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Senate Returns to Health Care Debate, Potential Energy Legislation

Posted on July 14, 2017

Congress returns from their July 4 recess this week, with the Senate consumed by the debate over their version of healthcare legislation meant to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. While Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had hoped to pass a healthcare bill prior to the July 4 recess, he will now will try to accomplish that prior to the six-week summer recess beginning in August. Senator McConnell has begun to hint that goal may not be attainable, however, because of divisions within the Republican caucus.

The delay by the Senate on healthcare has prompted Republican leadership to try to fast-track bipartisan legislation, including NAIOP-supported energy legislation governing the development of energy-efficiency codes for commercial buildings. The bill, S. 1460, the Energy and Natural Resources Act of 2017, originally sponsored by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), could bypass the committee process and go directly to a floor vote. NAIOP worked with Senate staff to include language requiring a rule-making process for industry input, and that codes be economically and technically feasible. The prior Portman-Shaheen bill failed to advance when negotiations stalled in the last Congress.

Having passed their version of a healthcare bill, the House of Representatives plans to continue moving toward comprehensive tax reform legislation. This week, the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Tax Policy, chaired by Representative Peter Roskam (R-IL), will hold a hearing on July 13 on the impact of tax reform on small business. The hearing will be the third held by the committee as it moves to develop a bill that most anticipate will be ready this September.

Improving the Human Experience Makes Workers Happier

Posted on July 13, 2017

Nearly three-quarters of employees say being happy at work is the key to a good work experience. But how can companies create a happier work environment?

JLL spent a year surveying workers at 40 companies in a dozen countries. More than 7,000 people responded. “Our research shows that a positive workplace experience leads to happiness and that, in turn, improves productivity and quality of life,” says John Forrest, JLL’s Global and Americas CEO, Corporate Solutions. “Companies should think about how their real estate offers the right locations, technology, and design in order to capture the best from their employees.”

The report zeros in on three major areas: engagement, empowerment, and fulfillment. It also makes specific recommendations, such as changing the layout of a workspace.

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Bringing the Outdoors in with Living Walls

Posted on July 12, 2017

Written by Alvaro J. Ribeiro

Living wall systems can be simpler to install and maintain than one might expect — and can have meaningful impacts on building owners and occupants.

THE EMERGENCE of biophilic design and living green walls satisfies the human need to connect with nature, offers positive health benefits and provides welcome visual elements. (See “Plantscaping and the Value of Biophilic Design,” Development, Spring 2017.)

There’s no doubt that indoor plants can improve people’s health and mood. According to a 2015 study published in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology, “interaction with indoor plants can reduce physiological and psychological stress through suppression of autonomic nervous system activity and diastolic blood pressure and promotion of comfortable, soothed, and natural feelings.” Architects have devised various ways of incorporating indoor plants into the design of corporate, commercial, and even industrial work environments, including living green walls.

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Creating Vibrant Office Building Communities

Posted on July 11, 2017

Design firm Gensler says now is a time of “profound change in how design supports work in all its varied forms,” as the industry sees demand for new real estate products that are “a reflection of new and more collaborative ways of working.”

A forthcoming study by the NAIOP Research Foundation, “Activating Office Building Common Areas,” will look deeper at this trend, specifically examining buildings’ common areas and how some owners are “activating” these common spaces to make their buildings more vibrant.

Through surveys and interviews, the study examines the activities, designs, costs and more associated with creating vibrant communities inside office buildings.

Click here to read more.

Paul Ryan: Tax Reform Will Happen in 2017

Posted on July 10, 2017

With health care legislation moving along, House Speaker Paul Ryan is eager to pivot to tax reform. During a June 20 speech at the National Association of Manufacturers, the speaker discussed the GOP Blueprint for Tax Reform. He said the plan will eliminate certain taxes, including the Alternative Minimum Tax, and vows it will “clear out special-interest carve outs and excessive deductions, and focus on keeping those that make the most sense: home ownership, charitable giving, and retirement savings.” Finally, he promised to use the savings from closing loopholes to decrease tax rates.

For his part, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady says, “What we are hearing from our local businesses is: go bold, go permanent, and go now.”

NAIOP’s government affairs staff meets regularly with lawmakers to discuss tax reform legislation and to voice concerns regarding proposals that could harm the CRE industry. That includes measures that would eliminate or limit real estate like-kind exchanges under Section 1031 of the tax code, and end the capital gains treatment for real estate partnership “carried interests.”

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What the Amazon and Whole Foods Merger Means for CRE

Posted July 7, 2017

Written by Marie Ruff

Since its founding as an online bookstore in 1994, Amazon.com Inc. has increasingly expanded its reach in a quest to sell the full spectrum of goods from A to Z. Now, as a $136-billion-a-year company, Amazon offers everything from wristwatches to tires to blenders to fresh produce, and, of course, books. The announcement last Friday that Amazon would buy upscale grocery chain Whole Foods Markets, Inc., for $13.7 billion cash set off waves of speculation about what this acquisition means for the two retail giants – and what it portends more broadly for e-commerce and grocery retail. In 2016, Whole Foods reported sales of $16 billion and a retail footprint of 460 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, so the merger would establish Amazon’s strong presence in physical stores in dramatic and immediate fashion.

