On Apr 4, 2014, we issued an updated research report on Federal Realty Investment Trust ( FRT ), a Rockville, MD-based retail real estate investment trust (REIT).

On Feb 11, 2014, Federal Realty reported fourth-quarter 2013 results with core FFO (funds from operations) per share of $1.18, exceeding the year-ago figure by 7 cents and in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Decent results came on the back of notable leasing activity, rent escalations and improved same-store portfolio performance. Also, Federal Realty raised its 2014 FFO per share outlook.

We believe Federal Realty's expansion strategy has strong potential and promises steady income growth in the long run. Moreover, the company's portfolio of high quality shopping centers along with the diversified tenant base comprising grocery stores and low-end discount retailers -- such as Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ( WMT ) and Target Corp. ( TGT ) -- position it well for growth.

Although the significant construction pipeline of Federal Realty bodes well for long-term growth, it increases operational risks and tends to drag margins in the near term. Furthermore, rising online sales that adversely affect the demand for retail space remains a concern and an anticipated increase in interest rate may dent its financial results going forward.

Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2014 FFO per share remained stable at $4.92. On the other hand, for 2015, it moved north by 2 cents to $5.37 per share. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Stocks that Warrant a Look

Better-ranked stocks in the retail REIT space include Simon Property Group Inc. ( SPG ). It currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Note: FFO, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, are obtained after adding depreciation, amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income.

FED RLTY INV (FRT): Free Stock Analysis Report

SIMON PROPERTY (SPG): Free Stock Analysis Report

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Balanced View on Federal Realty - Analyst Blog

Construction is expected to begin as early as next month on a redevelopment project that will add housing and work spaces in the New Bohemia area of Cedar Rapids.

3rd Ward Development is planning to restore the former Kurik House on Second Street SE, a historic home flooded in 2008. The house will be moved closer to 11th Avenue SE and provideretail or commercial space on the first floor and an apartment on the second floor.

The project also will include construction of five single-family row houses on Second Street adjacent to the Kurik House and four mixed-use, two-story work/live units on Third Street SE. The latter will provide retail, office or studio space on the first floor and apartments on the second floor.

Don Barrigar, president of 3rd Ward Development, said the project will cover most of the square block between Second and Third streets and 10th and 11th avenues SE.

Barrigar said redevelopment and rehabilitation effort resulted from a two-year process that included acquisition of five properties the Kurik House and four vacant properties through two requests for proposals for flood-affected city-owned properties.

The development company worked with the Iowa Economic Development Authority, state and federal historic preservation offices and the Cedar Rapids City Council-created Czech Bohemia Neighborhood Overlay District.

The Cedar Rapids Planning Commission will hold a rezoning hearing April 17. It will then move to the Cedar Rapids City Council for its consideration.

Barrigar said relocation of the Kurik House and restoration work likely will begin next month. Construction of the single-family row houses is expected to start in July and the mixed use buildings on Third Street SE will complete the project in 2015.

Barrigar said the city and the South Side Investment Board conducted studies showing the need for more and diverse housing.

Our goal was to not only create desired live and work spaces, but also to provide these in a way that complimented the heritage already in place in NewBo, Barrigar said. We have talked with many people to make sure what we are offering is what they want in downtown live and work spaces.

Continue reading here:
NewBo redevelopment will add housing, work spaces

Bradford planning file

10:00am Saturday 5th April 2014 in News

The following planning applications have been lodged with Bradford Council: Bradford Moor: construction of single-storey rear extension of the following dimensions: depth of extension from original rear wall 4.0m, maximum height of extension 4.0m, height to eaves of extension 3.0m, 28 Oswaldthorpe Avenue.

Bradford Moor: construction of single-storey side and rear extension, 1 Folkestone Street. Bradford Moor: construction of single-storey side extension, 30 Warley Drive. Bradford Moor: double-storey extension to side and rear and single-storey to rear, 26 Warley Drive. Bradford Moor: extension to kitchen and first floor, 33 Baring Avenue. Bradford Moor: parking space and entrance on to Leeds Road and porch to front, 975 Leeds Road.

