It has been a tremendous year for the Twin Cities of Texarkana, Texas and Texarkana, Ark. with the education sector topping $70 million and a $180 million major medical campus projected to commence in early 2016. Educational Opportunity Texas A&M University-Texarkana has been awarded $35.5 million in state funding for the construction of a new building to house and expand its nursing program, including the expansion of a Master’s Degree program, and to promote student success initiatives. The Texas A&M University system expanded its four year-university program to Texarkana in 2010, with the first freshman class admitted that year including Phase I dorms on the 300-plus acre Bringle Lake Campus. University of Arkansas Community College at Hope (UACCH) expanded a satellite campus on Texarkana’s Arkansas side in 2012, with over $5.4 million going toward the construction of two buildings that service over 300 local students. Working hand in hand with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, UACCH has expanded their four-year university program, and will continue to grow as the new health professions building completes construction. Further education initiatives include a $29.2 million commitment from Texarkana Independent School District for the construction of a new sixth grade center and …
While demand for all types of retail product has been strong over the past few years, investors continue to have a strong appetite for Boston area grocery-anchored shopping centers in 2015 despite meaningful changes to the food distribution industry. The competitive landscape for traditional supermarkets is evolving as value-oriented grocers such as Market Basket, Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Aldi, and Save-A-Lot lure away price-conscious customers, while service-oriented formats such as Wegmans, Whole Foods and Roche Brothers are expanding and gaining market share with more affluent customers. These chains achieve success by targeting the low- and high-end niches of the market. According to IBISWorld, the online grocery sales industry is projected to increase approximately 9.5 percent annually to become a $9.4 billion industry by 2017. Companies such as Amazon and Walmart are increasing their capabilities for selling food and beverages online, and Ahold’s Peapod service continues to expand in an effort to maintain its position as the leading Internet grocer. The food distribution industry has been further saturated by big-box retailers and national pharmacy chains offering a growing selection of packaged goods and dairy products. These non-traditional grocers and e-commerce providers derive much of their profits from non-food items, allowing them to …
Developers are doing everything they can to make their projects attractive to corporations and their brokers as competition in Seattle continues to increase for high-growth tech tenants. And they’re doing it with good reason: Seattle was recently ranked the No. 1 city in the country for technology jobs. Seattle’s tech industry has grown by 12 percent over the past two years, according to Forbes, outpacing Silicon Valley, Boston and other tech markets. Experts point to a diverse local economy – Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing – and more-affordable housing that, together, enabled Seattle to fare better than other technology hubs. With tech business booming, Seattle’s real estate market is simply trying to keep up. Projects are starting every week, it seems, by developers looking to capture the unprecedented supply of tech businesses. Some are trying to attract anchor tenants with equity, naming rights or aggressive TI allowances. No matter the approach, smart owners realize their buildings must be created in a way that enables tenants to gain a competitive advantage in attracting top industry talent. Surveys show culture is by far the biggest draw when it comes to recruiting and retaining tech workers. How a company’s owners and employees think, feel …
This year is shaping up to be very exciting and productive for the Richmond retail market. The Richmond retail market has started at a brisk pace for the first half of 2015, similar to the end of 2014 as it absorbed 111,889 square feet. The vacancy rate has continued to decline over the past 12 months as well. The overall retail vacancy rate in Richmond tightened to 6.6 percent, a 50 basis point improvement over last year. The main drivers of retail activity throughout the Richmond MSA continue to be grocery stores, fitness centers and restaurants. Early this year we saw the commencement of construction at two Wegmans-anchored developments in Richmond, one in Short Pump and another in Midlothian. The Midlothian Wegmans will anchor the new Stonehenge Village and is on pace to open in early 2016. The Short Pump Wegmans will join Cabela’s in the new West Broad Marketplace, a 400,000-square-foot development on the western edge of Short Pump. There has also been solid activity in the market from several other grocers, including Walmart Neighborhood Market and Aldi. Each of these concepts has opened four new stores in the market. Another grocer poised to enter the market is LIDL, …
The Richmond metropolitan area, with a population of 1.3 million, is bursting with multifamily development. The growing MSA contains more than 72,000 apartments units (45 percent Class A) and has 2,018 units under construction with another 5,826 in various stages of pre-development. On top of all this activity, the overall market occupancy remains at 96 percent. The fuel for these conditions comes from the many amenities in the market, from the University of Richmond and a robust sports scene to the proximity to Atlanta, the Atlantic coast and Washington, D.C., as well as the encouraging employment picture. The city’s unemployment stands at 5 percent compared to the U.S. average of 6.3 percent; since 2000 the city’s population has grown by nearly 15 percent. These conditions allow property owners to leverage this diverse and sustainable market for multifamily investments. Richmond development also benefits from the attractive interest rates, which remain low despite having climbed 80 basis points since late January. Along with monitoring this upward trend, news earlier this month from the Federal Reserve of a rate hike will serve as a caution sign for investors. Whether we see this hike in the next couple of months, or not until 2016, …
