Wednesday, July 16, 2025
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Conference CoverageFeaturesRestaurantRetail

Foodservice Remains Retail Darling as Customers Have Appetite for Experiences

by Jeff Shaw

LOS ANGELES — Whitney Livingston had a question for those in attendance at the annual Entertainment Experience Evolution conference in Los Angeles: Which user — food halls or restaurants — are more beneficial to driving traffic at retail properties? By show of hands, most attendees said food halls. Livingston, president of Centennial REC, was moderating the event’s “Fireside Chat: What’s Better for Traffic, Food Hall or Restaurants?” panel at the JW Marriott LA Live. Each of the categories was embodied in the form of a panelist. Representing food halls was Michael Morris, CEO of the aptly named Food Hall Co., with Rich Renninger, SVP and chief development officer of Darden Restaurants, weighing in from the perspective of more traditional, full-service restaurants. Despite what the name of the panel might suggest and Livingston’s opening poll, the dialogue that emerged between Renninger and Morris did not take on the shape of a debate so much as a conversation that illustrated that, for all their distinctions, there are many commonalities between the two types of food-and-beverage users.  Ultimately, the panelists revealed that though food halls and full-service restaurants may take different paths, there is one shared recipe for success: creating a robust customer …

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BohlerContent PartnerDevelopmentFeaturesMidwestMultifamilyNortheastRetailSoutheastTexasWestern

Savvy Developers Stay Active Even When the Easy Sites Are Gone

by Sarah Daniels

As vacant sites become rare and cost-prohibitive, commercial real estate developers need to be creative when it comes to bringing a new project out of the ground. Unconventional development sites offer cost savings and location advantages, and in-depth due diligence and creativity on the part of developers can make for sites that can allow an elegant union of lower costs and strategy. With limited room for delay, how can developers think critically about available sites and leverage existing conditions to their advantage? Katherine Roberts, senior project manager at Bohler’s Warrenton, VA office, and Gregory Roth, principal at Bohler’s Tampa office, offer their expert advice on threading this needle. Bohler specializes in land development, especially making development work when conventional sites aren’t an option. Prioritizing Development Needs When Assessing Red Flags Certain project factors can be red flags if time or cost are obstacles to a developer, including These points of concern are usually knots that can be untangled if a developer has the time, money and appetite to move forward in spite of these interruptions, but each factor does bear watching. “Developers should understand where their limits are and where they’re willing to negotiate. Ideally, anything you’re developing should be …

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Conference CoverageFeaturesRetail

Sports-Anchored Entertainment Districts Deliver Experiences Well Beyond Athletics, Say EEE Panelists

by Taylor Williams

LOS ANGELES — As large-scale entertainment districts that are centered around professional sports teams pop up around the country, operators of these developments are realizing that their ability to draw traffic, generate revenue and deliver meaningful experiences goes well beyond the diamond, arena or gridiron. After all, the average professional sports season only lasts about six months — assuming the team qualifies for the postseason — and only half the games are played at home. Given the scope of these projects, in terms of their vast physical footprints and tremendous manpower needed to operate the wide variety of concepts they house, it follows that sports-anchored entertainment districts cannot rely on athletics alone to be successful. At the Entertainment Experience Evolution that took place in Los Angeles in early March, a panel of developers and operators with extensive experience in sports-anchored entertainment districts provided concrete examples of how to achieve this objective. Hosted by Shopping Center Business, the flagship publication of Atlanta-based France Media, the event drew more than 500 people in its eighth annual iteration. Rob Hunden, president and CEO of Hunden Strategic Advisors, a Chicago-based consulting firm for destination-style commercial projects, moderated the discussion. Pioneering Examples John Moncke, a …

