4 new office, retail tenants join Orlando’s Lake Nona

Lake Nona is gearing up to open two $40 million Marriott hotels this fall in Medical City — and it’s getting some company from other commercial tenants.

Nearly 40,000 square feet of users have signed up for new office and retail space at the Lake Nona Town Center and the new Vickrey Place retail complex in the 7,000-acre community in southeast Orlando being developed by Tavistock Group.

Here’s a closer look at the deals:

Ace Hardware bought a parcel on Narcoossee Road from an entity related…

Birmingham residential sales spike in March

Birmingham residential sales spiked nearly 30 percent month-to-month in March.

There were 1,128 closings last month, compared to 878 unit sales the month prior, according to new data released by the Alabama Center for Real Estate.

Year-over-year, the Birmingham metro had an increase of 12 percent in home sales during the month, along with a 22 percent increase over the five-year average of 921 units.

The median sales price also climbed 4 percent over February to $170,000 and rose 5 percent year-over-year.

The…

Developer plans artist-centric apartment building in Baltimore's Station North

The developer behind the Chesapeake restaurant redevelopment wants to build the first large new apartment building in Station North since it was designated as an arts and entertainment district in 2002.

Ernst Valery, the principal of SA+A Development, on Thursday proposed a $20 million, 103-unit apartment building at 20 E. Lanvale St., a corner Valery thinks could become a hot location as the neighborhood grows. Architecture firm LSC Design unveiled plans for the project at Thursday’s Urban Design…

Four things to watch for as Babcock & Wilcox splits this summer

New filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission provide some food for thought as The Babcock & Wilcox Co. prepares to spin off its power-generation division this summer and create two independent companies.

Here are four issues to keep an eye on:

1. Betting on a buyer for either independent company may be risky. B&W CEO Jim Ferland has insisted from the outset that the decision to divide the company was not aimed at getting a buyer for either the power-industry-focused Babcock & Wilcox…

Monument Realty wants to add a massive graphic to 225 N. Calvert St.

The company that is planning to redevelop the former Bank of America operations center at 225 N. Calvert St. wants to install a massive wrap-around graphic on the building just above street level.

The graphic is still in development. Designers ran a first draft of an image past city officials last week. The company developing the building, Monument Realty, said it’s intent on finding an image that will liven up a dark section of Calvert Street that planners have said for years could use more color.

From…