Envy Apartment

Park Square Enterprises  will announce a national fitness center anchor tenant this week that has been the catalyst for a complete re-envisioning of its plans for Park Square Plaza near UCF. When Park Square Homes CEO Suresh Gupta purchased the 12.5-acre site on the 12000 block East Colonial Dr . in 2016, he planned to develop retail  along the highway frontage and pursue rezoning for multifamily use. The college campus has attracted several multifamily developments recently, including the Core Spaces student housing development  and a second complex by Catalyst Development Partners that will mirror its  popular EOS Apartments .  Park Square had initially planned to seek rezoning for a 250- unit apartment complex .  Ali Mushtaq, senior adviser for SVN, told GrowthSpotter on Monday the developers were approached by a national gym tenant with a strong interest in locating there. The Guptas scrapped the apartments and filed a new retail- focused site plan last week with the St. ...

Of all the gleaming high- rise residences anchoring the Streeterville neighborhood, perhaps the new Optima Signature is one of the most artistic. You can't help but notice the striking red glass panels that wrap the lower seven floors of the modern apartment tower or the bright yellow free -form sculpture that stands in the plaza in front of the building. The color bursts are a signature of renowned architect and developer David Hovey of Glencoe. The 57- story Optima Signature at 220 E. Illinois St. is a joint venture between Hovey's firm, Optima Inc., and DeBartolo Development. The two also partnered in 2013 on the sister building next door, Optima Chicago Center . The base of that apartment tower is similarly clad in black glass. "Our focus is on architecture and contributing to the built environment but doing it in a way that resonates with the broader community and our residents," Optima Senior Vice President Mark Segal said. "We didn't design in ...

New York City’s annual West Indian American Day Carnival , held on Labor Day, will head to Crown Heights in Brooklyn once again for a day of festivities that celebrates the history, culture, music, food, and people from myriad Caribbean countries . Each year, the parade attracts more than a million people, making it one of the, if not the largest Caribbean celebrations in the country. Thanks to heightened security measures , getting into the parade route will be similar to entering Times Square on New Year’s Eve. There will be 12 checkpoints along the two-mile route and large backpacks, large bags, alcohol, and weapons are prohibited. Once you get past that, expect for the route to be packed (say goodbye to your personal space) with revelers, including many people in gloriously colorful costumes . As the various floats go by, enjoy sounds of reggae, soca, calypso, and dancehall and the unique dance styles that go along with them. Vendors will also be selling clothing, food, and ot...

Juan Parras gives one hell of a tour of Houston’s east side. He’s charming and funny. Wearing a beret, he strikes an old-world look, like he might lead you to a cafe on a plaza. He doesn’t charge a fee for his services. After all, you’re on a “toxic tour,” and Parras is on a mission. Parras grew up in 1950s West Texas . He remembers segregated schools, the restaurants that wouldn’t serve him, the unpaved roads, and the people who lived closest to the local refinery . Those experiences led him to a career as a social justice advocate . The resident of Houston’s heavily industrial east side has worked in a city housing department , for a union, for a law clinic, and on a campaign that stopped a PVC factory from being built in Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.” For the last decade, he has served as executive director of Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (better known as t.e.j.a.s.). Part of his work is leading tours past the heaping piles of scrap metal along Houston’s Buffalo Ba...

Kathryn Greiner , the former City of Sydney councillor and Gonski Review panellist , has downsized to a $ 4 million penthouse in the Paddington Green complex . Greiner, AO is the one-time first lady of state politics when her former husband Nick Greiner was NSW premier from 1988 to 1992. However, the couple’s split in 2013 prompted them to sell their Centennial Park mansion for $6.25 million the following year. Kathryn Greiner 's new spread in Paddington." /> Kathryn Greiner ’s new spread in Paddington. Photo: Supplied Greiner has been rumoured to be house hunting a decent downsizer in the years since. Her new digs is a whole-floor spread with three bedrooms and 213 square metres of wraparound terrace.  It was owned by LHC Capital co- founder Marcus Hughes , who bought it three years ago for $2.9 million. Nick Greiner, meanwhile, has moved to Point Piper where he and his partner Carolyn Fletcher bought an apartment for $5.5 million in 2014. Kathryn Greiner at 21/4 Y...

Aug. 24--An Austin developer has changed course on plans to revamp a San Marcos shopping center . Since taking control of Springtown Center in 2014, Endeavor Real Estate has landed a number of high-profile tenants to fill what was, at the time, a sickly strip mall that was only 10 percent occupied. Additions have included heavy hitters such as Chuy's, Gold's Gym and The Spot, an entertainment venue. While Endeavor had initially been in talks with a number of interested retailers to fill the remaining space in the shopping center , the developer has decided to go another route. Instead, it is demolishing a chunk of the center between Chuy's and the former Target store that's now home to Gold's Gym and The Spot to make way for a multi- story apartment building that will have 233 units with 32,000 square feet of ground- floor retail space . The project will be called The Lyndon after former President Lyndon B. Johnson who attended nearby Texas State University ba...

A skyscraper that would be the tallest residential building in California has been proposed for downtown Los Angeles as the neighborhood’s housing boom rolls on. Crescent Heights , a Miami- based developer , submitted a proposal to the city Planning Department this week to build a 70- story apartment building that would stand out in size and design amid the rapidly growing South Park district east of Staples Center. The 810-foot building with 794 units would be the third-tallest in Los Angeles behind the recently opened Wilshire Grand hotel and office tower and the U.S. Bank Tower office building completed in 1989. Last year, Crescent Heights completed Ten Thousand , a 40- story luxury apartment complex on Santa Monica Boulevard on the edge of Century City. It also plans to build two residential high-rises next to the famed Hollywood Palladium on Sunset Boulevard. Its latest high-rise plan, for 1045 S. Olive St., calls for eye-catching cutouts two-thirds of the way up the bu...