City centre: change of use from A1 retail to A3 cafe, 30 Kirkgate. Clayton: construction of front and rear dormer windows to existing second-floor bedroom, 72 Pasture Lane. Clayton: construction of single-storey rear extension and front and rear dormer windows, 34 Middle Lane. Clayton: steel portal frame agricultural building, White Acres Farm, Baldwin Lane. Cottingley: construction of outbuilding, 27 Woodside Avenue. Cullingworth: construction of rear entrance porch, 3 Lower Heights Farm, Keighley Road. Cullingworth: construction of two-storey extension to side of existing dwelling, 12 Hallowes Park Road.

Eccleshill: construction of granny annex, 5 Acre Lane. Eccleshill: construction of pair of semi-detached dwellings, 41 Institute Road. Eccleshill: construction of single-storey rear extension of the following dimensions: depth of extension from original rear wall 5m, maximum height of extension 3.6m, height to eaves of extension 2.8m, 26 Loxley Close. Eccleshill: retrospective application for two-storey rear extension and loft conversion, 118 Norman Avenue.

Girlington: construction of garden room, 108 Fairbank Road. Girlington: construction of rear extension, 4 Lingwood Road. Girlington: construction of single-storey extension to rear with cellar room extension below, 20 Whetley Grove. Great Horton: construction of 3.0 metre dormer window to front, 114 Aberdeen Place. Great Horton: variation of condition 2 and 5 of planning approval 11/00420/FUL (phased two-storey extension with glazed link to existing school and minor alterations to existing building with new access from Smith Road for staff vehicles only and pedestrian access), Southmere Primary School, Ewart Street.

Great Horton: variation of condition 2 of permission 12/00251/FUL dated 29.4.13: scheme aims to achieve expansion by creating a new building on existing playing field allowing existing school to continue operating during build, on completion existing school will be demolished and new MUGA, football pitch and hard play area created on present school building site, part of school, existing year three block will be retained to provide community-use facilities, new school will be part two-storey and part single-storey, the two-storey element will include a sports hall, available to the community, Princeville Primary School, Willowfield Street.

Harden: renovation of former kennels to form new dwelling with subterranean extension under existing terrace and rebuilding of retaining walls, Cuckoo Nest Barn, Harden Road.

Original post:
Bradford planning file

An Ann Arbor developer is proposing a 110-room hotel with ground-floor retail space in a new 91,000-square-foot building in the citys downtown.

First Martin Corp., a developer of office, retail and residential space, has submitted site plans for the development, located at 116-120 W. Huron St., between South Ashley and South Main streets, to the city for review.

Construction costs and timelines were not immediately available Thursday. First Martin had not yet responded to messages seeking comment.

The 0.48-acre site is currently home to the Greyhound Bus Depot and the Ann Arbor Convention and Visitors Bureau, according to a site plan cover letter posted to the citys website. The existing buildings would be removed and the businesses would relocate.

Retail frontage would be along Huron while the entrance for core hotel functions would be along Ashley.

In addition to about 6,000 square feet of retail and possible restaurant or bar space, the first floor would also include the hotel lobby, meeting rooms, office space, an exercise room, patio, pool and kitchen and laundry space. The top five floors would be for hotel rooms, which would be studio and one- and two-bedroom units.

The site is adjacent to an 800-car parking structure at the corner of Ashley and Ann streets, according to the cover letter. There is also surface parking northeast of the site and on the south side of Huron Street, the letter says.

Architects on the project are Fairfax, Va.-based Zivic & Hurdle Architects PC and Ann Arbor-based Hobbs & Black Architects. Ann Arbor-based Midwestern Consulting LLC is the project engineer, surveyor and landscape architect.

The city planning department is reviewing the site plans.

Kirk Pinho: (313) 446-0412, kpinho@crain.com. Twitter: @kirkpinhoCDB

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6-story hotel planned for downtown Ann Arbor

More retail and office space is coming to the Bee Cave area through the Gateway at Falconhead. The 127,000-square-foot project located on 14 acres at the southwest corner of RM 620 and Falconhead Boulevard is anticipated to have a completed retail section by the first quarter of 2015, and a complete office section by the second quarter.

John Elges, the senior vice president of developer La Croix, said the project would include a bank, several restaurants, a salon and a daycare. Elges said there is also high demand for office space in the area, and that Gateway to Falconhead provides 80,000 square feet of office space.

Traffic patterns in Austin are getting wretched, he said. Larger companies are not quite yet in the process of coming to Lakeway and Bee Cave, but there are a ton of smaller organizations that could be there, and theyre leaning more and more toward the idea of not having to make the drive in Austin we dont have a tenant right now, but there are quite a few people circling, and theyre extremely excited about it.

