Features

Smart Seniors Housing Design Can Offset Development Expenses, Says InterFace Panel

by John Nelson September 5, 2017

With construction costs rising and the supply of talented staff diminishing, doing business has never been more expensive for seniors housing developers. As such, both developers and operators are seeking new ways to save money. Increasingly, these groups are considering the role design plays in their projects, with a particular emphasis on identifying design concepts and elements that save on the bottom line without compromising the property’s sense of livability. A panel of seniors housing developers and operators gathered at the Westin Buckhead Atlanta on Wednesday, Aug. 23 as part of InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast to discuss development trends in today’s market. More than 400 industry professionals attended the conference. Moderator Will Childs, executive vice president of seniors housing for Oracle Healthcare Advisors and based in the firm’s Atlanta office, led the analysis of how construction and labor issues alike are driving developers to think outside the lines. At the most fundamental level, many new designs for seniors housing properties share the goal of repurposing common and outdoor spaces, according to panelist Alan Moise, chief investment officer for Atlanta-based Thrive Development Partners. “Overall pricing for development projects in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic is probably up about 6 percent this year,” …

September 5, 2017

Features Multifamily Texas Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive Top Stories

Hurricane Harvey May Accelerate Multifamily Absorption in Houston, Says RADCO CEO Norman Radow

by Taylor Williams September 1, 2017

Nearly a week has passed since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, drenching Houston and the Gulf Coast area with trillions of gallons of rainwater and sending residents scrambling for shelter. While Houston is now, in the words of Mayor Sylvester Turner, “mostly dry,” CoStar estimates that roughly 72,000 residential units are situated within Houston’s 100-year floodplain and are expected to suffer water damage, if they haven’t already. The volume of devastation has prompted property owners across all sectors of commercial real estate in Texas to issue press releases on the status of their properties. Texas Real Estate Business reached out to Norman Radow, CEO of The RADCO Cos., a private equity firm in the multifamily space whose holdings were mostly spared by Harvey. The Atlanta-based company owns seven multifamily properties in Texas, including four in Houston totaling about 1,800 units. Of those, only about 1 percent, or 18 units, were damaged by Harvey. The following interview captures his firm’s efforts to help displaced tenants, and offers insight on how Hurricane Harvey might positively impact future absorption and occupancy in Houston’s multifamily market. Texas Real Estate Business: Prior to the storm, the consensus coming out of Houston seems to have been …

September 1, 2017

Features Multifamily Student Housing Texas Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive Top Stories

Universities, Student Housing Properties Face Hurricane Harvey

by John Nelson August 31, 2017

HOUSTON AND COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS — Hurricane Harvey has brought massive amounts of rain, flooding and destruction to southern Texas, but reports show that on- and off-campus student housing properties have largely escaped the worst of the damage. The Texas Tribune reports that colleges in Houston have cancelled class and evacuated some student housing as the rain continues to fall and floodwaters continue to rise. About three buildings on the University of Houston campus have taken on water, and 140 students were evacuated from Bayou Oaks, a university-owned, off-campus apartment complex for older and international students. Most universities in Houston — such as Rice University and Victoria College — reported minor damage including leaks and power outages. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi also reported minor structural damage, according to The Texas Tribune. The first day of classes has been pushed to September 5. Texas A&M University’s Kingsville and College Station campuses also reported no major building damage or flooding, and plan to begin classes early next week. Servitas reports that Park West — a 3,406-bed student housing community developed through a public-private partnership with Texas A&M University in College Station — did not receive any damage or leakage during the storm. The …

