Office

Downtown Milwaukee Continues Its Hot Streak, but Will It Cool in 2016?

by Christina Cannon December 17, 2015

The long-held perception of the Milwaukee office market is that it mostly trades tenants between buildings with one landlord winning at the other’s expense, while the overall pie remains the same size. However, with cranes dotting the horizon, large blocks of vacant space quickly leasing up, a number of major new developments waiting to break ground, and the inflow of outside dollars into Milwaukee, the market has recently experienced some amazing deal velocity. This activity is expected to continue as we head into 2016. However, the office market could slow down due to the completion of several projects currently under construction. The greater Milwaukee office vacancy rate stood at 15.5 percent in the third quarter, down slightly from 15.6 percent in the third quarter of 2014. The vacancy rate in the central business district (CBD) dropped from 16.2 percent to 14.9 percent during the same period. Meanwhile, rental rates have increased slightly in both the overall market and the CBD. Cranes in the skies Construction on the Northwestern Mutual Tower and Commons began in late 2014 in downtown Milwaukee and is scheduled for completion in late 2017. A 32-story office tower will adjoin a two-block-long, three-story space known as The Commons. The new development …

December 17, 2015

Indiana Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office Uncategorized

Office Development, Tenant Demand Heat Up in Northern Suburbs of Indianapolis

by Christina Cannon December 10, 2015

The office sector in the northern suburbs of Indianapolis shows clear signs of solid growth and stability with new construction and deeper tenant demand for space, particularly in the Class A segment. A number of factors contribute to this trend, including job growth, availability of land for housing and favorable demographics. Decision-makers live in the northern suburbs along with families, empty nesters and educated workers. Nearly 90 percent of all suburban office space in greater Indianapolis is located north of 71st Street in five key submarkets: North/Carmel, Keystone, Northwest, the Fishers/I-69 Corridor and Northeast/Castleton. Five I-465 interchanges define these five northern suburban office submarkets of Indianapolis, providing workers efficient access to 17.5 million square feet of office space. Through the third quarter of this year, overall occupancy in these five suburban submarkets stood at nearly 85 percent. The occupancy rate for Class A space was considerably higher at 89 percent. There are only seven blocks of contiguous office space 100,000 square feet or greater available in the suburbs and downtown — four of which are located in the northern suburbs. These spaces include 133,000 square feet at Two Concourse, 10194 Crosspoint Blvd.; 113,000 square feet at the former Charles Schwab …

December 10, 2015

Market Reports Western Market Reports

A New Demand for the IE’s Office Market

by Nellie Day December 8, 2015

Things have been steadily moving forward in the Inland Empire office market. Consistently the fastest-growing, non-farm job market in Southern California, the region’s exceptional growth in professional and business service positions provides a compelling reason for investors to view this office market as opportunistic. There is a high demand for Class A and B property investments. We are also seeing overseas buyers, mostly from China, showing interest in the region. Unlike Los Angeles and Orange County, which have been popular with foreign investment for the past several years, this is a new trend for the Inland Empire. It also suggests global investors are looking to the region as an attractive alternative to some of the pricier Southern California markets. The Inland Empire is now on the map. The good news is there is still room to add value by leasing up vacant space and realizing future rent growth. We have recently seen many investors buying risk-oriented projects, anxious to secure some of these affordable assets before rates and pricing rise. Some of the strongest submarkets for leasing and investment are the CBDs of Corona, Riverside, Rancho Cucamonga and Temecula, as well as the Ontario Airport area. There is a high …

