Across the U.S., developers are placing big bets on mixed-use projects, many of them with budgets into the billions or hundreds of millions.
In the Urban Land Institute’s 2022 Emerging Trends in Real Estate report, expectations for the performance of mixed-use developments in urban areas is excellent for 2022. According to ULI, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated an ongoing shift away from malls, favoring retail in a mixed-use context.
In addition, mixed-use projects have benefited from diversification, Eric Willett, managing director at RCLCO Real Estate Consulting, told Construction Dive.
“By combining [uses] all in one site, you're exposed to more than just one market trend, you're exposed to a number, which have a tendency to balance out. And over the past year or two years, in the course of the pandemic, this really proved to be true," Willett said.
Below are examples of some of the largest mixed-use developments in the country that have either recently broken ground or will in the near future.
The Railhead
Frisco, Texas
Cost: $2.5 billion
Plano, Texas-based Heady Investments expects to break ground within the next 60 days on The Railhead, an 80-acre mixed-use development, developer Randy Heady told the Dallas Morning News.
The development site — located near the Dallas North Tollway in Frisco, Texas — is set to include over 1 million square feet of office, hotel and high-rise residential space, including a 1,280-unit residential building recently approved by the Frisco City Council. The incoming buildings will be situated around a 5-acre park, featuring $1.2 million in landscaping and water features.
Heady plans to sell building sites on the property to other developers. Deals for a medical building and apartments are in the works, according to Heady. Apartment builder JPI will build an 875-unit apartment community that would begin construction next year.
Landmark/Inova Development
Alexandria, Virginia
Cost: $2 billion+
On July 6, the Alexandria, Virginia, City Council approved Foulger-Pratt’s redevelopment agreements for the former site of the Landmark Mall.
The plan calls for 4 million square feet of new development across 52 acres, anchored by the relocation and expansion of Inova’s Alexandria Hospital. Surrounding developments will include medical office buildings, for-rent and for-sale multifamily units, retail, commercial buildings and entertainment venues. The project will also provide park space, a new transit hub, affordable housing and a fire station.
Construction is expected to begin in 2023, and the first buildings are expected to be delivered in 2025.
Enterprise Research Campus
Boston
Cost: $1 billion
Tishman Speyer is set to develop the first phase of Harvard University’s Enterprise Research Campus, located in the Allston neighborhood on land leased from the university. The lead architect is Jeanne Gang, founding principal of Studio Gang.
Located next to Harvard’s Science and Engineering complex and across the street from Harvard Business School, the Enterprise Research Campus will include a mix of research-focused companies as tenants, as well as green space, affordable residences, a hotel and a conference center. The first phase will include 900,000 square feet of developed space across 14 acres out of a total of 36.
According to a report from The Real Deal, Harvard asked Tishman Speyer to sell at least 5% of the project to accredited Black and Latino investors. Around 150 investors have signed on through this agreement, including four NBA players.
Ronkonkoma Hub
Brookhaven, New York
Cost: $700 million
Developer Tritec Real Estate broke ground on the second phase of development at the Ronkonkoma Hub in Brookhaven, New York, on Nov. 3, as announced by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
The Ronkonkoma Hub site is located within a few minutes of Long Island’s MacArthur Airport, as well as within walking distance of a Long Island Rail Road station. Alston Square, the first phase of the project, was delivered in March 2020 with just under 500 new apartment units. The second phase, valued at $256 million, will add 388 more apartment units, 73,000 square feet of commercial space, 15,500 square feet of office space and over 1,200 parking spaces.
Once complete, the Ronkonkoma Hub project will span approximately 1,450 apartment homes, 360,000 square feet of office space, 195,000 square feet of retail space, 60,000 square feet of hospitality space and three new parking areas.
Transit Village
West Palm Beach, Florida
Cost: $500 million
Nine years after the initial approval of West Palm Beach, Florida’s Transit Village development, Avison Young’s Florida Capital Markets Group has negotiated and structured a joint venture transaction between three companies — Globe Invest, Related Group (Related) and BH Group — to invest in and develop the mixed-use project.
Related Group will serve as the project’s main developer. As originally envisioned, the Transit Village — valued at approximately $500 million — will be located above and around the region’s rail and bus transportation hub, offering approximately 1.5 million square feet of flexible use space. On top of a direct connection to the Tri-Rail and Amtrak lines, the site is also within one stoplight of I-95 and three miles of the Palm Beach International Airport.
"We want to create a mixed use, transit-oriented urban hub that will include office, retail and workforce to luxury housing offerings. We will add great art and design, as is standard for Related, and create bicycle, pedestrian and public transit linkages to connect easily within, to, and from, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Miami,” Jorge Pérez, chairman and CEO of Related Group, said in a press release.
