodys senior economist Ilir Hysa. The ongoing project will take 10 to 15 years to complete and includes new residential, hotel, retail, and office space, as well as enhancements in infrastructure and green space in the downtown area, Hysa says.

Construction activity will be supported by projects in the periphery of the metro area, too. For example, a 916-unit housing development is planned to be built in Peachtree Corners in Gwinnett County, about 15 miles [24 km] northeast of Atlanta.

Robust building as well as expansion in outsize professional services and health care pushed the jobless rate to 2.9 percent in September, the lowest for Atlanta since tracking began. In such a tight labor market, finding qualified workers will remain the main headache for builders and other employers, Hysa adds. A lack of significant wage pressures, especially in blue-collar positions, has some workers working multiple jobs to supplement their income and keep up with the higher cost of living.

Designed by Duda|Paine Architects, the 118,000-square-foot (11,000 sq m) Emory University Student Center in Atlanta opened in May 2019. The structure is cooled and heated by geothermal wells. The historic East Dobbs University Centerthe Alumni Memorial University Center and its marble facadeare preserved and integrated into the new design. (Duda | Paine Architects)

Georgias film industry also has been an economic boon for the real estate industry, notes Banks. And it will continue to be so unless the folks down at the Gold Dome screw it up for the rest of us, he says, referring to the heartbeat bill passed at the state capitol that would prohibit abortions after a heartbeat can be detected in a fetus.

With such economic success come challenges, of course. Restaurateurs . . . are facing significant personnel shortages, as well as increasing food costs, construction costs, and rents, says Banks. Food and beverage sales may be up 4 percent this year, but weve increased the number of available seats by probably twice that. And as much as I wish differently, the answer to every empty retail space cant be put a restaurant in it.

Attainable housing is an increasing concern because multifamily development is not meeting increasing demand and rents continue to rise. A path to more diverse and affordable housing may be through eventual overdevelopment, resulting in competition for tenants driving down rents, says Cooper Carrys Cantley. Increasing traffic congestion is in many ways driving development to walkable urban areas served by transit, which is of limited supply. Also, suburban development is taking on a more walkable urban mixed-use form that greatly reduces the need for driving trips between single-use developments.

Swire Properties Brickell City Centre, a mixed-use development in Miamis Brickell financial district, is a planned 4.9 million-square-foot (455,000 sq m) development spanning nine acres (4 ha) and including two mid-rise office buildings, Two and Three BCC; two residential towers, Reach and Rise; a luxury lifestyle hotel with residences called EAST, Miami; and 500,000 square feet (47,000 sq m) of retail, dining, and entertainment space. The first phase of Brickell City Centre was completed in November 2016 with the opening of the projects luxury and premium shopping center. The building of BCC will continue over the next decade. (Lifestyle Producton Group)

Miami

While residential rental is leveling off somewhat, office demandparticularly in the urban coreis strengthening, and industrial real estate remains a star performer in the Miami area, says Neisen Kasdin, managing partner of law firm Akermans Miami office and a former mayor of Miami Beach.

Office is strong, with submarkets developing for hedge fund and private equity players like Barry Sternlicht and Carl Icahn relocating to the Miami area, says Kasdin. Triple-A condo locations for smaller luxury buildings continue to move forward. There is a lot of condo inventory, but no evidence of distress since the projects have low leverage with strong sponsors and large cash deposits before commencement of construction.The second phase of the Miami Design District has opened, Kasdin notes. The district is dedicated to innovative fashion, design, architecture, and dining experiences and is owned by Miami Design District Associates, a partnership between Dacra, founded and owned by entrepreneur Craig Robins, and L Catterton Real Estate, a global real estate development and investment fund.

In addition, the $4 billion mixed-use development Miami Worldcentersecond only to New Yorks Hudson Yards in visionis proceeding according to plans.

Miami Worldcenter occupies 27 acres [11 ha] in the heart of downtown Miami and is one of the largest private real estate developments underway in the United States, Given adds. Some 85 percent of the projects have either gone vertical or are going to start in the next 12 months. Also, Virgin Trains USA has broken ground to expand passenger rail service from Miami to Orlando. Passenger service on Virgin Trains, formerly Brightline, from Miami to Orlando is expected to begin in 2022.

