Trinity Leeds Update: Tenant Spaces in Demand

(Image from Land Securities Website)

Land Securities, the developer of Trinity Leeds, the recently restarted retail development in West Yorkshire, England (see previous post:  Trinity Leeds:  A Sign of the Times?), announced recently the center is two-thirds leased.  The up-tick in retail demand continues and Land Securities continues to invest in new and existing developments.

For related article see:

Trinity Leeds Lettings Rise, Says Land Securities

  

St. Louis' Ballpark Village Hits a Double

(Image from The Cordish Companies Website)

(Image from The Cordish Companies Website)

(Image from The Cordish Companies Website)

(Image from The Cordish Companies Website)

The long stalled St Louis Ballpark Village is apparently back on track after it was announced recently that financing and tenants are finally in place.  Planning for the development started in 1999 as a mixed-use development adjacent to the St. Louis Cardinals' Busch Stadium and on the site of the previous Busch Memorial Stadium location.  The project has hit many snags along the way including the loss of a major tenant in 2008 and then effects of the recession in 2009.

The project, originally a 10-acre development covering 6 city blocks lies in the heart of downtown St. Louis, near the historic arch.  The first phase of the project includes 225,000 square feet of office and 100,000 square feet of retail space, with an investment estimated at $155 million.  This first phase covers 2 of the original 6 city blocks.

The original plans touted nearly a $1 billion office and entertainment development that was to be an urban residential environment that included such destinations as boutique alley, restaurant row, live state of the art music venues, the International Bowling Hall of Fame and Museum as well as multiple residential towers that would overlook the ballpark. You can get a sense of what the original development included from this 2006 video announcing the details of he project:

And here is a second video that shows a virtual tour of the original proposed development from Arnold Imaging

Ball Park Village from Arnold Imaging on Vimeo.


It is unclear if the entire development will be realized but clearly there is a lot of excitement that at least phase 1 is coming to fruition. 

The project is being co-developed by the St. Louis Cardinals and The Cordish Companies of Baltimore, MD.

For related articles see:

Ballpark Village Developer Says Financing, Tenants in Place

Ballpark Village Clears Next Hurdle

   

Qatar’s Successful World Cup Bid: 9 New Stadiums in 10 Years

(Proposed Al-Khor Stadium)

Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup, a first for an Arab nation.  The small middle eastern country a tenth of the size of Ohio overcame several challenges to outbid 4 other formidable opponents including Australia, Japan, South Korea and yes, even the United States.

Two of their biggest obstacles include a lack of infrastructure (the need to build 9 new stadiums and renovate 3) and inclement weather (the temperature in Qatar at the time of the tournament averages 95 degrees and daytime highs can easily exceed 130 degrees). 

The solution?  Build 9 new open air stadiums to accommodate the competition, complete with cooling technology that can reduce the temperatures by as much as 40 degrees at field level and renovate the remaining three stadiums in the ten remaining years before the first football hits the pitch - all for a “cool” $3 Billion.

The result?  The first six designs were unveiled recently and they truly are remarkable.  Take a look at these five designs from Albert Speer and Partners:




And here is Foster + Partner’s design for the Lusail Iconic Stadium:



In addition to the 12 new and renovated stadiums proposed, Qatar will also be developing the infrastructure to host the event as it relates to hotel rooms, transportation (a new $13 billion airport opens in 2012), Team base camps and training sites as well as a myriad of other supporting facilities required to accommodate the 3 million plus visitors.  This will also create high demand for new retail development and an opportunity for Qatar to be proverbially “on the map”.  All they need now is an official song by Shakira!

In addition – the Qatar bid has proposed a carbon-neutral event supporting part of that vision by the ability of removing modular sections of the new stadiums after the event concludes and reconstructing them to create 22 stadiums in developing countries around the world.

For the full Qatar proposal – check out the:

2022 FIFA World Cup Bid Evaluation Report:  Qatar.