July 24, 2014

The man behind three Bartonsville retail developments is planning a major shopping-office-residential complex on Route 739 in Dingman Township.

Developer Jim DePetris of Plymouth Meeting-based DEPG Development Associates has confirmed that his company recently signed an agreement to buy more than 200 acres on Route 739 near the intersection of Log Tavern Road.

The land is on the same side of the road as the Dingman Delaware school complex.

The agreement is so new that it has not yet been presented to township officials, DePetris said.

He envisions the project happening in three phases.

The first phase will include the construction of 70,000 square feet of retail space for a supermarket and 10 to 15 retail stores.

The next phase will bring professional and medical offices. And a third phase will include some residential buildings, perhaps senior housing or townhouses, DePetris said.

The work of DEPG Development Associates is well known to shoppers in Monroe County.

DEPG is responsible for three popular projects on Route 611 in Stroud Township, including the Dick's Sporting Goods complex, Sonic drive-in restaurant and the strip mall with Moe's Southwestern Grill and Sleepy's mattress store.

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Developer eyes retail desert in Dingman Township

(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) Bawadi Mall offers unique shopping experience for entire family Bawadi Mall has a strong line-up of entertainment activities for the remaining of 2014.

Abu Dhabi will add 778000sqm of retail space over the next three years which represents eight per cent of the total new shopping space (9.8 million sqm) opened in 2013 in 180 cities globally.

The figures were revealed by Bassam Saleh marketing manager Bawadi Mall the five-year old hugest shopping mall in Al Ain based on a global study conducted by property adviser CBRE.

The study also says that a total of 39 million sqm of shopping centre retail space is currently under construction in the worlds biggest cities with Abu Dhabi having more retail space under development than anywhere in the Gulf.

Saleh says: It does not come as a surprise to many that Abu Dhabi has the largest retail space under development in the GCC because the capital of the UAE has been taking firm steps in becoming a world class city. Malls in the emirate have standards that are on par with leading shopping destinations in the world such as Paris London and New York. Visitors feel they are in a five-star shopping arcade in terms of services ambience promotions outreach programmes and staff in stores and management.

Bawadi Mall has adopted the edutainment concept that has converted the shopping service into an experience enjoyed by all members of the family said Saleh.

He added: We adopt global best practices to make the visitors welcome and comfortable. One of the main reasons for the stupendous success of our approach is that we consider the visitor a tourist rather than a customer coming to shop. We greet them with entertainment and social activities that address the diversity of cultures living in the UAE.

Saleh added that Abu Dhabi in general and Al Ain in particular offers superior shopping ambience driven by strong collaboration between mall management tenants representing international regional and local brands as well as visitors who remain the central part of any shopping experience.

He said: These visitors with high purchasing power a strong shopping culture and appreciation of classy brands are energising the shopping industry as supply keeps pace with the huge demand translating into high footfall.

Bawadi Mall has a strong line-up of entertainment activities for the remaining of 2014. Moreover the ideal shopping environment provided by the mall and the numerous promotions offered at all retail outlets including fashion hospitality and entertainment are reinforcing the malls position on the regional map of shopping malls as Al Ain citys footprint on the regions tourism map is getting bigger.

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Abu Dhabi to add 778000sqm of retail space over three years span

MERRIMACK A major development project is being proposed in Merrimack that would convert nearly 150 acres of land into 240 apartments and significant retail and industrial space.

This is the largest mixed-used development we have seen come through town in quite a while, said Tim Thompson, community development director.

The John J. Flatley Company, which recently constructed the Tara Heights apartment complex in Nashua, is proposing a nearly identical project on five parcels near 707 Daniel Webster Highway.

Preliminary plans have been filed at Merrimack Town Hall, as the developer prepares to seek a conditional use permit for future construction at the site, which is adjacent to the St. Gobain Corp. facility.

Plans include 120,000 square feet of high-bay industrial space, a village-setting commercial and retail development, a separate 200,000 square feet retail parcel and five residential buildings to accommodate 240 one and two bedroom garden-style rental apartments, a pool, tennis courts and clubhouse.

It has been an evolving trend in the planning profession to focus on mixed-use development, said Thompson, explaining local zoning allows for this type of construction. I think that mixed-use has always been the towns vision for that area of Merrimack.

