Since going public in 2012, property developer Century Properties Group expects to complete 31 new buildings with around 1.67 million square meters of residential, office and retail space through 2019.

In a press statement on Thursday, CPG said that within the next six years, it expected to complete new residential projects for the luxury, middle income and affordable markets, as well as retail, office and medical office developments. Apart from these, Century is also developing an office building in Bonifacio Global City.

The countdown for the 31 buildings started in the year 2012 when CPG became a publicly listed company. Prior to 2012, CPG has completed 25 condominium towers totaling 873,127 square meters with 8,777 units.

Of the 31 new towers that CPG plans to deliver through the next six years, six have so far been completed: Gramercy Residences, Knightsbridge Residences, Century City Mall and the first three towers of The Azure Urban Resort Residences.

The additional residential space will mostly be located within the companys master-planned developments in Metro Manila: Century City Makati, Acqua Private Residences in Mandaluyong, Azure Urban Resort Residences in Paraaque and The Residences at Commonwealth in Quezon City. Outside of Metro Manila, CPG will also develop residential towers in its Canyon Ranch project in Cavite. Its land bank for future development also consists of properties in Pampanga, Quezon City and Batangas.

CPG earlier announced that it is expected to complete six commercial buildings totaling roughly 160,000 square meters by 2019.

Century is now evolving from being a top residential developer in Metro Manila to a well-diversified real estate developer with recurring revenue streams, CPG chief operating officer Jose Marco Antonio said.

Aside from the six completed buildings, CPG has 25 others that are now under various stages of development and construction, broken down as follows: five towers in Century City including Centuria Medical Makati, Milano Residences and Trump Tower; six towers in Azure, eight towers in Commenwealth, one office building in Fort Bonifacio and five towers in Acqua.

CPG plans to debut on the local bond market with a retail offering worth as much as P3 billion from a local offering of retail bonds, boosting funds for its expansion program. The plan is to offer unsecured fixed-rate peso denominated retail bonds worth at least P2 billion with an option to upsize by P1 billion.

Local credit watcher Credit Rating and Investors Services Philippines Inc. has assigned an AA+ issue rating with a stable outlook on the bonds, citing CPGs strong market presence, healthy financial position, and excellent land banking strategy.

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Century Properties unveils growth plan

IFC, part of the World Bank Group, said its support for the $120 million Jabi Lake mall project in Abuja aims to support demand for modern business infrastructure and retail space.

The mall, which will be Nigerias largest, is being built on five hectares of land and will serve as a catalyst for urban development in the surrounding area, IFC said. IFCs investment in the mall, which will have more than 30,000 square metres of retail space, is $9.5m.

IFC said the mall will be the largest retail development of international standard in Abuja and create links to the local economy throughout its construction and operation. Jabi Lake will create new sales channels for Nigerian retailers, including local small and medium enterprises, IFC said.

Construction began on the project in late 2013 and is expected to be completed in 2015. The projects primary sponsor is the Actis Africa Real Estate Fund 2 (AR2). Duval Properties is the joint venture partner with Actis, a private equity firm that invests in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

IFCs country manager for Nigeria, Solomon Adegbie-Quaynor said: Our investment is part of IFCs strategy to help strengthen business infrastructure, contribute to economic growth, and increase job opportunities in Nigeria.

AR2 director Amanda Jean Baptiste said: Investing in the Jabi Lake mall demonstrates Actis commitment to developing world-class retail destinations and adding to the domestic infrastructure in Nigeria, as well as our support for the growing demands of a rapidly changing economy. Our partnership with IFC will help us draw on their expertise in international best practice in the environmental and social aspects of the project that affect property development.

In October 2012 Actis confirmed the final close of AR2, its second African real estate fund, with total commitments of $278m. The fund is focused on retail and office developments in East, West and Southern Africa, excluding South Africa. Projects have included what Actis said is Ghanas first green office building, One Airport Square in Accra, and East Africas largest retail centre, Garden City in Nairobi.

Actis invests exclusively in emerging markets. The company said earlier this month that it currently has $6.5bn funds under management.

IFC is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. IFC said its funding for infrastructure projects alone in Africa has reached $1.5 billion, with its InfraVentures division joining private sector partners to develop wind power projects in Tanzania and Kenya. In West Africa, IFC has invested in aviation companies and mobilised funding for the port of Lom to expand the transportation network and improve trade infrastructure in the region.

Through InfraVentures, the World Bank Group has set aside a $150m fund from which IFC can draw to initiate project development in the infrastructure sector. IFC serves as a co-developer and provides expertise while partially funding project development.

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Nigeria mall investment is catalyst for urban development, says IFC

A huge amount of resources go into constructing and maintaining buildings. This is even more so for green buildings, given that there is a premium for having green features. Mumbai consists of 20% of green buildings in India and in fact the number is increasing at a faster rate.

