October 2023 - Home Builder Developer, Interior Renovation and Design Home Builder Developer, Interior Renovation and Design

Construction has resumed on 550 Tenth Avenue, a 47-story residential skyscraper in Hells Kitchen, following the fire and partial collapse of its tower crane this summer. Designed by Handel Architects and developed by Gotham OrganizationandGoldman Sachs Asset Management JV, the 520-foot-tall structure will span 430,000 square feet and yield 453 rental units, with 137 reserved for affordable housing, as well as 9,000 square feet of lower-level retail space, over 20,000 square feet of amenities, and 26,764 square feet of administrative office space for Covenant House. GO Covenant LLC is the owner and Monadnock Construction is the general contractor for the property, which is located along Tenth Avenue between West 40th and 41st Streets.

YIMBY captured the new crane in full operation, busily lifting materials to the highest floors of the rising superstructure. The floor-to-ceiling windows and bronze-hued panels have also made significant progress since our last update back in late May, when the envelope was just beginning to clad the multi-story podium, and the tower was roughly halfway up. Topping out could likely happen sometime this winter.

Photo by Michael Young

The fire on July 27 caused the collapse of the cranes 180-foot-long boom, which then smashed into the reinforced concrete superstructure and fell to the street below. The incident only caused minor damage to some curtain wall panels and the wraparound sidewalk, and several non-life-threatening injuries. No fatalities were reported.

U.S. Cranes is now the new crane operator, replacing the former crane provider, Lomma Crane & Rigging.

The below rendering looks at the southwestern corner of the podium, showing the residential entrance situated along Tenth Avenue beneath a sidewalk canopy and an inward-sloping wall of glass that runs up to the podiums rooftop amenity level.

550 10th Avenue. Rendering by ATCHAIN

Residential amenities will include a second upper-level lounge with an adjacent outdoor sky deck providing expansive views of the Empire State Building, Hudson Yards, and sunsets over the Hudson River. The podium will also have additional amenity spaces for social, leisure, and health and fitness activities.

The closest subways from the property are the A, C, and E trains at the 42nd Street-Port Authority Bus Terminal station, which offers an underground transfer to the 42nd Street-Times Square station servicing the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W, and Shuttle train to Grand Central Station. Also nearby is the 7 train at the 34th Street-Hudson Yards station to the south.

550 Tenth Avenue is anticipated to be completed in June 2025, as noted on site.

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Work Resumes on 550 Tenth Avenue After Crane Collapse in Hell's ... - New York YIMBY

Kaplan Companies has beat back two appeals to block its plan to replace a defunct Frys Electronics store in Woodland Hills with a 1.2-million-square foot hotel and housing project.

The Los Angeles City Planning Commission voted to reject the appeals against the Houston-based developers 8.8-acre project at 6100 North Canoga Avenue in the Warner Center, Urbanize Los Angeles reported.

The appeals by the West Valley Alliance for Optimal Living and Jeff Bornstein, who both hired the same lawyer, argued the project needed further environmental review. They also wanted the developer to give land for a park, rather than pay fees to the city.

The 114,000-square-foot Frys closed in early 2021 during a shutdown of 31 stores by the San Jose-based electronics retailer, which went out of business. Kaplan bought the site a year earlier for $48 million.

The mixed-use project, to be called District at Warner Center, would include two 11-story apartment buildings with 852 units and a 2,200-square-foot market. A 12-story building would house a 204-room hotel and bistro.

The complex, to be built in three phases, would include parking for 1,400 cars. Construction would take four years.

The project, designed by Orange-based AO, would include 316 live/work units surrounded by plazas and greenery. A project site plan shows two courtyards with pools.

District at Warner Center would be built across Canoga Avenue for the former Anthem Blue Cross office building, which Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke bought last year for $175 million.

Kroenke has since proposed turning its parking lot into a temporary practice facility for the Rams ahead of the potential redevelopment of 96 acres he acquired in Warner Center.

Kaplan Companies, doing business as Kaplan Multifamily, has offices in Irvine and Phoenix, according to its LinkedIn page. Since it was founded in 1978, Kaplan has developed, managed or bought more than 35,000 apartments.

