Features

Office Space Is Back in Demand — With a Wellness Component

by Jeff Shaw July 28, 2022

By Michael Brumley, Project Executive, Kiewit Building Group AT The pandemic sent ripple effects throughout the construction industry. Along the way, it also heavily influenced and impacted the way employees in the workforce now operate and interact. With COVID prompting a shift in remote work, many are wondering if it’s beneficial to go back to the office full-time, adopt a hybrid approach or forgo investing in office space altogether. There are many justifications for investing in office space when you consider variables like productivity, industry-specific jobs or trades, and overall employee satisfaction and benefits. The distinction is you need to invest in spaces that are successful for employers and employees alike. It’s All About the Benefits The pandemic proved work can be done anywhere as long as Wi-Fi is available. So, how can companies entice employees to work at an office once the investments have been poured into developing the physical space? According to a survey from McKinsey on consumer interest and purchasing power, 79 percent of respondents said they believe wellness is important while 42 percent consider it a top priority. Consumers in each market studied reported a substantial increase in the prioritization of wellness over the past two to three …

July 28, 2022

Features Multifamily Seniors Housing Western Feature Archive

Universal Design Strategies Foster Intergenerational Living in Multifamily Communities

by Jeff Shaw July 26, 2022

By Carol Cole, director of interior design, DAHLIN Group Architecture AT Intergenerational households are growing at a faster pace than they were pre-pandemic. Generations United, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting intergenerational programs and policies, estimates that 66.7 million U.S. adults live in a multigenerational household, with nearly 57 percent of this statistic spurred by COVID. Even after the immediate impacts of the pandemic subside, intergenerational living will remain prevalent for a variety of reasons. These can range from the need for child and/or elder care to cultural expectations and economic-related factors, such as loss of a job, high educational expenses or housing availability. Considering this trend and recognizing that more than 16 million Americans are currently over the age of 65, the movement toward incorporating universal design strategies on residential projects is key for creating aesthetic living spaces that are usable by everyone to the greatest extent possible. Already a standard in the healthcare community, universal design is the design and composition of a space set up to meet the needs of all users, not as a special requirement to benefit only a small fraction of a population. The practice results in inclusive environments that support high-functioning, independent living for …

July 26, 2022

Features Retail

Retail Design Adapts to New Technology, Consumer Behavior, Supply Chain Issues

by Katie Sloan July 21, 2022

It’s a challenging world right now. Inflation, rising interest rates, persistent supply chain lags and labor shortages are affecting the retail industry. That’s to say nothing of the always changing retail environment. But there are also consumers who are ready to put COVID behind them — who are looking for a reason to venture out, be entertained and spend some money (though maybe not as much money, thanks to inflation). You also have shopping center owners who are quite eager to give these consumers what they want. While architects and designers can’t remove problems like rates or inflation from an owner’s plate, they can help them navigate — and win — in this new market. How? By making sure every detail, dollar and person counts. Multifaceted Designers Strength in numbers is always appreciated when times are tricky. Frankie Campione, principal at CREATE Architecture Planning & Design in New York City, notes designers are collaborating more than ever to get the job done. This type of collaboration is particularly useful during the current materials shortage, he notes. “There doesn’t seem to be any way to know what shortage may affect any particular project,” Campione says. “There are two projects, both on Long …

July 21, 2022

Bohler Content Partner Development Features Midwest Northeast Southeast Texas Western

Streamlining Permits and Entitlements: How to Avoid Timeline Creep

by Sarah Daniels July 19, 2022

Developers have seen permitting and entitlement timelines lengthen exponentially over the past few years. What is causing increased timelines and how do developers overcome challenges and avoid unnecessary delays? If expanded timelines are inevitable in some cases, how can developers ensure that slowdowns do not spread to other aspects of development? Many municipalities have been overwhelmed by an explosion in projects and applications in the development queue, and the issues are compounded by employee turnover within these organizations. Municipal slowdowns in upgrading utility capacities have further stalled the process of development. Additionally, the process for obtaining permits and entitlements has grown increasingly complex in certain regions, regardless of property type. REBusiness Online spoke with experts at Bohler, a land development design and consulting firm, to learn the best practices for keeping delays and budgets under control in the face of growing timeline uncertainties. To avoid problems before they begin, these experts recommend early due diligence and local expertise, as well as an approach that incorporates the community, local agencies and the authority having jurisdiction at crucial points. Bohler’s team also emphasizes the importance of working through waiting periods and working on different elements of a project concurrently, so that if …

July 19, 2022

Features Loans Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

Borrowers, Lenders Reach an ‘Inflection Point’ in the Wake of Rising Inflation and Interest Rates

by John Nelson July 14, 2022

By John Nelson The period between mid-June and mid-July has become a pivotal moment in the capital markets world as commercial real estate borrowers and lenders navigate inflation levels and interest rates not seen in decades. Scott Cook, commercial real estate market manager with TD Bank’s Charlotte office, says that borrowers and lenders are reshaping the market on the fly, and it’s too early to tell if the elevated capital costs are going to drastically suppress borrower demand. “We’re at an inflection point: the natural, healthy tension between borrowers and lenders where borrowers want more but lenders want to give less,” says Cook. “I don’t know that we’ve seen the full effect yet. Generally speaking, borrowers are still looking for business as usual. They’re aware of the rate hikes but still believe in the product, and certainly there’s overwhelming demand. We’re redefining it as we speak, it’s too early to call.” Cook says that the first true “wake up” call was when the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) relayed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), one of the standard inflation measurements that tracks price changes for goods and services, had increased 8.6 percent in May, which is the highest …

July 14, 2022

Features Leasing Activity Multifamily Single-Family Rental Western Feature Archive