The government and the construction industry are proactive and are readily adopting the green building approach for the development of infrastructure.

According to a study, in the next 3-4 years about 200 million sq ft of commercial space and 45 million of retail space is expected to be constructed across the major cities of India which indicates that there is a great opportunity for developers and occupiers to promote green buildings. The challenges faced for development of green buildings in India are the extra investment in an unstable real estate market scenario and difficulty in sourcing green building materials.

Backdrop Laid for the Green Movement The global green building movement started in the 1990s, marking the start of an early trend to optimise energy use in buildings and construction. It conceived the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system five years later. A number of foreign countries followed suit with the establishment of partnerships and environment assessment methods.

In spite of these international developments, it took quite some time for India specifically in Mumbai to join the wagon of promoting global green building. Initially there was lack of cognizance amongst the industry on the sustainability of green building construction. Today it is one of the imperative practises followed in the construction industry and contemplated as a cornerstone in the design of buildings.

Changing mindsets The biggest obstacle laid in changing mindsets, there was a substantial price tag involved in going the green way. The first thought that would run across businessmens mind would be on the finances required. The financial aspects weighed heavily in any business decision. But gradually with large section of the industry realizing that going green will only make their structures last for long term.

Plugging the knowledge gap Given that the green market in Mumbai is just emerging, there is yet a lack of skilled professionals which impeded the ability of the market to meet the demand for green buildings. The training and development of such personnel was thus vital to advance the green building agenda. A comprehensive training framework is put in place to nurture a core group of green building professionals with a target of producing green certified structures. This tactic motivated in upgrading the capabilities of existing personnel and bringing in new entrants to develop a proficient workforce.

Embarking on Sustainable Structures The city of Mumbai has willingly acknowledged the rightful solicitation of green technology to uphold high level of sustainability. The real estate projects aims at full utilization of solar energy for power and thermal stabilization along with the prime focus on water harvesting and waste recycling. Another important facet that has been looked into profusely is that of landscaping. Most of the structure design proposes terrace farms to minimize the loss of plantation on the ground.

Utilization of LAR designs, a concept that encourages ecological architecture inspired by pyramid style. Herein the designers propose vegetation on all terraces which would meet the cooling requirements of the building. Besides that the design also concentrates vastly on rain water and solar energy harvesting. The recent residential edifices believe in utilizing power and meeting the energy requirements from the wind turbines.

The road ahead Consumers today have become increasingly aware of the choices they can make to play a role in saving the earth. This reflects growing consumer demand for green buildings, and would drive developers to build more green properties across the city.

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Ecofriendly Residential Architecture: An indispensible paradigm of change

When the city of McCall's Planning and Zoning commission convenes this coming Tuesday, July 1, they'll be asked to consider a proposed construction project that would include condominiums, a restaurant and new retail spacea proposal that the McCall Star-News reports is the largest of its kind in seven years.

It's being called The Village on Lake Street and would include three buildings on 1.73 acres, with 27 condominiums interspersed among the three structures, along with a mix of retail, restaurant and office space.

McCall officials told the Star-News that the proposal was the largest since 2007 and could readily be compared to Alpine Village, just south of McCall's downtown.

Six existing homes, currently used as rental housing, would be removed from the Lake Street parcel of land if the project is approved. But the Star-News reports that before any of that could happen, the land would need to be rezoned from its current limit of eight homes per acre up to 16 homes per acre. The proposal would also see a strip of public land running through the parcel converted into a bicycle and pedestrian pathway.

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New Condo, Retail, Restaurant Project Proposed for McCall

A closely held Shanghai developer has suspended construction at a property project due to a lack of funds, according to two government officials familiar with the matter.

Construction at Shanghai Yuehe Real Estate Co.s mixed-use project, including residential, office and retail space, in the city was halted this month and the project was frozen by a court, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they arent authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Co. (600000), a medium-sized Chinese bank, loaned about 240 million yuan ($39 million) to the 220,000 square meter (2.4 million square foot) development in suburban Jiading district, they said.

There will be more developers having troubles as the property downturn prolongs, said Duan Feiqin, a Shenzhen-based property analyst at China Merchants Securities Co., in a phone interview today. Many Chinese cities face oversupply of those mixed-use property projects amid the e-commerce boom, while a lot of developers, especially those small ones, are not capable of doing such developments.

Yuehe is the latest example of Chinese developers facing pressure as the nations slowing property market weighs on the growth of the worlds second-largest economy. Moodys Investors Service in May revised its credit outlook for Chinese developers to negative from stable, citing a slowdown in home- sales growth as liquidity weakens and inventories rise.

