The developer of the Black Hills Center has reconfigured its site plan so it can offer space for more, smaller retail stores and restaurants around the Walmart under construction at Fifth Street and Catron Boulevard.

THF Realty originally proposed a 27,000-square-foot "mini-anchor" adjacent to a 19,000-square-foot retail strip, all north of Stumer Road and east of the new Walmart.

Now, THF plans to build one 33,900-square-foot strip center with as many as 15 storefronts, said Justin Brockman, who is handling leasing for the property from his Denver office.

"We've gotten overwhelming demand from retailers smaller in size, so we wanted to accommodate them," Brockman said.

About half of the space in the strip center has been committed to, Brockman said, and some tenants might take more than one storefront.

He declined to name any of the signed tenants, but said there would be a mix of new names and second or third locations for businesses already in Rapid City.

Plans for 14 parcels surrounding the city's second Walmart and the strip center haven't changed. Brockman said three parcels in particular have seen interest from tenants. Tenants might include retailers, fast food and full service restaurants, medical offices and hotels. Separately, on land not owned by THF, a bank and a gas station are planned at the corner of Fifth and Catron.

Construction on the strip center will be finished in May or June, giving tenants time to build out their shops so then can be open when Walmart opens in August and be ready for the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons, Brockman said.

But the entire development could take several years to complete.

"It's important to have the right tenant mix that's going to be a complement to the community and the project. You want to make sure you can accommodate users when they're ready for the site."

He said interest should pick up more now that Walmart itself is under construction.

"We're excited to be doing business in Rapid City, and we are excited to become a part of the community with this project," Brockman said. "We're committed to making the best new retail project in Rapid City."

Contact Barbara Soderlin at 394-8417 or barbara.soderlin@rapidcityjournal.com.

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Walmart development offers space for more retailers

For the past 25 years, the Blue Star Arts Complex has been a haven for the arts. Now its owner is looking to make room for more retail.

James Lifshutz, the property's owner, said that he's looking to increase foot traffic at the complex by adding retail in space along South Alamo Street. Currently, he's in talks with gallery owners to find a way to reconfigure and update the buildings to make space for new retail tenants.

“We're looking to reconfigure the frontage along Alamo Street to create better retail and several of the artist-run galleries will be affected. So we're working with them to try and figure out a way to keep them there. I'm hopeful and expectant that we'll be able to keep them there. Not in their existing spaces, but in reconfigured space.”

The plan is in preliminary stages, but Lifshutz said he hopes to have new tenants in place by midyear. The property owner already has talked to several interested parties that could bring a neighborhood grocery market, coffee shop, bakery and an icehouse with a music venue. Some of the prospective tenants Lifshutz has spoken to also have existing businesses locally and in Austin, he said.

“This is not Payless Shoes. This will be retail that enhances and improves the life of an arts community,” Lifshutz said.

No leases have been signed for any of the space that's expected to be reconfigured. A lease was signed for a new bar, but it's located toward the middle of the complex. Bar 1919 will have the feel of an upscale speakeasy that's expected to open in late March, said Jeremy Jessop, the asset manager for the complex.

While everything is still in the planning stages, Jessop did say they will look to make updates such as adding central air and heat and new walkways to make the area more pedestrian friendly. Also, the galleries could have glass fronts that would allow visitors to enjoy the art without the galleries being open.

Blue Star's current footprint is about 160,000 square feet of art, retail and residential space. The cost for retail space there is about $15 per square foot, Jessop said. With the anticipated changes Lifshutz also said he plans to raise rents there.

Lifshutz added that he plans to secure financing to start construction on the second phase of Blue Star at the old Big Tex property by the end of this year.

“The art is the soul of the complex. With the improved retail, it really fulfills and brings to full blossom the original intent of Blue Star. It was never intended to just be a place where people make, look at, teach, buy and sell art. It was always intended to be all those things along with a vibrant 30-day a month life to it.”

Stella Haus is one of the art galleries that could be affected by the proposed changes. It has operated in the same space for nearly 10 years and Dayna De Hoyos, the gallery director, said that she and others hope to stay in their current spaces.

“We enjoy being in the Blue Star Arts Complex. We'd love to continue renting our spaces,” De Hoyos offered as a statement for her gallery and two others: Cactus Bra and Three Walls.

Neither De Hoyos nor the other gallery owners wanted to comment further until the negotiations concluded. But De Hoyos did say that raising rents would make things more difficult since the galleries don't make much money throughout the year.

The anticipated additions would bring added competition to the complexes current retail tenants, but Joey Villarreal, owner of the Blue Star Brewery, Blue Star Bike Shop and Joe Blue's, said he welcomes it.

“A synergy of different businesses can help bring more people to the area. There could be a nice exchange of clientele. I think it will be good.”

vlucio@express-news.net

Original post:
Blue Star to make room for retail

Developer gets financing for new O.C. Costco January 30th, 2012, 10:49 am · · posted by Jon Lansner

Sketched of the planned Costco at Bella Terra

Click to see demolition to start Costco construction; photos by Sam Gangwer

Commercial real estate investment bankers George Smith Partners arranged $16 million in construction financing for DJM Capital Partners to clear retail space for Costco at the Bella Terra shopping center in Huntington Beach.

Costco’s 30-year ground lease required DJM to create a “construction ready” pad for a new Costco.

