Miami is known for its spicy nightlife and beautiful beaches; but those are not the only things the international city has to offer. As the economy continues to surge, many now consider Miami the third major market within the United States following New York City and Los Angeles. Within the city, the retail market has always been attractive to owners and tenants alike, but over the past three years retail has rocketed to the forefront. One of the major factors of this evolution is Miami’s growth, both in population and in tourism. Between being an international vacation destination, a major cruise port, and the gateway to the Caribbean and Latin America, Miami is constantly growing. The weather and city also attracts growth. The population in Miami now is at 2.66 million and Miami Beach’s hotels reported having occupancy levels at or above 94 percent during President’s Day weekend. With this type of growth, Miami is experiencing strong consumer spending and an increase in demand for retail space. Retail vacancies are at an all-time low while rental rates are breaking records. Currently, Miami is considered to be under-supplied per capita in retail. Over the past few years, Miami has been increasing …
Large blocks of space in the Connecticut office market have typically been associated with financial services firms and the wide open trading floors found in investment bank offices. However, for a new breed of tenant looking for sprawling, open and contiguous office space, the state of Connecticut currently offers a myriad of choices across multiple submarkets — from Trumbull to Norwalk to Stamford. And recent leasing figures suggest that prospective tenants are taking note. TAMI — or technology, advertising, media and information — tenants are no longer a Manhattan-only phenomenon. CBRE’s Westchester/Fairfield Counties office is increasingly seeing these tenants joining financial services tenants in cherry picking from an abundant group of large spaces. These TAMI tenants often favor the open spaces and giant floorplates that have become known for increasing collaboration and productivity among their employees. They can also offer consolidation and cost savings for companies. One of the most notable recent examples was 2014’s largest lease transaction for Fairfield County, which saw information technology firm Datto lease 100,398 square feet of space at Norwalk’s Merritt 7 Corporate Park. CBRE’s Paul Jacobs, Colin Reilly and Barbara Segalini represented Datto in the lease at the 22-acre campus, which Datto said it …
After disappointing national GDP results early this year, we’ve received great reports on jobs, housing, auto sales, personal income and construction, suggesting the economy is improving. National job growth has seen a 12-month positive, record-breaking streak, while consumer confidence remains strong. Consumer spending is also likely to remain strong in the coming months, supported by high savings, rising house prices and a tightening labor market. This has led the retail market to continue its improvement with demand driven, in part, by high employment rates and consumer spending. Retailers are continuing to grow and progress with multiple small construction and proposed projects throughout Orange County. The local market finished last quarter with decreasing vacancy rates that ended at 4.4 percent. The Orange County retail market has seen a vacancy rate decline over the past 12 months that began at 4.9 percent and finished last quarter at 4.4 percent. Average rental rates have performed just the opposite to vacancy declines. We’ve seen a rise in the past four quarters to an average of $23.15, a total increase of more than 3.4 percent. The steady decline in vacancy and increase in average rental rates can be directly credited to the high demand for …
South Carolina continues to see a manufacturing renaissance, after back-to-back record years of manufacturing investment totaling $10 billion in 2013 and 2014. All signs suggest that 2015 will be just as promising. The Midlands region has benefitted from this investment and is poised to take off in 2015. As the market has heated up, the Midlands region of South Carolina has the most to offer in the way of product for new and expanding companies. Yes, in 2015 vacancy is a good thing! As the upstate and low country markets have become alarmingly tight on viable manufacturing space, the Midlands region offers up an array of high-quality industrial product that is move-in ready. Data for the first quarter of 2015 shows significant improvements in the Midlands market with investments, job creation and construction activity. Major companies, including Brazil-based Inbra Industrias Quimicas, Red Bone Alley Foods, Avantrech and Wire Mesh Cos., have all made multi-million dollar investments in new or expanded facilities, and there is also increased build-to-suit and speculative construction across the region. There has also been a growth in leasing, as manufacturers pursue existing facilities that can meet the demands for advanced manufacturing but with significant cost savings over …
San Antonio, despite being the second largest city in Texas by population, sometimes takes a back seat to the Lone Star State’s other booming metro areas. The city might not have the energy of Houston, the weirdness of Austin or the Cowboys of Dallas, but more than 1.4 million people call the Alamo City home, and businesses are starting to take notice. San Antonio has added more than 300,000 residents since 2000, and a reasonable cost of living makes it an attractive city for workers young and old. The city continues to experience strong corporate growth and increased tourism activity, which is bringing more jobs to the city. San Antonio’s unemployment rate of 3.8 percent sits well below the national rate of 5.5 percent, and is also below Texas’ unemployment rate of 4.2 percent. Texas is the home of oil, and recent price uncertainty has made some investors worry about the state’s big cities. But there’s no worry in San Antonio: While new oil and gas production from the Eagle Ford Shale south of the city is expanding and having a positive impact on the region, the presence of energy-related businesses in San Antonio represents only one sector of the …
