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Conference Coverage

Conference CoverageFeaturesStudent HousingTexasTexas & Oklahoma Feature Archive

InterFace: Today’s Successful Student Housing Developments Pair Great Site Selection with Efficient Design

by John Nelson

AUSTIN, TEXAS — It’s no secret that finding and entitling sites and procuring development financing has been challenging over the past few years. But Kevin Kazlow, director of capital markets with JLL, who moderated one of the development panels at this year’s InterFace Student Housing conference in Austin, Texas, believes there is lots to be excited about for the year ahead. Chief among them is the fact that the amount of capital allocated to alternative asset classes like student housing has doubled since 2018.  “This group of panelists alone has a combined pipeline of about 40,000 beds under development, which is an incredibly impressive statistic and speaks to the continued demand for new student housing projects,” said Kazlow. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. The first step in the development process is securing a great site, which Brandt Stiles, principal with Subtext, considers part of his firm’s ‘secret sauce.’ “We have a really high expectation for our team to find super high barrier to entry, hard to entitle, fortress sites and for us, it’s all about being …

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Conference CoverageFeaturesIndustrialNorth CarolinaSoutheastSoutheast Feature Archive

Tariffs Make ‘Challenging Deals Even More Challenging’ for Economic Development Officials, Says InterFace Panel

by John Nelson

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tariffs are at the forefront of the U.S. economic landscape as they impact costs and timelines for a multitude of industries. For the industrial real estate sector, developers and tenants alike are monitoring the severity at which tariffs can complicate their everyday business activity, thus economic development officials are playing a crucial role in helping companies mitigate those costs and delays. “A lot of our business comes down to reducing risks for companies,” said Melissa Smith, senior vice president of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. “There’s a lot of scrambling due to tariffs. They make already challenging deals even more challenging. We have to be ready to help [companies] navigate through these challenges so that they can make a successful decision.” Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. Smith’s comments came on the opening night of InterFace I-85 Industrial Corridor, a two-day networking and information event held at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown hotel on May 19-20. Brian Young, senior director of Cushman & Wakefield’s Greenville office, moderated the discussion called …

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InterFace I-85 Industrial Corridor panelists
Conference CoverageFeaturesIndustrialNorth CarolinaSoutheastSoutheast Feature Archive

Competition for Labor, Land Is Reshaping the I-85 Industrial Corridor, According to InterFace Panelists

by Abby Cox

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Stretching from Alabama to Atlanta, through the Carolinas and into Virginia, the I-85 corridor has long been a backbone of industrial growth in the Southeastern United States. Once celebrated as a magnet for logistic hubs, manufacturing plants and warehouse developments, this valuable category of real estate is now showing signs of strain. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. During the COVID-19 pandemic, industrial real estate, especially warehouses and distribution centers, saw a dramatic surge in demand due to a rise in e-commerce, inventory stockpiling due to supply chain issues and lower interest rates. Fast forward five years later, the industrial market is now experiencing a slowdown due to new pressures that are reversing or slowing down many of those trends. “People are concerned about making a decision today without knowing what’s going to happen tomorrow,” said John Coleman, senior vice president of Graham &. Co. Coleman specializes in representing both tenants and landlords across the Birmingham and Montgomery industrial markets in Alabama. Coleman’s comments came while on stage during the closing panel at InterFace …

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Conference CoverageFeaturesSeniors HousingTexasTexas & Oklahoma Feature Archive

Active Adult Sector Still in Early Stages of Its Evolution, Says CEO Panel 

by John Nelson

DALLAS — The evolution of active adult product is in the third inning of a nine-inning game, but some markets are clearly ahead of the curve, says Zach Crowe, managing director of U.S. real estate for private equity giant The Carlyle Group. “There are markets like Dallas, Las Vegas and Denver that have had active adult for 20 years at this point, and the product is well known. The consumer understands what it is. There are other markets with very few properties, and people have no idea what it is. It’s still incredibly early [in the game],” reports Crowe, who is based in Washington, D.C., and focuses on real estate investment opportunities in multifamily, 55+ housing and medical office properties. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. The insights from Crowe came during the CEO panel at the fifth annual InterFace Active Adult conference. The daylong conference, which took place May 7 at The Westin Los Colinas in Dallas, attracted more than 300 industry professionals.  Moderated by Ryan Maconachy, vice chairman of health and alternative assets for Newmark, the …

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Affordable HousingConference CoverageFeaturesGeorgiaSoutheastSoutheast Feature Archive

Affordable Housing Developers Aim to Control What They Can Control, Say InterFace Panelists

by John Nelson

ATLANTA — Interest rates. Tariffs. Natural disasters. These three factors alone frighten any developer, let alone those who are tasked with delivering our nation’s affordable housing supply. Just to get to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, developers have an uphill climb. They have to obtain the land outright or in a ground lease agreement, navigate the permitting and entitlement processes, overcome any neighborhood pushback, raise equity and borrow the necessary capital and then build these communities on time and on budget. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. “We try to stay in control of what we’re in control of,” said Christopher Byrd, Southeast region development director of LDG Development, an affordable housing developer based in Louisville, Ky. “As long as we are in the right markets with the right growth and the right partners, we are safe and insulated.” Byrd’s comments came while on stage during the development panel at InterFace Affordable Housing Southeast, a networking and information conference held at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta on Tuesday, May 7. Kelly Williams, vice president of …

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Conference CoverageFeaturesMultifamilySeniors Housing

