Projects In Brief
Scenes on 2nd
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The Old City region of downtown Philadelphia, PA is getting a facelift. Scenes on 2nd, a mixed-use residential and retail revitalization project by developer P+A Associates of Philadelphia, will be located on 2nd and Arch Streets.
The enclosed retail area, which is scheduled to break ground during the first quarter of 2000, will consist of 35,000 sq.ft. of retail space. Though tenants remain undisclosed, Scenes on 2nd is likely to include a gourmet market, a video store and other supporting retailers. P+A Associates will manage the facility, while Colliers Lanard & Axilbund of Philadelphia will handle leasing.
Living amenities for Scenes on 2nd will consist of two towers containing 100 units each and parking for 220. The Old City area is densely populated and growing. About 50 percent of the area’s residents are between the ages of 25 and 40 with an average median household income projected to be more than $60,000 by 2002. The population has already increased 15.6 percent from 1990 to 1997. By 2002, that number is expected to go up another nine percent.
Old City is home to a variety of upscale retail and dining locations, and there are more than 40 art galleries and museums in the area. Additionally, several festivals are hosted by the region throughout the year, providing a regular influx of local and suburban visitors. The location is conveniently located off I-95 and I-676 and easy to access by car or subway.
For more information, contact Ken Bleznak or Adam Rosenfarb, Colliers Lanard & Axilbund, 399 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106; 215-925-4600.
Milton-Alpharetta, Georgia
Beginning in spring 2001, Dallas-based Hillwood Development Corporation plans to construct Milton, a 500,000-sq.ft. mixed-use project in Alpharetta, Georgia in order to offer specialty retail to the residents of nearby executive communities such as Winward and the employees of several area Fortune 500 companies such as McKesson HBOC. The average household income in 1998 was $77,193 for a population of 31,074 within a three-mile radius of the project and $80,064 for a population of 82,935 within a five-mile radius.
Gensler Architecture Design of San Francisco, California and Post Landscaping of Atlanta, Georgia designed the Milton project around several large trees to preserve the natural scenery surrounding the open-air facility. To make the atmosphere consumer-friendly and make Milton more of a community gathering place, Gensler designed the project with traditional streetfronts enhanced by gazebos, outdoor eating venues and fountains. The project is planned to offer 129,000 sq.ft. of second- and third-floor office space.
Leasing for Milton is being handled by Harberg Masinter Company from Dallas, Texas. A site plan for the project shows retailers such as Borders Books, Crate & Barrel, Williams-Sonoma and the Container Store, although no commitments had been made at presstime. Milton also plans to include several upscale dining facilities, a health club, and a cinema, though no names have been disclosed. The project is expected to be completed by fall 2001.
For more information, contact Harberg Masinter Company, 10000 N. Central Expressway, Dallas, Texas 75231;
214-750-0011.
Chandler Fashion Center
Chandler, Arizona
Developer Westcor Partners of Phoenix, Arizona plans to bring the first regional shopping mall to Chandler, Arizona – Chandler Fashion Center, formerly formerly planned to be called San Tan Fashion Center.
The Chandler Fashion Center is scheduled to break ground in March 2000 and Westcor expects the project to be completed by fall 2001. OmniPlan of Dallas, Texas designed 535,000 sq.ft. of upscale retail services and restaurants to include a multiplex movie theater and anchors Nordstrom, Dillard’s, Robinsons-May, and another that has not yet been named. Another 800,000 sq.ft. will house a power center that is currently under construction. Other highlights of the Westcor project include an urban village that will contain office parks, hotel, conference center and a residential area. Westcor will handle all managing and leasing for the project.
Nearby retail includes the Fiesta Mall with more than 170 shops and four anchors, Superstition Springs Center with four anchors and 120 shops, and Arizona Mills containing 140 shops, all within 30 minutes of the Chandler Fashion Center.
Chandler has become known as “The Silicon Desert” because of the many high-tech companies that have located in the area. Overall there are 21,299 businesses representing 338,356 employees within 10 miles of the Chandler Fashion Center. Companies like Intel, Motorola and Micro Tech are a few of the rapidly growing industry leaders that maintain offices in Chandler. Intel’s new 1.5-million-sq.ft. Fab 12, the world’s second largest industrial plant, is located within 5 miles of the proposed project. The average household income is $62,893 within a 5-mile radius of the shopping venue and $53,600 within a 10-mile radius. Chandler residents, 90 percent of which are under the age of 54, have the second highest per capita income in metropolitan Phoenix with more than $2.5 billion in disposable income.
For information, contact Westcor Partners, 11411 North Tatum Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85028; 602-953-6200.
Marbella - Orlando, Florida
MarBella, a new commercial development on 270 acres surrounding the natural beauty of Orlando’s Ruby Lake, is being master planned for hotels, large retail stores, themed restaurants and time shares. Its centerpiece will be an upscale shopping village built around the 60-acre lake.
MarBella is the culmination of the vision of Jean Pierre Cuenant, president of the development firm JPC Development Corporation of Winter Park, Florida, who purchased the property several years ago. The property offers exclusive frontage on west-bound I-4, adjacent to Walt Disney’s Lake BuenaVista. JPC built a four-lane extension of Palm Parkway through the property, connecting several important county access roads leading to Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios and the expanding Orange County Convention Center. The Palm Parkway extension is expected to carry more than 20,000 cars a day through the heart of the development.
