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July 16, 2007
Forest City in the News
WhashBiz Blog, via WashingtonPost.com, Forest City Picks Broker for Stadium-Area Leasing
More real estate news around the new stadium: Forest City Washington, Inc., part of Cleveland-based Forest City Enterprises, selected CB Richard Ellis as the exclusive office brokerage firm to handle the leasing of the first office building that Forest City is developing in Southeast as a part of its sprawling, 42-acre urban mixed-used project known as The Yards.
I wrote about The Yards and Forest City Washington's president, Deborah Ratner Salzberg, a few weeks ago. [See next]
The Washington Post, A Neighborhood Rises at The Yards
Unlike Bruce Ratner and Frank Gehry in Brooklyn, Deborah Ratner Salzberg is creating a neighborhood, only not "from scratch:"
Empty brick warehouses where torpedo tubes and gun barrels once were assembled will be replaced by stores, offices, restaurants and lofts. Junkyards, car-repair shops and abandoned homes will gradually give way to hotels, government office buildings and a five-acre park along the waterfront. A former lumber shed will become a restaurant pavilion for residents as well as fans who will come to the $610 million baseball stadium that the District is building for the Nationals -- the anchor for the area's redevelopment.
The Yards: This 42-acre site, once an annex to the Washington Navy Yard, is adjacent to the Nationals' baseball stadium that is scheduled to open next year. Forest City plans to turn old industrial buildings into residential and retail space; new construction includes eight office buildings and more residences, and a five-acre waterfront park.
"You really can create a neighborhood, and that's exactly what we're doing," says Deborah Ratner Salzberg, 54, president of Forest City Washington. "We are building . . . an active waterfront that will transform an entire section of this city."
...
Salzberg said she was inspired to develop retail in Washington by a Forest City project in Brooklyn called Atlantic Center, which became very profitable by bringing Old Navy and similar stores to the inner city.
NoLandGrab: The State of New York bailed the Atlantic Center mall out by moving the Department of Motor Vehicles into the complex to become the largest tenant. Taxpayers will feel better knowing that the mall is now "very profitable."
LA Downtown News, The $70 Million GLO Apartments Add Another Light to City West
Kevin Ratner is quoted in an article about "City West" in LA:
Developers are banking that City West will become the next big Downtown Los Angeles neighborhood, following the surge in the Historic Core and South Park. GLO's arrival is helping to create a critical mass of residents on the once desolate stretch.
"Obviously with Vero opening and all the stuff Palmer is doing it's going to be great," said Kevin Ratner of Forest City Residential West, which redeveloped the neighboring 1100 Wilshire building. "There's more foot traffic and it feels safer on the streets. It all adds to the sense of place. With more ground floor retail coming in, more restaurants and drugstores, it will be very helpful.
The Eagle Tribune [N. Andover, MA], Spreading their influence: Megadevelopers take aim at diner, other old properties
The fight to save an historic diner in Haverhill symbolizes the fault lines between mega developers Forest City and Bacon Communities and the town:
While some at City Hall cheer the progress made by developers, at least one city preservationist is worried Haverhill will lose a piece of its history.
Thomas Spitalere, chairman of the city's Historical Commission, said diner cars are historic landmarks and he wants Forest City to consider preserving Kenny's restaurant.
Posted by lumi at July 16, 2007 7:50 AM