Demand Drives Bulk Industrial Construction in St. Louis Region’s I-70 Corridor

By Allison Gray, Steadfast City Economic & Community Partners The growing demand for distribution space and the related importance of freight logistics and a healthy supply chain have remained steady even though the COVID-19 pandemic continues to shake up markets across the U.S. and around the globe. This demand is evident in the bi-state St. Louis region, where more inventory of bulk distribution space has been added in the five-year period between 2015 and 2019 than at any other point …

October 8, 2020Industrial, Market Reports, Midwest, Midwest Market Reports, Missouri

St. Louis Office Market Remains Flexible Amid COVID-19

By Brandon Wappelhorst, Sansone Group In nearly every aspect of our personal and professional lives, 2020 could unequivocally be summarized as certainly uncertain. The rapid onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll on the world and has caused significant disruption to everyday life. While likely further down the list of today’s topical issues, the overall effect of COVID-19 on the office market in St. Louis is still to be determined — but it will undoubtedly have an …

October 1, 2020Market Reports, Midwest, Midwest Market Reports, Missouri, Office

Office Occupiers in Kansas City Face the Short-Term Cost Versus Long-Term Benefit Dilemma

With Kansas City unemployment hovering at cyclical lows around 3.5 percent and the war for talent at an all-time high, companies must leverage their real estate to attract and retain top talent. At the height of the corporate office boom in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the average space per employee ranged from approximately 275 to more than 325 square feet. Today, that number has shrunk to 175 square feet per employee and some predictions see that number moving even closer to 100 square …

January 30, 2020Market Reports, Midwest, Midwest Market Reports, Missouri, Office

New Tenants, Developments Signal Strength of Kansas City Industrial Market

The Kansas City industrial real estate market recorded very healthy maturation in 2019. When surveying the strength of our market, we typically consider how many new tenants or users entered the market with major investments and how many development deals were announced. Diving into the analytics, it is exciting to see some disciplined characteristics of a solid industrial market, including a slight slowdown in the pace of market expansion, a diverse group of business types demanding space, …

January 16, 2020Industrial, Market Reports, Midwest, Midwest Market Reports, Missouri

Dynamic St. Louis Multifamily Real Estate Market Is on a Roll

The greater St. Louis metropolitan statistical area (MSA) includes the city of St. Louis, St. Louis County, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Warren and St. Charles County, as well as various counties in Illinois collectively known as the Metro East. The MSA ranks as the 21st largest in the country with a population of approximately 2.8 million residents and features many Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 companies. St. Louis has a very diverse economy with the largest categories of employment base in …

January 9, 2020Market Reports, Midwest, Midwest Market Reports, Missouri, Multifamily

Multiple Office Developments Proposed for St. Louis County

The office market in St. Louis has remained very active over the past year. With very little speculative development, the St. Louis County vacancy rate for Class A office space has experienced little change but remains at a historic low of 11.1 percent. Demand remains for large blocks of space in the more desirable submarkets such as Clayton and West County, as there are limited options for existing space. This has created an opportunity for new, proposed office developments gaining securing …

September 26, 2019Market Reports, Midwest, Midwest Market Reports, Missouri, Office

Myriad Factors at Play for St. Louis Industrial Market Activity

The St. Louis industrial market continues to rally after posting 22 straight quarters of positive absorption. Record leasing activity and historically low vacancy have put the region on pace to deliver another 6.5 million square feet of Class A industrial space in 2019. This is in a market that averages deliveries of approximately 2.5 million square feet annually. Current drivers engendering this industrial activity include the following. Discipline Developers in St. Louis have long been …

September 12, 2019Industrial, Market Reports, Midwest, Midwest Market Reports, Missouri

Will a Tight Labor Market Limit St. Louis Industrial Growth?

The St. Louis industrial market is in the middle of a significant construction boom. Total square footage under construction is at a record-high 6.3 million square feet, with 2.8 million square feet of activity completed in 2018. The last two years have experienced historically high levels of overall net absorption with 4 million square feet in 2017 and 5.6 million square feet in 2016. These absorption levels are significantly higher than pre-recession market numbers. The expected 3 …

January 31, 2019Industrial, Market Reports, Midwest, Midwest Market Reports, Missouri

Grocery Stores, Restaurants Dominate Retail Development in Kansas City Market

As most that pay attention to commercial real estate know, the retail real estate market is constantly evolving. That said, with change comes opportunity, and we are both recognizing and capitalizing on that opportunity in the Kansas City market. As has been the case for the last few years, we continue to see a significant amount of “right-sizing” from big box and junior box retailers. Although e-commerce remains a prevalent means of purchasing for consumers, retail closures are not as …

September 13, 2018Market Reports, Midwest, Midwest Market Reports, Missouri, Retail

Economic Incentives Fuel Industrial Development in St. Louis Market

It has been a banner year thus far for the St. Louis industrial market with yet another milestone achieved. Mid-year absorption totaled 2.5 million square feet of space, a number more closely suited for the entire year versus the halfway point. Fueled by continued absorption, the market has more than 5 million square feet of space under construction with vacancy of approximately 4.9 percent. The continued success is no surprise. But economic incentives, often overlooked and underappreciated, …

September 6, 2018Industrial, Market Reports, Midwest, Midwest Market Reports, Missouri