Designed by Canin & Associates from Orlando, Florida, the Mediterranean-styled shopping village overlooks the water. The property will feature approximately six hotels, one of which will a Marriott Residence Inn featuring 300 to 400 rooms. Hotel guests will be only a ferry ride away or a short stroll across The Boardwalk to the village, which is planned to feature stylish boutiques and galleries, upscale shops and unique eateries.
As a city and as a major tourist destination, Orlando/Orange County is one of the fastest growing metropolitan markets in the United States. The local population is young, well-educated, and relatively affluent, with more than a third earning an annual income above $75,000. Although Orlando is becoming a major convention destination, more than a third of the city’s visitors are non-convention, business or leisure travelers with an average income about $93,000. These are people who are more likely to play golf, go sailing or do relaxed shopping rather than spend time at the theme parks. Orlando is also one of the top five U.S. destinations for 2.5 million European business and travelers each year.
MarBella is designed to cater to the discriminating tourist and traveler, providing an eclectic mix of resort, business and casual hotel accomodations, premier restaurants and quality shopping.
For information, contact JPC Development Corporation at 800-836-1842.
Coral Station West
Miami, Florida
The three-acre Coral Station West, being developed by Taylor Develop-ment & Land Company (TDL) of Miami, Florida at an estimated cost of $55 million, is a mixed-use urban development plan-ned for the upscale Brickell neighborhood in downtown Miami. The project consists of 65,000 sq.ft. of retail space, 118,000 sq.ft. of office space, 221 apartment units, and an adjacent parking garage. The retail district, designed by Dorsky, Hodgson + Partners, will be set in a village atmosphere with design elements including covered streetfront walkways.
When it is combined with Coral Station East, a separate mixed-use project planned adjacent to Coral Station West, a new shopping and dining district will be created. The development is located within easy access from the area’s two main roads, Brickell Avenue and Coral Way. The site is adjacent to the Metromover and Metrorail, elevated light rail transit systems, in the only location where these two transportation modes merge.
The Brickell Avenue corridor is home to more than 90 different banking establishments. Daily employment figures have reached 114,000 and the area’s population is steadily increasing. Downtown Miami currently has 1,600 residential units under construction and an additional 4,500 in planning stages, the majority of which are in the Brickell Avenue corridor. Demographics for the corridor show 150,000 people living within a three-mile radius and 382,000 people within a five-mile radius.
Some other developments in the area include the Millennium Development, a mixed-use 68-story development containing 243,000 sq.ft. of office space, a 286-room Four Seasons Hotel, 109 luxury residential units and an upscale sports club; the Espirito Santo Bank Building, a mixed-use, 35-story tower containing 396,000 sq.ft. of office space, 23,000 sq.ft. of local retail space, 144 residential units and a sports club; the LaSalle Aparthotel, a European-style hotel and spa; J.W. Marriott & Barclay’s Financial Center, a 21-story, 300-room J.W. Marriott to be built connected to a 30-story, 525,000-sq.ft. office building; and Brickell Bay Plaza, a 40-story, 641-unit apartment tower.
Coral Station West is expected to break ground during the third quarter of 2000, with completion anticipated by the end of 2001. Leasing will be handled by Continental Real Estate Companies’ Miami office.
For more information, contact TDL Company, 12000 Biscayne Boulevard, Suite 803, Miami, Florida 33181; 305-892-6800.
The Shops at Village Walk
Houston, Texas
The Shops at Village Walk, being developed by City Center Retail Trust of Chicago, Illinois, plans to add to the urban downtown shopping district of Houston, Texas. The 115,000 sq.ft. of open-air shopping space will be situated on 8.33 acres in downtown Houston approximately one mile from the Galleria in the West Loop area of Houston. The project broke ground during fall 1999 and completion is expected in the fall of 2000.
According to the developer, architects Field Paoli of San Fran-cisco, California and Hermes Reed Architects of Houston, Texas designed the project to attract retail tenants that will house their latest prototype and/or flagship stores in this new Houston location. The overriding goal of the project is to create a unique and interesting pedestrian-oriented shopping experience among and between four buildings situated on the site. The project will be linked by a pedestrian streetscape and unified by two focal public spaces.
City Center Retail Trust will also manage and lease the project. No commitments have been received yet but negotiations are underway with specialty fashion retailers, high-end specialty restaurants and music/book specialty stores. According to the company, the project is attracting a number of prospective retailers that would be new to the Houston market. Tenants in the surrounding area offer an existing mass of first-class tenants, including Williams-Sonoma, Banana Republic, Restoration Hardware, Cole-Haan, Harold Powell, Pottery Barn, Laura Ashley, The Gap, Victoria’s Secret and PF Chang’s.
The residential population is more than 132,000 people within a three-mile radius with an average household income of approximately $78,830. Daytime employment in the same area is more than 105,000. The downtown area of Houston contains more than 4,500 first-class hotel rooms within the trade area averaging 8,900 occupants per year.
For information, contact Peter Rusnak, City Center Retail Trust, 10 South La Salle Street, Suite 3700, Chicago, Illinois 60603; 312-425-2800, Fax 312-425-2888.