Minimal construction and large lease signings are expected to bring the retail vacancy rate in Columbus to a 5-year low this year. At the same time, investment activity should increase through year’s end, particularly in the multi-tenant retail segment, as investors take advantage of historically low interest rates. Many of the leases in the Columbus metro area will be executed in areas with healthy population growth and established foot traffic, including Polaris, Easton, and Westerville. The lease inked by Menard Inc. for 240,000 square feet at the old Northland Mall last year will help revitalize the Morse Road corridor. Slightly north, elevated household incomes will bode well for Westerville, where Walmart will open by mid-year. Both moves will increase traffic within the area, while attracting smaller tenants to vacated inline space nearby. Elsewhere, Earth Fare Inc. will move into 30,000 square feet at the Gemini Place Towne Center in Polaris, further solidifying the neighborhood as a top retail corridor in Columbus. As leasing activity picks up and development activity remains slack, most submarkets will post an improvement in vacancy in 2012. Economic Vital Signs The Columbus retail market is one of the strongest outside of the Upper Midwest, according to …
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Redevelopment initiatives in Cleveland’s urban core will attract rental households to the area, while healthy job growth and a lackluster single-family housing market will uphold modest demand in the suburbs. Among ongoing projects in the urban core, the $2 billion redevelopment of University Circle, which includes the expansion of the VA Medical Center, Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals, has created more than 4,000 jobs since construction started in 2005. The renovations are expected to be complete by 2015 and will support over 36,000 jobs in the area. Surrounding neighborhoods such as Beachwood, Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights will benefit most as roughly 30 percent of the employees live in these areas. Many of these young professionals occupy apartments and will delay purchasing single-family homes, a trend that will sustain demand throughout the metro area. As a result, most submarkets will post vacancy decreases this year, providing many owners with enough leverage to ease concessions and lift rents. Construction pipeline Development slowed significantly during the last year, as only one apartment complex came on line. The 38-unit University Lofts was delivered in the Cleveland Heights/Shaker Heights area in the first half of 2011. The first phase of the Uptown project will …
One of the hardest-hit real estate segments, both in Cleveland and across the nation, has been the retail sector. A dramatic reduction in consumer spending over the past four years has caused significantly lower retail sales and resulted in a long list of bankrupt retailers and struggling retail centers. While the pullback by the consumer has ultimately led to numerous instances of shuttered stores and bank-owned retail centers across the region, there have also been some noticeable trends that illustrate the underlying resiliency and strength of this segment. Digging in the dirt Although the pace of retail development has been at a near standstill for the past few years, some projects have begun to take shape. The furthest along is a new 86,000-square-foot Giant Eagle in Broadview Heights, which is under construction with an early 2012 opening planned. The South Euclid/Cleveland Heights area has also emerged as a favored development location with two large-scale projects. The long-planned expansion and renovation to the northern half of Cedar Center began in the spring with the construction of a new GFS Marketplace. When fully completed in late 2012, this project is expected to contain approximately 60,000 square feet of total retail as well …
After years of little or no new construction, the Greater Cleveland area is experiencing the construction of a broad range of major new projects representing more than $5 billion of new investment. Some of the largest projects include a new convention center and medical mart, a new Caesars Horseshoe Casino, plus major new medical center facilities developed for the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and the VA Medical Center. There also are four new office developments: a 450,000-square-foot multi-tenant office tower in the Flats East Bank area of the central business district; a 580,000-square-foot world headquarters complex on 53 acres in the eastern suburb of Beachwood for Fortune 500 company Eaton Corp; a 700,000-square-foot corporate headquarters for American Greetings in Westlake, a western suburb; and a 639,000 sq. ft. global headquarters for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in Akron to the south. Not since the 1990s, when we saw the completion of a half dozen CBD office towers and new stadiums for the Browns, Indians, and Cavaliers has Cleveland seen this kind of activity. Build new or renovate? In mature, established cities like Cleveland, the time comes for companies and institutions to decide between building new or renovating existing structures. The …
When people manufacture products in the U.S., they manufacture them in the Rust Belt, and Cleveland is in the heart of the Rust Belt. Our manufacturing sector has experienced increased occupancy and decreased vacancy levels quarter over quarter for the past three quarters. Cleveland historically has been a manufacturing market, and when manufacturing is strong the Northeast Ohio market is strong. In addition to the strength of manufacturing, the development of the Utica and Marcellus Shale is the biggest factor affecting Cleveland right now. The Utica and Marcellus Shales have been big in the Pennsylvania market for the past five years, but development is now moving westward into Ohio. As drilling increases, so too does the need for services for the drillers. The drillers and their service providers need real estate, and there have been dramatic increases in prices over the past four months in rural markets such as Steubenville, Ohio. That growth is beginning to move toward Youngstown, Warren, and up to the Streetsboro area. Employment is expected to grow dramatically over the next five years. While the overall manufacturing market is surging, there are still challenges in old properties that were modern in the 1930s and 40s, which …
