China market: Clevo opens 24th Buynow store

Aaron Lee, Hubei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES[Monday 20 October 2014]

Notebook ODM Clevo has opened its 24th Buynow electronics retail store in China, in Wuhan, according to the company.

Of the retail space at the new store in Wuhan, central China, 25% and 20% is for selling IT and communication devices respectively and 55% for eateries, Clevo noted.

Clevo said it will open its 25th Buynow store in Suzhou, eastern China, on October 25 and eight others are under construction.

Clevo said of its net profit of NT$714 million (US$23.8 million) for second-quarter 2014, Buynow operations contributed over 60%.

Clevo said it also has a 30% strake in a department store chain, Chicony Square, in China. The first Chicony Square store in Wuhan opened in September 2003 and the second in Chengdu, western China, in October 2010, Clevo said, adding the third in Xi'an, northwestern China, is scheduled for opening in second-half 2015.

Chicony Square accounted for 9.38% of Clevo's second-quarter 2014 net profit, it added.

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China market: Clevo opens 24th Buynow store

Almost overnight, it seems, developers are stepping forward with bold proposals for big, new office projects in or near Downtown.

Alco Parking President Merrill Stabile announced a plan Oct. 8 to build two 11-story office towers and a 1,227-space parking garage in a lot he owns behind PNC Park.

The next day, Raleigh, N.C.-based Highwoods Properties unveiled a proposal to erect a six-story glass office building on the Monongahela riverfront at SouthSide Works as part of a four-building deal with the Soffer Organization.

And in August, Oxford Development Co. pitched a plan for its Smithfield Street property a 20-story office high-rise that its billing as the most efficient in the city.

Why the flurry of proposals?

Its all about the office market in and near Downtown, local real estate experts say. Its very tight, with top-of-the-line Class A office space tough to find. Developers are hoping to capitalize on the shortage.

Probably whats driving it is the strength of the market. I would think developers would want to take advantage of that if theyre in control of viable sites, said Jon Harrigan, CEO of Pennsylvania Commercial Real Estate Inc., Downtown.

It doesnt hurt to test the waters, he added.

If I were in their situation, I would be doing the same thing. You want to make sure your oar is in the water in case theres an anchor tenant searching for a new home, he said.

Read more:
Office building developers busy in Pittsburgh

The family that's owned a strategic North Dallas property for more than a century wants to redevelop the site.

The Daniel family hopes to tear down the 40-year-old rental homes on the northwest corner of Inwood and Forest Lane. The old townhomes would be replaced by new apartments, some neighborhood retail space and sports fields for Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas.

"We see it as a redevelopment opportunity that would be a betterment for the community and provide amenities for the neighborhood," said William Dahlstrom with Jackson Walker LLP who is representing the owners. "We want to do a legacy type property that would last forever."

The 30-acre property is now occupied by more than 200 townhouses and surface parking lots.

The owners are working with apartment builder Greystar, retail real estate firm Regency Centers and next door neighbor Jesuit Prep School on the redevelopment plans.

"We've owned the property since 1849," said John Daniel. "Frances Sims Daniel came in a wagon from Tennessee.

"She bought a section of land that the center of was very close to Airline and Daniel street near SMU," he said. "They bought other property and this was once a farm."

In 1972, the land was zoned for construction of the Forestwood Townhomes which have occupied the corner since then.

The property is about a block off the Dallas North Tollway and just south of LBJ Freeway.

Laird Sparks with Greystar said the plan is to build "townhome type residences.

Excerpt from:
Owners of key North Dallas corner plan new apartments, Jesuit sports fields

Leasing retail space at Willits Town Center remains a tough sell despite the success and allure of Whole Foods Market, according to the president of the company that owns and is developing the project.

Ryan Anderson of Mariner Real Estate Management said Tuesday he hopes that the construction of a 112-room hotel at Willits will help ease the challenge of signing tenants.

