Midwest Market Reports

Mixed-Use Projects Breathe New Life Into Kansas City Retail Market

by Kristin Harlow January 4, 2018

The overall Kansas City retail market remains very healthy and active. As retailers continue to navigate through e-commerce challenges, developers continue to get creative with the redevelopment of existing centers, adding mixed-use components and consolidation of big box vacancies. Restaurants and hospitality seem to be catalysts in helping to kick-start these redevelopments from the retail side. Over the past year, retail spending in Kansas City has continued to increase, but there remains a limited amount of speculative construction in the market. Therefore, the vacancy rate has dropped from 6.2 percent in 2016 to 5.7 percent as of the third quarter of 2017. The average rental rate has increased from $12.85 to $13.05 per square foot as of the third quarter. Solid job creation from major employers like Cerner and Garmin has helped the unemployment rate of 3.7 percent stay below the national average of 4.1 percent. The restaurant sector is in the process of evolving just as the retail sector is. We are seeing a lot of the major chains slowly shuttering locations where the larger footprint is no longer viable. These properties are getting backfilled fairly quickly by retailers and smaller local restaurant groups. Retail investors have stayed active. …

January 4, 2018

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Multifamily Nebraska

Why Omaha Multifamily Market Is Golden for Investor Opportunities

by Kristin Harlow December 14, 2017

The national love affair with the multifamily sector may be starting to cool, but the Omaha market is just coming of age and heating up. “Overall, it was a strong third quarter, which was a nice surprise,”said Michael Cohen, CoStar Group director of advisory services, during his State of the Multifamily Market Third Quarter Review and Outlook on Nov. 1. “We’re still in the golden age for multifamily, but we’re seeing signs of a gradual slowdown in the apartment market.” Trendy new apartment towers and historic building conversions in downtown Omaha are all the rage — like most markets — but under the radar the entire Omaha metro is experiencing a significant boom in apartment development and sales. And why not? What’s not to like about Omaha? We are the non-threatening little brother of the Midwest that everyone likes, but never thought of in that way. But something has changed and Omaha is catching the attention of players that would have traditionally overlooked our strong fundamentals. Omaha has a diversified and stable economy fortified by nine Fortune 1000 companies, including Berkshire Hathaway, Union Pacific Railroad, Mutual of Omaha and TD Ameritrade, as well as a burgeoning innovation scene and a …

December 14, 2017

Hospitality Market Reports Michigan Midwest Midwest Market Reports

Wave of New Hotel Supply in Metro Detroit Reflects Improved Economic Fortunes

by Kristin Harlow December 7, 2017

The Detroit metropolitan area has experienced significant economic growth in recent years, fueled by a strengthening auto industry as well as the continued diversification of the local employment landscape. The hotel sector is benefitting from existing employers expanding operations locally and new entrants to the market. The Big Three automakers continue to invest in the region, while companies like e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc. are building large warehouse facilities. Revenue gains for hotels were accordingly robust during the 2010–2016 period. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) during that stretch grew nearly 71 percent, rising from a low of roughly $38 in 2009 at the depths of the Great Recession to over $64 by year-end 2016. Both the average daily rate (ADR) and occupancy have posted consistent gains since 2010. Moreover, hoteliers sold a record number of room nights in the city of Detroit in 2016, according to STR. Occupancy levels approached 70 percent by the end of 2016, with ADRs of nearly $150 in the central business district (CBD). The data for 2017 show a relatively stable occupancy level with robust gains in ADR. The record performance achieved in this expansionary period has spurred tremendous hotel development in the downtown core and …

