In the News—Week of September 20 2021
Around the Nation
Lender takes control of Magnificent Mile hotel
The investment firm that owned the Hilton Chicago Magnificent Mile Suites has transferred back to the lender, The Real Deal reports. Rhode Island-based Procaccianti Companies had not paid on the $77.2 million loan for months and still owed LNR Partners almost $70 million. The property, a 345-room, 30-story building, is one of several downtown Chicago hotels to default on loans in recent months.
Energy & Environment
Energy company makes $250M pitch to school district with savings guaranteed
Midstate Energy is offering a major overhaul of the Mesa Public Schools that will save the district money in operation expenses, and the company will pay if the savings don’t materialize, the East Valley Tribune reports. The price tag for the program is a staggering $200 million ($250 million if you factor in interest). Mesa is a city in Arizona of 500,000, and the school district has about 64,000 students. “It’s a little different beast. We’re thinking innovatively,” Assistant Superintendent Scott Thompson says.
Texas
Texas Medical Center breaks ground on 37-acre biotech campus
The Texas Medical Center has started work on building a massive biotech project called TMC3, the Houston Chronicle reports. TMC3 is turning what was a 37-acre parking lot into 6 million square feet of offices, labs, retail and restaurants. The idea is to turn the area into a cluster of businesses that can develop and market treatments. TMC3 includes the Medical Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. “The impact on patients worldwide has the potential to be nothing short of life-changing,’’ Texas Medical Center’s CEO, William McKeon, tells the newspaper.
Florida firm leases massive building in Fort Wort for shipping center
SaddleCreek Logistic Services, which is based in Lakeland, Florida, has leased an industrial building with more than 800,000 square feet in Fort Worth, The Dallas Morning News reports. SaddleCreek Logistic Services provides logistics and transportation services. SaddleCreek has facilities throughout the country, including three in Texas. Dallas-based Ascendant Commercial Real Estate owns the building, which is near Interstate 35.
Arizona
Developers plan 7M-square-foot industrial park near Goodyear Airport
Two developers plan to break ground early next year on the first phase of an industrial park on an industrial scale, AZ Big Media reports. LPC Desert West, the Southwest regional office of Lincoln Property Company, and Scottsdale-based Harvard Investments have forged a joint venture to develop Goodyear AirPark, a 7-million-square-foot industrial project. The partners purchased 585 acres, one of the last large parcels already zoned for industrial that is left in the area. The first phase of construction is planned to include six buildings and more than 1.6 million square feet.
Mexico
Mayan Train has changed its route in effort to save almost $100 million
After a cost assessment showed a way to save $98 million, the Mayan Train’s path was altered, Mexico Business News reports. The train was supposed to go through the center of San Francisco de Campeche, the state capital of Campeche. The train will now be routed near the city’s airport with a stop there. This is the second time the train has changed its route. Last summer, a 122 stretch over the states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo had to be changed because it would take the train over a series of underground caves and was considered too hazardous.