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FeaturesIndustrial

Stashing Success: The Growth of Industrial Outdoor Storage

by Taylor Williams

By Deborah Smith, co-founder and CEO, The CenterCap Group Industrial outdoor storage (IOS) may have once been an obscure abbreviation, but this subcategory of industrial real estate has now emerged as an intriguing and evolving niche product. Much like single-family rentals (SFR) and self-storage, the asset class still has some way to go before becoming fully institutionalized, but its increasing importance in last-mile distribution makes it a topic worth discussing and placing on investors’ radars. At a high level, IOS properties serve as essential storage facilities for large equipment, vehicles and materials and are often located near transportation hubs, highway corridors and ports of entry. Among other things, these facilities exist to provide secondary storage capacity for logistics operators. So What Is IOS?IOS properties are not the kinds of glamorous properties that commercial investors typically pay much attention to, as they are outdoors and not always aesthetically pleasing to look at. At a basic level, these sites are low-coverage industrial land, generally in the three- to 20-acre range. Buildings typically comprise zero to 20 percent of the site. The property type’s primary value comes from the outside storage capabilities of the excess yard. IOS facilities feature a significantly lower floor …

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FeaturesMultifamily

How Multifamily Owners, Managers Can Exceed Resident Expectations

by Taylor Williams

In a fast-paced, post-pandemic world, the amenities and services that renters expect in multifamily communities are constantly changing. Owners and managers must anticipate what residents will ask for next in order to stay competitive. Predicting What Residents Want There is no crystal ball that allows multifamily owners to foresee what amenities and services future residents will seek when searching for a new home, but there are a few ways in which developers and managers can make sure they’re keeping up with the trends. Although focused on a different customer, sectors such as office and hotel are often ahead of the curve when it comes to meeting the shifting demands of their clientele. Multifamily owners and operators should keep a close eye on what industry leaders in these sectors are doing, such as installing pickleball courts and providing open workspaces and find ways to duplicate those experiences at their own communities. These specific examples have helped Morgan Properties to provide residents with the balance they seek — an active lifestyle that supports the new normal of work from home life. For example, in response to resident demand, we recently began installing outdoor fitness equipment that focuses on body weight and gravity …

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Matt Mimnaugh Pavlov Mutlifamily Internet reviews
Content PartnerFeaturesLeasing ActivityMidwestMultifamilyNortheastPavlov MediaSoutheastTexasWestern

Service Providers Keep Multifamily Owners, Residents Happy with Proactive Approach to Internet Challenges

by Sarah Daniels

By Matthew Mimnaugh, account management manager, Pavlov Media Account management, or the work to ensure repeat business and expand each client relationship, requires more than simply satisfying customers. For Internet service providers (ISPs) to the multifamily industry this means helping property managers succeed by maximizing their residents’ connectivity.  Excellent Internet service leads to positive property reviews and renewed leases. Property ownership and management win.  Providers that serve landlords best not only respond to service requests, but also employ a deductive approach to diagnose root problems, discover unreported deficiencies and take preemptive actions that allow smooth property operations. Below is an overview of best practices for account management and a discussion of Pavlov Media’s data analysis and behavioral pattern recognition tools we’ve developed to uncover trends and issues that can threaten connectivity and, ultimately, property performance. First Responders Giving housing managers and their residents access to a technology support team is a standard practice for many ISPs. Typically, a request generates a service ticket, and a team member responds to gather basic information before walking the customer through a scripted trouble-shooting tree to either solve the problem or elevate the ticket for more advanced assistance. This approach can be highly effective …

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Company NewsFeaturesLoansNew YorkNortheast

Turmoil in Bank Sector Causing Frayed Nerves as Banks Approach Debt Wall, Says Trepp

by John Nelson

After massive bank runs earlier this month, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) took the reins at two regional banks, Silicon Valley Bank based in Northern California and New York City-based Signature Bank. First Citizens Bank has since agreed to acquire the assets of Silicon Valley Bank. According to the FDIC, 2023 already represents the largest year in bank failures in terms of total assets ($319.4 billion combined between the two banks) since 2008, when 25 banks failed (representing $373.6 billion in total assets). “In a very short timeframe, we’ve now seen two of the biggest bank failures on record, the biggest one of course being Washington Mutual back in September 2008,” said Matt Anderson, managing director of Trepp, a New York-based data analytics firm. “We are in a very fraught period right now. Nerves are very frayed at the moment seeing two large bank failures in quick succession.” The comments came during a Trepp-hosted webinar titled “Bank Turmoil and What it Means for CRE & Capital Markets” on Friday, March 24. The three-person webinar featured panelists Anderson and Dr. Stephen Buschbom, research director at Trepp. Lonnie Hendry, the firm’s senior vice president and head of commercial real estate and …

