October 25, 2023

ANDOVER, MA - The Healey-Driscoll administration has announced that the Town of Andover will receive a $3.3 million grant through the Commonwealths MassWorks Infrastructure Program to support roadway and sidewalk improvements in the Essex Street corridor.

MassWorks is a competitive grant program administered by the states Executive Office of Economic Development that provides capital funding to municipalities for infrastructure projects that support housing production, private development, and job creation.The Town of Andovers award is the largest grant received by the Town through the program to date.

The funding will enable the Town to improve municipal infrastructure along and adjacent to Essex Street, which runs from Elm Square to Red Spring Road. It also serves as a major connector road, or spine, of the mixed-use corridor west of Main Street. The anticipated improvements will aim to make the corridor more walkable, improve the safety of intersections along the route for all users, strengthen the connectivity between Downtown Andover and key destinations including the MBTA commuter rail station and Historic Mill District, and support future housing development.

Planned improvements include widening the sidewalk on the northern side of Essex Street to enhance pedestrian safety, the addition of bicycle accommodations, and upgrades to water and drainage systems serving the corridor. Additionally, the funding will enable the Town to implement multimodal safety improvements to three key intersections:

These intersections were identified as needing improvement in a Circulation and Street Design Study for the Historic Mill District completed by the Town of Andover in 2019. The intersection of Essex Street at Pearson Street and Railroad Avenue features five vehicle approaches and an active railroad crossing, making it particularly challenging to traverse for pedestrians, motorists, and bicyclists. Improvements to this intersection are imperative to proposed and future development in the corridor, and overall public safety.

Critically, the infrastructure improvements enabled through the MassWorks grant will support the development of the Old Town Yard site, a three-acre plus parcel located at 11 Lewis Street. In June, the Town of Andover finalized a Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) with Minco Development Corporation (Minco) for the site. Mincos proposed development includes 163 residential units, community amenities, and commercial/retail space, and represents an initial investment of approximately $70 million. Under the terms of the LDA, construction of the development must begin by 2026 and reach completion by 2029, if not sooner.

The funding provided through this MassWorks grant will have a transformative impact on Essex Street and the surrounding area, improving walkability, connecting key destinations, and serving as a catalyst for continued development in the corridor, said Director of Planning and Land Use Paul Materazzo. We are grateful for Commonwealths support of our ongoing effort to make Andovers roadways safer for all users and to stimulate high-quality development and housing creation in the heart of the community.

The Town of Andovers Division of Planning and Land Use intends to conduct extensive public engagement in the months ahead to discuss proposed improvements to the Essex Street corridor to ensure that plans align with the preferences of the community, including nearby residents, businesses, and property owners.

The grant award was announced at a ceremony held on Wednesday, October 25 at Suffolk Downs in Revere that featured projects across the Commonwealth funded by the MassWorks Infrastructure Program and the HousingWorks Infrastructure Program. Governor Maura Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Secretary Yvonne Hao, and Secretary Ed Agustus were in attendance for the event.

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Town of Andover Awarded $3.3 Million MassWorks Grant for ... - Andover, MA

HARTFORD The city of Hartford would pay nearly $10 million to end a 7-year court battle over the development of Dunkin Park and the land around it, clearing the way for further apartment construction in the area, perhaps starting by the end of this year.

The $9.9 million settlement, outlined in a letter Thursday from Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin to the city council, calls for the city to pay that amount to Arch Insurance Co., the insurance company that financed the completion of the citys minor league ballpark just north of downtown.

All sides in the court dispute involving the city agreed that there would be no further litigation in the matter in the future. They include the former developers Centerplan and DoNo Hartford LLC who were fired by Bronin from the unfinished ballpark project in 2016, and a year later, the mixed-use development around the 6,100-seat stadium.

Negotiating directly with Arch was critical to reaching a settlement, Bronin wrote to the city council. The settlement relieves Centerplan chief executive Robert Landino of paying a court-ordered $34 million to Arch for finishing the ballpark, making the settlement acceptable to the developers. Arch also would pay Centerplan and DoNo Hartford $1.8 million under the settlement.

Centerplan and DoNo Hartford filed a wrongful termination civil lawsuit shortly after being fired and initially sought $90 million in damages. The lawsuit touched off a court battle that stretches back to the earliest days of Bronins two-term tenure.