December 8, 2015

Stockbridge, Trinity Sell Toringdon Office Park in Charlotte for $114.4M

by Nellie Day December 7, 2015

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Stockbridge Capital Group and Trinity Capital Advisors have sold Toringdon Office Park, a 519,698-square-foot office park in Charlotte, to an unnamed buyer for $114.4 million. The six-building park is located at 3420, 3430, 3440, 3426, 3436 and 3530 Toringdon Way in the Ballantyne submarket, about 10 miles south of Charlotte’s Central Business District. The buildings were constructed between 2001 and 2008. The park is 87 percent leased. Notable tenants include Selective Insurance, Crown Castle, Heartland Payment Systems and TIAA-CREF. HFF’s Ryan Clutter represented the seller in the transaction. HFF’s Travis Anderson and Cory Fowler also arranged a $79 million acquisition loan through CIBC Capital Markets for the buyer. Clutter notes this was the first core office asset to be marketed and sold in the Ballantyne area since its inception more than 18 years ago. “The Toringdon transaction is a compelling sale for the Charlotte market as larger, non-CBD office trades have been less frequent in most U.S. office markets since the downturn in the economy,” he says. “Institutional capital was drawn to the compelling growth of the area, the considerable rise in rents and the strong leasing activity currently taking place in the park.” San Francisco-based Stockbridge …

December 7, 2015

Market Reports Western Market Reports

Seattle Tech Boom Creates Next-Generation, Culture-Focused Campuses

by Nellie Day December 1, 2015

Developers are doing everything they can to make their projects attractive to corporations and their brokers as competition in Seattle continues to increase for high-growth tech tenants. And they’re doing it with good reason: Seattle was recently ranked the No. 1 city in the country for technology jobs. Seattle’s tech industry has grown by 12 percent over the past two years, according to Forbes, outpacing Silicon Valley, Boston and other tech markets. Experts point to a diverse local economy – Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing – and more-affordable housing that, together, enabled Seattle to fare better than other technology hubs. With tech business booming, Seattle’s real estate market is simply trying to keep up. Projects are starting every week, it seems, by developers looking to capture the unprecedented supply of tech businesses. Some are trying to attract anchor tenants with equity, naming rights or aggressive TI allowances. No matter the approach, smart owners realize their buildings must be created in a way that enables tenants to gain a competitive advantage in attracting top industry talent. Surveys show culture is by far the biggest draw when it comes to recruiting and retaining tech workers. How a company’s owners and employees think, feel …

December 1, 2015

Market Reports Multifamily Office Texas Texas Market Reports

San Antonio Wins the Race with Consistency, Diversified Economy

by Haisten Willis November 20, 2015

The story of the tortoise and the hare can be used to describe the major metros throughout Texas. In recent years, Austin has sprung to life while San Antonio has developed slow and steady. Most recently, however, it appears San Antonio’s office market has received a jolt — the second quarter of 2015 saw three to four times more activity than historic averages indicate — and San Antonio now boasts its lowest vacancy rate since 2008. With a 3.4 percent unemployment rate, San Antonio ranks third on the list of major metropolitan cities across the country with the lowest unemployment rates, trailing only Austin at 3 percent and Salt Lake City at 3.1 percent. These numbers are indicative of a much larger picture of San Antonio. Uniquely positioned to capture the spillover of tech companies and supporting businesses from Austin, its neighbor, San Antonio’s low rental rates for both Class A and B office space along with stable infrastructure make it a viable, attractive alternative for many major businesses looking to expand. But where in San Antonio is all this activity erupting? San Antonio’s newest residents are interested in one area, and you need look no further than the central …

November 20, 2015

Industrial Market Reports Multifamily Office Retail Texas Texas Market Reports

Growing Pains — The History, Revitalization and Relocation to Austin’s CBD

by Haisten Willis November 13, 2015

Operating as our state’s political core and as the “live music capital of the world”, Austin’s real estate market is as distinctive as the people that make this city great. Austin is a one-of-a-kind place that’s unique to Texas and the entire country. It defies stereotypes with its progressive and fiercely entrepreneurial spirit, and continually gets top marks for its quality of life, pro-business culture and pro-environment views. WalletHub recently ranked Austin as the 2015 best large city to live in and the data matches up — the city ranks second among 2015’s fastest-growing cities in the U.S., according to Forbes, behind Houston and ahead of Dallas-Fort Worth. In the era of ‘Walker, Texas Ranger,’ Emmitt Smith and ‘the Dream Team,’ and the release of ‘Dazed and Confused,’ the tech boom of the 1990s drove the Austin office market. During that same time, Austin’s total population increased 35 percent and close to 1,750 companies employed over 110,000 people in technology-related jobs in Austin. By the end of the 90s, Texas’ capital city was widely known as Silicon Hills, home to a critical mass of institutional technology knowledge and major tenants like Dell, IBM, Motorola and other software and gaming companies. …

