Posted on August 23, 2017

In a press conference last Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced his latest executive order, which addressed infrastructure permitting. Though the event ultimately devolved into a controversial discussion about the tragic events in Charlottesville, the order offers some insight into the administration’s strategy on infrastructure policy.

The executive order, entitled “Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure,” is aimed at expediting permitting for infrastructure projects. It broadly tasks federal agencies with proposing ways to reduce average permitting time from the current average of seven years down to two years, and assigns an agency to each future project, placing them in charge of navigating the bureaucratic process.  To demonstrate its inherent complexity, Trump unveiled a six-foot long graphic depicting the permitting process at the press conference.

Trump has often spoken of a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, though none has materialized as of yet. His budget request proposed a mix of $200 billion in tax credits and direct funds, but it remains unclear whether this could spur enough private investment to reach $1 trillion. To complicate things further, the president recently announced that he would scrap plans to create an infrastructure advisory panel, which would have allowed the private sector to share input. 

Posted on August 23, 2017

Join CoreNet Global Carolinas for their 2017 Mega Event on September 13 at 1:30pm at The Ritz Carlton.

Agenda
12:45-1:30 PM – Event Registration
1:30-3:15 PM – Plenary Session/ Keynote Speaker (Paul Depodesta)
3:30-4:25 PM – Breakout Session 1
4:30-5:25 PM – Breakout Session 2
5:30-7:00 PM – Networking and Cocktail Reception

Click here for more information and to register.

Posted on August 22, 2017

By: Amanda Tran

Food halls offer small-scale opportunities for landlords, operators, chefs, and diners.

AMID A CHALLENGING retail landscape dominated by news of brick-and-mortar store closings, the food hall has emerged as a promising opportunity for the commercial real estate industry and food entrepreneurs. Although food halls vary greatly in size and focus — ranging from “mega” halls, such as Mario Batali’s Eataly in Boston, Chicago and New York, to much smaller venues in aging strip malls, such as The Block in Annandale, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. — they all feature a mix of vendors offering high-quality artisanal food in a communal atmosphere.

Garrick Brown, vice president and head of retail research at Cushman & Wakefield, credits food halls’ explosive growth to the rise of “foodie culture” over the past 20 years and to the influence of millennial consumers. Brown explains, “For millennials, the emphasis is on authenticity. Processed foods are out; authentic and locally sourced foods are in.”

Click here to read the full article.

Posted on August 21, 2017

By: Hazel Garcia

STEM careers, also known as careers involving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, are some of the best paying jobs available. Requiring only a Bachelor’s degree for most for most of them, they are one of the better education bargains as well. The high pay that comes with these jobs combined with the smaller amount of education required helps minimize student loan debt as well, which leads to a better quality of life.

In the past couple of decades, more women are entering STEM programs to get the education required for these high-paying positions. While the number of women entering STEM programs has grown considerably, it’s still a male-dominated industry. Depending on which state you live in, there might as many as 4.5 times more men working in STEM than women.

Posted on August 17, 2017

The co-founder of one of the nation's first funds to provide real estate acquisition and private debt servicing to cannabis-related ventures spoke at I.CON '17: Trends and Forecasts in June. Access the presentation and session recording on the marijuana market as it relates to industrial space, risks to landlords, structuring leases with marijuana tenants and more on the conference resources page. 

Read More

Posted on August 17, 2017

Business North Carolina is seeking nominations for its annual Building North Carolina awards, which will be featured in their November issue. Submit your suggestions on the most important commercial real-estate projects completed in the state between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017 and the developer who has had the biggest impact on the industry.

Building North Carolina winners will be selected based on design, innovation and community impact in such categories as best public project, commercial project, renovation, and overall design. Submitted projects will also be considered for a Carolinas AGC 2017 Pinnacle Award, bestowed at its annual convention in January.

Entries should be submitted no later than Aug. 22. 

Posted on August 16, 2017

Are you interested in going beyond local NAIOP relationships by networking with other executives from across North America in your industry segment?

Learn about the benefits of participation, eligibility requirements and how to apply to the three types of Forums.

The application period for the National Forums is now open! Create an account and apply using our online tool — applications are due by September 11, 2017. Notification of appointment will be emailed and followed by a letter.

Learn more here.

Posted August 15, 2017

Loan originations for commercial and multifamily properties in the second quarter of 2017 jumped 20 percent from the second quarter of 2016, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Such loan originations were 28 percent higher than in the first quarter of the year.

“The second quarter saw a 91 percent year-over-year increase in the dollar volume of loans for industrial properties, a 33 percent increase for office properties, a 21 percent increase for multifamily properties, a 14 percent increase for hotel properties, a 7 percent increase in health care property loans, and a 9 percent decrease in retail property loans,” MBA reports.

It finds that the jump in loan originations comes despite a slowdown in the volume of sales transactions.

