FILE Demand for top flight office space in the Salt Lake Valley is growing, according to two reports detailing the Wasatch Front commercial real estate market during the second quarter of the year.

Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News

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SALT LAKE CITY Demand for top flight office space in the Salt Lake Valley is growing, according to two reports detailing the Wasatch Front commercial real estate market during the second quarter of the year.

Both CBRE and Coldwell Banker Commercial released their respective studies on trends in the office, industrial and retail real estate sectors. A common theme was increasing demand as the states fiscal potency continues to remain among the best in the country.

The Coldwell Banker mid-year 2014 report states that steady yet positive changes are expected to occur over the remainder of the year. Class A office space in the downtown central business district showed improved viability for tenants looking for enhanced amenities, new construction and better transportation.

Expect to see the downtown office market remain unchanged throughout the year while tenants look for upgrades and renovations to be made in Class B and C buildings, the report states.

Class A buildings have high quality standard finishes, state of the art systems, exceptional accessibility along with a definite market presence. Class B properties have finishes that are fair to good for the area and systems that are adequate. Class C buildings compete for tenants requiring functional space at rents below the average for the area.

The overall progress observed in the Salt Lake office market offers good reason for optimism through the remainder of 2014, explained Lew Cramer, Coldwell Banker Commercial president and CEO.

The report notes that the average asking lease rate for the Salt Lake office market registered at $21.85 per square foot, a slight hike of 1.4 percent from last years overall average. Of the three top segments, Class A space showed the highest rate gains climbing 2.4 percent from 2013 to a current average asking lease rate of $24.58 per square foot. The increase came despite upward movement in the overall vacancy rates in the office market.

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Commercial real estate market improving, report says

PAKISTANS retail sector is undergoing a facelift, as several business groups are diverting significant investment to construction of modern retail infrastructure to take advantage of changing preferences of urban consumers, who now prefer to shop from superstores, hypermarkets and large malls for convenience and quality.

A population of 180m people with a huge youth bulge, rapid urbanisation and lack of modern retail space are said to be the main factors driving new corporate investments into the organised retail business.

The retail trade in Pakistan still remains at an early stage of development, dominated by street shopping. Theres an unlimited space for investment in the organised retail, notes Ahmed Khan, head of leasing at the Emporium, the countrys largest shopping mall being built in Lahore by the Nishat Group at an estimated cost of Rs10bn. The complex will also have a 123-room hotel with the largest banqueting facility, restaurants, nine-screen cinema complex and play area for children.

The modern retail format comprising hypermarkets, superstores and malls represents only a fraction of the total retail trade, encouraging investors to invest their money in this sector. Apart from Nishat, other major business groups investing in the creation of modern retail infrastructure in major cities include Arif Habib, Bismillah Group, Packages and Giga Group.

There is a visible change in consumer spending patterns. The new retail formats are replacing the old trend of street shopping. We expect a footfall of 40,000-50,000 a day at the Emporium, Ahmed argues. Many factors have contributed to the change in the trend: extreme weather, convenience, quality, choice and rising disposable incomes.

Wholesale and retail trade contributes 18.6 per cent to the gross domestic product and has a 31.9 per cent share in the services sector, according to the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2013-14. It grew by a respectable 5.2 per cent in the last financial year, compared with 3.38 per cent a year before.

Private consumption in Pakistan has increased over the last few years in spite of slow economic growth. The size of the retail market is estimated to be somewhere between Rs3.5 trillion and Rs4 trillion.

Pakistan was identified in 2011 by Deloitte and PlanetRetail as one of the 10 hidden heroes in the emerging markets with a huge potential for growth in the retail sector. Although the country is poor, if only a small share has discretionary spending power, this represents a sizable market for modern retailers, emphasises the report.

The Pakistani retail industry is one of the least concentrated in the world. There are few major chains. Low rate of car ownership, home refrigeration, purchasing power and relatively small number of modern retail formats means that most Pakistanis shop daily at small neighbourhood shops, it notes.

Overall, the traditional sector accounts for the majority of the countrys retail sales. However, in the long term, as competition increases, modern retail formats will gradually take an increasing share of the market.