Mariner and Silverwest Hotel Partners LLC teamed to build an Element by Westin, which is part of the Starwood Hotels and Resorts brand. An official groundbreaking was held in frigid temperatures Tuesday morning although work started on the foundation roughly a month ago.

Ed Mace, a partner in Silverwest Hotel Partners, said the Element Basalt will open by Thanksgiving 2015 to take advantage of bookings during ski season.

The one-bedroom suites that will dominate the mix of rooms are intended for extended stays, Mace said. He and his partner, Charlie Peck, estimated the average stay of their customers will be slightly more than three days. Single-night stays will also be accepted, but the idea is to target customers such as families coming for a ski vacation or couples coming to the Roaring Fork Valley for special events.

Room rates havent been set yet but Mace said prices will likely top $200 per night during ski season and in the $150-range at other times. An earlier design had the hotel at 113 rooms.

The rooms will have dining areas but not full kitchens, Mace said. That will encourage customers to eat at Basalts restaurants and pick up food at nearby Whole Foods. Thats how we do room service, Mace quipped while addressing a crowd of about 40 at the groundbreaking.

In an interview with The Aspen Times following the ceremony, Mace said Starwood and the hotel partners decided they needed to use the Aspen name as part of their marketing efforts. Basalt doesnt have name recognition yet, he said, and the hotel needs to be positioned so Internet users looking for lodging in Aspen can find it. Thus, the hotels full name will be Element Basalt Aspen Valley.

We appreciate that locals might not recognize it, Mace said diplomatically. He noted its not unique for the use of Aspen Valley. Theres Aspen Valley Hospital, Aspen Valley Land Trust and Aspen Valley Ski Club.

The hotel will create 25 to 30 full-time equivalent jobs, Mace said. There will be more workers than that on the payroll, but some will work part-time and seasonal hours.

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Addition of hotel expected to boost vibrancy at Willits

A developer is proposing a $55 million project of 230 luxury apartments and retail space next to Brown Shoe Co.s headquarters in downtown Clayton.

The plan by Covington Development is the latest proposal of a major residential development in the area.

Covingtons project, called Clayton Vanguard, has two levels of garage parking for 355 vehicles and five floors of apartments on 2.5 acres at 8500 Maryland Avenue.

A vacant two-story office building is on the site. Brown Shoe owns the building, erected in 1975, and the adjacent parking lot. Brian Kennedy, a partner at Covingtons office in Clayton, said Tuesday the company has the site under contract.

Covington hopes to begin construction by the middle of next year and complete the project in 2017. Kennedy said the downtown Clayton location, proximity to Clayton High School and Shaw Park, plus nearness to Interstate 170 will help Vanguard attract tenants.

We feel theres a strong need for new luxury rental housing, he said.

Covingtons other apartment developments in the St. Louis area include Vanguard Creve Coeur and Vanguard Crossing in University City. Covington Development, based in Clayton, is the development division of Covington Realty Partners of Chicago.

This spring, the company dropped plans for a 14-story apartment building at 4490 Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis, after it was unable to get tax abatement from the city for the $50 million project. Kennedy said Vanguard Clayton is not a substitute for the project in the city.

This is really an independent project weve been working on for a while, he said.

Claytons Architectural Review Board is scheduled to consider the Vanguard project at its meeting Monday. Covington is proposing an exterior of red and buff brick with stucco accents.

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More luxury apartments proposed for Clayton

Hartford will press ahead with a sweeping development plan to bring housing, retail, a brewery and a 9,000-spectator minor league ballpark to long-vacant land north of downtown.

The city council approved the $350 million project Tuesday, capping four months of public debate. Six members voted in favor of the plan; three abstained.

"The redevelopment of Downtown North is going to create jobs, encourage new businesses, strengthen existing ones and help grow Hartford's grand list, all things that are absolutely vital to create a healthy vibrant city," Mayor Pedro Segarra said in a statement Tuesday night. "Over the last few months, support for the project has grown exponentially and it's exciting to see everyone invested in the future of our city."

