The Pittsburgh office market has experienced significant new development over the last five years, particularly in the urban and downtown fringe submarkets. This is expected to continue in the coming years, with several new developments that are currently in planning or under construction. Historically, urban office supply in Pittsburgh has been constrained due to the economic hurdles of new development. With limited sites for new projects, land costs at a premium and significant site work required, Pittsburgh’s nominal rent growth did not allow for economically viable projects. However, rent growth in recent years has led to a new wave of development, which has accommodated companies moving to Pittsburgh along with existing businesses growing and/or relocating within the market. Most of the new office development has taken place in urban submarkets surrounding downtown, including the Strip District, Oakland, East Liberty and the North Shore. These submarkets have attracted more development than the CBD due to greater availability of development sites, as well as lower construction costs. Development Pockets Total development costs of Class A office buildings on the fringe of the CBD are generally $250 to $300 per square foot. For this project cost, gross rents in the range of $30 …
San Antonio has at times been characterized as “a big city with a small-town feel.” However, with an MSA surpassing 2 million people and a claim to being one of the country’s largest and fastest growing cities, the small-town feeling is fading quickly. With robust population growth, strong job numbers and a decade of prosperity to lean on, our retail business is more dynamic than ever. It should be of no surprise to this readership that like other areas of the country, San Antonio is facing continued pressure on traditional brick-and-mortar retail as e-commerce continues to grow and penetrate the market. Yet many local and regional retailers are adapting. One of the best examples of this adaptation is H-E-B, San Antonio’s dominant supermarket chain, which has taken on the e-commerce challenge by integrating an online grocery shopping experience with the option of home delivery or curbside pickup at select stores. Currently, H-E-B is under construction on its second fulfillment center next to its retail store at Bulverde Marketplace. As retailers evolve, retail developers and property owners are experiencing swift changes within their tenant lineups and are working diligently to ensure their marketplaces continue to attract customers. Entertainment, fitness and health …
Contrary to some Southeast markets’ recent shift in focus to the suburbs, construction in Central Birmingham continues to boom with activity. The Central Birmingham cluster — encompassing the CBD, Southside, Parkside District, University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) and Lakeview neighborhoods — has established itself as a strong-performing submarket with 3,800 multifamily units total, according to CoStar. The growing number of desirable amenities such as parks, restaurants, museums and trails has helped foster rent growth and additional projects. Birmingham’s overall multifamily construction activity has been consistent with 12,000 units added from 2009 to 2018 (approximately 1,300 units per year). Within the Birmingham metro itself, multifamily construction is highly concentrated in Central Birmingham, which experienced a 225 percent hike in multifamily construction from a low in second-quarter 2017 to 850 units currently under construction and 1,400 units planned or proposed. Suburban supply has been tempered compared to similar metros given the lack of zoned land available. There are a number of planned suburban projects, including projects by Dobbins Group and Davis Development, but none under construction. Drivers of this trend Rents achieved in Central Birmingham enable multifamily development to ensue despite higher construction costs. The Pizitz and Thomas Jefferson Tower (TJ) are …
E-commerce has cut through brick-and-mortar retail in a Darwinian fashion, establishing clear winners and losers and drastically re-shaping landlords’ approaches to leasing. Purveyors of certain soft goods — apparel, jewelry, electronics — have seen their footprints at malls and retail centers dwindle as online shopping has infiltrated American consumer behavior. But given a little financial credit and strong branding that integrates local culture, these same concepts can find success in airport settings. “Local concepts create a sense of place and introduce travelers and visitors to what’s special about that place,” says Nicole Linton, marketing manager at Paradies Lagardere, a travel retail company that operates more than 1,000 stores and restaurants across 100 North American airports. “By adapting local concepts to airport settings, we help our partners create brand recognition, which leads to increased sales.” Of course, no airport is clamoring for any retailer — local or not — whose sales are declining and whose stores are closing. But once a retail or restaurant concept makes it onto an airport’s tenant roster, it enjoys higher price points and a captive audience, two key facets of sales growth that have increasingly eluded brick-and-mortar operators in the e-commerce era. “Retailers like the insulation …
Demographic shifts and the subsequent demand for affordable housing are currently impacting the greater Indianapolis multifamily sector, but the most marked influence is increased and expanded investor interest. Demographic shifts in population are influencing developers and owners in their long-term decision making when it comes to the multifamily sector. Two primary factors are at play. One, the traditional renter’s segment is changing as millennials age and delay having children. Two, national population projections are showing a decline in the prime renter’s segment as Baby Boomers begin to move into seniors housing. As a result, developers and owners are beginning to plan more senior living communities. Millennials are also impacting affordable housing occupancy rates as they want to live in walkable and amenity-rich areas without the cost of high-end apartments. This is leading to more rehabbed properties. At the moment, Class C properties in the Indianapolis area are reflecting greater occupancy movements, as occupancy declines when properties become distressed and increases when they are purchased and rehabbed. Additionally, college debt is delaying graduates in purchasing traditional homes. Both of these factors are causing occupancy rate increases which, in turn, result in a shortage of affordable housing. New housing construction costs are …