The office market vacancy rate for the Cleveland market registered 22 percent in the third quarter, up 10 basis points from the previous quarter, according to Grubb & Ellis. Vacancy in Cleveland's West submarket decreased to 24.9 percent, 130 basis points lower than the second quarter. While most of the region's submarkets saw little to no change in vacancy, the South submarket increased to 24.3 percent, 110 basis points higher than the previous quarter. The region posted 16,708 square feet of negative net absorption in the third quarter, lowering positive absorption to 115,416 square feet year to date. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, average asking rental rates for Cleveland's Class A office market increased 18 cents to $21.54 per square foot. During the same time period, average asking rental rates for Class B office space rose 11 cents to $18.02 per square foot. To view the entire report, click here
The Columbus retail market finished the third quarter with moderate positive absorption of 118,454 square feet, according to Colliers International. This marks the sixth consecutive quarter of positive absorption. Still, consumer demand and confidence have remained stagnant over the past six months. In construction news, both the 44,000-square-foot Rave movie theater and the nearby 55,000-square-foot Hobby Lobby Project in Grove City were completed in the third quarter. To read the entire Columbus retail report, click here. To read third-quarter reports on other property sectors, click here.
The Cleveland real estate market can be characterized by a variety of ‘good news/bad news’ stories. For example, American Greetings announced earlier this year that it would be building a new $100 million world headquarters in Cleveland’s suburb of Westlake, Ohio. And while retaining this Fortune 500 company in the region is good news to most, it certainly was bad news to Cleveland’s suburb of Brooklyn, the long-time home to the company and its 1,750 workers. But no where is the ‘good news/bad news’ story more compelling than in the central business district or CBD. First, the good news. Cleveland is undergoing a massive construction boom, the largest since the late 1980s/early 1990s. Over $1 billion of new development is currently under way in the CBD alone, spearheaded by three primary projects. The first is the long-anticipated Medical Mart and associated convention center. This $465 million complex will include a four-story permanent showplace for medical equipment and technology, connected to a 230,000-square-foot convention center, which is anticipated to be completed in 2013. The $465 million Medical Mart and adjacent convention center is expected to be complete in 2013. The second is the Horsehoe Casino, initially converting 300,000 square feet in …
It’s no secret that Cincinnati has a beautiful landscape, a world-class arts and culture scene, and a rich history, but it is little known for its vibrant business community. Cincinnati is truly located in the “heart of it all” and many people are indeed surprised by the economic influence that exudes from this market. Cincinnati is the 24th largest U.S. metro area with a population of just over 2 million. Cincinnati is home to ten Fortune 500 company headquarters, and, per capita, that places the city higher than New York, Boston, Chicago, or Los Angeles. Kroger Company, Procter & Gamble and Macy's Inc. are all headquartered in the city and it has recently been chosen as the North American headquarters for First Group and dunnhumby, both of which have tapped into the local labor pool. With the strength of the city’s business community, Cincinnati’s office market has been relatively stable over the last 15 years, with overall vacancy rates hovering around 15 percent. Unfortunately, it has not been immune to the economic woes of the last several years and many companies have made cuts or downsized. The Cincinnati office market is approximately 37 million square feet and around 13 million …
Greater Cleveland’s office market is showing some signs of recovery, and this is being fueled by the many development projects in the works. Planned developments include a casino to be located in the Tower City area opening sometime in 2013 and a proposed Medical Mart facility, which will be located next to Cleveland’s convention center in the heart of downtown. Another projected office development is the East Bank project by Scott Wolstein, which will house the national headquarters for Ernst & Young and law firm Tucker-Ellis. The project will be the first phase of a planned office, retail and residential development at the edge of Cleveland’s historic warehouse district. Eaton Corporation also is planning a new 400,000-square-foot campus in the Chagrin Highland’s 630-acre corporate community on Cleveland’s east side, which will leave Eaton’s current building at 12th Street and Superior, in the central business district, with more than 300,000 square feet available. Other major deals in the works are the relocation of Huntington Bank (approximately 100,000 square feet) from its namesake historic property at East 9th Street and Euclid to the former BP building, which is now 200 Public Square. The iconic bank building is home to several large firms …