Construction site work on Freshwater Plaza, the mixed use development project that Wauwatosa-based Wangard Partners plans to build northeast of South First Street and Greenfield Avenue in Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood, could begin this fall.

The site work that could begin in upcoming months includes environmental remediation and utility work, said Mark Lake, director of retail development for Wangard.

Were still holding out hope we can break ground this fall, said Joe Kleiman, a broker for Mid-America Real Estate, which recently began marketing the retail space in the project.

Wangard still needs to complete the entitlement process for the project, Lake said.

"The city has a lot of work to do, but the project could open in late summer or early fall 2015," he said.

Wangard is also working to obtain financing for the project and is pursuing numerous funding sources, which could include tax incremental financing and new markets tax credits, Lake said.

Were looking at all financing sources right now, he said.

The project will include a 42,000-square-foot Cermak Fresh Market grocery store, a 45,750-square-foot office building, an L-shaped building at the corner of First and Greenfield with 15,900 square feet of retail space on the first floor, 19,000 square feet of medical office space on the second floor and 66 apartments on the upper three floors, plus two small outlot retail buildings on First Street with a total of 6,600 square feet of retail space.

The apartments could be a mix of market-rate and subsidized affordable housing units, Lake said. Since Wangard is seeking new markets tax credits for the project the firm could be required to offer some affordable units, he said.

The plans also include a 226-space parking structure between the grocery store and the office building, 289 surface parking spaces, and a water feature along Greenfield Avenue.

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Freshwater Plaza site work could begin this fall

Developer Peter Friday wants to start work next month on a project that could add thousands of square feet of office and retail space to Sewickley's business district.

But he needs borough council's approval on Monday night before forging ahead with plans to celebrate a groundbreaking in October.

Friday, president of Forbes Trail Development Co., is building an 8,500-square-foot office building that includes a first-floor coffee shop on property near Walnut and Thorn streets in Sewickley. It's the first of a series of projects planned for that area.

The vacant land had been part of the Ascot and Rolls Royce dealership before closing and being sold in 2012 to One Village Square LLC for $175,000.

The mixed-use development would consist of upper-floor office space, he said.

We think there's demand for shared office space, Friday said.

A coffee shop could be added on the ground floor of the proposed development, Friday said.

The development would be built near a two-screen movie theater Village Theater Co. is proposing.

That nonprofit group also is targeting a groundbreaking on the Walnut Street property sometime in October, theater group Vice President Susan Kaminski said. The group signed a lease agreement with the borough, which owns the property the theater will use.

While the development and that of the nonprofit group will fall under the Theater Square name, Friday said the buildings would not have similar appearances, adding that different building materials would be used since the projects are not connected.

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Council OK sought on office-retail project near proposed theater in Sewickley

HARTFORD Details of how the city might generate revenue to lease a minor league baseball stadium from a developer will be revealed in the coming days, the city's development director said.

Thomas Deller said Tuesday that he would present a plan to Mayor Pedro Segarra and the city council for making millions of dollars in payments to DoNo Hartford LLC, a group formed by developers Centerplan Development Co. and LeylandAlliance. The firms were chosen to lead a $350 million redevelopment project in an area north of downtown an effort that includes the construction of a 220,000-square-foot baseball stadium.

Hartford would pay $3.77 million annually for the first five years of a 25-year lease, according to projections in city documents. Its rent payments would then go up by 5 percent in the 6th, 11th and 16th years of the lease.

The city plans to sublease the ballpark to the New Britain Rock Cats, who would begin playing there in 2016. The Rock Cats would pay the city $500,000 a year for the first 15 years of a 25-year sublease, and $600,000 annually in the final 10 years.

The projected cost of building the stadium is $47.13 million, according to a proposal from Centerplan.

City officials have not yet offered specifics on how Hartford would fund its lease payments, but have said that parking fees and revenue from the naming rights, among other things, could help make up the difference.

Addressing a crowd of local business and economic development officials at MetroHartford Alliance's Rising Star breakfast Tuesday, Deller said the project "has to generate an income stream that allows us to pay for it."

