Projects In Brief
| retail real estate development reports from America's heartland, cities and waterfronts |
BRYANT STREET PIER
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
The Bryant Street Pier project may be described as uniquely San Franciscan in its approach to combining a cruise terminal with retail and office space. In addition to developing the 100,000-sq.ft. James R. Herman International Cruise Terminal, the $270-million mixed-use project will provide approximately 207,400 sq.ft. of retail space, an independent cinema, a jazz club, 300,000 sq.ft. of commercial/office space, a hotel with extended-stay residences, and a public marina.
Projected for completion by mid-2003, Bryant Street Pier is being built on a four-block property at the current site of Piers 30-32 on San Francisco’s Embarcadero. It will be developed by a partnership called San Francisco Cruise Terminal LLC. Managing partner and lead developer is Lend Lease Development US, Inc., a member of the Lend Lease Group, an Australian-based property and financial services company with a $37.4-billion U.S. real estate and mortgage portfolio. Other partners include PSA Corporation, Ltd., an owner and operator of worldwide ports, including the Port of Singapore; Chinese Maritime Transport Ltd., a global maritime operator; and Whittney Cressman LLC, a San Francisco-based commercial real estate advisory and brokerage firm. Whittney Cressman will handle leasing for the complex.
The project is designed as a place for both tourists and San Franciscans to enjoy the best of the city. Glen Elkington, president, West Coast, Lend Lease Development US, says, “This project reconnects San Francisco to its roots – its waterfront. Our proposal is intended to maximize both the neighborhood’s and the public’s access to, and enjoyment of, the bayfront, while at the same time creating the leading cruise terminal in North America.”
The focal point will be the state-of-the-art James R. Herman International Cruise Terminal, designed to position San Francisco as a premier U.S. port. In addition to serving seasonal visitors, the terminal is designed to serve a variety of year-round uses, including conventions as well as community and civic events. A second-floor great room will be able to accommodate up to 3,500 people. The terminal will provide link ways to a public pedestrian pathway around the entire pier project.
A town center and lagoon will serve both the project and the adjacent South Beach neighborhood, which is home to a variety of multi-media companies as well as the San Francisco Giants’ new ballpark. The lagoon, on the south face of the property, offers views, a protected promenade and public moorings. Fifty percent of the ground space is earmarked for open spaces and walkways. The project includes parking but is configured to encourage the use of public transit, bicycles and boats.
The Brannon Street corner is projected to house neighborhood-based retail, such as cafes, juice bars, florists and bookstores. Retailers closer to the lagoon and town square area will probably include more leisure-based shops such as housewares, designer products, sophisticated fashion and travel stores. At the end of the pier will be a six-screen independent cinema and a live jazz and dinner venue.
A 400-room four-star hotel also housing 111 time-share or rental apartments will be on-site and include 12,000 sq.ft. of hotel meeting and conference areas as well as shops.
Office space will be operated under the moniker of The World Trade Center and is expected to include maritime, trade-related and Internet-related businesses.
For leasing information, contact Stanley A. Cohn, managing principal, Whitney Cressman Limited, at 415-362-7337.
CENTERPOINT BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
The Banc of America Community Development Corporation in conjunction with the Harold A. Dawson Company, Inc. are at the helm of the development team known as The Centerpoint Project Team to bring about Centerpoint, a convergence of Baltimore’s past, present and future. Planned for the West Side area of the city, the mixed-use project will create an urban district connecting the University of Maryland with Baltimore’s commercial district and the Inner Harbor area. According to the Maryland publication Sunspot, it is “designed to transform a run-down block into an arts and cafe district for students and young professionals.”
Also members of the project team are Kann & Associates, architects; Harkins Builders; The Concord Group; Hicks & Rotner Retail; and STV, Inc. Details on the project are expected to be worked out by May 2000. Demolition and redevelopment should begin in the third quarter of 2001 with projected opening in October 2002.
Included in the plan is 50,000 sq.ft. of retail and restaurant space, 334 apartments, parking for 403 vehicles, two courtyards with swimming pools and exercise facilities, renovation of the former Town Theater, and a gymnasium. Ninety eight percent of the financing for the $54-million project will come from the private sector. In addition, Centerpoint will offer opportunities for revenue sharing for minority-owned, women-owned, and small businesses currently located on the site.
Redevelopment of this section of Baltimore is being timed to coincide with the reopening of the Hippodrome Theater located directly across North Eutaw Street. The huge theater, seating more than 40,000 people annually, would have the potential of attracting national shows to Baltimore with the possibility of being open 360 days per year. Project plans include a smaller theater to house smaller productions than deemed appropriate for the Hippodrome. Possible users would be local theater groups at the University of Maryland or the surrounding community.
Developers are working hard to keep a blend of the old and new, with two-thirds of existing architecture to be preserved. Arched windows and detailed cornices are to be renovated in a way to blend with new construction. The formerly homogenous commercial district has undergone a change to incorporate housing for the University of Maryland as well an influx of artists desiring loft-style residences.
