The City of Cleveland announced The Midline, a 350-plus acre redevelopment project that will convert long-vacant industrial land on the city’s near east side into a connected employment district, with
new trails, parks and transit access.

The development project, driven by The Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund (SRF), brings together fragmented, underutilized parcels along the Norfolk Southern rail corridor to form a unified district. A complete master planning project is underway for the site, led by the design teams of Merritt Chase and Utile.

The Midline is being developed as a district-wide strategy rather than a single-user project, with the goal of attracting larger-scale employers across manufacturing, research and development, office and supporting service sectors. Plans call for at least 1.5 million square feet of new industrial and commercial space, supporting more than 2,500 direct jobs within reach of public transit. At full build-out, the project is projected to generate up to $100 million in annual tax revenue for the city.

The now-thriving Neuhoff District used to be a meat packing plant, an assortment of old brick buildings on East Germantown’s riverfront that has been turned into offices, retail and hundreds of apartments. According to the Nashville Business Journal, the first phase cost $550 million.

New City Properties is moving forward on the second phase of Neuhoff District, which will include a new apartment building, an office building and retail structures.

The next phase of Neuhoff will rise at 1324 Second Ave. N. The existing building will be converted into retail space. The next phase also includes a seven-story office building as well as a six-story apartment building with 319 units.

New City Properties bought the 4.77-acre site where the second half of the project is slated to rise in 2019 for $26.25 million.

Cousins Properties Inc. invested $275 million in the Neuhoff development, and JP Morgan is contributing half of the equity. JE Dunn Construction is the general contractor.

Silverstein Properties unveiled a specially commissioned new sculpture by acclaimed architect and artist Frank Gehry in the lobby of 3 World Trade Center. Titled Untitled (Fish on Fire, Greenwich Street), the sculpture adds to Lower Manhattan’s burgeoning public art scene and represents the largest suspended fish sculpture ever created by Gehry.

Under the leadership of chairman Larry Silverstein, his wife Klara and CEO Lisa Silverstein, Silverstein Properties has demonstrated a commitment to integrating museum-quality artwork into its residential and commercial properties, the company said

“I am delighted to host Frank Gehry’s iconic fish sculpture – one of his largest – inside the 3 World Trade Center lobby,” said Larry A. Silverstein. “This collaboration is the latest in our company-wide commitment to public space art and creative thinking throughout our buildings.”

In addition to the public art works on view and Silver Art Projects, Silverstein Properties continues to expand its support for the arts through programs that engage local communities and artists.

Regency Centers Corporation will develop the Village at Seven Pines, a new ground-up retail project in Jacksonville. Sawmill Timber is selling the land that Regency will develop. Regency will then own and operate the shopping center in the community of 1,600 single-family homes, luxury apartments and more than 1 million square feet of commercial space.

The Jacksonville Business Journal reports the shopping center will serve as the retail component of the Seven Pines mixed-use project. The design for the 175,000-square-foot retail development includes a mix of retailers, personal services and dining options alongside a leading grocery anchor. The retail center will be located at the entrance to the Seven Pines community. The master-planned community is located between the beaches and downtown, south of J. Turner Butler Boulevard and the University of North Florida. It spans approximately 1,000 acres.

The transaction is expected to close in late 2025, and construction is slated to begin in early 2026.

Longfellow Real Estate Partners, among the largest privately owned investors and developers of life science real estate, has delivered its renovated San Mateo Science Center campus in mid-Peninsula. Acquired by Longfellow in 2021, the two buildings located at 901 and 951 Mariners Island Blvd. contain more than 260,000 square feet of Class A lab and office space intended to serve a wide range of life science and biotech companies.

Construction on the campus upgrades commenced in the middle of last year, with major components including the first round of move-in ready lab suites and campus amenities that will support future customers. In addition to these spaces, Longfellow is delivering several lab suites ranging from 9,000 to 22,000 square feet in the third quarter, with other opportunities for further growth or built-to-suit space within the building.

“Throughout our Bay Area portfolio, we’ve been able to make meaningful enhancements in the developments and communities we invest in, something our entire team is proud to be a part of,” said Tara Korlipara, director of development & market lead. “The Peninsula has long been a magnet for the world’s foremost scientific research & development, and we are excited to expand our offering of world-class space to these visionaries.”

Crew Campus Private REIT, a pure-play student housing REIT headquartered in Aliso Viejo, announced a performance fee waiver incentive program to benefit early investors. Following Crew Campus’ announcement in February of the acquisition of a 297-bed seed asset located near Baylor University in Waco, TX, investors are now poised to receive further benefits following changes to the offering and the launch of the incentive program.

“Investors who are accepted into the Crew Campus Private REIT during incentive periods will no longer be subject to the performance fee typically earned by the advisor,” said Jeff Daly, CEO of Crew Campus. “This Incentive Program fee waiver applies to the life of the investor’s investment; the original investment, as well as investments pursuant to the DRIP.”

Beyond the incentive program, Crew Campus is making the following changes to the offering in its most recent supplement: there will be no disposition fees associated with the sale of private REIT assets; the advisor’s performance allocation is being updated; and the minimum investment requirement is being reduced from $25,000 to $5,000.

Pictured: Oso Verde student housing in Waco, TX.

How are deals getting financed in today’s uncertain climate? On May 1, Connect Los Angeles 2024 brings together John Manning of MMCC, Gary Bechtel of Red Oak Capital Holdings, Felix Gutnikov of Thorofare and TR Hazelrigg, IV of Avatar Financial Group on the Financing with Debt Panel. Register now to hear from these industry experts. 

JPMorgan Chase has unveiled major renovation plans for Chase Tower, its local headquarters building at 10 S. Dearborn Street. The 850-foot, 60-story skyscraper will undergo a transformation, and the Loop’s tallest building will become a modern, workplace with flexible, collaborative spaces and an array of amenities.

Gensler is the lead architect on the project and the planned renovations include a refreshed and interconnected, plaza, lobby and mezzanine, refurbished work floors with state-of-the-art technology, a new fitness center, and an improved outdoor plaza area. Sustainable design improvement will include water-efficient plumbing fixtures and construction materials with low-embodied carbon and carbon-neutral carpet and flooring.

The project is expected to create more than 970 local construction jobs, with an additional impact of economic activity near $264 million for Cook County and $377 million for Illinois overall. The firm has more than 14,500 Chicagoland employees, including 7,200 at Chase Tower, and more than 15,600 employees in Illinois.