The surface parking lot at Newport on the Levee will be closed for 2 years as an $80 million project is built on that space. (Photo: Enquirer file )

The surface parking lot east of Newport on the Levee is closing Tuesday in preparation for a two-year, $80 million construction project.

The project is expected to add 238 upscale apartments, an 800-space parking garage, a hotel and 8,200 square feet of retail space in Newport along Third Street. The development would serve as a second act for the 13-year-old retail, restaurant and entertainment destination.

BIG PLANS: Read why Levee officials are working on big development projects

Newport on the Levee officials said parking garage access will remain available and other nearby parking options remain available.

The Levee, which draws about 3.5 million visitors a year, has a 20-screen AMC Theater, Newport Aquarium, Axis Alley bowling lounge, GameWorks, and the Funny Bone Comedy Club. It also features national and regional restaurant brands such as Dick's Last Resort, Brio Tuscan Grille, Mitchell's Fish Market, Brothers Bar & Grill and Tom+Chee, office tenants i-wireless, Intrinzic, Constellation Brands and Comstock Valuation, and specialty shops and kiosks.

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Levee closing surface lot for $80M project construction

(PRWEB UK) 12 November 2014

One Airport Square is a 20,000 m2 mixed-use development currently under construction in the growing commercial district of Airport City in the Ghanaian capital Accra. This Landmark building comprises 2000 m2 of retail space and approximately 18,000 m2 Class A office space over ten floors. Elegant and contemporary, the building has been designed to the highest standards, by award winning sustainability designers; Mario Cucinella Architects, and will be the first green rated building, as well as the first Under Floor Air Conditioning installation in Ghana.

The Joint venture between equity investment company Actis, and Boston Investments is being managed by Laurus Development partners, a portfolio company of Actis. Construction commenced on site in 2012, with a major milestone achieved in February 2014 when workers celebrated topping out 26 days ahead of schedule. The compact design features an internal atrium which has the function of providing light and facilitating natural ventilation in the indoor space. To enhance the natural design, sophisticated mechanical, electrical, plumbing and lighting services were selected by M&E Consultants BDSP, and AET Flexible Space Under Floor Air Conditioning was chosen to provide the additional cooling.

The striking architectural design featuring large structural slabs that project beyond the facade outline, effectively provide horizontal solar shading. Extensive environmental analysis was undertaken to optimise the design and orientation of the overhangs with different glazed facade configurations, and adopting mixed-mode ventilation enables a total reduction of over 30% active cooling. MC Architects report a reduction of 48% of HVAC related CO2 emissions using their sustainable designs, and the New Build is the first project in Ghana to be awarded 4* Greenstar (SA) certification.

To supplement the natural ventilation within the building, an AET Flexible Space Under Floor Air Conditioning system provides cooling to the Class A office areas. This is a zonal CAM-V option which utilises the floor plenum beneath the raised access floor as the ventilation duct for the conditioned supply air. With a CAM-V system, used air travels back to the downflow unit for reconditioning via high level. Each floor was divided into four tenancy areas, each served by two AET CAM-V33 units. The air is introduced into the space via a fan terminal or Fantile unit, which has the added benefit of individual personal control of air flow and temperature via the integrated Fatronic controller, and this building is served by more than nine hundred standard TU4 fantile units.

The project is due for completion this year and AET Flexible Space engineers have travelled to Ghana for commissioning of the UFAC equipment. Flexible office space from 450m2 at Ghanas most prestigious address will be available. One Airport Square, Accra, the first building in Ghana to feature Under Floor Air Conditioning.

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Prestigious New Build in Ghana chooses Under Floor Air Conditioning by AET Flexible Space

CINCINNATIHFF recently secured $165 million in construction financing for Liberty Center, a 626,791-square-foot retail development located at the I-75 and SR 129 interchange just north of Cincinnati. The company worked on behalf of the developers, Bucksbaum Retail Properties, LLC and Steiner + Associates, along with financial partner Mount Kellett Capital Management LP, securing the loan through a single capital source.

