Posted on February 21, 2018

By: Richard B. Peiser, Ph.D. and Raymond G. Torto, Ph.D.

Office building owners have found that to remain competitive in today’s marketplace, they must enliven their buildings by offering more amenities and adding vibrancy to the common areas. Some have introduced a range of new amenities, including outdoor workspaces and food trucks, and they have also programmed areas with happy hours, featured speakers and other activities. The common element in these amenities is that they all “activate” the common space by creating opportunities for socialization among tenants and the opportunity to work in areas beyond the tenant’s suite.

The study examines the following:

• New and different types of amenities that owners are including in buildings, their locations within the building, what they cost and how they are funded.
• Programming or social gatherings in building common areas, the types of activities offered, their frequency, what they cost and how they are funded.
• Whether coworking space is becoming an amenity that owners must offer in their buildings so that tenants can have access to space for occasional overflow situations.

Click here to download.

Posted on February 21, 2018

Thursday's Rules Review Commission meeting in Raleigh yielded an effective date of March 1, 2018, for N.C. Session Law 2017-10, formerly known as SB131. There’s a portion of this law that exempts buildings with primary occupancies of F (factory), S (storage) or U (utility/misc.) from certain energy efficiency standards. 

So, customers who plan to apply for permits to be issued on or after March 1 have the option of utilizing N.C. Session Law 2017-10. Again, this applies only to buildings with a primary occupancy of F, S or U.

Posted on February 20, 2018

The federal budget deal signed by President Trump contains a number of wins for real estate, including a temporary extension of federal flood insurance and extension of tax provisions that include relief from debt forgiveness, the deductibility of mortgage insurance premiums, and several energy-efficiency related provisions.

Flood Insurance

Extends the National Flood Insurance Program until March 23, giving lawmakers time to work on longer term reauthorization and reform legislation. It also adds $27 billion in mitigation and resiliency funds to address issues arising from last year's hurricanes. The extension makes $12 billion available under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program to fund U.S. Army Corp of Engineers flood mitigation projects.

Click here to read more.

Posted on February 7, 2018

Call for Nominations
Annual NAIOP NC Awards - Deadline is Tuesday, February 20, 2018

Annual NAIOP NC Awards 

Join NAIOP NC as we celebrate the "Best of the Best" in North Carolina's Commercial Real Estate Industry on Thursday, March 22, 2018 during the NAIOP NC Conference at Pinehurst Resort.

Now Accepting Nominations

Awards are given to acknowledge achievements in NAIOP participation, development, and other special categories to include:

• Developer of the Year
• Project of the Year
• Developing Leader of the Year

Award Submissions are accepted online or by email to [email protected].
Click here for more information.
Submission deadline is Tuesday, February 20, 2018.

Posted on January 30, 2018

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department has been diligently working on Charlotte Place Types and Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), a city-wide effort aimed at updating the policies and regulations that guide growth and development in our community. The project is scheduled to meet some major milestones in 2018 with a draft Place Types Policy Document ready for public review in August and adoption of new Transit Oriented Development (TOD) zoning districts expected in December. The success of this project is dependent upon receiving input all our community stakeholders and we believe your organization can help us reach an important audience. Therefore, would you please take a minute to:

• Sign up for updates at charlotteudo.org for blog posts, upcoming events, and quarterly newsletters;
• Like @CLTPlanning on Facebook for fun facts, relevant articles, and short surveys. 

Posted on January 24, 2018

Annual NAIOP NC Awards scheduled for March 22

Join NAIOP NC as we celebrate the "Best of the Best" in North Carolina's Commercial Real Estate Industry on Thursday, March 22, 2018 during the NAIOP NC Conference at Pinehurst Resort.

Now Accepting Nominations

Awards are given to acknowledge achievements in NAIOP participation, development, and other special categories to include:

• Developer of the Year
• Project of the Year
• Developing Leader of the Year

Award Submissions are accepted online or by email to [email protected].
Click here for more information.

