Rendering courtesy of The Noannet Group

The Belclare Wellesley will feature 30 condominium units starting at $1.4 million, as well as various shops and a restaurant.

By Jaclyn Reiss, Town Correspondent

Construction crews broke ground today on the $35 million Belclare mixed-use development, which will feature 30 luxury condominiums and 9,500 square feet of commercial space.

The development will be built on the Wellesley Inn site on Washington Street in Wellesley Square, which has been a vacant lot for years.

The market-rate Belclare condominiums are set to sell for between $1.4 million to over $3 million, and will feature two and three bedrooms ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet, according to a statement sent on behalf of developers from The Noannet Group. There will also be five affordable units on-site, developers said.

The commercial space will include shops and a restaurant, though developers did not specify further details. Representatives did not say when they expect the development to be completed.

The construction comes after a embattled history for the site of Wellesley Inn, whose development dates back to the late 1800s. The historic building was sold to a developer in 2005 who demolished the building in preparation for a new project. However, the plans were put on hold, leaving a vacant lot in the center of town.

Developers from Noannet bought the land in 2012 and received the town permits necessary to build the new complex this year.

See the original post here:
Belclare Wellesley to feature retail space, 30 condos starting at $1.4m

Three mostly vacant buildings at the corner of Canal and Camp streets will be combined into one luxury apartment building with retail shops in a $15 million project.

The Times-Picayune reports the project by the firm Woodward Design+Build brings together 600 Canal St., 604 Canal and 113-117 Camp St. into one development.

The buildings are clustered near the Central Business District and the French Quarter.

The development will have 44 apartments and 8,000 square feet of retail space.

Construction of the project - branded as the Giani Building - is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2015.

The announcement marks the latest in a wave of downtown apartment projects to meet growing demand as the Central Business District's evolution into a more residential neighborhood continues.

The owner of the property is listed as Canal@Camp Apartments LLC. A spokesman for the owners declined to give more details.

The registered manager of Canal@Camp Apartments is Chandru Motwani, according to Louisiana secretary of state records. Motwani could not be reached for comment.

"When The Giani Building opens in January 2015, it will add luxury housing supply to the foot of Canal Street," Darren Pellegrin of Woodward Interests, the owners' representative, said. "It's all part of the movement to make downtown New Orleans a 24-7 neighborhood."

The seven-story building at 600 Canal St., which dates to 1889, was designed by New Orleans architects Thomas Sully and Theodore Toledano. It was one of the first high-rises on the major thoroughfare, developers said.

See the original post here:
Buildings to combine in retail-residential project in New Orleans

On the threshold of a tough trail but retailers are optimistic

Higher prices of goods and services as a result of subsidy cuts may pave a tough trail for businesses in the year ahead. However, retail operators in Sarawak are bracing up with a dollop of optimism.

They are quietly confident that sales for the year will be a bit more bustling compared to last year, in spite of the generally perceived gloomy business climate.

Their buoyant sentiment is supported by a few factors such as, more gains from higher number of tourist arrivals during Visit Sarawak Year 2014, the changing lifestyles of people as they demand better quality goods and services and demographic factors such as a spike in population in Kuching and other parts of Sarawak as a result of the states urbanisation agenda.

With new trends in population growth in urban hubs such as Kuching, industry players believe that a ready market is available with an enormous growth potential. This is besides the expectations of capturing a larger aggregate of shoppers in the form of tourist-spending in the coming months. The relatively young retail industry in Sarawak adds another plus factor to perk up current industry confidence.

Meanwhile, retail players are seeking new ways and ideas to draw shoppers to their outlets through various advertising and promotional campaigns as well as point-of-sale events. The Summer Mall managing director Dato Lee Chee Fui said 2014 is going to be a turning point for the local retail industry, although it will be a very challenging year ahead.

The existing retail operators will face more challenges as consumers grapple with lesser disposable income and lower purchasing power arising from higher cost of living.

Despite prices of goods and services going up, consumers may buy less but generally sales will still be growing.