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Corporate investment in retail sector - Newspaper - DAWN.COM

Rising construction costs have prevented Butler County residents from getting some new amenities such as restaurants, even while construction of mega-projects appears to be flourishing.

Fairfield Twp. had hoped to get a new Quaker Steak restaurant near the Menards home improvement store. Earlier this month, however, the man overseeing the project, Jim Combs, said an unexpectedly high price tag put it on the back burner indefinitely. The construction costs came in a half-million dollars over projections, he explained, and the economics simply didnt work.

At the same time, within less of a mile from each other, the $160 million expansion of Cincinnati Childrens hospital is under way, along with the construction of the Liberty Center, the $350 million mega-retail complex, even while contending with rising costs. The total cost of investment of Liberty Center increased from $300 million.

As we enter the third quarter of 2014, trends indicate that the marketplace is changing and construction prices are heading up. One strong indicator of this increase were seeing is the number of projects that are coming in over clients desired budget, said Kevin Cozart, vice president of the Messer Construction Company.

A report by the firm Building Design and Construction states that as of late last year, construction costs had increased for 22 consecutive months. Driving that increase were labor costs, amid concerns about the availability of skilled workers. The Turner Construction Company publishes a building cost index. That index has seen a 4.24 percent increase from a year ago.

Cozart said published costs are primarily based on material costs and labor rates, but they do not take into account subcontractor overhead and profit, which had sunk as low as five percent during the recession.

For the companies that survived the recession, there is finally an adequate flow of work. The overall economic situation has improved to the point that projects delayed or shelved during the recession are back online. Increased business activity is generating the need for additional space, Cozart said.

There are signs in some areas that the local market is picking up. Tim Bachman, the director of development for the city of Fairfield, said he has seen a rebound lately due to market demand.

Ive heard that several years ago, people were acquiring empty buildings because of the cost of construction and because they were cheap, he said. Now, those buildings, at least in Fairfield, are pretty absorbed by the market, so we are seeing people kicking tires on new construction.

However, smaller projects like restaurants might be canceled or modified, while large projects that have been in the planning for many years manage to stay on track, said Bachman.

The rest is here:
Rising costs crimp some construction projects while others flourish

Published: Saturday, 7/26/2014 - Updated: 2 minutes ago

BY JON CHAVEZ BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

Vacancies among retail space in metro Toledo fell to 12.9 percent from 13.2 percent over the first six months of 2014, according to a new midyear report by the Reichle Klein Group, a local commercial real estate firm.

The vacancy rate for industrial sites in the area also declined, falling to 7.5 percent from 7.8 percent between January and June.

Reichle Klein said the drop in retail vacancies was significant because it occurred even as two large anchor spaces Giant Eagle supermarkets became vacant when the chain left the Toledo market.

As a result of Giant Eagles departure, the vacancy rate for retail anchor space increased from 9.8 percent to 11.5 percent.

But overall, vacant retail space declined because of higher demand for smaller inline retail space in retail centers. The mid-year vacancy rate for inline retail space was 14.7 percent, down from 15.8 percent at the end of 2013.

Also, according to Reichle Klein, the vacancy situation was helped by the sale of two former Kmart stores one on Reynolds Road in Toledo to At Home stores, formerly Garden Ridge, and the other on Carronade Drive in Perrysburg to Kroger. Together the two stores have 202,347 square feet.

The average lease rate for retail space in the Toledo area fell to $7.43 a square foot from $7.62 at the end of 2013.

Reichle Klein said the rental rate declined because high-value space is primarily filled, leaving mostly less expensive space on the market.

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Retail vacancies drop in area

Queensbury

Two outlet center operators along Route 9 have been expanding their retail space, but with summer in full swing, neither is yet ready to announce who the new tenants might be.

"Some stores are starting buildout now," said Corey Shanus of Sobert Realty, which operates The Outlets at Lake George. "The construction is more or less done. We're still leasing it," he added.

"We're trying to be very selective in putting tenants together," Shanus added.

Farther up the road, the Outlet Shoppes of Lake George is building the first 30,000-square-foot phase of its planned 120,000-square-foot outlet center expansion.

