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 …
By Jeff Forsberg, Principal, NAI Puget Sound Properties It has been interesting, to say the least, since our governor issued the stay-at-home order on March 23 and we all started contemplating a future where we’d never have to get out of our pajamas. Though our market’s industrial sector isn’t immune to disruptions, the immediate fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic is not quite as dire as some might have projected. The Seattle industrial market comprises about 223 million square feet. This essentially covers the area between the two major ports (Seattle and Tacoma) in our region. Bolstered by large lease transactions with PCC Logistics (400,000 square feet), Darigold (284,067 square feet), Scotts (245,185 square feet), Ikea (200,000 square feet), Infinity Global Express (203,505 square feet) and Filson (126,028 square feet), our market posted respectable second-quarter lease stats. The current vacancy rate hovers at 5.05 percent, which is great for any market but slightly above average on what we have seen here over the past 10 years. The average monthly shell rate has remained flat at $0.659 per square foot, but apart from a few subleases, we haven’t seen a dramatic reduction in rent. Driving most of these trends is the rising …
By Brian Tranetzki, Principal, Taylor Street Advisors Multifamily is staying strong despite COVID-19. That’s because this product type was coming off an extremely hot market at the end of 2019 and early 2020 before the pandemic hit. The Phoenix metro area remains one of the few markets nationally with positive rent growth due to the steady population increase. Now, just months away from 2021, the market is faced with many unknown factors, such as unemployment, election outcomes, continued COVID uncertainty and the risk of eliminating 1031 exchanges. In turn, buyer sentiment also remains intense with a flurry of activity on those very exchanges. Development is still robust in the valley, with significant increases in downtown Phoenix, downtown Tempe and Chandler/Gilbert. There are currently more than 15,000 units under construction in the region. The building sizes are getting larger, while individual units are getting smaller. Developers are focused on building Class A properties with an emphasis on higher-end amenities, pool areas and concierge services. The class type determines whether it’s a landlord or tenant market. Tenants have several options in the Class A rental space, particularly as new units are delivered, which makes this a tenant-friendly environment. Class A vacancy is …
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In Search of Relative Value in Orange County’s Apartment Sector
Orange County offers residents all the key elements of the American dream. Its virtues are numerous and faults few. Indeed, Moody’s Analytics ranks the quality of life in the OC 10th highest among the 378 U.S. metros it reports on, just a half-step behind leaders Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. Orange County is a terrific place to live, but is it a good place to invest? Gauging by observed capitalization rate trends, one may conclude that county apartment properties are highly prized gems. Class A trophy properties trade to going-in yields in the 4.00 percent to 4.10 percent area, and Class B and C garden complexes are typically priced to yields in the mid-4s, all only 25 basis points or so behind Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area comparisons. But judging from transaction velocity, one might draw a different conclusion. Only six Orange County multifamily properties of 50 units or more have changed hands since mid-year 2019, and not a single sale has closed since February. Even by the cautious norms of the moment, this stands out as a market in search of price discovery. Slow transaction velocity can be ascribed, in part, to the prevailing buy and …
By Scott Olson, Skogman Commercial Since starting a series of annual articles on Cedar Rapids in 2013 after the recovery from the historic floods of 2008 and 2016, I never anticipated the city would be facing an event in 2020 that would reach beyond those levels of flood impact. Now, the COVID-19 pandemic has given our city new challenges for this year and beyond. Hopefully this is a once-in-a-lifetime health event that, unlike the floods, has impacted nearly every city in the country in many ways. But there is a reason Cedar Rapids was named “All America City” in 2014. Here is why I make that statement. In February 2020, SmartAsset.com named Cedar Rapids the No. 2 “Most Recession-Resistant City in America.” Then as the pandemic spread, Business Insider named Cedar Rapids the No. 11 “Top American City to Live in After a Pandemic.” With the historic low interest rates created by the pandemic and a decade-low inventory of listed residential properties, Cedar Rapids was ranked by lendedu.com as the No. 34 city with the most affordable homes in the U.S. That report showed that 96 percent of our homes are affordable for the average household living in the city. …