Another impressive real estate development is PortMiami cruise terminals. Carnival Corporation, MSC Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, and Virgin Voyages are each building enormous cruise terminals at PortMiami. Total construction costs exceed $1 billion, says Kwame Donaldson, senior economist at Moodys. In addition, Virgin Trains just reached a deal to connect the cruise terminals via high-speed rail to other cities in South Florida and Orlando, he adds.

The Miami-area economy will grow in the short run, but a global slowdown could be a challenge, Donaldson predicts, adding Miamis international character and its high-skilled, bilingual workforce will help it outperform the nation in the long run.

Though the areas jobless rate has dipped to a 12-year low of 3.2 percent, the decline over the last year has been the weakest since the start of the recovery, he says. Average hourly wages have reached an all-time high, but wage growth has retreated to less than 1 percent, much slower than the statewide and national rates, which are above 3 percent. After accelerating at the end of [2018], house price growth slowed in the first half 2019.

Long term, the need for improved transit stands out, says Kasdin of Akerman. Future development will need to be on the higherand resilientcoastal ridge and the surrounding neighborhoods, which can be redeveloped and accommodate the density necessary to support transit, he says.

The 83,000-square-foot (8,000 sq m) Center for Health & Wellbeing in Winter Park, Florida, opened in February 2019. The Winter Park Health Foundation is the developer and primary owner of the facility, designed by Duda|Paine Architects. The center brings tness, medical care, and wellness into one integrated building for holistic and preventive care.(Lifestyle Production Group)

Orlando

Moderate costs, a high quality of life, robust in-migration, and a thriving tourism industry are expected to propel long-term growth in Orlando.The economy in Orlando area is stable, says Donaldson of Moodys. The areas unemployment rate, 3 percent, has hardly changed over the last year as wage growth outperforms the statewide and national rates, he says. After falling through the first half of 2019, these higher wages have drawn workers from the sidelines and led to a recent uptick in the size of the labor force. House price appreciation has slowed to less than 5 percent, though it has outstripped the statewide and national pace each of the last 13 months.Billions of dollars in public and private investment has been committed to the region, including Interstate 4 reconstruction (known as the I-4 Ultimate Project), a $2.3 billion rehab of Orlandos principal thoroughfare, according to Donaldson. In addition, Universals Epic Universe is a planned 750-acre (304 ha) addition to Universal Orlandos collection of theme parks. The expansion is nearly equal in size to the resorts current offerings, he says.

Also, the south terminal expansion underway at Orlando International Airport is planned for completion in 2021, says Dilts. Within the terminal, an intermodal facility is being constructed that will eventually provide connections to the Virgin Trains USA line from South Florida, and a potential connection to Orlandos commuter rail, SunRail, she says.

The south terminal expansion underway at Orlando International Airport is planned for completion in 2021. An intermodal facility accessible by walkway that will eventually provide connections to the Virgin Trains USA line from South Florida, and a potential connection to Orlandos commuter rail, SunRail, was completed in 2017. (Greater Orlando Aviation Authority)

Over the next year, Dilts continues, we anticipate Orlando to remain a top market for economic growth. Having said that, we do predict a slowdown in achievable land values. We are seeing an inflection point where the prices being paid for land and escalating land values are not translating to the same achievable increases in rents and home prices that people are able to pay.

While the region retains a competitive value in comparison with other job centers across the country, Dilts notes, we are not immune from the challenges of providing attainable and affordable housing to the workforce. For the region to continue to grow and house the workforce, we will need to continue pursuing creative solutions. These will come in the form of increased permissible density, waived impact fees or fees that are tied to the unit size, and innovative construction technology.

The University of South Floridas Morsani College of Medicine is slated to open a 395,000-square-foot (37,000 sq m) facility in downtown Tampa, with classes for its doctor of medicine program expected to start in January. The Morsani College of Medicine is a key anchor in the $3 billion redevelopment of downtown Tampas Water Street district. (University of South Florida)

Tampa/St. Petersburg

Eds and meds are one of the major growth sectors in the Tampa Bay area, with a lot of medical space coming out of the ground, Garsys says, adding that the seeds were planted and nurtured years ago. The Morsani School of Medicine at the University of South Florida is slated to open a 395,000-square-foot (37,000 sq m) facility downtown, with undergraduate medical education courses expected to start in January 2020.

The H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institutea nonprofit cancer treatment and research centerand AdventHealth are working to open an outpatient cancer center on the campus of AdventHealth Wesley Chapel in Pasco County, she adds. The outpatient center is expected to open in the fall of 2020.