We asked some of NAIOP’s Distinguished Fellows – an elite group of academic thought leaders from real estate programs at top universities – for their perspectives on Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods, the advantages and challenges of Amazon’s expansion into brick-and-mortar grocery space, and what the future holds for commercial real estate retail.

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The Changing Landscape for Small Cap Markets

Posted on June 27, 2017

Commercial real estate is at the crossroads of major global changes. A variety of factors are impacting the industry, from moderate macroeconomic growth and space utilization shifts to changing interest rates and record pricing. Global economies have experienced noticeable slowdowns over the past couple of years, leading many central banks to resort to easing monetary policies, which put interest rates at or near zero. The United States economy, while also moderate, has maintained an upwards growth trajectory, which has cast it as a comparative bright spot in the gloomy global economic landscape.

Commercial real estate investment trends mirrored the global economic slowdown and broader uncertainty over the past year and a half.  Investors took a pause from the strong pace of investments recorded in 2015 as they weighed the impact of economic and geopolitical changes upon markets. Commercial investments in the U.S. echoed the global trends, with sales volume in large cap[i] markets closing the year at $488.6 billion, an 11 percent decline on a yearly basis, according to Real Capital Analytics. The first quarter 2017 sales volume came in at $94.8 billion, an 18 percent drop year-over-year.

Click here to read the full article written by George Ratiu.

Welcome New NAIOP Charlotte Members

Posted June 28, 2017

We are proud to introduce our new association members! The following is a list of individuals who have joined NAIOP Charlotte since March 8th:

  • Barrett Blackburn, LandDesign Inc.
  • Charlie Blanton, Choate Construction Company
  • McKenzie Brady, US Lawns
  • Ross Bridgham, Choate Construction Company
  • Terry Brown, Horack Talley
  • Devin Catlin, Troutman Sanders LLP
  • Peter Greve, Pesta, Finnie & Assoc., LLP
  • Charles Jonas, Foundry Commercial
  • Anthony Lathrop, Moore & Van Allen
  • David Lee, Stiles Corporation
  • Matthew Main, McVeigh & Mangum Engineering
  • Vincent Michalesko, The Fallon Company
  • Patrick Nolan, Choate Construction Company
  • Melinda Parrish-Brumfield, Bennett & Pless
  • Chris Rogers, Metromont Corporation
  • William Simerville, Foundry Commercial

House Advances Legislation for Brownfield Development, Air Pollution Standards

Posted on June 26, 2017

Last Thursday, the House Energy and Commerce’s Subcommittee on Environment voted unanimously to advance the Brownfields Enhancement, Economic Redevelopment, and Reauthorization Act of 2017, which would reauthorize the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfield program for the first time since 2006. The program provides funding to states for the cleanup and repurposing of contaminated industrial and commercial sites.

Because of the threat of contamination, as well as liability and other cost concerns, developers and lenders tend to avoid brownfield sites. The EPA program, therefore, plays a major role in helping get projects off the ground in communities across the country. Since its inception in 1995, it has yielded a substantial return on taxpayers’ investment: On average, each dollar spent on brownfield cleanup has leveraged $17.54 of private investment. The program also boosts nearby property values and has resulted in the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs.

The subcommittee also approved H.R. 806, the Ozone Standards Implementation Act of 2017, which would delay implementation of the EPA’s controversial new ozone standards and allow the agency to take into account economic and technological feasibility when setting standards in the future. H.R. 806 would also require the EPA to submit a report to Congress detailing the impact of foreign pollution on compliance with these standards.

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Enroll Now: Two Online Courses Start in August

Posted on June 23, 2017

Advanced Development Practices and Basic Real Estate Finance start the week of August 7. The NAIOP Center for Education online and on-demand courses deliver exceptional education in 10 core competency areas. Read More

Mecklenburg County Code Enforcement Releases Results of Customer Satisfaction Survey

Posted on June 26, 2017

During Tuesday's meeting of the Building Development Commission (BDC), Ed Gagnon, a consultant with Customer Service Solutions, Inc. provided a presentation detailing the results of a recently conducted customer satisfaction survey.  Responses indicated those surveyed were generally more pleased than they had been during a similar survey conducted in 2014.  However, the top areas of concern (ability to reach the right person, timeliness of permit request process, and timeliness of inspections) are the same as they were three years ago and appear to be more significant concerns.  For a summary of the results, please click the following link:

LUESA Customer Service Survey 2017

Celebrating 50 Years of NAIOP

Posted on June 22, 2017

NAIOP celebrates 50 years of advocacy, education and professional excellence.

NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, began in 1967, when nine owners and developers of industrial parks in the eastern U.S. first met on September 12, 1967, near Philadelphia. Their goal was to support the emerging niche of industrial parks by addressing the need for standardized covenants and restrictions, building requirements and beneficial legislation and taxation.

