Each Wednesday, The Wrap presents a compilation of recent noteworthy
commercial real estate stories from a variety of publications.
Below are four stories that caught our eyes in recent days.
• "CRE
Holds Tight As S&P Predicts 25% Chance of Another Recession" by
Jacqueline Hlavenka of Globe St.
Is another recession on the horizon? A new report from
Standard & Poor’s (S&P), citing disappointing U.S. job growth and
international financial woes, says there is a 20 percent to 25 percent chance
of an economic relapse over the next two years.
Concerns about the economic road ahead have large
corporations and businesses holding off on making major real-estate decisions,
Kenneth McCarthy, an economist at Cushman & Wakefield, told Hlavenka.
“They are not making decisions unless
they have to,” McCarthy said. “Having said that, businesses are in good shape,
but they are just not taking risk. Slow growth is the mode we are in, and it is
certainly reflected in the real estate business, and the one exception to that
story has been the technology sector, which remains extremely active and strong
both in terms of economic impact and hiring and in terms of real estate.”
“I’m not surprised that S&P is saying this,” added Peter
Kozel, chief economist for Colliers International. “There’s been a lot of talk
about the possibility of a recession next year.”
• “Highwoods
Closes On Trophy Office Tower in Atlanta” by Finerve Holder of CoStar.
Highwoods Properties grabbed some major headlines in Atlanta
recently with its $146.7 million purchase of Two Alliance Center in Buckhead.
The 29-story, Class-A tower is LEED Gold-certified.
The building is 92 percent leased with no lease expirations
until 2017. Tishman Speyer, the seller, granted Highwoods $6.4 million to pay
for closing costs, free rent and other tenant concessions.
• “Location
Strategy: Do Downtowns Go With Dentures?” by Robert Carr for National Real
Estate Investor.
As the demand for seniors housing increases, developers are
looking to use downtown sites in metropolitan areas to build such facilities.
But politicians in some of these communities, looking instead to have exciting
destination spots in their central business districts, are doing their best to
block seniors-housing communities from taking root, according to Carr.
Seniors housing developers like to build in downtowns
because it means residents can have access to surrounding restaurants and
shopping, but doing so often requires building high-rises, which can pose an
issue for seniors.
“It really depends on the downtown if they have these
friendly neighborhoods, but the seniors love to take in what a downtown has to
offer,” Todd Spittal, whose company Provision Living has two seniors housing
properties in downtown St. Louis, told Carr. “It is hard to understand why a
downtown would turn down an elderly facility to make it move five to six miles
down the road.”
• VIDEO:
“Transportation Costs Drive Industrial” from Globe St.
In the clip below, Michael Markey, executive vice president
at Jones Lang LaSalle, discusses the factors driving the industrial real-estate
market, particularly in the Northeast.