In the News—Week of June 15, 2020
Energy & Environment
Department of Energy’s Better Buildings program leads to $11 billion in savings
U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Initiative has saved participants $11 billion over the past 10 years, Utility Dive reports. More importantly, the program has reduced water use by 8.5 billion gallons and kept 105 million tons out of carbon dioxide emissions out of the atmosphere. Companies involved include 32 Fortune 100 companies and 13% of the country’s commercial space.
Around the Nation
A-Rod’s investment firms offers rent relief for tenants hit by pandemic
Retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez’s multifamily investment company is giving some tenants rent relief, The Real Deal reports. Monument Capital Management is participating in Arbor Realty Trust’s rental assistance program. The program offers interest-free loans for rent to tenants whose income has fallen by 30% in the wake of the pandemic lockdown. Monument owns or manages about 5,000 apartments.
Texas
Hallmark Flooring snatches up distribution center in Houston
Hallmark Floors recently purchased a 170,476-square-foot, new distribution center in Houston, Connect Texas reports. Vigavi SEDC built and sold facility is at 730 Genoa Red Bluff Road. No price was made public. Hallmark Floors’ chairman Tony Pan says the California-based company liked the facility because of its proximity to the Port of Houston. “We will be able to better serve our distributors and dealers east of the Rockies,” he says.
Dallas-Fort Worth market shows signs of bouncing back from lockdown
The deals for office projects slowed but did not completely dry up during the lockdown in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, The Dallas Morning News reports. And developers are seeing signs of a rebound already. Demand is picking up and it is being fueled by a familiar force. “In Dallas-Forth Worth, we are already seeing an increase of companies from California, New York and Chicago coming to the area,” says Grant Pruitt, president of Dallas’ Whitebox Real Estate. “This has been a general trend over the last 10 years, but as a firm, especially over the last 30 days, we have been engaged to help companies from California to move to D-FW.”
Arizona
Outlook for multifamily housing remains strong despite downturn
The multifamily sector in the Phoenix area is poised to weather the choppy seas ahead better than it was when the Great Recession hit, REBusiness online reports. The economy is more diversified. In 2019 the metro area added 82,000 jobs and had the second-highest percentage increase in employment in the United States. The Phoenix market led the nation in rent growth last year, but the cost of living remains lower than in many other large urban areas.
Mexico
First Avid Hotel in country makes its debut in Fresnillo
The Avid Hotel became the first chain hotel in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, as well as being the brand’s first property in Mexico, Hotel Business reports. The hotel has six floors and 100 guest rooms. Operadora MBA owns the property, which is operated by Operadora Uno under a license from Intercontinental Hotels Group, Avid’s parent company. Fresnillo is a city of 110,000 and elected Mexico’s first openly gay mayor in 2013.