Dana Bartholomew

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Kaplan Survives Appeals Against Woodland Hills Development - The Real Deal

A familiar name in New York City real estate is preparing for a changing of the guard.

Developer Bill Rudin is turning the family firm over to two of his children at the start of next year, Bloomberg reported. Samantha Rudin Earls, 39, and Michael Rudin, 38, will each ascend to the role of co-CEO of Rudin Management.

Chief investment officer Neil Gupta will retain that title while also taking on the role of president, the first time a non-family member in the role.

Bill who is chief executive officer and president Eric Rudin will continue as co-chairs of the company. In a statement, the CEO referred to the leadership change as an incredibly proud moment for our family.

Samantha, set to be the first female CEO of the company, will oversee the apartment business, while Michael will oversee the office portfolio. Guptas main responsibilities will be the companys investment and capital strategies.

Samantha and Michael will be the fourth generation of Rudins to lead the firm, which was founded by Samuel Rudin in 1925. The company counts 600 employees and 14.7 million square feet in its real estate portfolio, including 15 commercial buildings and 17 residential buildings.

The coming leadership is already eyeing opportunities to shake things up. Gupta said there may be opportunities to diversify the companys portfolio, including outside of New York City. He also brought up a few potential opportunities for office-to-resi conversions, which CEO Bill has emphasized in prescribing a solution for Midtowns struggling properties.

The company was previously tied to 55 Broad Street, a Financial District property that could become the citys largest office-to-residential conversion under Silverstein Properties and Metro Loft Management. Rudin sold the property earlier this year, at least three years before construction is set to wrap.

This month, Rudin put 80 Pine Street in the Financial District up for sale, retaining Eastdil Secured to market the property. The 1.2 million-square-foot building recently underwent a $100 million upgrade, but the office property is still less than half full.

Holden Walter-Warner

Excerpt from:
Bill Rudin Stepping Down as CEO of Rudin Management - The Real Deal

The Prez familys Related Group and its partner are developing a co-living apartment building in Wynwood.

The Coconut Grove-based firm and W5 Group, the Winter familys investment office, expect to complete the nine-story building at 51 Northwest 28th Street in January, according to the developers news release. The project, called i5 Wynwood, will consist of 217 suites, each with a private bathroom and a shared kitchen, dining room and living room. Residents can choose between three-bedroom, three-bath units or four-bedroom, four-bath units.

Pre-leasing begins next month, with asking rents starting at $1,895 a month, the release says. Construction is expected to be completed in January.

Designed by Arquitectonica, with interiors by Michael Wolk, i5 Wynwood will have a 3,900-square-foot ground-floor retail space and 6,600-square-foot courtyard.

Ralph Winter, who invested in student housing and micro-apartments in Europe, founded real estate and private equity firm W5 in 2009. The companys real estate arm focuses on multifamily, student housing, single-family home rentals, co-living and micro-units. Based in Miami Beach, W5 also has offices in New York, Washington, D.C., and Zug, Switzerland, according to the firms website.

In South Florida, W5 invested in Georgia-based Landmark Properties project to revamp the Cloisters student housing complex at 5830 Southwest 57th Avenue near the University of Miami and to expand it by developing 36 adjacent townhouses with 168 bedrooms. The complex has been embroiled in controversy in recent months when Landmark alerted tenants of an unexpected and unfortunate delay five days before move-in day and put up students in hotels. Although students eventually moved in, some they had to again leave and stay at hotels due to sewage backing up in apartments.

Related, led by Jorge Prez and his sons, Jon Paul and Nicholas Prez, has placed a hefty wager on Wynwood. This month, Related sold the recently finished 29 Wyn apartment complex at 2918 and 2828 Northwest First Avenue for $135 million. Project co-developer Bob Zangrillos Dragon Global Management and investor Carlos Rosso also were sellers.

Related, as well as Alex Karakhanians Lndmrk Development and Tricera Capital, developed the 12-story Dorsey mixed-use multifamily project at 286 Northwest 29th Street in Wynwood. In April, they scored a $165 million refinancing of the property from MF1 Capital.

