Features

Open-Air Lifestyle Centers Take Over U.S. Suburbs

by Taylor Williams May 30, 2023

By Ed Coury, senior managing director, RCS Real Estate Advisors Open-air lifestyle centers can be defined as intentionally designed spaces that are set against beautiful landscapes and house high-quality dining, retail, entertainment, health and wellness uses. These centers are being developed or redeveloped at an increasing rate across the country. Lifestyle centers are particularly popular along “smile” states: California, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina. This particular transformation has been a result of “de-mallification” in the suburbs, in which malls that were once largely indoors and anchored by big department stores are now being converted into mixed-use lifestyle developments. For background, lifestyle centers are not a new phenomenon; they have been gaining popularity since the early 2000s. While few new malls have been built in the last two decades, new lifestyle centers and conversions to lifestyle centers continue to emerge every year. So why are these lifestyle centers so popular, and what does the future of suburban retail look like? Shifting Tastes For one thing, consumer preferences have changed. Today, there is high demand for wellness. In a 2022 consumer report by IT consulting firm Accenture, 80 percent of people surveyed stated that wellness was an …

May 30, 2023

Residents Share Insightful Firsthand Accounts of Life in Active Adult Communities

by Taylor Williams May 25, 2023

By Taylor Williams Aging is something that happens to all of us physically, but according to some residents at active adult communities in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area, the psychological and emotional difficulties of growing older are easier to bear in the company of others. Operators of this asset class are making this possible by delivering products and services that reflect the name “active adult.” Shared fitness classes, walking groups, book clubs, card games, communal gardening and organized shopping trips are but a few of the ways in which active adult owner-operators keep their residents’ bodies and minds fit and sharp. Happy hours, dance parties and holiday shindigs — all taking place in an environment devoid of children — ensure that residents have very grown-up ways of relaxing and having fun. The average age of a resident in an active adult community is 72 to 74, according to research conducted by the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care. The growth of active adult properties, which tend to be age-restricted hybrids of traditional multifamily and independent living product, is often linked to convenience for older households whose children have left the home. The prospect of having a smaller space …

May 25, 2023

Content Partner Features Loans Midwest Multifamily Northeast Office Southeast Texas Walker & Dunlop Western

“State of CRE” Webcast Frames Market Trends in Face of Potential Downturn

by Sarah Daniels May 23, 2023

By Willy Walker, CEO of Walker & Dunlop I recently had the pleasure of sitting down to talk with some prominent members of the Walker & Dunlop team, including Kris Mikkelsen, executive vice president of investment sales, Aaron Appel, senior managing director of capital markets, and Ivy Zelman, executive vice president of research and securities. In this episode of the Walker Webcast, “State of CRE,” we covered some of the most prominent issues the commercial real estate industry is facing, as well as some headwinds it will continue to face in the future. Changes in Homebuilding and Consumer Spending Although homebuilders had to offer incentives when rates first started increasing last year, they are still seeing a steady demand for homes, as demand still heavily outpaces supply. This imbalance is seen in the new and existing home market. Single-family homes in many markets across the country are in multiple offer situations, indicating that single-family residential real estate is still strong. This is incredible, given the fact that many existing homeowners are locked into mortgage rates in the 2-5 percent range, giving them little reason to move out of their current home. How Mortgage Deals Are Currently Financed Although we are …

May 23, 2023

Features Office

Six Ways in Which Office Users Can Increase Efficiency of Space Usage

by Taylor Williams May 22, 2023

By Wes Snow, co-founder and CEO, Ascendix Technologies For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, offices are 50 percent occupied nationally as companies push harder for returns to their buildings — which is good news. Still, amid this encouraging development, inflation, interest rate hikes and general fears of recession might impede businesses planning to align their office rent expenses with the pre-pandemic rates. Can businesses optimize the space they’re already utilizing without renting more? At Ascendix Technologies, a company that has been specializing in custom real estate software development for two decades, we’ve seen a variety of space extension practices applied by office owners and managers. Here are some methods that users can employ too maximize efficiency within their existing footprints. Implement Open Floor Plans Not only do wall-less spaces encourage collaboration among teams and reduce the need for spacious individual offices, they also increase flexibility in terms of how space is utilized. Reconfiguring spaces is easy with movable walls and modular furniture and represents an option that helps growing businesses align their changing needs with the spaces they’ve got. Upgrading open-floor space management with automation is another viable option. With a technology like floor management software or …

