MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -

Residents expressed outrage Wednesday over a mega-development project that is under construction on Watson Island.

They are upset over the impact it will have on traffic along the MacArthur Causeway.

"I have over 220 emails that have been sent to me in the last few days -- everyone in opposition to this," Gerald Posner told commissioners.

City leaders agreed that the project could make it more difficult for people to get to Miami Beach.

"It is wrong for our community, our businesses and our residents," Mayor Philip Levine said.

The Flagstone Island Gardens project will include two hotel towers and more than 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. Construction crews have already shored up a seawall where a marina will be built.

The project has experienced several delays over the years, with the developer making changes to the project.

"They have a right to move things around," Cesar Garcia-Pons, deputy director of the Miami Planning & Zoning Department, said.

The mayor and commissioners agreed to spend more than $200,000 for a traffic study that could have zero impact on the development. The project was initially signed off by the city of Miami and sits on property that voters approved for development years ago.

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Miami Beach residents angry about Watson Island mega-development project

The Coventry Telegraph can reveal more details on plans for a new 20million student accommodation and retail development in Coventry.

The new building - which will include around 300 student bedrooms, retail space and restaurants - looks set to be built at the entrance to Far Gosford Street.

Complex Development Projects (CDP), working in partnership with Coventry City Council, have signed up student housing provider Unite Group for the major scheme.

If given planning approval, work is set to start later this year - with the new accommodation expected to open in time for the 2017/2018 academic year.

The project will be the largest investment to date for the Far Gosford Street Partnership, which has been working on the regeneration of the area for almost ten years, and will be the final project in the street.

Ian Harrabin, managing director of CDP, said: The development of site one will fill in the huge gap left by the construction of Sky Blue Way and reconnects the street with the university and city centre.

It has always been part of the masterplan to have a major development on this gateway site which will encourage people to walk up the street and boost trade.

We had originally hoped to secure a hotel, but despite marketing to operators for a number of years, we hadnt managed to secure any interest.

The bones of the current proposal with Unite were agreed when we were out at MIPIM (a property trade show in France) last year and we have been working on the detail with them for the past nine months.

What has resulted is a great scheme of four joined buildings which make the transition between the large buildings of the university and the small scale of the historic street.

Link:
Details revealed on new 20m student flats and retail development for Coventry city centre

The main construction work is right in the beginning stages, and will see the former brewing area transformed into offices, a cheese production area, and a cheese packaging area. This is a bigger undertaking than it first appears, requiring the installation of drop-down ceilings and other safeguards that will allow the cheese to be produced in a clean environment. Cheese is, after all, the product of an intricate dance between bacteria, enzymes, and sometimes even mold, and the goal is to maximize the critters that make cheese delicious while keeping out any foreign bodies that could contaminate the process. Because of the care that goes into insuring a clean production space, Walker doesn't plan to move his production to the new space for at least two months.

Walker has moved one element of the cheese-making process to the new space: aging. The last time I was in what is now the Kent Walker Artisan Cheese Cave, it was ice cold and filled with six packs and kegs. Now, the temperature is kept at a steady 55 degrees, with just the right touch of humidity needed to allow the wheels of cheese to develop their characteristic flavors over time. There's an earthy, deep aroma hanging in the air between the cheese racks think of it as the rich aroma of science at work. Some of the cheeses that Walker produces only spend a short time in the cave before being sold, but one rack holds what Walker calls his "reserve," and it contains cheeses that have been hanging out for quite awhile, multiple years in some cases. Aging develops and matures the flavor of the cheese, and the loss of moisture from each wheel changes the texture, which means that two wheels of cheese from the same batch will have significant tastes differences with the only added ingredient being time.

As luck would have it, Walker was holding a cheese-tasting over the weekend in support of the debut of Sixes and Sevens and Earl Grey ESB fromMoody Brews(which Scott previewed here, and which were spectacular). It was fun to see Walker working the crowd, explaining the method behind his cheese-making madness and educating the public (including yours truly) about just what it takes to turn milk into cheese. On the menu were three of Walker's creations: theGoat Gouda, a creamy cheese with just a touch of wildness to it that I found brought a nice touch of complexity to the style; a sharp and tangy Leicester that is certain to appeal to fans of cheddar cheese everywhere, and a deliciously nutty take on asiago that Walker has dubbed "Roccina," which is, naturally, Italian for "Little Rock." What always impresses me is that these cheeses start off as the same stuff (milk) and are transformed into vastly different flavors by a combination of the cheese-maker's skill and some time. It's all chemistry and biology of course, but I'm not convinced there isn't witchcraft involved somewhere.