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Commercial Real Estate Terms and Definitions

Posted June 15, 2017

The NAIOP Research Foundation has released a new glossary titled "Commercial Real Estate Terms and Definitions." It contains more than 220 terms relating to development, investment, leasing, office, industrial, retail and more.

New terms added this year include:

Bookmark this resource for future use and utilize other reports published by the Foundation. For the latest news about the Foundation, read the current newsletter or visit naiop.org/foundation.

View the Glossary

Value, not Potential Interest Rate Increases, Driving CRE Retail Investment

Posted June 9, 2017

The Federal Reserve Board is indicating that it intends to increase interest rates twice more this year. But a new report from Real Capital Markets indicates that the expected rate hikes are not causing potential investors to move their purchases up.

“[I]n spite of rate increases dating back to last Fall and the prognosis for even further hikes, investors aren’t motivated to accelerate their acquisition plans in order to lock in rates at what continue to be extremely low rates. According to the survey, almost 63 percent of respondents said interest rate activities will not be the motivating factor,” the report states.

Instead, investors tell Real Capital Markets they are motivated by value.

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Uber Moves to Shake Up Trucking

Posted June 8, 2017

First Uber changed the taxicab industry – now it wants to enter the trucking business. The company is launching a new app that is supposed to make it easier for truckers to find cargo.

“Uber Freight is an app that matches trucking companies with loads to haul. We take the guesswork out of finding and booking freight, which is often the most stressful part of a driver’s day. What used to take several hours and multiple phone calls can now be achieved with the touch of a button,” writes Uber’s Eric Berdinis in a blog post.

The company promises it will pay for every load quickly, “within a few days, fee-free.” If drivers have to wait too long to for a load, Uber promises to compensate them for their time.

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Urgent Care Facilities Fill Up Empty CRE Spaces

 

Posted June 7, 2017

report from the rating agency Morningstar finds that the number of urgent care facilities has jumped more than 20 percent since 2014, as aging baby boomers and millennials with young families seek out convenient medical treatment. “About 96 percent of urgent care centers had more patient visits in 2015 compared with the year-earlier period, according to the Urgent Care Association of America,” the report says.

Many of the newer facilities are taking space in former retail buildings such as strip malls.

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Office Space Demand Forecast: Second Quarter 2017

Posted May 30, 2017

The NAIOP Office Space Demand Forecast (released semiannually in Q2 and Q4) gives an efficient, accurate forecast of future and current conditions in the U.S. office real estate market for use by NAIOP members and the real estate community.

The current forecast calls for approximately 39.7 million square feet to be absorbed in 2017 – about 10 million square feet per quarter – similar to the 41.4 million square feet actually absorbed in 2016.

Read the Office Space Demand Forecast, Second Quarter 2017 online, and learn more about how you can support the work of the NAIOP Research Foundation.

View the Current Forecast

Data Center Leasing Activity Outlook

Posted May 23, 2017

By: Kelly McBride, Jeff Groh, and Allen Tucker

Increasing demand for cloud-based services is fueling data center leasing activity.

AS ADOPTION of cloud technologies to support the Internet economy and digital content-driven consumption accelerates, demand for third-party data centers that support the cloud-managed service sector is projected to double in the next five years. Globally, the multitenant data centers (MTDC) market is expected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.1 percent between 2015 and 2018. Market absorption for MTDCs, measured in megawatts (MW), is increasing exponentially in many U.S. metro areas, which currently represent 44 percent of the global market. 

Today’s data center IT decision makers are using increasingly sophisticated criteria when they shop for space and power. The “big six” data center REITs — Equinix, Digital Realty, DuPont Fabros Technology, CoreSite Realty, CyrusOne and QTS — have continued their development binge, while smaller MTDC players also made some notable acquisitions in 2016.  As the data center market grows, cloud providers want to bring data applications and storage closer to consumers while decreasing latency and increasing reliability, opening new markets for potential data center construction. More flexible buildouts are allowing diverse players to enter a market once dominated by only the largest providers.

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Creating Community-oriented Office Environments

Posted May 23, 2017

Landlords and tenants have a shared interest in designing office environments that foster collaboration and innovation, with the goal of attracting talented workers and enhancing their job satisfaction, well-being and productivity.

CRE’s Technology Generation Gap

Posted May 23, 2017

Not surprisingly, what people think about technology seems to depend on when they were born.

Coldwell Banker Commercial surveyed CRE professionals and broke the results down into two groups: those 45 and younger, and those older than 45. In those groups, 65 percent of younger workers think the CRE industry is lagging behind other businesses in its use of technology. Some 68 percent of the older professionals say technology adoption is keeping pace with other industries.

When it comes to ease of use, 80 percent of the younger workers say they’re comfortable with technology, while only 58 percent of older workers say they are. Older workers are more likely to think personal relationship skills are more important than technology.

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