Thompson admits that the Flatley Company is still in the very early stages of the planning process, and that multiple site plans and numerous meetings and approvals will still be necessary for the large project to come to fruition.

The proposed apartments -- if authorized -- will be configured around an existing stream and the former fish hatchery site.

The owner intends to pursue development of community space in the vicinity of the former hatchery for the benefit of not only residents of the planned multi-family housing complex, but also the two proposed retail parcels and the public, says a project narrative written by Steven Keach of Nordstrom Associates, adding open space with passive recreation will be encouraged.

The extensive project, which will be located on the east side of Daniel Webster Highway just south of Performance Center Drive, includes a fiscal impact analysis study, community impact assessment study and a traffic impact and access study. If approved, the development will be completed in phases over two to four years.

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About 150 acres planned for development in Merrimack

A proposed major facelift for a long-time downtown London landmark could be under way in September.

John Fyfe-Millar, who owns the former Bud Gowan Antiques building on Clarence St., said Monday he hopes to submit plans to the city by months end to turn the building into a wine bar, retail space and two-storey apartment.

He put the cost of the project at about $1 million.

I would like to think that if everything is good well be starting on the building come September. What we will do is renovate the building from the top down, he said Monday.

If his plans are approved and hes able to begin construction, Fyfe-Millar said, his family will move into the completed apartment in the top two floors in the spring something theyve wanted to do since buying the building in 2012.

My wife wanted to live downtown and, given the choice, I really didnt want to live in a highrise, said Fyfe-Millar, who said the renovations will strike a balance between making the space their own and maintaining the buildings antique charm.

Bud Gowan Antiques building on Clarence St. (QMI Agency file photo)

From there, Fyfe-Millar said, hell complete renovations on the retail space, which has been rented already.

Fyfe-Millar said hes looking ahead to a fall 2015 opening date for a wine bar planned for the buildings first floor and basement. Were hoping that were going to be able to partner with somebody in that space to put something together, he said.

Fyfe-Millar said preserving the historic building is a big priority. His goal is to renovate the property without losing the charm of the century-old architecture.

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Bud Gowan's reno may be just weeks away

Summer means construction season, and in downtown Madison, that meansnew housing and retail space that could lead to a different feel near campus.

Among the most significant additions to the State Street area is the development of the Hub, a new apartment and retail complex that Scott Stager, senior vice president of Property Management at Core Campus, said he hopes it will be the center of student life and community activity.

State Street is really the center of activity for shopping, dining and nightlife near campus. I cant think of a better location for a building to be located, right in the epicenter of it all, Stager said. With the 960 students we will have as residents, we are sure State Street businesses will really see a positive impact.

Stager said the building will include 313 housing units with more than 960 bed spaces. The building will also feature an amenity package that Stager said has never been seen before in Madison. This will include things like a rooftop sun deck with a resort style pool, a 20-foot LED outdoor television, a fitness center and study rooms. Stager said he hopes these amenities will help promote both academic achievement and a healthy social life for students living there.

Mary Carbine, Madisons executive director of the Business Improvement District, said she thinks the Hub will add a lot to the area, bringing people to the businesses in the Hub and to the existing local shops on State Street.

Stager said the Hub is going to be student friendly and will lease to anyone that meets their rental requirements. The primary targets for tenants, Stager said, are UW-Madison students and young, just-graduated professionals.

Stager said the building began construction in 2013 and will open in August of 2015.

Not everybody is fully supporting developments like the Hub. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the displacement of smaller stores due to projects like the Hub is concerning for both city staff and nearby residents.

It is still somewhat bittersweet, perhaps sobering, that despite all the excitement over this new project, there will still be displacement of existing businesses. Verveer said.

The previous tenants worked with Core Campus to smooth out the relocation process, Verveer said.

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New high rises at the forefront of Madisons summer renovations

By Rick Smith, The Gazette

CEDAR RAPIDS Groundbreaking is set for Wednesday on CRST International Inc.s new 11-story, $37-million headquarters on the downtown riverfront.

The site across First Street SE from the Alliant Energy tower is being prepared for construction.

Most noticeably, the 100 or so vehicles that parked in a temporary lot since fall 2011 have moved to other parking spots in the downtown.