Chicago-based Bucksbaum and Columbus-based Steiner have launched the regions largest on-going mixed-use development. In addition to retail, it will feature more than 75,000-square-feet of office space, 241 residential units and, as reported in GlobeSt.com, a 130-room AC Marriott hotel, all spanning about 65 acres. And Dillards will complete a two-story flagship department store with 200,000-square-feet to anchor the center. The project has already secured a number of national retailers including Dicks Sporting Goods, Kona Grill and Cheesecake Factory.

Along with its partners the Georgetown Co. and Limited Brands, Steiner also recently broke ground on Easton Gateway, a 54-acre addition to its Easton Town Center in Columbus, which will have more than 500,000-square-feet of retail and about 40,000-square-feet of office-above-retail space.

The HFF team was led by New York-based managing director Michael Gigliotti and Chicago-based director Daniel Kaufman.

This project represents possibly the most significant ground-up retail development of the current real estate cycle, anywhere in the US, Kaufman says. The sponsorship team came together to realize an incredible vision, combining the development and retail expertise of Steiner and Bucksbaum, with the capital markets strength of Mount Kellett. All signs point to a very successful project, and one that will be very important for Cincinnati.

The lender was able to provide a comprehensive construction financing solution for the development project, Gigliotti adds. The sponsors recognized this particular lenders ability to navigate through complex structuring issues, including a public financing component, several different retail buildings and parking structures, and the office, apartment, and hotel components, all of which are integrated but being developed separately.

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HFF Arranges $165M for Liberty Center

Courtesy LGE Design Build

Posted: Tuesday, November 11, 2014 9:45 am

Design for second phase of Heritage Marketplace in Gilbert underway Tribune East Valley Tribune

LGE Design Build has started the second phase for the design of the Heritage Marketplace located in downtown Gilbert.

The second phase of construction for the project will total 32,000 square feet with a ground floor restaurant and retail space, along with office space on the second floor. Construction for the phase is expected to end by September 2015.

Located at the corner of Gilbert Road and Vaughn Avenue, the Heritage Marketplace already includes Zinburger, which opened in October, and will add Lo-Los Chicken & Waffles on Dec. 1, Italian restaurant Pomo in December, and Barrio Queen next spring.

Posted in Gilbert, Local, Money on Tuesday, November 11, 2014 9:45 am. | Tags: Gilbert, Az, Pomo, Lo-lo's Chicken & Waffles, Barrio Queen, Zinburger

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Design for second phase of Heritage Marketplace in Gilbert underway

REUTERS/Rick Wilking

To offset losses in the retail department, the company is planning to ramp up e-commerce and make the most of its extensive real-estate properties.

Sears has been leasing store space to other retailers and is considering "spinning off hundreds of its properties as a real estate investment trust," reports Lauren Coleman-Lochner at Bloomberg News.

Selling and then leasing back retail space would be a way for Sears to generate some quick cash, analyststold Bloomberg.

The new Aventura mall project illustrates what Sears' new real-estate plan might look like.

Located in South Florida, the new development would be similar to an outdoor mall with retail stores (including Sears), parking, restaurants, a hotel, and offices.

Sears provided Business Insider with an image of what the development will look like:

Sears HoldingsThe Aventura, Florida, Sears store concept.

Sears has 1,800 locations. The new plan would mean that Sears would own 400 to 500 and lease the rest, Bloomberg writes.

It's unclear when the retailer will begin construction on the new mall.

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This Is What Sears Will Look Like In The Future

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Shopping centre owner Hammerson has said that conditions in the UK retail market have improved since the half-year stage but are still subdued in France. Successful 'Back to School' performances by retailers and strong growth in menswear, catering and jewellery pushed sales across UK shopping centres 2.8% higher in the third quarter ended 30 September. Year-to-date UK retail sales were up 2.6%.

Sales from French shopping centres were 0.5% higher than the previous year in the third quarter but were still down 2.8% for the first nine months.

The company, which owns the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham and Brent Cross in London, said long-term leases were achieved 9% above estimated rental value (ERV) across the group and 8.5% ahead of previous passing rents.

Retail leases were struck 15% above ERV in the UK but just 1% above ERV in France.

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Hammerson says UK retail strength offsets 'subdued' France

NEW YORK "We did it!"

