SPRINGFIELD, Mo. --Luxury lofts, retail stores and office space will soon open in a community on the southwest part of Springfield.

The development sits in Chesterfield Village near James River and Kansas Expressway.

With the addition, business could boom for restaurants and other shops in the village.

A typical Sunday for Madison Grogan includes serving her regulars at Garbo's Pizzeria in the heart of Chesterfield Village.

"I feel like I really know most of the people that come in here," says Grogan.

Grogan says some customers come from all over Springfield, but most eat, work and play near the village.

"We get a lot of families, a lot of repeat customers, you know, a lot of people come in, they want the same thing, same drinks. Its kind of fun, you build a relationship with a lot of the customers."

The 260,000 square foot community is getting a boost with a 52,000 square foot loft set to open next month.

Mike Fusek is the developer of the new Chesterfield Lofts.

"The first floor is office and retail spaces and floors two, three and four high-end, luxury residences."

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New Lofts Could Mean Big Business in Chesterfield Village

The Spokane Womans Club is experiencing what members hope are the first signs of a renaissance for the organization, which has seen its membership decline over the past 30 years. It now is looking to renovate its more than 100-year-old clubhouse on the South Hill, which it also markets as an event center and wedding venue, says Susan Bresnahan, club president.

Today, the 8,000-square-foot brick building is used for member functions and rented to individuals and community groups for activities, classes and events, as well as weddings and receptions. Since the beginning of the year, it also houses a retail space, a small art gallery and a tiny caf on its lower level.

Located at 1428 W. Ninth on the lower South Hill, between Walnut and Cedar streets, the club offers space in its vintage main ballroom, concert hall, and Rose Tea Room for meetings, events, weddings and wedding receptions.

A package deal for the frugal bride includes the use of the entire clubhouse for 10 hours on a Saturday including the use of a large kitchen, setup and take down for up to 125 guests, tables, linens and time for a two-hour wedding rehearsal the night before the big event. The ballroom features a full stage and hardwood floors for dancing. Up to 160 guests can be accommodated for a theater-style wedding without tables. Cost for that bridal package is $1,750.

For smaller weddings or receptions, the concert hall seats 60 in theater style or 50 guests seated at tables, and 100 standing guests. The hall includes an upright piano and small stage, and an efficiency kitchen is available near the space.

Cost for the clubs concert hall is currently $10 an hour for rent during the day, for meetings or luncheons.

Bresnahan says members want to change the image of the club. She says the groups goals are to attract a younger membership to help with its mission of strengthening the community and enhancing the lives of others with volunteer service and leadership development. Bresnahan says new classes, meetings and retail offerings are helping create a new look, and feel for the Womans Club.

We want people to know were not just here having tea parties, Bresnahan says. We do many service projects and we want to engage the community in what were doing.

The club holds meetings in the building once a month, and membership is $50 per full year and $25 for six months. The club offers a discount for qualified nonprofits and club members who want to rent space.

Last August, Bresnahan says membership was at an unprecedented low of 27.

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Spokane Womans Club venue draws more activity, members

Vancouver, BC (PRWEB) March 27, 2015

This month, Fontana Construction will complete construction on a new craft beer brewing facility for the Red Truck Beer Company as a way to encourage tourism and enthusiasm about the local craft beer industry.

This 21,000-square-foot, high-volume brewery located in the heart of Vancouver's downtown will be the third project the Vancouver contractors have completed for the owners of the Red Truck Beer Company, says Construction Manager Bruce Hicks. The space will feature a retail area, tasting room, and an old school diner with a 110-seat capacity including a sun drenched patio. The amazing stainless steel brewhouse (viewable from the diners bar) is complete with a cutting edge bottling, canning, keg filler and packaging line.

The new Red Truck brewery -- and its 75-foot working water tower, in particular -- will likely become an instantly-recognizable icon of Vancouver's skyline, a symbol of the city's heritage as a hub of craft beers, Hicks says.

