In the News—Week of April 6 2021
Around the Nation
Big Tech, big tenants: Technology firms dominated office leasing in 2020
The companies that made work-from-home possible for millions of office workers are big players when it comes to leasing office space, The Real Deal reports. Figures from CBRE show Big Tech took out about 17% of the office leases last year. Tech, in fact, has dominated the office leasing game since 2013. Seattle saw the most tech-related office leases with 3.4 million square feet. Manhattan was second with 1.8 million square feet.
Energy & Environment
Beetmann to invest $20 million in clean energy project in Queretaro
Beetmann, a private company involved in sustainability, is investing more than $20 million to supply renewable energy to Queretaro Industrial Park, Mexico Business News reports. The project will allow companies in the complex to access renewable energy this year. “We are providing a greener alternative for energy supply, in addition to neutralizing the carbon footprint by up to 90%. The project will allow companies to generate savings between 5% and 30% in their immediate energy consumption and achieve up to a 90% reduction in the electricity cost in just 10 years,” said Beetmann’s CEO, Juan Carlos García de la Cadena tells a local newspaper.
Texas
1930s-era shopping center bulldozed as Montrose project gets underway
Skanska USA Commercial Development has started demolition on a 3-acre tract at Westheimer and Montrose in Houston, the Houston Chronicle reports. The 1930s-era shopping center, home to Half Price Books, was being torn down last week. Skanska USA bought the site last summer for $27 million, foreshadowing a major development. The company has not announced plans. “We don’t have any new information to share at this time, as we are still finalizing the plans for the site as a whole,” a Skanska USA Commercial Development executive said in a statement.
Crescent office, retail complex fetches close to $700 million
A Fort Worth firm paid nearly $700 million for The Crescent office and retail complex in Dallas, one of the largest transactions in North Texas history, The Dallas Morning News reports. Crescent Real Estate purchased the complex, marking it the third time the company has owned the property, which is just north of downtown Dallas. “We’ve been working on the purchase for months,” Crescent’s chairman, John Goff, tells the newspaper. “Given our knowledge of the asset and managing and leasing it for so long, we know it as well as anybody on the planet. We didn’t need to do a lot of work to understand the asset.”
Arizona
Macerich sells Paradise Valley Mall for $126.5M; major redevelopment set
Macerich has sold Paradise Valley Mall, a 1.2-million-square-foot shopping center built in 1978, to RED Development for $126.5 million, AZ Big Media reports. Macerich and RED are planning to redevelop the center into a mixed-used project that will be combined with nearby Desert Ridge Marketplace and Kierland Commons. Macerich retains 5% interest in the multiphase redevelopment, which will include office, retail and multifamily.
Mexico
Mexico City mayor says projects will draw $425.1M in private investment
Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum says that an ambitious plan for the capital’s historic center will draw $425.1 million of private investment. The projects include six hotels, three commercial buildings, three residential buildings and three museums. She says this shows the private sector’s confidence in the area. Sheinbaum says her administration has invested about $50 million in improving the infrastructure of the area.