Another major real estate development that is continuing: Water Street Tampa between the Port and downtown Tampa, led by Strategic Property Partners. The projects plans call for the addition of 9 million square feet (836,000 sq m) of new space. The Water Street Tampa neighborhood will include the first new downtown office towers in nearly 25 years and the first for-sale condominiums in almost a decade.

The Tampa/St. Petersburg areas unemployment rate has edged lower over the past year, from 3.3 percent to 3.2 percent, says Donaldson. Weakness in the labor market is reflected in the housing market, which is showing price appreciation at its slowest since 2012.

The economy in TampaSt. PetersburgClearwater will slow as the next downturn takes a toll on migration into the region, he predicts. Public institutions will provide support during the slowdown, but a lack of regional cooperation is a risk to faster growth. The areas high quality of life and moderate cost of living brighten its long-term prospects.

Barring a global financial meltdown, Americas Southeast region is expected to continue its economic expansion in the years ahead. But the region must also tackle major concerns such as affordable housing, transit, and increasing building costs, too.

MIKE SHERIDAN is a freelance writer in Richmond, Virginia.

Link:
Region in Focus: Tracking the Growth across Six Regions in the US Southeast - Urban Land

The frame of Charleston's new 12-story, mixed-use, upscale apartment building is now complete with the placement of the last high beam, putting the structure on track to open later this year.

The 4-acre development of The Jasper at 310 Broad St. near Colonial Lake on the lower peninsula will include 219 rental units, 75,000 square feet of office space, 25,000 square feet of first-floor retail space and an enclosed garage along with views of Charleston Harbor and the Ashley and Cooper rivers.

Construction on the 12-story, mixed-use Jasper apartment building topped out this week. The 219-unit structure, with office and retail space, is on schedule to open later this year. Rendering/Design by Antunovich Associatesof Chicago in partnership with LS3Pand DesignWorksof Charleston/Provided

The Jaspers location, which allows for unmatched views in every direction, along with its premier amenities, is what makes this a one-of-a-kind legacy project and the finest building in Charleston, said John Darby, CEO of The Beach Co., which is the developer

With leasing underway for office and retail space and an open residential reservation list, the Harleston Village complex will include on-site dining, shopping, a fitness center, rooftop pool and garden, a club and lounge for residents, an attended lobby, outdoor seating, walkways and parks.

At least one major commercial tenant plans to set up shop in the new building. Wells Fargo & Co. said last year it will vacate the three floors it leases at 177 Meeting St. near the City Market in late 2020 and move about 60 employees who work in its commercial lending and wealth management businesses to the Jasper. The San Francisco-based bank will occupy about 30,000 square feet of office space.

The city's Board of Architectural Review signed off on the design for the development in early 2017, but it didnt come without a fight.

The Beach Co. worked for years toward a redevelopment plan for the site but met stiff public opposition along the way.

The initial proposal drew neighborhood criticism after the longtime Charleston-based real estate firm introduced plans in 2015 to raze the 159-foot-tall, 1950s-era apartments and replace the 14-story building with a low-rise development.

The Jasper, a 12-story, mixed-use, upscale apartment building will offer views such as this one with the Ashley River in the background. Rendering/Design by Antunovich Associatesof Chicago in partnership with LS3Pand DesignWorksof Charleston/Provided

After residents and preservationists fought the concept as too dense, the company then reverted to a high-rise, mixed-use building, which is allowed by the citys zoning. The BAR rejected the concept.

The Beach Co. sued the board, saying it overstepped its bounds by rezoning the site to limit the projects size.The height and mass of the project was settled through a court fight and city agreement, but it did not result in a different design.

Demolition was completed in early 2018 on the former Sergeant Jasper building, named for a Revolutionary War soldier. The current construction project broke ground in August of that year. The first residential units are expected to be ready for move in by late 2020.

Reach Warren L. Wise at 843-937-5524. Follow him on Twitter @warrenlancewise.

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12-story Jasper apartment building tops out, set to open later this year in Charleston - Charleston Post Courier

Map of Industry City Complex/Image Credit: Industry City Brochure

Despite two years of discussion, Industry City ownership unable to convince Council Member Menchaca and Community Board 7 to support expansion. On February 19, 2020, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on an application for four land use actions to expand bulk and use requirements for Industry City, in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Industry City is a 5.3 million square feet mixed-use complex comprised of sixteen buildings with commercial, manufacturing, and community facility uses. Industry Park is located in an area bounded by 32nd Street to the north, 41st Street to the south, Third Avenue to the east, and the Brooklyn Waterfront to the west. The proposed actions will facilitate and support the redevelopment and expansion of Industry City. Industry City plans to construct three new buildings on the complex and include hotels, office spaces, academic centers, and more large scale retail establishments.