Marc Gullickson, president of Ryans Midwest region, said construction will begin immediately after Wednesdays groundbreaking ceremony with excavation and removal of foundation material from earlier structures on the site.

The building will be ready for occupancy in the first quarter of 2016, he said.

The CRST site, in the 200 block of First Street SE, previously was home to the First Street Parkade, which was slated for demolition for some years and was demolished in the summer of 2011 after sustaining flood damage in 2008.

On Saturday, another sign of change was the removal of 13 trees from the CRST site, which were added when the surface parking lot was put in place in 2011.

Daniel Gibbins, the citys parks superintendent, said the city is moving the two-year-old trees to Noelridge and Cherry Hill parks. Its not the best time of the year to move trees, but the recent wet soil conditions should help the trees survive, he said.

In 2011, five downtown entities created Short Term Parking Solution LC and financed the temporary parking lots construction with the thought that it would provide parking until the city found a company to build on the site.

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Construction of CRST riverfront headquarters ready to start

Business News of Sunday, 20 July 2014

Source: GNA

Broll Ghana has organised a maiden Broll Ghana Limited Chief Executive Officer (CEO) cocktail, for the business community to principally share information and knowledge about development of Retail facilities that are springing up in the country.

Broll Ghana Limited has been compelled to initiate promotion of local investment in retail development based on the competitive income and capital returns from this sector.

Our direct involvement in retail broking services and retail management has brought to the fore enormous opportunities that majority of us are not taking advantage of and which we would like to recommend to the financial institutions, Mr Kofi Ampong, CEO of Broll Ghana said in his inaugural address in Accra on the theme: Financial Institutions and Retail Development.

The event attracted personalities like Reverend George Nimako, Broll Ghana Board Chairman, as well as representatives from HFC Bank, International Commercial Bank, First Atlantic Bank, Barclays Bank, Cal Bank Ltd, Universal Merchant Bank, Property Express, Star Assurance, Access Bank, GT Bank, Fidelity Bank, Vanguard Assurance, Zenith Bank Ghana and Ghana Shippers Authority.

Broll Ghana Limited for the past eight years has been involved in all property related consultancy services with the exception of property development.

The company started with two services namely; property management and facilities management services. Broll Ghana Limited is now a multidisciplinary professional service firm providing property consultancy services in seven core areas namely; Retail Management, Commercial Broking, CRES, Valuation and Advisory, Residential Property Management, Real Estate Consulting, Market Research and Retail Broking.

According to the African Retail Development Index (2014), Ghana is among the countries which dominate the list of fastest growing economies in the world and the potential for growth is still high.

Ghana exhibits good demographics and possesses highly skilled labour force creating the necessary environment for good investment, says Mr Ampong.

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Broll hosts maiden CEO cocktail on retail development

Could Mellon Square become the next Market Square?

While its no European-style piazza, some believe the area around the newly restored park could be primed to become one of Downtowns next hot spots for restaurants and retail.

I see it becoming the next great Downtown destination, said Herky Pollock, executive vice president of the CBRE real estate firm.

Only a few years ago, the Smithfield Street corridor between Fifth and Liberty avenues that includes Mellon Square appeared to be ready for last rites.

The Saks Fifth Avenue department store had closed, the Henry W. Oliver building next door was 70 percent vacant, and the former Lord & Taylor department store and the James H. Reed office building were empty.

Today its a different story.

The upper floors of the Oliver building are being converted into an Embassy Suites hotel. Lord & Taylor is now a PNC Bank call center with about 700 employees, and the James Reed building is being turned into an upscale 249-room Hotel Monaco. Saks is being redeveloped for retail and parking, and the upper half of the former Alcoa building is becoming apartments.

Add to it the rehabbed square and Mayor Bill Pedutos interest in making Smithfield a grand boulevard of Pittsburgh filled with small shops and boutiques, and its easy to see why some think better days are ahead for the corridor.

If you fast-forward 18 months to two years from now, the whole Mellon Square corridor will be unrecognizable given all of the redevelopment going on, in and around the square, Mr. Pollock predicted.

David Glickman, director of retail services for the Newmark Grubb Knight Frank real estate firm, believes Market Square, with its piazza and teeming restaurant scene, is unique in Downtown, but he sees the potential for Smithfield to generate as much, if not more, retail.

