For years, “just in time” has been the key to driving efficiency of retailers and manufacturers alike. This model by and large combined low-cost production in Asian markets supported by speedy air carrier distribution to move goods while holding minimal cushion for backup stock. Post-pandemic thinking could bring that epoch to an end. The crisis has underscored our distribution networks’ fragility, which are now vulnerable to closed facilities, ports and borders. Many businesses are planning major restructuring of their supply chain processes due to the disruptions that we all have endured in recent months. The new model based on quick recovery will likely be driven by resiliency that ensures adequate merchandise availability in the event of threats to a business’ supply chain stability. This will require more warehouse and distribution space to store goods for deliveries in last-mile markets. The noticeable effects continue to grow as more last-mile oriented warehouse space is leased closer to the end-user. Industrial users see the impact of the pandemic as a short-term challenge that is altering the long-term growth strategy of their corporate planning. By way of example, Publix’s Southeast store sales climbed 21.8 percent for the second quarter of this year. Grocery now …
By Taylor Williams As commercial property types go, self-storage is considered one of the toughest to sink in times of economic hardship. As Texas and the United States enter the eighth full month of the COVID-19 pandemic, this quality is beginning to show through. Natural disasters like floods and hurricanes tend to be windfalls for the asset class, as displacement from homes and damage to commercial properties raise short-term demand for self-storage. A pandemic does not have quite the same effect on the property type, especially when residential landlords in the United States are legally barred from evicting tenants. But for the major self-storage markets of Texas, COVID-19 has generated some positive results. COVID’s impact on self-storage is somewhat similar to Hurricane Harvey’s impact on the Houston multifamily market in 2017, which was also overbuilt and saw an overnight boost in occupancy as a result of the storm cutting into supply. In essence, COVID-19 has served as a mechanism to bring supply-demand balances closer to equilibrium. Because prior to the pandemic, the development pipelines in the major cities of Texas were peaking, creating oversupplied markets that were defined by sluggish rent growth, concessions and high levels of competitions for new …
By Mary Lamie, Bi-State Development The key to current and future success for four ports in Missouri and Illinois is collaboration. As ports continue to play a critical role in the global supply chain, the special working relationship between the directors of the ports in St. Louis and Kansas City is helping to keep operations flowing on the inland waterways, even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant investments in each port are also fueling growth at each facility. “Like many others in the freight industry, we are classified as essential. We have access to six Class I railroads, two multimodal harbors, four interstate highways and millions of square feet of warehouse space, plus manufacturing areas and developable sites,” says Dennis Wilmsmeyer, executive director of America’s Central Port (ACP), where the constant level of activity reinforces the significance of all ports as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. With its location just north of St. Louis on the Illinois bank of the Mississippi River and its many transportation and logistical advantages, ACP has attracted 80-plus commercial tenants. Its harbor operators transport more than 3 million tons of goods valued at more than $1.1 billion annually. Though the pandemic has resulted in …
By Brad Bailey, first vice president, CBRE; Adam Rabin, associate, CBRE; and Logan Reichle, vice president, CBRE It’s no secret that across the United States, the retail investment community has had to shift and adapt in several ways due to the ongoing pandemic. In addition, retail owners have had to make quick assessments of their strategies for asset management, usually on a property-by-property basis. For the first part of the pandemic, the commercial real estate industry was primarily reactive and in crisis mode. However, seven months into it, the indication is that this is something that will be around for the foreseeable future. As such, investors are moving out of their reactive modes and beginning to implement offensive strategies to identify and secure strong retail real estate investments. There are a number of key reasons that these investors are honing in on Central Texas retail: Suburban vs Downtown Good retail locations are hard to come by in Austin. We estimate that investment demand will rebound for space recently vacated. In high-quality locations, don’t expect too much of a change on rental rates. For some Austin submarkets like Cedar Park and Lakeway, we may see rates adjust slightly as vacancy rises. …
For the Orlando retail market, which relies heavily on Central Florida’s $75 billion tourism industry, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been twofold. Not only has the local consumer base begun relying more heavily on online shopping and home-cooked meals, but the number of out-of-state and international visitors who typically travel to Central Florida for its renowned theme parks and attractions has plummeted. Statewide, Florida’s tourism industry suffered an estimated 60.5 percent drop in visitors during the year’s second quarter, with international travel down more than 90 percent, according to Visit Florida. Submarkets built around Walt Disney World, the Orange County Convention Center and Universal Orlando, such as International Drive, the U.S. Highway 192 Corridor and Celebration, have taken an especially hard hit. Many restaurants designed around a sit-down experience will not recover. Although creative solutions are in action, sidewalk seating and ghost kitchens can only generate so much revenue to recover restaurants’ already razor-thin margins. But out of the slump have come opportunities for some retailers to shine, whether they’ve adapted their business model or already happened to have pandemic-resistant infrastructure in place. Further, as the winners and losers of COVID-19-era retail become clear, retailers and restaurants that …