"We are right now coming up with final dollar numbers to understand how that payment gets made," he said. "We're comfortable that we can make this happen and make it happen in a rational way."

Rock Cats owner Josh Solomon and Centerplan Vice President of Development Yves-Georges Joseph II said they have received numerous calls from interested corporations, grocery store chains and other business owners who want to be part of the project. Centerplan's proposal includes 210,000 square feet of municipal office space, more than 600 residential units, retail space and a brewery. The project would be paid for with private debt and private equity capital, officials have said.

Joseph said he envisions an urban-style grocery store with structured parking that is "a little smaller" than suburban supermarkets, but would "still serve a full complement of groceries."

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Hartford Vows To Release More Details On Paying Stadium Lease

With the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority expected on Thursday to select a firm to redevelop the Strip District's Produce Terminal, a company once lined up for the project has turned the page.

The Strip-based Buncher Co., which acquired a $1.8 million option on the Produce Terminal four years ago, received approval from the Pittsburgh Planning Commission to remove the crumbling terminal from a subdivision plan for riverfront property it owns.

It's no longer in our development plans, said Buncher President and CEO Tom Balestrieri.

Buncher owns more than 50 acres between the Allegheny River and Smallman Street. It is laying a road parallel with Smallman, between 16th and 21st streets, that crews will mostly complete by the end of the year, Balestrieri said.

Construction of as many as 200 apartments could begin along the riverfront near the 21st Street edge of the property next year, Balestrieri said. Simultaneously, townhouses that include so-called live-work units designed to house tenants and their businesses could be built nearby.

Balestrieri said Buncher spoke with about a dozen developers, including seven national firms, but Buncher could opt to use its own real estate and development division.

Tentative proposals have included 100 to 200 apartments in the first building, which could be five to 12 stories tall. Some firms proposed building a neighboring apartment building at the same time.

Buncher's plan to demolish about one-third of the URA-owned building drew opposition from Mayor Bill Peduto and some preservationists. In a deal brokered in February, Buncher agreed to step aside while the city considered alternate proposals.

Three groups are in the running. The URA is expected to choose a developer to negotiate with for up to 90 days. The board will vote to terminate URA's option with Buncher and pay the company $640,000 for doing so, its meeting agenda said.

Buncher is as anxious as everybody to see that project completed, company Vice President Mike Kutzer said.

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URA expected to select developer for Produce Terminal this week

New centers of retail and housing growth are starting to pop up in Flagstaff, but not in the usual places.

According to the book, Mountain Town, Downtown Flagstaff was the hub of business for the community since before 1897. In the 1960s, stores started moving out of the downtown area because of a lack of space to expand and parking. They were replaced beginning in the 1990s with a variety of boutiques and small restaurants.

Flagstaffs new business hubs started congregating on Fourth Street, East Route 66, South Milton Road, the Flagstaff Mall and Woodlands Village Boulevard.

The mall still has room to expand, but for now at least one new center for shopping is growing closer to the downtown area.

Another is ready to build for the first time on the south side of East Route 66 in the space opened up by the construction of the Fourth Street overpass.

And a third is set for Country Club Drive and Soliere Avenue.

APARTMENTS OVER STORES

RED Development is starting construction on the first phase of the Village at Aspen Place. Perhaps drawn by the more than 5 million tourists that visit each year and more than 20,000 students at Northern Arizona University, the complex is located near Butler Avenue and Lone Tree Road. The project includes 222 one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments situated over more than 30,000 square feet of retail. It also includes a five-level parking garage.

The first series of apartments are expected to be finished in the summer of 2015 with three additional phases to be completed in September 2016 and January 2016.

At the same time, RED continues to expand the shopping options at its retail shopping center, Aspen Place at the Sawmill. The shopping plaza is expected to have more than 135,000 square feet of retail and restaurants when it is completely built out.

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Flagstaff retail is on the rise

Tenants are being told they will benefit from being back in central Christchurch.

Doing business in Christchurch's city centre will cost more than before the earthquakes, but will offer good value for money.