Its hard to miss 615 Waterfront as it towers along the banks of the Lehigh River in Allentown.

With its official unveiling this month, the six-story office building is the first of up to 12 planned buildings along 29 acres being developed by Jaindl Enterprises Waterfront Development Co. on the site of the former Lehigh Structural Steel.

Zachary Jaindl, chief operating officer of Jaindl Enterprises, gave a tour of the 120,000-square-foot building that sits adjacent to the Tilghman Street bridge. Views from the upper floors include the river and the waterfront homes on Adams Island on one side, and the ongoing redevelopment of the former Neuweiler Brewery site on the other with the PPL Tower in the background.

Everything was done one step at a time, making sure its done right, said Jaindl, who co-founded Waterfront Development in 2012 with his father, Mark. Were making sure were delivering quality products, making sure were adjusting for market demands and offering the amenities people are looking for.

The building itself was completed in March and is being filled. Jaindl said the fourth through sixth floors are leased (American Bank is taking up the fifth floor), while negotiations are in progress for space on the third floor. A suite for the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission is being prepared on the second floor, and there is some retail interest on the ground floor.

There were always those little, little roadblocks along the way, Jaindl said, and were making sure were pivoting to adjust for market demand, making sure that we were obviously modifying our designs to accommodate for COVID-19 initiatives and market conditions and product availability. So it was certainly nice to be sitting in an office building down here rather than driving back and forth between construction trailers.

For local officials, amenities such as the walking trail along the river plus the views should make it an attractive way to bring workers back to the office after the pandemic.

We all know what COVID has done to the workplace, and we all know that to get people out of their home office and pajamas and into the office requires something a little bit special, said state Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, who attended the buildings dedication Oct. 11 with Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk and fellow state Rep. Josh Siegel, D-Lehigh. If youre going to work in an office, it cant be a cube. It has to have something really, really phenomenal. Thats what this does.

Views of the 615 Waterfront Drive office building, the first building to open in Jaindl Enterprises's Waterfront development in Allentown, seen Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, in Allentown. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Jaindl Enterprises COO Zachary Jaindl talks Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, about the expansive views of the Lehigh riverfront from the new 615 Waterfront Drive office building, the first building to open in Jaindl's Waterfront development in Allentown. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Views of the 615 Waterfront Drive office building, the first building to open in Jaindl Enterprises's Waterfront development in Allentown, seen Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, in Allentown. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Jaindl Enterprises COO Zachary Jaindl talks Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, about the expansive views of the Lehigh riverfront from the new 615 Waterfront Drive office building, the first building to open in Jaindl's Waterfront development in Allentown. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Views of the 615 Waterfront Drive office building, the first building to open in Jaindl Enterprises's Waterfront development in Allentown, seen Monday, Oct. 23, 2023, in Allentown. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Construction on The Waterfronts second structure, an apartment building with 203 units, is expected to begin soon. It will be south of 615.

Jaindl said drilling micropiles for the foundation will begin in a couple of weeks, with construction commencing as long as the weather holds out. The latest the first batch of dirt could be turned is early in 2024.

When completed, the apartments will be market rate with sizes ranging from studios to two bedrooms. Amenities include a center courtyard with a pool, fire pits, outdoor grills and a fitness center.

As the construction continues for the next eight or so years, adjustments are being made to the master plan that was first issued in 2014. With the demand for living space outpacing office space now, more residential units have been added. Some buildings may be consolidated and there will be additional parking.

The multifamily market is extremely attractive in the Lehigh Valley, Jaindl said. We did pivot two of our buildings in Phase 2 of our development. So there were originally two office buildings along the river. Were relocating those two buildings on the other side of Waterfront Drive, with two apartment buildings in their place. So were sort of shifting things around, because we do foresee a lot more benefit to the apartments on site right now. Rather than build additional offices until that demand rises a little bit.

Jaindl said the acreage along the river gives Waterfront Development the opportunity to rearrange the layout midstream.

Thats really the superpower of The Waterfront is we have 29 contiguous acres of land, and we have a lot of versatility to build what the market is calling for, which allows us to, with the help of [marketing manager] Michelle Simone and her team, basically analyze the market and make sure that we are adapting for what the Lehigh Valley needs, rather than what we want to build.