By Taylor Williams What a difference a year makes. Around this time in 2019, the Philadelphia retail market was experiencing something of a Renaissance. Driven by forward-thinking projects in chic neighborhoods, such as Fashion District Philadelphia, as well as the delivery of new phases of retail at destinations like Schuylkill Yards and the Philadelphia Navy Yard, the market was embracing new users, customers and spaces alike. The evolution of Philly’s retail market at this time inevitably bred winners and losers. Six months later, the onset of a global pandemic would give rise to political policies that crushed capacities and foot traffic for retailers and restaurants. Add in a healthy dose of elevated online shopping, and the result was a one-two punch that was simply too much for some retailers to survive. Such is the scene playing out today in the City of Brotherly Love. But real estate professionals are quick to point out that the demise of some retailers was unavoidable before COVID-19 came around, and that ultimately the city’s strong demographics will usher its retail market through the recession. “We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that pre-COVID, several categories of retailers were not thriving or were irrelevant or …
By Allison Gray, Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners The growing demand for distribution space and the related importance of freight logistics and a healthy supply chain have remained steady even though the COVID-19 pandemic continues to shake up markets across the U.S. and around the globe. This demand is evident in the bi-state St. Louis region, where more inventory of bulk distribution space has been added in the five-year period between 2015 and 2019 than at any other point in St. Louis history, totaling more than 18 million square feet of top-of-the-line modern bulk space. Recent construction and development trends in the bi-state St. Louis area reveal that bulk distribution buildings — those that top 250,000 square feet — have been the highest growing sector for the regional inventory. Since 2016, 94 percent of all bulk construction has been focused along the vital I-70 corridor, while 90 percent of the new major industrial parks with significant construction are located within 10 minutes of the I-70 corridor. This corridor, which includes portions of I-170, I-270 and I-370, is a development hotspot that links Illinois and Missouri. It has emerged as a major logistics corridor supported with more than $600 million …
Landlords, users and brokers throughout the Houston retail market are re-tooling their properties and operating practices to stay afloat amid the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing ways of doing business that may persist long after the public health crisis has subsided. A panel comprising retail leasing, development and investment sales professionals in Houston convened on Tuesday, Oct. 6 to discuss specific ideas and methodologies that have been put into practice as COVID-19 rocks the world of brick-and-mortar retail. Shopping Center Business and Texas Real Estate Business, two magazines published by Atlanta-based France Media Inc., hosted the event. Prior to the pandemic, social events that activated open public spaces helped landlords to promote their tenants’ businesses and to bring traffic to their centers. With public health protocols precluding many of these events from happening, owners and tenants alike have had to think outside the box. New Practices Sustain Business No retail category has seen this trend displayed more visibly than the restaurant sector. Emily Durham, partner and director of hospitality services at Waterman Steele Real Estate Advisors and a longtime tenant rep specialist for restaurant owners, identified several new practices that have helped restaurants stay above water. “The sit-down and fine dining restaurants have had the …
Economic health at the start of 2020 set a foundation for Orlando’s office market that remains in a good position despite headwinds caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Nationally, the United States saw its longest-running period of economic growth before non-essential business was paused. Even with the slowdown in tourism, Orlando continues to see an uptick in local economy-boosting sectors, including defense and technology. Additionally, an increasing number of companies and individuals in the Northeast have eyes on Florida to escape denser urban markets and high state and local taxes, which bodes well for the Central Florida region. Fundamentals stay firm The pandemic significantly curbed a lot of new office leasing activity in Orlando in 2020. However, rents have not experienced a measurable decline to date. As of the second quarter, the total average rental rate was $24.92 full-service. Landlords are generally being patient and are not lowering rents or offering above-market concessions when negotiating new deals. Asking rents will likely stay flat for the coming months until the broader economy kickstarts again or the anticipated new sublease space hits the market and compels landlords to be more competitive. Total net office absorption for the Orlando area posted a negative …
By Brandon Wappelhorst, Sansone Group In nearly every aspect of our personal and professional lives, 2020 could unequivocally be summarized as certainly uncertain. The rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the world and has caused significant disruption to everyday life. While likely further down the list of today’s topical issues, the overall effect of COVID-19 on the office market in St. Louis is still to be determined — but it will undoubtedly have an impact. Over the last few years, the commercial real estate market in St. Louis, much like the rest of the country, had been riding a wave of economic success. Demand for office space was high and the region was experiencing record-low vacancy rates, increasing rental rates, positive absorption, increased volume of office sale transactions and new buildings coming out of the ground. Construction of Edge@West, a 110,000-square-foot office building in Creve Coeur, began in late 2019 after a lease was signed with lead tenant SM Global. Breaking ground at less than 25 percent pre-leased was indicative of the strength of the office market at the time. Clayton, the strongest submarket in the St. Louis metro area, also saw the beginnings of …