Walker is still unsure of when he will be able to open the tasting room (despite reports in other media outlets listing dates), because although there aren't any major renovations that need to happen to the space, balancing the building of an entirely new production area coupled with operating a retail space is a burden he's unsure he wants to shoulder at this time. One major change planned for the taproom: the area behind the bar where Diamond Bear's tap lines ran is to be replaced by a large window that will allow visitors to see the racks of aging cheese in the cheese cave without danger of contamination. That alone provides a unique aspect to the tasting room that should appeal to fans of homegrown foodstuffs everywhere.

I've eaten a good deal of Kent Walker cheese over the past couple of years, and I think he's improved and refined his technique considerably over the past year. That's not to say that Walker's cheese was ever bad it certainly wasn't but the cheese I had at the Moody Brews tasting was beyond good, it was excellent. Soon, we'll have a space where we can go grab a glass of beer and enjoy that ancient and magical process by which fresh milk turns into something far better: pungent, creamy, and always delicious cheese.

More:
Kent Walker Artisan Cheese moves into new space

The construction brought on by Kingland Systems' renovation of Campustown and an entirely new building on the corner of Welch Avenue and Lincoln Way is well underway.

The entire 2013 year was spent working with the city and various student groups on Kinglands project. Now, completion is the goal.

The outcome of the project is a combination from the students, from the community, the Campustown Action Association and the city. The outcome is its a good mixture of office and retail space, said Todd Rognes, president of Kingland Systems.

The third floor will consist of Kingland Systems offices.

It will add a lot of excess space for the growth of our business as we add more full time employees and as we expand our data center, Rognes said.

The second floor will consist of administrative offices for Iowa State, including the Iowa State Daily. Two-thirds of the ground floor will be a CVS and the remaining third will consist of retail suites.

Delays on the project were caused by weather. However, Kingland is still expecting the building to be in use by this fall.

They have been working in campus town for about 10 years now, said Kim Hanna, the director of Campustown Action Association. They are just as much a part of campustown as any other business.

During the beginning of development, Hanna admits there was a small amount of concern from the community about the new additions. However, Kingland reached out multiple times to take in suggestions from the community in order to provide the most useful services.

They have been amazing to work with, Hanna said. They have really bent over backwards to take suggestions from the community. They changed their entire layout even.

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Community speaks, Kingland Systems answers

RALEIGH The beginning of 2015 brings more construction to Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. The street revitalization continues with more than a dozen projects, including more housing and retail space.

The North Carolina State red color that fills Hillsborough Street is slowly turning orange, as construction barrels and signs dominate the sides.

"There's constant construction and changing the area around...which it's hard sometimes because there's traffic, said BlueTique Cheap Chic manager Molly Bergeson.

Bergesons business is barricaded behind a chunk of construction, but she said the change is good.

"We're just looking forward to seeing how things change and being a part of that, she said.

Hillsborough Streets website shows more than a dozen projects taking place.

One of the projects is Stanhope Residential, near Concord Street. The project is led by developer John Kane.

"Stanhope Residential is 822 beds and about 30,000 feet of retail on the lower level, so it should really kind of bookend transform to Hillsborough Street, he said.

Another project taking place is Aloft Hotel, which is being built across from the NCSU Memorial Bell Tower.

"We think between those two you'll start to see fill in along the way that need to be redeveloped, said Kane.

Read the original:
Construction Continues Along Hillsborough Street

Published: Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at 5:22 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at 5:24 p.m.

ALBERTVILLE Construction is underway at The Shoppes of Albertville, an $18 million, 135,000-sqaure-feet development that already is 92 percent leased.

GBT Realty Corporation, a commercial real estate development and net lease company based in Brentwood, Tenn., closed on the 13.2-acre site Dec. 29.

Tenants including PetSmart, T.J.Maxx, Hobby Lobby, Ross Dress for Less and Hibbett Sports already are lined up to join the center. There is an additional space for a junior anchor and a little more than 11,000 square feet of small shop space.