"Fontana Construction is happy to be involved in projects that aim to preserve Vancouver's heritage and character, as well as to bolster local business in the surrounding areas," he says. "The new brewery is part of the area's 'skyline changing' new builds as well. I could see Red Truck water tower becoming a Vancouver icon ending up in many world travelers' photo collections."

Mark James, President of Red Truck Beer Company, says the choice to enlist Fontana Construction's services for a third time was an easy one to make.

"I have worked with Fontana Construction for the past eight years on three technical and complicated construction projects with multiple and above-average trade coordination complexities," James says. "Fontana provides personalized 'old world service' via hands-on strategic thinking, cost savings, and excellent rapport with ownership and trades. All three projects had successful outcomes and I would not hesitate to recommend Fontana Construction for your next project."

Hicks says the brewery should be open within the next two months.

Ultimately, despite a few challenges along the way, Hicks says he believes Fontana Construction has succeeded at building an outstanding, state-of-the-art craft beer brewery for Red Truck Beer Company.

"A lot of talented people put a lot of hard work into building Red Truck's new brewery," Hicks says. "It makes a person want to sit back and enjoy a beer now that it is done."

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Fontana Construction to Construct New Brewery for Red Truck Beer Company

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) March 26, 2015

Construct-A-Lead, the Construction Industrys most comprehensive construction lead service, reported today that the following Illinois construction projects will have the necessary approvals and will go forward. Businesses will have ample opportunities to provide construction bids and other services relative to these projects. Those interested parties are encouraged to visit construct-a-lead.com and reference the Project ID listed below to obtain direct contact information for each construction lead:

Chicago, IL - 1136-40 S. Wabash Ave - Plans call for the new construction of a 24 story tower with 280 apartments, 84 parking spaces and about 10,000 square feet of ground level retail space, on what is now a surface parking lot. Construction start: Q4, 2015, Q1, 2016, estimated. $64,000,000 Project ID: 1348059

East Peoria, IL Holiday Inn Express - Plans call for a new 4 story hotel with 93 rooms. Construction start: Q2, 2015, $9,000,000. Project ID: 1347659

Libertyville, IL - Advocate Condell Ambulatory Surgery Center Plans call for adding a Multi-specialty ASTC. Construction start: Q4, 2015, Q1, 2016. $10,000,000 Project ID: 1347835

Carol Stream, IL CoreCentric Solutions Plans call for the new construction of a 350,000-square-foot industrial building. Construction start: Q3 2015. $17,500,000 Project ID: 1348196

New Lenox, IL - CVS Plans call for the new construction of a 20,000 SF CVS store. Construction start: Q1, 2016, estimated. $1,800,000 Project ID: 1348186

Urbana, IL University of Illinois - Plans call for the new construction of a medical school campus to be independent of the existing College of Medicine in Chicago. Construction start: Q2, Q3, 2015. $100,000,000 Project ID: 1347877

Construct-A-Lead.com is an online construction projects database, helping contractors, service providers, manufacturers, distributors, suppliers and businesses in related industries gain information on all large scale commercial construction projects. The service features hotel construction, office buildings, retail construction, medical facilities, school renovations and much more, to help bid on construction including those hard-to-find private project leads, from planning stage through completion. Construct-A-Leads daily updates of commercial construction project leads are an ideal solution for those who want to put their product or service into commercial, government and religious structures.

For more information on upcoming construction projects to bid in your area, visit Construct-A-Lead.com online or call 855-874-1491.

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Construct-A-Lead reported today that the following Illinois construction projects will have the necessary approvals ...

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Courtesy of James C. Lewis The Carlisle, a 36-condo mixed-use building shown here, is planned at the southeast corner of Central and Carlisle SE, now occupied by a small former car wash converted to retail use.

A three-story, 36-condo building to be called The Carlisle with parking and some retail is expected to break ground in the next 35-40 days at the southeast corner of Central and Carlisle SE in the center of Nob Hill.

Veteran Albuquerque builder and developer Kenny Hinkes, who described the buildings architectural style as New Orleans meets Hollywood, said the $8.2 million construction project is aimed primarily at baby boomers who want to move down in size without moving down in quality.

