​Nearly 60 acres of vacant farmland on South Timberline Road are slated to become a 205-home subdivision. 
A hearing officer for the city of Fort Collins recently approved the development proposed by Fort Collins developer JD Padilla.
The site would be developed into 205 single-family lots with 151 single-family detached and 54 single-family attached homes, according to plans filed with the city.
The 57-acre triangular parcel owned by the Harry O. Rennat Trust and Ingrid M. Rennat Family Trust has small frontage along Timberline Road across from Bacon Elementary and Zephyr Road in southeast Fort Collins. It is just south of the Hansen property slated for development and just north of the Crowne at Timberline apartments.

Access to the property would be served by a public street connection from the Hansen property and an extension of Zephyr Road and Rosen Drive to the south and east, according to plans.
No homes can be occupied before the road extensions are complete, according to the approval.
​
COST OF LIVING: Data shows Fort Collins residents saving under utilities' time of day rate structure
The site is adjacent to two other residential projects working their way through the city's planning and development review process.

​Wingspan Development Group, an offshoot of Denver developer Kephart, has proposed 240 apartments on 10 acres of the Hansen Farm northwest of the intersection of Timberline and Zephyr roads. It is adjacent to 55 acres the Landhuis Co. plans to develop into 184 single-family detached and attached homes on 55 acres of the Hansen Farm.
A future development phase includes a proposed neighborhood park, split between the Rennat and Hansen properties.
The Rennat property is among a handful of sites Padilla is developing throughout Fort Collins, including The Wyatt, 366 apartments on the southwest corner of Harmony and Strauss Cabin roads. He owns the property just east of The Wyatt at Harmony and I-25 and is planning more apartments. He is also planning Morning Star, a senior-living complex in Old Town Fort Collins at North College Avenue and Cherry Street.
Pat Ferrier is a senior reporter covering business, health care and growth issues in Northern Colorado. Contact her at patferrier@coloradoan.com. Please support her work and that of other Coloradoan journalists by purchasing a subscription today.

A large Oak Creek apartment development, and a neighboring commercial project, are proceeding — collectively making up another major project near the new Ikea store. 
The 300-unit Hub13 apartment community will be developed on 33.6 acres at 7581 S. 13th St. That site is just east of I-94, and about two blocks north of West Drexel Avenue.
Mt. Prospect, Illinois-based Wingspan Development Group LLC plans to begin construction this spring on Hub13. The $57 million development's site plan was approved Tuesday night by the Oak Creek Plan Commission.
Wingspan plans to build six three-story buildings, each with 40 units, as well as three two-story buildings, each with 20 units. The monthly rents will range from $1,050 to $2,500, with the units ranging from studios to three-bedroom apartments.
The development also will feature a clubhouse with a leasing office and in-ground swimming pool near the entrance on South 13th Street.
Hub13 will take about 20 months to complete, said Jason Macklin, Wingspan's director of development.
Wingspan chose the site in part because it's in a community with a good quality of life and decent job growth, Macklin said.
Hub13 will be close to Drexel Town Square, a newer mixed-use development that includes several new stores and restaurants at Drexel and Howell avenues, and Ikea, which opened in 2018 just west of I-94 and north of Drexel Avenue.
Also, two hotels are to be developed just south of Ikea: a 121-room Homewood Suites by Hilton and a Tru by Hilton, with 90 to 100 rooms. Construction on the Homewood Suites is to begin this spring, with completion by summer 2021.

"All of these projects are amenities for our future residents," Macklin said.
Meanwhile, Hub13 will be just north of Highgate, a commercial development that is to have seven buildings totaling around 146,600 square feet.
Highgate will be anchored by a neighborhood hospital operated by Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin.
Other planned uses include stores, a restaurant and a Summit Credit Union branch. The $35 million development will be on 27 acres at 7781 S. 13th St.
Brookfield-based development firm Somerstone LLC has started grading that site, with parcels to be ready for construction by summer, said Andrew Vickers, Oak Creek city administrator.
Macklin said Wingspan has been communicating with Somerstone about coordinating pedestrian and car access between the two projects.
"We believe Highgate will be an amenity for our residents and vice versa," Macklin said.
Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

JUNE 14, 2019
​TAMPA, FL - Wingspan Development Group and ABC Capital Corp. are excited to announce the recently approved Jade at North Hyde Park, a dynamic new mixed-use development located in the heart of Tampa, FL. Throughout the development process, Wingspan and ABC Capital have worked closely to create something unique in the North Hyde Park neighborhood. 

