In the Greater Boston area, retail real estate seems to have a hopeful outlook for 2012 and beyond. Market conditions in the general Boston retail real estate realm improved slightly with the overall retail vacancy rate decreasing from 4.8 percent in the second quarter of 2011 to 4.6 percent in the third quarter — down significantly from the 5 percent fourth quarter 2010 (Costar Q3 2011 Boston Retail Market Retail Report). Boston’s retail net absorption increased dramatically to a positive 1.09 million square feet in third quarter 2011 — up from a positive 822,957 square feet in the previous quarter. Average quoted asking rental rates however were still low at $15.27 per square foot in third quarter 2011. In addition to improvements in vacancy rates and net absorption, the Boston retail market had several major retail lease signings in 2011, including a 60,000-square-foot Stop & Shop relocation in North Reading, Massachusetts, and a 45,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market signing in Lynnfield, Massachusetts. Also notable was the development of the 600,000-square-foot Northborough Crossing project anchored by Wegmans. The Boston area retail real estate scene should continue to show signs of recovery and positive motion, as the local economy slowly pushes upward toward …
Northeast Market Reports
What was previously considered a “soft patch” in the U.S. economy is now indicative of a long-term economic realignment, as previously reported in the past quarter. A reversal of economic indicators, the downgrading of the U.S. credit rating, the debt ceiling debate, the European debt crisis, and market uncertainty are the cause of a decrease in consumer and business confidence across the board, both nationally and in New Jersey. The result is a continued slow recovery in the job market as corporations continue to build cash reserves, further delaying hiring, equipment purchases and real estate expansions. The situation in New Jersey mirrors that of the national picture. The overall real estate market in New Jersey remains weak, although there was a significant shift to direct leasing of Class A space versus the previous subleasing activity. However, the reductions in labor and space needs have led subleases to play an important role in the local market — tenants are leveraging their subleased spaces to negotiate better financial terms when renewing their leases. Vacancy Rates Vacancy rates continued to climb, with Class A office space coming in at 16.4 percent, a 0.2 percent increase from the second quarter. The Class B office …
Despite an economic recovery that is characterized on a national level as listless and lacking vitality, a rising national unemployment rate and apparent challenges in distancing ourselves from the debt crisis, the commercial real estate market in Massachusetts has begun to pick up steam. Market indicators for the Greater Boston market continue to improve, albeit slowly, especially in the high growth sectors such as the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Employment in the Boston Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) grew by 2.1 percent in the 12 months from August 2010 to August 2011. New jobs dropped unemployment to 6.4 percent from 7.5 percent a year earlier, compared with Massachusetts’ unemployment of 7 percent and the national unemployment of 9.1 percent as of August 2011. The leading non-farm payroll jobs in the Boston MSA are education and health services, trade transportation and utilities and professional and business services, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. The overall Boston industrial market ended mid-year 2011 with a vacancy rate of 11.2 percent. The vacancy rate was down from earlier in the year with net absorption equating to positive 1.72 million square feet in the quarter. From mid-2010 to mid-2011, net absorption …
Pittsburgh has been incredibly lucky in that the area has avoided the havoc wreaked on the national economy during the last couple of years. The education and medical sectors bolstered the area during the recession, and the region is fast-becoming the ‘Energy Capital’ of the Northeast, with Pittsburgh as its epicenter. These factors have allowed the region to maintain its traditional path of steady growth, which has bucked the national trend and provided a safe haven for the local industrial real estate investment community. The market continues to operate in a supply-demand imbalance with weight tipping towards demand for industrial product. This has supported irrational pricing, with a number of recent sales of industrial facilities trading higher than traditional prices. The Pittsburgh industrial real estate market comprises less than 170 million square feet. With limited new construction and virtually no impact from loan defaults, the prices for industrial assets have held value. On the flipside, the market does not provide cash-rich buyers with many opportunities to purchase assets at bargain prices. The region’s overall industrial vacancy rate is hovering at 7.5 percent, falling by 0.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010. This is 2.2 percent below the overall U.S. …
Upstate New York is currently in a renaissance period as the major initiative of the high technology industry creates momentum for local communities. Centered at the University at Albany, the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering has been a leader in developing more than $6 billion of infrastructure and research and development focused around the semi-conductor industry, and most recently the solar energy industry. The relocation of Sematech International’s world headquarters from Austin, Texas, to the edge of the University’s campus in Albany, New York, has established a partnership program focusing the world’s leading semi-conductor makers and related industries in a collaborative effort to develop and manufacture the next generation of chips that power our lives. The College’s most recent announcement of a partnership involving IBM, Intel, Samsung, Global Foundries and TSMC focused on a $4.8 billion deal that is largely funded privately, will result in substantial job growth in categories not previously significant in numbers. This most recent announcement in September 2011 also spreads the benefits throughout the state in Buffalo, Rochester, Utica, and into the Hudson Valley as new jobs are created in these communities that result from supporting and related industries. The office sector should begin to …
