Developer Dmyterko & Wright Partners has broken ground on a $50 million entertainment and retail complex on 18 acres in Hazelwood, Missouri, as reported in GlobeSt.com. The Crescent Pointe at the Mills property at Highway 370 and St. Louis Mills Boulevard is next to St. Louis Mills Mall and a new 130,000-sf Cabela’s. The project includes a Splash Universe Hotel and Water Park with 130 rooms, and 80,000 sf of retail space and is is expected to be complete by fall 2008.

Bob Cissell of Cissell Mueller Co. LLC is leasing the retail space and says the owner hopes to lease to one bank, a convenience store and junior anchors such as ladies clothing, furniture stores and restaurants.

“It’s more geared toward families,” Cissell said. “The water park will be bringing in families from 200 miles away.”

He said the retail portion will be build-to-suit and pad-ready. Retail lease rates for the St. Louis area are at about $11.66 per sf, according to a first quarter Grubb & Ellis market report. St. Louis Mills, a regional mall, has more than 175 stores, and is owned by Simon Property Group.

Dmyterko & Wright Partners is developing an 18-acre, $50 million Crescent Pointe at the Mills in Hazelwood, at Highway 370 and St. Louis Mills Boulevard, adjacent to the St. Louis Mills Mall. The development will include 80,000 square feet of retail space, three to five specialty restaurants, and Splash Universe Hotel & Water Park with a 130-room hotel, conference center, salon and day spa. Cissell Mueller Company, LLC is leasing the retail space. Completion is scheduled for summer or fall 2008.

Source: RE Business Online

Wellspring Development Company has announced Rock Hill Trails, a new sustainable 170 acre residential development in Madison County, Illinois near Edwardsville and Wood River. All homes in the development will conform to the “Green Building Guidelines” of the National Association of Home Builders and will be eligible for LEED certification.

According to Wellspring, the development will feature “high performance homes,” open spaces with trails and nature corridors, and neighborhood amenities. The homes will be built in clusters that offer privacy as well as open space, interconnected walking paths and trails, community gardens, a community center and common space where neighbors can gather.

Lots will be designed to allow homeowners to add energy-saving and conservation features such as geothermal heating and cooling systems, cisterns to capture rainwater for irrigation and solar voltaic panels.

The lead builder is Belcher Homes, engineer is SMS Engineers and the architectural consultant is Answers Inc. Architects.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development has approved four St. Louis projects for a total of $2,539,070 in Brownfield Redevelopment tax credits. The credits will be used to renovate and rehabilitate contaminated commercial or industrial sites that are abandoned or underutilized.

Tudor Retail Partners, LLC - up to $216,324 in remediation tax credits to redevelop the Tudor Building at 1901-1933 Washington Ave. into retail and commercial office space, creating 65 jobs. The property is proposed as “blighted” by the city of St. Louis and is under a proposed redevelopment plan. Over 90 percent of the building has not been occupied for at least 10 years.

1911 Locust Partners, LLC, - remediation tax credits for up to $592,340 to redevelop a two-story commercial warehouse building at 1911 Locust St. and a vacant lot at 1921 Locust St. into residential, retail and commercial office space, creating 53 jobs. The building has been underutilized for at least 10 years and the lot at 1921 Locust St. has been abandoned for over 30 years.

MB Lofts, LLC - up to $1,424,818 in remediation tax credits to redevelop the Metropolitan Building, 500 North Grand Blvd. into hotel, retail and commercial office space, creating a projected 102 jobs. The 97,078 square foot building has been vacant for at least five years.

1426 Washington Avenue, LLC - remediation tax credits up to $305,588 to redevelop the Monkey Building Building, 1426-1430 Washington Ave. into retail and commercial office space, creating 87 jobs. The 30,000 square foot building has been underutilized for at least 10 years and has been occupied only by an 800 square foot real estate office in recent years.

Expansion Magazine has released their ninth annual “America’s 50 Hottest Cities” list and St. Louis made the cut. Cities were listed alphabetically, not in rank order.

The list is based strictly on perceptions rather than cold, hard data, according to managing editor Ken Krizner. The publication polled 80 prominent site location consultants on their choices for the nation’s best cities for expanding and relocating companies. Consultants ranked metro areas according to business environment, work force quality, operating costs, incentive programs, work force training programs, and the ease of working with the local political and economic development community.

All 362 Metropolitan Statistical Areas were considered, so the cities that make America’s 50 Hottest Cities are in the top 14 percent of all U.S. metro markets. In the eyes of premier site location consultants, these metro areas are top choice.

The St. Louis MSA includes the City of St. Louis, St. Louis County, the Missouri counties of Saint Charles, Jefferson, Franklin, Lincoln and Warren, and the Illinois counties of Madison, Saint Clair, Clinton, Monroe and Jersey.

Reference: Expansion Magazine Online

From Manhattan to Los Angeles, the luxury home market is strong and baby boomers seem to be the driving force. Boomers are the target market for luxury home builders, developers, and real estate agents, according to Realty Times, because almost one in four boomers has a net worth of $500,000 or more. Virtually all of these high net-worth households are home owners and 47 percent own more than one home. According to a study by the National Association of Realtors®, boomers want amenities where they retire, including cultural activities such as museums and art galleries.