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Planners see potential in a revamped Mellon Square

Empty shelves I Increase in retail real estate supply and tenants exiting under-performing shopping malls led to the increase

The retail real estate segment saw a significant rise in vacancies in April-June quarter of 2014 over the January-March levels as supply increased and tenants exited under performing centres.

According to a report by property research firm DTZ, the Delhi-NCR market witnessed highest increase in shopping mall vacancy at 3.5% followed by Pune at 2.6% and Mumbai at 2.3%, respectively.

"In the case of Delhi-NCR, the vacancy level stood at 19.5%, up from 16% during the previous quarter due to the addition of new space. Occupiers continue to prefer malls offering quality space, good mall design and a strong tenant mix. In contrast, lower grade malls continue to witness higher vacancy levels," Rohit Kumar, head of India Research, DTZ, said in the report.

While the Delhi-NCR market, witnessed new supply of 2.3 million sq ft during Q2, about 7% completed in Q4 2013 entered the market in second quarter due to regulatory issues. Additional 2 million sq ft of mall space is expected to be completed in second half 2014, but given the extent of project delays, some of this is likely shift to 2015.

Vacancy levels in Pune increased sharply quarter on quarter from 27.5% in Q1 2014 to 30.1% in Q2, and with over 2 million sq ft of retail space under construction, vacancy levels are expected to remain high over the next few years.

Contributing significantly to vacancy levels in Mumbai were malls located in micro-markets of Andheri, Bhandup-Mulund and Navi Mumbai. "However, with no new supply expected over the next year, the vacancy level is expected to decline in the coming months," said Kumar.

Though new supply certainly has led to the increase in vacancy levels across malls in these cities, retail industry experts said, additional factors like tight market conditions, experimenting with new malls and aggressive evaluation of sites by retailers also were equally responsible.

As per Devangshu Dutta, chief executive, Third Eyesight, retailers these days are very practical about their stores and have no hesitation in shutting down the non-performing outlets. "A lot of focus is on performance potential of newly opened or for that matter existing stores. Besides, given the current market conditions, it is pragmatic to discontinue sites that do not justify the cost of operations," said he said.

International property consultant Cushman & Wakefield, however, differs on vacancy levels.

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Good days yet to come for malls as vacancies rise

(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) Abu Dhabi is showing promising growth in commercial and office spaces surveys have shown.

Rental rates for Grade A office space saw small increases of up to four per cent in second quarter for fitted and shell and core offices respectively says a study by a leading property advisory firm Asteco.

Landmark Tower handed over in the third quarter of 2013 achieved net effective rental rates estimated at Dh1700 per square metre for fully fitted space located on the Corniche.

Rental rates at Sowwah Square remained unchanged in the last 12 months. Although there is a healthy tenant interest leasing of the development has been on hold due to confirmation of the free zone status. The property advisory firm believed that with the free zone status leasing will restart and an increase in rental rates is likely.

The market for Grade B office space whether recently built or existing remained slow with no change in rates compared with the previous quarter. This was mainly due to no significant additions to supply in second quarter of 2014. This extended period of rent stability has become a relief to landlords under sustained pressure since 2009.

We anticipate that the removal of the rent cap could over time lead to companies that had remained where they are for years due to low rents to relocate to a better quality Grade B office space Asteco report for second quarter of 2014 said.

Meanwhile Abu Dhabi will add 778000 sqm of retail space over the next three years which represents eight per cent of the total new shopping space (9.8 million sqm) opened in 2013 in 180 cities globally.

The figures were revealed by Bassam Saleh marketing manager Bawadi Mall the five-year old mega shopping mall in Al Ain based on a global study conducted by property adviser CBRE.

The study also says that a total of 39 million sqm of shopping centre retail space is currently under construction in the worlds biggest cities with Abu Dhabi having more retail space under development than anywhere in the Gulf.

Saleh says: It does not come as a surprise to many that Abu Dhabi has the largest retail space under development in the GCC because the capital of the UAE has been taking firm steps in becoming a world class city. Malls in the Emirate have standards that are on par with leading shopping destinations in the world such as Paris London and New York. Visitors feel they are in a five-star shopping arcade in terms of services ambience promotions outreach programmes and staff in stores and management.

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Abu Dhabi commercial space reflects growthspan