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.

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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

Master gardener Matthew Lopez trims off small limbs from a mother plant as he clones a strain of cannabis called Qush at Northern Lights grow facility in Denver on March 27. (Seth McConnell, YourHub)

EDGEWATER Three months after Edgewater became the first city in Jefferson County to open retail marijuana shops, business owners and city officials say business is booming and nary a problem has been reported.

"We wanted to make sure we got it right the first time and wouldn't have to keep coming back to fix things," said Edgewater Mayor Bonnie McNulty.

Edgewater police chief John Hough said his department hasn't gotten a single complaint or call to any one of the city's four pot shops.

"We do extra patrol checks at the dispensaries every night," Hough said. "I've done a number of walk-throughs and they have everything in place and have been very cooperative and willing to work with us."

Two of the existing medical marijuana dispensaries converted to retail on Jan. 1. Northern Lights Cannabis Co., 2045 Sheridan Blvd., went into dual retail and medical sales, while Bud Med Health Center, 2517 Sheridan Blvd., dropped medical sales to focus entirely on retail.

"We were slammed with retail sales, and this is a small space and there's so many more rules about running a dual shop, like not crossing inventory, that we decided to focus entirely on retail," said Ashley Easton, Bud Med manager.

Both stores said they knew there'd be high demand for retail product but were floored at the amount of people who stood in line for hours the first week.

"It was like nothing I could have anticipated," said Eva Woolhiser, co-owner of Northern Lights Cannabis Co. "The excitement, the adrenaline at being a part of history. Everyone that came through the door couldn't believe they had this opportunity."

Other retail stores in the mix include New Age Medical, 2553 Sheridan Blvd., which began retail sales on March 28 to complement its existing medical side, and Greenwerkz Medical at 5840 W. 25th Ave., which hopes to begin offering retail by May.

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Edgewater businesses, officials pleased with marijuana businesses

Imagine an amphitheater surrounded by a perfect circle of water ringed by palm trees planted right at the doorstep of Jacksonvilles downtown. Theres a seven-story apartment complex and 18,000 square feet of retail space.

Think about what it could do to jump-start a sluggish downtown.

Alex Coley has. He started planning 220 Riverside about 10 years ago. Its an ambitious plan that combines residential multifamily housing with retail space and a community area.

One of two founders behind the development company NAI Hallmark Partners, Coley was one of the speakers at the groundbreaking for Unity Plaza Sunday night.

There will be kiosks around the man-made pond, and there are also plans for mini libraries where people can pick up a book and read in the shade, he said. The half park, half amphitheater has a capacity for 2,000 people.

Coley sees Unity Plaza as connecting downtown to the neighborhoods that surround it.

The notion is its a place where we can kick off our shoes and all be comfortable to recognize one another and coalesce as a community in a way that we have never been able to do in the past, he said.

Mayor Alvin Brown also spoke at the groundbreaking. Hes been a champion of the project and said hes excited to see it progress.

What is happening here is a team effort and it shows what can happen when the public and private sectors work together, Brown said.

The city in December provided about $2.6 million in funds for construction of Unity Plaza. Total construction cost of the 220 Riverside project is more than $30 million.

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Project to revitalize Jacksonville's downtown another step closer

Caf to open in northSpokane

Sonia Schumacher will open Ephata Caf, Juice and Java in 1,040 square feet of retail space at 1908 W. Northwest Blvd. in northSpokane.

Following improvements to the building, Ephata Caf expects to open inJune.

The landlord and property owner is 1908 NWB LLC, which paid $390,000 for theproperty lastyear.

Nick Brumback of Brumback Commercial Real Estate, along with Colin Conway of Kiemle & Hagood and Kevin Edwards of Hawkins Edwards brokered thedeal.

Annette Silver, who has leased space in downtown Spokane for her business

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Sonia Schumacher will open Ephata Caf, Juice and Java in 1,040 square feet of retail space at 1908 W. Northwest Blvd. in northSpokane.

Following improvements to the building, Ephata Caf expects to open inJune.

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The Dirt - Sun, 30 Mar 2014 PST

Fox Point-based real estate development firm General Capital Group plans to build a mixed-use development along Oakland Avenue in Shorewood with an 80,000-square-foot Roundy's Metro Market grocery store, 80 upscale apartments and 15,000 square feet of additional retail space.

The development is planned for two blocks on the west side of Oakland Avenue between Kenmore Place and Olive Street. It would replace the current Pick 'n Save grocery store there and the vacant former Schwartz book store and Walgreens buildings.

The Metro Market store will be the first phase of the development and is expected to be complete in the fall of 2015. It will be a two-level grocery store and will be the flagship for Roundy's Metro Market stores. Parking will be available for shoppers with 360 spaces on four levels.

The second phase of the project will be a mixed-use building with 80 upscale apartments and 15,000 square feet of retail space. Construction is expected to begin in the fall of 2015 and be complete in 2016.

Oakland Avenue in Shorewood has attracted several multi-story mixed-use developments in recent years, including Mandel Group's LightHorse 4041 development, and WiRED Properties' Ravenna and Cornerstone developments. All of those projects have apartments above first floor retail space.

"(General Capital Group's) development is another example of Shorewood's vibrant growth and ability to successfully blend its residential and commercial district landscape," said Shorewood Village President Guy Johnson. "We are fortunate to have such an experienced team working together to make these plans a reality."

Original post:
Mixed-use development anchored by Metro Market planned in Shorewood

Century Properties Group, Inc. has opened Century City Mall, the listed property firms first retail development within the master-planned development Century City in Kalayaan Avenue, Makati.

This retail development, with a construction cost of P1.4-billion, is the newest mall to open in Makati City in close to 10 years, and is called the Mall of Modern Makati for its unique architecture and good mix of Filipino and global retail and dining establishments.

Century City Mall serves as an exciting new complement to the current retail centers in Makati City. The general reception during our soft launch last month showed that people are very much open to new retail concepts and are excited to see a public space that is architecturally distinct, said Mr. Graham Coates, the General Manager of Century City Mall.

At the malls ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, Coates was joined by Century Properties Chairman Jose E.B. Antonio and wife Ms. Hilda Reyes Antonio, Chief Operating Officer Marco R. Antonio, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay, Jr. and Rep. Monique Lagdameo of the First District of Makati.

Century City Mall is one of four developments that Century Properties has scheduled for completion in 2014, along with the recently-turned over St. Tropez tower and Paris Beach Club at the Azure Urban Resort Residences in Paraaque City, and Centuria Medical Makati, which will be completed by the end of the year.

Century City Mall is a key addition to the companys 3.4-hectare master-planned Makati development, Century City, which is home to Century Properties upscale high-rise residential and office structures the Gramercy Residences, Knightsbridge Residences, Milano Residences, Trump Tower, Century Spire, Forbes Media Tower, and the IT-medical outpatient building Centuria Medical Makati.

The five-level lifestyle center has a gross floor area of 50,000 square meters and 17,000 square meters of net leasable space, of which 99% has been leased out.

Century City Mall forms part of Century Properties pipeline of projects that are expected to transform the Company from being a premiere residential developer to a more diversified property company that will have significant recurring revenue streams in the near to mid-term.

Century City Mall is accessible via Kalayaan Avenue near the corner of Salamanca Street, as well as General Luna Street coming from Makati Avenue (near A Venue). Valet services are available and three basement floors are open for visitors parking.

Free Wi-Fi service is available throughout the mall.

Original post:
Century City Mall in Makati opens