Construction included DJM demolishing a 120,000-square-foot former Montgomery Ward‘s and an 80,000-square-foot former Mervyns plus adding utility lines and bays for gasoline tanks.

DJM is also building a 467-unit apartment complex adjacent to the shopping center that’s already sold to landlord UDR.

Smith Partners’ Steve Bram: “Although both the client and the property are very solid, this particular loan presented a challenge due to the state of the current commercial real estate industry. Construction financing, especially for retail centers, is not easy to achieve in today’s economic climate.”

Learn about 9 store openings, 5 closures in O.C.

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Developer gets financing for new O.C. Costco

SALT LAKE CITY — The clock is ticking
toward the highly anticipated opening of Utah's top retail
development.

Less than 60 days remain until the
scheduled March 22 grand opening of City Creek Center, a $1.5
billion downtown project that is expected to revitalize Salt
Lake City's central business district.

Upon completion, City Creek will
feature approximately 700,000 square feet of shopping and
dining space, along with 536 new condominiums or apartments.
Among the unique features of the 23-acre development are a
30,000-square-foot fully retractable glass roof, a sky bridge
over Main Street and a re-creation of City Creek, the snow-fed
stream that once meandered through the city.

City Creek general manager Linda
Wardell of Taubman Centers Inc. said the project is on schedule
for its planned March opening.

"The construction of the core (retail)
building is really already complete," she said. "We've been
(testing) all of our systems and know how they are going to
operate."

She noted that the individual retail
stores are in their "crunch time" as they work to meet their
own deadlines for the impending opening.

Experience is a big part of shopping today. Shopping really
is entertainment for a lot of people, so it has to be an
experience every time they visit.

–- Linda Wardell

"Usually, everything is simultaneously
constructed," she said. "With City Creek, because of its
mixed-used nature, the core part of our building was built
first and then the stores were built in."

Taubman will operate the retail portion
of the project, which will contain approximately 80 stores and
restaurants. Wardell said one-third of the stores at City Creek
will be unique to Utah, which will "keep bringing people back
over and over again."

Headquartered in Bloomfield Hills,
Mich., the company currently operates 26 retail shopping
centers across the country, with six others in development —
including properties in Asia and Puerto Rico.

To date, Taubman has invested about $76
million into the project.

The International Council of Shopping
Centers has said that City Creek Center will be the only retail
center opening in the U.S. in 2012, meaning the opening will
likely garner national and even global attention, Wardell
said.

Inquiries have come from media
worldwide to attend the grand opening as well as other retail
developers from around the globe. One local industry analyst
said the new development would likely help bolster the overall
strength of the entire downtown retail sector, including The
Gateway.

"Retail growth will be slower at the
beginning, but overall both projects will in time will become
thriving destination projects in the downtown area," said J.R.
Moore, vice president of retail properties with commercial real
estate firm CB Richard Ellis in Salt Lake City. "They'll fuel
each other and make downtown an even more attractive place for
shoppers and retailers."

Meanwhile, the finishing touches are
being made on one of the more fascinating retail centers of its
kind, she said.

"Experience is a big part of shopping
today," Wardell explained. "Shopping really is entertainment
for a lot of people, so it has to be an experience every time
they visit."

She noted, however, that providing the
"right collection of stores" is also essential to the overall
shopping experience. In addition, the project will also include
some of the best residential properties in the region — making
City Creek a destination for visitors from across the Mountain
West.

"You can come to this one central part
of the city and be engaged with the city in such a unique way,"
Wardell said.

Email:jlee@ksl.com

Read the rest here:
City Creek on schedule, only shopping center opening in U.S. during 2012

Published: Friday, Jan. 27, 2012 11:26 p.m. MST

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$1.5B City Creek Center on schedule for March 22 opening

16-01-2012 10:45 Watch in HD and Full Screen to enjoy the detail. Favorite, Like, Share and Subscribe Please! Information about Tower Cranes: http://www.deckrane.com Information on the CitySquare redevelopment project: http://www.telegram.com "Leggat McCall and Consigli Construction Co. of Milford are partway through a $110 million job that includes tearing down something old, building something new and doing it without disrupting people or traffic http://www.worcesterma.gov CitySquare is a $563 million multi-phased private/public commercial real estate project and the largest development project in the Commonwealth outside of the Boston area

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05-01-2012 00:06 October 20, 2011 Bitexco Financial Tower is among the world's top 20 iconic skyscrapers The Bitexco Financial Tower is an emblem of Vietnam's rapid development and growing importance as a dynamic emerging economy The Bitexco Financial Tower (BFT), shaped like the bud of a lotus flower, has become one of the world's top 20 most iconic skyscrapers. Standing 262 metres tall in the prime District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the BFT's stature as an iconic skyscraper was confirmed by CNNGo, a travel and lifestyle website which compiled the list in collaboration with prominent architect A Eugene Kohn, founder and chairman of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates KFP, one of the world's largest architecture firms.

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03-01-2012 14:48 Clayco provided development, design and construction management services for Centene Plaza, the first class A office product brought to market in downtown Clayton, Missouri in just under a decade and the region's first and only multi-tenant office that is Gold LEED certified. The development is a 21-story office tower with a 1900-space parking garage and a public plaza.

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Centene Plaza Construction Timelapse - Clayton, MO - Video

11-11-2011 03:54 Call Arun @ +919560214267. Overview 6 specialty levels

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DLF Mall of India Sector 18 Noida Gurgaon Delhi Construction - Video