Posted August 14, 2017

As more millennials enter the workforce, property owners and operators are responding to their demands by reshaping office spaces. In “Special Report Suburban Office Challenging CBD,” Marcus & Millichap notes that many companies are moving to downtown locations in large cities. But the report adds that suburbs are adjusting as well, and explains how they’re being successful.

“Numerous suburban office locations have become increasingly competitive, however, by clustering in walkable villages featuring many of the amenities and services of urban environments,” the report notes. “These locations are generally more affordable than their urban counterparts while remaining attractive to employees seeking a variety of offerings that are within walking distance.”

The report finds that almost one-quarter of commercial real estate transactions in 2014 involved urban properties. “Since then, investors have once again begun to focus on suburban options, restraining downtown activity to 21.7 percent of 2016 office sales. The flow of capital reflects the convergence of opportunity, yield, and perceptions of future growth, and it appears investors’ attention is once again moving beyond the core.”

Posted August 11, 2017

Retail employment across the country has taken a hit in 2017, as chains including Macy’s, Sears and JC Penney have all shuttered locations. A new report from Reis indicates the country has too many retail outlets and predicts where to future closings may occur.

“A good way of measuring what markets may be over-retailed is to compare retail employment to population,” the report says. It finds Little Rock, Arkansas; Syracuse, New York; Omaha, Nebraska; Orlando, Florida; and Louisville, Kentucky, are the most over-retailed, based on their growth over the last five years. California’s San Bernardino/Riverside, Oakland-East Bay and Los Angeles markets came in as the least over-retailed, along with Tucson, Arizona, and Tacoma, Washington.

“While the numbers show that the retail industry could, in fact, be over-saturated, the impact of this saturation on the real estate industry may not be as troublesome as many would presume,” the report says. That’s partly because different businesses, such as restaurants, yoga studios, and medical centers are taking over vacated retail space. Despite challenges, “the retail industry is performing better than many would assume,” the report concludes.

Posted August 10, 2017

A recent report prepared for the Energy, Kresge and Barr Foundations finds that adoption of building resiliency standards – which provide guidance for preparing buildings, infrastructure, and other systems for natural or man-made hazards – isn’t as widespread as it could be.

“[M]ost of the standards are in pilot phases or with their first customers, and many organizations are involved. Moreover, interviews and focus group conducted for this project revealed that facilities managers, participants in the real estate sector, and coordinators of business associations and on-the-ground projects had little awareness of the standards,” the report finds.

Further, it says real estate industry associations aren’t doing enough to promote information about resilient building techniques or the existence of standards. “The National Institute for Building Sciences, RELi, FORTIFIED, and other entities are leading efforts to quantify the costs and benefits of resilience, which can support effective policy design and encourage investment. Such research efforts could lead to more targeted, performance-based outcomes for resilient buildings, and a clear articulation of resulting monetary returns,” the report concludes.

Posted August 9, 2017

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last week voted unanimously to advance H.R. 1758, the Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2017. As its name suggests, the legislation would formally reauthorize the brownfields program for the first time since 2006, when authorization for the program expired. Congress had continued to appropriate funds despite a lack of authorization, but at varying and often decreased levels. Reauthorization provides supporters of brownfields redevelopment efforts with added leverage in future funding fights. H.R. 1758 makes important adjustments to the program, giving states added flexibility in spending brownfields grant funds, and expanding the universe of eligible grant recipients to include non-profit groups.

Administered by the Environmental Protection Agency, the brownfields program assists states in the cleanup and remediation of properties where contamination is suspected. The fear of unknown and potentially exorbitant costs – particularly those stemming from liability – at these sites often forces developers to look elsewhere for new opportunities. As a result, brownfields go untouched, which can depress surrounding property values and deprive local communities of much-needed tax revenue. Remediation of brownfields sites can yield substantial returns on taxpayers’ investment. Since its inception, the brownfields program has created 10 jobs for every redeveloped acre, and has leveraged $18 in private and state development funds for every $1 of taxpayer-funded brownfields grants.

NAIOP joined several other members of the real estate community in support of the bipartisan legislation, and will continue to advocate for reauthorization of and funding for the brownfields program as the bill is considered by the full House of Representatives.

Posted on August 8, 2017

Written by Thomas J. Bisacquino

The world today moves faster than it ever has before. Smartphones provide immediate access to people and information. Retailers deliver with blinding speed, often the same day. But not everything should, or can, be immediate. That’s true in tax policy, and in commercial real estate (CRE).

In the CRE industry, owners and operators often must wait years, even decades, to recoup their investments. Meanwhile, they keep pouring further spending into their properties to keep them up to code and to deliver the perks tenants demand. CRE doesn’t deliver immediate rewards, but forces owners to make the necessary long-term investments that will pay off for them and the economy.

Posted on August 8, 2017

Fulfilling a portion of an executive order by President Donald Trump, the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have released a proposal to rescind the Waters of the United States rule that expanded federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act.

