Conference Coverage

InterFace Seniors Housing Midwest, Chicago

Smart Seniors Housing Developers Know How to Utilize Market Studies, Say InterFace Panelists

by Jeff Shaw July 5, 2018

CHICAGO — What are the limitations of a market study? In light of overbuilding concerns in some major metros, it’s a salient question. J.P. LoMonaco, president of Valuation & Information Group, moderated a panel discussion on the impact of market studies on new development during the InterFace Seniors Housing Midwest conference in June. The textbook definition of a market study is a comparison of supply and demand within a defined geographic area. It is a risk-assessment tool. Rick Banas, vice president of development and positioning at Gardant Management Solutions, considers a market study to be a snapshot in time that can help an owner or operator formulate strategies for developing a community. “[A market study] helps you identify red flags, caution flags. It may provide a green light, but it is not the only element that can give you an indication whether a project is a go, no go, or whether it is going to be successful,” said Banas. Dave Erickson, vice president of real estate development for the Ryan Cos., said one step he takes early on in the market study process is to mesh the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) data on supply and …

July 5, 2018

Conference Coverage Features Multifamily Seniors Housing

InterFace Panel: Seniors Housing Lenders’ Scrutiny of Potential Deals Increases As Market Conditions Shift

by Jeff Shaw June 21, 2018

Billy Meyer, managing director of Seattle-based Columbia Pacific Advisors, doesn’t mince words when talking about the bridge lender’s cautious approach to financing seniors housing product today. “We don’t underwrite hope as a strategy anymore. It’s just not a good execution strategy, we believe.” Against the backdrop of elevated levels of construction, rising interest rates and operational challenges in seniors housing, Columbia Pacific Advisors is scrutinizing operators heavily before providing funding. “We’re bridge lenders. That is all that we do. Our average loan is 19 months. It’s a short horizon of how far away our exit is, so we need to make sure that [pathway] is very real and clear,” said Meyer. Meyer’s insights on the loan underwriting process came during InterFace Seniors Housing Midwest on Thursday, June 7. The one-day event, which took place at the recently opened four-star Marriott Marquis Chicago at McCormick Place, drew 372 professionals from across the region. Panel discussions focused on everything from design to development to growth strategies for operators, in addition to the state of the capital markets. Moderated by Mike Taylor, senior vice president and group manager for healthcare lending at First Midwest Bank, the capital markets panel also included Ari Adlerstein, …

June 21, 2018

Conference Coverage Features Healthcare North Carolina Property Type South Carolina Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

Healthcare Systems, Physicians are ‘More Sophisticated’ When it Comes to Real Estate, Says InterFace Healthcare Panel

by John Nelson June 13, 2018

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Healthcare systems and physicians groups once viewed their real estate operations as a line item on a ledger and not as high a priority as staffing, education or equipment. In the years since reimbursements from Medicare began tightening as it went from a fee-for-service model to an outcome-based one, healthcare systems and physicians are getting more savvy when it comes to their real estate strategies. “With respect to real estate, healthcare systems used to be naïve,” said Mark Curtis, director of Greenville Health System, a not-for-profit system serving the Upstate South Carolina area. “Now they’re far more sophisticated than they were five years ago.” Curtis was one of five healthcare real estate experts on stage at a panel entitled “What Do Hospitals & Systems See Coming in 2018?” Rex Noble, senior vice president of asset management at Flagship Healthcare Properties, moderated the discussion. The panel was the closing act at the eighth annual InterFace Healthcare Real Estate Carolinas show, which took place on May 31 at the Hilton City Center hotel in Uptown Charlotte. The event drew 160 attendees in the healthcare real estate space from across North and South Carolina. Operations are Under the Microscope Spurred …

June 13, 2018

Conference Coverage Features Loans North Carolina South Carolina Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