We are extremely excited about this retail development and the opportunity that it will give our citizens, neighbors and visitors to shop in Albertville, Mayor Tracy Honea said. The retailers GBT has already recruited will fill a void in our market for those soft goods and services provided. Im confident they will experience great success here.

GBT entered into a development agreement with the city, which is selling bonds to provide $5 million of funding to offset predevelopment and development costs. A portion of the sales tax generated at the shopping center will pay off the bonds.

The Shoppes of Albertville is situated at the intersection of the primary north/south and east/west commercial corridors through Northeast Alabama, approximately halfway between Huntsville and Gadsden, ideal sites to support the expansion plans of our retail partners, said Thom Hickman, GBTs senior vice president for acquisitions and development.

Jeff Pape, managing director for GBTs shopping center division, said shoe retailers, fast casual dining options and service-oriented tenants are being sought.

Overall, GBT has $65 million of retail space totaling more than 300,000 square feet planned or under development throughout Alabama. The company has projects in 21 states, with $1 billion of commercial development totaling 5 million square feet in the pipeline and under construction.

We are honored to have the most active private developer in the country bringing its expertise to the Albertville community, Honea said. We can only hope that this is one of many more announcements to come from GBT for our community.

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Construction underway at new Albertville shopping center

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -

The Entrada de Santa Barbara hotel and retail project has been in the planning stages for over 20 years, but now heavy equipment has arrived to begin some of the serious work.

Construction crews have been tearing down the last set of older buildings that once housed Hot Spots Coffee, a T-shirt shop and bike rentals on the corner of State St. at Mason St.

This site is one of three corners involved in the project.

Construction is planned for the next year and a half with completion set for summer of 2016. All three phases have to be done at the same time according to city requirements for the project.

The Entrada development and the nearby facelift in the "Funk Zone" recently are combined, the largest retail, restaurant, and hotel changes the city has seen since the early 1990's when the Paseo Nuevo Mall was built downtown.

The developer is known as 35 State Street Partners and the group involves Los Angeles businessman and developer Michael Rosenfeld who has been to Santa Barbara to usher the project through after several setbacks over the last 20 years involving other owners.

Once completed it will have 123 rooms, over 20, 000 square feet of retail space, paseos, and 243 parking spaces.

The historic Californian Hotel was partially preserved for this project. It dates back to the early 1920's and the facade remains in place and the rest of the building, torn down years ago, will be rebuilt in an area west of State St.

Nearby two creek projects and bridge replacements are also taking place, and MOXI The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, a children's museum is going to be built near the train station a block to the north.

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Entrada de Santa Barbara Project Site Demolition Underway

Las Vegas real estate market, after getting battered by the recession, had one of its busiest years in a while in 2014.

Investors built retail, apartment and office projects in the suburbs, the housing market stayed volatile and new projects were proposed and took shape along the Strip.

What lies ahead? Heres a rundown of what happened in 2014, and what insiders expect this year.

Housing

After hitting bottom, home prices rose at one of the fastest rates nationally in recent years as investors paid cash, sight unseen, for low-priced houses to turn into rentals.

But now, with fewer bargains out there, investors are pulling back. They triggered a valleywide slowdown last year as more listings went ignored, sales volume dropped and prices rose at a much slower pace.

Real estate pros expect things to keep cooling in 2015. But with the market relying more on regular, mom-and-pop buyers, that could turn a slowdown into a slump, as many locals cant get a mortgage because of tighter lending requirements and past bankruptcies, foreclosures or short sales.

Meanwhile, homebuilders had a topsy-turvy 2014.

Sales totals dropped hard as would-be buyers, saddled with financial woes and sticker shock, backed off. Through November, sales volume was down 20 percent year-over-year in Southern Nevada, prices were flat, and builders pulled fewer construction permits.

All told, theres little reason to feel warm and fuzzy about 2015, Home Builders Research President Dennis Smith recently said.

Continued here:
After a busy 2014, whats in store for Las Vegas real estate?

There are cranes hanging over downtown Long Beach, with work underway or soon to start on multiple, multimillion-dollar mixed-use developments.

City officials and business leaders say a sort of renaissance is taking place, with new housing and retail soon to be available in the citys urban center. Michael Conway, the citys director of Economic and Property Development, said he is encouraged seeing construction crews at work, calling it a sign of a strengthening downtown marketplace. He added that the planned new Civic Center is going to be yet another boon to downtown development.