Industry City Complex

Map of the Industry City Complex/Image Credit: Council Member Carlos Menchacas Office

The Industry City complex is comprised of sixteen buildings located within two building clusters, the 39th Street Buildings cluster and the Finger Buildings cluster. The 39th Street Buildings cluster is bounded by 39th Street to the north, 41st Street to the south, 2nd Avenue to the east, and the Brooklyn Waterfront to the west. The Finger Buildings cluster is bounded by 32nd Street to the north, 37th Street to the south, and 2nd Avenue to the west. The buildings from 32nd Street to 35th Street extend out to front 3rd Avenue to the east. The buildings from 35th Street to 37th Street extend out to part of the block. Directly north of the Finger Buildings cluster is Liberty View Industrial Plaza, another former four story industrial hub that was redeveloped into a mixed use development with manufacturing space and large scale retail such as Bye Bye Baby and Bed Bath and Beyond.

The buildings were once part of the former Bush Terminal, a privately owned industrial hub that was abandoned in the 1960s. The buildings were vacant and unused until the properties were bought by Industry City in 2013. In 2015, Industry City renovated the complex and brought in small and large scale retail stores, eating establishments, manufacturing spaces, office spaces, warehousing space, event space, and public open courtyards.

Land Use Actions

To facilitate Industry Citys expansion, Industry City proposes four land use actions. The land use actions will affect the Industry City complex and an additional ten lots located adjacent to the complex. Seven of the lots are located along 3rd Avenue on the northeast corner of 36th Street. One lot is located on the northwest corner of 1st Avenue and 39th Street. Industry City plans to acquire these lots and construct two new buildings on them. Two of the lots are located on the southeast corner of 36th Street and 3rd Avenue. These lots will remain in separate ownership and there are no plans to redevelop those lots.

The first action is to create a special district within the area. Special districts modify use and bulk regulations to meet and support the unique needs and characteristics of the area. Industry City proposes a special district in order to have flexible use and bulk regulations that support the complexs mixed uses, protect the complexs existing built form, and support a pedestrian friendly environment.

The second action is to rezone the area from a light manufacturing zoning district to a medium manufacturing zoning district. The current zoning only allows the complex to have manufacturing spaces, small scale retail space, offices, and a limited amount of large scale retail space. The rezoning will expand the permitted uses and bulk in the area to allow academic facilities, hotels, and more large scale retail establishments on the complex.

The third action is for a special permit to modify bulk, use, and other requirements. The fourth action is to demap 40th Street, a privately owned unused street, in order to create more floor area for new construction.

Map of Proposed Construction of Three New Buildings on Industry Citys complex./Image Credit: Council Member Carlos Menchacas Office

As a part of the expansion, Industry City plans to construct three new buildings: Building 11, a thirteen story building, Gateway Building, a twelve story building, and Building 21, a ten story building. The construction would add about 1.45 million square feet to the existing development. Building 11 and the Gateway Building will be built on the Finger Buildings cluster. Building 11 is proposed to have two floors of retail space, three floors of parking space, and eight floors of academic space. The Gateway Building is proposed to have ground floor retail space and eleven floors for a hotel. Building 21 will be built on the 39th Street Buildings cluster and is proposed to have two floors of retail space, three floors of parking, three floors of manufacturing, production, and office spaces, and five floors for a hotel.

Public Review

In September 2017, Industry City announced their plans to expand Industry City and the community was concerned about the projects impact on gentrification and displacement, manufacturing and industrial jobs, traffic and congestion in the community, and access to the Sunset Park waterfront. This resulted in two years of working group meetings and public hearings between local Council Member Carlos Menchaca, Brooklyn Community Board 7, and Industry City from Summer 2018 to Fall 2019 to discuss those concerns.

Originally, Industry City submitted their land use application to City Planning to begin the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) in March 2019; however, Council Member Carlos Menchaca and Brooklyn Community Board 7 Chair Cesar Zuniga urged Industry City to withdraw their application because the Community Board still needed more time to evaluate the project and address community concerns before the application enters the ULURP process. In response, Industry City withdrew their application and discussions continued between the Council Member, Community Board, and Industry City.

