Plans for the £500m Edinburgh Marina development at Granton, a district of the Scottish capital city, have secured the go-ahead from the City of Edinburgh Council’s development management committee.
Construction of the Wheeling Town Center mixed-use development in Illinois is set to start by the end of the year.
Pharmaceutical firm Fresenius Kabi will invest nearly $250m over 10 years to expand its Melrose Park site in Illinois.
Mixed-use property regeneration specialist U+I has bagged a contract from landowner Parkdale Investments for a £95M mixed-use regeneration project in North East London.The project on the Forest Works site on Blackhorse Road will lead to the creation of 300 new homes, as well as 59,000sq m of commercial space.U+I CEO Matthew Weiner said: "We are delighted to have added this mixed-use regeneration opportunity to our significant development pipeline. Forest Works is set to deliver gains to U+I in the next three to five years in line with our stated IRR targets, as well as contributing to the socio-economic growth of the local area.“This latest transaction further demonstrates our ability to secure regeneration opportunities in an equity-light manner within emerging parts of the London City Region.”U+I will work alongside the local council and community to develop plans for Forest Works. An initial planning application is anticipated to be submitted by early 2017.The London Borough of Waltham Forest aims to deliver 2,500 new homes and 1,000 new jobs over the next decade within the new Blackhorse Lane housing zone.
Australian construction firm Brookfield Multiplex has completed construction work on a residential building in Southbank, Melbourne.The $124M project, named Platinum Tower, includes 438 apartments available in one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom options.The development, designed by Squillace, features a swimming pool, a sauna, a spa, a gym, private dining, winter gardens and a sky lounge with views of Melbourne CBD, Albert Park and Port Phillip Bay.The tower’s podium includes retail space, a ground level restaurant and café and concierge facilities for residents. It also provides nine levels of car parking.Brookfield Multiplex Victoria regional managing director Graham Cottam said: “We are delighted to deliver another premium residential tower to Melbourne’s skyline. We have drawn on our specialist expertise to meet construction challenges associated with delivering high-rise towers in the busy CBD environment.”The project created 1,900 jobs during construction and was completed in just under two years.
Medical University of South Carolina has broken ground on the $385M Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital and Pearl Tourville Women’s Pavilion in South Carolina.The 10-storey project will include paediatric procedural-surgical capacities, including rooms for bronchoscopy, endoscopy, surgery and interventional radiology.The development will include a dedicated floor for the care of children with cancer and a comprehensive paediatric heart centre.It will also feature two obstetrical operating rooms, a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with 82 private rooms, and an advanced fetal care centre.Medical University of South Carolina’s president David Cole said: “We awarded degrees to more students than ever before, and are on pace to bring in more than $250M in sponsored research funding.”The development is scheduled to open in 2019.
Southeast Asia is in need of $2.1tr in infrastructure spending by 2030 to meet their growing population demands, according to a report by banking group HSBC.HSBC economist Joseph Incalcaterra stated in the report that the urban population in the region will rise by over 90M by 2030 and that the planned infrastructure spending would only cover $910bn.Incalcaterra said: “To fill the infrastructure gap, more non-government financing is necessary, both from private sources and institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.”The six countries covered in the report are Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.According to the report, regional governments have to increase infrastructure spending. Low- to middle-income economies should spend at least 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on infrastructure — only Vietnam has been meeting this target.Indonesia and the Philippines have been increasing infrastructure budgets, while Thailand and Singapore had promised increased infrastructure spending and Malaysia should attract more investment. Incalcaterra added: “Governments across the region thus need to be much more aggressive with increasing PPP programmes and instituting proper reforms to deepen capital markets. Only that will fill ASEAN’s gaping infrastructure pothole.”
Extell Development Company has partnered with SMI USA to develop a $3bn residential and commercial project in midtown Manhattan.The 1,550ft-high Central Park Tower — to be located at 225 West 57th Street — is expected to be the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere when completed.The project was designed by Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture — which designed the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai — and is set to house fashion retailer Nordstrom’s first New York store.Gary Barnett, founder and CEO of Extell Development Company, said: “This strategic alliance with SMI brings together two international industry leaders with a track record of creating iconic global skyscrapers. SMI has developed the tallest building in Shanghai and we look forward to our partnership as we jointly develop the tallest building in New York City.“We believe the superb location, views, design and quality of Central Park Tower will make it the most important residential building ever to be built in New York City and expect it to be a great success for Extell and SMI.”The project is scheduled for completion in 2019.
