Strong User Demand, High Returns Keep Self-Storage Buyers Hungry

The self-storage industry started its upswing during the Great Recession as more and more Americans turned to storage units as a result of being forced to downsize or foreclose on their home, recalls Alec Pacella, president with NAI Pleasant Valley in Medina, Ohio. “That’s when the industry sparked, but it’s never stopped,” he says. There are three main reasons that the self-storage sector has continued to perform well as a commercial real estate property type, according to Pacella. …

January 9, 2020Features, Heartland Feature Archive, Industrial, Self-Storage

Robust Industrial Investment Shows No Signs of Slowing

Real estate buyers spent a record-setting amount of cash in the sector in the third quarter and remain bullish on the properties amid healthy absorption and rent growth. The industrial real estate sector, traditionally known as the land of big, boring boxes, has become the darling of real estate amid the growth of e-commerce. Investors have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into industrial properties over the last five years alone, and not even the prospect of new construction …

December 4, 2019Content Partner, Features, Heartland Feature Archive, Industrial, Lee & Associates, Midwest, Northeast, Northeast Feature Archive

Mall Owners Scramble to Redevelop Properties in Face of Department Store Closures

The number of retail store closures nationwide in the first half of 2019 surpassed 7,000 and is on pace to reach a record 12,000 by year’s end, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Major retail bankruptcies over the last year have caused the power and regional shopping center sector to experience continued store closures and negative absorption of 2 million square feet in the first half of 2019. That said, discount retailers, entertainment and fitness concepts are still in expansion mode …

October 31, 2019Features, Heartland Feature Archive, Retail

F&B Dominates Discussion at ICSC’s Chicago Deal Making

CHICAGO — The food and beverage industry dominated much of the programming and sessions at this year’s Chicago Deal Making, hosted by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). In fact, the keynote speaker was Fabio Viviani, a celebrity chef and hospitality developer. Examples of other food-oriented workshops and panels included “How to Craft Restaurant Deals,” “From Automation to Ghost Kitchens, Understanding the Trends Reshaping F&B” and “Small Bites: New …

October 24, 2019Features, Heartland Feature Archive, Retail

Subcontractors Grow More Selective as Labor Market Continues to Tighten

Rising materials costs and the shortage of skilled workers continue to pose a challenge for general contractors. In turn, these conditions have enabled subcontractors to be highly selective about the projects they are willing to accept. “For the first time in many years, we have found ourselves encountering subcontractors who have passed up on project opportunities because the reality is that resources within qualified subcontracting firmsare finite as well,” says Anthony Johnson, …

August 13, 2019Features, Heartland Feature Archive

Generation Z Renters Reshaping Student Housing Market

With some of the oldest members of Generation Z coming onto the rental scene seeking out their first college and post-college apartments, developers and property owners must start paying closer attention to this new audience. While Gen Z and millennials have quite a bit in common, they also differ in some fundamental aspects and demand different standards of living in residential spaces. Just when owners and property managers are finding their footing with millennials, Gen Z will reshape the …

August 8, 2019Features, Heartland Feature Archive, Multifamily, Northeast Feature Archive, Southeast Feature Archive, Student Housing, Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive, Western Feature Archive

Priced Out: Adding Affordable Units to Student Housing

Student loan figures indicate a growing affordability problem in higher education. The Federal Reserve reports that student loan debt in the United States is almost $1.6 trillion today, with 42 percent of people who attended college — which represents 30 percent of all adults — incurring at least some debt from their education. With a focus on technology-based degree programs, the cost to attend college is rising. But it’s not just tuition that’s going up. According to College …

August 6, 2019Features, Heartland Feature Archive, Multifamily, Northeast Feature Archive, Southeast Feature Archive, Student Housing, Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive, Western Feature Archive

Two New Tri-Land Investment Funds Hungry to Acquire Grocery-Anchored Retail Assets in Midwest, Southeast

In today’s volatile retail real estate climate, there is ample need for redevelopment or value-add acquisitions. Tri-Land, a Chicago-based owner and operator, is one such company known for repositioning underperforming retail centers. Established in 1978, the company is launching two new investment funds beginning in July. The two funds — which combined total $30 million — seek to purchase between four and eight properties over a 30-month period. The strategy of the investment funds …

June 11, 2019Features, Heartland Feature Archive, Retail

How Office Owners Can Help Lower Sky-High Property Tax Assessments

Managing fixed expenses is the best way to ensure the long-term profitability of investment properties, especially in a flat market. The largest continuing expense for most commercial properties is the property tax bill, and in a market with skyline-defining properties and headline-grabbing sales prices, tax assessors have multi-tenant office properties in the crosshairs. Any reduction in tax burden can drastically improve an investment’s profitability, competitiveness and tenant retention. …

April 16, 2019Features, Heartland Feature Archive, Office

When Done Right, New Stadium Development Can Transform Neighborhoods

The practice of building large stadiums and sports arenas in urban areas has long been a hotly debated strategy. Critics cite the civic disruption that comes with unavoidable breakdowns in infrastructure and transportation and the significant parking and logistical requirements. There’s also the difficulty of reconciling the financial bottom line, or the aesthetic and functional disconnect of a grand facility that operates intermittently and towers over its surroundings. Stanford economist …

November 1, 2018Features, Heartland Feature Archive, Michigan, Midwest, Mixed-Use