This is because, consumers need to spend during festive seasons and to replenish their supply of food and basic everyday needs.

For Summer Mall, our customers have been increasing since we opened in July last year, which is a good sign for us. Our focus is different compared to other shopping malls as we are targeting the lower to middle income market due to our suburban location in Kota Samarahan, he told BizHive Weekly.

See the rest here:
Prospects for the retail industry and the opportunities ahead

Published: Friday, January 17, 2014

New construction harming existing Everett businesses

By Noah Haglund Herald Writer

EVERETT They welcomed the arrival of new neighbors to a traditionally industrial patch of downtown.

But road tie-ups from construction of a hotel and farmers market going up between Grand Avenue and West Marine View Drive have hurt nearby businesses.

A boat-repair shop in September sued the developer over access to a public alley. Two other neighbors a hydraulics business and suspension shop on Grand Avenue have seen walk-in business dry up with repeated road closures.

They also fault the city for doing a poor job coordinating the work.

"We need the alley to get the boats in and out," said Tim Caudill, owner of Cascade Marine Service. "My major frustration was that I couldn't get the city to do anything to verify what was going on with the alley."

Everett spokeswoman Meghan Pembroke said public works officials tried to balance the needs of the development and existing businesses.

Among other measures, the city required the developer to coordinate construction with neighbors. That was an explicit requirement of lane-closure permits.

Read more:
New construction harming existing Everett businesses

Kentucky cracks down on heroin Kentucky cracks down on heroin Northern Kentucky is an epicenter for heroin addicts and crime related to the drug. 25 deaths also occurred from overdoses of the dangerous drug. See how Northern Kentucky is attacking the problem.FOX 19's Gordon Graham has the details.Full Story > Police arrest student who shot 2 at Philadelphia school Multiple students shot at school in Philadelphia

Updated: Friday, January 17 2014 9:19 PM EST2014-01-18 02:19:01 GMT

Updated: Friday, January 17 2014 9:03 PM EST2014-01-18 02:03:22 GMT

Updated: Friday, January 17 2014 9:00 PM EST2014-01-18 02:00:16 GMT

A former Bengals player is investing millions of dollars to transform downtown Cincinnati's Tower Place Mall.

Construction has started on what will be called Mabley Place, a parking garage and retail space in the building known as Tower Place Mall on West Fourth Street. Former Bengals player Chinedum Ndukwe is overseeing the project through his real estate development firm Kingsley Wells Enterprises.

Along with other investors and a partnership with JDL Warm Construction, the multimillion dollar project will add 775 parking spaces and 8400 square feet of street-front retail space to downtown.

The project will serve the needs of area hotels, shops, the Duke Energy Convention Center and developing office and residential projects.

Ndukwe's firm, Kingsley Wells Enterprises, will be one of the first storefront businesses to open in Mabley Place.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2014.

Read more here:
Former Bengal investing in downtown real estate project

Despite ongoing conflict between corporate authorities, construction on the Market Basket at the former Polaroid site will continue and the store could open by years end, according to the developers attorney.

Construction at 1265 Main St. was suspended in early September when developers stopped receiving consistent payments.

The hiccup in operations was a result of an ongoing power struggle between company president Arthur T. Demoulas and his cousin, board member Arthur S. Demoulas. Construction continued at the site, however, at the end of September, with the exception of Market Basket.

Last month after a board meeting, the Demoulas Supermarkets (DSM) Board of Directors gave authorization to sign a lease with site developers, securing Market Baskets space and allowing construction to continue.

Since that [meeting] we were notified by the board that they approved the lease, said Scott Lang, attorney for Retail Management and Development Inc. Since the board approved the lease, the focus has been on the co-tenants and getting the project moving ahead to meet construction deadlines.

The board started a website and wrote that it authorized management to sign the lease that would allow the project to proceed.

"Its great news for the city, Mayor Jeannette McCarthy said. Its a huge economic project for the city that means jobs and Im very happy its going forward because we put a lot ofworkinto it to assist them."

