Each week seems to bring news of yet another record-selling price for a commercial property in Seattle, including assets ranging from office and retail to apartments and even development sites. Increasing occupancy rates for industrial and retail properties also suggest that property values are headed up. The King County assessor has undoubtedly tracked these price trends, too. In 2012, the assessor’s office reported overall increases in taxable values for major office buildings, major retail properties, hotels and apartments. As a result, many commercial property owners in the Puget Sound region saw increases on their 2012 assessed value notices. In March, King County’s chief economist projected that total assessed values in the county would reach nearly $327 billion in 2013 (for taxes payable in 2014), up nearly 4 percent from $315 billion in 2012. For many taxpayers, notices in 2013 will reflect assessment increases even greater than 4 percent. The general recovery in the Seattle market should not trigger increased assessments for all properties. For example, some suburban areas have missed out on the trend toward increasing property values. And there are always individual properties that do not experience the same increases as their neighbors. Accordingly, owners should be attentive to …
Western
Walking the floor at yesterday’s ICSC Western Division Conference in San Diego, one gets a strong sense of industry-wide optimism as the economy continues to incrementally improve. Many more retailers are actively leasing, tons of new startups are in the market and some regions are even seeing an uptick in infill, ground-up development. While the industry may not see the heyday that occurred before the Lehman Brothers’ collapse for some time, widely publicized low interest rates have generated large volumes of refinancing. This has resulted in a slow but steady sector growth of 4 percent to 5 percent over the past five years. Of course, larger retail developers (many of which are REITs) realized a tremendous boon by refinancing portions of their portfolios at historically low interest rates. In addition, the housing market’s rebound over the past 12 to 18 months, coupled with near-historically low interest rates, has driven some shop tenants back into the market. As key indicators continue to point toward a cautious growth trajectory for housing – median home values are up and homebuilders are acquiring more land to develop – ICSC attendees have taken a positive outlook on the market. Naturally, that outlook is tempered by …
GLENDALE, CALIF. – Construction has commenced on the 303-unit Glendale Triangle residential mixed-use project. The 315,391-square-foot project will be located at 3900 San Fernando Road in Glendale near animation studios like Disney and DreamWorks. It is being developed by Camden USA, which conceived and designed the project to attract Gen-Y renters.Lifestyle amenities include a pool and spa, two roof decks, four courtyards, a barbecue area and a fitness center with yoga rooms. The project includes 16 live-work units and six ground-floor retail spaces. It is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2015. Bernardswill serve as general contractor.
SAN DIEGO – A joint venture between Clarion Partners and HP Investors has acquired an interest in the retail and commercial parking portion of the Gaslamp City Square condominium project. The purchase price was not disclosed. The property is located at 450 J Street in Downtown San Diego’s historic Gaslamp District. The property’s 54,773-square-foot retail component contains a mix of national and regional tenants like Quicksilver, Oceanaire and GStar. The acquisition also includes more than 250 dedicated parking stalls. Gaslamp City Square was developed in 2004. This is HP’s sixth Downtown San Diego acquisition in the past 18 months.
Walking the floor at yesterday’s ICSC Western Division Conference in San Diego, one gets a strong sense of industry-wide optimism as the economy continues to incrementally improve. Many more retailers are actively leasing, tons of new startups are in the market and some regions are even seeing an uptick in infill, ground-up development. While the industry may not see the heyday that occurred before the Lehman Brothers’ collapse for some time, widely publicized low interest rates have generated large volumes of refinancing. This has resulted in a slow but steady sector growth of 4 percent to 5 percent over the past five years. Of course, larger retail developers (many of which are REITs) realized a tremendous boon by refinancing portions of their portfolios at historically low interest rates. In addition, the housing market’s rebound over the past 12 to 18 months, coupled with near-historically low interest rates, has driven some shop tenants back into the market. As key indicators continue to point toward a cautious growth trajectory for housing – median home values are up and homebuilders are acquiring more land to develop – ICSC attendees have taken a positive outlook on the market. Naturally, that outlook is tempered by …
GLENDALE, CALIF. – Construction has commenced on the 303-unit Glendale Triangle residential mixed-use project. The 315,391-square-foot project will be located at 3900 San Fernando Road in Glendale near animation studios like Disney and DreamWorks. It is being developed by Camden USA, which conceived and designed the project to attract Gen-Y renters. Lifestyle amenities include a pool and spa, two roof decks, four courtyards, a barbecue area and a fitness center with yoga rooms. The project includes 16 live-work units and six ground-floor retail spaces. It is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2015. Bernardswill serve as general contractor.
SAN DIEGO – A joint venture between Clarion Partners and HP Investors has acquired an interest in the retail and commercial parking portion of the Gaslamp City Square condominium project. The purchase price was not disclosed. The property is located at 450 J Street in Downtown San Diego’s historic Gaslamp District. The property’s 54,773-square-foot retail component contains a mix of national and regional tenants like Quicksilver, Oceanaire and GStar. The acquisition also includes more than 250 dedicated parking stalls. Gaslamp City Square was developed in 2004. This is HP’s sixth Downtown San Diego acquisition in the past 18 months.
SAN FRANCISCO – The University of California, San Francisco(UCSF) has announced its plans to establish a state-of-the-art clinical and translational research unit focused on endocrinology in Mission Bay. The 30,000-square-foot space will be located at 499 Illinois Street in the San Francisco submarket. The facility is in close proximity to UCSF'S research campus and three new hospitals. The university has signed a 15-year lease at the property. Illumina also recently nabbed office and laboratory space at this 222,780-square-foot waterfront project. About 82 percent of the building is now leased or under negotiation. The building is owned by Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
PUYALLUP, WASH. – The 225-unit Glenbrooke Apartments in Puyallup has received a $13.6-million refinance. The affordable housing complex is located at 701 43rdAve. The property had a complex ownership structure with multiple partners. The transaction facilitated a refinance for a limited partner buy-out. Financing was based on a 10-year term and a 30-year amortization period with three years interest-only. It was arranged by Ron Peterson of NorthMarq Capital’s Seattle regional office through the firm’s seller-servicer relationship with Freddie Mac.
DENVER — JMIR Acquisitions, LLC has purchased the 451-room Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center for an undisclosed sum. The hotel is located at 7800 E. Tufts Ave. in Denver. The property also features a newly renovated lobby, the new Root 25 Taphouse & Kitchen, and 30,000 square feet of function space, including an 11,000-square-foot ballroom. The seller was Hyatt Equities, (Den) LLC. HREC Investment Advisors served as the exclusive investment banking agent for Hyatt Hotel Corporation. The property will be managed by Davidson Hotels & Resorts.