The retail portion of Gateway to Falconhead is designed to have a boutique feel, Elges said.

Its not going to be a typical big box retail location, Elges said. What most retailers are looking for historically over the last 10 to 15 years has been a big box environment, and this is the antithesis of that. This is a much smaller feel and is designed to fit the sensibilities of being in a desired real estate area, which really does end up as a boutique feel. Its not going to be a strip center there will be buildings to walk around, with fronts and backs to them as opposed to just fronts.

The project experienced holdups when the original developer dropped out and a new one had to be found, but everything is back on track, Elges said. The project has also been held up by the Bee Cave City Councils decision that the project had to have a detention pond on it when the original plans did not accommodate for one.

Yes, of course it [the detention pond] will hold us up, but the good news is that its going to be beautiful, Elges said. Ive been joking that theyre going to need some swans. Theres going to be standing water in there, and theyre going to put some fountains, and its going to be beautiful. My guess is that its going to be the prettiest shopping center all along the Bee Cave and Lakeway corridor.

Construction will begin soon, Elges said.

Im on the edge of my chair waiting for that to occur, Elges said.

More here:
Gateway to Falconhead brings retail, offices to Bee Cave

The days of developers building large tracts of single-family homes in Fairfield County -- confident that they would snapped up by buyers -- may be over, but the desire for more new apartments continues to keep the construction trade busy, as the millennium generation seeks out urban housing and baby boomers look to downsize.

Some young adults can't afford a down payment on a house, while others prefer to rent a new upscale apartment in a downtown atmosphere. And their baby boomer parents, seeking a less-cluttered lifestyle, may be looking for much the same housing in an urban environment or a location within walking distance of shops and restaurants.

That is what Boston-based Trinity Financial was considering when it planned Park Square West, a 209-unit complex in Stamford scheduled for occupancy next spring.

Built for convenience, the 15-story building will have 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, and apartments ranging from studios up to three bedrooms. Trinity is also scheduled to start building a similar 207-unit tower next door. The company has pegged the total cost of the two buildings and improvements to the nearby Summer Street garage at $130 million.

`Important audience'

According to a Downtown Special Services District survey, young professionals dominate the demographic profile of Stamford's downtown rental market, according to Maixuan Phan, senior project manager at Trinity.

"This is obviously an important audience," she said, "but we think the prime location and quality of our building will also appeal to a broader audience of people -- including baby boomers -- who don't want the burdens of home ownership or car dependence, yet still prefer an active, sociable and walkable lifestyle that they can get from an urban environment."

Stamford was a prime location for the project because of its importance as a business hub in the New York region and access to mass transit.

"It has become increasingly appealing as a place to live for people who work in and around Stamford, and for some who are priced out of the New York rental market," Phan said.

Other major apartment complexes that are under way in Stamford include The Summer House, a 23-story, 226-unit complex on Summer Street, developed by Thomas Rich, also a partner in a mixed-use project with New Jersey-based Ironstate Development that will include about 700 apartments. Construction is expected to start this year.

See the article here:
New home construction focuses on apartments

Published: Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 11:20 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 4:33 p.m.

The vote, attended by the projects influential supporters including the France family, Atlanta developer Jim Jacoby, former Daytona Beach Mayor Glenn Ritchey and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University President John Johnson, was the final step toward securing roughly $44.5 million in public investment from the county and city.

It will make this a better place for all of us to live, work and play, Ritchey said during the meeting. This will be a linchpin project.

It will give others that have been on the sidelines a reason to get started, and start quickly.

International Speedway Corp. CEO and vice chairwoman Lesa France Kennedy told the council: I appreciate your leadership and vision for Volusia County.

The money had previously been approved in concept and faced only final approval with some added contractual language.

The Daytona Beach City Commission also gave the project unanimous support, but its contribution hinged on Thursdays approval from the county.

County Councilman Doug Daniels, who was the lone no in the councils 5-1 vote last month, still had reservations but said he was voting on faith. He said he drove to the council meeting with the intention of voting no once again.

I got a call from a friend of mine, and she reminded me that Lesa France Kennedy was the one behind this, Daniels said. And Lesa, when we met, she told me she wanted to do something for her town, something to put it on the map.

He added: Its not this agreement I have faith in, I have no faith in it at all. Lesa, Im putting my faith in you.

