The surge in demand for Birmingham’s industrial real estate over the last few years has resulted in the highest occupancy rates in over 20 years. Alabama’s level of business friendliness has created a strong economy and high level of job growth since the end of the Great Recession. Manufacturing is a key driver of job growth. Overall vacancy rates in Birmingham’s multi-tenant industrial market have fallen to around 7 percent, which is an all-time low. Average rental rates have crept up to approximately $4.25 per square foot, which is historically high for Birmingham but still significantly lower than rents in larger markets around the Southeast. In spite of the robust activity, there are no active plans for any sort of speculative multi-tenant developments in the market. The last project was the 90,000-square-foot Oxmoor Logistics Center located in the Oxmoor Valley submarket, which was completed in the fourth quarter of 2018. It is currently 100 percent occupied. However, there are over 2 million square feet of individual projects that will be completed before the end of 2019. One is a $1.3 billion expansion at the Mercedes-Benz Tuscaloosa plant, which includes a new body shop, enhancements to the SUV assembly shop and …
Denver was one of the top major metros targeted by commercial real estate investors in 2018. This year is proving to be no different as the third quarter closes out with a flood of office deals. Office investors are being forced to look for deals outside Denver’s urban core. Value-add acquisitions are mainly redevelopments driven by tenant demand for “cool” workspace and talent wars. There is no arguing Denver’s office market is maturing, but there appears to be no threats of an impending plateau or decline. The headlines this year have been dominated by large office lease transactions, including WeWork tying up 220,000 square feet at McGregor Square in LoDo. WeWork has taken a commanding stance with 2 million square feet in Denver and counting. Much of that space is dedicated to enterprise office space solutions and headquarters locations. This year has also marked the notable expansion of coworking outside of Denver’s urban core into Midtown, Cherry Creek and Southeast Denver. Occupancy levels within WeWork locations historically ebb and flow with direct vacancy rates per submarket performance. For example, WeWork at Civic Center Plaza in Upper Downtown Denver has been slow to fill with memberships and term. A WeWork desk …
With more than 30 cranes in Nashville’s skies, it’s safe to say the Music City commercial real estate market is humming along. In fact, Davidson County approved $4.2 billion of commercial and residential construction permits in the 2018-2019 fiscal year, according to the Nashville Business Journal. Over the last three fiscal years, the county approved $11.4 billion in permits. While that’s an outstanding level of capital investment in a county with under 900,000 residents, it should be noted that Nashville’s MSA comprises 1.9 million residents encompassing 13 counties — all of which are experiencing record levels of construction permits. New companies coming to the city are driving the office market and construction demand, with several large announcements in the last year including Amazon, AllianceBernstein and Mitsubishi, and the city is continues to rapidly attract companies in the financial services, tech and healthcare industries. With a limited number of buildings available for adaptive reuse, most development taking place in the market is new construction. In fact, more than 460,000 square feet of Class A space was delivered in the third quarter of 2019. The majority of that figure was in Midtown and the Cool Springs/Franklin submarkets, with Aetna and Ramsey Solution’s …
Over the weekend, fast fashion retailer Forever 21 was the latest to file for bankruptcy protection. The low-price, teen-focused apparel retailer plans to close 350 stores worldwide, including up to 178 in the Unites States, according to The Wall Street Journal. Overleverage and retailers being “over-retailed” — not changes in consumer spending — are to blame for retail bankruptcies, according to K.C. Conway, CCIM Institute chief economist. Conway, in partnership with the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama, recently released a report that debunks retail myths and makes predictions for the future of the property sector. Besides overexpansion, one of Forever 21’s struggles was its large store footprints in malls. Conway predicts that retail space will contract by more than 50 percent by 2022. One in four malls nationwide is expected to close. Trends to keep an eye on Despite the proliferation of e-commerce, the CCIM report finds that online apparel retail is actually less profitable than brick-and-mortar stores. This is partly because last-mile fulfillment isn’t cost effective. That said, online retail sales are predicted to double by 2025, largely due to online grocery sales. In the United States, online grocery sales are expected to make …
The outlook for San Diego’s office market is sunny and bright. Often considered a less costly option for office users as compared to other Southern California markets, San Diego holds consistent appeal for tenants seeking a coastal address where the weather is mild and the vibe is entrepreneurial and business friendly. The market is following the national trend of stronger occupancy rates and robust absorption, buoyed by a healthy economy. At 10.2 percent in the second quarter — the lowest level in nearly 14 years — San Diego’s office vacancy rate beats the national office vacancy rate of 12 percent — the lowest level in 18 years, despite construction. These fundamentals are demonstrating increased tenant demand. We’re continuing to see growth and expansion of office in submarkets throughout San Diego County. Sorrento Valley is one of the stronger office submarkets due to its centralized location and accessibility to major freeways. Other submarkets with heightened demand are Del Mar Heights, which is close to the ocean and suburban areas that house corporate executives, and Kearny Mesa, another major business center for the county. Carlsbad and Oceanside in North County and Chula Vista in South County are also popular choices. Oceanside and …