The story of the tortoise and the hare can be used to describe the major metros throughout Texas. In recent years, Austin has sprung to life while San Antonio has developed slow and steady. Most recently, however, it appears San Antonio’s office market has received a jolt — the second quarter of 2015 saw three to four times more activity than historic averages indicate — and San Antonio now boasts its lowest vacancy rate since 2008. With a 3.4 percent unemployment rate, San Antonio ranks third on the list of major metropolitan cities across the country with the lowest unemployment rates, trailing only Austin at 3 percent and Salt Lake City at 3.1 percent. These numbers are indicative of a much larger picture of San Antonio. Uniquely positioned to capture the spillover of tech companies and supporting businesses from Austin, its neighbor, San Antonio’s low rental rates for both Class A and B office space along with stable infrastructure make it a viable, attractive alternative for many major businesses looking to expand. But where in San Antonio is all this activity erupting? San Antonio’s newest residents are interested in one area, and you need look no further than the central …
Traverse City may be known as a small resort town on the shores of Lake Michigan, but each year it grows in popularity. And more commercial real estate players are taking notice. In the past year, Traverse City has been named one of the “Top 20 Best Small Towns in the U.S. to Visit” (Smithsonian); “One of the 50 Best Places to Live in America” (Men’s Journal); “One of the 10 Must See Cities in America” (Horizon Travel Magazine); “One of 10 U.S. Destinations on the Rise” (TripAdvisor); and “One of America’s 20 Most Romantic Towns” (Travel + Leisure). Tourism is on the rise as we become known as a region not only for cherries, but also for great restaurants, wineries, microbreweries, recreational trails for hiking and biking, skiing, festivals and a great place to live. With increasing notoriety comes pressure for development, and Traverse City is no exception. We have seen more development and projects in the pipeline in the past 12 months than we have seen since the height of the real estate boom 10 years ago. Tourists will be happy to note more hotel rooms in the downtown area as the new Hotel Indigo nears completion. The …
Philadelphia’s apartment market remains bright as increasing employment fosters stable economic growth, which in turn is bolstering apartment operations. Employers in the metro, which is known as the center of economic activity in Pennsylvania, will increase hiring 1.2 percent this year, adding 35,000 jobs. In 2014, new jobs increased 1.6 percent and the unemployment rate decreased 130 basis points. Total employment is on the upswing, recovering nearly all of the jobs lost during the recession. The favorable employment conditions are supporting demand for apartments and swiftly improving performance throughout the metro, prompting developers to start new multifamily projects. Builders in Philadelphia are focusing their attention in Center City, which includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia, where nearly 25 percent of this year’s deliveries will be placed into service. Developers are on track to complete 3,600 units in 2015, increasing total apartment inventory 1.4 percent. Last year 2,400 rentals were delivered. Part of the reason that demand is especially strong in Philadelphia can be attributed to the increasing popularity of living in the urban core among young professionals and baby boomers. The lack of developable in-fill locations in the area is prompting developers to convert office buildings …
The underlying forces bolstering the strength of the Seattle metro multifamily marketplace are robust job growth, new development projects and the short supply of single-family houses. While these factors also slightly impact vacancy levels, property prices and sales activity are expected to continue to rise. New and expanding companies, particularly in the tech sector, have sustained job growth in the Seattle-Tacoma region over the past five years. They have put more than 115,000 people to work since the pre-recession peak. This influx of workers, strong housing demand and a number of new development projects contributed to the construction sector posting the region’s strongest 12-month job gain of 14,600 new jobs. Company expansions are anticipated to generate an additional 65,000 jobs this year alone. Construction of both single-family and multifamily housing projects is expected to continue at an accelerated pace over the next several years. Limited inventory and affordability issues associated with single-family houses are preventing many people from transitioning to homeownership, thus fostering intense demand for apartment rentals. Roughly 12,000 rentals are expected to come online this year – with about 2,600 apartments delivered in the second quarter of 2015 alone. This represents the second-largest quarterly gain in more than …
Richmond has become a multifamily safe haven with unemployment rates below the national average and the second-best annual rental returns in the nation at 20.42 percent. Richmond’s high annual returns are due in large part to its population. The city has become a mecca for young adults as 32.2 percent of the population is in its 20s and 30s — well above the national average of 22 percent. This population’s drive for an urban, walkable lifestyle is generating a great deal of development in the CBD, as well as the Manchester submarket where Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Institute for Contemporary Art is located. VCU’s art institute is the No. 1 art and design school in the country, and continues to draw in Millennials looking to take advantage of the open and historic downtown district surrounding the James River. Richmond’s flourishing, younger population is demanding adaptive re-use and new development and developers in Richmond are answering the call. Areas such as Scott’s Addition, Shockoe Bottom and Manchester have all seen new mid and high-rise developments in recent months that are attracting a plethora of new tenants. Highlights of Richmond’s apartment market include: • 1,000 units are currently under construction with an …