In the News—Week of August 29, 2022
Deal of the Week
Harri5, a manufactured housing and commercial brokerage firm, facilitated the sale of Sun Vista RV Resort in Yuma, AZ. Patrick Barkley of Gantry, Inc. arranged new financing. The transaction was handled by Bryan Selna, Vice President and Senior Commercial Escrow Officer, from Thomas Title’s Scottsdale office.
National
Retail makes a comeback, exceeds levels from before COVID lockdowns
Retail availability in the United States is now below the level from before the coronavirus pandemic prompted lockdowns, The Real Deal reports. A Bisnow report of an analysis by CoStar shows retail vacancies are at the lowest level since the Great Recession. Rents are up and are expected to stay that way. Only 10.6 million square feet of retail was delivered without a tenant in the past 12 months. That is about 5 million square feet less than the typical year (at least in the past 15 years). Many thought brick-and-mortar stores would be among the virus’ casualties, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Energy & Efficiency
Mass. facility gets extension to keep testing tidal energy technology
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has renewed the license of Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative of New England, allowing the Bourne Tidal Test Site to continue testing tidal energy technology, Offshore Energy reports. The test site, which is located at the Cape Cod Canal in Massachusetts, will give an extended test of Littoral Power Systems’ technology, beginning in October. “BTTS’s pre-permitted and instrumented test capability will allow rapid domestic progress on marine energy devices in a real-world environment,” Littoral Power Systems’ CEO David Duquette says. “Harvesting energy from ocean currents is emerging as an enormous global opportunity. It is predictable, environmentally benign, and makes no claims on land space.”
Texas
Landmark Esperson buildings are getting residences in makeover
The 80-year-old Esperson office complex is getting a $50-million facelift and some new roommates, the Houston Chronicle reports. The high-rise office complex, known for its “little temple” cupola that has long been a defining part of downtown Houston s skyline, will add residences. Cameron Management plans to begin work on the two buildings this fall. The plan is to start with about 10 residential units and maybe convert more space to residential in the coming years. “We are trying to produce a vertical entrepreneurial village,” Cameron’s president Dougal Cameron says. “We will respond to the market, but we always plan to have flex office and residential and perhaps some hotel/dorm-like rooms for young entrepreneurs.”
Texas
California company makes first foray into Fort Worth, buys up apartments
Los Angeles-based Cottonwood Group acquired the Woodstone Apartments and Bridge Hollow Apartments in Fort Worth, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. Cottonwood acquired the property in partnership with Dallas-based Texsun Holdings. This is Cottonwood’s first purchase in Fort Worth; Cottonwood partnered with Texsun on two complexes in San Antonio early this year. “Given supply and demand dynamics, Cottonwood remains bullish on the multifamily sector overall, especially in markets that offer a combination of job growth, an attractive climate, and relatively low living costs like Fort Worth,” Cottonwood’s chief investment officer, Mark Green, says. “Cottonwood Group’s multi-strategy approach means the firm will look at any primary or growth market inside and outside of Texas.”
Arizona
Company offers industrial space in Tempe on month-to-month basis
Portal Warehousing opened a 35,000-square-foot industrial facility in Tempe that offers month-to-month space, AZ Big Media reports. The company says it is the first of its kind in the Phoenix area and is designed for small businesses and start-ups. The facility will offer spaces from 50 square feet to 1,500 square feet. “Portal Warehousing is the perfect solution for e-commerce merchants and businesses with physical goods that are growing out of their starter space,” Portal Warehousing’s CEO Alex Morrison says.
Mexico
Mexico leads the way as Latin America enjoys big jump in hotels early stages
The hotel industry in Latin America is beginning to recover, and Mexico is leading the way, Hospitality Net reports. Figures from Lodging Econometrics show the region’s total construction pipeline has 555 projects/90,496 rooms at the end of the second quarter. The early planning stage of the pipeline is 43% year over year. Mexico leads Latin America’s construction pipeline after Q2 with 211 projects/34,509 rooms. Brazil is a distant second with 89 projects/14,471 rooms. Those two countries make up two-thirds of the region’s activity.