Finbar Group is set to develop three residential towers in Western Australia’s Applecross suburb.The $350M three-stage project will be built on an 8,072sq m site and will feature 440 apartments with independent resort-style amenities. The ground floor will house commercial property.Finbar’s managing director Darren Pateman said: “This development will provide different living options to suit a range of buyers with needs that reflect their individual situations including downsizers who want to remain in their existing area, families, couples and younger buyers wanting to get a foothold into the new apartment market in a postcode that would otherwise be unobtainable for them.”Finbar has already started detailed design work on the project and hopes to submit the three stages for consideration and approval within the next two months. The company intends to begin the first stage of marketing early next year.
Saudi Arabia is planning an $800M social housing project in partnership with the private sector, according to reports in the local media.The new residential units will be handed to widows and orphans in cooperation with the Ministry of Housing, and charities. The Kingdom is currently tackling a shortage of housing — in December 2015, the Housing Ministry said that the country will need an extra 3M houses by 2025.The Saudi Arabia government is urging investors to finance the project via a build-operate-transfer (BOT) or public-private partnership.Under the BOT, investors would fund the construction and receive financial returns from the sale or rent of the homes.
Developer Nakheel has released construction tenders for two new hotels in Dubai.The two, 3-star hotels will add a total of 670 rooms to the company’s hospitality portfolio.A 295-room hotel will be built in a 17,000sq m site at Dragon City — a shopping, residential and leisure destination — and will feature a restaurant, coffee shop and gym.The 15-storey, 375-room hotel, to be built at Ibn Battuta Mall, will include an all-day restaurant, gym and pool deck.The buildings are set to complement existing hotels at the two retail hubs, where major expansions will continue. The Dragon City expansion includes 204,000sq m of retail space, two residential towers containing 1,120 apartments and a car park facility with 6,200 spaces. Once completed, it will increase the size of the city to more than 1M sq m.The 400,000sq m expansion of Ibn Battuta features a 93,000sq m mall, a new cinema complex and a 7,000–space car park.
Chinese technology firm LeEco is set to invest RMB12bn ($1.8bn) to build an electric car plant in the eastern Zhejiang province of China.The plant, to be located near the Mogan Mountain in eastern Zhejiang, will have an annual production capacity of 400,000 battery-powered vehicles. The project will be carried out in two phases and will be part of a planned $3bn theme park, which will comprise auto-related elements. The company did not disclose details about when construction would commence on the plant or park.LeEco also plans to produce cars at a factory being built by US strategic partner Faraday Future in Las Vegas.
US-based brokerage and banking company Charles Schwab is set to construct a new regional campus in Westlake, Texas.The new $100M campus will feature more than 47,000sq m of commercial office space.The complex will be part of a large mixed-use development project — developed in coordination with Hillwood Properties — with Schwab’s campus being developed on 70 acres of land. Schwab’s executive vice president Dennis Howard said: “We’re excited to have this opportunity to expand our presence in Texas, and we’ll be ramping up our recruiting efforts from among the great wealth of employee talent in and around Westlake.“Like Austin, where we already have approximately 1,500 employees, and El Paso where we are building our presence, the Dallas/Fort Worth area is an important location for Schwab to better serve our clients. We look forward to significantly expanding our footprint there over the coming years.”The company is expected to create more than 1,200 new jobs over the next 10 years at the proposed campus. Construction work is expected to commence in 2017.
UAE-based developer Nakheel has awarded an AED1.5bn ($408.3M) contract to Dhabi Contracting for the construction of its Al Khail Avenue retail, dining and entertainment hub in Dubai.The 186,000sq m Al Khail Avenue has more than 112,000sq m of leasable space, 70% of which is already booked. It will feature cafes and restaurants, and a 4,000-space multi-storey car park, which can be accessed directly from Al Khail Road.The developer it is also adding a 252-room hotel to the complex. The 18-storey hotel will feature an all-day restaurant, coffee shop, lounge, outdoor terrace, pool deck gymnasium and car park. It will be directly connected to Al Khail Avenue and its 350 shops, restaurants and entertainment outlets. Earthworks at the site — alongside Dubai’s Al Khail Road on the edge of the Jumeirah Village Triangle (JVT) community — finished in June 2016 and construction work is scheduled to commence in October 2016. The development is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2019.