After a lackluster first quarter, the Southern New Hampshire office sector is showing strong potential as we head into the heart of 2015 and as the recovery that is firmly entrenched in major hubs like Boston begins to make its way to secondary markets. Notably, the trend toward reurbanization and the growing popularity of live/stay/play opportunities are driving activity in Portsmouth and promise to bolster activity in lagging submarkets like Manchester and Nashua. As companies increasingly gravitate to downtown locations, Portsmouth is seeing steady demand. In fact, its 3 million-square-foot office inventory boasts the lowest vacancy rate (11 percent) and highest average asking rents ($20.31 per square foot) of the six New Hampshire office submarkets tracked by Cushman & Wakefield. This vibrant seacoast city is the first New Hampshire market supporting speculative construction. Farley White built the 67,000-square-foot North Wing addition to 100 Arboretum Drive, bringing the building’s total to approximately 127,000 square feet. Our team serves as leasing agent for the property, where multiple deals are in the pipeline. At 249 Corporate Drive, the Katz Co. is building a 37,000-square-foot building and recently leased a significant portion of the space to Loftware Inc. Renovation, redevelopment and repurposing of older …
The business and employment gains in the Tampa Bay market are helping landlords attract new retail names to the market to fill space and subsequently raise rents. The area shows good signs of a healthy market, with strong leasing activity and a growing need for new development. The retail vacancy rate continues to drop, ending 2014 at 6.3 percent versus 6.9 percent in the first quarter of that year, according to CoStar. Rents are positively going the other way, rising to $13.73 per square foot from $13.57 per square foot over the same time periods. Space is extremely tight in some submarkets, just 2.1 percent in south Tampa and northeast Tampa, and 4.5 percent in the larger I-75 corridor at the end of last year, according to CoStar. The lack of space can be attributed in part to the slow pace of new construction. Developers and their lenders are being more cautious, having learned lessons from the last recession. At the same time, a number of new concepts, all of which are good for the market, are arriving in Tampa Bay. The current situation puts landlords in even more control than they had last year. They’re using this period to …
Despite headwinds from the oil and energy industries’ latest moves, cities throughout Texas continue to boom. Austin and San Antonio have, in recent years, led the charge. However, one city situated along Interstate 35 between those powerhouses is emerging out of its sleepy college town roots and drawing attention from local and national investors. Once the primary destination for weeklong vacation shopping excursions to the country’s fourth largest outlet mall, San Marcos is quickly moving up the ranks. Recently named the fastest growing city in the U.S. by the Census Bureau for the third year in a row, it’s clear that one of Texas’ best kept secrets is out. Spec properties dot the landscape, fueled by the increasing demand for housing, hotels and industrial space, and are often leased before construction has completed. The economic forces driving the city’s growth are many. It is located on the I-35 Regional Growth Corridor between Austin and San Antonio with nearby access to I-10, toll road SH 130, as well as two international airports.It’s home to Texas State University, with more than 36,000 students, and rapidly gaining a reputation for its engineering, materials science and biotech programs. It is home to Tanger’s outlet …
Cincinnati’s central business district (CBD) is humming with activity, particularly in the office sector with nearly 13 million square feet of office space spread across 54 buildings. Class A office space has been in high demand in the past year as approximately 245,000 square feet was absorbed by area businesses, according to DTZ. During that time, the vacancy rate declined 380 basis points and now sits at 16.4 percent. The Banks, an 18-acre mixed-use development on the Ohio River between Great American Ball Park and Paul Brown Stadium, is driving much of the recent activity downtown. It links entertainment venues and connects the CBD to the waterfront via a riverfront park. A much-anticipated 340,000-square-foot office building is currently under construction there. The Banks’ office building, developed for General Electric’s new U.S. Global Operations Center, will accommodate up to 2,000 employees. The riverfront development edged out bids from other areas in the region, including Oakley and Mason, to land GE’s new operations center. In June, GE announced that it is leasing 80,000 square feet in the Atrium Two building on a three-year temporary basis, allowing the company time to set up operations during construction. Cincinnati Bell recently leased 220,000 square feet …
In Providence, the Class A office market continues to maintain vacancy rates under 10 percent, with an overall office vacancy of about 14 percent. This trend should continue as there is not any new Class A office development on the horizon for the capital city. There have been a few larger market transactions in Providence over the past 12 months. Waldorf Capital Management, a local real estate investment firm, purchased the Turks Head Building (150,000 rentable square feet) in late 2014. In addition, 170 Westminster Street (65,000 rentable square feet) recently traded; according to local rumor, the property will be converted to residential apartments. If 170 Westminster comes out of circulation, this will have a positive impact on the Class B vacancy rate in the city. Just south of the city on the 195 redevelopment land — dubbed “The Link” by the 195 Commission — work is just about complete to make the 19 available acres “shovel ready.” The 195 Commission has been successful in fully negotiating two purchase and sale agreements. The first is for student housing and the second is mixed-use residential. However, both projects are contingent on an acceptable tax stabilization agreement from the city, which has …