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FeaturesHeartland Feature ArchiveMultifamily

Strategic Apartment Investors Remain Undeterred

by Kristin Harlow

Multifamily transaction activity slowed in the second half of 2022 and continues to remain muted due to pricing uncertainty. U.S. multifamily sales totaled $187 billion in 2022, down 16.1 percent from $222.9 billion in 2021, according to Yardi Matrix.  The Federal Reserve has raised its key short-term rate, the federal funds rate, nine times over the past year for a total of 475 basis points in an aggressive move to fight inflation. The Fed’s actions have led to a sharp rise in commercial mortgage rates, which have a significant impact on pricing, states Yardi Matrix. The 10-year Treasury yield, the benchmark for permanent, long-term financing, is now hovering around 3.5 percent, up from 2.3 percent one year ago. “In the current climate with inflation and rising interest rates, we’re a bit more cautious, but no less active in scouring the market for great investments,” says Tim Donovan, director of investments for Midloch Investment Partners. “Investment sales are happening in this market, including by us, but it’s generally taking longer for buyers and sellers to agree on a price, and for buyers to raise the equity required to meet lender terms for permanent financing.”  In January, the Consumer Price Index rose …

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Pavlov Media Diversifying the Technology Workforce
Content PartnerFeaturesMidwestMultifamilyNortheastPavlov MediaSoutheastTexasWestern

How a Fiber Provider to Multifamily Housing Is Diversifying the Technology Workforce

by Sarah Daniels

It’s little wonder that the fiber optic business is booming. American appetites for high-speed, high-volume Internet connectivity have skyrocketed in recent years, making fiber essential to provide Internet service across commercial property types. Employment for the linemen who build out and maintain those networks will grow 6 percent between 2021 and 2031, while telecommunications equipment installation jobs in general will expand to an even greater 8 percent, according to projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Factor in the ongoing exodus of skilled workers from all trades as more of the nation’s Baby Boomers enter retirement, and many broadband providers may struggle to fill job openings in the coming years. That’s one of the reasons Pavlov Media, a Champaign, Ill.-based Internet service provider, is partnering with a Texas university to put students on career paths in fiber technology. Its partner in this endeavor, Prairie View A&M University, was founded in 1876 and is the second oldest public institution of higher education in Texas and one of the earliest 1890 Land Grant Institutions. Because it is a historically black institution, the program will be helping to address a longstanding need for greater diversity, equity and inclusiveness (DEI) in the technology sector. …

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NAI Olshonsky Reshoring
Content PartnerFeaturesIndustrialMidwestNAINortheastSoutheastTexasWestern

Supply Chain Simplification: More Accessible Collaborations, Quality Control Lead the Way for Reshoring in 2023

by Sarah Daniels

As economic uncertainty remains at the forefront, there is a continued quest to combat the multitude of challenges encountered by the manufacturing industry, as well as the trickle-down effects on commercial real estate markets. At the recent NAI Global Convention in Las Vegas, NAI Global president and CEO, Jay Olshonsky sat down with an industry leader who has spent the last decade mitigating these complexities. “It’s a very clear mission, to balance the goods trade deficit, the difference between imports and exports,” said Harry Moser, who founded the Reshoring Initiative in 2010 to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. “The deficit last year was $1.2 trillion and balancing that and bringing those jobs back at current levels of U.S. productivity will increase U.S. manufacturing by six million jobs, or about 40 percent.” The emphasis on reshoring is driven by a variety of factors, for example, rising labor costs in foreign countries and corporate understanding of the total cost of offshoring — including intellectual property theft, freight and tariffs. Companies desire greater control over supply chains, especially in a time of rising geo-political tension. By promoting a contained, local approach across the entirety of the manufacturing landscape, industry leaders …

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