The lot at 3600 Central SE was formerly occupied by a car wash that was converted to shop space with a sloped parking lot. After the current tenant, Ascension Body Modification, relocates April 1 to 1916 Central SE, it will be leveled to create whats often called a garden level, built into the hillside, that will have a 43-space parking structure and 2,000 square feet of retail space.

The upper two stories will have 38,000 square feet of residential condos built in a U shape around a garden courtyard. Although square footages are not yet available, the condos will all be two bedroom/two bath with balconies or patios and separate storage. The building will have a common rooftop patio for residents.

The Carlisle will be just downhill and north of Immanuel Presbyterian Church at 114 Carlisle SE, which was consulted by Hinkes early in his planning process.

Were all for it, said David Cameron, Immanuels pastor. We were hoping something good would happen at that corner. The project will build residential density and create more foot traffic in the neighborhood.

Hinkes has developed both commercial and residential condominiums in Albuquerque, including the three-story, 26-unit residential condo building at 110 Richmond SE, less than a half-mile west of The Carlisle.

Built in 2008 and completed in spring 2009, 110 Richmond went through a lull during the real estate slump but sold out in 2013, Hinkes said.

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New condos planned for the heart of Nob Hill

Garrick Brown

DTZs preliminary statistics for the first quarter of 2015 indicate that North Bay shopping center vacancy fell over the first three months of the year and now stand at just 3.8 percent, compared with 4.2 percent at the close of 2014.

And assuming that these numbers hold through the remainder of the quarter it does not end until March 31 it would mark the second consecutive quarter of falling vacancy levels in the North Bay.

Our survey covers shopping centers in Marin, Napa and Sonoma counties, all of which continue to face significant imbalances between supply and demand. The average asking rent for retail space in the region is currently $22.73 per square foot (psf) on an annual triple-net basis.

This number is up significantly from $19.20 psf a year ago. But we should note that because it covers all sizes and classes of availability, it is useful only as a benchmark. The average asking rate in the region of currently available small shop space (3,000 square feet or less) is $26.05 psf (up from $21.08 a year ago). But this number skyrockets for the rare class A listing that comes to market or for new construction, rental rates for both of which have routinely topped $60.00 psf.

The great challenge facing the market as a whole is that there is not enough available space to sate retailer demand. We are tracking increased space requirements from most retail categories from food users to hard-goods chains that are looking to expand in the North Bay to capitalize on the regions booming economy and the areas rock-solid consumer demographics. But with a sub-4 percent vacancy rate, little remains in the way of quality space and what little does become available moves quickly. Meanwhile, rents continue to skyrocket.

This is actually resulting in some chains foregoing local expansion and, instead, focusing on growth elsewhere. This shows in the regions occupancy-growth statistics. We are currently tracking just 83,000 square feet of occupancy growth since the beginning of the year. There simply isnt anywhere left to grow.

The North Bay recorded 227,000 square feet of occupancy growth in 2014. Sonoma County led the region in terms of growth with 269,000 square feet. Napa County growth was flat, while Marin lost occupancy last year.

So is demand hot in Sonoma, flat in Napa and cold in Marin? Not at all. The 4.4 percent vacancy level we are tracking in Marin consists almost entirely of older product average age, 45. Napa Valleys inventory is much more current average age, 28 but this market has even tighter vacancy, just 2.2 percent.

Only in Sonoma County are we seeing growth, because only there are we seeing new construction. We are tracking 88,000 square feet of development underway in Sonoma County all of which is already leased and an additional 250,000 square feet of shopping center space in planning that will begin construction in 2015.

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North Bay retail has little room to grow

By TAYLOR M. LIER

Staff Writer

HOWELL An applicant with longstanding plans to build a residential development in Howell has proposed eliminating the commercial portion of the development.

Elon Associates is seeking approval to construct 69 single-family homes and a building with 10 affordable housing units at the corner of Yellowbrook Road and Route 524 (Adelphia-Farmingdale Road).

Testimony on the application was most recently heard at the Feb. 19 meeting of the Planning Board.

Attorney Salvatore Alfieri, who represents Elon Associates, said the applicant is seeking preliminary and final major subdivision approval and final site plan approval.

