Features

InterFace Panel: Fickle Nature of Renter Tastes Creates Challenges for Multifamily Architects, Contractors

by Taylor Williams September 16, 2019

DALLAS — Multifamily projects are becoming more costly and time-consuming to complete, and the need to cultivate a unique amenity package that differentiates a property from the competition is contributing to inflated budgets and lengthier timelines. As noted by a panel of multifamily architects and construction managers at the InterFace Multifamily Texas on Sept. 5, the definition of what constitutes an ideal amenity package is in a constant state of flux. The event, held at the Westin Galleria hotel in Dallas, drew more than 225 attendees. The complications of designing and building multifamily communities are challenging and costly enough. That the amenities are subject to ever-changing consumer tastes adds another layer of complexity to maintaining project costs and schedules. Yet curating the right mix is a critical part of product differentiation in saturated markets. Many amenities found in new properties reflect broader changes in consumer behavior, which is fickle by definition. Features such as Amazon package lockers, rideshare lounges, electric car charging stations and coworking office space exemplify how changes in the ways people shop, travel and work are trickling down to the design and construction of apartment communities. “In our world, projects are increasingly complex,” said moderator Spencer Stuart, …

September 16, 2019

Conference Coverage Features Georgia Seniors Housing Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

Memory Care is Down But Not Out, Say Investors

by John Nelson September 12, 2019

ATLANTA — Seniors housing investors are pumping the brakes on acquiring memory care facilities as the property type’s fundamentals and high turnover have proven to be worrisome. That’s according to an investment panel during the annual InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast conference. Held on Wednesday, Aug. 28 at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, the one-day conference attracted more than 430 seniors housing professionals from all over the Southeast. Memory care is a subsector of seniors housing real estate for seniors suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. According to the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), memory care is often located within assisted living facilities but also exists in standalone settings. Memory care residents are typically separated from assisted living residents in a secured area with specialized programming. The panelists said that memory care was a hot product type in the recent past but that the sector’s current distress is a direct result of overzealous developers. “Memory care was low hanging fruit for developers but now it has become overbuilt and has fallen out of favor,” said the panel’s moderator Adam Heavenrich, managing director of Heavenrich & Co., a seniors housing investment brokerage firm based in Chicago. …

September 12, 2019

Features Northeast Northeast Feature Archive

Environmental Contamination Reduces Market Value

by Taylor Williams September 12, 2019

Owners of properties with environmental contamination already carry the financial burden of removal or remediation costs, whether they cure the problem themselves or sell to a buyer who is sure to deduct anticipated remediation expenses from the sale price. Fortunately, New York law allows those property owners to reduce their property tax burden to reflect their asset’s compromised value. Tax Types Most local governments in the United States impose a property tax on real estate as a primary source of revenue, levied and calculated by either ad valorem or specific means. Latin for “according to value,” ad valorem taxes are imposed proportionately based upon thecurrent market value of the property. Thus, the higher the market value, the higher the real estate tax. Specific taxes, on the other hand, are fixed sums without regard to underlying real estate value. School, county and town governments nearly always compute real property taxes using the ad valorem method, whereas lighting, garbage or sewer districts typically apply specific taxes. Because school and county/town taxes account for the overwhelming majority of a property tax bill, property owners frequently use assessment litigation concerning the market value of the subject property to reduce assessments and, as a result, …

September 12, 2019

Features Georgia Multifamily Seniors Housing Southeast Southeast Feature Archive

Independent Living Struggles to Keep Up With Active Adult, Say Conference Panelists

by Alex Patton September 11, 2019

ATLANTA — Seniors housing operators and developers are facing pressure to adapt as a new category of lower-acuity housing rises in popularity. The new player in the seniors housing game — active adult — is undercutting independent living developers by appealing to a slightly younger population of empty nesters and retirees. Active adult housing refers to residential communities designed for residents age 55 and older, but often do not have a strict age restriction. These are multifamily or single-family homes that often include amenities typically enjoyed by older residents, such as golf courses and clubhouses, but do not market themselves as full-fledged seniors housing. Independent living communities are structured similarly but often carry a strict age restriction of approximately 65 years old, and will sometimes offer basic assistance such as dining or laundry services. Independent living developers often struggle to attract residents when their target demographic of able-bodied senior citizens moves into nearby active adult communities 10 years early. Many of them will not move again until they are ready for assisted living or skilled nursing. “Independent living residents haven’t changed; the places where they are residing and the services they want that have changed, but we have stayed the …