December 7, 2017

Market Reports Michigan Midwest Midwest Market Reports Retail

Retailers, Investors Find Detroit’s Improving Economy Inviting

by Kristin Harlow November 16, 2017

Steady employment gains and new households in metro Detroit have boosted optimism in the retail sector. The local economy added 36,500 nonfarm payroll jobs in the 12-month period that ended September 30, 2017, an expansion of 1.8 percent and in line with employment growth nationally. Job gains were led by the professional and business services sector, which filled more than 12,400 positions. This segment includes many well-paying tech jobs as companies such as Penske Logistics and Lear Corp. increase staffing. As of August, Detroit’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stood at 3.2 percent, down from 5.3 percent a year earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Amazon.com is rapidly expanding in the metro area. Amazon opened a fulfillment center in Livonia this fall, creating 1,000 positions, and has additional facilities planned in 2018 for Romulus and Shelby Township that will create a combined 2,600 jobs when fully staffed. The combination of job creation and increasing wages is boosting household incomes and contributing to rising retail sales. The median household income in the third quarter stood at $59,600 per year, slightly higher than the U.S. level. The gain in spending power is benefiting existing retail operations and attracting new businesses such …

November 16, 2017

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Retail Wisconsin

Milwaukee Looks to Boost Retail Market Through Tax-Increment Financing

by Kristin Harlow November 9, 2017

Milwaukee-area communities have woken up and embraced tax-increment financing (TIF) as a way to stimulate retail and commercial development. Unlike our neighboring state of Illinois, Wisconsin is not afforded the same luxury of allowing retail sales taxes to flow to municipalities, which allows for greater financial flexibility and helps offset the cost of infrastructure and municipal services as a result of retail development. Wisconsin municipalities do not impose local sales or use taxes on purchases of goods and services. Based on a 5.6 percent tax rate for average Wisconsin communities, 5 percent flows to the state, 0.5 percent flows to the county and 0.1 percent would flow to a specially created district, such as a stadium or entertainment venue. TIF allows cities or villages to finance commercial development in a designated area, called a tax incremental district (TID), to promote a tax base expansion and economic development. The property taxes within the TID are placed in a special fund and are used to pay for improvements within the district. When the property values rise within the TID, the taxes paid on the increased value can be used to pay back public project costs, which otherwise can’t occur. Developers eye mixed-use …

November 9, 2017

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Multifamily Wisconsin

Why New Multifamily Construction Is Accelerating in Metro Milwaukee

by Kristin Harlow November 2, 2017

The Milwaukee multifamily sector is plowing forward on a number of different fronts. Development activity is continuing its impressive run with a series of high-rise towers in various stages of construction or planning. Popular neighborhoods such as Walker’s Point, Bayview and the East Side are filling in with low- and mid-rise projects, many of which feature a mixed-use component. From an investment standpoint, multifamily is still the sector du jour, with a widening investor pool of both local and out-of-state buyers. Leading the charge on the development front is Northwestern Mutual’s 7Seventy7, which is currently under construction in downtown Milwaukee with an anticipated opening in summer 2018. The 34-story complex will feature 322 apartments, ground-floor commercial and 1,400 parking spaces, many of which will service employees at the company’s recently completed 1.1 million-square-foot headquarters located only one block away. Other major projects yet to break ground but slated to reshape the skyline in the coming years include: • The Couture — Barrett Lo Visionary Development is planning to build a 44-story tower with 300-plus units, retail and parking across the street from the planned Lakefront Gateway Plaza, which will connect the area between the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Summerfest …

November 2, 2017

Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Ohio

Strategic Location, Strong Labor Force Boost Columbus Industrial Market

by Kristin Harlow October 26, 2017

The Columbus industrial market continues to thrive as a hot center for logistics, warehousing and manufacturing. Its strategic location within a one-day truck drive of 50 percent of the U.S. population and one-third of the Canadian population is an important part of this success. Other contributing factors to this success include a strong Midwestern work ethic, low cost of real estate, low taxes, low wages and minimal union activity. With a total population of about 2 million in metro Columbus, central Ohio has 86,000 employees in the manufacturing industry and 80,000 employees in logistics at 4,100 logistics companies. Positive vital signs Central Ohio’s 273-million-square-foot industrial real estate market continues to expand with nearly 5.7 million square feet of new construction in 2017. Year to date, there has been 1.3 million square feet of positive net absorption and vacancy is 4.6 percent, down from 5.1 percent as of year-end 2016. Net absorption totaled 9 million square feet in 2016. Effective rental rates in central Ohio range from $2 to $3.75 per square foot net for larger warehouse and manufacturing spaces. Operating expenses run from 35 cents to $1.25 per square foot. Sales prices will range from $10 to $45 per square …