A portion of the developers property has been set aside for retail commercial use, but that could change.

Some residents are concerned with the impact the commercial development would have in this area and the fact that it is not really consistent with the current development there or the proposed development, Alfieri said.

He suggested that if the Township Council and the Planning Board agree, his client would eliminate the commercial space in exchange for several homes.

My client has analyzed the financial impact the elimination of the commercial development would have and he agreed that if he can get an additional five homes in that area, he would go forward with eliminating the commercial part of the plan, Alfieri said.

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Elon Associates offers to eliminate retail space

CONSHOHOCKEN >> Council adopted an agreement with the Montgomery County Redevelopment Authority March 18 that authorizes the authority to act as the boroughs agent to apply for and administer a $2.5 million state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant.

The grant will pay a major portion of the construction costs for the new borough hall, police station and retail space at the former Verizon building on Fayette Street.

Under the agreement, the borough will pay the MCRA a 1 percent fee of $25,000 and all direct and indirect costs of pursuing the grant application and administering the grant. The MCRA will charge the borough $155 per hour for Executive Director Jerry Nugent, $175 per hour for Solicitor Sean Kilkenny and $72 per hour for the program administrator. Other costs to administer the grant will incur a 10 percent markup for accounting, invoicing and payment processing, the agreement said.

In September 2014, borough council borrowed $10.78 million from two banks to pay for the borough hall construction. The annual debt service will start at $312,619 in 2015 and increase to $719,766 per year in the subsequent 24 years of the loans.

Borough officials said the $719,766 in annual debt service would be balanced in future budgets by eliminating the annual $240,000 that the borough currently pays for its office rental at 1 W. First Ave. The borough also expects to receive about $225,000 per year when all of the 20,000 square feet of rental space is occupied in the new borough office building.

Council awarded a $10,497,600 basic bid to TN Ward Co. of Lower Merion in September 2014 for the building along with alternate bid items that brought the total cost of construction to $10,709,600. The alternate bids included a vegetative tray system on the main roof for $103,500; a screen for the rooftop mechanical systems for $46,500; a six-panel, closed-loop solar hot-water array for a $38,500; an upgrade in the rubber roof thickness from 0.06 of an inch to 0.09 of an inch for $13,500; and a ground face cement block rather than split face for $10,000.

A change order from TN Ward Co. to wrap the interior U shaped concrete columns inside the building with sheetrock and hide electrical conduit for an amount not to exceed $35,000 was approved by council.

There is steel rebar coming out of some of them. There are holes drilled in some of them, said borough Engineer Paul Hughes. You need to decide if you want to cover the columns.

Hughes said the contractor had a revised price of $57,480 and there was $22,000 included in the original contract to fill holes and paint the columns.

Councilwoman Anita Barton asked about the number of columns and the reasons for electrical conduits being located in the concrete columns. Hughes said that building codes require electrical outlets every 10 feet in a commercial building. Continued...

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Conshohocken seeks state grant to reduce cost of new borough hall

Using shipping containers as a retail, restaurant or residential building material isn't an entirely new concept, but these metal boxes are being used in a high-profile way with Friday's opening of The Yard, a retail and beer garden space in San Francisco, across from AT&T Park.

The shipping containers, installed in Lot A with views of the ballpark, house all of the businesses that comprise The Yard. Within the space is an Anchor Steam beer garden, bleachers to eat food from Off the Grid food trucks and retail spaces for North Face and Made in SF, among others.

Workers put the final touches on The Yard sign in San Francisco. (Chris Riley Vallejo Times-Herald)

Local business Transport Products Unlimited had a hand in the project, supplying half of the containers being used in this unique place. Along with container company American Transportation Services out of Oakland, the two companies reworked 13 shipping containers for use in The Yard, modifying the shells before taking the products to Urban Bloc in San Leandro, where the final interiors were installed.

Marth Trela, CEO of Urban Bloc, said that the use of shipping containers is finally gaining some traction.