Some council members hailed the project, which would bring the New Britain Rock Cats to Hartford, as a step forward for a city in need of additional revenue and a shot of vibrancy in an area that has been empty for decades.

"It is exactly a road map to how we move forward as a city," council President Shawn Wooden said at the meeting Tuesday. "There is no reward, there is no benefit, without some level of risk. ... It's appropriately risky for the return."

He noted that during recent budget cycles, the council had made deep cuts to city spending. The project offers an opportunity to capture new revenue, Wooden said.

"It's a lot more than a lot of other people have done at city hall and in state government for a long, long time," he added.

Others said they support developing the land, but had issues with the proposal.

Councilman David MacDonald, who along with Larry Deutsch and Raul DeJesus abstained during Tuesday's vote, raised concerns about the speed at which the project has moved.

"I understand the time constraints we're under, but that's not something we did to ourselves," MacDonald said. "It's something imposed on us."

Read this article:
Hartford Council OKs Stadium Plan

Grace Contracting and Development knows the nuances of the ever-changing retail construction industry. Whether your space is boutique or your plans call for a grander scale, you can trust that your relationship with Grace Contracting and Development will generate a highly desirable and visually attractive retail environment.

At Grace Contracting and Development, we understand this demand and pride ourselves on being an asset for commercial ventures. As a retail construction company serving New York and the surrounding markets, our commitment is to quality construction services and our meeting the most exacting expectations of our customers. New York shoppers are among the most sophisticated in the world, and meeting their needs is the key to retail success. Grace Contracting can design and build your retail space to attract the demographics that most need your products.

When you trust us to build your ideal commercial space, you are getting a structure that will last a very long time. The last thing you will want to do is worry about continual maintenance costs and we ensure that this will not be the case. We even take advantage of certified green building materials to cut down on costs, increase overall energy efficiency, and reduce your business impact on the environment.

A shopper has the option of an online shopping experience, with free shipping. While that dynamic certainly has changed the shape of the retail marketplace, it only part of the picture.

Todays shopper wants options, for sure, but they also want the choice of going to a store and enjoying a real shopping experience. Many retailers use their online presence not only to generate sales, but to drive shoppers to the store where even more choices, excitement and fulfillment await.

Trust the professionals at Grace Construction and Development when it comes to renovating, rebuilding or building your retail space.

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Retail Space Construction | Grace Contracting & Development

Neutral-colored furniture with accent pillows and accessories doesn't overwhelm shoppers. An end table creates a divider between displays at Cocobolo Interiors in Armonk, N.Y.

Credit: Tom Anckner

When Julie Owen bought Cocobolo Interiors in 2008, she set about adding more contemporary items to the Armonk, N.Y., shop. But with only 3,000 square feet, she struggled to figure out where to put her expanding line of furniture, lighting fixtures and accessories. Her solution: create sections within the shop and arrange the furniture the way customers might imagine it at home, using low bookcases and folding screens as dividers.

As Owen discovered, making the most of a small retail shop means being strategic about how you design the space and organize your merchandise. Here are seven other simple and affordable ways to maximize a small retail space:

1. Paint an accent wall.Painting one wall a bold color is an affordable and effective way to not only spice up the space, but also to make it look larger. A bold colored wall creates the illusion of receding in space, says Libby Langdon, HGTV design expert and author of Libby Langdon's Small Space Solutions (Knack, 2009). Putting colorfully printed fabric or wallpaper on one of your walls is another way to achieve the same effect, while adding eye-catching textures and patterns to your store.

Related: Creating Shops from Shipping Containers

An old bed serves as a space-saving and creative way to display tea towels along an orange accent wall at Poppyseeds in Stanwood, Wash.