Bronin is asking the city council to convene a special meeting Monday where Bronin will seek approval of the settlement.

Bronin, who is not seeking a third term, steadfastly has defended his decision to terminate the developers.

The city was victorious in a jury trial in the case in 2019; and even though the developers successfully appealed that decision to win a new trial set to begin in the spring Bronin has maintained the city would again be on the winning side.

Bronin reiterated that belief at an afternoon news conference at Hartford City Hall. But the prospect of years of further appeals costing as much as $6 million plus years of stalled redevelopment around Dunkin Park made the settlement the right option for the city, Bronin said.

The settlement represents an opportunity not only to eliminate those legal fees but to remove the cloud of this litigation all together, Bronin said. And to allow the city of Hartford to move forward with the development of the parcels around the baseball park and to ensure the new administration can come in without the distraction of on-going litigation.

Since 2016, legal fees paid to outside firms with expertise in construction law have reached about $6 million. With those fees, the costs of defending and settling the lawsuit are closer to $16 million.

The developer who replaced Centerplan and DoNo Hartford Stamford-based RMS Cos. had completed one phase of the development the $50 million, 270-unit apartment known as The Pennant around Dunkin Park.

But RMS had been blocked from moving on to the second of four planned phases for more than a year by the litigation. RMS founder and chief executive Randy Salvatore has stated multiple times that he remained committed to the development.

Cloe Poisson / Hartford Courant

Im obviously very excited about the whole thing, Salvatore said Thursday, of the settlement. Were gearing up right now to go, so Im hopeful that we can have a groundbreaking by the end of the year.

North Crossings second phase on so-called Parcel B would have 532 apartments and a 541-space garage, plus 10,000 square feet of storefront space, at a cost of $120 million. The development would be split into two parts. The first to be worked on would include 228 apartments and the parking garage. The balance of the rentals would be completed in the second half.

At the news conference, Bronin said moving forward with North Crossing was important for several reasons. They include generating new taxes to help pay off the citys costs in building Dunkin Park and regaining the momentum behind the citys revitalization and fueling economic development, both of which took a hit in the pandemic.

The development around the ballpark was always the core of the promise to the city of Hartford that this would be more than a ballpark project but a neighborhood redevelopment that would help us reconnect our neighborhoods, get rid of a sea of surface parking and knit our neighborhoods back together, Bronin said.

Louis R. Pepe, an attorney for the former developers issued a statement Thursday that said: Centerplan and DoNo Hartfordare very pleased with the settlement of the claims they had against the City of Hartford in this matter, and they look forward to recovering additional compensation for their losses in the continuing litigation against the design professionals for the stadium project.

Negotiating with Arch Insurance

The settlement negotiated over months turns on a 2019 federal court ruling in which Centerplans Landino was ordered to pay Arch Insurance about $34 million tied to the ballparks completion.

Arch successfully argued that Landino had failed to reimburse the insurer for what it paid out to finance the completion of the ballpark. Arch hired a new construction company and the stadium the home field of the Hartford Yard Goats opened for its first season in 2017, a year later than planned.

Bronin noted that Arch paid about $34 million to complete the ballpark, and the settlement was less than 30% of that amount.

Had the city not terminated Centerplan and called the bond in 2016, the city would have been responsible for that $34 million, at a minimum, and probably more in order to complete the ballpark, Bronin wrote to the city council.

Bronin wrote that the city has reserved sufficient funds for the settlement from prior year surpluses, which means this settlement will not have any impact on the current year budget, and will not require us to draw down any funds from our unassigned fund balance.

The unassigned balance is essentially the citys rainy day fund.

Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant

Bronins letter and comments at the news conference toned down the stronger, public comments he has made in the past defending his decision to fire Centerplan and DoNo Hartford. Bronin often has said, and as recently as July in an interview with The Courant, that he never regretted his decision to fire Centerplan and DoNo Hartford.

There is no doubt in my mind that if we hadnt made the decision that we made in 2016, we would not have a baseball park even today, Bronin said, in July. Instead of an award-winning, nationally recognized baseball park, wed still have an unfinished hulk of concrete and steel.

The Centerplan and DoNo lawsuit has spawned nearly 700 court filings since 2016.

