New York City is booming. The local economy is the strongest it has ever been, with total employment numbers reaching all-time highs totaling over 4.2 million jobs through May 2015. This has led to a strong office market performance during the first six months of 2015, as office-using employment continues to grow, up 2.5 percent over the past 12 months. Demand for space continues to keep availability below 10 percent, and at 9.6 percent, Manhattan availability is down 50 basis points from last year. Despite minimal increases in Manhattan overall asking rents, up only 2.9 percent year-over-year through June, some submarkets are exceeding previous record-high asking rents from 2008. The demand from creative and tech tenants looking for space in Midtown South over the past few years has pushed asking rents up 19.1 percent above all-time highs. Downtown overall average asking rents have reached historical highs this year as well, and at $57.78 per square foot, rents are 10.3 percent higher than the previous highs in 2008. Most of this increase can be attributed to new construction at the World Trade Center site. Despite this, Midtown overall asking rents are still 5.3 percent off historical highs from 2008. Throughout Midtown, …
DENVER — Starwood Capital Group and East West Partners have announced plans to develop a $190 million office building in Denver’s Union Station neighborhood. The 250-foot-tall building will be known by its address, 16 Chestnut. The property will have frontage along both 16th and 17th streets. DaVite HealthCare Partners will be the first tenant. The kidney care provider will expand upon its current space, which is across the street. It will occupy about 265,000 square feet. DaVita will also have its own entrance and lobby. “When we moved to Denver, we knew we would commit to the city, to the state and to the community,” says Kent Thiry, DaVita’s chairman and CEO. “Today’s announcement of another DaVita building downtown, developed with East West Partners and Starwood Capital Group, cements that commitment.” Construction will begin in July 2016 and is scheduled for completion in October 2018. DaVita is scheduled to occupy the new space in August 2018. The remaining space will become available for lease in January 2016. The project is targeting LEED-Platinum certification. Gensler will design the building, with BuildMark providing construction management services. A general contractor has not yet been named. The development is situated adjacent to the South …
When people come to Corpus Christi, many of them expect to find a community that has been devastated by the downturn caused by the oversupply of cheap oil and gas. They expect a community with rising unemployment and vacant buildings. Based on the past, they would be correct. However, Corpus Christi and the Coastal Bend have been experiencing a major transformation of their economy, which is now much more diverse. This is partly because of the leadership, hard work and vision of its people, and partly because of good luck caused by the infrastructure that had been put in place by the Port of Corpus Christi. This infrastructure was at the right place at the right time. The Port of Corpus Christi has always been a driving force and major contributor to the economy of Corpus Christi. The port’s leaders knew that if they didn’t make some major changes, they would not remain competitive. The Port of Corpus Christi is the fifth largest port in the U.S. in total tonnage. However, because of the depth of the port channel and the height of the harbor bridge which crosses over the port, the newer, larger ships could not enter the port. …
LAS VEGAS — MDL Group has joined Corfac International as a domestic affiliate in Southern Nevada. Hayim Mizrachi will act as president and principal of MDL Group/Corfac International. He will also be the principal point-of-contact to Corfac International and will manage MDL Group’s brokerage services practice. MDL Group was co-founded in 1989 by Carol Cline-Ong and Curt Anderson. The firm expanded its brokerage services practice in 2013 when it added Mizrachi and Jarrad Katz as principals. Mizrachi and Katz had previously operated the NAI Global Las Vegas office. MDL Group/CORFAC International is a full-service operation with 38 professionals, 13 of which are brokers. The firm closed more than $70 million in industrial, office and retail transactions and land sales in 2014. It currently manages more than 8 million square feet of commercial properties for third-party owners.
Three major storylines are playing out in Baltimore, the northern part of the one-two city punch that combines for more than 9 million people and forms the fourth-largest metropolitan region of the country. These three sub-plots each contribute to the larger vernacular of the Charm City story. The activity in the office sector is occurring against the backdrop of a robust warehouse/industrial market, as national companies are recognizing the attractiveness of the Port of Baltimore and access to the Eastern Seaboard. Baltimore is also enjoying the healthiest retail environments seen in years, highlighted by the construction of new large-scale shopping centers to service Millennials and empty-nesters moving downtown. 1. Shifting Blocks of Space Two separate 200,000-square-foot blocks of prime office space are moving to the now-under-construction Harbor Point overlooking Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, the development centerpiece of the Constellation Energy Group merger with Exelon Corp. Upon completion, the former industrial brownfield site will feature more than 1.6 million square feet of commercial office space. Add in a separate 200,000-square-foot move by the Baltimore headquarters of M&T Bank from 25 S. Charles St. (with sources indicating the company may back-fill the space themselves) and you have pretty large shoes to fill in …
LOS ANGELES — JLL has named Tony Morales as brokerage lead in the Los Angeles region. This area contains about 80 brokers across six offices. Morales’ expanded role will allow him to set the strategic direction for the Los Angeles-area brokerage business and oversee these offices. Morales, a 25-year commercial real estate veteran, will also continue in his role as JLL Los Angeles’ managing director, where he specializes in office properties. Prior to JLL, Morales worked with several high-profile companies, including Yahoo!, DIRECTV, Boston Consulting Group, Electronic Arts, William Morris Endeavor and Morrison & Foerster.
