In the News—Week of August 2 2021
Around the Nation
Delta variant prompts Twitter to close S.F., New York offices
Open and shut. Twitter reopened its San Francisco and New York offices only to shut them down ahead of an expected surge in COVID-19 cases, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Twitter said it will pause reopening elsewhere. Twitter’s reopening was seen as a positive sign of Big Tech companies getting employees back to the office and the beginning of a recovery for the office market. Google and Apple are also delaying mandatory office returns until at least October, the paper reported.
Energy & Environment
Government announces $60M for centers to help local manufacturers
The U.S. Department of Energy is investing $60 million in funding for its largest-ever cohort of university-based centers to assist small- and medium-sized manufacturers in reducing their carbon emissions and lowering energy costs, the department announced on its website. The 32 centers, called industrial assessment centers, also train the next generation of energy-efficiency workers. The program has provided nearly 20,000 no-cost assessments for small- and medium-sized manufacturers and more than 147,000 recommendations for improvement measures.
Texas
Indoor mini-golf course to serve as anchor for shopping center
Just what downtown Houston needed — a high-tech miniature golf course inside a restaurant/upscale nightclub. Puttshack agreed to be the anchor tenant at The Shops at Houston Center, the Houston Chronicle reports. Puttshack will occupy more than 26,000 square feet in the center at 1200 McKinney next year. The Chicago-based company rolled out the concept in April in Atlanta and has other upcoming locations in Oak Brook, Illinois, Miami, Boston, and Nashville, Tennessee. Puttshack operates three locations in London. “Houston is a booming, top priority market for us, and we are very excited to be an anchor tenant in the Shops at Houston Center,” Puttshack CEO Joe Vrankin says.
Dallas holds onto its spot as top CRE investment market
Dallas stays on the top of the heap, The Dallas Morning News reports. North Texas remains the top commercial real estate investment market through the first two quarters of 2021, figures from Real Capital Analytics show. About $13.4 billion in commercial property deals were made in the Dallas area from January through June. That is 43% more than the first two quarters of 2020. Atlanta was second ($11.1 billion), and Los Angeles was third ($10.7 billion). Measured in dollars, Dallas had almost three times as much activity as Manhattan, which saw a 39% year-over-yard drop.
Arizona
Developer breaks ground on multifamily tower in downtown Phoenix
Hubbard Street Group and Cresset Real Estate Partners broke ground on a 26-story multifamily tower in the Roosevelt Row Arts District of downtown Phoenix, AZ Big Media reports. Skye on 6th will included 309 residential units, a mix of studios, one- and two-bedrooms, and 6,500 square feet of retail on the ground floor. The project is expected to be finished by the middle of 2023 and will be LEED certified.
Mexico
Hilton’s expansion seems well time as tourism rebounds
Hilton is on track to open two hotels before the end of the year — and the time looks good, Mexico New Daily reports. A record number of U.S. citizens flew to Mexico in May; 9% more than during the same month in 2019. The hotel chain has 30 more projects under development in Mexico. Hilton plans to open the 349-room Conrad Tulum (349 rooms) in Tulum and Hilton Vallarta Riviera (444 rooms) in Puerto Vallarta during the fourth quarter. The chain will open Hilton Tulum All-Inclusive Resort in the first quarter of 2022.