That's the message from real estate firm Colliers in its latest overview report into the city's commercial property market.

While office and retail tenants have been slow to return to the central city, a shift is now well under way. New buildings in Victoria St and west of the Avon River will soon be followed by others - either planned or under way - in the retail, justice and emergency, and innovation precincts.

Colliers researchers estimate the amount of office floorspace leased in the central city since the quakes would fill 11 Forsyth Barr towers. This includes 50,000 square metres fully secured, with another 38,000sqm under conditional agreements from private tenants and government departments.

Colliers office broker Ryan Geddes says 16 of the city's major office tenants are returning. These include the big banks, law, accountancy and engineering firms, and government agencies.

High construction and refurbishment costs inevitably mean they face higher lease costs. Annual rents for newly built top- grade space are now as high as $425 a square metre, while operating costs have also risen.

Despite this, total occupancy costs for businesses will be only 20 to 30 per cent higher than before, Geddes says. This is because tenants are using space much more efficiently, with some taking as little as 10sqm per staffer.

"As people started to understand construction costs and a new way of doing business, with open-plan offices, they came to realise they could afford to pay the [CBD] rents".

Geddes says after the quakes there was genuine uncertainty whether business would return to the central city. Fear of unsafe or tall buildings was a key reason.

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Higher rents, but better value tipped

HARTFORD The city would pay $3.77 million annually for the first five years it leases a minor league baseball stadium that is part of a sweeping redevelopment plan, according to projections in city documents and the developer's plan.

For the first five years of a 25-year lease, Hartford would pay a developer 8 percent of the aggregate cost of building the baseball stadium, records show. The city would then sublease the ballpark to the New Britain Rock Cats, who would begin playing there in 2016.

The projected cost of building the stadium is $47.13 million, according to a proposal from Centerplan Development Co., the firm chosen to redevelop land north of downtown.

Centerplan's proposal also includes 210,000 square feet of municipal office space, more than 600 residential units, retail space and a brewery. The entire project would cost $350 million, and be paid for with private debt and private equity capital, the company said.

After the first five years of the city's lease with Centerplan, its rent payments would go up by 5 percent every five years.

The Rock Cats would pay the city $500,000 a year for the first 15 years of a 25-year sublease, and $600,000 annually in the final 10 years.

City officials have not yet offered a detailed plan for how Hartford would fund its lease payments to Centerplan, but have said that parking fees and revenue from the naming rights, among other things, could help make up the difference.

Centerplan's proposal also notes that the city would invest $8 million in the project for "offsite and roadway improvements." Maribel La Luz, Mayor Pedro Segarra's communications director, said Monday that Hartford would spend about $8 million from its capital improvement projects budget to upgrade the roads regardless of whether the ballpark is built.

Hartford officials have proposed building a 220,000-square-foot stadium to lure the Rock Cats, the Double A Eastern League affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, to the city. Construction on the ballpark would be completed by April 1, 2016, in time for that year's season.

The city council will vote on the redevelopment plan and the leases. Segarra sent proposals to the panel on Thursday. A public hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 17 at the Parker Memorial Community Center on Main Street.

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Hartford To Pay 8 Percent Annually For Stadium Project

AAP Businesses confidence is high, helped by subdued cost pressures and better consumer confidence.

A surge in optimism among construction companies is keeping overall business confidence high.

The August reading of the NAB business confidence index came in at eight points, with readings above zero indicating optimists outweigh pessimists.

While the index dropped two points from a one-year high in July, JP Morgan economist Ben Jarman said business confidence remained high.

"Australia's NAB business survey had been surprisingly upbeat in July, but suffered some payback in August," he said.

"In the sector breakdown, mining representatives are keeping their chins up, despite the slide in commodity prices."

Confidence was strongest in the construction sector and Mr Jarman expects it will continue be the main driver of business confidence as the year progresses.

"The approvals data clearly show a bulge in the pipeline of residential building, and in construction of office and retail space, which will offset some of the mining capital expenditure decline," he said.