August 31, 2017

Features Retail Texas Top Stories Washington Western

Amazon, Whole Foods Focus on Lowering Prices for Shoppers

by John Nelson August 29, 2017

SEATTLE AND AUSTIN, TEXAS — Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has officially closed its $13.7 billion acquisition of Whole Foods Market. The first order of business for the e-commerce giant is making the Austin-based grocer’s high-quality and organic food more affordable for its shoppers. Beginning yesterday, Whole Foods Market now offers lower prices on selected grocery staples across its stores, with more to come. These include fair-trade bananas, organic avocados, organic large brown eggs, organic salmon and tilapia, organic baby kale and baby lettuce, animal-welfare-rated 85 percent lean ground beef, creamy and crunchy almond butter, organic Gala and Fuji apples, organic rotisserie chicken and organic butter. “We’re determined to make healthy and organic food affordable for everyone,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO of AmazonWorldwide Consumer, in a statement. “We will lower prices without compromising Whole Foods Market’s long-held commitment to the highest standards.” Due to Amazon’s reputation and ability to deliver on its promises, other grocers are watching closely as Whole Foods transitions to the new model, according to Rick Scardino, principal of Lee & Associates’ Chicago office. “Most grocers will be concerned for obvious reasons as to Amazon’s plan to lower pricing because that will shrink already tight margins in the grocery …

August 29, 2017

Conference Coverage Features Multifamily Seniors Housing Top Stories

Healthcare, Tax Reform Legislation Will Impact American Businesses, says Sen. Johnny Isakson

by Camren Skelton August 24, 2017

ATLANTA — Legislative decisions made over the next 18 months will have a substantial effect on American businesses, according to Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.). The remarks were made at the fourth annual InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast conference on Wednesday, Aug. 23. The event drew over 400 industry professionals. “If you’re in business in America, what happens in Washington has a lot to do with your business,” he says. “You’re going to begin to see pressure on elected officials to move out of partisan voting, and I think that’s good for the economy.” Before entering politics, Isakson worked in real estate for more than 40 years and has a long family history in the industry. His father helped establish the prominent Atlanta-area real estate firm Northside Realty, which Isakson led as president for 22 years. Johnny’s brother, Andy Isakson, founded Isakson Living, a seniors housing development company, based on the Isakson family’s own difficulty finding suitable retirement options for their parents. Currently serving his third term, the U.S. Senator delivered this year’s keynote address at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta. According to Isakson, healthcare and tax reform top the list of issues that need be addressed by Congress over the next …

August 24, 2017

Features Georgia Southeast Top Stories

Growth in CapEx Spending Bodes Well for Economic Future, Says GSU’s Rajeev Dhawan

by John Nelson August 24, 2017

ATLANTA — When businesses loosen their purse strings and increase their capital expenditures (CapEx), good things tend to follow. U.S. businesses this year have already doubled the volume of CapEx recorded for all of 2016, which has contributed positively to the nation’s real gross domestic product (GDP), according to Rajeev Dhawan, director of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University’s (GSU) J. Mack Robinson College of Business. Speaking at his quarterly economic forecast, which was held on Wednesday, Aug. 23 at GSU’s Centennial Hall Auditorium, Dhawan says that the 5.2 percent growth of nonresidential fixed investment in the second quarter over the prior quarter has boosted his outlook for the U.S. economy. “Compared to February, my forecast is way more optimistic,” says Dhawan. “I don’t usually change my opinion that quickly until all the evidence comes in. I’ve always said ‘investment today, jobs tomorrow.’” CapEx spending was down in 2016 leading up to the U.S. presidential election, which Dhawan says was due to both oil prices coming down and the uncertainty surrounding the election’s outcome. “Everyone was waiting to see which way the election was going to go,” says Dhawan. “Since the election, CapEx spending has rebounded sharply.” Dhawan …

August 24, 2017

Features Retail Top Stories

The ‘Space’ Age Of Retail – Integrating Technology into Today’s Shopping Center

by Katie Sloan August 22, 2017

It was not so long ago that the actual merchandise was the focal point of most malls and shopping centers throughout the country. Technology, social media and the rise of a new generation have changed that focus. Or, at least, altered that focus, blurring the lines between products and services, retail and entertainment and ecommerce and bricks and mortar. Nowadays, shopping centers and the store brands that inhabit them must be much more. In fact, many are now tasked with being all things to all people. They can babysit your kids, act as your personal shopper, tell you which parking space is open, deliver your purchase to your front door, provide you with items that might complement your purchase and so on. While there are a variety of very creative, well-informed and innovative people behind all of these new and emerging services, most of them have come to fruition through the use of technology. Yes, the term once reserved for the computer science, engineering and medical fields has now become a premier commodity — rivaling that of even the merchandise — in the shopping centers of America. Though the actual blueprint for the next wave of retail real estate remains …

