Southeast Market Reports

From Perimeter to Peachtree, Atlanta’s Office Market is Gaining Momentum

by Alex Tostado July 15, 2019

8West. Star Metals. Coda. These are the some of the names of Atlanta’s biggest office developments and the city’s largest undertakings. Measuring more than 1 million square feet of Class A office space between them, Midtown Atlanta’s skyscraper scene is about to be drastically altered. The gravity of these major mixed-use properties, along with the allure of top talent at nearby universities like Georgia Tech, gives the Midtown submarket an increase in both developer activity and price-per-square-foot rates. The Midtown/Perishing Point Class A office space average is $35 per square foot, higher than the Atlanta-area average of $29.79 per square foot. However, buildings like Star Metals and Coda are not designed with just any tenant in mind. Speculative developments in the Atlanta market have come to a standing halt as most offices in the region are now built to fit a specific company’s needs, rather than spaces built with the hope the right tenant will come along. Most larger new developments are either a build-to-suit for a specific tenant or are anchored by a tenant that is taking up the majority of the space. Additionally, with lower required returns from REITs and the private sector, finding capital is not nearly …

July 15, 2019

Georgia Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Atlanta’s Industrial Market Reaches All-Time Low Vacancy, Despite Strong Pipeline

by Alex Tostado July 8, 2019

The industrial market in Atlanta continues to surge, benefitting not only from its role as a key regional distribution hub, but also from the rapid growth in the metropolitan area itself. Atlanta is the economic engine of the Southeast, which also happens to be the fastest growing region in the country. The Atlanta industrial market recorded just over 18 million square feet of net absorption in 2018, the second highest total on record following the 21 million square feet absorbed in 2017. The market has experienced 30 consecutive quarters of positive net absorption resulting in an all-time low vacancy rate of 5.7 percent, even though the market delivered more than 13.4 million square feet in 2018. The first quarter of 2019 recorded net absorption of slightly over 1 million square feet, not as impressive as prior quarters over the last several years. So has the market peaked or demand stopped in Atlanta? Not by a long shot. According to research from JLL, there are 5.7 million square feet of signed deals that have yet to commence and companies have yet to move into their new space. This absorption will be picked up throughout 2019. Further, JLL is tracking an additional …

July 8, 2019

Alabama Market Reports Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Birmingham Retail Market Sees Strong Backfilling Activity, Infill Developments

by Alex Tostado July 1, 2019

Birmingham’s retail market continued to see positive growth in 2018, and it’s safe to argue this is largely due to a significant amount of retail space being backfilled with entertainment, discount, medical and first-to-market tenants that otherwise may not have been able to enter the market. Dave & Buster’s backfilling a Forever 21 space at the Riverchase Galleria, Urban Air leasing a former hhgregg box in Trussville, Ollie’s acquiring the former Toys ‘R’ Us box in Hoover and Floor & Décor backfilling the former Kmart in Homewood are just a few recent examples of this in Birmingham. Two additional noteworthy deals that have been recently announced include REI opening its first Birmingham location in a portion of the former Toys ‘R’ Us box at The Summit and the Dick’s Sporting Goods/Golf Galaxy combo store moving into the soon-to-be former Academy Sports + Outdoors space at Lee Branch. The new combo store will be Golf Galaxy’s first location in Alabama. These two deals alone all but confirm this backfilling trend is going to continue for some time. More often than not, you will find these new tenants are paying higher rents, driving larger traffic volumes and generating more sales tax income …

July 1, 2019

Alabama Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Relocations, Expansions Push Birmingham Office Market to a Tipping Point

by Alex Tostado June 24, 2019

Birmingham is a unique market for Class A office space. Last year had its fair share of notable transactions (both sales and leases), but overall a few key transactions from previous years pushed absorption in the negative figures. The most significant deal that is still impacting our market was a tenant relocation into the Red Roofs Colonnade (Colonnade North and South) located at the interchange of Highway 280 and Interstate 459, the heart of the 280/459 office submarket. Southern Co. Services signed a 700,000-square-foot, long-term lease at the project, and as of Jan. 1, the Red Roofs are now fully occupied. This transaction left a sizable block of Class A office space along the 280/459 corridor. Soon after announcing the relocation, FIS backfilled about 112,500 square feet within Inverness Center North. The CBD is still recovering from Regions Financial giving back about 160,000 square feet at Regions/Harbert Plaza, but this building has seen a large amount of activity since this announcement. Our market is in the midst of absorbing these previous deals now and moving in the right direction. This year has gotten off to a quick start with two encouraging announcements. Shortly after Wells Fargo announced it will be …