On September 17, 2019, Council Member Menchaca sent a letter to Industry City with a set of modifications for Industry City to include in their application. Modifications included removing hotels from the complex, creating more space for industrial and manufacturing uses, restricting retail uses, and creating a public technical high school at Industry City. He also stated that there needs to be a Community Benefits Agreement between the local community and Industry City. The Community Benefits Agreement would legally bind Industry City and future tenants to follow through with community commitments. On September 19, 2019, Industry City agreed to the Council Members terms and planned to resubmit the application to City Planning on September 23rd. On the same day, Council Member Menchaca responded that while Industry City agreed to his terms, more time was needed to come up with a fully negotiated Community Benefits Agreement that would work for the community. This led to Industry City postponing their application submission again.

On October 28, 2019, Industry City submitted their application and it was certified by City Planning. Industry City explained in a letter to Council Member Menchaca and Cesar Zuniga that they submitted the application because they felt that the past delays were enough time for the community to have some framework for a Community Benefits Agreement and stated that the community concerns could be adequately addressed during the ULURP process. In response to the certification, Council Member Menchaca stated that he is prepared to vote against the application when it comes before the City Council.

On January 15, 2020, Brooklyn Community Board 7 was divided on the creation of the special district and the rezoning and the Board took no action on the two land use actions. However, they disapproved the special permit and the demapping of 40th Street. The Community Board explained that the special permit will exempt Industry City from complying with certain bulk and use regulations that will protect waterfront access, prohibit self-storage uses, and require new construction to align with the street wall. The Board wants Industry City to be exempt from those regulations. The Community Board did not explain their decision to disapprove the demapping.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams has not released his final recommendation on the application.

At the February 19th City Planning Hearing, Industry City was represented by Andrew Kimball, CEO, Jesse Masyr, Land Use Council, and Crystal Rivera, Community Engagement Director, talked about how Industry City has turned into an economic opportunity area that has created jobs, provided workforce development, supported small businesses in the neighborhood. Kimball stated that the expansion would allow the team to continue this progress and provide about 20,000 new jobs and more amenities for Sunset Park.

In response to Vice Chair Kenneth J. Knuckless question about how Industry Citys expansion would create new jobs at Industry City, Kimball stated that the rezoning would allow Industry City to create new retail spaces, office spaces, and academic facilities in the complex and the creation of these spaces would expand the types of jobs available including entry level retail jobs, manufacturing jobs, and security positions.

John Fontillas, Brooklyn Community Board 7s Land Use Committee Chair, and Cesar Zuniga, Brooklyn Community Board 7 Chair, testified on behalf of the Board. Both Fontillas and Zuniga expressed their frustration with the limited amount of time the Board had to fully understand and come up with a decision on a large, complex project like Industry City. Fontillas later told CityLand that although the Board had time to review a draft scoping document prior to certification, the final application was not submitted to the Board until early November 2019. He explained that this did not give the Board enough time to review, learn about, and evaluate a 3000 page application in the midst of the holiday season.

Fontillas also testified that the final application did not reflect community requests such as limiting the amount of retail and office spaces to increase more manufacturing and industrial spaces and removing hotels from the complex.

Supporters of the project, which include Industry City tenants and members of labor union, 32BJ SEIU, testified that Industry Citys expansion will bring more jobs, bring more educational and vocational training opportunities, provide resources for small businesses, and create infrastructure improvements to Sunset Park.

Opponents of the project, which include some local residents and organizers from Protect Sunset Park and UPROSE, two Sunset Park based advocacy groups, testified that the expansion will contribute to the ongoing gentrification of Sunset Park, contribute to rising housing and commercial rents within the overall neighborhood, and take away industrial and manufacturing jobs by adding in more large scale retail and offices. Opponents are also concerned that the expansion does not include any climate adaption or mitigation components that would protect the Sunset Park community from climate change effects.

City Planning will vote on this application at a later date.

By: May Vutrapongvatana (May is the CityLaw Fellow and New York Law School Graduate, Class of 2019)

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Public Hearing on Contested Industry City Expansion - CityLand

Grand Hyatt | February 24, 2020

Miami Beach, FL Feb. 24, 2020 The development team behind Miami Beachs new Convention Center hotel announced today that an 800-room property will be operated by Hyatt under the luxury Grand Hyatt brand, when it opens to guests in 2023. Grand Hyatt Miami Beach will create a new hospitality option for visitors attending events at the adjacent Miami Beach Convention Center, which underwent a $600 million renovation that was completed last year, and anchor the Convention Center District.

