Ohio

Strong Fundamentals Are in Place for Cincinnati’s Multifamily Market

by Kristin Harlow April 12, 2018

The strength of the national multifamily market has been driven by a number of factors, especially job and wage growth. Nationally, annual job growth has been 1.5 percent and annual wage growth has been 2.9 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Another factor affecting the multifamily market is homeownership. In the United States, homeownership reached 65 percent in 2008, dropped to 60 percent in 2015 and rebounded to 65 percent at the end of 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Strong demand, low vacancies, good rental growth and a vibrant sales market have characterized the market. During the last 10 years, the millennial population has primarily rented housing and baby boomers have been downsizing to apartments or condos. These trends have contributed to the multifamily market’s strength. We see the millennial sector housing choices changing with much of the generation getting married and starting families. Last year represented the third-best year in history for multifamily property sales volume, according to Dave Lockard, senior vice president in the multifamily brokerage division of CBRE. Another factor affecting multifamily markets is a slowdown in new construction. Higher construction costs and more conservative commercial bank construction financing have led to …

April 12, 2018

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office Ohio

Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine District Makes Way for Larger Office Developments

by Kristin Harlow April 5, 2018

Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine (OTR) neighborhood has come a long way since it served as the location for gritty scenes in movie director Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 film Traffic. Gone are the 500 vacant buildings and 700 vacant lots. The disadvantage of having the highest crime rate in the city is no more. Thanks to efforts by prominent Cincinnati companies such as Kroger Co. and Procter & Gamble, as well as the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp. (3CDC), efforts to revive the historic neighborhood have exceeded expectations. Located just north of downtown Cincinnati, OTR is one of the largest urban historic districts in the United States and is known for its abundance of architecturally significant buildings and homes. The area has a rich cultural scene due to its proximity to the Art Academy of Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Opera, the School for Creative and Performing Arts, Memorial Hall and other artistic points of interest. OTR was named one of the top 15 “cool streets” in Cushman & Wakefield’s Cool Streets of North America report. A new breed of urban, experiential and independent mid-market retailers catering to millennial consumers has led to the rise of 100 Cool Streets across the United …

April 5, 2018

Midwest Ohio Retail Top Stories

UK-based EG Group to Buy Kroger’s Convenience Store Business for $2.1B

by Nellie Day February 7, 2018

CINCINNATI — United Kingdom-based EG Group has agreed to acquire Kroger’s (NYSE: KR) convenience store business for $2.1 billion. Kroger’s convenience store arm employs 11,000 workers in 18 states across 66 franchise operations. The stores operate under the brands Turkey Hill, Loaf ‘N Jug, Kwik Shop, Tom Thumb and Quik Stop. Kroger’s convenience store business generated $4 billion in revenue, including the sale of 1.2 billion gallons of fuel, in 2016. EG Group will establish its North American headquarters in Cincinnati and continue to operate the stores under their established brand names. It is the company’s first venture in the United States. Kroger’s supermarket fuel centers and its Turkey Hill Dairy are not included in the sale. Kroger plans to use net proceeds from the sale to repurchase shares and to lower its ratio of net total debt to adjusted EBITDA. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is acting as exclusive financial advisor to Kroger, with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP acting as legal advisor. Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays are acting as financial advisors to EG Group, while Allen & Overy is acting as legal advisor. EG Group was founded in 2001 by brothers Zuber and …

February 7, 2018

Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Ohio

Strategic Location, Strong Labor Force Boost Columbus Industrial Market

by Kristin Harlow October 26, 2017

The Columbus industrial market continues to thrive as a hot center for logistics, warehousing and manufacturing. Its strategic location within a one-day truck drive of 50 percent of the U.S. population and one-third of the Canadian population is an important part of this success. Other contributing factors to this success include a strong Midwestern work ethic, low cost of real estate, low taxes, low wages and minimal union activity. With a total population of about 2 million in metro Columbus, central Ohio has 86,000 employees in the manufacturing industry and 80,000 employees in logistics at 4,100 logistics companies. Positive vital signs Central Ohio’s 273-million-square-foot industrial real estate market continues to expand with nearly 5.7 million square feet of new construction in 2017. Year to date, there has been 1.3 million square feet of positive net absorption and vacancy is 4.6 percent, down from 5.1 percent as of year-end 2016. Net absorption totaled 9 million square feet in 2016. Effective rental rates in central Ohio range from $2 to $3.75 per square foot net for larger warehouse and manufacturing spaces. Operating expenses run from 35 cents to $1.25 per square foot. Sales prices will range from $10 to $45 per square …

October 26, 2017

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office Ohio

Downtown Columbus Office Market Devises Solutions to Parking Shortage

by Kristin Harlow October 19, 2017

In today’s world, nearly every company is a technology company. That trend is changing the way we do business and interact with one another. Ted Anglyn, president of the Parking Property Advisors, summarizes how these changes are impacting space utilization, which in turn affects parking needs: The space per square foot per employee in newly leased office space decreased from a range of 300 to 350 square feet per person in 2005 to 150 to 200 square feet in 2010. Some of this space reduction is linked to the recession, but much of it is because of open office design and the predominance of electronic storage, which reduces the need for physical file storage. This change has the potential to increase the typical office parking ratios that range from three to four spaces per 1,000 square feet to five to six spaces per 1,000 square feet. This begs the question of how we, as commercial real estate experts, address this gap. Parking, access and location are not new issues, but they are still major factors in today’s real estate environment. Landlords and economic development directors are all striving to address the needs of business today while also looking to future …