Shifting consumer preferences for convenience and variety have become key drivers for brick-and-mortar retail. And when it comes to creating co-tenancies that drive traffic to retail properties, dining, personal services and fitness are among today’s most desirable categories. Fortunately, they also are among the sector’s most active space users in today’s market. Strong restaurant demand among brands new to, and expanding in, the regional market continues unabated, and year-to-date activity reflects a new level of diversity. From national brands to regional chains like café and bakery Dulce De Leche to expanding local mom-and-pop businesses, these tenants are serving as “internet-proof” placemakers for the retail properties they occupy. And many tenants are looking to step up the dining experience with outdoor seating, revolving menus and entertainment, among other offerings that spark return visits. The same holds true for personal services, where boutique concepts have become sought-after shopping center additions. Again, diversity is a common theme, with activity involving traditional salons as well as specialized concepts like Sport Clips, which caters to men and boys, and local businesses that offer makeup services, waxing and other niche beauty treatments. We also are watching with interest the emergence of brands offering coworking space for …
Lenders and borrowers alike have come to recognize some fundamental truths of the retail financing market in the e-commerce era: Most big box users need to right-size their store footprints and prototypes; new construction in urban settings needs food and entertainment components; and friendly loan terms are increasingly predicated on the sponsor’s track record. In Texas, direct lenders of all types have remained active in the retail arena, with certain capital sources aligning themselves with specific sub-types of the asset class. For example, CMBS lenders often focus on stabilized properties with cash flow concerns, whereas regional banks might be better bets for new construction or redevelopment deals in high-growth markets. Properties distressed by tenant turnover or rent roll uncertainty can appeal to debt funds, and life companies seem to have a soft spot for grocery-anchored product. “The biggest point of optimism for the property type in 2019 lies in the fact that lenders are still lending on retail,” says Chad Owens, vice president in NorthMarq Capital’s Houston office. “Specifically among smaller life insurance companies, CMBS lenders and banks, retail is still a big part of their businesses.” Owens says that in Texas and beyond, there is ample capital available for …
Birmingham’s investor-controlled, multi-tenant warehouse market remains at or near record occupancy levels — 95 percent for bulk warehouse and 90.4 percent for office/warehouse. The 32-foot clear heights, Class A bulk market is even tighter at nearly 100 percent. Landlords are well into a cycle of market catch-up, rent growth and capital reinvestment. A growing list of tenants, reading the tea leaves, have gone long when appropriate. But what about new construction? A local developer finally put a shovel in the ground in 2018, delivering a 30 percent preleased, 112,500-square-foot front load project on a well-located infill site. The timing was perfect and captured some pent-up demand with two leases promptly signed for the balance of the building. Rents for this development were quoted at $5.95 per-square-foot, while the submarket average trailed at $4.87 for tenant sizes under 40,000 square feet. The gap is narrowing. Two build-to-suits were also delivered in early 2018: Gardner Denver Nash’s 52,000-square-foot facility and Mercedes-Benz U.S. International supplier Truck & Wheel Group’s 127,000-square-foot assembly plant, the latter purchased by Gladstone Commercial Corp. Along with absorption rates, site scarcity is a limiting factor for Birmingham’s development pipeline. That said, there are a few developer-controlled sites suitable for …
Twenty years ago, if you were to make the 100-mile drive along Interstate 5 from Los Angeles to San Diego, you’d be driving through crop fields, ranchlands and vast tracts of undeveloped land. Today, that same corridor in southern California is defined by commercial and residential development, so much so that it’s hard to tell where one city ends and another one begins. In recent years, California has become a feeder of the growing Texas population as businesses and households alike seek the tax benefits of relocating from the West Coast to Texas. Central Texas has been the landing spot for many of those firms and families as well. Consequently, the region’s overall population growth is laying the groundwork for a similar type of transformation along the Interstate 35 corridor connecting Austin and San Antonio. While retail normally follows rooftops, in Central Texas we see retail developers and investors — as well as their counterparts in the industrial space — targeting these markets in advance of the residential building boom that they feel is sure to come. In addition, the remarkable population growth of both of the corridor’s anchoring cities has cemented its role as a rising star in terms …
More than 50 years ago, I was witness to the birth of a new building type in Chicago’s suburbs — the great sprawling corporate campus. From Motorola and McDonald’s to Ameritech and Sears, some of the most influential brands in the world started taking root in Chicago’s bucolic suburbs as they looked to consolidate business divisions under one large roof and to provide a stimulating work environment away from the hustle and bustle of the inner city. Today, many of these corporate meccas sit vacant due to the rise in telecommuting and a shift in workforce demographics. The simple version of the narrative is that instead of people chasing the jobs, firms are now chasing the talent. And for the moment, many employees prefer to live and work in the city. While some suburbs are strongly associated with the companies who previously occupied those campuses, there is another story to tell in terms of the opportunities change can bring to these properties and their surrounding communities. As the architect who designed two of these campuses, the AT&T (né Ameritech) corporate campus in Hoffman Estates in 1989 and McDonald’s global headquarters in Oak Brook starting in 1978, I have repeatedly been …