September 11, 2019

Conference Coverage Features Multifamily Texas Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive

InterFace Panel: DFW Multifamily Developers Must Stand Out from the Crowd

by Taylor Williams September 11, 2019

DALLAS — When developing multifamily product in a market that has added more than 20,000 new units in each of the past three years, distinguishing a community from its peers isn’t just important — it’s essential. According to data from CoStar Group, the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) metroplex added approximately 70,000 multifamily units between 2016 and 2018. The market has also absorbed more than 25,000 units over the last 12 months, a period in which only about 23,000 apartments were delivered. Vacancy currently sits at 7.5 percent. A panel of developers at the eighth annual InterFace Multifamily Texas conference discussed best practices for differentiating a property in a market that is not only teeming with new supply, but also home to segments of sophisticated renters. Held on Sept. 5 at the Westin Galleria hotel in Dallas, the event drew more than 225 attendees. Drew Kile, senior vice president at Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, moderated the panel. Cultivating A Story Whether by the inclusion of an unusual amenity, the delivery of distinct unit mix that is perfectly targeted to the surrounding demographic or the ascription of a unique story behind the project, multifamily developers in DFW simply …

September 11, 2019

Conference Coverage Features Industrial Texas Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive

Tariffs, Election Impact Deal Velocity in DFW Industrial Market, Says InterFace Panel

by Taylor Williams September 10, 2019

DALLAS — The 2020 presidential election as well as tariffs, the primary economic weapon of the incumbent candidate, are weighing heavily on the decisions of industrial users and investors in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), according to a panel of experienced leasing and capital markets professionals at the InterFace DFW Industrial conference. Moderated by Coni Hennersdorf, principal of CODA Consulting Group, the event was held Sept. 4 at the Westin Galleria Hotel and attended by more than 200 people in its first year of existence. The panelists agreed that President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which at this point primarily target goods imported from China, have prompted some industrial users to stockpile inventories in advance of the tariffs going into effect. According to the Wall Street Journal, since July 2018, the administration has imposed tariffs on more than $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, not including the additional $150 billion in tariffs set to take effect in mid-December. Other tenants have opted to wait out the election and see if the tariffs will be repealed, effectively delaying key decisions on capital expenditures like labor and materials. The former scenario creates more demand for industrial space, while the latter puts potential expansion deals on hold. …

September 10, 2019

Lenders Investors InterFace DFW Industrial

Conference Coverage Features Industrial Texas Texas & Oklahoma Feature Archive

InterFace Panel: Dallas Industrial Market Poised to Withstand Recession

by John Nelson September 5, 2019

DALLAS — The Dallas industrial market is on fire, as a number of industry professionals repeatedly pointed out during the InterFace DFW Industrial conference. Held on Sept. 4 at the Westin Galleria Hotel in Dallas, the event drew more than 200 people in its inaugural year. Demand for industrial real estate from tenants, investors and lenders is strong enough to insulate the Dallas market from capitulation, even if the U.S. economy enters a recession, which some economists think may still be a ways off. During the event’s lenders and investors panel, speakers credited strong job and population growth in Dallas for this market insulation. Annually, the metroplex has added roughly 100,000 people and 75,000 jobs for the past several years. The market boasts a vacancy rate of 6 percent even with more than 30 million square feet of space under construction, according to CoStar Group. And tenant demand in Dallas continues to surge as well, fueling 12-month rent growth of 5.6 percent. Nikki Gibson, senior counsel at Bell Nunnally, moderated the panel. Market Evolution Central to the panel’s discussion as to why the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) industrial market is likely to weather severe economic storms was the notion that the …

