How stormwater retention paid dividends for three sites, By Anthony Paletta, Urban Land Magazine
“These three examples were among many showcased in the Institute’s recent report, Harvesting the Value of Water: Stormwater, Green Infrastructure, and Real Estate, which highlighted the numerous ways in which water is not merely a threat requiring defensive measures, but ‘one that can be harnessed to make cities more sustainable and livable.’ These examples ranged from a suburb near Dallas to a flood-prone site in New Orleans to a pier development in Boston—locations prone both to excess water and to too little water—and featured an assortment of tools that can be combined given the circumstances. It is both an address of problems for cities and individual properties and sometimes even a means to make a profit.”
Cap rates drop as competition for medical office buildings heats up, By Donna Mitchell, NREIOnline.com
“The intense vying for urgent care centers, surgery centers and other outpatient medical facilities is also driving down cap rates in the sector. Cap rates on MOBs tightened to 6.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, after holding steady at 6.7 percent for the three previous quarters, according to the latest information from Revista, an Arnold, Md.-based property research firm that examines all out-patient medical properties. In its cap rate report, Revista examines a relatively small sampling of four transactions in four quartiles.”
Community drives development, By Jennifer Castenson, Multifamily Executive
“‘It takes not a development, but a community of different product to make everyone feel at home,’ Earnshaw says. ‘These demographics are looking at different price points depending on where they are in their life cycle. In a community [like the Next Generation Development], they can live together and interact continuously all day long. They can eat together, shop together, play together. That’s important for the future—to provide a community that can accommodate all different age groups and reduce the gaps between the generations.’”
Lidl unveiles plans for a $100 million Georgia facility, By Evelina Croitoru, Commercial Property Executive
“Lidl revealed that the company intends to invest $100 million in a new distribution center that will also incorporate the company’s regional headquarters in Cartersville, Ga. Through this investment, the firm will create 250 new direct jobs over the next five years. By next summer, the retail giant intends to open roughly 100 stores along the East Coast, creating a total of 5,000 jobs.”
Foreign capital eager to invest in US mezz debt to fill construction lending gap, By Randyl Drummer, CoStar
“With prompting from regulators, banks are becoming more cautious when it comes to construction and acquisition lending, and there are fewer financing options available in the downsized CMBS market. As a result, developers have turned to an expanding number of private lenders and funds, including foreign capital groups in Asia and the Middle East eager to invest in U.S. real estate through bridge and mezzanine debt rather than higher-risk direct equity investments.”