The words of the lead engineer on the new Fulton Center punctuated more than a decade of work Sunday to create the primary transit link between the rebuilt World Trade Center and the rest of the city.

Nine existing subway lines converge in the $1.4 billion, 180,000-square-foot complex that will serve up to 300,000 riders a day and that includes retail and office space.

"Welcome to the station of the 21st century," said engineer Michael Horodniceanu, who led the project as president of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Capital Construction.

He spoke to top transit and political officials at the opening of the city's biggest subway hub that merges century-old stations with the latest digital technology and design.

The facility will open to the public Monday at 5 a.m. Eastern time.

Hundreds of thousands will enter what officials called Lower Manhattan's "next great public space." Its soaring street-level atrium is encased in a glass-and-steel shell, with luminous interior panels leading to a skylight designers call the "oculus" Latin for eye.

Livening up the climate-controlled, energy-saving spaces are various avant-garde artworks.

Construction of this vital subway hub was fraught with challenges. The five underground subway stations partly damaged on Sept. 11, 2001, were closed for months. Then, in 2012, flood waters roared into the tunnels, crippling service.

Now, just feet from the revitalized trade center, the complex is part of a "new hot area," said U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY.

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Biggest NY subway hub opens; expects 300,000 daily

Some 28 cranes towered over construction sites around uptown Charlotte in 2008, but they became a rare sight as the recession ground development to a halt.

Today, the cranes are rising again in the citys center.

A dozen or more projects are under construction or newly completed inside the Interstate 277 loop, as well as just outside it along Morehead Street and parts of Kings Drive.

Look toward the north end of uptown and youll see the nearly complete SkyHouse Uptown apartments rising 24 stories above North Tryon. Over by NASCAR Plaza, dirt is moving for a 10-story Embassy Suites hotel.

And bigger projects are in the works: Three real estate groups are angling to start construction next year on uptown office towers, vying to throw the first new one skyward since the recession.

But its the flurry of apartment construction that draws the most notice and questions of whether its too much for the citys population to sustain.

Real estate developers behind the construction wave say it isnt. Theyre placing increasingly large bets on the rebounding local job market and on demographic trends that are seeing more and more young urban professionals move to Charlotte.

Uptown Charlotte is one of the most desirable places to live in the Southeast, if not the country, said real estate developer Clay Grubb, part of the group behind the SkyHouse tower. The real question should be, why has it taken this long for construction to boom.

A growing number of real estate studies and experts back that up. Charlotte landed at No. 7 out of 75 U.S. real estate markets to watch in 2015, according to a new report from the Urban Land Institute a think tank focused on development and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The only cities faring better: the Texas boomtowns of Houston, Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, along with San Francisco, Denver and Los Angeles.

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Uptown Charlotte construction is roaring back. Can demand keep up?

High Plains Food Bank Turkey Drop High Plains Food Bank Turkey Drop

Updated: Friday, November 7 2014 12:00 PM EST2014-11-07 17:00:48 GMT

Amarillo, TX - The High Plains Food Bank is hosting The Great Turkey Drop on November 7th from 11 am-7 pm at the Market Street United on Georgia and Soncy.

Amarillo, TX - The High Plains Food Bank is hosting The Great Turkey Drop on November 7th from 11 am-7 pm at the Market Street United on Georgia and Soncy.

A public meeting held on Thursday focused on the Downtown Development Project, specifically focusing on the proposed hotel and parking garage.

A public meeting held on Thursday focused on the Downtown Development Project, specifically focusing on the proposed hotel and parking garage.

Tucumcari, NM - A several week long investigation by the New Mexico state police linked a series of fires in the city to former officer Dustin Lopez.

Tucumcari, NM - A several week long investigation by the New Mexico state police linked a series of fires in the city to former officer Dustin Lopez.

Amarillo, TX - The U.S. Senate is considering legislation that could help feed millions of hungry people and the High Plains Food Bank is joining the call for action.

Amarillo, TX - The U.S. Senate is considering legislation that could help feed millions of hungry people and the High Plains Food Bank is joining the call for action.