Among those major developments underway today, Long Beachs Development Services Department lists three major projects: The Current, The Edison and The Parc Broadway.

But besides those, smaller new development projects and adaptive reuses also are under way with much more on the horizon, promised Conway and Downtown Long Beach Associates President and CEO Kraig Kojian.

Development of the Sixth Street Lofts, for example, is turning what was once a real estate site left for dead into 30 loft apartments at 431 E. Sixth St. That project could be complete in early 2015.

New developments still in the entitlement phase include a proposal for 207 Seaside Way that would accommodate a five-story, 113-unit residential component over a two-story parking garage, among other features.

A proposal for 442 Ocean Blvd. is working its way through the process to make way for another five-story complex with 95 residential units over a two-story parking garage, among other amenities.

The former AMC movie theater at Pine Square is being transformed through adaptive reuse into 69 residential units. Other proposed adaptive reuses include: plans to reuse the Ocean Center historic office building as residential and retail/restaurant space at Pine Avenue and Ocean Boulevard; adapting the former Security Pacific Tower at 110 Pine Ave. into 118 residential units; among other projects.

While the construction does create jobs short term, the even better long-term benefits, Conway said, are a collateral effect of having more people and a different demographic living downtown, ultimately bringing in other new developments and retailers that the city hasnt had before.

The real multiplier here is the additional residential density we are going to have downtown, he said. Its still a bit of a tough market, and downtown has a somewhat challenging demographic. Its been a long plan and a long road to bring the downtown to its current status as a very popular and lively downtown. Twenty years ago, I couldnt say the same thing, but I think it is an extraordinary downtown and this development is a testament to its economic vitality.

Continue reading here:
New High-Rises Develop In Downtown Long Beach

U.S. shopping-center owners are starting 2015 on an optimistic note thanks to a solid holiday season and rising rents throughout 2014.

Yet, given that retail vacancies remain near historically elevated levels, more bullish news for retail landlords likely will come at a glacial pace.

All in, last year was a good one for mall and strip-center owners. The average strip-center vacancy last year was 10.2%, the lowest annual percentage since 2008, according to new data from real-estate research firm Reis Inc. Average rents increased 2%, the largest increase since 2007, said Reis, which tracks the largest 77 markets.

At malls, the vacancy rate ticked up slightly to 8% in the fourth quarter from 7.9% in the third, due mostly to closures by Sears Holdings Corp.But vacancy remains down from the recent high of 9.4% set in the third quarter of 2011. Mall rental rates, meanwhile, rose for the 14th consecutive quarter, albeit by tiny measures in each case, to $40.66 per square foot per year, Reis said.

For a property type that has really struggled over the past few years, things are getting better, said Ryan Severino, senior economist at Reis. That portends improvement in 2015 and beyond.

Retailers and their landlords alike have sunny outlooks for several reasons. Holiday sales were strong. Thomson Reuters projects that the 76 retailers it tracks will post an average fourth-quarter gain in same-store sales of 1.8%, up from 0.7% for the final quarter of 2013.

Job growth has gained significant momentum in recent months, and wage growth is picking up, too. A potential windfall recently arrived for merchants in the steep decline of oil prices, which has freed shoppers to spend less on gas and more on retail goods.

If 2015 sees any material rise in income, and if energy prices remain where they are, you could see a real bump in spending in 2015, said Gene Spiegelman, vice chairman and head of retail services in North America for commercial brokerage Cushman & Wakefield.

OConnor Capital Partners LLC, a closely held builder and owner with 14 million square feet of shopping centers in the U.S. and Mexico, anticipates that its tenants will post an average sales gain of 2% to 2.5% for the fourth quarter from the year-earlier period. Thatd be as good a fourth quarter as weve had since 2011, OConnor Chairman and Chief Executive Glenn Rufrano said.

Mr. Rufrano said he noticed sales gains last quarter from OConnors tenants in athletics, accessories, electronics and home goods. But he said some apparel stores were struggling. Several flagship apparel chains have been reporting weak sales lately,including Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and American Apparel Inc.

The rest is here:
Shopping-Center Owners Start Year With Optimism as 4th-Quarter Rents Rise