The hotel development is being led byDavid Martinof TerraandJackie Sofferof Turnberry, whose plans for the hotel were overwhelmingly approved by Miami Beach voters in 2018. The 17-story hotel will be situated at the intersection of 17th Street and Convention Center Drive, within walking distance of the beachfront, Lincoln Road Mall, New World Symphony, The Bass Museum and The Fillmore Miami Beach.

For years, Miami Beach has served as a global destination for arts, culture, shopping, dining and entertainment, but the City has lacked a true headquarters hotel for top-tier conventions and meetings, said Martin and Soffer. South Floridas first Grand Hyatt hotel will maximize Miami Beachs investment in its re-imagined Convention Center while bridging the physical gap that exists between the Convention Center District and surrounding neighborhoods.

The new hotel will become only the second Grand Hyatt property in Florida, joining Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay. Grand Hyatt hotels are designed to connect guests with iconic experiences, landmarks and cultural touchstones in captivating destinations around the world. Hallmarks of the brand include bold and vibrant design and architecture, elevated amenities and welcoming service that creates moments of more.

At Hyatt, we believe in growing with intent and expanding our footprint in markets that matter most to our guests and World of Hyatt members, said David Tarr, senior vice president, development, Americas, Hyatt. Hyatt is proud to play an integral role in this project as hotel operator, under the luxury Grand Hyatt brand, which will help guests and locals alike celebrate the iconic, captivating city of Miami Beach.

Grand Hyatt Miami Beach will be designed by internationally acclaimed architectBernardo Fort-Bresciaand his firm, Miami-based Arquitectonica. The team also includes partnerCraig Robinsof Dacra, who is the visionary behind the Miami Design District and helped revive Miami Beachs Art Deco District in the 1990s;Stonehill Taylor, which is designing the hotels interior lobby and lounges, ballroom and meeting rooms, hotel rooms and all common areas;EOA, which is designing the pool deck hospitality features of the hotel; andArquitectonica GEO, which is creating lush pedestrian promenades and landscapes.

Hotel features are expected to include 12 floors of guest rooms offering views of Miami Beach, two floors of meeting spaces and ballrooms that will complement the Convention Center, a resort-style pool deck with panoramic views, and limited retail space that will activate the district at street level. An elevated skybridge will enable event attendees to move freely between the hotel and Convention Center in a climate-controlled, art-filled corridor.

Plans also include landscaped pedestrian promenades on surrounding streets, bike sharing stations, connectivity with public transit routes, dedicated ridesharing pick-up and drop-off zones, and direct access between the Convention Center and Lincoln Road. The projects resiliency and sustainability measures include storm water management and reuse, flood risk mitigation, and the use of solar power all of which are designed to ensure operational continuity during weather events.

The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) joins Terra, Turnberry and The City of Miami Beach in welcoming the Grand Hyatt Miami Beach as the newly named brand for the 800-room headquarter hotel connected to the Miami Beach Convention Center, said William D. Talbert, III, CDME, President of the GMCVB. Grand Hyatt Miami Beachmakes it possible to better compete for citywide conventions which fuel jobs in our community and generates business for all of Greater Miamis hotels and merchants.We look forward to the hotel ground-breaking which once completed will finalize the Miami Beach Convention Center District.

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The Grand Hyatt Brand Selected as Flag for New Miami Beach Convention Center Hotel - Hotel-Online.com

(TNS) The downtown area envisioned for the Stafford County, Virginia, courthouse may someday be so technologically advanced that the amount of garbage in each trash can will be electronically monitored.

Ultra-wide broadband will be abundant, as will smart energy, lighting, water and temperature controls that will be built into energy-efficient housing units and commercial buildings.

Were looking to build a secure facility from the ground up, said David Ihrie, chief technology officer of the Center for Innovative Technology. Our goal is to make Stafford a model community for all of Virginia.

The CIT, an extension of the state government, works with early start-up companies, manages grants and focuses on economic development.

The original plan for Downtown Stafford, which featured 673 residential units, a museum, boutiques, restaurants and family-friendly things to do, has been talked aboutand kicked down the roadfor years.

But the project was reinvigorated when Ihrie met Mike Cannon, Stafford director of information technology, at a symposium in October 2018. Cannon discussed Downtown Stafford with Ihrie and the two saw it as a perfect publicprivate partnership opportunity.

