Hyatt Centric Hotel Will be Tallest Building in Ft. Lauderdale

Kolter Group announced that Hyatt Centric would be the hotel brand for 100 Las Olas, which is slated to become the tallest tower in Fort Lauderdale.

The project at 100 East Las Olas Blvd. will rise 46 stories with the 238 hotel rooms occupying the first 15 floors. The tower will also have 121 condos on the upper floors and 8,500 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground level.

West Palm Beach-based Kolter said the Hyatt Centric will be created for millennial-minded travelers, featuring a lounge designed as a “launch pad” with information about food, nightlife and other activities in the city.

"The Hyatt Centric brand is a perfect fit for 100 Las Olas, particularly for those interested in exploring the multitude of activities and venues in downtown Fort Lauderdale,” said Scott Webb, president of Kolter Hospitality.

"The hotel design, location, services and amenities will cater to the urban traveler. The condominium residents will also enjoy the benefit and perks of having this incredible hotel that will offer a vibrant atmosphere with dining and creative event and meeting spaces just below them.”

The hotel will include a bar and restaurant, 6,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, and a pool deck on the eighth floor.

Known as the heart and soul of downtown Fort Lauderdale, Las Olas will be the perfect location for the Hyatt Centric.
The price tag for construction of 100 Las Olas is estimated at $152 million. The developer acquired the 38,325-square-foot site in 2015 for $17.25 million.

The hotel, designed by SB Architects, is expected to open in early 2020.

Copper Prices Jump 28% Since November; Wire Prices to Follow...

Copper prices rose by more than 28% since the end of October, regaining price levels metals investors haven’t seen since July 2015. The red metal had been lagging behind growth in other metals prices through most of this year then jumped by more than it has since 2011.

After seeing $2.08 per pound during the last week of October, copper prices began a gradual rise and then really took off Nov. 8, the day of the U.S. general elections, hitting $2.66 per pound this month.

The reasons for the jump appear to go beyond enthusiasm for an expected boost in demand since Donald Trump took office as U.S. President on January 20th.

John Gross, publisher of The Copper Journal, likewise sees the recent move as speculative. "There is no quick—and easy answer to address the near 60-cent move up over the past two months," he said.

“The best we can say is that after copper initially broke through resistance, more buying came in, and the buying accelerated as each previous high point was surpassed. The fundamentals have not changed in any meaningful way, and don’t warrant the move. This level of volatility is no good for anyone, except for speculators who got it right."

What does this all mean for the electrical contractor? 
It means that next purchase of 500MCM is going to cost you a lot more than it did last year... 

Children's Healthcare to Build Revolutionary Center for Pediatrics

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta will break ground this week on the Center for Advanced Pediatrics--a revolutionary new pediatric ambulatory care center. The new 260,000-square-foot facility situated at I-85 and North Druid Hills Road in Brookhaven will bring together pediatric clinics and specialists under one roof.

The 8-story outpatient clinical facility will focus primarily on treating children with chronic and complex diseases, and will put complex care specialists, state-of-the-art technology and leading edge research for outpatient pediatric care under one roof for the first time in Georgia.

DeKalb County approved the project in late 2016. The Center for Advanced Pediatrics will house 457 physicians and employees and anticipates managing more than 100,000 patient visits in the first year.

Many patients come to Children’s with complex conditions that require frequent visits to multiple specialists and clinics. These kids and their families face the stress of coordinating with different care teams while also juggling logistics such as parking and traveling from one physician’s office to another.

“The Center for Advanced Pediatrics will be a pediatric destination for the Southeast because it will have both complex care and research capabilities in one facility,” said Patrick Frias, M.D., Chief Operating Officer of Children’s.

“This innovative facility will improve the patient experience and create a destination where much of what these families need medically for their pulmonology, neurology, cardiology and diabetes are just a few of the specialties that will move into the new building, which will be centrally located to Children’s three hospital campuses, Egleston, Hughes Spalding and Scottish Rite.

Almost an entire floor of the new building will be dedicated to treatment and research for breathing and airways, bringing together the areas of pulmonology, allergy/immunology, cystic fibrosis and sleep.

Basic imaging and phlebotomy services will be available in-house for quick and easy access. A pediatric research center in the building will provide a convenient, dedicated location for patients to participate in clinical research trials.

In addition to physician space, the new facility will have state-of-the-art telemedicine capabilities, flexible exam rooms, a teaching classroom and a demonstration kitchen to enhance specific clinical programs. Additional features of the site include gardens and green space around the building and a dedicated parking deck.

The first phase of the project includes constructing a 5-story parking deck, streetscape, landscaping, and building storm water management facilities. Additionally, utilities including the rerouting of sanitary sewer lines and storm water lines will be constructed to accommodate the future development, according to city documents.

