Rethinking Student Housing Design in Response to COVID-19

When the world shut down over a year ago, architects, designers and developers took a collective pause to assess what needed to change in the built environment. A particularly scrutinous eye was paid to off-campus student housing, a sector whose successful model was based on bringing students together, not keeping them a safe distance apart.Some sweeping changes were recommended at the onset — many operational in nature, based on the latest guidance from health officials. As courses moved …

April 29, 2021Features, Multifamily, Student Housing

Disneyland to Reopen California Amusement Parks on April 30

ANAHEIM, CALIF. — Disneyland Resort will reopen its theme parks Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park on April 30, with limited capacity and more than 10,000 cast members. Additionally, Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa will welcome guests starting on April 29, as part of Hotels of the Disneyland Resort’s phased reopening.To comply with government requirements and promote physical distancing, various new measures are in place at the park, with the Disneyland …

April 12, 2021California, Company News, Hospitality, Retail, Western

COVID-19 Changed the Way We Calculate Affordable Housing Property Taxes

By Carlos Suarez, Popp HutchesonAfter a pandemic year that decimated rental incomes, owners of affordable housing properties should prepare to protest property tax assessments that overstate their liability.As stay-at-home orders in 2020 forced businesses across the county to change their operations, a large portion of the labor force began to work from home. But many renters, including a large contingent of affordable housing residents, found themselves without jobs and struggling to …

April 6, 2021Affordable Housing, Features, Multifamily

Evaluating the Volume of Distressed Properties in the Wake of COVID

Many in commercial real estate expected a tsunami of COVID-related distressed properties in 2020 and 2021. So far, the wave hasn’t materialized, says Jay Olshonsky, president and CEO of NAI Global. Businesses have been sustained by exogenous factors that may or may not keep them from foreclosure or receivership in the long term. In many cases, lender forbearances or flexible plans have simply extended the window in which distressed properties may eventually revert to …

March 31, 2021Content Partner, Features, Hospitality, Midwest, NAI, Northeast, Office, Southeast, Texas, Western

Experiential Retail Adjusts for a Post-COVID Comeback

Shopping center owners thought the solution to combat online shopping was so crystal clear. Give them experiences. Provide social spaces. Make interaction the focal point. And this worked…for a while. Entertainment and food and beverage operators soon absorbed the spaces left behind by traditional retailers. Old Sears locations became luxury movie theaters. Vacant in-line spaces could be taken over by Instagrammable pop-up experiences. Mall kiosks that once sold tchotchkes could now be …

March 18, 2021Features, Retail

Student Housing Rounds COVID-19’s Twists and Turns, Light Shines at End of Tunnel

By Kevin Larimer and Brandon Buell, BerkadiaThroughout the COVID-19 pandemic, confidence fluctuated around the performance and resilience of student housing properties. Understandably, commercial real estate investors pressed pause at the beginning of last year, as there was no way to know what this global pandemic meant for property performance. However, with steady collections for student housing throughout the year, confidence quickly regained. Towards the end of last year, …

March 16, 2021Features, Student Housing

Take Me Out to the Ball Game: Chicago Stadiums to be at 20 Percent Capacity on Opening Day

CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced plans to open Guaranteed Rate Field and Wrigley Field to White Sox and Cubs fans on each team’s Opening Day in April as part of the city’s “Open Chicago” efforts. The ballparks will be open at 20 percent capacity. Lightfoot evaluated capacity and restrictions in partnership with the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Major League Baseball Association. Last week, the mayor increased indoor capacity at bars, restaurants and other …

March 9, 2021Illinois, Midwest

Fry’s Electronics Permanently Closes Business Operations, Shuttering 31 Stores, Online Presence

SAN JOSE, CALIF. — San Jose-based Fry’s Electronics has decided to shut down its operations and close business permanently as a result of changes in the retail industry and challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic.After nearly 36 years as a one-stop shop and online resource for high-tech consumers, Fry’s says it will implement a shutdown of its 31 stores across nine states through a wind-down process that will be in the best interests of the company, its creditors and other …

February 24, 2021California, Retail, Western

Marriott Posts First Annual Loss Since 2009 as COVID-19 Loomed Large in 2020

BETHESDA, MD. — Marriott International (NASDAQ: MAR) posted a net income loss of $267 million for 2020, which The Wall Street Journal reports is the hotel giant’s first annual loss since 2009. The company posted a net loss of $164 million in fourth-quarter 2020, which is a significant drop from its net income of $279 million in fourth-quarter 2019.The COVID-19 pandemic materially changed global traffic patterns for both leisure and business travelers in 2020, and Marriott’s hotels …

February 18, 2021Company News, Hospitality, Maryland, Southeast

Seniors Housing Sellers Are Highly Motivated Coming Out of COVID-19, Webinar Panel Concludes

Seniors housing investors may be switching from development to acquisitions in the near term, as highly motivated sellers seek to unload existing properties at a lower price than the cost of building a new community.The prospect of highly motivated sellers has largely come as a result of the stresses of operating seniors housing during a global pandemic.“We’re starting to see valuations that are well below what we can develop for,” said Bill Pettit of R.D. Merrill Co. “If it’s …

February 1, 2021Acquisitions, Features, Multifamily, Seniors Housing