Centerplan and DoNo Hartford were hired for the ballpark project and the development of a swath of empty parking lots around it by Bronins predecessor, Mayor Pedro E. Segarra.

In 2019, a Superior Court jury sided with the citys decision to terminate the developers. But last year, the state Supreme Court ordered a new trial because the critical question of who had legal control over the stadium and its design was ambiguous. Centerplan and DoNo Hartford have argued it was the city, that the designs were flawed, resulting in cost overruns and delays in the ballparks construction.

After the citys 2019 court victory, the city chose RMS as the new developer. But when a new trial was ordered, Centerplan and DoNo Hartford last year also moved to essentially take back control of the development around Dunkin Park. That stopped RMS from moving beyond what the first phase of North Crossing.

The barrier to further development strengthened in May when a Superior Court judge ruled that who had the right to develop needed to come after the new trial and a decision on the wrongful termination case. The new trial was scheduled for April 2024.

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.

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Settlement reached in ballpark construction in CT city - Hartford Courant

Once completed, 300 Huntington will offer several office and retail spaces, a walkway along the Gowanus Canal, and more

A launch of leasing has been announced for 300 Huntington, a new six-story, 136,000-square-foot mixed-use commercial development located in Gowanus/Carroll Gardens.

The announcement was made by Monadnock Development, a Brooklyn-based, mixed-use development firm that has constructed several buildings in NYC since its inception in 2006.

300 Huntington, which is scheduled to launch sometime this fall, is anticipated to provide around 49,000 square feet of office and creative space, along with 17,000 square feet of additional retail space located at ground level making it the first ground-up office/commercial building to be erected in the area.

The building itself will feature numerous oversized windows, offering an abundance of light for tenants, as well as breathtaking views of lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn.

Other notable attributes of the project include a mile-long esplanade and walkway constructed along the Gowanus Canal, a public park, shared and private amenity terrace space, the full utilizationof electric energy, among other features.

In addition to developing the office building, Monadnock Development along with its construction services company, Monadnock Construction will also be moving into 300 Huntington, occupying the structures second and third floors as its new permanent headquarters.

As a Brooklyn-born, Brooklyn-based firm with a strong presence in the community dating back more than four decades, selecting 300 Huntington as our new headquarters was not only irresistible but a natural next step in our firms continued evolution and growth, said Frank Dubinsky, COO of Monadnock Development.

Co-locating in close proximity to our tenants and future occupants allows Monadnock the ability to continue our mission and reputation as providers of best-in-class real estate solutions to the community.

To learn more about the new mixed-use development in-the-works, visit 300Huntington.com.

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Launch of Leasing Announced For Swanky New Gowanus Office ... - BK Reader

the ark: Preserving Heritage for a Dynamic Future

MAD Architects unveils The Ark, a futuristic renovation proposal for the Shanghai Zhangjiang Cement Factorys Wanmicang warehouse. This project aims to hybridize modernity with Chinas history, breathing new life into a once-decaying industrial site, now envisioned as a multifunctional public waterfront space integrating culture, creativity, retail, and shared offices. The Shanghai Zhangjiang Cement Factory was once among the three largest cement factories in Shanghai. Built in 1971, it played a pivotal role in Shanghais growth until it ceased production in 2013. The Wanmicang warehouse, originally a hub for raw material intake, remains the largest standing structure in the cement factory.

images MAD Architects

The design team at MAD Architects envisions its cement factory intervention, The Ark, as a campus for businesses within a fluid architectural space, celebrating the contemporary and the future. The proposal retains the original industrial character of the warehouse, with an ark-like metal structure replacing the former roof. This duality of rough concrete and smooth metal breathes new life into the deteriorating building, converting it into a versatile urban living space. The warehouses rusticated facade has been meticulously repaired and reinforced to become an integral part of the new environment, while a suspended glass curtain wall on the west side creates a vibrant public space.

