CHICAGO — I.M. Construction Group will complete a 10,000-square-foot office renovation on behalf of the Belgravia Group Ltd. at 1101 W. Monroe in Chicago. IMCG was selected to complete the demolition and build-out of two complete floors at the property for Belgravia’s new offices. Belgravia Group develops residential, mixed-use and retail properties. The firm owns and manages 1101 W. Monroe and is relocating its offices from River North to this new location. Construction includes the addition of private offices, conference rooms, break rooms and open work areas. The new space will feature traditional loft styling including high ceilings with exposed timber and brick walls. Belgravia is expected to take occupancy of the new space in spring 2015. Bob Nomellini, president of IMCG, is the project executive leading the construction team. Len Corso is serving as the project superintendent. Hirsch Associates is providing architectural services for the project.
Nashville is now an established growth leader regionally and nationally. The city was a national trailblazer as the U.S. economy recovered from the Great Recession. That head start positioned Nashville to take advantage of broader growth trends and stay ahead of the pack as the remainder of the region and country started to grow again. Moody’s Analytics places Nashville firmly in an expansion phase, with fourth quarter employment growth 330 basis points ahead of the prior year, in-migration driving single-family housing permits up 13 percent last year and accelerating wage growth. Quoting Moody’s, “With the commercial real estate market tightening quickly, the pace of hiring will soon be contingent on how quickly new offices can be built or renovated. Yet there is still a good chance office-using employment could beat expectations, especially after 2016.” Class A buildings continue to dominate growth. Overall absorption for 2014 totaled 666,639 square feet, while Class A absorption was 689,009 square feet. Absorption exceeded construction by over 200,000 square feet, and Class A vacancy dropped from 5 percent at the beginning of the year to 3.5 percent at year-end. Vacancy that low inhibits movement, as is obvious in Brentwood with only 45,000 square feet vacant, …
MADISON, WIS. — ALTUS Commercial Real Estate Inc. has arranged a 2,139-square-foot office lease in Madison. Wisconsin Newspaper Association will occupy the space located at 34 Schroeder Court, Suite 2. Chuck Polenz of ALTUS represented the tenant, and Jeff Jansen of ALTUS represented the landlord.
The big story in the St. Louis office market is that available Class A space continues to become more scarce. As we watch the larger blocks of space being absorbed, and as Class A asking rates continue to increase, the probability for new development seems inevitable, leaving some property owners wondering if they should move forward and build. Although little new office construction is underway, the tightening market has undoubtedly prompted conversations. Expect projects to surface once developers land their first major tenant. The most likely submarkets for new development are in Clayton and West County, where many tenants requiring more than 25,000 contiguous square feet of office space are looking. You cannot have a full recovery for office occupancy until employment increases and the abundance of empty desks is absorbed. The local unemployment rate reached its peak of 10.9 percent in February 2010. The good news is that the unemployment rate hit a six-year low of 5.4 percent in October 2014. This significant drop can be attributed to the gain of over 11,000 jobs since January 2014 in the professional and business services sector. The St. Louis office market ended the year at a 10.5 vacancy rate, with Class …
The New Castle County office market includes roughly 16 million square feet of total inventory with nearly 3 million square feet of that vacant. Vacancy in Class A space has improved somewhat as tenants take advantage of market conditions but these moves have not had much impact on overall vacancy rate. Jackson Cross Partners reports 2014 absorption of 80,000 square feet; although positive, this indicates we have years of recovery before a healthy overall vacancy rate is reached. We are seeing a number of projects that will have some impact on reducing inventory and improving vacancy rates as marginal office space is redeveloped for various non-office uses. These projects include: • A group of local investors purchased 1001 Jefferson Street in the city of Wilmington, which contains 170,000 square feet of office space on approximately 1.4 acres in May 2014, following a failed auction process. The building was recently demolished and the site is now being improved for surface parking, at least temporarily. Although a new office project is not being ruled out down the road, the site is being marketed for other uses, including residential and retail. • 1300 Market Street, also in the City of Wilmington, containing 62,000 …
CHICAGO – Reed Construction has completed a two-phase, 10,500-square-foot build-out for the Raby Institute of Integrative Medicine at Northwestern. The property is located at 500 N. Michigan Ave. in Chicago. The project included the addition of open ceilings within the space as well as the build-out of the reception area, exam rooms, treatment rooms and medical imaging rooms. Reed Construction also built private offices and conference rooms. The finished space now features high-end finishes, new lighting fixtures, paint and carpeting throughout. Jack Hennessy oversaw the project on behalf of Reed Construction, and Marty McGriff was the project superintendent. Parachin Design Studios Inc. provided the architectural services. The Raby Institute for Integrative Medicine is a center for integrative healing that combines science-based Western medicine with holistic healing approaches.