September 5, 2019

Features Multifamily Seniors Housing

InterFace Seniors Housing Panel: Connecting with Families is as Important as Operations

by Alex Tostado September 3, 2019

ATLANTA — For seniors housing operators, connecting to families is just as important as running a facility, according to Josh Crisp, founder and president of Knoxville, Tenn.-based Solinity Senior Living. Crisp urges his sales team to connect with prospective families to build trust so the company can educate the families. Crisp says he wants his team members to know a resident’s life story “so they can connect on a deeper level and help them transition to your community.” Crisp’s comments came during a panel titled “Operating Successfully in a Challenging Environment: How to Maximize Occupancy and Beat the Competition in Your Market,” at InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast. Traci Bild, CEO and president of Bild & Co. was the moderator of the panel. Panelists included Crisp; John Rauls, vice president of Southeastern Retirement Management; Jessica Heck, chief strategy officer of Blake Management Group; and Kevin Isakson, director of sales and marketing for Isakson Living. Hosted by France Media’s InterFace Conference Group and Seniors Housing Business at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, the one-day conference was held Wednesday, Aug. 28 and attracted 436 professionals from all corners of the industry. Participants gathered to network and attend a variety of panel discussions that focused on timely …

September 3, 2019

Features

No Indication Recession is Imminent, Says Economist Roger Tutterow

by Jeff Shaw August 30, 2019

ATLANTA — Expect the U.S. economy to remain in an expansion mode through early 2020, effectively staving off the threat of recession, but look for the pace of growth to continue to slow. That’s the message Roger Tutterow, professor of economics at Kennesaw State University (KSU), is delivering to the commercial real estate industry based in part on the Leading Economic Index compiled by the Conference Board, a non-governmental organization. The monthly index, which is used to determine future economic activity, tracks 10 key components, some of which include building permits, stock prices, new orders for capital goods and initial jobless claims. “Over the last six months the leading indicators were up eight-tenths of a percent, so we’re not getting a recession-is-imminent signal from the leading economic indicators,” emphasized Tutterow. “What we are getting is a signal that says economic growth remains in place, but at a more timid pace than what we’ve enjoyed in the past couple of years.” Tutterow’s comments came Wednesday morning, Aug. 28, during his keynote presentation at InterFace Seniors Housing Southeast. Hosted by France Media’s InterFace Conference Group and Seniors Housing Business at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta, the one-day conference attracted 436 professionals from all corners …

August 30, 2019

Conference Coverage Features Georgia Mixed-Use Southeast

InterFace Panelists Predict More Variety, Less Food for Future Mixed-Use Projects

by Alex Patton August 29, 2019

ATLANTA — Traditionally, mixed-use developments are multifamily-based with ground-floor retail or dining and a few floors of offices in between or adjacent. That combination still works, but changing demographics demand more variety from the popular model, according to panelists of InterFace Mixed-Use Southeast on Aug. 22 at the Westin Buckhead in Atlanta. Projects like The Battery Atlanta and the upcoming Revel development in nearby Duluth are anchored by popular entertainment sites — SunTrust Park and Infinite Energy Center, respectively. Other upcoming developments in the Southeast like Kern’s Bakery in Knoxville, Tennessee, will feature student housing, while others like 12|12 Aventura in South Florida will feature seniors housing units. Speakers at the show cautioned that while restaurants are necessary elements of a successful mixed-use project and often bring some added variety, food and beverage options nationwide are becoming oversaturated, especially in mixed-use settings. Professionals involved with some of the most successful mixed-use developments in the Southeast spoke about prominent trends and the future of the product type at the conference. Overall the various speakers were bullish on the product type going forward as demand generators such as job and population growth are strong in the Southeast’s top markets. “I see two …

August 29, 2019

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