LEIPER'S FORK COMMUNITY - More than 500 acres previously owned by Cal Turner Jr. is slated to become an equestrian community known as Beechwood Plantation.

 

Northern California development firm Tower Land Co. has announced plans for a 45-lot development for the Leiper's Fork-area property off Bailey Road.

 

"It's literally taken nearly two years to design this development because of the lay of the land, the beauty of the land and the community," said Alex Marks, Tower Land Co. senior vice president.

 

Marks said Tower was especially attracted to Leiper's Fork because of the unique community there.

California-based Tower Land Co. has broken ground on the second of three equestrian communities that will cover a total 1,075 acres in historic Leipers Fork just outside of Franklin.

 

Beechwood Plantation is a 530-acre residential development off Bailey Road. At completion, it will hold a total of 45 homes and include up to eight miles of custom-designed horse trails.

 

Tower Land also has underway a similar 345-acre development dubbed Traceland Estates on Parker Branch Road. A third of its units have been sold and five of the 30 planned homes have been completed.

A family-owned California investment firm is sinking big bucks into Middle Tennessee, with the purchase of three prime downtown commercial and retail sites and plans to develop a residential community in Leiper's Fork.

 

Tower Investments LLC recently paid $3 million to buy 411 Broadway, the former Heilig-Meyers Furniture store, from BudMark Investments; $2.1 million for 401 Broadway, which houses Merchants restaurant; and an undisclosed sum for 111 Broadway, the building occupied by Big River Grille.

 

And Tower, which owns various types of property around the country, has bought 1,500 acres in Leiper's Fork, with plans for four "equestrian community" developments featuring lots ranging from two to 50 acres.

 

Tower's David Marks says the downtown buying spree was spurred by the company's involvement in Leiper's Fork.

With the deadline looming to have the architectural design for the hospital finalized, the Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District board approved a final design last week that stays within the district's financial abilities.

 

"If we build the building that was last presented to the board of directors in November, it is now projected that the cost will be in excess of $21 million," said Ray Hino, CEO for the TVHD. "We currently have approximately $16.4 million to spend on the project."

 

He said the $16.4 million includes a $15 million bond, $500,000 from a federal grant, $250,000 from the Guild of the Tehachapi Hospital, $400,000 from sale of land and approximately $200,000 from the hospital foundation.

 

Another $100,000 will come from Tower Investments, which pledged to give that amount for the construction of the hospital if the facility was built on the Broome site.

Clarion Hotel staff geared up on Tuesday to officially celebrate the top-to-bottom renovation of the downtown Sioux City hotel.

 

The former Plaza Hotel, which became part of the national Clarion chain earlier this year, invited more than 350 local leaders to a grand reopening party from 5 to 7 p.m. today.

 

"It's going to be a major event for the hotel," said David Golida, the Clarion's director of sales.

 

Hotel staff will showcase more than $2.8 million in renovations, which include refurbishing guest rooms and the lounge and restaurant, upgrading amenities and adding new guest services.

Six months after buying the Lafayette, Arkansas and M.M. Cohn Buildings, a Woodland, Calif., real estate development group unveiled plans to renovate those and two others for condominiums, office and retail space.

 

Lafayette Square, developed by Tower Investments, LLC and local partners Colliers Dickson Flake Partners, will also include the Kahn and Boyle buildings on Sixth Street between Louisiana and Main streets.  The groups plan to renovate all five buildings, installing two levels of parking, improving facades and providing modern amenities.  Upscale condominiums in the buildings will sell for between $160,000-$325,000, developers said.

The Plaza name checked out Wednesday as the Clarion flag began flying over a downtown Sioux City hotel.

 

The 12-story hotel at 707 Fourth St. officially became part of the national Clarion chain Wednesday.  Clarion is the top-of-the-line brand for Choice hotels, which markets more than 5,000 properties in 40 countries under flags that also include Comfort Inn, Econo Lodge, Quality Inn and Rodeway Inn.

 

Workers hoisted temporary Clarion banners on the side of the former Plaza.  Permanent exterior signs are expected to arrive in mid-September, said David Golida, director of sales for the hotel.  On Oct. 1, the Sioux City hotel is set to gain access to Choice Hotel's reservation system.

Compared with other midsize industrial cities in the Northeast, Rochester, N.Y., looked like a jewel. New York's third-largest city by population could boast the headquarters of Eastman Kodak Co., which gave a boost to the overall manufacturing sector, plus it had a healthy telecommunications industry and a growing health-care sector.

Rochester, which sits next to Lake Ontario, has started to look more like such struggling neighbors as Cleveland, Buffalo and Syracuse. The Rochester region took hits from the nation's manufacturing shakeout, the rout of the telecommunications industry and a shrinking Kodak, which by some measures has lost the title of the area's biggest employer to the University of Rochester.

The unveiling of the Clarion Hotel flag, under which the former Plaza Hotel and Convention Conference Center will operate, marks a new day for downtown Sioux City, officials declared Friday.

"It's been a long time in coming," Lucy Rowley, a housekeeping employee who has worked at the hotel since 1976, said. "It's appreciated."

Paul Curley, the hotel's general manager, unveiled the $2.8 million in renovation plans and predicted the renovation would be completed by October. He made the announcement in the hotel's 12th floor ballroom surrounded by employees, city officials and business people.

A California company continues to roll the dice on a plan to build a massive casino and resort at the former Eastman Kodak Co. Riverwood campus in Henrietta.  This week, the company gave a tour to the Seneca Indian Nation, which owns casinos in Niagara Falls and Salamanca, Cattaraugus County.

Tower Investments bought the land for $3.5 million in December and is exploring options for the huge office buildings and park-like land along the Genesee River. But its top option is clear: a casino with a hotel, conference center, golf course and a host of other amenities.