"But we doubt that is yet sufficient to lift demand conditions more broadly, and that sense is corroborated by the pullback in conditions reported today."

NAB's business conditions index fell to four points in August, after it hit a four and a half year high of eight points in July.

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Business confidence remains high

The recent public release of Mountain View's draft North Bayshore Precise Plan quickly has triggered a heated debate about the future of one of the Bay Area's most hallowed office parks.

By spelling out where development should occur as well as the type of construction that's permissible in a 500-acre area north of Highway 101, the 200-plus-page document could alter the neighborhood that houses Google, LinkedIn and other tech titans.

On Tuesday the City Council is scheduled to review the draft plan, which limits new development to a net of 3.4 million square feet, enough room for an estimated 20,000 new jobs.

The draft allows for construction of a mixed-use complex featuring retail space, entertainment facilities and a hotel, as well as space for small businesses and startups.

It lists as priorities protecting wildlife, constructing a pedestrian and bicycle bridge across Highway 101, improving connections to the Stevens Creek Trail and creating parks and open spaces.

What's missing from the draft is any provision for housing.

Whether houses should or shouldn't go in North Bayshore became one of the talking points for nine council candidates at a housing and transportation forum held Tuesday. And they were clearly divided.

"The North Bayshore Precise Plan looks at 500 acres, I think we can look at 100 acres [for housing] near the 101 and Shoreline," said Lenny Siegel, founder of the Campaign for Balanced Mountain View. "It's not going to threaten our open space. ... To me, it's a no brainer but it's going to take a lot of work by people in this community to reverse the course that the city has been on since 2012 when the council rejected by a 4-3 vote the environmentally superior alternative of putting housing in North Bayshore."

He said 5,000 housing units would support a school, retail and other services. Fellow candidates Pat Showalter, Ken Rosenberg and Jim Neal agreed, to varying degrees.

"Housing near jobs is the way of the future," candidate Greg Unangst stressed. "We've got to get away from these long commutes."

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Draft plan for Mountain View's North Bayshore area stirs housing debate

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP - The shovel hit the dirt this week as construction of the long awaited Promenade a mixed use redevelopment project - officially got under way at the site of the former Acme Supermarket at Sycamore and Jefferson streets.

As heavy equipment rumbled just feet away, the projects managing partner and Newtown Athletic Club owner Jim Worthington turned a ceremonial spade of dirt on Sept. 15. He was joined at the site by township supervisors Mike Gallagher, Ryan Gallagher and Kyle Davis and construction manager Vince Keenan.

Im ecstatic, said Worthington. I feel so good about taking a site that has sat vacant for 14 years with a dilapidated old supermarket and creating something that will be an asset to the community a place people can shop and live and also something that will create tax revenue and jobs for Newtown Township.

After construction crews lay the foundation, the project will begin to take shape in late September or early October as steel beams rise from the site. The goal is to have it under roof by the time the snow flies and open by next July.

Its a great day for Newtown. Its a great day for Sycamore Street. Were very happy this day is finally here and were putting shovels in the dirt, said Ryan Gallagher. Its an excellent example of the township working together with the business sector to improve our community.

Davis added, This is also going to go a long way toward revitalizing this section of Sycamore Street, giving it more of a downtown, pedestrian kind of feel. Its great to see the project is finally moving.

Mike Gallagher agreed. People have waited 18 years for this to happen, he said. I appreciate the fact that Mr. Worthington took the bull by the horns and said he was going to get this done. Were looking forward to the finished product.

The centerpiece of the project will be a three-story multi-use structure that will house 26 luxury apartments on the second and third floors and six high-end specialty retail businesses at street level. The main building will be flanked by a one story 2300 square foot retail building on the southern end of the tract.

Anthropologie, a high-end retailer based in the Philadelphia area, will anchor the retail space in the main building. The store carries a curated mix of womens clothing, accessories, gifts and home dcor that reflects their personal style and fuels their lives' passions, from fashion to art to entertaining.

Continued...

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Shovel hits the dirt as construction begins on long-awaited Promenade project in Newtown Township (VIDEO)