Posted on January 16, 2018

NAIOP asked some of the Research Foundation’s Distinguished Fellows, the nation’s foremost commercial real estate, economic and public policy experts in academia: How do you cultivate leadership skills in your organization? 

Click here to see what they said.

Posted on January 17, 2018

Analysis by Reis, Inc. shows the U.S. office market in 2017 experienced a slowdown in tenant expansions while supply growth stayed at about the same level as in 2016. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the survey of 79 metropolitan areas revealed that net absorption at the end of 2017 was at its lowest since 2012. In 2017, developers added 37.6 million square feet, only 1 million square feet more than in 2016, which may mitigate slower absorption rates. Vacancy increased during the fourth quarter of 2017 in 33 of the 79 markets, with New York having the lowest (8.7 percent) and Dayton, Ohio, the highest (27 percent). According to the report, growth in absorption has been falling in part because tenants have become more efficient in how they use their space, eliminating private offices and encouraging employees to work closer together. The report stated, “office-based industries are healthy, but tenants have persisted in curbing overall leasing patterns.”

View the current NAIOP Office Space Demand Forecast.

Posted on January 15, 2018

By: Jay Todisco

A prototype design demonstrates the viability of multistory distribution centers in land-constrained North American submarkets.

By now, all commercial real estate professionals are familiar with the growth of e-commerce and its impacts on every aspect of retail sales and logistics, from a product’s point of origin to the consumer’s doorstep. CRE professionals – and the buildings they design and develop – must respond to these quickly evolving market demands.

Posted on January 10, 2018

Join NAIOP NC as we celebrate the "Best of the Best" in North Carolina's Commercial Real Estate Industry on Thursday, March 22, 2018 during the NAIOP NC Conference at Pinehurst Resort.

Now Accepting Nominations

Awards are given to acknowledge achievements in NAIOP participation, development, and other special categories to include:

• Developer of the Year
• Project of the Year
• Developing Leader of the Year

 Award Submissions are accepted online or by email to [email protected].

Posted on January 3, 2018

For the article, “9 Big Trends That Will Shape 2018,” Fast Company interviewed systems thinkers, industrial designers and artificial intelligence (AI) specialists and asked them to name the technology trends and forces they see ahead in the next year. Three of the ideas the designers predicted are:

• User-Friendly Government: A rise in tools dedicated to informing people of local elections, decision-making processes and regulations.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Design: AI Designers “will lead multidisciplinary teams in the creation and design of the era of artificial intelligence.” Much the way design humanized technology, design will play a critical role in the advancement of AI.
• Disaggregation of Core Technology: Digital and physical design will become indistinguishable as the core technology found in smartphones (e.g., cameras, microphones and screens) is disaggregated and embedded into different environments (e.g., clothing, homes). No longer will people be staring at their smartphone screens but instead generating and gathering data fluidly in their wider environment.

Posted on December 29, 2017

The NAIOP Office Space Demand forecast has shifted upward to above 10 million square feet of absorption in 2018, said Dr. Josh Harris on the recent exclusive NAIOP member webinar on what's shaping office space demand. What's the outlook for the U.S. economy and what does it mean to you? Find out in the full archived webinar. 

Click here to view the webinar.

Posted on December 28, 2017

Written by Paul Briggs

With retailers pivoting to better serve customers both online and in stores, an important shift is underway in the industrial real estate sector. Warehouses, historically viewed as cost centers where goods sat waiting to be shipped to a store, are evolving into profit centers that help retailers maximize revenue and differentiate from their competition. With strategically-located fulfillment centers, retailers can get goods into the hands of impatient consumers faster. Warehouses located closer to customers also make it easier to attract workers to fill the abundant fulfillment job openings.

This shift has fueled tremendous growth in warehouse demand and rents. The resultant value creation has generated the potential for superior investment performance in comparison to other major commercial property types over the past five years. Anticipating continued strength, investors have bid cap rates down to new lows.