County supervisors recently were briefed on the project by John Holden, Staffords director of economic development. He told supervisors the first step of the process would be to use the area in and around the government center as a proving ground for technology that could someday be incorporated into the larger Downtown Stafford area.

Ihrie said CIT would bring a host of interested partners to Stafford to help boost economic development in the region and realize his vision.

We want to make Downtown Stafford the states first standalone smart community, Ihrie said.

Supervisors overwhelmingly supported the concept.

Holden told supervisors that the county share of the buildout would be limited to roads and supporting infrastructure, with private partners funding the construction of buildings within the new community.

Holden said construction of Downtown Stafford, which is anticipated to be along Courthouse Road, across from the existing courthouse, will begin in mid-2022.

This could be a five- to 10-year development process for full completion, said Holden.

The existing urban zoning in the area must be modified in coming months to accommodate an increase in density and parking.

Supervisors will hold a public hearing to discuss the rezoning in the spring. In the meantime, county staff is fine-tuning the project after receiving direction from supervisors.

Supervisor Mark Dudenhefer said to have pedestrian-friendly communities like this, the zoning in the area must be more dense. He said the proposed downtown area has many advantages, including potential jobs and office space within walking distance of the government center.

If we can get jobs down here, hopefully people wont be driving to D.C. all the time, said Dudenhefer. The only issue I see with rezoning ahead of construction is builders willing to build to county specifications.

Ihrie envisions Downtown Stafford as a smart community, where government, businesses and residents use the latest technical innovations.

The project brings private partners in to develop technologies and other vendors to develop tools to implement smart city applications, said Holden.

Holden said Downtown Stafford will feature fewer brick-and-mortar retail outlets on its 28 acres. Instead, Holden said, shoppers can expect an experiential retail experience, such as augmented reality clothing stores with holographic technology to allow customers to try on different outfits.

This is an opportunity for the county to be the showcase for the whole commonwealth and beyond, said Cannon. [The technology] will enhance the quality of life and safety of those living, working and shopping in Downtown Stafford.

CIT has already invested $100,000 to develop a strategy and a vision for Staffords downtown area. It has engaged Optimal Solutions and Technologies to test out ideas.

OST, a Tysons Corner-based technology firm, enhances physical assetssuch as buildings, roads and lightingto create efficient infrastructure. The firm completed specifications for Staffords downtown area last summer.

This summer, OST and other contractors will install equipment and software in government center, which will serve as the operations center for the endeavor. Even after Downtown Stafford is built, the center will remain in operation, continuing to test and evaluate new technology for the county to consider including in the new town center.

For now, Ihrie said a wide range of equipment and sensors will be tested, and some will tie into existing traffic cameras.

Were paying a lot of attention to cameras and their use, and where to use them, said Ihrie. There are ways we can improve traffic flow and congestion and improve the community experience, like whens the best time to leave for work.

Ihrie said sensors inside buildings could help save energy, while monitoring daily operations. During emergencies, other technology could provide critical information to first responders, monitor pollution along the Interstate 95 corridor, and could keep a watchful eye on the landscape.

Well test if [sensors] can sense and detect a wildfire, if they can distinguish between a barbecue or a fire pit, said Ihrie.

To sweeten the pot even more, Fredericksburg-based Jarrell Properties Inc., which owns 6 acres at the corner of Courthouse Road and U.S. 1, has agreed to join the publicprivate partnership. Its property will serve as the gateway for visitors to the countys new town center.

Holden said Jarrell Properties will start building a mixed-use development around communal open space. The county anticipates 309 apartments will be built on the property, known as Fountain Park. There will also be office space, which thee county plans to occupy, serving as the anchor tenant.

Several old buildings that now sit on the site of the future Fountain Park will be demolished as part of the Courthouse Road widening project that begins this year. Next month, the former law office of Robert Hyman, the bank building next to it, and the Aquia Medical Center building situated directly across the street from the courthouse will come down before attention is turned to structures at the Fountain Park site.

After demolition, a portion of the land will serve as a temporary parking area during the construction of the new $45 million county courthouse. That building, which is in the design phase, will be adjacent to the Chichester Building at 1245 Courthouse Road.

After the new courthouse is open, the existing one will be used by the countys legal and law enforcement departments.

2020 The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Va.).Distributed byTribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Virginia Wants to Install Tech and Make a Smart Stafford - Governing