It, too, is not yet ready to announce the new occupants.

The Outlets at Lake George, formerly known as the Lake George Plaza Outlet Center, expanded across Route 9 after acquiring the former Montcalm Restaurant and razing it.

Shanus said more than $2 million has been invested in rehabilitating the center.

An underground parking garage has been spruced up to make it more inviting, and a crosswalk was installed across Route 9 to connect the building that replaced the Montcalm with the original outlet building on the east side of Route 9.

Shanus said a ramp links the building on the Montcalm site to another outlet center, French Mountain Commons.

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Two outlets going all out

A La Crosse County committee gave its nod today to a $68 million proposal by Weber Holdings to build offices, retail space and 94 housing units on county-owned Lot C just south of the Law Enforcement Center in downtown La Crosse.

Weber Holdings, headed by Logistics Health Inc. CEO and founder Don Weber, was the committees narrow choice over a combined plan by Borton Construction, Three Sixty Real Estate Solutions and Doerflinger developer Mike Keil. Doran Companies of Bloomington, Minn., was taken out of the running almost immediately.

Along with the housing, the winning proposal calls for a cafe and market discussions already have begun with a potential, yet-unnamed market tenant along with 100,000 square feet of office space for 500 health care-related jobs Weber pledged it will add downtown over three years. It also has space as requested for Associated Bank, which had agreed to sell its building at 605 State St. to the county as a new administrative center if it could move to Lot C. The total taxable value of the finished complex was estimated at $54 million.

Development of Lot C is part of the countys interlocking plans that include the selling the administrative center at 400 N. Fourth St. to Stizo Development LLC a partnership of Three Sixty and Borton that would gut the building to remove asbestos and then convert it to student housing and shifting county offices to the Associated Bank site.

Like the Weber concept, the Borton-Three Sixty-Doerflinger proposal was a mix of office, retail and residential space, plus a hotel later on after the local market has time to absorb two other downtown area hotels now in the works. But the development would be in phases that run through 2020, including plans for adjacent land that now has the main post office and had until recently been a regional sorting site.

Members of the countys Administrative Center and Downtown Campus Study Committee acknowledged that while they liked both local presentations, the fact Weber Holdings wanted to build the entire complex as a whole rather than in segments gave it a slight edge. The inclusion of street level and underground parking was a plus as well, committee members said.

For more on this story, see Fridays Tribune or check back at http://www.lacrossetribune.com.

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County panel favors Weber plan for Lot C

It was a long but productive day for Don Weber.A La Crosse County committee gave a preliminary nod Thursday to Weber Holdings $68 million proposal to build offices, retail space and 94 housing units on the 2.3-acre downtown parking area known as Lot C.

The firm, led by Logistics Health Inc. CEO and Riverside Center developer Weber, was the committees narrow but consensus choice over a combined plan by Borton Construction, Three Sixty Real Estate Solutions and Doerflinger building owner/renovator Mike Keil. Doran Companies of Bloomington, Minn., was taken out of the running early among the three finalists after 5 hours of interviews Thursday afternoon.

Theyre all qualified developers, said Supervisor Joe Veenstra, chairman of the countys Administrative Center and Downtown Campus Study Committee. When the decisions as hard as it was, it means you had good proposals.

Along with the housing, the Weber Holdings proposal calls for a street-level caf and market discussions already have begun with a potential, yet-unnamed market tenant along with 100,000 square feet of office space for 500 health care-related jobs Weber pledged to add downtown over three years.

It also has room as requested for Associated Bank, which had agreed to sell its building at 605 State St. to the county as a new administrative center if it could move to Lot C. The total taxable value of the finished complex was estimated at $54 million.

Development of Lot C is part of the countys interlocking plans that include the selling the administrative center at 400 N. Fourth St. for $250,000 to Stizo Development LLC a partnership of Three Sixty and Borton that would gut the building to remove asbestos and then convert it to student housing and buying the current Associated Bank building for $4.6 million to convert into county offices.