Click here to read the full article.

Posted on December 27, 2017

On November 30, 2017, the U.S. House of Representative passed H.R. 3017, the Brownfields Enhancement, Economic Redevelopment and Reauthorization Act of 2017, which would allow up to $250 million annually to clean up brownfield sites during 2018-2022. The legislation, sponsored by Congressman David McKinley (R-WV), seeks to assist communities in restoring the contaminated land to productive use.

Click here to read the full article.

Posted on January 2, 2018

Written by Camille Galdes

Transportation demand management strategies, which increasingly include ride-hailing services, have evolved from a negotiating tool to an amenity.

In just a few years, ride-hailing services have revolutionized how people move around in their daily lives. According to a January 2017 Business Insider article, in more than 500 cities around the world, anyone with a smartphone can now call an Uber car to their location. Similarly, Lyft reaches people in 300 cities across the U.S. These tech-savvy companies allow users to request and pay for rides straight from their phones, enabling users to pick up rides on the go that usually cost less than local cabs. Now that ride-hailing is nearly ubiquitous — and “uber” has become a verb — developers and property managers are increasingly using these services to boost the profile and profitability of their properties.

Click here to read the full article.

Posted on December 26, 2017

The volume of world trade has exploded – along with the need for expanded intermodal infrastructure. Examine best practices for building a smooth and efficient supply chain that operates between seaports, railroads and business parks in this session recap from CRE.Converge, and download the full presentation on the conference resources page.

Posted on December 21, 2017

Has densification of the office environment reached a tipping point? Yes, say research directors from national real estate brokerage, data and investment firms, whose consensus is that on the whole, office densification is either approaching or has already reached a tipping point, as most of the larger office space users have already downsized and the smaller ones that are left to downsize are not expected to move the market.

Click here to read the full article.

Posted on December 20, 2017

"Clear sailing ahead," says Dr. Mark Dotzour on an economic outlook for 2018, kicking off a recent NAIOP webinar on the economy and what's driving demand for office space. This longest economic expansion since World War II – nine years and counting – is showing no hint of a recession, thanks to job creation and rising wages and consumer confidence. Listen to the full archived webinar, a NAIOP member benefit.

Listen to the webinar here.

Posted on December 19, 2017

Last Friday, House and Senate negotiators came to an agreement on what is sure to be far-reaching reform of our existing tax code. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will be voted on this week and is expected to pass and be signed by President Trump.

This legislation, when passed, represents an important victory for NAIOP members and the commercial real estate industry. For many years, the debate surrounding tax reform gave rise to ideas that would have caused long-term damage to our industry, including the elimination of 1031 like-kind exchanges, ending capital gains tax treatment for real estate carried interests, and not allowing deductibility for interest payments on the financing for real estate projects.

The active involvement of NAIOP members and NAIOP's legislative team in this important public policy debate helped shape the final product to ensure that commercial real estate remains a vibrant contributor to our nation's economy. This tax reform legislation will:

Posted on December 18, 2017

In the wake of last week’s cybercrime attack, Mecklenburg County is continuing to make progress on restoring permitting systems to full functionality. LUESA is running tests on the POSSE system today, and pending those results, is hoping to have it back up and running by tomorrow or Thursday.

LUESA director Ebenezer Gujjarlapudi told REBIC today he is confident that no plans or review comments were lost during the hack, so the department should be able to pick up where they left off once everything is back online.

Code Enforcement has been averaging about 1,000 inspections a week since the system collapsed, so they don’t expect there will be much (if any) of a backup once the system returns to normal. In addition, the County says they’ve had a number of on-schedule reviews completed this week using the paper process, and once the system is back up, they’ll contact all customers in the queue to let them know how they’ll be proceeding with their scheduled reviews. Again, they seem to expect a minimal disruption.

Click here to read more.