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Downtown Development Project coming close to beginning construction

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) November 07, 2014

Intended to touch every exterior edge of the mixed-use development, Crescent Property Services LLC today announced plans to spend more than $30 million to upgrade The Crescent with an emphasis on opening the iconic office towers and adjacent hotel, retail and entertainment amenities as a gathering space for the vibrant Uptown neighborhood. The first major renovation since its 1986 completion, the $30 million investment follows nearly $15 million spent during the past three years enhancing Dallas premier office address, increasing energy reliability and efficiency, and improving customer mobility throughout the project.

Designed by John Burgee and Pritzker Prize-winning architect Philip Johnson, The Crescent opened as a self-contained, mixed-use project with full-service amenities for workers and guests. As Uptown Dallas evolved as an energetic, urban hotspot in recent years with condos and apartments, retail and top restaurants, a flourishing Dallas Arts District and the popular Klyde Warren Park nearby auto and pedestrian traffic in Uptown has risen dramatically. Recognizing that positive progression, The Crescent will focus on creating greater street presence to attract Uptowns ever-growing crowds to its dining and retail outlets.

The Crescent is Dallas most prestigious address in the regions most vibrant market Uptown, said John Zogg, managing director for Crescent Real Estate Equities, LLC. We have three of the best designed office towers with adjacent upscale shopping and premier hotels and restaurants on 11 acres in the heart of Uptown. We are opening our arms to the neighborhood embracing our great neighbors and welcoming them to work, shop and dine with us.

Historically, the nearly 11-acre self-contained complex appeared isolated from the neighborhood. Thick stone walls and iron grillwork gates projected an exclusive and internally focused business. The upgrades will signal an open and inclusive office space and fashionable retail atrium that will encourage residents and visitors to drop by for a bite to eat, to grab a coffee, meet with friends or do some shopping. Changes will include outdoor courtyards with open gardens and terraces serving as gathering spaces and facilitating community access.

Renovation plans to the 28-year-old complex call for a new storefront for retail outlet, Stanley Korshak, plus larger, more enticing window displays with revolving, eye-catching merchandise showcased against white-box backdrops. Palomino restaurant will get a street entrance and more outdoor seating. The revamp and greening of the motor court located between the office buildings, the Rosewood Crescent Hotel and entertainment spaces will involve the removal of curbs and the Stonehenge-like structure that dominates the center. Pavers and stained concrete will be installed; high rise live oak and river birch trees will be planted to create a piazza-like, tree-lined drive and pedestrian walkway; and new signage will be installed throughout the entire project.

Knowing that Dallasites are eager for parks and green space, The Crescent has recruited The Office of James Burnett, who crafted the award-winning Klyde Warren Park, to create the landscape design, which includes turning unused areas of the complex into intimate spots for relaxation and fun. At the corner of Pearl Street, an old bank drive-through will be removed, and visitors will find new landscaping, benches, moveable furniture, an event deck and even an activity lawn with game equipment to play bocce ball. The Office of James Burnett also handled the landscape design for two neighboring Crescent properties spread over 20 acres in the heart of Uptown The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas, and McKinney & Olive (which opens in 2016).

We are very excited to be a part of the transformation of The Crescent, it will be another notable, active, greenspace for Uptown Dallas, said Burnett.

Other improvements include elegant, ground-level lighting of the iconic buildings. The lobbies in the office towers are also getting a makeover with new furniture and rugs, art and a wall of TVs. The lobbies will become user-friendly hubs where workers can hold a quick meeting or catch up on work.

Also coming to The Crescent are exciting new retail options, one of which was announced earlier this week. Ascension, the extremely popular coffee house and wine bar that originated in the Dallas Design District, will open its second location this spring. Described by Zagat as one of the hottest coffee shops in 15 U.S. cities, Ascension will occupy approximately 2,900 square feet adjacent to the Bank of America offices at the 200 Lobby fronting the motor court, making it 50 percent larger than the original location. Ascension founder Russell Hayward promises a similar menu (including full-service breakfast/brunch, lunch and dinner), the same coffees and possibly a larger wine list along with expanded operating hours.

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The Crescent Announces $30 Million Renovation to Transform Acclaimed Development into an Open, Inviting Gathering ...