Perception Is Paramount in Active Adult, Say InterFace Panelists

by John Nelson

DALLAS — What’s in a name? Plenty, according to the industry professionals that operate and market active adult communities.  Jane Arthur Roslovic, co-founder and CEO of Treplus Communities, says that “if anybody called [her] a senior” she’d “smack them.” Roslovic’s quip came during a panel discussion — titled “Operating and Marketing: Best Practices in Lease-Up, Sales and Programming” — at the 5th annual InterFace Active Adult conference. The daylong event took place Wednesday, May 7, at The Westin Las Colinas in Dallas.  Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. Roslovic and her fellow panelists argued that the same reluctance to be branded as a “senior” extends to prospective residents of active adult communities. The key to attracting and retaining residents, the panelists insisted, is to not only provide excellent product but also understand and cater to the public’s perception of age-restricted properties. Active adult communities are age-eligible, market-rate multifamily properties with enhanced lifestyle programming, according to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC). Unlike independent living communities, active adult properties do not …

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The investment sales panel at Interface Affordable Housing Southeast
AcquisitionsAffordable HousingConference CoverageFeaturesGeorgiaMultifamilySoutheast

InterFace Panel: Affordable Housing Investment Sales Faces Uncertain Future

by Channing Hamilton

ATLANTA — Affordable housing is facing a tumultuous second half of the year. Tariffs on building materials such as lumber, steel and aluminum are slowing development activity as they elevate construction costs. Investment sales are also likely to be impacted by unstable economic conditions in the affordable housing sector, where many transactions are conducted within a limited budget due to the nature of income restrictions for renters. Amid high costs and trade uncertainty, many investors are making the decision to stay on the sidelines or invest in markets with more stable conditions. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. “The most experienced, best qualified buyers are being careful about what they purchase,” said Kyle Shoemaker, a managing director at Affordable Housing Investment Brokerage. The Downers Grove, Illinois-based company arranges acquisitions and dispositions of Section 8, Section 42, low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) and tax credit housing.  “The affordable housing sector was heated in 2021,” Shoemaker continued. “At that point in time, we were getting more calls than ever from multifamily investors who were interested in entering the affordable …

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State-Industry
Conference CoverageFeaturesStudent Housing

InterFace Student Housing State of the Industry Panel Predicts Flight to Quality, Focus on Affordability for 2025 

by Hayden Spiess

By Katie Sloan AUSTIN, TEXAS — The ‘State of the Industry’ panel at the 17th annual InterFace Student Housing conference held more of a trepidatious tone than heard in recent years. While pre-leasing levels and rental rates are still above historical norms, the industry is seeing a slight deceleration in pre-leasing speed and rate growth, leading some to question what the industry has in store for the year ahead. The discussion — held on April 10 in Austin, Texas — was moderated by Alex O’Brien, CEO with Cardinal Group.  The best way to characterize the industry this year is hesitant according to Ryan Lang, executive vice chairman with Newmark, who believes investor reluctance is largely due to pre-leasing numbers falling a couple of points behind levels seen at this time last year. Still, levels are trending far ahead of pre-leasing levels seen in 2019, lending to confidence overall in the sector.  Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. “The past two years were unprecedented from a leasing perspective with properties leasing up the fastest and with the highest rents growths …

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Power-Panel
Conference CoverageFeaturesMultifamilyStudent Housing

InterFace Power Panel Discusses Student Housing Sector Resilience Amid Tariff Fears, Potential Economic Slowdown 

by Taylor Williams

By Katie Sloan AUSTIN, TEXAS — The 17th annual InterFace Student Housing conference, held April 9-11 at the JW Marriott in Austin, Texas, saw more than 1,500 student housing industry executives gather for educational sessions and networking. The conference’s first full day kicked off on April 10 with the ‘Power Panel,’ which brought together a group of high-level executives from several of the top companies in the sector to discuss their outlook for the year ahead.  Moderator Peter Katz, executive managing director with Institutional Property Advisors, began the discussion by highlighting a few growing concerns in the current economic environment. Chief among them were the potential impact of global tariffs on equity and development in student housing and the possibility of an economic slowdown or even an impending recession.  Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. Still, the student housing sector has proven time and time again that it is a resilient asset class. “If we look back at the global financial crisis and COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve witnessed that the student housing sector is pandemic- and recession-resistant,” said Katz.  “Institutional …

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CaliforniaConference CoverageFeaturesSeniors HousingWesternWestern Feature Archive

Foundation Has Been Laid for Seniors Housing Investment Sales to Flourish in 2025, Says InterFace Panel

by John Nelson

LOS ANGELES — Dan Baker, director of capital markets for JLL, says the seniors housing and care industry doesn’t need to speculate on whether the market rebound is real or perceived because the numbers tell the story.  “I think last year saw the most announced seniors housing transactions ever in a calendar year, not necessarily the most dollar volume,” said Baker during a recent investment panel discussion at InterFace Seniors Housing West in Los Angeles. Baker cited the lack of larger portfolios trading hands as the reason for the modest dollar volume in transaction activity in 2024. Editor’s note: InterFace Conference Group, a division of France Media Inc., produces networking and educational conferences for commercial real estate executives. To sign up for email announcements about specific events, visit www.interfaceconferencegroup.com/subscribe. According to research firm MSCI, property and portfolio sales in the seniors housing and care space totaled $13.2 billion in 2024 compared with $10.9 billion in 2023, a year-over-year increase of 21 percent. That’s still far below the $20.7 billion in deal volume notched in 2021. The data is based on independent reports of sales $2.5 million and above. One compelling trend noted by Baker is the tremendous growth in net operating …

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