Industrial heritage is preserved and utilised not only because of the historical memories it carries, but more importantly because it gives the future a sense of history. So we dont need to celebrate and consolidate industrial aesthetics here, but rather focus on the spirit of the contemporary and the future, explains Ma Yansong, founding partner of MAD Architects.

a transformative design will blend old and new to breathe new life into the decaying industrial site

The spacious interiors by MAD Architects capitalize on the warehouses elongated volume, offering visitors an immersive experience of The Ark. A monumental metal staircase ascends through a fluid portal toward the rooftop, while a tiered garden houses creative and cultural areas below. A glass curtain wall gracefully separates the old factory wall from the floating ark overhead. Natural light filters through the gaps, illuminating the garden and reflecting off the stainless steel ceiling, creating a sense of light and greenery. The shifting angles of sunlight animate the old bricks, invoking a sense of times passage and the sites historical significance.

the historic Shanghai Zhangjiang Cement Factory symbolizes five decades of urban development

To provide a riverside view, the first floor of the old factory building opens up to integrate with the waterfront plaza. Meanwhile, a central corridor connects the park plaza with the riverbank, while a newly designed bridge allows access across the river. The rooftop is conceived as an additional urban public space, offering sweeping views of the Chuanyang River in the distance. The Arks eaves gently slope to optimize this view and minimize any imposing presence on the riverbanks. The floating effect of the ark is achieved through new columns, floor trusses, spanning trusses, and large beams. Meanwhile, the old walls are fortified and repaired to preserve their historic character.

MAD Architects will repurpose the decaying structures for research, culture, sports, and retail a monumental metal staircase will ascend through a fluid portal toward the rooftop

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MAD architects will perch a futuristic 'ark' atop a cement factory ruin ... - Designboom

Moab is known as a rock climbing destination: With unique sandstone towers and long, parallel splitter cracks at nearby Indian Creek, Moab attracts climbers from around the world. Soon, Moab climbers will have a place to train when the sun is down or the weather is badtwo Moab residents, along with a partner based in Las Vegas, are launching the Climb Moab Gym, an indoor space with bouldering and top rope walls. Locals Britt Zale and Kaya Lindsay and their partner Justin Beitler hope to open this winter, offering a space for climbers to not just train, but meet new friends and foster community.

From idea to reality

Zale and Lindsay both moved to Moab in 2017. Zale learned a lot of her outdoor climbing skills while living in Moab; within a few years, decided she wanted to make it her permanent home. One thing the town was missing, though, was a climbing gym. She decided to make one.

I like to solve problems, Zale said. She has experience in small business management, and has worked as an academic fellow teaching a seminar on leadership in Bangladeshthat background gave her confidence that she could undertake the project.

Zale researched how to start a climbing gym, asked business-savvy friends to review her ideas, and got help from a CPA in drafting a business plan, which was complete by 2021but construction costs were prohibitively high at the time. Zale was also helping her boyfriend build a sweat-equity home, so the climbing gym took a back seat. In 2022, though, a surprising chain of events brought Beitler into the project.

Beitler and some friends were on a BASE jumping trip in Moab when a friend of Beitlers had a jump go wrong and ended up hanging from a cliff face in the Kane Creek area. Beitler rushed to ask nearby people for climbing gear, planning to climb up a crack leading to where his friend was suspended. River Barry, an experienced climber who happened to be on the scene, offered to use her gear to lead her way up to the stranded jumper.

The rescue was successful and Barry and Beitler became friends. He later encouraged her to try BASE jumping, so she signed up to go with a local instructorcoincidentally, that instructor was Zales boyfriend. Soon Beitler, Barry, and Zale all met, and Beitler learned of Zales climbing gym dreams. Beitler loves adventure sportsin addition to rock climbing and BASE jumping, hes also a pilotand he has entrepreneurship experience, having founded an aircraft brokerage business. Beitler offered to invest in Climb Moab.

He literally fell out of the sky, Lindsay summed up.

If that accident hadnt happened, we might still be looking for an investor, Zale said.

Lindsay joined the team in 2023. She had heard about the plans for the gym and emailed Zale, interested in taking part; Zale welcomed Lindsays experience in community management, event coordination and marketing. Lindsay thought it would be a long process to get the gym off the ground, but by early 2023, the team was already looking at a space. They closed on a building in the Moab business park on south Highway 191 in February and started lining up contractors. They have been relying a lot on the community, they saidthey have a five-member advisory board, most of whom are local, and theyve hired many local contractors to build and design elements of the gym.

Weve been trying to get as many locals and people interested in climbing involved as we can, Zale said.

