Mixed-Use Development Newsbriefs

National News and Trends
The Trend: Building Urban Villages -- Remade City Centers Find Mass Appeal
Developer Has Track Record of 'Urban Makeovers'
Exceptional Mixed-Use Projects CD, Volume 1 Now Available

Regional News
Designer, Developer Make for Fetching Team (on Florida Mixed-Use Project) (FL)
Residential to Follow Retail at Palm Coast Center (FL)
$563M Worcester Mixed-Use Moves Forward (MA)
Target Plans a 'Third Downtown' (With New Mixed-Use Project) (MN)
Mutual of Omaha Unveils $250 Million Redevelopment (NE)
News From the Pennsylvania General Assembly: (Mixed-Use Is in the Keystone State's Future) (PA)
Loudoun Development: Mixed-Use Plan Is Approved (VA)

National News and Trends

The Trend: Building Urban Villages -- Remade City Centers Find Mass Appeal
Washington Post (11/13/06) P. D1; Hart, Kim

New Urban News reports that the number of mixed-use developments of 15 acres or more has been increasing annually by nearly 28 percent since 1996. The most recent year for which figures were available is 2004. In that year, a total of 650 mixed-use projects were in various stages of planning, development and completion nationwide. Many of these projects have formed what are considered "urban villages," which combine retail, residential and office space in a compact environment. Studies have shown that retail businesses in these urban villages typically generate more revenue than those in traditional strip malls and shopping centers. Additionally, mixed-use urban villages have proven to attract a desirable set of demographics, namely young professionals in dual-income households, retirees and empty-nesters. Congress for the New Urbanism President John Norquist comments, "What's really driving [the trend] is profit. Everybody's trying to recreate the urban form because that's what the consumer wants."
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Developer Has Track Record of 'Urban Makeovers'
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (10/27/06) Stroud, Jerri

Cordish Co. has emerged as a leader in the mixed-use development niche. The Baltimore-based firm's projects include partnering in the development of Ballpark Village, a mixed-use project in St. Louis. It also has been active in Baltimore's Inner Harbor and is the developer of record on the Kansas City Power & Light District, a $600 million project now under construction on the south side of Kansas City's downtown. Still another project is Bayou Place in Houston, which features restaurants, a 12-screen cinema and newly added office space. Residential units are now being considered. Christopher B. Leinberger, a visiting fellow in metropolitan policy at the Brookings Institution, states that mixed-use projects are among the riskiest in property development. Leinberger notes that Cordish typically succeeds because it designs projects that are large enough to "allow critical mass to be achieved very quickly."
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Exceptional Mixed-Use Projects CD, Volume 1 Now Available

Learn from today’s successful mixed-use developers! CD contains 24 case studies in full color, with tips on how to gauge the market, win over community stakeholders, and finance, phase and market your project. Member Price: $49.95
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Berdugo Homes is planning a major mixed-use project in Miami. The $400 million Landmark at Doral will boast one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom condos and townhouses that range from 700 square feet to more than 3,000 square feet with a preconstruction price range of $300,000 to under $1 million. Construction at the site is now under way, and the residential portion is scheduled to be completed by mid-2007. In addition to the residential units, plans call for 580,000 square feet of office and retail space, plus five acres of parks. It is estimated that it will take two to three years for the entire project to be completed. Berdugo teamed up with fashion designer Angel Sanchez during the initial consumer sales launch held recently, an event where more than 200 Landmark at Doral homes were sold. The flashy event was part real-estate sale, part fashion show.
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Residential to Follow Retail at Palm Coast Center (FL)
Jacksonville Business Journal (11/06/06) Conte, Christian