June 24, 2019

Alabama Market Reports Multifamily Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Central Birmingham’s Multifamily Development Pipeline Set to Expand Significantly

by Alex Tostado June 17, 2019

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 …

June 17, 2019

Alabama Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Auto Manufacturing Drives High Occupancy For Birmingham’s Industrial Sector

by Alex Tostado June 10, 2019

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 …

June 10, 2019

Industrial Market Reports North Carolina Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Charlotte’s Industrial Fundamentals Stay Strong in Face of New Supply Added

by Alex Tostado June 3, 2019

Charlotte’s industrial market continues to see strong momentum in early 2019, and with healthy rates of absorption and rental growth despite record levels of new development, it remains the preferred asset class in the Queen City among institutional investors. Industrial absorption totaled 5.2 million square feet in 2018, according to JLL research, making it the fourth consecutive year that the market has absorbed at least 4 million square feet. The demand for new space is driven in part by the growth of the Carolinas: North and South Carolina both ranked in the top 10 nationally for population growth over the past year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and Charlotte is well-situated geographically for distribution facilities that can cover both states. E-commerce, of course, has been another major driver of demand and development. During the fourth quarter, Amazon received construction permits for its fourth and largest distribution center in the Charlotte region, a 2.4-million-square-foot facility that will be located on 100 acres north of Charlotte Douglas International Airport. A separate 1.2 million-square-foot distribution facility for Amazon in nearby Kannapolis is expected to open this year. Industrial development continues to migrate to Charlotte’s surrounding counties, where land is more readily available …

June 3, 2019

Industrial Market Reports South Carolina Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Upstate South Carolina’s Industrial Evolution Sets Up Market as National Power

by Alex Tostado May 27, 2019

Thirty years ago, there were 33 operating textile mills in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Today, there are scarcely a handful. The jobs and investments disappeared in the wake of regulatory change and international trade agreements. However, the infrastructure, location, existing workforce and entrepreneurial attitude of the area’s leadership saw this as a challenge to evolve. And evolve it did — using the substrate of the textile industry as a solid foundation. The well-trained and manufacturing-oriented workforce, coupled with the existing manufacturing support base (specialty machinery fabrication including maintenance and constituent chemical suppliers), were readily adaptable to new and recast job opportunities. This was the canvas on which the area’s evolution would be painted. Specialty equipment, manufacturing, fabrication, chemical production and other vestiges of the textile industry have remained demand drivers for the Upstate market. They have been reconfigured in the form of investment and expansion by Milliken & Co., Toray Carbon Fiber, General Electric and Keurig Green Mountain. The existing manufacturing-oriented workforce, with its previous experience and mindset, were a prime reason BMW selected Spartanburg County as the home for its first North America production facility. BMW’s Plant Spartanburg and its vast supplier and related support network have emerged as …

May 27, 2019

Industrial Market Reports Southeast Southeast Market Reports Tennessee

Strong 2018 Re-Establishes Memphis’ Status as ‘America’s Distribution Center’

by Alex Tostado May 20, 2019

Memphis continued its record-setting ways throughout 2018. Absorption was higher than 2017 by over 735,000 square feet for a total of 6.7 million square feet. Overall vacancy rates fell below 6 percent for the first time in recent history. As of Jan. 1, 2019, vacancy rates were at 5.8 percent. One would think this would come at the expense of rental rates, however, rental rates stayed constant at $2.77 per square foot until year-end. This represents a slight increase of 10 cents per square foot over 2017. With an industrial market exceeding 270 million square feet, it’s no wonder how Memphis got its name as “America’s Distribution Center.” Memphis International Airport is the second largest cargo airport in the world, home to 400 trucking companies, the third busiest trucking corridor (Interstate 40 to Little Rock), one of only four cities to be served by five long-haul Class 1 rail systems, the fourth largest inland port and the second largest stillwater port. Home to the FedEx World Hub, as well as UPS and USPS hubs all operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a week, Memphis provides the most cost-effective distribution and logistics operations in the country. While Memphis has been …

May 20, 2019

Market Reports Retail Southeast Southeast Market Reports Tennessee

Memphis Retail has Momentum With New Developments, Retailers, Restaurants

by Alex Tostado May 13, 2019

In January, during his annual State of the State address, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland emphatically exclaimed, “Memphis has momentum!” Memphis, the biggest little town in America, is definitely in a period of unparalleled economic growth. Memphis has momentum on its side with the $10 billion, nine-year expansion at St. Jude Hospital and an infusion of hospitality that includes a new convention center and no fewer than 17 new hotels, which all started, will start or will be completed in downtown in 2019. Additionally, $4 billion in building permits have been awarded in the last few months with another $5 billion planned by developers. Most importantly, the highly anticipated Memphis 3.0 plan — the first comprehensive growth strategy for the city in 30 years — will ensure growth is sustained for many years to come. What are others saying about Memphis? Many respected publications are putting Memphis back on the map. Food & Wine put Memphis in its top 50 places to go and eat in 2019. Frommer’s Travel named the city the best place to visit in 2019. TravelChannel.com lists Memphis as the hottest Southern destination in 2019. And Forbes stakes Memphis as the best bet for real estate investments. …

May 13, 2019

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