October 19, 2017

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office Ohio

Cleveland Office Market Sees String of New Projects

by Kristin Harlow August 17, 2017

Cleveland’s central business district (CBD) continues to make headlines as events like the Republican National Convention, the 2016 and 2017 NBA Championships and the 2016 World Series earned national attention. Within the office market, trends such as “flight to quality” and office-to-residential conversions, which are driven by a hot apartment market, have reduced surplus supply and lowered vacancies. This has shaped metrics positively, and has put Cleveland in a position of strength for the upcoming years. The news of the year has been the purchase of Key Tower by Millennia Cos., a local real estate developer known mostly for multifamily. The company moved its headquarters from a property in Valley View to two entire floors spanning approximately 40,000 square feet in Cleveland’s signature office tower. Almost immediately after, Forest City announced its headquarters move from the historic Terminal Tower to the Key Tower, backfilling almost 150,000 square feet of space that KeyCorp gave back in a downsizing strategy. By the first quarter of 2018, Key Tower will benefit from lobby and building amenity upgrades, and should see a vacancy rate of less than 10 percent. Another story on the horizon is the potential move of Medical Mutual of Ohio, now …

August 17, 2017

Industrial Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Ohio

Toledo’s Industrial Market Is in Need of Large-Format Speculative Construction

by Kristin Harlow May 25, 2017

A snapshot of Toledo’s industrial real estate market at the end of 2016 reveals a well-performing sector, maintaining the steady improvement recorded during the prior year. In fact, the vital signs of the property sector hit some of their best levels in a decade last year. By the end of the year, every key metric was up from midyear 2016 and year-end 2015. One bit of cloudiness trying to sneak in on the otherwise very sunny picture, however, is the limited supply of available space options. Demand clearly exists for additional space, but users are unable to find options that fit their needs. The dearth of adequate space alternatives is restraining potential transaction volume and, by extension, probable job growth. By Toledo standards, the market has been absorbing an impressive amount of space over the past several years. Overall, the 85 million-square-foot market absorbed 763,065 square feet in the second half of 2016. However, as strong as the absorption numbers have been, it is easy to speculate they would be much higher if more of the right kind and sizes of space existed in the market. There is a shortage among all building sizes, but the need is most acute …

May 25, 2017

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Ohio

Millennials Flocking to Downtown Columbus, Ohio

by Kristin Harlow February 23, 2017

Millennials are the future, they’re concerned about the future and they’re bringing all of us into the future. This generation wants to live where they do their “living.” They want green space, bike paths, access to transit or shared transportation and an active neighborhood. In short, they want to live in downtown Columbus. Not the downtown of years ago, where the streets rolled up at 5 p.m. and you’d be hard-pressed to find a coffee shop open on the weekend. But the downtown of today, where green space is king, rooftops have followed, retail is popping up and there’s so much to do that sometimes it’s hard to decide what to choose. In 2002, the Columbus Downtown Development Corp. (CDDC) was formed and tasked with reshaping and revitalizing downtown Columbus into an urban hub. But would it work? Fifteen years later, we have the answer: the Millennials are coming, and they’re bringing everyone else with them. CDDC was created to lead game-changing city projects. Our ultimate goal is to give people and companies reasons to live, work and play downtown. We took an empty mall and turned it into an activated, mixed-use hub in the center of the city. We …

February 23, 2017

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Cincinnati, Dayton Closing the Gap: Why the Push to Merge the MSAs is a Winning Strategy

by Kristin Harlow February 2, 2017

The tale of two Ohio cities — Cincinnati and Dayton — is a story of growth. It takes less than an hour to travel between Cincinnati and Dayton. The two metros sit about 55 miles apart along Interstate 75, and that distance is slowly getting shorter. Since 2000, the cities have been growing together along the I-75 corridor, with significant growth over the past five years. The northern suburbs of Cincinnati have experienced exponential growth over the last 20 years stemming from the development of Union Centre Boulevard in 2000 in West Chester Township. Now, West Chester is the second largest community in the Cincinnati metropolitan statistical area (MSA). Only the City of Cincinnati is larger. Suburban growth is catalyst New developments continue to spur Cincinnati’s northern growth along I-75. In 2015, Liberty Center, a mixed-use retail, office and housing development, opened in Liberty Township north of the fast-expanding West Chester. The development is another example of a growing trend to bring urban-style amenities, such as live, work and play environments to the suburbs. Although much of the I-75 corridor is industrial, the growing suburbs led to the significant increase in the amount of office and retail space in the …

February 2, 2017

Market Reports Midwest Midwest Market Reports Office Ohio

Once-Dormant Office Development Pipeline in Downtown Cleveland Now Growing

by Kristin Harlow December 15, 2016

Cleveland’s relatively affordable cost of living compared with other major Midwestern cities is attracting businesses to the metro area, fueling demand for office space. A steady stream of new employment opportunities supported the 1.6 percent expansion of Cleveland’s workforce over the 12-month period that ended Sept. 30. Hiring during that period was driven by the education and health services sectors, which collectively added 9,300 positions. It is expected that by year-end 2016, Cleveland employers will have increased payrolls 1.3 percent with the addition of 14,000 workers. Office-using employment is expected to rise 0.4 percent this year, remaining steady with only a slight variation over the past three years. Cleveland’s stable economic fundamentals, coupled with businesses attracted to the city, have supported the revival of a dormant development pipeline. During 2015, just 46,000 square feet was added to Cleveland’s office property inventory. The majority of the new office completions are located downtown. In the four-quarter period that ended in September, approximately 660,000 square feet came into service. Construction Surges While office completions were sluggish in 2015, construction has picked up significantly and builders are on track to deliver more than 1 million square feet of new office product by year’s end. …

December 15, 2016

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