New York’s Capital District is ranked 11 out of the top 25 metro markets in the Northeast (according to REIS), but the area is most certainly making noise in the world of multifamily construction projects. A huge demand in the apartment sector, stemming from technology-based job growth, has forced the hands of local and regional developers to get off the sidelines and start tackling sources for much-needed construction financing to meet the demand. To name of few active developers, Tri City Management, Prime Companies, Capital City Properties, and Albany Partners LLC have a total of more than 1,000 units recently built, under construction, or funded and ready to build in the next 16 months. Permit filings were up more than 30 percent from 2009 to 2010, indicating a solid trend for new development slated through 2012. Major projects have been popping up all over the region. The Woods, a 60-unit luxury community in suburban Troy, leased up its first few units in May and had 48 of the 60 units rented long before the grand opening in November. One- and two-bedroom unit rents range from $1,100 to $1,490 for 882 to 1194 square feet, averaging roughly $1.50 per square foot …
These are exciting times for Pittsburgh’s Central Business District’s (CBD) office market. Pittsburgh’s CBD Class A office market is experiencing a very favorable vacancy rate of 7 percent. The high levels of occupancy have been driven by strong growth within the banking, medical, energy and technology sectors, along with nearby abundant natural resources such as Marcellus Shale. PNC Corporation is breaking ground for its second $400 million office building in recent years, which is touted to become the “greenest building in the world.” PNC’s new building will be a true complement to the historic and evolving Market Square District, which has undergone a major landscape renovation, creating a beautiful area for outdoor dining, music and green space for people to enjoy. Accompanying PNC’s new office buildings, Millcraft Industry has begun the transformation of the former State Office building into a 218-unit luxury apartment building. This is their second major CBD project in recent years, having completed and leased a 180,000-square-foot office building known as Piatt Place. Plans are currently evolving within Pittsburgh’s development community to retrofit the historic Henry W. Oliver Building. Additional CBD developments include a mixed-use project comprising a 175-room Hilton Garden Inn, 100,000 square feet of new …
In this sluggish real estate market, how is it possible that two major mixed-use projects are under construction? With redevelopment all but halted elsewhere, New Brunswick keeps pushing forward with new opportunities for change for the better. With the assistance of state and federal tax programs through the Urban Transit Tax Credit Program and New Market Tax Credit, projects are becoming a reality. These projects include the Gateway Transit Village and New Brunswick Wellness Plaza which are located within one city block of the New Brunswick Train station. Gateway Transit Village In early 2009, Gateway was the first project to be designated as eligible for the new Urban Transit Hub Tax Credit Program. Under the program, credits are issued against income taxes that would be owed by businesses locating within newly built offices within a mile of a transit center; the credits can then be used to attract tenants, or else be sold as commodities. Fast forward to April 8, 2011 —when Gateway held its topping off ceremony. The Gateway Transit Village, as its name spells out, will serve as a gateway between downtown New Brunswick and Rutgers University. College Avenue, the central spine of the campus will be directly …
Industrial demand in New Jersey has picked up dramatically over the past year, in tandem with a clear shift in corporate America’s mindset to get serious about dealmaking while conditions remain favorable. During the market downturn, tenants with two or three years left on their leases frequently tested the market, making offers that expected property owners and developers to assume the trailing liability of existing lease terms. Most owners simply were not willing to do that, and deals regularly fell apart or remained stagnant. Beginning in mid-2010 and through the first three quarters of 2011, we have experienced a promising increase in real commitments. In fact, during the first six months of this year, some 11.1 million square feet of new industrial leasing took place in Northern and Central New Jersey — a 74 percent year-over-year increase. This included 12 transactions over 100,000 square feet during the second quarter alone. The largest involved Wakefern Food Corporation’s impressive 1 million-square-foot lease at 8001 Industrial Ave. in Carteret. Why the jump? While we are seeing the stock market decimated what seems like every other week, corporate America for the most part is flush with cash. At this point, companies have extracted about …
The Pittsburgh retail market remained tight throughout the third quarter of 2011, maintaining a vacancy rate at just over 5 percent. Absorption within the market edged close to 200,000 square feet, with new big box and specialty retailers entering the region. The influx of grocery and discount chains continued with the opening of Trader Joe’s in Pittsburgh’s South Route 19 submarket. The 12,000-square-foot specialty market is the company’s second location in the area. In addition, Fresh Market confirmed its entrance in the Pittsburgh region just down the street from Trader Joe’s. The high-end specialty grocer has purchased a former Roth Carpet site and plans to demolish the existing building in preparation for a new 18,000-square-foot store. Construction is scheduled to commence in the spring of 2012. Big box retailers ALDI, Bottom Dollar, Walmart and BJ’s Wholesale Club are scouting the area for additional locations as well. Bottom Dollar Foods has taken occupancy of more than 60,000 square feet year-to-date and has approximately 40,000 square feet in two new locations scheduled to open in early 2012. The discount food chain prefers to anchor strip centers or neighborhood shopping centers within the area’s suburban submarkets. Though development activity has been largely focused …