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ONTARIO, CA-NewMark Merrill Cos. of Woodland Hills plans tobreak ground today on its 207,000-sf Marketplace on Grove center,which will feature a Lowe's Home Improvement, retail shops and 270apartments that will be developed by Archstone-Smith. The projectsite is at the southwest corner of Philadelphia Street and GroveAvenue, adjacent to the 60 Freeway.A 169,643-sf Lowe's HomeImprovement will anchor the center, which is scheduled to open inthe fall. The property will also include several restaurants andretail pads. The 270 apartments will be developed on an adjacentsite of 11.25 acres that NewMark Merrill sold to Archstone-Smith.The retail project is 80% leased and is expected to be fully leasedby the opening date, according to Sandy Sigal, president and CEO ofNewMark Merrill.NewMark Merrill, which is an investment andmanagement firm as well as a developer, will handle management andleasing of the center. The property was purchased for cash andclosed on June 30, 2005.The development is a joint venture withWoodland Hills-based, the Merrill Cos., with NewMark Merrill Cos.being responsible for all property development, management,leasing, accounting and marketing duties for thecenter.Construction financing for the new retail venue will beprovided by JP Morgan Chase Manhattan and was arranged by KevinSchillig of JP Morgan. In addition to the standard entitlementsrequired for the development, the project involved both a rezoneand lot line adjustment.Ontario city officials expedited theentitlement process to help the developer meet a seller's deadlinefor NewMark Merrill to acquire the project site and to provide therezone and lot line adjustment, notes Brad Pearl, VP of leasing anddevelopment for NewMark Merrill.