In the News—Week of February 21, 2023
Deal of the Week
A Phoenix, Arizona-based retail development company, sold a retail property in Collin County Texas for $16.5+ million to a Southern California investment group. This transaction was closed by Joel Montemayor, Assistant Vice President and Commercial Escrow Officer, in the Scottsdale office.
National
Industrial vacancy rate in Chicago falls to another record low of 4.5 %
The industrial market in Chicago finished 2022 on a high note. Or was it a low note? Figures from Colliers International show that Chicago’s industrial vacancy rate fell to 4.5% in the fourth quarter, a record, Crain’s reports via The Real Deal. That bettered the 4.54% vacancy rate from the third quarter and the 5.44% from the fourth quarter of 2021. The low vacancy rate isn’t the only record for the industrial market. Developers broke ground on 88 industrial buildings in 2022, which will add 31.8 million square feet of space.
National
The Big Easy takes a harder line on short-term residential rentals
New Orleans has voted to freeze short-term rent in certain mixed-used neighborhoods, The Times-Picayune reports. The council voted 5-0 to freeze short-term rental permits in Central City, the Lower Garden District and the Irish Channel. “The issue is stretching into other surrounding neighborhoods,” City Council member Lesli Harris says. “I will not continue to allow our neighborhoods to be gentrified and built with cookie-cutter homes for the benefit of tourists.” The city council is facing a deadline at the end of March to come up with rules for short-term rentals, or a federal court will come up with them.
National
Leading Milwaukee apartment owner scoops up 784 units for its portfolio
Katz Properties is already one of the Greater Milwaukee area’s largest apartment building owners. And now it is even larger, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. Katz recently snapped up 11 multifamily buildings from Blankstein Enterprises. The price for the acquisition — which included 784 residential units and a building leased to Einstein Bros. Bagels — was not disclosed. Blankstein Enterprises has been selling its properties lately and had parted with two buildings the week before.
Arizona
Demand high for space at Scottsdale Airpark, major growth forecast
The Scottsdale Airpark’s available commercial space is failing to keep up with demand, AZ Big Media reports. Research from Colliers in Arizona indicates the Airpark submarket is likely to see major growth before the end of the decade. “Many are speculating a future recession, but we are not overly concerned about that for the Scottsdale Airpark,” says Jim Keeley, of the Colliers Scottsdale office. “When the last recession hit in 2008, this submarket was dramatically overbuilt. Since 2018, the Scottsdale Airpark market has been in a state of equilibrium with supply and demand in balance. Current conditions indicate remarkable economic health in the area with demand outpacing the supply of space in most every product type.” Colliers forecast the workforce in the area will grow from the current level of more than 64,000 to 70,000 by 2030.
Arizona
Plan for $2 billion entertainment district draws grassroots opposition
A grassroots group opposed to a project to build a $2 billion entertainment district in Tempe held an event to discuss the upcoming ballot issue, 12 News reports. If voters approve the measure in May, Tempe would get a new arena for the Arizona Coyotes of the NHL as well as apartments and hotels. The district would be located at Mill Avenue on Priest Drive and Rio Salado Parkway. “We’re just creating bottlenecks and traffic congestion, and neighborhoods in the southeast neighborhoods are really going to suffer from that,” former Tempe City Council member Lauren Kuby said at the event.
Energy and Efficiency
India invokes law to make coal-fired plants operate at maximum capacity
The Indian government will use an emergency regulation to force power plants to run at full capacity when they are using imported coal, Reuters reports via Oil Price.com. The regulations go into effect on March 16 and run through June 15. India expects to use record amounts of power in the coming months. The country expects to increase the amount of coal it burns by 8% between March 2023 and March 2024.