The residential phase of the 1,557-acre Palm Coast Town Center in Jacksonville will soon be underway, as a shopping center with a 47,000-square-foot Publix Super Market and 20,000 sq. ft. of retail space will be opened by the end of November. Michael Construction will soon break ground on 134 age-targeted condominiums at the site, while Portofino Grande Development Group LLC will begin building 132 villas. Another condo project with ground-floor retail space will be undertaken by DiMare Construction. The largest of the residential projects will be built by ICI Homes Inc., which is planning 357 single-family homes and townhouses plus 418 condos to be constructed in three phases. In all, the Palm Coast Town Center mixed-use project will encompass 3,000 residential units, 3.5 million sq. ft. of retail space and 1.2 million sq. ft. of office space when finished in about 10 or 15 years.
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$563M Worcester Mixed-Use Moves Forward (MA)
Commercial Property News (10/27/06)

Berkeley Investments has teamed up with the City of Worcester, Mass., to sign a development accord for the $563 million CitySquare project. The development will transform a 20.2-acre former shopping mall in downtown Worcester into a mixed-use "urban village" offering 2.2 million square feet of office, retail, residential, medical and entertainment space. CitySquare is being funded by $470 million in private capital from Berkeley and $94 million in public funds.
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Target Plans a 'Third Downtown' (With New Mixed-Use Project) (MN)
St. Paul Pioneer Press (11/05/06) Sitaramiah, Gita

In Minnesota, Target Corp. is planning a massive mixed-use project in the Brooklyn Park area north of the Twin Cities that essentially will be the equivalent of another downtown St. Paul. Dubbed the Target Northern Campus, most of the project will be offices for the locally based retailer's growing payroll. The plan calls for about 10 million square feet in all, which will be built over the next several years on a 130-acre parcel. In addition to offices, the $1.75 billion development will boast retail stores, an undisclosed amount of housing, hotels and a public park. Officials, though, note that the project could pose some significant competitive challenges for commercial real estate players in both downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul, as Target will likely no longer be a key driver in those sectors' commercial office scenes. St. Paul, meanwhile, currently is suffering from a glut of vacant offices and could face even more competition for tenants if building owners in Minneapolis start to compete more aggressively. Target officials have stated that the retailer will maintain its 10,000-employee presence in downtown Minneapolis. But expansion of its staff will be funneled to its new Brooklyn Park digs.
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Mutual of Omaha Unveils $250 Million Redevelopment (NE)
Lincoln Journal Star (NE) (10/19/06)

In October, Mutual of Omaha and partner ECI Investment Advisors Inc. took the wraps off Midtown Crossing at Turner Park, a $250 million mixed-use project to be built in Lincoln, Neb. The project will feature seven buildings in all, including nearly 200,000 square feet of leasable space for stores, eateries and entertainment venues. Also part of the mix will be around 600 rental apartments and for-sale condominiums in addition to parking for an estimated 2,200 vehicles. Construction of the complex will begin in the spring of 2007 and should conclude in summer 2009. Owned by Mutual of Omaha, the development site is currently home to a string of now-vacant office buildings and parking lots.
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News From the Pennsylvania General Assembly: (Mixed-Use Is in the Keystone State's Future) (PA)
Wilkes Barre Times Leader (PA) (10/24/06)

A measure that would grant public housing authorities in Pennsylvania the power to fund, design, and operate mixed-use developments has sailed through a state Senate vote. Under the bill, low-income housing would be a mandatory component of mixed-use projects. Those developments not incorporating it directly would have to choose a site no more than two miles from an existing low-income housing project that is owned, leased, held or financed by the authority. After winning unanimous support in the Senate, the proposal now moves to the state House of Representatives for approval.
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Loudoun Development: Mixed-Use Plan Is Approved (VA)
Washington Post (10/18/06) P. B5; Gardner, Amy

In Virginia, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors has green-lit a plan to remake a commercial area near Dulles International Airport into a mixed-use corridor of stores, apartments, office space and night spots. Dubbed the Route 50 plan, the project's blueprint calls for high-end retail and office space and high-density condominiums in an area that measures roughly 1,500 acres. The plan's advocates say the plan encourages "Main Street"-style development that will enable people to easily live, work and play in the same general area. The plan is one of three major land-use proposals before the Board of Supervisors this fall.
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