This West Side initiative is the largest downtown development effort since Baltimore’s Inner Harbor development.
For further information, contact Susan Anderson, Hicks & Rotner Retail, at 410-308-0800.
JACOBSON’S PROJECT DEARBORN, MICHIGAN
The Dearborn Department of Economic and Community Development feels it is time to redevelop certain downtown properties. Consequently, the City of Dearborn has requested proposals for the development of the downtown area to include a town square, retail and residential growth. The size of the land involved, as well as the exact costs will vary depending on the proposal selected. The city would like to redevelop the former Jacobson’s store and neighboring lots and sell the former Chicago Road House site. Both buildings are on Michigan Avenue, the city’s main street.
Daytime population density reaches 110,000 daily in the area of the former Jacobson’s store on Michigan Avenue because of the world headquarters of both the Ford Motor Company and the American Automobile Association (AAA). Overall demographics include a trade area population of 90,000 projected to top 120,000 by the year 2002, earning a median wage of $54,000.
The city’s vision is for an urban design that is pedestrian-friendly, connecting neighborhood businesses as well as providing a linkage to the local park system. The project will complement present businesses with the addition of national retailers like Old Navy, The Gap and other softgoods retailers, as well as small entrepreneurs. More entertainment in the form of outdoor cafes would be welcome.
The estimated time frame will depend upon reviews of proposals submitted and the subsequent choice of a preferred developer. The project would probably not begin construction until 2001, with initial openings expected in 2002 at the soonest. Proposals are invited for a mixed-use development combining entertainment, retail, restaurants, and second-floor offices and residential components. The city requires that the Georgian architecture of the area be preserved to blend with the adjacent historic neighborhood. Building materials expected to be used are brick, wrought iron, limestone impediments and brick pavers.
For more information on the project and bidding information, contact Gail Fisher, Office of Economic and City Development for the City of Dearborn, at 314-943-3156.
WEST VILLAGE DALLAS, TEXAS
West Village is an urban village planned just north of the central business section of Dallas, Texas. Urban Partners is developing the 7.5-acre site into a four-story mixed use project combining retail, residential and entertainment elements.
The $60-million project has broken ground and has a projected opening date in spring 2001. It will contain more than 175 apartments on the upper two flours with retail establishments on the lower levels. No office space has been planned. Landmark Theaters will operate an art house theater in the center.
Retailers committed to the center include The Gap, Banana Republic and Ann Taylor Loft. Also signed are The M Crowd Group, which will open a Taco Diner, French Brasserie and an innovative Starbuck’s concept.
The West Village is designed to be pedestrian-friendly, tenanted by 150,000 sq.ft. of selected retailers and restauranteurs with parking for 1,000 cars.
For further information, contact Henry Miller III, chairman of Urban Partners, an affiliate of Henry S. Miller Interests Inc., at 214-559-2740.
POWER PLANT OF HAMPTON ROADS
HAMPTON, VIRGINIA
Preliminary work has begun on the Power Plant of Hampton Roads, planned as a retail and entertainment center in Hampton, Virginia. The project will occupy 100 acres and be located around a natural lake. Approximately 250,000 sq.ft. is earmarked for entertainment space to include live performance venues, bookstores, clubs or restaurants, and 300,000 sq.ft. will be devoted to traditional retail.
The Power Plant is being developed by Hampton Roads Partnership LLC, a partnership between Baltimore, Maryland-based The Cordish Company, JDN Development Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and the city of Hampton, which had been interested in seeing the area developed for several years and put out a request for proposals. The Cordish Company responded and its proposal was accepted by the city; Cordish has developed similar projects in Baltimore and Houston. The city has reportedly agreed to spend about $11 million on roads and infrastructure and around $5 million for tenant inducements to lure unique retailers to the project.
The Power Plant is designed as a town square streetscape along the lake, which is the focal point of the development. Tenants will face toward each other as well as outward to front a boardwalk along the lake. An industrial design theme will be carried throughout the project by the use of exposed brick and metal.
A lease commitment has been received from home improvement retailer Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Developers say they are courting tenants at other Cordish developments, including Barnes and Noble Booksellers, Hard Rock Cafe and the Walt Disney Co.
Located at the intersection of Interstate 64 and Mercury Boulevard, the project site is bordered by three expressways with a daily traffic count of approximately 300,000 cars. A population of approximately 90,000 resides within a three-mile radius.
The Power Plant of Hampton Roads is expected to break ground during spring 2000, with an anticipated opening in summer 2001. No delays are expected for the project despite reports of a possible lawsuit against previous development partners.
For further information, contact Reed S. Cordish, vice president, The Cordish Company, The Power Plant, 601 East Pratt Street, 6th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 410-752-5444, Fax 410-246-2211; e-mail: reed@cordish.com.