In a Dec. 18 letter addressed to associates and the public, board members wrote that they told management to proceed with the opening of Attleboro, and that other projects have issues that still need to be addressed and resolved by management.

The lease agreement secures Market Baskets space at 1265 Main, which means developers will not need to seek out a new tenant, according to Lang.

Despite multiple attempts, DSM board director and attorney Keith Cowan could not be reached for comment. The listed Market Basket corporate headquarters phone number went straight to a message saying its switchboard was closed.

Read this article:
Waltham Market Basket construction moving forward again

Published: Friday, 1/17/2014

BY JON CHAVEZ BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

The Toledo-area retail market improved considerably in 2013, fueled by new stores or expansions that pushed the overall vacancy rate down a full percentage point from the previous year.

According to the year-end report from Toledo commercial real estate firm the Reichle Klein Group, the overall retail vacancy rate shrunk to 13.2 percent last year from 14.2 percent a year earlier.

Perhaps even more impressive, the vacancy rate for anchor store spaces dropped to 9.8 percent from 13 percent a year ago, according to the report. The decline marked the first time since 2004 that the vacancy rate for anchor spaces in the Toledo market has been below 10 percent.

Overall, the retail market absorbed 377,150 square feet of vacant space in just the last six months and a total of 729,000 square feet for the year.

Youre seeing a continued recovery for certain, and its definitely a pleasant thing to see, said Kurt Pollex, a commercial real estate agent with the Reichle Klein Group who helped prepare the report.

The big box properties have either been resurfaced or filled. And the big box eyesores the vacant cinemas have been taken down. Its certainly more appealing visually, and the improvement makes less space available, Mr. Pollex said.

Reichle Klein said that a large factor in the reduced vacancy rate is the redevelopment or repurposing of commercial sites in the Toledo area instead of new development on greenfield sites, a process that remains dormant.

Speculative construction just isnt there and it will take time for that without having a tenant, Mr. Pollex said.

Visit link:
Toledo retail market improved in 2013

Despite the emptying out of the tallest privately owned building in the state north of New York City, Western New Yorks office, industrial and retail markets are strong, according to new statistics released Thursday evening by the Buffalo office of real estate brokerage CBRE.

CBREs annual MarketView reports found the volume of open space in the region fell in two of the three categories, as strong demand for quality office and industrial space driven by an improved economy absorbed a lot of available space.

At the same time, the brokerage reported, a lack of new construction to replenish the inventory of manufacturing space means the industrial base isnt growing. And some vacant buildings were redeveloped for entirely new uses, taking them off the market.

Western New Yorks economic base and overall demographic trends continue to position it as a conservative region for real estate investment, development and lending, CBRE wrote.

Theres more empty office space in the region compared with a year ago, due to the downsizing of HSBC Bank USAs presence in downtown Buffalo and law firm Phillips Lytle LLPs move to One Canalside. Those two shifts resulted in more than 700,000 square feet of space being dumped on the market, as the former One HSBC Center now One Seneca Tower went from 95 percent full to 95 percent empty in a matter of weeks. As a result, the office vacancy rate jumped from 10.37 percent to 13.71 percent. The national vacancy rate was 15.1 percent.

That had been expected for more than a year and hasnt affected other market activity, said Shana B. Stegner, director of office sales and leasing for CBRE. Office leasing in other parts of the region tightened, taking up some of the new slack, while new construction boomed.

The activity is there. The momentum is there, Stegner said. When you look outside and see everything thats happening, its not stopping anybody from following through with their plans.

The vacancy rates for office, industrial and retail space in the region remained below national averages.

Despite this challenge, if the momentum continues through 2014, the Buffalo office market holds promise of recovery and continued future investment, CBRE said in the report.

Meanwhile, sales of existing apartment buildings rose by almost 40 percent compared with the previous three years average, while the total value of those sales rose by 27 percent. And more buildings are coming online, thanks to a mixture of new construction in the suburbs and adaptive reuse projects in the city.