Across the street from The Waterfront, the Neuweiler site is being converted into a mixed-use building that will include approximately 283 apartments and 40,000 square feet of commercial space.

Far from being considered a potential competitor, Jaindl is excited about the project, which could be finished in spring 2025. Like the Waterfront, the Neuweiler Lofts site is in the Neighborhood Improvement Zone, the citys one-of-a-kind tax subsidy area.

Oh, absolutely, he said. Its the same reason when you go to a restaurant, you want to have 10 other restaurants around it. For dinner, you might want to go grab a drink somewhere, you want activity.

If Neuweiler sat there unoccupied and underutilized, its not going to help our development by any means, he said. So the more development that occurs both in the River Ward District, which is from American Parkway down to Hamilton Street, as well as the Center City District, the better it is for the city as a whole.

For the rest of The Waterfront complex, which could be completed around 2030, Jaindl said the initial goal is to have 18-month construction cycles for each building with about nine months of overlap into the next one.

Obviously, its a very expedited timeline, and theres a lot of different factors that we have to do as weve watched the Valley, as you look around Allentown, and definitely Easton, Jaindl said. Theres a number of apartment buildings going up and we have to be careful that were not building 1,000 units and then watch saturation occur. So were taking things in stride and just making sure its getting done right.

Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com.

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What's next for Waterfront development on Allentown riverfront? - The Morning Call

Some Spokane-area building owners will have to spend millions on building upgrades to comply with the energy-use and performance regulations outlined in the Washington state Clean Buildings Act, according to some downtown Spokane real estate advocates.

The rules are in place for larger buildings, but some organizations such as the Spokane Building Owners & Managers Association and Downtown Spokane Partnership are trying to rally support from owners of smaller buildings before the final rules are adopted for the smaller properties in December.

The Clean Buildings Act, which was passed in 2019, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Washington state by targeting buildings, which account for 27% of statewide emissions, according to the Washington state Department of Commerce.

The Washington Clean Buildings Performance Standards apply to Tier 1 buildings, which are commercial structures over 50,000 square feet in size, and theyve been expanded to include Tier 2 buildings of 20,000 square feet or more, including multifamily buildings.

The performance standards state that building owners are required to reduce building emissions to a specific energy-use intensity target, report building performance, implement a maintenance-and-operations plan, report energy efficiency audits, and invest in measures to meet efficiency targets.

While the requirements for Tier 1 property compliance already have been established, a public hearing to set the rules for Tier 2 buildings has been scheduled for Nov. 21 with the Department of Commerce.

Clayton McFarland, commercial and leasing manager at Spokane-based Goodale & Barbieri Co., who also is president of BOMA Spokane, says the organization opposes the law because of the limited input from commercial building owners, ambiguous rules and regulations, and expensive fines.

Noncompliance can result in penalties for building owners of up to $5,000, plus continued violations of $1 per year per square foot.

There are buildings that we know of where the upgrades to come into energy compliance are in the millions of dollars, but the fine would be in the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars, he says. As a building owner, it might make sense to pay the fine and not make the energy upgrades at this time.

Owners of buildings with 220,001 or more square feet of floor space will have until June 1, 2026, to meet the states deadline. For buildings with over 90,001 square feet up to 220,000 square feet, owners have until June 1, 2027; and for buildings greater than 50,000 square feet up to 90,000 square feet, property owners have until June 1, 2028.

The Clean Buildings Expansion Bill was passed in 2022. The expansion bill adds compliance requirements for Tier 2 buildings, which have 20,000 square feet or more and include properties such as grocery stores and smaller retail centers, says McFarland.

Rules for Tier 2 buildings must be finalized by the end of the year, and the deadline for compliance and reporting for those properties is July 1, 2027.

Both existing and new construction buildings will need to adhere to energy-use intensity targets that are 15% below 2009-2018 averages, according to the Washington state Department of Commerces website.

Andrew Rolwes, vice president of public policy at Downtown Spokane Partnership, says the DSP has asked Greater Spokane Incorporated to consider issuing a statement supporting regulation rollbacks. The statement suggests that the Legislature could delay implementation, expand exemptions, narrow rules to apply only to new buildings, or lower energy-use targets to realistic standards.

