In the office segment there has been plenty of news regarding Class A assets. Companies have been flocking towards upgraded space. Landlords have made significant capital expenditures to their buildings to attract and retain these tenants. We have seen parking decks being built, investments to achieve LEED certification and the addition of upgraded amenities, such as cafés, fitness facilities, day care centers, and shuttles to mass transit. In the midst of these discussions, the Class B building seems to be getting lost. Class B office buildings do not have all of the bells and whistles of their Class A counterparts. However, this has not stopped them from experiencing a resurgence over the last few years. Current vacancy of Class B office space in the Northern New Jersey market is 13.4 percent. The vacancy rate has seen a steady decline from 15 percent at the end of 2014. The asking rents in the market average around $21.50 based on a gross number. The absorption of space over the last two years has been the best we have seen in more than 10 years. According to CoStar, 1.1 million square feet of Class B office space was leased in Northern New Jersey …
The Orange County office sector continues to see falling vacancy rates, positive net absorption and rising asking rates. Orange County has beaten the U.S. national average for office vacancy since the fourth quarter of 2014. Office vacancy fell to 8.9 percent in the third quarter, down from 9.4 percent in the second quarter and 9.9 percent in the first quarter of 2016. We continue to see positive net absorption to the tune of 626,900 square feet, but that number is down from 730,844 square feet in the second quarter, a difference of 15,044 square feet. Asking rates continue to trend upward from $27.61 per square foot to $27.73 per square foot annually. Class A buildings lead the way, with asking rates averaging $32.89 per square foot. Class B and C buildings come in at $26.28 per square foot and $21.57 per square foot, respectively. These are all good signs for the new development coming to market in 2017. One of the more notable projects to soon come to fruition is 400 Spectrum Center Drive in Irvine. This 466,696-square-foot, Class A office tower is expected to be complete in the third quarter of 2017. This will be the sister tower to …
Louisville is no longer simply a city known for horse races, bourbon and tobacco. It has become a city with a diverse and growing economy with heavy concentrations of medical employment, an international logistics hub and a stable manufacturing base. It has grown to become the dynamic northern edge of the Southeast, and investors from all over the nation are flocking to it. Louisville is an established riverfront city in the Southeast with a growing population, diversification of employment and an attractive multifamily supply/demand balance. The area is home to 12 Fortune 500 companies, three of which are headquartered in the city. The metro is a nationally recognized regional distribution and warehousing hub serving major operations such as Ford Motor Co., General Electric and many others. The city has seen steady job growth since the recession. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that between July 2010 and July 2016, 80,000 new jobs were created. With a very successful series of major distribution facilities now open and future capital investments in distribution parks planned, Louisville continues to be a hotbed in the logistics industry. Leading this remarkable transformation to a logistics giant is the development and expansion of …
Downtown Indianapolis is already feeling the impact of Salesforce.com Inc.’s recent decision to lease more than 220,000 square feet for a new regional headquarters in the state’s tallest office building, located at 111 Monument Circle. The firm’s $40 million investment over 10 years includes expansion plans for its regional headquarters as well as changing the name of the 48-story office tower from Chase Tower to Salesforce Tower Indianapolis. This will be one of only four towers in the world that bear the Salesforce name — the others are located in New York, London and San Francisco. Salesforce.com, a publicly traded company (NYSE: CRM), is a business software provider best known for applications that help salespeople track customer contacts and marketers plan campaigns, according to The Wall Street Journal. The San Francisco-based tech company currently has 1,400 employees in Indianapolis and plans to hire 800 new employees over the next five years. The company is expected to move into the tower in early 2017. The firm currently leases space in three other buildings downtown. This speaks volumes about Indianapolis’ efforts to become the Midwest hub for technology. While Salesforce is one of Indianapolis’ largest technology employers, nearly 100 tech companies are …
Denver’s economic growth, its reputation as a commercial hub in the Rockies and the growth in e-commerce sales are all factors contributing to the metro’s strong industrial property performance. Denver employers are on track to add 39,000 new workers to their headcounts by year end, expanding the local workforce by 2.8 percent, with the professional and business services and construction sectors driving employment gains. As household formation and retail spending has increased, demand for industrial space in Denver has followed suit. The city’s strategic position as a Western state commercial hub, along with the rapid rise in e-commerce sales, has attracted retailers and distributors, such as FedEx and Amazon, to the area. These large retailers and distributors are contributing to the high demand for industrial space, especially given the limited number of industrial property deliveries in 2015. The industrial construction pipeline is growing as a result of this demand. Spurred on by Denver’s positive economic performance, developers have expanded the industrial development pipeline, including higher levels of speculative development. About 3.7 million square feet of industrial space will have come online by the end of the year. About 1 million square feet of space was delivered in 2015. The breakneck …