Credit: Amber Strehle, Tres Birds Photography

2. Create window-like effects. Windows can open up a small space and make it seem larger. At Poppyseeds, a vintage decor and fashion accessory shop in Stanwood, Wash., the owners cut window spaces into the walls separating two small rooms to create a more airy feel. In another room, co-owner Marybeth Sande put white linen panels across an entire wall, creating the illusion of windows. Hanging drapes around tall, skinny mirrors is another way to create a window effect, Langdon says. "That gives an illusion of more light and movement in a small space."

3. Think vertically.Displaying items on various levels maximizes space and is visually appealing to customers, says Jerry Birnbach, a Somers, N.Y., store-planning consultant. Hanging shelving at different levels is the easiest way to achieve this effect. You also can mount drapes and other items from the ceiling to the floor to draw the eye up and create the sense of a larger space, Langdon says.

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7 Low-Cost Design Ideas for Small Retail Spaces

Commercial listing search

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Each month tenants and investors search listings of commercial properties for sale or lease on SHOWCASE over 600,000 times, making it one of the most heavily searched commercial real estate marketing Web sites on the Internet. brokers listing real estate for sale or lease value SHOWCASE for the way SHOWCASE advertises and continuously updates all their listings for one flat monthly fee with no long term commitment.

The commercial property database behind SHOWCASE is by far the industry's largest, with over 1.4 million active, continuously updated listings of commercial real estate for sale or for lease across all commercial property types, including office, industrial, retail, flex, multifamily, commercial-zoned land, hotels and more. A SHOWCASE subscription also includes a personal website at no extra charge to promote the listing agent's name, contact information and services as well as on-demand listings performance reports to share with clients.

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Retail Space for Lease & Sale - Free Retail Space Property ...

MIAMI -

While standing about a block away from the Wilkie D. Ferguson, Jr. federal courthouse in Miami, Jose Rios said "having no money" made him feel "invisible."

Rios was setting up a sleeping area early Friday morning on a sidewalk next to an empty parking lot. He said he had been living near Miami's Overtown neighborhood for the last year, because he was running away from "step dad sex abuse and no one gave a f---."

A few blocks away, there was a line in front of Club Space, a nightclub that remains open 24 hours. Another Jose, also known as Joe Ramirez, was also running away. He was there for "EDM acoustics" and was "already drunk and ready for $7 water" bottles.

"We're space cadets. That side has [the] Terremark conspiracy. You have strip club pervs, Grand Central hipsters [and] bay yuppies," Ramirez's friend Tatiana Alvarez, 22, said. "One day, cops will send homeless crack heads running. Dollar bills gonna come. It'll be like newspaper bomb turn[ed] into rich opera [expletive] glass."

That was Alvarez's description of Miami's Park West neighborhood, an area west of Biscayne Bay, north of downtown Miami and east of Overtown, formerly known as Colored Town.Developers have been talking about a Miami Worldcenter vision in the area for about a decade. This year, Miami commissioners have been giving the 28-acre mixed-use $1.5 billion project the green light.

What the city wants in the area is "substantially similar, if not identical, to that of plans that have been approved for Brickell City Center, River Landing and the Design District," Nitin Motwani, Miami Worldcenter developer, said in a statement.

Developers want to start construction this year. The project -- a partnership between Boca Raton based The Falcone Group and Marc Roberts Companies -- faced bitter litigation against commercial broker Edie Laquer who wanted to be a partner in the project. They also faced opposition on their management of public streets.

According to the Miami Worldcenter plan Northeast 7th and 9th Street would be closed to traffic. Seventh from North Miami Avenue to Northeast 2nd Avenue would become a pedestrian-only promenade, and 9th Street would turn into retail space. Northeast 8th Street would be open for traffic.

"Miami Worldcenter has earned the support of the Miami Entertainment District Association as well as the owners of Mekka, Will Call, E11even and others," Motwani said.

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Miami WorldCenter to begin construction soon