Competition Intense Among Real Estate Lenders, Says InterFace Carolinas Panel

by John Nelson June 7, 2018

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Capital One Multifamily Finance’s Chad Thomas Hagwood kicked off with a fastball. When prompted with the often used “what inning are we in?” question, Hagwood’s response was indicative of how competitive commercial real estate lending is today. “I don’t know what inning we are in of the cycle, but I know I want to play ball,” says Hagwood, senior vice president of Capital One Multifamily Finance. “People are after it, and we intend to fight it out tooth and nail.” Hagwood’s commentary came during the closing capital markets panel of the ninth annual InterFace Carolinas, a half-day event that drew 212 attendees from North and South Carolina’s commercial real estate community. Bryson Thomason, senior director of Greenville, S.C.-based PMC Real Estate Capital, moderated the panel. The most intense competition for financing is in the multifamily space because of the proliferation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their designated lenders. The two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) have been competing against each other as well as other lenders. Hagwood describes the competition between the two agencies as a “bloodbath.” “It’s all out brutal warfare competition the two,” says Hagwood. “I do expect Fannie and Freddie to be very competitive …

June 7, 2018

Conference Coverage Features North Carolina South Carolina Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

‘Broadening’ Economy on Track for Longest Expansion Cycle in U.S. History, Says Wells Fargo’s Mark Vitner

by John Nelson June 5, 2018

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It’s been nine years since the Great Recession ended, and if the economy can make it to June 2019 without suffering a relapse, it will be the longest business cycle in U.S. history. Mark Vitner, managing director and senior economist of Wells Fargo Securities, believes that will happen because of how broad-based the recovery has been. “For the most part, over the last nine months to a year all 50 states have been growing, which is something that hasn’t happened before,” says Vitner, who is based in Wells Fargo’s Charlotte office. “Typically, when the economy broadens it makes for a more durable expansion. When the strength of the economy begins to narrow, with fewer industries and states expanding, that’s usually a sign that a recession is a year to 18 months ahead.” Vitner’s commentary came during his keynote address at the ninth annual Carolinas InterFace conference. The half-day event, which took place on Thursday, May 31 at the Hilton Charlotte City Center hotel in Uptown Charlotte, drew 212 attendees from across the commercial real estate industry in North and South Carolina. The veteran economist says that the United States is currently at full employment with a majority …

June 5, 2018

Conference Coverage Features Industrial Nevada Western Western Feature Archive

E-Commerce, Business Relocation Feed Growth in Las Vegas Industrial Market

by David Cohen May 1, 2018

LAS VEGAS — The Las Vegas industrial market was built on supporting the city’s tourism and hospitality industry, which brings in nearly $60 billion per year, according to a study by Applied Analytics. But in recent years, the segment has evolved and grown thanks to the emergence of e-commerce and the harsh market conditions of nearby Southern California. A panel at the InterFace Las Vegas Industrial conference, held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas on April 24, brought together eight regional developers and owners to discuss the changing state of the Las Vegas industrial market in 2018. Included on the panel were Michael Dermody, CEO at Dermody Properties; Taylor Arnett, vice president at CapRock Partners; Kevin Higgins, senior vice president and partner at CBRE; Doug Roberts, partner at Panattoni Development Co.; Fritz Wyler, managing director at Prologis; Rod Martin, director of development at Majestic Realty Co.; and Jordan Schnitzer, president at Harsch Investment Properties. Phil Ralston, president at American Nevada Co, moderated the panel. “Historically, the Southwest [Las Vegas] submarket has brought a premium in rents [compared] to what you see in the other submarkets, and 80 percent of the tenant base there is doing business on the …

May 1, 2018

Conference Coverage Features Retail Texas Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive

InterFace Panel: Houston Is Not Over-Retailed. In Fact, It Needs More

by Camren Skelton April 26, 2018

HOUSTON — Retail follows rooftops, as the expression goes, but over the last decade in Houston, brick-and-mortar development and single- and multifamily construction have rarely moved at the same pace. Houston experienced a major housing boom in the years leading up to the oil downturn, which began in late 2014. A report from houstonproperties.com, which tracks the metro’s single-family market, notes that Houston topped the nation in new construction starts of single-family homes in 2013 and 2014. In addition, during that two-year stretch there were 28 high-rise apartment buildings under construction, and 83 additional high-rise multifamily projects either approved or proposed. Houston’s emergence as a strong-performing retail market in an era where brick-and-mortar shopping is on shaky ground was one of the key topics explored by real estate professionals at the second annual InterFace Houston Retail Real Estate conference. Crowds packed into the meeting rooms of the Royal Sonesta hotel in the city’s Galleria neighborhood on Tuesday, April 17 to hear about just how much new retail development the market can bear. Before retail development could catch up to the torrid pace of housing development, oil prices tanked, thousands of blue- and white-collar energy workers were laid off, housing prices …