Read more from the original source:
WNY real estate markets strong, CBRE says in annual MarketView reports

Developer Tony Giarratana has yet another Midtown site under contract, with plans for a $50 million apartment development that also will include retail space.

The apartments, called 1818 Church, could be the first project to take advantage of a zoning change that allows developers to build higher in parts of Midtown.

Giarratana Nashville LLC has a contract to buy the three-quarters of an acre or 34,000-square-foot tract from Nashville real estate investor Michael Shmerling. Giarratana expects to complete buying the two parcels, which include the Heritage Fuel gas station at 19th Avenue North and Church Street, within the next three months.

At 15 stories, 1818 Church will have 238 condo-quality apartments, including about 15 micro-unit apartments that will be just under 400 square feet, he said. There will be 4,000 square feet of retail space at the bottom level, Giarratana said, adding that Shmerlings XMi Commercial Real Estate would handle that leasing.

Separately, Giarratana and his equity partner LaSalle Investment Management have two other tracts in Midtown that also were acquired from Shmerling where apartments are either underway or planned. Midtown has a lot of potential that will finally be realized due to the new zoning code (there), Giarratana said.

As part of the change in Midtown to a new zoning district that went into effect last spring, Giarratana can build up to seven stories high along Church Street or 19th Avenue North and as high as 15 stories further into the property. Previously, the developer would have been limited to four stories along the street.

Giarratana said a construction timeline for 1818 Church isnt set, but he expects the units to be available in 2017. The gas station at the targeted site, which also includes a parking lot, will leave after its lease expires around mid-year, he said.

The site for 1818 Church is about the same size as the tract at the northwest corner of 22nd Avenue North and State Street where Giarratana and LaSalle plan this spring to start building a 146-unit apartment community that should be available next summer. Its slightly larger than the two parcels at Elliston Place and 21st Avenue where the partners have started construction of another 105-unit apartment in Midtown that should be available for occupancy this summer.

Its not yet clear whether LaSalle will be an equity partner with Giarratana for 1818 Church.

See the rest here:
Developer plans $50M Midtown apartment project

A year ago, Lane4 Property Group reported retail construction in the Kansas City area was up again after five slow years.

That observation played out in 2013, as grading started on several new projects, and retailers increasingly opened area stores or announced plans to open new locations.

Now Lane4, a Kansas City commercial real estate firm that specializes in retail developments, says 2014 is poised to be a solid year.

Urban and so-called infill areas are becoming increasingly popular as both developers and retailers take advantage of the dense populations, outdated shopping centers ready for renovation, and an increasing number of Kansas Citians choosing to live closer in.

Retailers are also discovering that many of these older areas have been starved of not only unique, but even basic restaurant, fashion, and other retail formats commonly found in the suburbs, the report said. Demand for Class A locations continues to outpace demand throughout the metro.

Among the retail highlights of 2014 Kansas City Retail Report:

Northwest Kansas City: Some Northland centers are boasting their strongest sales and occupancy levels to-date. Land north of Tiffany Springs MarketCenter should be developed in the new few years with a major anchor and smaller tenants.

Northeast Kansas City: The Village at Shoal Creek saw the opening of the Mosaic Life Care, a 47,000-square-foot urgent, primary care and surgery center, an example of the new breed of shopping center anchors, and Cheddars cafe is scheduled to open soon. Sams Club plans to open a new store this summer at 8130 N. Church Road.

Central Kansas City: Lane4 called this one of the most robust markets in the area and that has led to increased competition for desirable retail space. While Halls announcement that it is leaving the Country Club Plaza this year may have disappointed many of the department stores customers, it does open up a large space in the heart of the Plaza for a single tenant or it could possibly be subdivided for multiple tenants.

South Kansas City: The former Dillards spot is still available on the south end of Ward Parkway Center. Redevelopment efforts also are continuing at Truman Corners in Grandview and at the former Bannister Mall site in south Kansas City.

Read the original:
Lane4 Property Group tells what’s in store for retail in 2014