The proposal (link is external) published in the Federal Register on Thursday, July 28 would nix the 2015 WOTUS rule and reinstate the definition of the streams and wetlands subject to federal oversight under the act that existed prior to its finalization.

The publication of the proposal constitutes the first part of a two-step process to meet the Feb. 28 executive order directing the rule’s review. The second step will be “a separate notice and comment rulemaking that will consider developing a new definition” for the extent of federal jurisdiction under the act, say the EPA and Corps in a pre-publication copy of the proposed rescission.

Posted on August 7, 2017

In the twenty-first century, many employees can work remotely, making it theoretically possible for them to reside in far-flung, less expensive suburbs. But employers are moving in the opposite direction, abandoning smaller towns to relocate their headquarters in large cities.

Two of the latest to move are McDonald’s and Caterpillar. The Washington Post reports those companies are moving their headquarters out of Oak Brook and Peoria, Illinois. McDonald’s is moving to Chicago, Caterpillar to nearby Deerfield. They are not alone.

“Aetna recently announced that it will relocate from Hartford, Conn., to Manhattan; General Electric is leaving Connecticut to build a global headquarters in Boston; and Marriott International is moving from an emptying Maryland office park into the center of Bethesda,” the Post reports. “Such relocations are happening across the country as economic opportunities shift to a handful of top cities and jobs become harder to find in some suburbs and smaller cities.”

Posted on August 4, 2017

The global food and beverage market is growing, and that is helping pick up the slack as brick-and-mortar retailers struggle. According to a report from Cushman & Wakefield, the food industry’s growth is increasingly focused on delivering positive experiences to customers.

“Consumers today are driven by a sense of exploration or simply fear of missing out, and are always on the hunt for new experiences,” the report says. “Restaurants are providing novel, fun and memorable meals through pop-up restaurants, ‘secret’ venues and entertainment themed venues, offering customers a thrill for just finding the location.”

Cushman & Wakefield says the pressure to add restaurant space is reshaping the retail environment. “The space given over to cafés, bars and restaurants in shopping centres was traditionally less than 10% but, in some of the newer schemes it can be as much as 20% or even 30%,” the report finds.

Posted August 3, 2017

NAIOP Charlotte hosted its second annual Battle of the Bands on Thursday, July 27th and it was a hit! Check out photos from the Battle.

Many thanks to Grievous Angels, Irrashional and The Holdouts for their outstanding performances! Congratulations to Grievous Angels who took home the trophy again this year!

We are appreciative of all of our partners in success, whose support allowed NAIOP Charlotte to donate $5,000 to The Harvest Center.

Planning Committee
Jim Gamble, Bohler Engineering | Mike Kramer, Bank of America | Henry Pharr, III, Horack Talley | Dawn Royle, Investors Title | Cheryl Steele, Horack Talley | Amy Sullivan-Hicks, ECS Carolinas

Posted on August 3, 2017

A panel of experts dove into new regulatory trends affecting industrial developers, industrial property owners and those in the trucking/logistics space at I.CON: Trends and Forecasts last month. Download the presentation and catch up on all conference sessions and recordings on the resources page.

Click here to read the full article.

Posted on August 2, 2017

NAIOP asked some of the Research Foundation’s Distinguished Fellows, the nation’s foremost commercial real estate, economic and public policy experts in academia: What makes this CRE cycle different?

Mark Eppli
Secretary/Treasurer, NAIOP Research Foundation
Founder and CEO, Agracel, Inc.

“Commercial real estate debt levels, debt growth, and underwriting discipline. Since 2009 (the last peak), commercial real estate debt levels grew at 1.4 percent annual rate and over the last five years (the last trough) have grown at a 5.2 percent annual rate. The same statistics eight and five years before 2009 were over 10 percent, well outpacing inflation. Additionally, as CMBS lenders are net negative lenders (i.e. more loans coming due than new loans), commercial banks are more important in this cycle and since Q4 2015 have been tightening their lending standards. All mortgage debt (including single-family) outstanding remains below 2009 levels. So what makes this cycle different, reasonable mortgage lending growth and better mortgage debt discipline, will make for a longer development cycle.”

Posted on August 1, 2017

Written by Ron Derven

How can family-owned businesses stay competitive in the commercial real estate industry?

FIVE MEMBERS of NAIOP’s Family-owned Business I and II Forums offer their insights into the future of family-owned CRE businesses as well as some of their strategies to successfully manage and convey the business to the next generation. They also provide their insights on the benefits of the following:

• Creating a generational overlap so that the older generation can pass on its wisdom to the younger one.
• The importance of getting “real world” work experience outside of the family business.
• Making sure that new family members coming into the firm develop skills in at least one area of commercial real estate to add value to the company.
• Allowing only those family members working in the business to manage it.
• Ensuring that family members coming into the business gain the respect of other employees and the industry.
• How to avoid playing favorites when it comes to family.

Click here to read the full article.