Link:
$20 million for One Daytona Volusia approves grant for retail development

Filling large blocks of retail space is a never-ending challenge for Colorado Springs' commercial real estate industry. It seems the minute one retailer or business announces it's taking over one of the area's 40,000-square-foot-and-up spaces, another big-box occupant announces its departure.

Some big-box spaces have been filled in the last 11/2 years: Wal- Mart opened Neighborhood Market stores in spaces once occupied by King Soopers and Albertsons groceries; Garden Ridge , a Texas -based home decor superstore, moved into a vacant Target; and farming and ranching retailer Big R and a Planet Fitness health club took over a former Cub Foods/Grocery Warehouse store.

But Kmart and J.C. Penney recently announced they'll close stores in May,. And a handful of other cavernous spaces have been vacant for several years, including the former Macy's department store at The Citadel mall, which has been empty since 2009; a Circuit City on Powers Boulevard , vacant since the electronics chain went under the same year; and an Albertsons on Central Academy Boulevard that's been shuttered since 2006.

More big-box closures loom if the Albertsons-Safeway merger announced last week results in a shakeup of the local grocery landscape. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart previously said it plans to close its Sam's Club on South Academy in favor of a new Sam's that will be part of a shopping center south of the Springs.

"That's the way this market has felt for five years or more now," said Jay Carlson , a broker with Front Range Commercial in Colorado Springs . "We make some kind of stride - one step forward. And then we take one or two steps back."

The problems of large vacant retail spaces go beyond creating a gaping hole in a shopping center or depriving a building owner of rent payments. Some of the spaces become targets for vandalism and theft, and it often hurts smaller retailers who had located near big- box anchors to feed off the traffic they draw.

Colorado Springs , like other cities, has had its share of large empty stores over the years.

One factor in play in the Springs during the last 10 to 15 years: A few retailers, such as Best Buy , closed stores on Academy in favor of moving to Powers, which has become the area's busiest retail corridor and is near neighborhoods with higher household incomes.

The local and national recessions added to the problem over the last five to six years. Circuit City and soft goods retailer Linens 'n Things , for example, went out of business, leaving behind well- located spaces along Powers and North Academy .

At the same time, some financially healthy retailers shelved expansion plans to wait for the economy to improve, which kept vacant spaces dark even longer, said Fred Veitch , a vice president with Springs-based Nor'wood Development Group .

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Developers Strive to Fill Colorado Springs' Big-Box Retail ...

An illustration of the Capitol Way development in Brent, north London, for which Mildenhall-based architectural glazing company EAG is to provide curtain walling and glass screens.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014 6:00 AM

Architectural glazing firm EAG has been appointed as a sub-contractor to provide a mix of curtain walling, doors and glass screens as part of a 64million development in Brent, north London.

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The mixed-use scheme involves the creation of 379 apartments, 60,000sq ft of retail space and a 450-space basement car park on a former warehouse site in Capitol Way.

Main contractor for the scheme, on behalf of Royal London Asset Management and Neat Development, is Shepherd Construction.

EAG will commence work on site immediately in connection with the construction of a marketing suite, with the main works following later on in the year.

Edward Whipp, pre-construction director atEAG, said: Having completed a 9m sub-contract for Shepherd Construction at Holland Park School we are delighted

to be endorsed by the Shepherd team again for their next project.

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Mildenhall: Architectural glazing firm EAG lands new London contract with Shepherd Construction

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (April 1, 2014) Its like walking through time. Rooms that havent been seen in decades inside the old Morton Hotel in Downtown Grand Rapids are now being revealed as Rockford Construction works to turn the old building into new apartments and retail space.

Developers took media through a tour, Tuesday, of the original public areas of the Morton Hotel.

The 13-story building was built back in the early 1800s. After a fire, the New Morton Hotel opened on Monroe Avenue in 1923.

The Saperstein family bought the hotel in 1971 and converted it into the Morton House Apartments. Through the years, to save on heating costs, many parts of the building were completely closed off. Residents were relocated once a U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development contract expired, and Rockford Construction bought the building with plans to create 100 market-rate apartments and retail space.

The tour uncovered rooms that havent been seen by the public in decades, including stairways, old restaurants and bars.

Work will continue renovating and bringing the building up to code. The apartments are expected to be ready in Spring of 2015, with additional floors of retail space opening after.

Apartment rates have not yet been determined.

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Walk Through Time: Old Morton Hotel Rooms Uncovered After Decades