April 26, 2018

Conference Coverage Features Multifamily Texas Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive

It’s the Ideal Time to Buy in Houston Multifamily Market, Says InterFace Panel

by Taylor Williams April 19, 2018

HOUSTON — After several years of sluggish rent growth, heavy concessions and tepid absorption brought on by the oil slump, investors are returning to Houston’s multifamily market with quite a bang. Rent growth and absorption were particularly weak in the city’s Class A multifamily space over the past few years. But with oil prices stabilizing (currently at about $68 per barrel of West Texas intermediate crude) and overall population growth still booming, multifamily investors are rethinking their positions on the Bayou City. “For the past two or three years, capital had been going elsewhere,” said Bruce McClenny, president of Houston-based research firm Apartment Data Services, during his keynote address at the second annual InterFace Houston Multifamily conference. “But that’s about to change.” Panelists at the event agreed that Houston’s construction pipeline for new apartments is thinning, stabilized properties are being brought to market and sellers are seeing more bids on assets they’re marketing. All this activity points to a previously overbuilt market turning the corner. Multifamily developers, lenders and brokers discussed these trends and others at the conference, held on Tuesday, April 17 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston’s Galleria neighborhood. The event drew about 150 real estate professionals. …

April 19, 2018

Conference Coverage Features Retail Top Stories

Activation Is a Top Priority for Entertainment Destinations, say EEE Panelists

by Taylor Williams February 14, 2018

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. — E-commerce has claimed many victims in its siege of brick-and-mortar shopping, but perhaps none more so than big box retailers. As more of these spaces are vacated, demand for entertainment-based users to backfill them grows. Entertainment-themed tenants often require the same open-floor layouts and high ceiling heights that big box spaces offer. In addition, big boxes are typically found in malls and retail power centers, which have presumably been built in high-traffic and high-density locations. As such, entertainment tenants backfilling or building within a traditional retail development aren’t as reliant on “activation” of their sites to drum up business. But when you have a variety of entertainment tenants, including bars and restaurants, operating out of a single destination, it’s crucial to galvanize the property with events and programs. This was a trend discussed at the Entertainment Experience Evolution conference on Feb. 6-7 at Fairmont Miramar hotel in Santa Monica. A panel of professionals in the entertainment retail space discussed the role of activation in creating a “sense of place” at the conference, which more than 600 industry players attended. Moderator Nick Egelanian, president of SiteWorks Retail Real Estate Services, asked the other panelists to describe how …

February 14, 2018

Conference Coverage Features Office Texas Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive

InterFace Panel: Time to Rethink How We Meet Demand for Office Space

by Taylor Williams February 8, 2018

HOUSTON — Much like the preferences of younger generations are influencing how retailers pick their locations and sizes, the whims of today’s office-using workforce significantly impact the way professional services companies view their office spaces. This is not strictly an amenities-based trend. It goes beyond adding fitness centers, walking trails and food trucks to cater to Millennial workers. It’s an evolution of the role that office space plays in company budgets and operations. For developers and brokers in the office sector, it means rethinking the ways in which they meet demand. A panel of veteran players in Houston’s embattled office market addressed this trend and others during the InterFace Houston Office Forecast on Feb 1. Approximately 150 real estate professionals attended the event, which was held at the Royal Sonesta hotel in the Galleria area of the city. Old Product Trails Trends Houston’s office market has been hobbled by high vacancy and negative absorption as a three-year slump in oil prices has taken a toll on Houston’s energy industry. In addition, the sector also suffers from a lack of modernized product. Panel moderator Rand Stephens, managing director at Avison Young, said the latter factor is increasing demand for build-to-suit projects …

February 8, 2018

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