McFarland says commercial building owners generally want to lower utility costs and to have energy-efficient properties, but, If the purpose of this bill was to make buildings more energy efficient, then I think its not going to achieve that. A significant number of building (owners) might just pay a fine instead.

The Clean Building Act does allow some exemptions for Tier 1 buildings, depending on occupancy, that could provide relief for some building owners. Exemptions are allowed if the primary use of the building is manufacturing or other industrial purposes, agricultural structures, or financial hardship, according to the Washington state Legislatures website.

Conditions of financial hardship include properties on a citys or countys annual tax lien sale list; buildings that have a court-appointed receiver in control due to financial distress; buildings owned by a financial institution through default by a borrower; buildings that were acquired by a deed in lieu of foreclosure within the previous 24 months; or if the building has a notice of default on a senior mortgage.

The law was passed four years ago, before pandemic-induced supply-chain issues, labor shortages, and increasing costs of materials took hold in the construction industry, but with those ongoing challenges, McFarland says theres additional pressure on building owners to meet the new energy standards.

For example, he says one of the properties under G&Bs management had a one-year lead time for the delivery of new rooftop HVAC units, which can cost up to $300,000 per unit.

McFarland adds, Theres a number of buildings here in downtown Spokane that are not going to be able to make the metric. They can do everything they want. They could replace windows, they could replace HVAC units, they could put in all new electrical lines and theyd still fall short.

Buildings with historic significance arent exempt from the new energy standards either, and McFarland asserts that some of the historic properties will be changed significantly to accommodate needed upgrades.

You cant take a 1910 building and shove brand new systems in it, and have it work efficiently, he says. It might decrease the amount of space that you have dedicated for tenants.

Updating Tier 2 properties likely will increase rents for tenants, McFarland claims, which is another reason he says public engagement at the Department of Commerces Nov. 21 meeting is so important for owners to attend.

We have done our best to be involved in the process of rulemaking, despite being opposed to the bill, McFarland says.

While BOMA Spokane opposes the new energy standards, McFarland says the association is doing what it can to support building owners by helping draft and pass legislation to finance property upgrades, with the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy + Resiliency program, dubbed C-PACER.

C-PACER allows building owners to borrow money specifically to meet the energy standards for the Clean Buildings Act, says McFarland.

Unlike a traditional loan, the loan doesnt follow the building owner, it follows the building until its paid off, he says. Frankly, theres a lot of buildings that are not going to be able to (meet compliance) despite the ability to take out a loan.

In order to comprehend the obligation of property owners to meet the standards of the Clean Building Act, owners will need to pay consultants to provide a complete assessment, explains Rolwes.

McFarland concurs and says depending on the type of building, its size, and location, complex assessments could cost about $150,000.

Public awareness and participation in the rulemaking process is the only option left for property owners who want to express their concerns to the Department of Commerce, says Rolwes.

We cant just say nothing, he says. Were running out of time.

McFarland concurs and says that while the deadline for the submission of new public comments has passed, BOMA representatives will attend the upcoming meeting to speak on behalf of its 120 members to reiterate challenges and hopefully find some areas to compromise.

Hospitals, retail centers, day cares, schools, state government buildings, city government buildings, all of those will have to be compliant, says McFarland. Its probably one of the most impactful pieces of legislation, at least in my professional career, that impacts the commercial real estate industry.

Continued here:
Clean Buildings bill might get messy for commercial property owners - Spokane Journal of Business

JDS Development has secured a $30 million loan for its mega-tall residential skyscraper at 111 West 57th Street in Manhattans Billionaires Row, property records show.

M&T Bank (MTB) provided the substitute mortgage loan for one of the residential units on the 84-story building that contains 60 luxury condominiums.

The $1 billion building fully opened late last year, five years after JDS and joint venture partner Property Markets Group inked $725 million of construction financing from AIG and Apollo Global Management to build the 1,438-foot-tall tower, Crains New York Business reported at the time.