As one project finishes, another one is soon to begin. The $2.3 billion Ohio River Bridges Project its nearing its December 2016 completion, and Louisville commuters are yearning for a return to normalcy and enhanced transportation options. The East End Crossing will link Louisville’s fast-growing suburban markets to Southern Indiana’s burgeoning distribution hub at River Ridge. The new Abraham Lincoln Bridge parallels the John F. Kennedy Bridge downtown and carries I-65 across the Ohio River. After three years of disrupting traffic in metro Louisville, both projects are entering their final phase of construction. Just as the Bridges Project nears completion, two major projects in Louisville’s central business district (CBD) may have an impact on the office market. The Kentucky International Convention Center closed in August for a two-year, $200 million renovation project. Sections of 3rd and 4th streets will close during the construction, which could have a drag on downtown commuter traffic. In addition, Louisville will welcome a 600-room, $289 million Omni Hotel in 2018, but not before the major project squeezes Liberty Street and Muhammad Ali Street traffic. Both significant projects will bring dividends to Louisville’s CBD when completed, but the market will have to endure some disruption in …
Detroit’s sustained employment growth, along with focused redevelopment and revitalization efforts, have brightened the metro area’s economic outlook and propelled the retail market this year. Six consecutive years of job gains have attracted new residents to the region and stemmed population outflow. Strong hiring trends have boosted household incomes, and retail sales are ascending as a result. The local economy is expected to create 38,000 new jobs in 2016, representing a 1.9 percent annual expansion. The local unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent in August, the lowest rate since 2001 and just 10 basis points higher than the national level. The professional and business services sector led employment gains over the 12-month period that ended June 30 with nearly 12,000 additional workers hired. Ripple effect of jobs growth The abundance of job opportunities is also contributing to higher household incomes. Over the 12-month period that ended Sept. 30, roughly 7,500 households were created and the median household income climbed 3.1 percent. These improvements supported a 1.3 percent hike in retail spending over the same period. Encouraged by the positive economic trends in Detroit, retailers are expanding many existing storefronts, while companies such as Nike and restaurants such as Cheesecake Factory, …
Industrial activity in Louisville is growing at an exponential clip and doesn’t appear to be slowing anytime soon. As famously quoted in Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come.” And indeed they have. In Louisville and extending into southern Indiana, more than 3 million square feet of new construction has already been delivered this year. What’s more, the current pipeline of projects under construction — coupled with proposed construction — could deliver as much as 3 million square feet or more in the next nine to 12 months. The real estate landscape in Louisville is forever changed. Historically, institutional investors expressed interest in the region but were reluctant to take action. Now, with robust projects on the horizon, the pool of institutional owners making large-scale investments continues to grow. New players like The Opus Group, Dermody Properties Inc., Browning Investments LLC, Molto Properties LLC and VanTrust Real Estate LLC have all established projects in Louisville in the last two years. But why Louisville? Investors are setting sight on Kentucky for more than just new construction. Prime Locations Even during the economic downturn between 2008 and 2011, Louisville was never a victim of the extreme fallout experienced by …
Rochester’s story is similar to those of other cities with once prominent downtowns. Starting in the 1970s, businesses and families largely fled to the suburbs as newer and nicer suburban offices were built. Larger companies, including many staple downtown dwellers such as large law and accounting firms, left the downtown in search of free parking, shorter commutes and a suburban lifestyle for their employees. Yet Rochester was a small city with big businesses. Bausch & Lomb was founded in Rochester in 1853. Eastman Kodak started business there in 1888 and beginning in 1906, Xerox Corporation was formed. Kodak is still based in Rochester, though it is a much smaller entity than it was before the digital era, and Xerox moved to Norwalk, Connecticut, years ago. However, the core technology culture never left Rochester. Over the past few years the University of Rochester — the area’s largest employer — received more than $1.9 billion in research money, most of it from the federal government. Organizations like High Tech Rochester, Greater Rochester Enterprise and the Rochester Downtown Innovation Zone have played important roles in the region’s comeback. In 2015, the Rochester region won a nationwide competition and was named the site for …
San Francisco and San Mateo counties boast above average employment numbers and wages and have been strong all through the current business cycle. Over the past four quarters ending in June, organizations in these counties, along with Marin County, (henceforth referred to as “the metro,”) have created 30,750 new jobs. This expansion of the metro’s labor force by 2.9 percent far exceeds the national average over the same time period. Businesses are expected to create 40,000 new positions this year and employment growth will reach 3.7 percent. Hence, the metro’s economy has created substantial demand for housing and apartments are leading the way, as the high cost of single-family homes, rigorous regulation, and the infill nature within the metro has constrained deliveries during previous years in the cycle. There are multiple major projects that will boost the rate of completions significantly above previous years in the cycle. Builder activity will surge to a multi-decade high with 6,440 apartments slated for delivery, exceeding the 1,488 units brought to market in 2015. The majority of completions will target the South of Market (SoMA) and South San Mateo County submarkets. Vacancy rate in the metro will register a 110-basis-point increase in 2016, rising …