In this tough economic climate, worried consumers have swapped “wants” for “needs.” As Ross Glickman, chairman & CEO of Urban Retail Properties L.L.C., puts it, “I think people are holding back on their discretionary spending. They’re waiting to see how the market goes.” That will potentially spell some hard times for specialty retailers that thrived during the long economic expansion—those in areas like jewelry, home electronics, clothing and restaurants. Those retailers are rethinking their growth plans for 2008, and retail real estate property owners are following suit. Although many of their plans will reduce the aggregate number of stores and…

In today’s economy, office investors in search of deals tend to prefer lower-risk primary markets. But more affordable prices are drawing some to secondary markets, and small banks can often facilitate investments there. “The pricing is not as hard, and you’re not looking for a lot of debt,” said Jack Minter, managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s Dallas office. Acquisitions of trophy assets, though, may prove more difficult to fund. “If you’re looking for an 80 percent loan-to-value in Columbus, Ohio, you’re still toast.” Despite the proportional housing-crunch effects, the following cities offer opportunities for investors, with high yields…

The month of March proved to be a test of building owners’ ability to protect themselves against disaster. On March 14, as many as 14 tornadoes touched down in Georgia, including Downtown Atlanta and its surrounding communities. One person was killed and many of the submarket’s commercial buildings were damaged, including the Georgia World Congress Center. March also saw two deadly crane collapses: Seven people died when a crane broke away from a residential tower under construction in Midtown Manhattan, and 10 days later, a falling crane killed two people at a high-rise condominium project in Miami.The series of events—just…

The JBG Cos. has bought two North Bethesda, Md., properties for $80 million. Together, the class A buildings contain 346,000 square feet. The are located on the Rockville Pike near the Montgomery Mall.Holiday Fenoglio Fowler’s senior managing directors Bob Donhauser and Bill Asbill, and director Cary Abod, helped the firm secure financing, a five-year fixed rate loan, from ING Real Estate. Th market is tight for office space now, with rents in the Montgomery County area hitting a new high of $33.75 per square foot in Class A buildings, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield Inc., which also noted…

The government of Ontario is on the verge of awarding a new series of grants to local businesses, a move that promises to stimulate demand for certain kinds of real estate indirectly, particularly space suitable for high-tech research or manufacturing. The primary thrust of the program, known as the Next Generation of Jobs Fund, is to promote job creation and retention, but it is structured such that real estate expansion by the recipients will be a likely byproduct. All together, the province will be awarding about $1.15 billion over the next five years. Its target industries include biopharmaceutical R&D, green…

Corporate real estate departments are focused more than ever on supporting corporate expansion into new global markets and transforming workplaces into more collaborative areas to attract talent, according to a panel of top corporate real estate professionals and service providers. The panel, co-sponsored by CoreNet Global and CPN, convened Monday at the CoreNet Global Summit in San Diego. All panelists agreed that global expansion is a mandate at large corporations. While the economies of the United States and Western Europe are challenged by the economic slowdown, Nokia sees significant expansion opportunities in countries such as Brazil and other markets in…

Denver-based UDR Inc. broke ground today on a $1 billion, 99-acre multi-family, retail and commercial development in the Dallas suburb of Addison, Texas. In addition to being the largest development ever undertaken by UDR, the project–dubbed Vitruvian Park–is also Addison’s first major sustainable green initiative.  The first development phase will feature 667 multi-family housing units and a 12-acre public park. Leasing is projected to begin by the end of 2009 with occupancy expected to be available at the beginning of 2010. All phases of Vitruvian Park (pictured) are expected to be completed in 2017. “The proximity to jobs, entertainment and…

The San Diego area’s economy will remain beset by job losses in real estate and weak growth in other sectors for at least another two quarters, according to the annual UCLA Anderson Forecast from the University of California–Los Angeles Anderson School of Management.  The report was presented this morning at the UCLA Anderson Forecast San Diego Conference to an audience from the San Diego business community.  “Our forecast for the next two years looks for real estate weakness to gain the upper hand in the next two quarters, leading to small losses in non-farm payroll employment, a modest spate of…

If you’re an apartment property buyer and can obtain financing, now is a good time to find opportunities. But developers would do well to lay low. That was the message from Greg Willett, vice president of research & analysis for M/PF Yieldstar, speaking today during the session “The Flight to Multi-Family: Today’s Apartment Market” at the National Association of Real Estate Editors’ 42nd annual real estate journalism conference.  Generally speaking, few U.S. cities have been overbuilt, he noted, listing only Houston, Phoenix and Austin as markets with significant overdevelopment and Atlanta and Seattle as markets to watch. But the credit…