Features

Medical Office Sales Active in Southeast Despite Slowdown Nationally, Say InterFace Panelists

by Alex Tostado June 20, 2019

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Medical office buildings (MOBs) were trading at steady increases year over year from 2011 to 2017, says P.J. Camp, principal and co-founder of Atlanta-based healthcare real estate investment firm Hammond Hanlon Camp. In 2018, however, MOB transactions started to dip, a trend that bled into the first part of this year. There were $14 billion worth of MOB transactions in 2017 but $12 billion worth in 2018. The first quarter of 2019 saw $1.7 billion worth of transactions in the sector, down 32 percent from the first quarter of 2018 and the lowest quarterly total in five years, says Camp. Camp was a participant on the investment panel at the ninth annual InterFace Healthcare Real Estate Carolinas conference. The half-day information and networking event was held May 30 in Charlotte and was hosted by Southeast Real Estate Business and Seniors Housing Business. Also participating in the panel were Mervyn Alphonso, senior vice president of Anchor Health Properties; Steven Reedy, managing director of CIT Healthcare Finance; Stephen Pandos, director of finance at Insite Properties; Gerald Quattlebaum, senior vice president of Flagship Healthcare Properties; Jim McMahon, senior director at Capital One Healthcare; and moderator Andy Lawler, healthcare development partner …

June 20, 2019

Content Partner Features Hospitality

Hospitality Lending: Whose Market?

by Jeff Shaw June 20, 2019

As the economy continues its upward trajectory, hotels are enjoying the benefits of strong demand from both personal and business travel. Despite these solid operating fundamentals, many lenders are apprehensive about the record length of the current economic expansion and the impact that a future downturn may have on room rates and occupancy levels. In response to these growing fears, many capital sources have either tightened their lending criteria or decided to cease hospitality lending all together. As traditional sources of financing retreat, hospitality owners have had to look far and wide for lenders that remain receptive to this asset class. This has created opportunities for lesser-known sources of capital, like Chicago-based Alliant Credit Union, to finance high quality properties. By going against the trend and utilizing internal specialization, Alliant has been able to exercise a level of selectivity that a more crowded field prevented until recently. This has resulted in loans on well-located properties with demonstrable operating results that are run by highly experienced owners with the financial resources to withstand a downturn. The emergence of non-household name lenders has enabled an accomplished subset of borrowers to access needed liquidity and obtain favorable loan terms in light of the …

June 20, 2019

Features Multifamily Seniors Housing

Seniors Housing Developers Embrace Intergenerational Living Trends

by Jeff Shaw June 18, 2019

As the industry eagerly anticipates the arrival of baby boomers, intergenerational housing models are emerging as an attractive alternative for a group that wants a different type of retirement experience. Developers, operators and owners are tweaking time-tested intergenerational arrangements and trying new approaches. Mixing different age groups has benefits for everyone involved, experts say. It’s natural, and the way families lived until we started to move so far apart. Many elders like being around young children or helping them, since their grandchildren may not live nearby. Adolescents bring energy to a retirement community, with the added benefit of being able to teach seniors how to use their smart phones. Young adults can serve as a labor pool for senior living properties. College-based or -affiliated life plan communities have been around for decades. But developers are fine-tuning the model at a number of new high-profile college projects now underway. Legacy Pointe at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, is currently under development by the nonprofit CCRC Development Corp. Greystone Communities will manage and market the property. Residents will be able to attend classes and participate in learning programs. Other types of developments with an intergenerational spin are being rolled out. There …

June 18, 2019

Conference Coverage Features Multifamily Seniors Housing

InterFace Seniors Midwest: Brookdale CEO Sees ‘Bright Future’ Following Major Turnaround Initiative

by Jeff Shaw June 13, 2019

CHICAGO — A lot has happened at Brookdale Senior Living (NYSE: BKD) over the last few years in what can only be described as a tumultuous period. Operating 844 communities as of March 31, the company is still the largest owner and operator of seniors housing in the country. However, Brookdale’s stock price has struggled mightily in recent years. While trading at nearly $40 per share as recently as 2015, the company’s stock price has not gone above $10 per share since late 2017. (The stock closed at $6.52 per share on Tuesday, June 11.) The Brentwood, Tennessee-based company entertained acquisition offers at least twice, but instead settled on a change of leadership and a turnaround plan. Lucinda “Cindy” Baier was promoted from CFO to CEO in 2018 and immediately started trying to right the ship at Brookdale, in large part by paring the size of its portfolio up to 20 percent. Her efforts appear to be paying off. According to the company’s first-quarter 2019 earnings report, same-community revenue per occupied unit (RevPOR) increased 3.7 percent on a sequential-quarter basis and 3.1 percent on a year-over-year basis. In addition, same-community independent living occupancy remained at 90 percent for a second …

June 13, 2019

Features Heartland Feature Archive Retail

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

by Kristin Harlow June 11, 2019

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 will be to acquire properties located in Midwest and Southeast markets, including Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Kansas City and Atlanta. More specifically, the funds will target grocery-anchored retail centers where the supermarket requires an on-site expansion, repositioning or relocation. During the past five years, Tri-Land has focused on the redevelopment of 10 legacy assets in Minneapolis, Kansas City, Indianapolis and Chicago. The company has sold each project upon completion of the redevelopment. This year, redevelopment of the 10 assets will be complete. This will enable Tri-Land to concentrate on new redevelopment opportunities. Against that backdrop, REBusinessOnline spoke with Richard Dube, the company’s president, at the ICSC RECon show in Las Vegas, which attracted more than 30,000 attendees. What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation. REBusinessOnline: …

June 11, 2019

Conference Coverage Features North Carolina South Carolina Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