Home prices in Shanghai decreased 0.3 percent in May from April, the first decline in two years, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. New home supply in the city rose 16 percent in May on a monthly base, while sales fell 22 percent, according to SouFun Holdings Ltd., the nations biggest real estate website.

Premier Li Keqiang has sought to rein in credit expansion, particularly in the off-balance sheet shadow-banking industry, by tightening lending and curbing real-estate price speculation. He must balance such steps with efforts to meet a 7.5 percent economic growth target, after 7.7 percent expansion in the previous two years, which was the slowest since 1999.

Pudong Bank loaned more than 200 million yuan to Yuehe and has taken steps to preserve assets, the lender said in an e-mail statement to Bloomberg News queries yesterday. Collateral for the loan is adequate and valid, the bank said. Two phone calls to Yuehe went unanswered.

In March, Zhejiang Xingrun Real Estate Co., a closely held developer in a city near Shanghai, became insolvent with 3.5 billion yuan of debt. Its residential projects have been halted and authorities have detained its largest shareholder and his son, according to the citys government.

While the central bank last month called on the nations biggest lenders to accelerate the granting of mortgages, the government has refrained from broad-based easing of property restrictions imposed over the last four years to rein in prices.

Home sales fell 11 percent last month from a year earlier, the statistics bureau reported earlier this month, and private data also signaled the housing market is cooling.

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Shanghai Developer Said to Suspend Project on Funding Shortage

Work is underway on a long-stalled project in West Hollywood on the site of the former Movietown Plaza shopping center.

The residential and retail complex being built at 7300 Santa Monica Blvd. is one of several in the pipeline in the eastern blocks of West Hollywood.

Virginia real estate investment trust AvalonBay Communities Inc. is developing the 3-acre former Movietown Plaza lot at Santa Monica and Poinsettia Place with 370 apartments, a grocery store, restaurants and shops.

Trader Joes, a fixture for many years at the now-demolished Movietown mall, has agreed to return as the grocery tenant when the new project is completed in early 2016. The future complex will be called Avalon West Hollywood.

AvalonBay declined to put a value on the new development, but in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission at the end of last year the company put the expected cost at more than $152 million.

AvalonBay picked up the project after a previous developer was unable to complete it.

First proposed in 2006 by Casden Properties, the project was approved by the West Hollywood City Council in 2010 only to fall victim to the economic downturn.

Casdens plans called for a mix of residences, senior affordable units, and retail space accented by multiple landscaped courtyards in a design that included two 10-story structures on the southern end of the site.

When AvalonBay Communities took over the development in 2012, it redesigned the project and reduced the maximum height to seven stories. The company also brought the West Hollywood Community Housing Corp. in as its partner for the 77 affordable housing units.

Avalon West Hollywood was designed by Irvine architecture firm MVE & Partners.

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Construction underway at Movietown Plaza site in West Hollywood

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) June 26, 2014

Construct-A-Lead, the Construction Industrys most comprehensive construction lead service, reported today that the following Retail 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:

Del Mar, CA - Del Mar Highlands Town Center Phase 2 - Plans call for a movie theater expansion, parking structure, and 80,000 square feet of retail space. Construction start: Q3, Q4, 2014. $28,000,000 Project ID: 1332152

Annapolis, MD Eastport mixed use - Plans call for a seven-story complex with a mix of 200 apartments and 14,000 square feet of high-end, first-floor retail space. Construction start: Spring, 2015, $45,000,000. Project ID: 1332542

Plano, TX - One Haggard Place Plans call for the new construction of two 72 unit luxury condominium towers, high-end retail shopping and a boutique hotel (unbranded) on 8 acres of farmland. Construction start: Late, 2014. $90,000,000 Project ID: 1332547

Baton Rouge, LA Circle K Plans call for a new 4,000 SF Circle K retail store, with canopy. Construction start: Q3, 2014, $1,000,000 Project ID: 1332456

Alexandria, VA LA Fitness - Plans call for a new 43,000 SF LA Fitness health club. Construction start: Q3, 2014. $4,000,000 Project ID: 1332581

Chicago, IL Bridges - Plans call for the new construction of 192,000 square feet of retail shops and medical offices in two buildings. Construction start: Q1, Q2, 2015, estimated. $92,000,000 Project ID: 1332516

Canton Township, MI Chesterfield Township Outlets - Plans call for the new construction of a 350,000-square-foot center with a 12,000-square-foot Cooper's Hawk, restaurant and winery. Construction start: Q1, 2015, $55,000,000. Project ID: 1331968

Surprise, AZ Shops at Surprise - Plans call for the renovation and redevelopment of the shopping center to include property improvements and green initiatives. Construction start: Summer, 2014. $5,000,000 Project ID: 1332420

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Construct-A-Lead Reported Today That the Following Retail Construction Projects Will Have the Necessary Approvals and ...

