What area is your expertise? We primarily focus on office properties located in the Reno/Tahoe region of Northern Nevada, as well as some outlying areas. The Northern Nevada office market is defined as Reno/Sparks as far north as Spanish Springs and as far south as Mt. Rose Highway, HW 431. Our expertise mainly lies within the seven submarkets in the Reno/Sparks market: South Meadows (89521), Meadowood (89511), Central Reno (89509), Airport (89502), and Downtown Reno (89501). We also track West Reno (89523) and Sparks (89431, 89436) What trends do you see presently in office development in your area? We have seen a tremendous slowdown in new office development over the past 2 years. The booming economy of yesteryear produced an abundance of office space that has outpaced the economic demands of the market. Direct results of this overbuilding are the inflated vacancy rates and a standstill for new development. Most of the office development occurring comes in the form of existing building redevelopment and renovation. Much of this activity is occurring in Downtown Reno where the downtown Reno redevelopment district provides incentives for redevelopment through flexible zoning and tax incentives, therefore allowing developers to achieve a highest and best use …
Market Reports
Despite being just south of Philadelphia, Delaware continues to maintain its presence in the New England market and its own identity. After a very active period from 2005 to 2007, office development in Wilmington’s central business district (CBD) is now taking a breather. The last project finished, the Renaissance Center at 4th and King streets, still has significant vacancies. The suburban market has also slowed, and new developers are taking a wait-and-see approach before speculatively breaking ground on new projects. This current slowdown in market activity is attributable partly to the market and partly to the usual summer slump. The slowdown has brought overall vacancy rates to 17.1 percent for Class A and B office product, including sublease space. The Wilmington CBD comes in with the highest rate at 20.5 percent (Class A and B, including subleases), while western New Castle County posts a rate of 6.2 percent, an anomaly compared to the other submarkets that lean more towards the CBD’s rate. Currently, rents for Class A space in the CBD can run from the low $20s to low $30s per square foot. Suburban rents for Class A space are equivalent, ranging from the low to high $20s. Leasing may …
The Pacific Northwest’s regional economy remains strong even after being impacted by the national and global economic trends. Unemployment is up to 5.3 percent in the region. Housing sales have also slowed, however, sales prices have increased slightly. Most retailers’ sales have increased although across-the-board sales have been flat, since auto and furniture sales are down, due to rising fuel prices and fewer home sales, respectively. Questionable shopping center projects are now being placed on hold or have become staged developments, while well located, designed and tenanted centers are going forward. Well-placed neighborhood centers continue to be planned and developed, though some neighborhood centers have been impacted by Wal-Mart Supercenters and Winco Foods, causing nearby grocers to close or reposition. This has resulted in large vacancies in a few neighborhood centers. Regional and community centers have also seen a few more vacancies, which has caused some retailers previously suffering from poor sales to close stores, while others are taking a more cautious approach to expansion. National retail apparel chains have slowed, bypassing most community center opportunities. Regional malls continue adding lifestyle components. At Southcenter in Tukwila, Washington, a second lifestyle component could be added to the north side of the …
The Albuquerque metro is maintaining a steady retail market. Keys to this steadiness include year-over-year positive job growth, consistent population expansion, low unemployment and a measured expansion of retail inventory since 2000. On the other side of the coin are two items of concern: some flatness in retailer sales figures and retailers being impacted by their stores in other marketplaces outside the Albuquerque metro. Albuquerque’s retail sector of 27.28 million square feet (measured from buildings equal to or exceeding 10,000 square feet in size) has posted a vacancy rate of 7.8 percent across all product types, down from 8.1 percent last year. Asking rents for new construction shop space are $20 to $28 per square foot per year NNN. In the Cottonwood Mall and Uptown submarkets, top spaces are in the $30 to $45 per square foot range. Asking rents for new mid-size and large space range from $16 to $20 per square foot per year and $12 to $16 per square foot per year, respectively. Active submarkets within the Albuquerque metro area are Uptown, Far Northeast Heights and the South Valley. In Uptown in the past 2 years, Coronado Mall and ABQ Uptown have welcomed the leading tenants in …
What area is your expertise? Summit County, Ohio What trends do you see presently in retail development in your area? Change of use and or contraction of older areas due to demographic and economic changes. Example: Rolling Acres Mall – redevelopment into light industrial. What type of retail product is doing well in your area? Essentially high-end and discount retail stores. Williams-Sonoma, Coach, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Wal-Mart, Marc’s Discount Stores, Gabriel Brother’s and Big Lot’s. What retailers are new to your area? Aldo, Coach, Ann Taylor Loft, Coldwater Creek, Bravo Italian Bistro and P.F. Chang’s China Bistro and Five Guys Burgers. Who are the active retail developers in your area? Stark, Simon, Marchetta, Deville, Altman, and Developer’s Diversified. Please name one or two significant retail developments in your area. What impact will these projects have on the market? Summit Mall expansion, Fairlawn, Ohio — Developed by Simon: Bravo Cucina Restaurant, Ann Taylor Loft, Coldwater Creek and others. Wadsworth Crossing, Wadsworth, Ohio — Developed by Forest City: Anchored by Kohl’s, The Home Depot, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, as well as a few specialty retailers. Arlington Ridge Market Place, Green, Ohio — Developer Deville: Anchored by Target and specialty retail: Alltel Wireless, …