The site where the building is going up is located on the property where the former 19-story Executive Park Motor Hotel was located and imploded in 2014.

The center is expected to be completed in late 2018.
 

Aston Martin Guns for Piece of Miami's Luxury Condo Market

Aston Martin is the latest luxury brand to gun for a piece of South Florida’s condo market. The British car maker — known for giving James Bond his wheels since Goldfinger — announced that it will partner with wealthy Argentine developers on a 66-story condo tower called the Aston Martin Residences at the mouth of the Miami River in downtown Miami.

The 817-foot luxury tower will include a spa and pool deck on levels 53 through 55, units with private elevators, 561 indoor parking spaces and a lighthouse on the top floor. Prices will range from $2,000,000 to $8,500,000 for conventional units; with penthouses priced up to $50,000,000.

A team from Aston Martin will design the building’s common areas and amenities, including lobbies, fitness centers and spa.

The company wants to make its mark “in all the cities where it’s important to be, and Miami is one of those,” said Katia Bassi, a vice president at Aston Martin.

Argentina’s Coto family, which paid a record $125 million two years ago for the vacant waterfront land next to the Epic Hotel, says it has enough horsepower to get the 391-unit project going.

Three factors will work in the tower’s favor, developer German Coto said at a press conference:

•    A brand name with global appeal.
•    A coveted location where the Miami River meets Biscayne Bay.
•    The Coto Family, with pockets so deep they can afford to build the high rise without a loan.

“We plan to give buyers a unique experience,” Coto said. “That’s why we thought about Aston Martin, because we’re talking about luxury, we’re talking about authenticity.”


Renderings show a soaring, sail-shaped structure, necessitated by the long and narrow site on the Miami River’s north bank.

Pricing hasn’t been set but will be competitive with the most expensive downtown condos - that means at least $1,000 per square foot.

Click to enlarge

The Argentine developer plans to break ground this summer, with a completion date for the massive tower set in 2021, when the financial climate is expected to have improved.

The Aston Martin’s brand, as well as a prime location, will help the project stand out in a crowded market.

The Miami River, once an industrial waterway popular with drug runners, is now teeming with development. New condo and restaurant projects are going up on both banks. Developers eager for waterfront land have been snatching up properties.

The Coto family, one of Argentina’s wealthiest, owes its fortune to a national chain of supermarkets in Argentina. Coto Supermercado says it has annual sales of over $5 billion and employs 25,000 workers. It is also developing mixed-use residential and commercial projects around new supermarkets.

-    Developers are building Porsche Design Tower and Residences by Armani/Casa in Sunny Isles Beach.
-    Another team is developing Fendi Chateau Residences in Surfside.
-    Doronin has enlisted the Italian fashion house of Missoni for his Edgewater tower.
-    Two projects branded by Ritz-Carlton are also underway.

When built, the Aston Martin project will also connect a gap in Miami’s Riverwalk. The vacant site hasn’t been linked up to the city’s growing public walking trail. As part of an agreement with the Miami River Commission, which unanimously approved the project in April, the developers will build the riverwalk at 24 feet wide.

“It’s a grand building, the kind you’ll see on postcards,” said Horacio Stuart Aguirre, the river commission’s chairman. “And it does not detract from the enjoyment of the waterfront by regular people.”

Orbit Industries Opens New Distribution Center & Factory on East Coast

Orbit Industries has opened a 450,000-square-foot regional distribution center (RDC) and factory in Morristown, Tennessee, The facility is the first location Orbit has established outside of its main Los Angeles headquarters.

Between Orbit’s Morristown facility and Los Angeles warehouse, Orbit can deliver products anywhere within the continental United States in three days or less.

The Morristown RDC will stock all Orbit products, shipping all 6,000-plus catalog items to the East Coast out of the Tennessee facility.

“We are always looking for ways to better service our customers,” said Marcus Bannerman, Orbit’s national sales manager.

“Delivery time on the East Coast has always been a complication for us. Our new Tennessee facility will help provide a solution to our East Coast customers and get material to them faster than ever before.”

In addition to warehousing, Orbit will soon begin manufacturing at the plant to meet “Made in America” standards. Currently Orbit’s BCHS and RAP Plates are already manufactured in the United States. The introduction of this manufacturing plant will allow other products to soon begin following suit.

The manufacturing plant is expected to be fully operational before the end of 2017. Other future plans include a state-of-the-art training center, which will allow customers, visitors and representatives to test out Orbit’s more innovative prefab products.

Orbit’s product line is UL- or ETL-listed and includes steel junction boxes and accessories; NEMA enclosures; weatherproof products; electrical fittings and elbows; emergency/exit lighting; photoelectric controls; and LED lighting.

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