On Center
Centerra’s Sculpture Park
The Centerra development in Loveland, Colo., has unveiled a first-of-its-kind sculpture park in its midst.
The 26-acre Chapungu Sculpture Park at Centerra, located just east of the Promenade Shops at Centerra, is the first permanent exhibit of its kind in the United States. Developer McWhinney Enterprises, based in Loveland, donated the land for Chapungu Sculpture Park and advanced funding for the park improvements.
The park features 82 stone sculptures from the Shona tribe of Zimbabwe, Africa. Extensive site work, which included major landscape planting, trail construction and educational signage, was installed in preparation for the opening.
A major grand-opening celebration is scheduled for spring 2008.
Mixed-Use in the Heart of Jacksonville
A 12-acre site on Riverside Avenue, a vital thoroughfare in downtown Jacksonville, Fla., will become home to a mixed-use project that features 150,000 sq. ft. of retail, 240 hotel rooms and more than 800 residential units. Developed by Atlanta-based Miles Development Partners and Terremark Partners, also based in Atlanta, Brooklyn Park’s offerings will include a gourmet-grocery anchor, retail and dining, modern residential units and at least one boutique hotel.
According to Craig Kaser, principal of TerreMark Partners, Brooklyn Park will provide consumers with previously unavailable retail amenities in Jacksonville. “It isn’t often you find such a highly accessible location in an underserved market,” he said. “We believe we are on the front end of a growing business opportunity in Jacksonville.” The project began development late this year.
Breathing Life Into a New Orleans Funeral Home
What was once the House of Bultman Funeral Home on St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans will soon accommodate a 24,000-sq.-ft. Borders Bookstore. Thanks to a $9 million redevelopment by Covington, La.-based Stirling Properties, the landmark property where playwright Tennessee Williams wrote “Suddenly Last Summer” will not be demolished, but instead the facade will be retained and the interior carefully renovated. Borders is the first retailer of its kind to locate within Orleans Parish and the only national retailer on historic St. Charles Avenue. The store is expected to open in November 2008.
Raceway Style
In November, Freehold Raceway Mall in Freehold, N.J., opened its doors to a new Main Street destination that is the result of an extensive expansion and renovation project. A renovation of the interior of the existing mall was accompanied by a lifestyle expansion that added retail and dining concepts.
The mall, owned and operated by Santa Monica, Calif.-based The Macerich Co., has delivered nine top-requested retailers and restaurant options to the market in time for the holiday shopping season, among them The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, Ann Taylor, Chico’s and The Territory Ahead.
A majority of the retail space in the lifestyle expansion opened Nov. 9. The remaining space is slated to open in phases in 2008.