It’s no secret that the Sunbelt states have been, and continue to be, the front-runners for corporations looking to relocate to cities with a much lower cost of doing business. With each state taking different approaches, North Carolina does not often offer the relocation incentives that can be found in states such as South Carolina and Texas. Instead, North Carolina favors a system that offers less up-front cash incentives, but tries to offset that with a tax structure and business-friendly climate in an effort to compete for the large, attractive relocations. Because of this, the catalyst for growth in Charlotte has only been moderately associated with the recruitment of out-of-market users looking to relocate headquarters to more affordable and attractive markets. In large part, Charlotte’s growth has been driven by organic growth of existing businesses. In fact, more than 70 percent of the positive absorption in the central business district (CBD) since 2010 has occurred through organic growth. This expansion of existing business has provided for employment growth conditions that work hand-in-hand with the rapidly swelling population. In between new-to-market relocations that provide headline-grabbing bursts of employment, the diverse and impressive growth of Charlotte’s existing companies has attracted talent and …
In the April 2014 edition of Heartland Real Estate Business, I pointed out that the recovery from the historic 2008 flood was nearing completion in Cedar Rapids, a city of approximately 129,000 residents. The last of the damaged city facilities, a recreation center in the Time Check neighborhood on the city’s northwest side, has been demolished. Taking its place will be a new 17,000-square-foot recreation center currently under construction. In July, the Cedar Rapids City Council approved the $600 million flood protection system alignment on both sides of the Cedar River; all the flood system funding plan is now in place, except for the federal appropriation of $78 million pending approval in Congress. Three sections of flood protection are complete or under construction. The National Civic League recognized this feat in 2014 when it named Cedar Rapids as a recipient of the All-America City Award, which recognizes communities that overcome citywide challenges and achieve uncommon results. (The National Civic League is a nonprofit organization that advocates for transparency, effectiveness, and openness in local government.) The city’s strong recovery following the devastating flood in 2008 is evident by the accolades it has received from a variety of media outlets and interest …
Although the Metropolitan Las Vegas office market has not experienced the robust recovery seen in other sectors, it has shown three years of moderately steady growth. With net absorption of 341,976 square feet through the second quarter of 2015, the area is experiencing the 14th consecutive quarter of positive net absorption, while the vacancy rate is at the lowest level since the first quarter of 2009. The steady improvement in the Las Vegas office market is largely attributed to the city’s economic rebound, particularly in employment. The Bureau of Labor Statistics pegged the unemployment rate for Las Vegas at 6.6 percent as of May 2015. It’s also the first month to see an unemployment rate below 7 percent in nearly seven years. Office-related employment represents about 28 percent of the total labor force, second to only hospitality employment, and has played a critical role in the area’s economic recovery. In addition to the buoying job market, housing has improved, contributing to the economic recovery. New home starts increased by 45 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of this year, according to Metrostudy, while the average asking home price increased by 12 percent in the same time period. Las Vegas has …
LONG BEACH, CALIF. — Greenlaw Partners has acquired One World Trade Center, a 575,000-square-foot office building in Long Beach, for $105 million, according to the Los Angeles Times. The 27-story office building is located at 601 W. Ocean Blvd. One World Trade was built in 1989. It is the tallest building in Long Beach. The Class A building features the World Trade Center Heliport helipad on its roof. The structure is also attached to the 20-story Hilton Long Beach through its two-story retail plaza. The Hilton was not included in this transaction. Notable tenants at the building include the Food and Drug Administration, Morgan Stanley and law firm Ford, Walker, Haggerty & Behar. The building is situated near the Pike at Rainbow Harbor & City Place Shopping Center. The seller, SteelWave, purchased the tower for $148.9 million in 2007 at the peak of the market. The firm operated as Legacy Partners at the time. The company made significant improvements to the tower’s common areas and lobby. One World Trade was 88 percent occupied when it was purchased by Legacy. As of today, there are 37 office units listed as available for lease on LoopNet, with a listed monthly rental rate …