August 22, 2017

Delaware Features Northeast

Delaware Court Unlocks Opportunities to Reduce Property Tax Burden

by Kristin Harlow August 18, 2017

Reducing property tax assessments can be challenging under the best of circumstances, and distinctions between state tax systems make minimizing that burden across an office or industrial portfolio especially daunting. But a recent Delaware Supreme Court decision provides taxpayers with a new, yet surprisingly familiar, opportunity to ease the tax burden on properties in The First State. Delaware’s Tax Assessment System Shows its Age Under Delaware law, property must be valued at its “true value in money,” a term interpreted to mean the property’s “present actual market value.” However, in order to implement the Delaware Constitution’s mandate of tax uniformity, the state applies a base-year method of assessing property. That means that all property in a jurisdiction is assessed in terms of its value as of a certain date, and that value remains on the books indefinitely until the jurisdiction performs a general reassessment. For Delaware’s northernmost county, New Castle County, the last reassessment occurred in 1983, so all property therein is valued as of July 1, 1983. A major challenge to contesting assessments in Delaware is that a taxpayer must determine the property’s 1983 market value. Determining what a property is worth today is not always easy, but proving …

August 18, 2017

Features Industrial Self-Storage Top Stories

Self-Storage Demand Remains Strong as Supply Grows

by Kristin Harlow August 17, 2017

Halfway through a year of transition, the self-storage sector continues to undergo changing investor dynamics while feeling the effects of political uncertainty in Washington. Yet opportunities abound, particularly in the Midwest, where a moderate development pipeline has kept supply in check with demand. We’re currently witnessing a pool of buyers rethink their approach amid rising interest rates and a lack of tax and policy guidance. As a result, large self-storage real estate investment trusts have tempered growth expectations as development activity puts upward pressure on vacancy, and rent growth moderates. This may present an opening for small to midsize buyers to enter the market or expand their existing portfolios. Meanwhile, sellers are looking to capitalize on elevated valuations. Yet, the climate of higher interest rates will likely bring lower cash-on-cash returns and put upward pressure on cap rates. Favorable fundamentals Nationwide, self-storage is currently downshifting to a more sustainable growth trajectory after years of rampant expansion. Newly employed millennials are finally moving out on their own, spurring household formation. Baby boomers are also leaving the family nest as they look to downsize. These societal shifts, along with the current economic landscape, are driving a demand for space and keeping vacancy …

August 17, 2017

Data Centers Features Industrial Top Stories

JLL: Shifting Clouds, Surging M&A Shape 2017 Data Center Demand

by Kristin Harlow August 15, 2017

The data center industry is stepping up to meet escalating demand for storage, according to a new report from JLL, which reveals that data center construction in North America is up 43 percent in 2017 compared to 2016. In addition, industry consolidation powered a $10 billion surge in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the first half of 2017. Data center users identified the biggest industry changes projected for the next two years in JLL’s report. Among the predictions: Efficiency programs will install automation to make data center operations more valuable to the core business; Artificial intelligence will help reduce human intervention in data centers and significantly cut time to restore operations in the event of a failure; Artificial intelligence will make greater use of predictive analytics on-site; Processor technology investments will improve cooling and reduce energy usage. Data center markets across the country experienced significant shifts in the first half of 2017. Northern Virginia maintained its status as the top market in the data center industry, and supply is growing at a historic rate, according to JLL. However, a shortage of available big-block spaces is leaving providers scrambling to bring new inventory on line as quickly as possible to capitalize on the …

August 15, 2017

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