IRVINE, CALIF. — WNC, a provider of investment, asset management and development services in the affordable housing industry, has closed two institutional Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) funds. WNC Institutional Tax Credit Fund 47 (WNC Corp. 47) and WNC Institutional Tax Credit Fund 10 California Series 17 (CA 17) total approximately $210 million in equity. Together, the equity from the funds will be used to develop and renovate more than 1,900 affordable housing units in the United States. WNC Corp. 47 raised $134.6 million in equity, and CA 17 raised $75.5 million. The closure of the funds brings Irvine-based WNC’s total equity raised since inception to approximately $5.2 billion. The properties that will be funded are located in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Virginia and Wyoming. The assets will include multifamily and seniors housing projects in urban, suburban and rural areas. One project of note is Mason Square Apartments II in Springfield, Mass., which is an adaptive reuse of two historic buildings — the former Indian Motorcycle manufacturing mill complex constructed in 1890 and the Masson Square Fire House, originally constructed in 1920. Another notable project is Park West Estates in Los Angeles County, Calif. …
DETROIT — Bedrock has selected ODA as the design architect for the Book Tower, an adaptive reuse project in Detroit. The project includes a mix of residential, hospitality, retail and office space. The 486,760-square-foot office tower was originally designed by Louis Kemper in 1916 in an Italian Renaissance style. Bedrock acquired the 38-story tower in 2015 and recently completed an extensive exterior restoration, including the replacement of 2,483 windows. ODA plans to add a variety of public amenities, including retail, galleries, restaurants and a café. The project team also includes construction manager Brinker/Christman, civil engineer Giffels Webster, structural engineer Buro Happold, as well as Kraemer Design Group for historic preservation and ARUP for acoustics and security. The building was named after the famous Book Brothers of Detroit. The last tenant, Bookie’s Tavern, closed in early 2009 leaving the entire building vacant.
As I have enjoyed writing in six previous August articles since 2013, we have seen Cedar Rapids, the 2014 “All-America City,” go from flood recovery in 2008 and 2016 to record levels of development. The city set a record for building permits in fiscal year 2018 of $375 million, which was $133 million over the previous year and $29 million more than the 2012 record by $29 million. Activity in fiscal year 2019 is estimated to be a very impressive $320 million. Flood protection system reached another milestone on Nov. 22, 2018, when the city and Army Corps of Engineers officially signed the agreement for $117 million of federal funds to allow the entire east side of the river flood protection system to be completed within five years. The west side is being funded through a state sales tax rebate program and 10 years of flood bonds to allow the entire $750 million flood protection system to be completed in the next decade. This year there are already four sections under construction with several additional portions being bid over the next several months. The flood protection system will not be just berms or walls that will block the view of …
Rising materials costs and the shortage of skilled workers continue to pose a challenge for general contractors. In turn, these conditions have enabled subcontractors to be highly selective about the projects they are willing to accept. “For the first time in many years, we have found ourselves encountering subcontractors who have passed up on project opportunities because the reality is that resources within qualified subcontracting firmsare finite as well,” says Anthony Johnson, executive vice president and industrial business unit leader with Chicago-based Clayco. Given this reality, contractors are relying on existing relationships with subcontractors and spending more time on pre-construction phases with developers in order to manage costs. “The most important thing we can do in this landscape is communicate with clients and manage expectations,” says Chuck Taylor, director of operations with Lemont, Illinois-based Englewood Construction. “For example, we make it clear how important timing is and that pricing could change from what we originally estimate if there’s a significant delay in a project due to design revisions or financing.” Englewood specializes in the construction of retail and restaurant properties. Most subcontractors that the firm works with are currently charging what Taylor describes as high rates and are operating at …
HOUSTON — NewcrestImage, a Dallas-based hospitality development firm, has completed the 195-room AC Hotel by Marriott Houston Downtown. The 10-story hotel represents an adaptive reuse of the historic, former Gulf Oil headquarters building that was originally constructed in 1914. The hotel houses a restaurant, bar and lounge, as well as a fitness center, business center, a media salon, Starbucks Coffee and a 3,600-square-foot event space. Mitchell Carlson Stone served as the project architect, and Arch-Con served as the general contractor.