Jade at North Hyde Park is a five-story wrap style mixed-use project with 192 luxury apartment units and 3,100 square feet of retail space with 850 square feet of outdoor covered seating area fronting Willow Ave and Cass Street. The property is conveniently located within minutes to the Riverwalk and Downtown Tampa and is just blocks to the University of Tampa. Jason Macklin, Wingspan Development Group’s Director of Development, saw the potential of the location immediately. “We really like the Tampa market and are excited to be a part of the City’s continued growth. Jade at North Hyde Park will be a great addition to Tampa for a number of reasons; not only will the residential aspect of the project be top notch, but the retail component of the property will be a nice addition to the North Hyde Park community and a great amenity for the residents.” Other property amenities will include a 24-hour fitness center, a resort-style swimming pool, a gathering lounge, and a cyber cafe with a conference room.
​
Wingspan Development Group delivers quality projects across multiple real estate segments; residential, commercial and land development. In addition to Jade at North Hyde Park, Wingspan has several other active projects in the central Florida market. The firm’s core team has over 80 years of real estate and construction experience combined with an unparalleled commitment to detail and execution. By blending broad capabilities and a nimble organization, Wingspan capitalizes on diverse market opportunities to create value for clients and stakeholders. Wingspan has offices in Mount Prospect, IL and Milwaukee, WI.
For more information, contact Christopher Coleman at 847.394.6200 or info@WingspanDev.com

by: Kevin McQuaid | Commercial Real Estate Editor, BusinessObserverFL

Demand for new space has surged, prompting many developers to respond to the need. 

​Tampa’s office market hit an inflection point roughly three years ago.

After years of relative stagnation brought about by last decade’s searing economic recession, white-collar employment growth had begun to surge, pushing the need for office space upward and vacancy down to single digits.

At least part of the push came from an economic transformation involving tech companies and away from the budget-conscious, back-office and call center operations that had dominated rent rolls in previous decades.

Rental rates, meanwhile, which for Class A space have traditionally hovered around — but rarely exceeded — $30 per square foot began climbing, too, though not at a corresponding pace.

The combination meant that it was financially feasible, at least mathematically, for Tampa to construct its first largely speculative, ground-up office building in nearly a decade in the suburban Westshore business district near Tampa International Airport.

Downtown, the drought has been even longer — more than a quarter of a century.

In response, nearly a dozen qualified developers have stepped up with viable plans to construct new office space in Westshore, downtown and the surrounding area.

Taken together, the plans call for more than 1.7 million square feet of new office space to be built — more than the 42-story skyscraper at 100 N. Tampa St. and the 38-story Tampa City Center tower combined.

Proven Need 
The offerings are as diffuse as Tampa itself.

In downtown, Strategic Property Partners — a joint venture between Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik and Bill Gates’ Cascade Investment LLC — has proposed about 625,000 square feet of new offices in a pair of buildings in the first phase of its $3 billion Water Street Tampa development, which is transforming 53 acres around Amalie Arena and the Tampa Convention Center.

Also downtown, SoHo Capital and Atlanta-based TPA Group have teamed to develop more than 300,000 square feet of office space in the 45-acre Heights mixed-use project, joining the Armature Works retail and co-working project and the 314-unit Pearl Apartments.

The duo’s seven-story Heights Union project was roughly halfway committed even prior to its official groundbreaking last month, to co-working giant WeWork, AxoGen Inc. and contractor DPR Construction.

Adam Harden, a SoHo Capital partner, says he expects the project to be fully leased prior to completion, based on current momentum and interest.

“The tenants that are already in place here prove there’s a need in the market,” says Harden.

In the Westshore area, a trio of new projects have been announced.

Tampa-based Zons Development is planning a 13-story, mixed-use development on land it has owned for more than four years on East Frontage Road. In addition to four floors of office space, the company’s Skyview Plaza will also contain a 138-room Cambria Hotel, retail and restaurant space and parking.

The Hillsborough County Aviation Authority’s proposed Skyview Center, meanwhile, a nine-story office development on the ground of and connected to the Tampa International Airport, will bring 158,000 square feet of office space to market.

Rounding out the three, Cousins Properties’ planned Corporate Center at International Plaza V is designed as a six-story office property adjacent to the developer’s other Westshore holdings.