Located steps from Central Park, 111 West 57th features a landmarked interior on the ground floor that was formerly a showroom for piano maker Steinway & Sons. Retail space is planned in that space, while other property amenities include a pool with cabanas, a sauna, a fitness center, a private dining room, a lounge with outdoor terrace, meeting rooms, a golf simulator and an indoor padel court.

JDS Development and M&T Bank declined to comment.

Andrew Coen can be reached at acoen@commercialobserver.com

The story has been updated to reflect that the loan covered one of the propertys residential units and not the enture building.

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M&T Bank Lends $30M on 111 West 57th Street Tower - Commercial Observer

Shoma Group is doubling the height of its planned mixed-use apartment development along U.S. 1 and Bird Road in Miami, near Coral Gables.

Called Shoma One, the project is now planned to include 740 rental units in two 40-story towers. The Coral Gables-based firm, led by Masoud and Stephanie Shojaee, last year acquired the 2.5-acre property at 3650 Bird Road from Deel Volvo, the dealership currently on the site. Shoma said at the time that the planned development would have just under 400 units in two 18-story buildings, as well as a Shoma Bazaar food hall.

Shoma paid $34 million for the property, which is contiguous to the Metrorail.

The developer said the expanded project takes advantage of rapid transit zoning. Shoma estimates it will cost more than $250 million to develop, $30 million more than the previous version of the project.

The planned Shoma Bazaar food hall will now be two stories tall and span 18,000 square feet.

Apartments will range from 400-square-foot studios to 1,200-square-foot three-bedroom units and penthouses. The residential component will include indoor and outdoor amenity decks.

The ground floor would include an art gallery, retail space, dog care center, park and co-working space. The project will also connect to the Underline linear park that runs under the Metrorail, which is under construction.

The development also includes 700 parking spaces, with 150 set aside for the food hall. Shoma tapped Bermello Ajamil & Partners to design the project.

Shoma plans to break ground as early as the middle of next year.

A number of mixed-use apartment towers now line U.S. 1 in Miami and Coral Gables, as well as farther west on Bird Road.

Last year, Hines paid $430 million for the LifeTime-branded mixed-use multifamily development called Gables Station at 237 South Dixie Highway, near the Shoma One site. The 1.2 million-square-foot Coral Gables development includes a Trader Joes, 495 apartments and the 80,000-square-foot LifeTime athletic club. It was completed in 2021.

On the south side of U.S.1, Landmark Properties is in contract to buy the property at 1250 South Dixie Highway where it plans The Mark, an eight-story, 396-unit residential complex with about 19,000 square feet of commercial space and live/work units.

Earlier this year, BAM Property Development revealed plans for an eight-story, 120-unit multifamily project at 1715 Southwest 37th Avenue in Miami, also near Coral Gables.

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Shoma Doubles Height, Expands Project on US 1, Bird in Miami - The Real Deal

October 25, 2023

ANDOVER, MA - The Healey-Driscoll administration has announced that the Town of Andover will receive a $3.3 million grant through the Commonwealths MassWorks Infrastructure Program to support roadway and sidewalk improvements in the Essex Street corridor.

MassWorks is a competitive grant program administered by the states Executive Office of Economic Development that provides capital funding to municipalities for infrastructure projects that support housing production, private development, and job creation.The Town of Andovers award is the largest grant received by the Town through the program to date.

The funding will enable the Town to improve municipal infrastructure along and adjacent to Essex Street, which runs from Elm Square to Red Spring Road. It also serves as a major connector road, or spine, of the mixed-use corridor west of Main Street. The anticipated improvements will aim to make the corridor more walkable, improve the safety of intersections along the route for all users, strengthen the connectivity between Downtown Andover and key destinations including the MBTA commuter rail station and Historic Mill District, and support future housing development.

Planned improvements include widening the sidewalk on the northern side of Essex Street to enhance pedestrian safety, the addition of bicycle accommodations, and upgrades to water and drainage systems serving the corridor. Additionally, the funding will enable the Town to implement multimodal safety improvements to three key intersections:

These intersections were identified as needing improvement in a Circulation and Street Design Study for the Historic Mill District completed by the Town of Andover in 2019. The intersection of Essex Street at Pearson Street and Railroad Avenue features five vehicle approaches and an active railroad crossing, making it particularly challenging to traverse for pedestrians, motorists, and bicyclists. Improvements to this intersection are imperative to proposed and future development in the corridor, and overall public safety.

