The project, when complete, is expected to have two million sf of retail, office, residential and hotel space. The estimated cost for the entire development is about $350 million, says Valerie Westley, development director for Forest City.
The 155-room Aloft is expected to open in July 2009, according to a released statement from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. A representative from Starwood Hotels did not respond to requests for interviews.
The hotel will be owned by LTD Management. The development is expected to have an additional hotel with 150 rooms and a conference center. Forest City is in discussions with several hotel operators for the second hotel, says Jerry Ferstman, VP of commercial development for the company. "That is still kind of up in the air," he says. Starwood is also one of the operators the developer is talking to for the second hotel, Ferstman confirmed.
Site work for a 400,000-sf to 450,000-sf power center is expected to begin this summer, with the center expected to open in the fall 2009. The project will have a large national general merchandise retailer, a company not yet being disclosed, Ferstman says.
Planning is also underway for age-directed housing on a 10-acre site and office condominiums on a 10-acre site, he says. The developer is partnering with Cobblestone, based in the Chicagoland area, for the office condominiums and age-directed housing, he says. The number of units and specifics for both projects are still being decided. "We are still trying to work out sf," he says. The age-directed housing will be for-sale units geared for people who have lived in the community and want to downsize, he says. "The people are left in a large home that they really do not need," he says.
The open air shopping center will also undergo an addition for a Village Road Show, an upscale movie cinema. When the roughly 50,000-sf addition is completed, the center will have a total of approximately 750,000 sf, Ferstman says. The $200 million open-air shopping center received LEED certification earlier this year, as previously reported by GlobeSt.com.
The shopping center is 93% occupied, including the anchors, and 86% occupied excluding the anchors, Ferstman says. Retailers include Bass Pro Shops, coach, H&M, Yankee Candle, Sunglasses Hut and Macy's. The asking lease rate is between $34 and $44 per sf, net.
The center also has approximately 40,000 sf of office space with about 12,000 sf currently occupied, he says. The asking lease rate is $30 per sf net.
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