November 13, 2015

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Missouri Office Uncategorized

Tight Office Conditions Lead to Much-Needed New Construction in St. Louis

by Christina Cannon November 12, 2015

Improving real estate fundamentals in the St. Louis office market are opening the floodgates to new construction that is greatly needed as large occupiers are finding limited, if any, existing available options. Over the past few years, the gap between rent for existing office properties and new properties was too great to justify construction. Until now, that is. The St. Louis employment base is finally reaching a pre-recession level with continued growth in the healthcare, information technology and engineering industries. The centrally located and more affluent residential areas — the West County and Clayton submarkets in particular — are experiencing higher occupancies and increasing rental rates. Clayton historically has been the best-performing submarket in St. Louis and still is today, while West County is situated near mid- to upper-level income workers. Development has and will continue to follow these highly sought after submarkets as they offer the metro area’s best real estate fundamentals and returns. Add to all of those factors a lack of new product in the past several years — plus a Class A vacancy rate of 10 percent — and you have an ideal climate for new construction. Pivotal project is catalyst The announcement that St. Louis-based …

November 12, 2015

Florida Market Reports Office Southeast Southeast Market Reports

Innovation Assists Orlando Office Market in Fighting its Way Back

by John Nelson November 9, 2015

After six painful years, vacancy is finally declining in the Orlando office market. Effects of the Great Recession on real estate markets have been thoroughly examined here before, but outside factors that have played such a prominent role in reshaping the office market are creating significant impact. These changes might appear to be negative, but they will ultimately prove positive. Quantum advances in communication and data storage, new attitudes regarding workplace culture, workspace sharing centers and virtual offices have stirred the submarkets that comprise the greater Orlando area. While they are affecting all sectors of commercial real estate, they are felt most acutely in the office markets, slowing employment growth and corporate expansion, which have always powered the rate of change in quarter-to-quarter vacancy declines. Cloud-based data storage and paperless transaction platforms have shrunk the size of private offices with file storage rooms. Text messaging, email and file sharing platforms such as Dropbox have reduced the need for face-to-face meetings and demand for conference rooms and private offices. Real estate closings that once involved several parties in a conference room are antiquated now. Over the past five years, staffed reception areas have given way to scaled down waiting salons with …

November 9, 2015

Market Reports Michigan Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office

Resurgence of Downtown Grand Rapids Is Occurring on Many Fronts

by Christina Cannon October 22, 2015

Downtown Grand Rapids is booming with commercial real estate activity, and it’s coming from many directions. The combination of new residential units, restaurants, bars and a variety of entertainment options is leading people to not only live downtown, but also work and play downtown. Activity in the downtown office market — including office leases, new mixed-use construction and new retail — has increased over the last couple of years, and there is no sign of it slowing down. The overall office vacancy rate in the central business district (CBD) decreased from 9.4 percent in the first quarter to 8.25 percent in the second quarter. While Class A office space has performed well in recent quarters, there was a slight increase in the vacancy rate during the second quarter. As for Class B space, we observed a sizable decrease in the vacancy rate, from 10.1 percent in the first quarter to 8.5 percent in the second quarter. As a whole, the CBD office market experienced positive absorption of 74,293 square feet during the second quarter. Rental rates stabilized in the second quarter after increasing for the past several quarters. Meanwhile, some new construction and planned construction is hitting the market at …

October 22, 2015

Newer Posts

Older Posts