Climb Moab gym

As of late September, the interior is mostly a blank canvas: the walls are primed, a ground-story bathroom is framed, and areas are blocked out with furniture to help with visualizing the future space. Renderings taped to the walls illustrate what the climbing walls will look like: blocky, dimensional volumes will allow for problems and routes with interesting movement.

Some details remain to be decidedfor example, the cost of a gym membership or day pass is still undetermined. Zale and Lindsay say they plan to make the price commensurate with other gyms in the areathey want it to be a cost that local climbers can, and will want to, afford.

The pair have committed to many defining elements of the gym: There will be a bouldering area, with problems up to around 14 feet high, and a top rope area with routes up to about 23 feet high. A loft will house a workout area with traditional fitness equipment such as free weights. At the front of the gym there will be a lounge/work area, with tables, wifi, and snacks and beverages for sale. There will also be a small retail space selling locally made items such as chalk bags and packs.

The building doesnt have the height that would be necessary for safe lead routes, but the team plans to have a mock-lead area where people can learn and practice lead climbing skills.

We want to be able to offer education, Lindsay said. Along with lead-climbing skills, theyd like to offer other technique classes, and they plan to host a BEACON Afterschool Club for kids. If theres interest, they may establish a competitive youth team.

Were looking to see what we can grow into, Lindsay said.

Zale and Lindsay plan to partner with local yoga studio Desert Power Yoga, offering some form of joint membership or punch pass that will allow holders to use both the climbing gym and the yoga studio on the north end of townthe exact parameters of the arrangement arent yet determined, but according to a survey they conducted early this year, yoga is a popular amenity among prospective gym members.

Building community

Zale and Lindsay say they hope the gym will be a good place to build community and relationships, as well as a place to train physically. They plan to host events like movie nights and guest speakers.

We want to create a container for the climbing community to flourish, Lindsay said.

A gym is a friendly place for new climbers to dip their toes into the sport and learn safety and etiquette in a controlled environment. Routes will be set with a broad range of difficulties.

We want to try to prioritize having climbs everyone can do, Lindsay said.

Even experienced climbers may appreciate a rotating selection of moderate climbs:

Im excited to have a place we can climb 5.10 year-round, with new routes every month, Zale said.

Many climbers develop their skills with the help of friends and mentors, and Zale and Lindsay hope that the gym may help facilitate those relationships. Both Zale and Lindsay remember meeting climbing mentors while camping at Indian Creekbut they dont think someone should have to commit to living in a van in the desert and devoting all their time to rock climbing in order to join a community who can introduce them to the sport, help them gain skills and confidence, and conduct themselves safely and with good etiquette.

Climb Moab Gym is set to open sometime this winter; in the spring, the gym will host a grand opening party. To keep up with whats happening at the gym, visit https://www.climbmoabgym.com/.

Photo caption: Moab locals Britt Zale (left) and Kaya Lindsay, along with partner Justin Beitler (not pictured), are launching an indoor climbing gym in Moab. [Rachel Fixsen/Moab Sun News]

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Moab climbing gym in the works - Moab Sun News

Heres the latest on the new mixed-use, transit-oriented development coming to Nubian Square  Boston.com

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Heres the latest on the new mixed-use, transit-oriented development coming to Nubian Square - Boston.com

Historic renovation to begin in downtown OKC in March 2023  KOKH FOX25

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Historic renovation to begin in downtown OKC in March 2023 - KOKH FOX25

STRATUS PROPERTIES INC Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. (form 10-Q)  Marketscreener.com

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STRATUS PROPERTIES INC Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. (form 10-Q) - Marketscreener.com

With more than 1,000 empty parking spaces and do-not-enter signs taped to several locked doors, Prudential's 75-acre office campus in Plymouth feels nearly abandoned.

It's been that way nearly since the beginning of the pandemic when the company sent most of its workers home, leaving the 450,000-square-foot office building nearly empty. And like a lot of large companies, Prudential began re-evaluating its space needs.

Late last month the company sold the property to Jeff Koch and Dan Salzer, a pair of Twin Cities developers who decided that, although the building is only 42 years old, it doesn't have the features and amenities most companies want. Demolition is the only sensible option, they determined.

"It's getting more and more difficult to fill existing [office] space ... and that's a really tough building to repurpose," said Koch, a co-founder of Twin Cities-based Roers Cos. "But it's a perfect site for residential."