Critically, the infrastructure improvements enabled through the MassWorks grant will support the development of the Old Town Yard site, a three-acre plus parcel located at 11 Lewis Street. In June, the Town of Andover finalized a Land Disposition Agreement (LDA) with Minco Development Corporation (Minco) for the site. Mincos proposed development includes 163 residential units, community amenities, and commercial/retail space, and represents an initial investment of approximately $70 million. Under the terms of the LDA, construction of the development must begin by 2026 and reach completion by 2029, if not sooner.

The funding provided through this MassWorks grant will have a transformative impact on Essex Street and the surrounding area, improving walkability, connecting key destinations, and serving as a catalyst for continued development in the corridor, said Director of Planning and Land Use Paul Materazzo. We are grateful for Commonwealths support of our ongoing effort to make Andovers roadways safer for all users and to stimulate high-quality development and housing creation in the heart of the community.

The Town of Andovers Division of Planning and Land Use intends to conduct extensive public engagement in the months ahead to discuss proposed improvements to the Essex Street corridor to ensure that plans align with the preferences of the community, including nearby residents, businesses, and property owners.

The grant award was announced at a ceremony held on Wednesday, October 25 at Suffolk Downs in Revere that featured projects across the Commonwealth funded by the MassWorks Infrastructure Program and the HousingWorks Infrastructure Program. Governor Maura Healey, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll, Secretary Yvonne Hao, and Secretary Ed Agustus were in attendance for the event.

Originally posted here:
Town of Andover Awarded $3.3 Million MassWorks Grant for ... - Andover, MA

HARTFORD The city of Hartford would pay nearly $10 million to end a 7-year court battle over the development of Dunkin Park and the land around it, clearing the way for further apartment construction in the area, perhaps starting by the end of this year.

The $9.9 million settlement, outlined in a letter Thursday from Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin to the city council, calls for the city to pay that amount to Arch Insurance Co., the insurance company that financed the completion of the citys minor league ballpark just north of downtown.

All sides in the court dispute involving the city agreed that there would be no further litigation in the matter in the future. They include the former developers Centerplan and DoNo Hartford LLC who were fired by Bronin from the unfinished ballpark project in 2016, and a year later, the mixed-use development around the 6,100-seat stadium.

Negotiating directly with Arch was critical to reaching a settlement, Bronin wrote to the city council. The settlement relieves Centerplan chief executive Robert Landino of paying a court-ordered $34 million to Arch for finishing the ballpark, making the settlement acceptable to the developers. Arch also would pay Centerplan and DoNo Hartford $1.8 million under the settlement.

Centerplan and DoNo Hartford filed a wrongful termination civil lawsuit shortly after being fired and initially sought $90 million in damages. The lawsuit touched off a court battle that stretches back to the earliest days of Bronins two-term tenure.

Bronin is asking the city council to convene a special meeting Monday where Bronin will seek approval of the settlement.

Bronin, who is not seeking a third term, steadfastly has defended his decision to terminate the developers.

The city was victorious in a jury trial in the case in 2019; and even though the developers successfully appealed that decision to win a new trial set to begin in the spring Bronin has maintained the city would again be on the winning side.

Bronin reiterated that belief at an afternoon news conference at Hartford City Hall. But the prospect of years of further appeals costing as much as $6 million plus years of stalled redevelopment around Dunkin Park made the settlement the right option for the city, Bronin said.

The settlement represents an opportunity not only to eliminate those legal fees but to remove the cloud of this litigation all together, Bronin said. And to allow the city of Hartford to move forward with the development of the parcels around the baseball park and to ensure the new administration can come in without the distraction of on-going litigation.

Since 2016, legal fees paid to outside firms with expertise in construction law have reached about $6 million. With those fees, the costs of defending and settling the lawsuit are closer to $16 million.