Everyone is buzzing about the significant amount of speculative construction all over Texas. For the first time since 2008, San Antonio’s office construction is picking up the pace with 928,395 square feet of speculative development underway. Local developers with conservative land positions are taking the lead on all of these developments as they respond to an increasing need for relevant office building options for corporate firms—something San Antonio has not had since 2009, when Concord Park II, Overlook at the Rim, Plaza Las Campanas and others were delivered. Both the Far North Central and Northwest submarkets have witnessed the bulk of recent absorption activity, offering newer, more efficient office options near the more modern residential subdivisions and retail developments. The Northwest submarket also accounts for one-third of San Antonio’s total rentable building area for office space. As of Q4 2014, the Northwest submarket absorbed 342,927 square feet, while the North Central submarket absorbed 312,856 square feet. Two great examples of success in these submarkets are WestRidge One at La Cantera (completed in Q4 2014) and Éilan Buildings I and II (completed in Q1 2011). These two projects are responsible for 253,976 square feet of absorption in the past two years …
OAKBROOK TERRACE, ILL. — Cohen Financial has arranged an $8.3 million acquisition loan for a mid-rise office building located at 2 Trans Am Plaza Drive in Oakbrook Terrace. The property is a 5-story office building adjacent to a Marriott Courtyard hotel. The property is leased to multiple tenants. Dan Rosenberg of Cohen Financial’s Chicago office secured the loan with American Capital Ltd., a publicly traded private equity firm and global asset manager. The borrower is American Landmark Properties, a commercial real estate owner/manager experienced in office properties.
DOWNERS GROVE, ILL. — Morgan/Harbour has completed a 20,000-square-foot office renovation for LexTech Global Services in Downers Grove. The property is located at 1431 Opus Place within the Executive Towers West I building. LexTech, an enterprise mobile app development firm, is relocating its headquarters to this property from 3080 Ogden Ave. in Lisle, Ill. The build-out included the addition of 27 private offices, large collaboration areas, six conference rooms, 15 team rooms and video conferencing rooms. Features of the new space include exposed construction ceilings, fabric panel ceilings, LED light fixtures and custom millwork throughout. Morgan/Harbour’s construction team included Ben Warriner Sr., Andy MacMillan, Noah Warriner, Marrico Crum and Tom Sawa. Newman Architecture provided architectural services for the project.
In a city known for its fast-shifting real estate cycles and ever-changing demographics, it’s becoming clear that change is the only real constant in Miami. Examples are everywhere — from the construction cranes dotting the skyline and trendy neighborhoods emerging throughout the region, to a fresh crop of international investors and the launch of entirely new industries. The makeup of our people is also evolving. A report by the Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) found that the city’s urban core has experienced 100 percent population growth since 2000 as its population becomes younger and more educated. Residents ages 25 to 44 make up 46 percent of the population and 58 percent of residents over the age of 25 have a college degree. It’s easy to overlook the impact these trends are having on commercial real estate in favor of Miami’s headline-grabbing residential market, but the demographic shifts taking place are also impacting the office market as employers cultivate a workforce increasingly dominated by Millennials drawn to growth-oriented jobs. This change has been in the making for years as Miami’s public and private sectors invest in creating new business opportunities for young professionals across industries less prone to economic swings, such …