May 22, 2023

Features Retail

How Retail Owners Can Identify, Establish True Differentiators in Their Centers

by Taylor Williams May 16, 2023

By Barry Caylor, vice president of business development, Outside the Lines Inc. From the rise of online shopping to the pandemic to inflation, retail real estate has weathered a series of challenges in recent years. Yet, despite being knocked down multiple times, the owners and operators of brick-and-mortar retail keep discovering new ways to adapt to shifting demands and needs, especially as consumers spend more on services and experiences than physical goods. One way in which retail owners can continue to keep their centers relevant is by leaning into what attributes make them different. By continually supplying the market with fresh concepts and new ways of presenting them, landlords can keep consumers coming back again and again, generating foot traffic and sales for tenants and driving ROI for investors. In addition, shopping centers can distinguish themselves by providing consumers with something they can’t get anywhere else. As a design-build construction company that specializes in delivering one-of-a-kind water features, rockwork and themed environments, our company has seen retail centers transformed by incorporating unique offerings that consistently draw people in from miles around. Here are a few ways brick-and-mortar retail owners can stay ahead of the game as the sector continues to …

May 16, 2023

Features Heartland Feature Archive Retail

APTC: Airport Concession Fees Aren’t Rent in Property Taxation

by Kristin Harlow May 12, 2023

By Timothy Rye, Larkin Hoffman A recent Minnesota Supreme Court ruling requires tax assessors to exclude an airport’s concession fees from rent-based valuations for property tax purposes. The case offers a flight plan to lower taxes at many of the nation’s transportation hubs and underscores the importance for all taxpayers to exclude business value from taxable property value. Every major airfield collects fees from food-and-beverage providers, retailers, banks and other businesses that provide goods or services on airport property. Concessionaires, or those who pay the concession fees to the property owner, commonly pay these charges in addition to rent owed for the real estate where they operate. Many of these businesses are also responsible for property tax that passes through to tenants in a commercial lease. The cases leading up to the March 29 state Supreme Court decision involved two car rental companies that challenged their 2019 tax assessments, claiming the assessor’s office had overstated their property values by including concession fees in its income-based valuation. High-Flying Fees Both Enterprise Leasing Co. of Minnesota and Avis Budget Car Rental pay a concession fee equal to 10 percent of gross revenues in addition to real estate rent for their operations at …

May 12, 2023

Bohler Content Partner Development Features Life Sciences Midwest Northeast Southeast Texas Western

Part 1: Life Sciences Innovation Districts — Planning Optimizes Development, Fosters Collaboration

by Sarah Daniels May 11, 2023

Life sciences-anchored innovation districts are becoming increasingly popular as hubs for research and development in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. These districts, also known as “innovation districts,” are characterized by clusters of companies, research institutions, supporting organizations, living areas, amenities and offices all located in close proximity. This grouping requires detailed planning and design strategies to maximize their potential for scientific exploration and success on an enormous, ambitious scale. Master planning and engaging site civil engineering partners early on in the process can save time and money once a project reaches the design stage. This article is the first installment in a two-part series on life sciences innovation districts to discuss, first, the planning, and, then, the design elements required by these districts. Read about design in Part 2, here. Fostering innovation, collaboration and productivity is at the heart of planning for life sciences innovation districts. The successes of famous examples such as North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park, Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass. and Mission Bay in San Francisco indicate how beneficial a melting-pot mix of residential, commercial and research spaces can be when they concentrate talent from research institutions, life sciences innovators, universities and the surrounding community. “Many life …