The developer who replaced Centerplan and DoNo Hartford Stamford-based RMS Cos. had completed one phase of the development the $50 million, 270-unit apartment known as The Pennant around Dunkin Park.

But RMS had been blocked from moving on to the second of four planned phases for more than a year by the litigation. RMS founder and chief executive Randy Salvatore has stated multiple times that he remained committed to the development.

Cloe Poisson / Hartford Courant

Im obviously very excited about the whole thing, Salvatore said Thursday, of the settlement. Were gearing up right now to go, so Im hopeful that we can have a groundbreaking by the end of the year.

North Crossings second phase on so-called Parcel B would have 532 apartments and a 541-space garage, plus 10,000 square feet of storefront space, at a cost of $120 million. The development would be split into two parts. The first to be worked on would include 228 apartments and the parking garage. The balance of the rentals would be completed in the second half.

At the news conference, Bronin said moving forward with North Crossing was important for several reasons. They include generating new taxes to help pay off the citys costs in building Dunkin Park and regaining the momentum behind the citys revitalization and fueling economic development, both of which took a hit in the pandemic.

The development around the ballpark was always the core of the promise to the city of Hartford that this would be more than a ballpark project but a neighborhood redevelopment that would help us reconnect our neighborhoods, get rid of a sea of surface parking and knit our neighborhoods back together, Bronin said.

Louis R. Pepe, an attorney for the former developers issued a statement Thursday that said: Centerplan and DoNo Hartfordare very pleased with the settlement of the claims they had against the City of Hartford in this matter, and they look forward to recovering additional compensation for their losses in the continuing litigation against the design professionals for the stadium project.

Negotiating with Arch Insurance

The settlement negotiated over months turns on a 2019 federal court ruling in which Centerplans Landino was ordered to pay Arch Insurance about $34 million tied to the ballparks completion.

Arch successfully argued that Landino had failed to reimburse the insurer for what it paid out to finance the completion of the ballpark. Arch hired a new construction company and the stadium the home field of the Hartford Yard Goats opened for its first season in 2017, a year later than planned.

Bronin noted that Arch paid about $34 million to complete the ballpark, and the settlement was less than 30% of that amount.

Had the city not terminated Centerplan and called the bond in 2016, the city would have been responsible for that $34 million, at a minimum, and probably more in order to complete the ballpark, Bronin wrote to the city council.

Bronin wrote that the city has reserved sufficient funds for the settlement from prior year surpluses, which means this settlement will not have any impact on the current year budget, and will not require us to draw down any funds from our unassigned fund balance.

The unassigned balance is essentially the citys rainy day fund.

Mark Mirko / Hartford Courant

Bronins letter and comments at the news conference toned down the stronger, public comments he has made in the past defending his decision to fire Centerplan and DoNo Hartford. Bronin often has said, and as recently as July in an interview with The Courant, that he never regretted his decision to fire Centerplan and DoNo Hartford.

There is no doubt in my mind that if we hadnt made the decision that we made in 2016, we would not have a baseball park even today, Bronin said, in July. Instead of an award-winning, nationally recognized baseball park, wed still have an unfinished hulk of concrete and steel.

The Centerplan and DoNo lawsuit has spawned nearly 700 court filings since 2016.

Centerplan and DoNo Hartford were hired for the ballpark project and the development of a swath of empty parking lots around it by Bronins predecessor, Mayor Pedro E. Segarra.

In 2019, a Superior Court jury sided with the citys decision to terminate the developers. But last year, the state Supreme Court ordered a new trial because the critical question of who had legal control over the stadium and its design was ambiguous. Centerplan and DoNo Hartford have argued it was the city, that the designs were flawed, resulting in cost overruns and delays in the ballparks construction.

After the citys 2019 court victory, the city chose RMS as the new developer. But when a new trial was ordered, Centerplan and DoNo Hartford last year also moved to essentially take back control of the development around Dunkin Park. That stopped RMS from moving beyond what the first phase of North Crossing.

The barrier to further development strengthened in May when a Superior Court judge ruled that who had the right to develop needed to come after the new trial and a decision on the wrongful termination case. The new trial was scheduled for April 2024.

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.

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Settlement reached in ballpark construction in CT city - Hartford Courant