Cumbria County Council has given the go-ahead to the construction of two new vaults and the extension of a third vault at the UK’s Low level Waste Repository (LLWR).The project will also involve the construction of a final cap over existing and new vaults and seven clay-lined trenches.The repository’s expansion “will ensure the future of the facility until 2050”, according to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).Construction work is expected to commence in 2017.LLWR opened in 1957 and receives low-level waste from various producers, including nuclear power stations, defence establishments, general industry, hospitals and universities. * This is a version of an article originally published in Nuclear Engineering International.
Kraus-Anderson Construction Company has secured a contract to remodel and expand the high school and middle school for the Hudson School District in Hudson, Wisconsin.The scope of the contract will include the construction of a two-storey classroom and gymnasium at the middle school.Work will also involve additions and upgrades to the high school, including seating, lighting and sound upgrades, as well as a new athletic stadium.The project has been designed by Bray Architects and will entail an investment of $93.9M. Kraus-Anderson’s project manager Gary Zifko said: “The expansion will greatly enhance Hudson schools and become an even bigger asset for the community.”Construction work on the middle school is expected to commence in the end of 2016, and will be completed in June 2017. Work on the high school is slated to begin in April 2017, and be finished by mid-2019.“As we proceed to work on the Hudson schools — while students, teachers and staff are at work — it will continue to be our highest priority to put safety and security first, with as little disruption as possible,” Zifko added.Hudson Middle School serves nearly 1,300 students, while Hudson High School caters about 1,800 students.
Willmott Residential has secured planning consent from Barnet Council to develop 188 homes in Mill Hill, London.The development — named Prime Place, Millbrook Park — will feature 159 homes for private sale and 29 homes for affordable rent.Designed by Broadway Malyan, the 2.7-acre project will include a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments and penthouses, together with a small number of three- and four-bedroom houses.The development will also feature an underground parking facility and a low carbon district heating system. The housing units are set to be located within a short walk from Mill Hill East underground station and less than 14km from central London.Prime Place’s managing director Brian Brady said: "Millbrook Park is an ideal fit for Prime Place’s strategy of providing outstanding homes in popular locations and close to excellent transport links. We are delighted to achieve approval from Barnet Council and anticipate starting work on site very soon.”
Construction services firm EllisDon has secured a $70.9M contract from Seneca College and Infrastructure Ontario to design, build and finance Seneca College’s King Campus expansion.
Hong Kong-based property developer Far East Consortium International (FEC) has received a contract from Manchester Place and The Co-op for a housing development near Victoria Station in Manchester, UK. The project will include the construction of over 600 homes across four sites at Angel Meadow Park as part of the NOMA neighbourhood.NOMA — being delivered by a partnership between The Co-Operative Group and Hermes Investment Management — is a 20-acre neighbourhood in Manchester city centre, which will include new homes, offices, hotels, and retail and leisure space. The housing units, spanning across a total area of about 9,600sq m, will be for sale and rent, and will feature a landmark tower.FEC’s managing director Chris Hoong said: "This is one of the most exciting residential opportunities not just in Manchester but in the UK. We are very honoured and excited to be working with NOMA and the City Council. “We have assembled a team with the skills to deliver a new neighbourhood of international calibre and we would like this to be the start of a long relationship with the city.”Manchester Place CEO Paul Beardmore said: "This is an important site that will help to unlock the potential of the Irk Valley and Collyhurst. We are delighted to have reached this stage and the scale of the investment conveys a strong message of confidence to the market."
Emaar Properties has unveiled new residential towers in the Opera District in Downtown Dubai.The “Act One | Act Two” residences are housed in 52- and 46-storey towers with views of the Burj Khalifa and Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, and located close to the Dubai Mall. The towers will feature 718 residential units as well as retail units and cafes, a health club, a spa and swimming pools.Emaar Properties’ managing director Ahmad Al Matrooshi said: “Act One | Act Two are truly a defining destination of choice for all culturally inclined as they now have the unique value proposition of living right next door to Dubai Opera.“A premium development that celebrates the vibrant cultural lifestyle of the city, the residences bring a one-of-a-kind lifestyle choice to the city.“The international launch of the project underlines the strong demand from discerning investors who cherish the inspired way of life that Act One | Act Two brings.”The residential towers will be launched internationally on a sales event in London on Wednesday, 10 August, at Harrods, followed by the Dubai launch on Thursday, 11 August, at Emaar Sales Centres.