What area is your expertise? Seattle, Washington What trends do you see presently in office development in your area? There are currently 13 office projects of 100,000 square feet or larger under construction in the Greater Seattle Office Market comprising approximately 3.7 million square feet. Who are the active office developers in your area? Daniels Development Company, Vulcan Real Estate, Schnitzer West, Touchstone, Opus Northwest and Martin Selig Real Estate. Please name one or two significant office developments in your area. What impact will these projects have on the market? 818 Stewart Building — Developed by Schnitzer West is due for delivery third quarter 2008. This is the first new Class A construction to be completed in the Courthouse district area of Seattle’s Central Business District (CBD). Fifth & Columbia — Developed by Daniels Development, it will become a key part of Seattle’s established financial district when it is completed in late 2010. Where is the majority of development taking place? Why is this area doing well? Much of the new construction in Seattle is occurring in the North CBD and South Lake Union areas. The North CBD houses the new federal courthouse and South Lake Union will be home …
What area is your expertise? Salt Lake Valley, Utah What trends do you see presently in industrial development in your area? Large flex office, warehouse and light industrial centers are planned for the northwest quadrant of the Salt Lake Valley near the new Pacific Railroad’s Salt Lake City Intermodal hub at Highway 201 and Bangerter Highway. What type of industrial product is doing well in your area? With vacancy less than 5 percent, all industrial products are doing will. First generation product landlords will continue to push for increasing rates of $.55+ psf/mo/nnn (warehouse) and $1.00+ psf/mo/nnn (office). Second generation industrial buildings remain occupied with some softening of lease rates. Who are the active industrial developers in your area? Argent Group, Roderick Enterprises, and Rockefeller Group Development Co, Please name one or two significant industrial developments in your area. What impact will these projects have on the market? Two developments are planned to be constructed at Bangerter Highway and Highway 201. When completed, The Commerce Center, developed by The Argent Group, will add 1.8 million square rentable square feet. The Rockefeller Group will increase available space by 930,000 rentable square feet. Where is the majority of development taking place? Why …
What area is your expertise? For the purposes of this report we are discussing the Industrial Market in Akron, Ohio and the five counties surrounding it (Summit, Stark, Wayne, Portage and Medina counties). What trends do you see presently in industrial development in your area? We are in a stable market with softness in the industrial sector, primarily due to the credit crisis and overall skepticism in the marketplace beginning in 2008 to present. The greater Akron marketplace is made up of many older industrial buildings that were built by the rubber companies and other industrial giants such as the Hoover Company located in North Canton. Local and regional rehab developers have come into the marketplace and purchased these million-square-foot facilities and rehabbed them into multitenant, mixed-use type facilities. The attractiveness of these facilities is generally low-lease rates and the infrastructure that is already in place, making total occupancy cost lower than new construction. What type of industrial product is doing well in your area? Smaller industrial, newer buildings with land for expansion available on a purchase basis as a second or third opportunity from an ownership basis. Who are the active industrial developers in your area? Richfield, Ohio-based Realty …
What area is your expertise? Greater Grand Rapids, Michigan. What trends do you see presently in multifamily development in your area? From 2002 to 2007, we had a tremendous amount of condo construction. Those projects are finishing up and a few new projects are being announced. Several condo projects that were announced have been pulled due to insufficient sales. Apartment construction has been moderate over the past few years. A few new projects have broken ground this year. Student driven markets like Allendale (Grand Valley University) have seen consistent deliveries of new units the past several years — and more units will be added to the market in 2008. Condo conversion projects started in 2006 are still selling out. Who are the active multifamily developers in your area? Condos: Second Story Properties, Parkland Properties, McKay Tower Partners LLC, Moch International, Kegle Construction, Robert Grooters Development, Eastbrook Homes, Redstone, and Epcon Communities. Apartments: Miller Valentine Group, Hof Investment Group, IPA, Copper Beech, and Fusion Properties. Please name one or two significant multifamily developments in your area. What impact will these projects have on the market? River House Condominiums — Robert Grooters Development: 207 units, Downtown. Under construction, estimated completion date 4/2009. …
What area is your expertise? The greater Salt Lake City area and Utah. What trends do you see presently in retail development in your area? After a record year in 2007, with absorption of over 1.9 million square feet of retail space, this year is expected to slow down somewhat due to the pullback by many retailers nationwide and the tightening of the financial markets. Existing centers will remain strong and should not experience any significant increase in vacancy or decrease in lease rate. What type of retail product is doing well in your area? Grocery-anchored centers are still very strong mainly because the support types tenants are still expanding and our market remains one of the strongest in the country. What retailers are new to your area? The Cheesecake Factory, Whole Foods Market, Ulta, Sunflower Market, El Pollo Loco, Shari’s Restaurant, Corner Bakery, Red Mango, Stage Stores, Egg & I, and In & Out Burger. Who are the active retail developers in your area? The Boyer Company, The Woodbury Corporation, Amsource Development, Four Square Development and Taubman. Please name one or two significant retail developments in your area. What impact will these projects have on the market? The City …