Best Deals for Investors, Lenders Lie Outside of Urban Cores, Say InterFace Carolinas Panelists

by John Nelson June 6, 2019

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The urban districts in the Carolinas have a lot going for them: Honeywell is leasing nine floors within downtown Charlotte’s Legacy Union project; The Fallon Co. is building a 20-story office tower in downtown Raleigh; and The Beach Co. and Centennial American Properties are separately building mixed-use developments in downtown Greenville. While these projects only scratch the surface of the new developments in the Carolinas’ urban markets — especially for new apartments — speakers at the 10th annual InterFace Carolinas conference said that for a market to be truly successful, there needs to be “growth in both” urban and suburban districts. Panelists emphasized that some of the best deals for their businesses lie outside of the urban cores in the two-state region. “[Suburban] projects aren’t as expensive to develop,” said Carman Liuzzo, senior vice president of investments at Highwoods Properties. “I hope suburban [developments] don’t go away, our most recent three office developments have been in suburban Nashville, Tampa and Raleigh.” Liuzzo was a participant on the “State of the Market” panel that took place Thursday, May 30 at Hilton City Center in Uptown Charlotte. InterFace Conference Group and Southeast Real Estate Business hosted the conference, which …

June 6, 2019

Conference Coverage Features North Carolina Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

U.S. Economic Expansion Has Clear Runway to 2021, Says Wells Fargo Economist

by John Nelson June 4, 2019

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The current U.S. economic expansion — 120 months and counting — is poised to become the longest in modern U.S. history come July. Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, says the runway is clear for additional growth until at least 2021 before the start of the next recession. The last time the U.S. economy expanded for such a long duration was from 1991 to 2001. Post World War II, the average length of economic expansions has been 58 months, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. “We don’t have a recession in our forecast. We put it in 2021 because we won’t forecast 2021 until September,” said Vitner. “We’ll likely put the recession in 2022. It’s hard to predict a recession years out. It doesn’t feel like there’s a recession right around the corner, but it never feels that way.” Vitner’s comments came during the keynote address at the 10th annual InterFace Carolinas, a networking and information conference that took place on May 30 at Hilton City Center in Uptown Charlotte. Hosted by InterFace Conference Group and Southeast Real Estate Business, the event brought together more than 240 attendees and featured six panels on …

June 4, 2019

Features Mixed-Use Retail

ICSC Roundup: Developer Talks Construction Costs, Store Closures, Role of Mixed-Use

by Taylor Williams May 30, 2019

LAS VEGAS — Besides rampant store closures, one of the biggest challenges retail developers currently face is high construction costs. An ongoing labor shortage, higher prices on certain materials that have been tariffed, and the general impact of inflation have all driven costs of new development to historically high levels. That said, developers that play the long game and have the vision and resources to execute multiple uses are up for the challenge. Structured Development, a Chicago-based real estate firm that builds a variety of project types, but tends to specialize in retail and mixed-use, is an example of such a company. Jeff Berta, the company’s senior director of real estate, met with REBusinessOnline at this year’s ICSC RECon show in Las Vegas to discuss current trends within the retail sector and the challenges of executing mixed-use developments. Berta has held a number of positions in the real estate development, construction management and architecture fields. What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation. REBusinessOnline.com: Construction costs are very high right now and are making projects more difficult to pencil out. What’s the real story behind these rising costs as it pertains to developing a mixed-use project? Jeff Berta: There …

May 30, 2019

Features Retail

Woodmont’s Meno: Store Closures Are Painful, But Necessary for Retail Sector’s Long-Term Health

by Taylor Williams May 28, 2019

LAS VEGAS — As president and CEO of asset services at The Woodmont Company — which manages about 18.5 million square feet of retail centers, enclosed regional malls and outlet centers almost exclusively on a third-party basis — Fred Meno has had a front-row seat to the store closures and retail repurposing projects that have defined the market in the e-commerce era. Meno, whose company is based in Fort Worth, specializes in work that has afforded him the opportunity to see the big picture, to grasp the most in-depth reasons behind why certain retail categories are failing and why others are thriving. In some cases, that’s a factor of what types of retail uses are featured in certain types of properties. In others, it’s a matter of the retailer entering into a highly leveraged buyout deal to appease shareholders and gain additional time to right-size its stores and reshape its strategy. Sometimes it’s a simple matter of not adapting quickly enough to game-changing technology that can take the industry by storm. REBusinessonline.com sat down with Meno last week in Las Vegas during RECon, which attracted more than 30,000 retail real estate professionals, to pick his brain on what the future …

May 28, 2019

Features Multifamily Seniors Housing

Survey: Investor Confidence in Seniors Housing Still High Despite Occupancy Challenges, Slower Transaction Volume

by Jeff Shaw May 22, 2019

CHICAGO — Investors are still cautiously optimistic about the seniors housing market even after the sector experienced a slight dip in transaction volume in 2018, according to the results of JLL’s Spring 2019 Seniors Housing Survey. The Chicago-based commercial real estate services firm surveyed more than 1,000 specialists in the seniors housing and care space. The results point to generally positive sentiment around the market, and notes that while transaction volume reached just over $13 billion in 2018 (a decline over recent years), the total number of transactions was up 41 percent year-over-year. “There simply weren’t as many large deals with big price tags in 2018 in comparison to the preceding few years,” says Brian Chandler, managing director of JLL Valuation & Advisory Services. “Though there were fewer large transactions, single assets and small portfolios have remained liquid.” Communities that feature the full continuum of care except for skilled nursing remain the most favored product. Eighty-eight percent of survey respondents said these assets were “very” or extremely” desirable, a 2 percent jump over the last quarter’s survey. Freestanding nursing facilities remained the least favorite asset type, though only 41 percent of survey respondents said they were “not at all desirable,” …

May 22, 2019

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