Each Wednesday, The Wrap presents a compilation of recent noteworthy commercial real estate stories from a variety of publications. Below are links to six stories that caught our eyes in recent days:
How the drop in oil prices is affecting commercial real estate, By Patricia Kirk, NREIOnline.com
Key Excerpt:
“Peter Muoio, executive vice president and chief economist at the online real estate marketplace Ten-X, explains that the declines in energy prices and jobs also has had a major impact on hotel stays and the oil-related financial sector in cities affected by massive layoffs, as well as industrial occupancy in some states with a heavy dependence on oil.”
Performance of retail REITs mixed as consumer preferences shift, By Karina Estrella, Urban Land Institute
Key Excerpt:
“Department stores, once the dependable anchor tenants at many malls, according to a Seeking Alpha analysis, have been hit the hardest by e-commerce and millennial trends as mall traffic sank 12.3 percent in November and December. This caused regional mall real estate investment trusts (REITs) to take a dive in 2016. According to the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), regional mall REITs posted total yearly returns of –5.2 percent.”
More hurdles ahead for foreign investors, By Beth Mattson-Teig, NREIOnline.com
Key Excerpt:
“Total global capital flows into the U.S. surged in 2015 due to some very large transactions that took place. Taking 2015 out of the equation, the $65.5 billion in sales that did occur in 2016 was still a nice increase compared to the $41.7 billion and $43.1 billion that occurred in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Cross-border investment also accounted for a bigger percentage of the total volume in 2016 at 13.4 percent as compared to 11.5 percent and 10.0 percent in 2013 and 2014, according to RCA.”
U.S. Food and Drug Administration looking for new space in Atlanta, By David Allison, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Key Excerpt:
“The FDA’s Atlanta complex currently consists of three leased buildings, where leases expire at the end of 2017 and in 2022. ‘The current leases are unable to provide the FDA Southeast Regional Office, Atlanta District Office, and Southeast Regional Laboratories (SRL) with the necessary office and special space to efficiently carry out its mission,’ notes a lease prospectus filed with the U.S. General Services Administration. ‘The new lease will provide a more modern and streamlined office layout and improve office utilization from 176 square feet per person to 103 square feet per person.’”
AmerisourceBergen plans $40 million ‘Amazon-like’ distribution center in metro Atlanta, By Urvaksh Karkaria, Atlanta Business Chronicle
Key Excerpt:
“The Chesterbrook, Pa.-based company will develop a 350,000-square-foot high-tech distribution center in Buford. The build-to-suit will be triple the size of the nearly 118,500-square-foot distribution center AmerisourceBergen will vacate in Suwanee.”
Hamilton Zanze buys Atlanta apartments for $109 million, its first east coast acquisition, By Jarred Schenke, Bisnow
Key Excerpt:
“Hamilton Zanze has purchased a portfolio of three properties in Smyrna: The Peak at Vinings Mountain, The Views at Vinings Mountain and Lakeside at Vinings Mountain, a 680-unit collection of circa 1980s apartments, collectively called The Residences at Vinings Mountain. The properties traded from Aimco for $109 million, according to Databank. Colliers International’s Will Mathews brokered the sale on behalf of Aimco.”