Each
Wednesday, The Wrap presents a compilation of recent noteworthy commercial real
estate stories from a variety of publications. Below are five stories that
caught our eyes in recent days.
• “REIT
Landlords See Increasing Demand for 2014 Office Leasing Deals” by Mark
Heschmeyer of CoStar.
Several office REIT landlords are reporting that they’re
seeing increasing demand for 2014 leasing deals, Heschmeyer reports.
The overall U.S. vacancy rate declined from 12.7 percent at
mid-year 2012 to 12.1 percent as of June 30, according to CoStar data.
“However, many office REITs reported that in their suburban
markets office vacancy rates remained stubbornly high … and that regional net
absorption was still slightly negative at midyear,” Heschmeyer writes.
• “Pittsburgh
Scores Low Office Vacancy Rate” by John Jordan of GlobeSt.com.
Pittsburgh’s mid-year office vacancy rate was 8.2 percent,
the lowest of the 20 major U.S. office markets tracked by Avison Young.
Only Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. — which had a vacancy
rate of 9.3 percent — had rates in the single digits, according to Avison
Young’s report.
The average vacancy rate of the 20 markets tracked by Avison
Young was 14.7 percent, Jordan reports.
• “Cardlytics
Relocating to Ponce City Market” by Douglas Sams of the Atlanta Business
Chronicle.
Another tech company has plans to move to Ponce City Market,
the mixed-use development currently underway at a former Sears distribution and
warehouse center in Atlanta, Sams reports.
Software firm Cardlytics will relocate its two small
campuses in Atlanta to one central location at Ponce City Market, occupying
74,000 square feet, Sams reports.
Earlier this year, athenahealth also announced its plans to
move to the development.
“The project was envisioned as a campus-like environment
where innovative companies can enjoy authentic work spaces and a dynamic
experience,” Matt Bronfman, CEO of Ponce City Market developer Jamestown, told
Sams.
• VIDEO:
“Signs of Recovery in Lending” from REIT.com.
In
this clip, Calvin Schnure, NAREIT’s vice president of research and industry
information, discusses developments in the commercial lending market. Schnure
explains why we’re finally seeing a significant turnaround after the Great
Recession.
• “Long
Island Hopes New Moves Spark Technology Start-Ups” by Will James of The
Wall Street Journal.
Canon Inc. executives recently said they would consider
conducting research and developing products on Long Island, a good sign for
Long Island’s push to become a hub for technological innovation, James reports.
In February, the camera and copier company opened its Canon
U.S.A. headquarters on Long Island, but the site is “essentially a sales and
marketing operation, with most research and development going on overseas,” James
writes.
The leaders behind Long Island’s economic development
efforts are mostly focusing on small start-ups, but Canon could have a major
impact by attracting talent to the region, James reports.