Elsewhere, Bromley Cos. plans to begin work this summer on a seven-story office project that will be part of the company’s 22-acre Midtown Tampa development between downtown and Westshore.

And in North Tampa, Vision Properties of New Jersey has plans for a six-story office building that will become part of its 71-acre Renaissance Center complex.

New Supply
Each new project is buoyed by the experience leasing the limited amount of new supply that has come online in the area since 2015.

Vision Properties, for instance, began work on a 150,000-square-foot office project within Renaissance Center on a speculative basis early in 2018, only to have the entire building leased to AAA — The Auto Club Group prior to construction ending.

In Westshore, Metropolitan Life Insurance also broke ground in early 2018 on a new 250,000-square-foot office building in its 32-acre MetWest International business park.

Though the 10-story MetWest III had leased some 150,000 square feet to PricewaterhouseCoopers prior to cracking dirt, the consulting firm eventually expanded to lease the entire building.

Higher rental rates haven’t hurt developers, either. Each of the new suburban projects is commanding rental rates in the $40s per square foot, as is Heights Union. Water Street Tampa’s asking rates for its planned office towers, however, are projected to be even farther above the traditional market, in the mid-$50 per square foot range.

Commercial real estate brokerage firm Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P., in marketing materials to sell the 42-story 100 N. Tampa St. skyscraper in downtown, say Strategic Property Partners’ new offerings could command rates of $59 per square foot, a rate more typical of urban area of Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Nashville, Charlotte, N.C., or Austin, Texas.

Westshore rents in the first quarter of this year rose to their highest level ever, at $33.59 per square foot, a 6.5% gain year-over-year, according to commercial real estate broker Cushman & Wakefield.

Of course, few of the proposed projects are currently yet under construction, leaving developers proverbial wiggle room to shelve projects if conditions change. To date, only Heights Union, SPP’s loft-style Sparkman Wharf and MetWest III are under construction, though at roughly 730,000 square feet, new office development now stands at its highest level since the third quarter of 2008, Cushman & Wakefield notes.

Each also has lined up tenants, though Sparkman Wharf to date has just a lone commitment of 9,500 square feet to accounting firm RSM US LLP.

Much of the construction is offset, of course, by the more than 469,000 square feet of new leasing activity that occurred in Tampa in the initial three months of the year.

“There’s been a lot of pent-up demand in the Tampa market,” says Claire Calzon, an executive managing director of office services in Tampa for Colliers International Tampa Bay.

“There’s been a lot of pent-up demand in the Tampa market." — Claire Calzon, executive managing director of office services, Colliers International Tampa Bay.

“Vision (Properties) was very successful because of that pent-up demand, and others will be, too. The question now is how much is too much new product?”

SoHo Capital’s Harden says he isn’t worried about the plethora of new projects.

“I’m not concerned about the competition here,” he says. “We’re creating a walkable, viable area that will different than anywhere else. Water Street (Tampa) isn’t my competition, either. They’re an ally. Charlotte, Austin, Fort Lauderdale — that’s our competition.

“But we’re putting in a higher effort here, and I think tenants can discern that quality, and we’re taking the long view at the Heights,” Harden adds.

Calzon says she isn’t overly concerned about the number of projects, the collective square footage being proposed, nor the overall lack of leasing activity to date in Tampa, either.

“Tampa has historically never been much of a pre-leasing market,” she says. “Developers have had to come out of the ground first before they get real traction and attention, and I think that’s the case now, too.”

But she cautions that if all of the projects proposed reach fruition, Tampa could see the kind of office glut that plagued the city throughout the late 1980s and caused rental rates and occupancy to plummet.

“Can all the new space be absorbed readily? No,” she says. “But if people and business continue flocking to Florida as they have the past several years, significant absorption will occur.”

Still, many of the proposed projects are slated to come online simultaneously, if they come out of the ground at all.

The SoHo Capital/TPA joint venture is expected to deliver its new building next year, as is Cousins’ Corporate Center V project.

In 2021, Skyview Plaza, Skyview Center, Midtown One at Midtown Plaza and 1001 Water St., in Water Street Tampa, are anticipated to debut.

And if business activity continues unabated and the 1.7 million square feet are absorbed in a timely manner?

Not to worry.

SoHo Capital, Zons Development, Strategic Property Partners, Bromley Cos. and Vision Properties already have plans on their collective drawing boards for an additional 1.7 million square feet of new office space in subsequent phases of their projects.

Article originally posted to Business Observer FL