"Commercial container construction has been popular in Europe and Asia for awhile now, but it's just starting here in the United States," Trela said. "The United States is really just starting to embrace it, but it's seemingly taking off really well. People just have this natural inclination to these kind of social food/shopping experiences and so we're excited because there seems to be tremendous interest in using empty lots and vacant areas ... and it's not as difficult as traditional buildings to set something up."

Transport Products Unlimited president Randy Larsen has been working on container projects for decades, first seeing modified use of shipping containers back in the '80s. The Yard is one of the largest commercial spaces Larsen has worked on, but for him, the appeal of using shipping containers is apparent.

"It's more cost-effective because your construction is going to last longer than if you built it out of wood," Larsen said. "Getting into some of the areas we can deliver, you'd have a hard time hauling the lumber and stepping in there ... It's a turnkey (project): When (the container) leaves here, we set it on the ground and basically all they have to do is hook power up to it and water ... and they're good to go."

Beyond the durability of using shipping containers as a building material, it is also a way to reuse materials that oftentimes sits around collecting dust, according to Jerry Jameson, CIO of Urban Bloc.

"In the places where the shipping containers originate, there's mountains and mountains and mountains of them that are just sitting idle," Jameson said. "And so it's really an opportunity to just reuse them. And so instead of having to start from scratch and build things and use new products, basically what we've done is taken almost thrown away objects and turn them into productive things again."

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Shipping containers take on new life in 'The Yard' at AT&T Park

A womens fashion and accessory boutique will be the first of four small retailers that will occupy a one-floor mini-mall inside the Buffalo Sabres HarborCenter when the retail space along the lower Main Street side of the building opens in late spring.

Red Siren, owned by veteran human resources executive and businesswoman Sharon Randaccio, will offer a range of specialty gifts, jewelry, leather products and clothing, geared to appeal to a mix of local shoppers, hockey moms and tourists. Randaccio has been planning the new business for more than a year, developing relationships with more than 50 manufacturers.

Buffalo women especially are going to find treasures here they are used to buying out of town, said Randaccio, also founder, president and CEO of Performance Partners. We are patching in to the energy surging in downtown Buffalo. We believe in the city and its resurgence and were thrilled to be part of it.

Meanwhile, construction work continues on the 12-story Marriott Buffalo HarborCenter hotel that soars above the northwest corner of the building, with the exterior glazing about 80 percent complete. The hotel, which originally was targeted for completion and opening by May, is now expected to be ready by late summer, in time for the new season of hockey-related activities.

Im not going to deny that, while it wasnt me putting the hard hat on every day, working through the coldest winter in years and the coldest February ever, Im not going to deny that doesnt take a toll, said HarborCenter President and CEO John R. Koelmel. Its never as efficient when its that cold and that problematic. But kudos to those doing the work. It isnt impeding the overall work and overall timeline.

Randaccios new store will occupy about 1,200 square feet of the 5,000-square-foot mini-mall on the west side of HarborCenter, next to the hockey and entertainment complexs main entrance and the separate portico entrance for the hotel now under construction on top of the ice rinks. Thats also right across from the Metro Rail special events station and Canalside.

Three other retail spaces of about 800 to 900 square feet each are still available for lease, and HarborCenter officials are working with various prospective tenants to finalize details over the next few weeks, even as they continue to receive inquiries from other parties, Koelmel said. Construction build-out would then begin, with a goal of completion in June.

We continue to negotiate with others, and were really excited and pleased with what we think the outcomes will be, Koelmel said. Its a rare week where we dont have one to two other potential or interested parties contacting us about retail. Its ongoing and we continue to welcome the interest.

Like a traditional mall, all four spaces will open into a common lobby, and the stores will likely be open during prime time hours for HarborCenter, starting at noon. The retail area will have two entrances, one from Main Street and one from the stairwell to the buildings five-level parking ramp at the southwest corner of HarborCenter. The first hour of parking in the ramp will be free, to accommodate shoppers.

Once the street is opened and once vehicular traffic is back up and around our building, there wont be on-street parking, Koelmel said. So as with everything else, we want to make access as easy as possible, in spite of not having on-street parking.

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Womens fashion boutique to be first retailer in HarborCenter