Two downtown construction projects are marking two very different milestones this week, as the Buffalo Sabres topped off the steel at HarborCenter on a foggy, gray Wednesday, while Uniland Development Co. erected a new tower crane to start building its 12-story office and hotel tower.

Construction workers shouted, cheered and snapped photos amid drizzle as the final piece of structural steel was raised from Perry Street over the top of the structure and into its position atop the eighth floor of HarborCenter at Canalside. There, workers sitting high atop other beams but tethered for safety grabbed hold, rotated and maneuvered the 1,500 pounds of steel into place and anchored it down.

The 40-foot beam brightly painted in Sabres blue and yellow was covered with signatures of construction workers, Sabres staff and even Sabres owners Terry and Kim Pegula and President Ted Black. A hockey stick, U.S. and Sabres flags, and banners of the contractors and labor union were attached, along with a small potted fir tree that is an ironworker tradition when a building reaches its maximum height.

For the guys who are out here every day, this is a big day, said Cliff Benson, the Sabres chief development officer. Fifteen months ago, we broke ground, and here we stand today. Its nothing short of a phenomenal effort.

The 20-story mixed-use facility, which is linked to the First Niagara Center by a pedestrian bridge across Perry Street, will include two full-size NHL ice rinks on the sixth floor, a 205-room Marriott Buffalo HarborCenter hotel and an 850-space parking ramp. Theres also a two-story restaurant, called 716 Food and Sport, and a two-story commemorative Tim Hortons, plus some additional retail space. The facility will be the home arena for Canisius College hockey and the Junior Sabres, and will also host college and amateur hockey tournaments.

Plans originally called for the eight floors of the ramp, rinks, restaurants and retail to be open by late September or early October, with the hotel tower opening in May 2015. The complex project is now more than 70 percent complete, although it is slightly late after the difficult winter and typical construction hurdles.

Still, were going to finish at the end of October, said Ryan Poropat, project supervisor for general contractor Mortensen Construction. Thats a bit tight for Canisius, which had planned to start playing its hockey on the HarborCenter ice in early October.

We have a lot of work obviously to do that, and were going to get it done, thats for sure, Poropat said. You get a lot done real fast, and then its all the nitty-gritty detail work at the end. Were entering that stage.

Employment on the site is now at the peak of 250 workers daily, where it is expected to remain until the project is done, and the laborers are generally working six days a week occasionally even on Sunday for specific needs, such as last week.

Meanwhile, farther north on Delaware Avenue at Chippewa Street, workers prepared to put up a new tower crane today the fifth to be seen in downtown Buffalo in recent months. Unilands project at 250 Delaware calls for a new corporate headquarters for Delaware North Companies and a 120-room hotel.

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Ceremony marks milestone in construction at HarborCenter

St. Modwen Properties Quote more

Price: 351.60

Chg: 13.80

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Date: 13:35

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Price: 15,639.55 Chg: 185.60 Chg %: 1.20% Date: 13:37

St. Modwen Properties is set to begin work on the second phase of the retail development at Longbridge in Birmingham after being granted planning permission for a 150,000 square foot Marks & Spencer store and an additional 45,000 sq ft of retail space.

The approval marks the latest stage in the 1bn regeneration project of Longbridge town centre.

Group Chief Executive Bill Oliver said: "The development of the new 150,000 sq ft Marks & Spencer store, the anchor of the second phase of the new Town Centre at Longbridge, represents a significant milestone at this major regeneration project and is a key part of our overall aim to create business and employment opportunities in the area."

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St. Modwen to begin second phase of Longbridge development

Published: 12:55PM Wednesday June 25, 2014 Source: ONE News

Triangle Centre. - Source: Supplied

Part of Christchurch's quake-barren CBD is about to get a facelift with construction starting on a new retail building.

The building will be made with seismic base isolation, one of the most powerful and commonly used ways to protect buildings against earthquakes.

The base works by separating the building from the ground and acting similar to a car's suspension, taking the weight of the building and letting the foundations move during an earthquake.

Sitting in the triangle formed by Colombo, High and Cashel St, work is due to begin August on the Triangle Centre, hosting 1700 square metres of ground floor retail space and three floors for offices.

Consultancy firm Beca has signed on already as has ANZ who has also bought naming rights to the building.

Ryan Geddes, head of office leasing at Colliers International, says the development of the building is a significant step in giving tenants the confidence to return to the CBD.

"This announcement is exactly the sort of news that tenants eyeing the CBD have been waiting to hear," says Mr Geddes.

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Christchurch CBD gets new quake-resistant building