May 11, 2023

Features Heartland Feature Archive Retail

Placemaking at Heart of Retail Redevelopment Projects

by Kristin Harlow May 9, 2023

The future of retail has been questioned many times in the last few years, but the sector continues to evolve and overcome any obstacles that arise. Today’s consumers want a gathering place to dine, drink and be entertained, especially after the isolation and stay-at-home mandates they endured throughout the pandemic. With that in mind, owners are redeveloping many underutilized retail properties into new concepts that invigorate the towns in which they reside. Take ROECO, for example, a project that aims to transform a former Sears Roebuck location in Lansing, Michigan, into a retail and entertainment destination. Owner Gillespie Group purchased the property about 10 years ago when Sears was still operating. Sears opened the property in 1953 and vacated it about four years ago. Most recently, a local hospital utilized the site for COVID-19 testing. Pat Gillespie, CEO of Lansing-based Gillespie Group, says his firm is actively marketing the project and has about seven to eight letters of intent with retailers. Gillespie’s main focus is retail and entertainment, but the firm is having conversations about hospitality or housing for the far northeast corner of the 14-acre property. Gillespie says the design of ROECO will have a retro feel to play …

May 9, 2023

Conference Coverage Features Student Housing

Wellness Amenities, Updated Technology are Top Priorities for Student Housing Projects, Says InterFace Panel

by Katie Sloan May 4, 2023

With some markets today saturated with new student housing development, differentiating your project has become of paramount importance. One of the primary ways of doing that is by keeping in touch with the wants and needs of today’s student — and specifically a community’s surrounding demographic. This was discussed at length during the kick-off panel for InterFace Student Housing, which took place in April in Austin, Texas. In preparation for the panel — titled “What’s Trending in New Development: A Survey of 2023 New Deliveries & How Developers and Operators Aim to Address the Needs and Wants of Today’s Students” — a survey was sent out by uForis to 500 Gen Z students ranging in age from 18 to 24 years old regarding their wants, needs and preferences when looking for their next place of residence. The primary takeaways from this year’s survey were the impact of regional differences due to weather and year-round use of amenities; the shift away from entertainment towards health and wellness for shared amenity spaces; and the increasing impact of tech offerings like digital touring and online leasing, according to panel moderator TJ Chambers, owner and founder of Chambers Real Estate Advisors. “During pre-development at …

May 4, 2023

Content Partner Development Features Industrial Leasing Activity Lee & Associates Midwest Multifamily Northeast Office Retail Southeast Texas Western

Lee & Associates’ First-Quarter 2023 Sector-by-Sector Analysis Indicates Market-Wide Cooling

by Sarah Daniels May 2, 2023

High interest rates and economic uncertainty in the first quarter of this year contributed to lower absorption and declining rent growth in industrial, retail and multifamily sectors across the country, with some regional exceptions, according to Lee & Associates’ 2023 Q1 North America Market Report. Meanwhile office continues to struggle. The sector experienced its third-largest quarterly contraction since the beginning of the pandemic, as work-from-home preferences decoupled office occupancy from job growth numbers. The full Lee & Associates report is available (with further breakdowns of factors like vacancy rates, market rents, inventory square footage and cap rates by city) here. The analysis below provides an overview of four major commercial real estate sectors alongside trends, economic background and exceptions within each sector. Industrial Overview: Sharp Decline Hits First-Quarter U.S. Demand There was a sharp first-quarter decline in U.S. tenant demand for industrial space as wholesalers and retailers reconsider their inventory levels out of caution over the economic outlook. Net absorption in the first quarter totaled 39.4 million square feet, a 57 percent drop from the record set a year ago. The overall U.S. vacancy rate settled at 4.4 percent, an increase of 40 basis points from the close of 2022, comfortably …

May 2, 2023

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