| City purchases Brookdale Ford site with hopes for an overhaul
A 10-acre piece of land might be the key to spurring redevelopment in Brooklyn Center's commercial and transportation hub. The Brookdale Ford site is a small part of a 113-acre area that the city wants redeveloped, but city officials are hoping it will attract a developer who will build shops and housing where vacant strip malls and an empty car dealership now sit. The city's Economic Development Authority and owners of the property approved the purchase of the property for $6.45 million last week. The money will come from tax increment financing funds that the city planned to use for redevelopment. "The city is purchasing the property and looking to jump-start development," Mayor Tim Willson said. "When you look at the underutilized land, it's sad to see." In 2001, the Metropolitan Council designated the area north of Brookdale Shopping Center as one of six "opportunity sites" in the metro area.
Benaroya buys Everett office park for $4.45M
The Benaroya Co. said it's purchased the seven-building Park Place Plaza office park in Everett for $4.45 million. The complex is located at 111 S.E. Everett Mall Way and was bought from Winward Shopping Center of Hawaii. The 37,000-square-foot complex will be marketed as seven separate parcels, said officials at Seattle-based Benaroya. .
City pushes to keep Carson's
HAMMOND | City officials are mounting a campaign to persuade Bon Ton, owner of the Carson Pirie Scott store, to keep the retailer in Hammond.The city's Web site contains a plea to the public by Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. to contact the store's parent company in a show of support and recently the city announced a public meeting, petition drive and rally.Keeping the store in Hammond plays a pivotal role in the long-lagging redevelopment of the Woodmar shopping center at Indianapolis Boulevard and 165th Street.At stake for Praedium Development principal George Markopoulis, owner of the center, is a $4.5 million incentive package.City officials have been explicit in saying the deal hangs on the inclusion of the Carson store, long a fixture at the site."As far as I know, the developer is still committed to keeping Carson's on that site and to develop a center that will make Hammond proud," attorney Calvin Bellamy said Monday.
Developer envisions Warminster Plaza expansion
The new owners of the Warminster Plaza shopping center say they want to expand and modernize the partially empty shopping center. The 12-acre property at 654 York Road - across from Archbishop Wood High School - is home to Petco and other stores. It was sold last year for $12.4 million to Philadelphia-based Walnut Street Capital. Eric Kuhn, vice president of GM Suburban Development, said at a township supervisors meeting Thursday that his company wants to rezone the land from shopping center to commercial. The shopping center totals 120,000 square feet. Kuhn said the update would add approximately 20,000 square feet of commercial space. Both GM Suburban Development and Walnut Street Capital are run by Philadelphia developer Joe Grasso. His companies have developed at least 27 shopping centers throughout the region, Kuhn said.
Victoria’s Secret ads toned down at Gilbert mall
Instead, new, toned-down versions of Victorias Secrets annual national campaign focus from the belly up and on the smiling faces of models. Taken down are signs that displayed models long legs and panties. One photo of two models in their bras remains. But most others focus on faces, and in the place of some images are gray signs that say, Here come the angels. I think it looks a lot better, said Vicki Parry, a Gilbert resident who was among more than a dozen who wrote letters and called town officials and Westcor, which owns the shopping center, asking them to change what they considered soft porn. SanTan Village property manager Sheila Hunter said Limited Brands, the owner of Victorias Secret, used some different images that were taken as part of the same campaign to tone down the advertisements in the mall .
|