Koch and Salzer, a director of development for Scannell Properties, said that over the next five years the team plans to spend $300 million to build 12 to 15 buildings that will include rental apartments, medical offices and retail space in what will become one of the biggest redevelopment projects in the metro.

While there's plenty of demand for housing, demand for traditional office space is weak and the future of the sector remains uncertain, brokers say.

An estimated 18 to 25 % of all office space in the Twin Cities is empty and the situation is likely to worsen as leases expire and companies downsize, leaving vacancy rates elevated for the "foreseeable future," according to a new report from Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL)

The group said the average vacancy rate for offices across the metro has increased slightly since the beginning of the year, rising to 18% during the second quarter.

"Large tenants are still hunkered down and figuring out how and what hybrid work means," said Jon Dahl, a managing director in Minneapolis for JLL.

He said smaller companies are having an easier time determining their future space needs because they have a better handle on what works and what doesn't. Most of the active shoppers are in the market for spaces with 2,000 to 10,000 square feet. A few companies, Dahl said, are on hunt for 30,000 to 40,000 square feet.

"Small tenants are wanting new space and moving into new buildings," he said. "But there's a lot more movement than there normally would be."

Dahl said that in a normal market, there's a 75% probability of a tenant renewing, but those odds are now below 50%. Still, Dahl thinks the vacancy rate in downtown is close to leveling out.

Cushman Wakefield's estimates are even more dour. The company's second-quarter report shows that the average office vacancy rate across the metro was closer to 25% after hovering at around 18% for the three years prior to the pandemic.

The group said that leasing activity across the metro has remained relatively steady over the past several quarters. But for the eighth consecutive quarter, more office space has been vacated than occupied.

Excluding the massive vacancy at City Center after Target Corp. left the building, absorption during the second quarter was slightly positive given that several companies have signed leases and there have been several high-profile move-ins, especially in downtown Minneapolis.

Those recently signed deals included Fox Rothschild, which is taking nearly 40,000 square feet of that former Target space. ESG Architecture & Design said it will take 20,000 square feet at the new North Loop Green. In both cases, however, those new leases are downsizings from previous offices, creating a net increase in available space.

During the second quarter, Agiliti and HelpSystems moved into One Southwest Crossing, and the Pohlad Cos. and JLL moved into their new office space at the RBC Gateway tower.

Demand has been especially strong in the North Loop, which is now back to pre-pandemic leasing levels. The buildings in that area, he said, have the kinds of amenities and features that many companies want. Canteen One, for example, announced a move from the suburbs to a more than 40,000-square-foot space in the North Loop.

"Companies are not shying away from quality space," Paul Donovan, executive director at Cushman Wakefield, said. "They just want less of it."

With more than 2.3 million square feet of "active office requirements" (companies looking for space), JLL says leasing activity might increase slightly in the second half of 2022. If so, that could push some new speculative office development forward in downtown Minneapolis and St. Louis Park's West End.

Though the future of the office sector is uncertain, many investors are still shopping for and buying office properties, especially those with the best amenities and in the best locations.

There have been several notable deals this year, including the recent sale of the 1.7 million-square-foot Normandale Lake Office Park to Opal Holdings, its first acquisition in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market.

That property, which was nearly fully leased, quickly found a buyer after being marketed but it closed for slightly less than the $369 million the seller paid in 2014.

Overall, though, investment sales have been relatively slow since the beginning of the pandemic. Higher interest rates have put downward pressure on prices and rising construction costs have only made such deals more challenging.

Still, higher vacancy rates aren't necessarily leading to bargains for redevelopment sites. Koch said that when he first contacted Prudential to see if it would be willing to sell even a portion of its property in Plymouth, he expected a deal. That wasn't the case.

"We thought we'd see a fire sale for office properties," Koch said. "We thought we'd get this for pennies on the dollar."

Koch said that even at market prices it still made sense to do the acquisition. He'd long seen opportunity in the rolling hills and ponds on the Prudential property, which he passed on his daily commute.

So just after the start of the pandemic, thinking the company might be looking to downsize its holdings, he made the call. His timing was perfect. The company said it was willing to sell the entire property.

Since closing at the end of August, the development process has just begun. Land preparation is expected to begin in 2023 and it'll take about five years to fully redevelop the site into retail, medical office buildings, multifamily residential and a business park.