October 26, 2017

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office Ohio

Downtown Columbus Office Market Devises Solutions to Parking Shortage

by Kristin Harlow October 19, 2017

In today’s world, nearly every company is a technology company. That trend is changing the way we do business and interact with one another. Ted Anglyn, president of the Parking Property Advisors, summarizes how these changes are impacting space utilization, which in turn affects parking needs: The space per square foot per employee in newly leased office space decreased from a range of 300 to 350 square feet per person in 2005 to 150 to 200 square feet in 2010. Some of this space reduction is linked to the recession, but much of it is because of open office design and the predominance of electronic storage, which reduces the need for physical file storage. This change has the potential to increase the typical office parking ratios that range from three to four spaces per 1,000 square feet to five to six spaces per 1,000 square feet. This begs the question of how we, as commercial real estate experts, address this gap. Parking, access and location are not new issues, but they are still major factors in today’s real estate environment. Landlords and economic development directors are all striving to address the needs of business today while also looking to future …

October 19, 2017

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Minnesota Retail

Minneapolis Market Ready to Embrace Shifting Retail Trends

by Kristin Harlow October 12, 2017

The Minneapolis retail market ended the second quarter with a vacancy rate of 3.1 percent. The freestanding retail segment (buildings not contained within a shopping center) posted a vacancy rate of 1.8 percent. Over the past year, there has been a pattern of positive absorption in the market. The average quoted asking retail rental rate at the end of the second quarter was $13.94 per square foot. Comparably, a year ago this rate was $13.29 per square foot. Meanwhile, construction of retail properties has been on an upward climb. Within the past four quarters, 1.2 million square feet of retail space has been built, and there is an additional 892,910 square feet in progress, according to CoStar Group. Net absorption continues Retail net absorption was moderate in Minneapolis in the second quarter of 2017, totaling 484,120 square feet. That’s up from 135,536 square feet of positive absorption in the first quarter and 366,652 square feet in the fourth quarter of 2016. However, these figures are all down from the third quarter of 2016, when 638,183 square feet were positively absorbed in the market. Several tenants have moved out of large blocks of space in 2017. For example, Sears vacated 125,209 …

October 12, 2017

Indiana Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Retail

Northern Suburbs of Indianapolis See Vast Growth in Urban Core Development

by Kristin Harlow October 5, 2017

The northern suburbs of Indianapolis aren’t just following the latest trend of developing dense urban cores within suburban markets — they’re on the leading edge. In particular, Fishers and Carmel boast flourishing downtown environments that are walkable and bike-friendly. The idea is to develop a core urban area amid the suburban sprawl by creating activities and concepts that serve various community needs such as cool restaurants, shops, office and living space, evening events for adults, family activities and music and arts entertainment. It’s a lifestyle choice that more and more people prefer. While retail is struggling to regain balance in traditional environments, these mixed-use developments are resonating with their communities. Consumers are looking for experiential opportunities with multiple touch points, such as living, shopping, fitness, dining and entertainment options that integrate open green space. The suburbs of Indianapolis are responding to this trend. Grocery stores and medical facilities also are key to these types of developments, as residents desire the convenience of making one stop. Fishers blazes its own trail Fishers, located just northeast of Indianapolis in Hamilton County, officially became a city in 2015. The community elected a mayor with a strong vision. That vision included the urban core …

October 5, 2017

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