Redfin: US Residential Median Asking Rents Up 14.1 Percent in June on Annual Basis

by John Nelson July 12, 2022

SEATTLE — Redfin, the residential real estate brokerage giant, has reported that the national median asking rent in June is $2,016 per month, a 14.1 percent increase year-over-year. The Seattle-based company analyzed data from 20,000 separate multifamily and single-family properties from its RentPath platform across the top 50 U.S. metro areas. The June figure is a slight increase from May at 0.7 percent, which represents the smallest month-over-month gain since the start of the year. The median asking rate is also the smallest annual increase since October 2021. Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist, says while still elevated, the current slowdown in rent growth could be anticipatory on the part of landlords in reaction to overall inflation. (The Consumer Price Index saw its biggest annual gain since 1981 in May, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). “Rent growth is likely slowing because landlords are seeing demand start to ease as renters get pinched by inflation,” says Fairweather. “With the cost of gas, food and other products soaring, renters have less money to spend on housing.” “This slowdown in rent increases is likely to continue, however rents are still climbing at unprecedented rates in strong job markets like New York …

July 12, 2022

Features Healthcare

APTC: Minimize Property Taxation of Medical Office Buildings

by Kristin Harlow July 7, 2022

By Brian Morrissey, Ragsdale Beals Seigler Patterson & Gray LLP How municipalities and counties tax medical real estate can vary by modes of ownership, location and how a property affects the local economy. Much, however, depends on each taxing entity’s goals and its degree of interest in attracting hospitals, creating medical hubs, enlarging commercial areas or encouraging excellent healthcare locally. A typical approach to achieving some or all of these goals is for local government to control the property. This can be through outright ownership, where the facilities are leased out. Governments can also create an economic zone and issue bonds to finance the area’s development. Each of these methods poses property tax issues. In a direct ownership scenario, the government owner is exempt from taxation. The operating and management company that leases the property has tax liability for its going concern, however. That going concern has untaxed intangible value, but also will have onsite assets such as medical equipment that can be taxed under standard code approaches at fair market value. They can also be taxed under a modified fair market value, which is a common incentive designed to entice investment by medical businesses. If the local government chooses …

July 7, 2022

Features Heartland Feature Archive Restaurant Retail

Retail, Restaurant Industries Embrace Post-Pandemic Design Shifts

by Kristin Harlow July 5, 2022

By Kristin Hiller As the nation emerges on the other side of the pandemic, the retail and restaurant industries are tasked with adapting their store designs and business models to match consumer behavioral shifts. Shoppers and diners alike want to make purchases easily with multiple options for ordering and pickup. Border Foods, one of the largest privately held Taco Bell franchisees in America, enlisted the services of Minneapolis-based design consultancy Vertical Works Inc. in 2020 to create a new restaurant design. The result was Defy, a two-story concept with four drive-thru lanes situated below the restaurant kitchen. The 3,000-square-foot restaurant, which is located in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park, recently opened. Josh Hanson, founder and CEO at Vertical Works and WORKSHOP, says his team set out to reimagine the drive-thru experience and create a concept that would solve many of the issues related to traditional drive-thrus. “By elevating kitchens and operations and adding multiple drive-thru lanes underneath, the Defy concept is able to increase efficiency and profitability within the same footprint and at the same cost as a traditional drive-thru,” he states. Defy customers will be able to place orders online via the Taco Bell app or traditionally …

July 5, 2022

Features

Adaptive Reuse Projects Present Equal Measures of Challenges, Opportunities

by Taylor Williams June 30, 2022

By Bill Colgan, managing partner, CHA Partners Adaptive reuse projects have continued to garner the attention of the commercial real estate community, especially in light of the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While office and retail conversion projects have remained popular in numerous markets over the last several years, in certain parts of the country, projects involving the adaptive reuse of hospitals and healthcare facilities have also played a major role in bringing new life back to communities. As seen throughout the country, the common pattern of large health systems consolidating acute care hospitals has challenged the survivability of standalone hospitals. When standalone facilities fail, it not only creates a healthcare void in the local community, but also results in the closure of large, outdated structures, many of which span several hundred thousand square feet. These structures often sit vacant for decades, become blights in the local area and fail to serve the needs of the communities in which they are situated. When compared with new ground-up projects, there are many benefits to adaptive reuse projects — including cost-effectiveness and shorter time frames — but there are also many challenges. Roadblocks to Adaptive Reuse Due to their very nature, …

June 30, 2022

Content Partner Development Features Leasing Activity Multifamily Southeast Tennessee Walker & Dunlop

A Rising Tech Titan Takes the Multifamily Spotlight

by Sarah Daniels June 28, 2022

Last year, a city known more for music than multifamily development led the nation in new construction growth rates, with luxury high rises popping up from downtown to the Gulch to along the Cumberland River. Nashville, attracting an abundance of debt and equity funding from sources old and new, is now considered an institutional-grade market. The driving force behind this growth: technology. Today, singers, songwriters and studio artists share the city with a growing number of software developers, systems architects and startup founders — and all of these innovators need a place to live, work, shop and play. Nashville’s tech evolution started from a solid foundation in healthcare, automotive and education, including HCA Healthcare and its associated startups, spinoffs and subsidiaries and an automotive hub that includes North American headquarters for Nissan and Korean tire manufacturer Hankook, as well as EV and battery cell manufacturing plants for GM. Twenty nine institutions of higher education, including Vanderbilt University, further helped develop a strong pipeline of tech talent. This ecosystem and a business-friendly climate have attracted some of the nation’s top tech employers: Amazon, who chose the metropolitan area for its much-coveted Center of Excellence; Oracle, relocating from Austin; and Capgemini, whose …

June 28, 2022

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