Like the Weber concept, the Borton-Three Sixty-Doerflinger proposal was a mix of office, retail and residential space, plus a hotel later on after the local market has time to absorb two other downtown hotels now in the works. Both included rooftop green spaces and offered the county money for the lot itself, Weber Holdings $500,000 to $1.5 million, Borton-Three Sixty-Doerflinger $12.50 per square foot.

But the latter proposals development would be in phases that run through 2020, at some point potentially spreading into adjacent property that until recently had been a regional postal processing center. Phase One, from March 2015 to January 2016, would construct only the Associated Bank section, 3,000 square feet of retail or service space and 60 market-rate residential units.

Committee members acknowledged that while they liked both local presentations, the fact Weber Holdings wanted to build the entire complex as a whole, starting in summer 2015 and completed two years later, gave it a slight edge.

The inclusion of some street level and underground parking in the Weber plans was a plus as well, committee members said, though both proposals admitted the county and city likely will have to be enlisted to fully address the parking needs downtown.

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County favors Weber plan for Lot C: Offices, housing and retail

Plans submitted for The Crazy Horse Public House, in Stanmore

11:47am Thursday 24th July 2014 in News By Bruce Thain

Plans have been submitted to tear down a high street pub and build flats and retail space on the site.

Owners of The Crazy Horse public house, now called Crazy London, in Church Road, Stanmore have submitted the plans to Harrow Borough Council.

The documents on the council website propose the complete redevelopment of the site with the demolition of the pub and construction of a four storey block of 13 flats and shop space on the ground floor.

The plans are the latest for a pub in the borough submitted to the council.

Last week the authoritys planning committee gave planning permission for the demolition of the Sam Maguire Public House, in High Street, Wealdstone, to make way for nearly 30 flats.

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Pub site plans submitted

Abu Dhabi will add 778,000 metres of retail space over the next three years, representing eight percent of the total new shopping space (9.8 million metres) opened in 2013 in 180 cities globally.

The figures were revealed by Bassam Saleh, marketing manager of Bawadi Mall in Al Ain and based on a global study conducted by property adviser CBRE.

The study also found a total of 39 million metres of shopping centre retail space is currently under construction in the world's biggest cities, with Abu Dhabi having more retail space under development than anywhere in the Gulf.

Saleh said: "It does not come as a surprise to many that Abu Dhabi has the largest retail space under development in the GCC, because the capital of the UAE has been taking firm steps in becoming a world class city.

"Malls in the Emirate have standards that are on par with leading shopping destinations in the world, such as Paris, London and New York. Visitors feel they are in a five-star shopping arcade, in terms of services, ambience, promotions, outreach programmes and staff in stores and management."

"Bawadi Mall has adopted the 'edutainment' concept that has converted the shopping service into an experience enjoyed by all members of the family."

He added: "We adopt global best practices to make the visitors welcome and comfortable. One of the main reasons for the stupendous success of our approach is that we consider the visitor a tourist rather than a customer coming to shop. We greet them with entertainment and social activities that address the diversity of cultures living in the UAE."

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Abu Dhabi to add huge amount of new retail space

July 24, 2014

The man behind three Bartonsville retail developments is planning a major shopping-office-residential complex on Route 739 in Dingman Township.

Developer Jim DePetris of Plymouth Meeting-based DEPG Development Associates has confirmed that his company recently signed an agreement to buy more than 200 acres on Route 739 near the intersection of Log Tavern Road.

The land is on the same side of the road as the Dingman Delaware school complex.

The agreement is so new that it has not yet been presented to township officials, DePetris said.

He envisions the project happening in three phases.

The first phase will include the construction of 70,000 square feet of retail space for a supermarket and 10 to 15 retail stores.

The next phase will bring professional and medical offices. And a third phase will include some residential buildings, perhaps senior housing or townhouses, DePetris said.

The work of DEPG Development Associates is well known to shoppers in Monroe County.

DEPG is responsible for three popular projects on Route 611 in Stroud Township, including the Dick's Sporting Goods complex, Sonic drive-in restaurant and the strip mall with Moe's Southwestern Grill and Sleepy's mattress store.

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Developer eyes retail desert in Dingman Township