"This is going to be a vibrant new destination for the community," Scannell said. "Where people can live, work, shop, eat and gather."

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Why a 450,000-square-foot office building in Plymouth is about to meet the wrecking ball - Star Tribune

A project six years in the making to build a hotel in downtown Skokie is moving forward, with the site cleared and preparation for construction starting, according to officials.

Chicago-based E&M Strategic Development plans to build the Homewood Suites by Hilton Hotel and Conference Center on the former Sanford Brown College site at 4930 Oakton Street. Mark Meyer, managing partner and founder of E&M, said Thursday the former building has been demolished and cleared, with the majority of building materials destined for recycling or reuse, and excavation of the site is underway.

As part of the hotel project, the village will build a $9.5 million parking garage at 8031 Niles Ave., on Illinois Science + Technology Park land owned by American Landmark Properties.

To that end, the village board on Aug. 15 approved a $10 yearly lease with American Landmark Properties starting Oct.1; a $178,600 architectural design and engineering services contract with Ware Malcomb; and a $450,329 construction contract with Russell Construction.

The first phase of the parking garage will provide 100 public parking spaces and 200 parking spaces for the hotel. Additional floors for tenants of the Illinois Science + Technology Park might be built in future phases. Also, the alley north of the hotel will become a fully improved street named Oakton Terrace. The parking garage which had been part of the Illinois Science +Technology Park master plan from 2005 will be just north of Oakton Terrace.

The hotel will have 143 rooms; 10,000 square feet of meeting/event space indoors and 5,000 square feet outdoors; a rooftop bar on the eighth floor; and 13,000 square feet of retail space on the ground floor.

The project was initially estimated at $55 million, but it will amount to more than $60 million due to inflation and the overall increase in the cost of goods and materials, Meyer said.

The village will contribute up to $13.5 million in tax-increment financing money for eligible project costs, according to the development agreement. TIF funds will be used to build the parking garage, village officials said.

Meyer said it might be difficult to meet the initial goal of opening the downtown hotel in fall or winter 2023.

Normally, its 14 to 18 months of construction time, he said. Weather, supply chain issues, labor issues all those things have an effect. If everything goes smoothly, yes, we can open at that time.

E&M Strategic Development first approached the village about the downtown hotel project in 2016. The process included the creation of a tax-increment financing district to help fund the project. The village board voted to enter into a development agreement with E&M Strategic Development in January 2021.

Meyer said the company focuses on Hilton, Marriott and IHG hotels. The company built a Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Elkhorn, Wisconsin, for example. Its not uncommon for projects to take several years, he said.

You think you have everything figured out, and then youre hit with the unforeseen, like the rise in interest rates and the cost associated with that, he said. And COVID, obviously.

Meyer, whos in business with his daughter, Emily Meyer, said they are big believers in downtown Skokie. He lives in Evanston and has frequented Skokie often, he added.

As theres been urban flight (in the wake of the pandemic), it seems like Skokie has become a desirable place where people relocate to, he said. The village has been great to work with. They value finding a partnership that works, not just to see the development but to see it done right.

For example, Skokie selected an environmentally-friendly contractor for the demolition, which resulted in less than 5% of debris ending up in landfills, Meyer said.

He explained that concrete was crushed to become road mix, and steel and other metals were melted for reuse, among other things.

The new parking garage also will have electric vehicle charging stations, Village Manager John T. Lockerby said. We are working with every project to make it sustainable, he said. The garage, however, will not have solar panels or a green roof, he said in response to a question asked by a resident at the Aug. 15 meeting.

Trustee James Johnson, who abstained from voting on the parking garage contracts, said the project is not aligned with the villages sustainability goals. I would really love to see the remaining green space in the Illinois Science + Technology Park be more protected in the future, he said.

According to estimates, the hotel is expected to attract 47,000 guests who will spend $12.5 million annually, with a benefit to local restaurants of up to $2.1 million annually, village officials said.

The hotel also will create 65 to 80 jobs, with the potential of becoming careers, in the hospitality industry, Meyer said.

We (my daughter and I) are excited to bring a family business to the area, he said. Not only to have an impact today, but to have an impact far into the future.

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Skokie hotel expected to boost downtown area; construction starting - Chicago Tribune