In the News—Week of May 9, 2022
National
Social media company finds following of real estate pros
Traded is a social media company that charges commercial real estate professionals for posting news about their latest transactions in selects markets, The Real Deal reports. The primary audience seem to be the dealmakers and their close associates. Traded has developed a cult following and proven to be quite lucrative for its anonymous fonder. The Real Deal calls it the industry’s “vanity mirror.”
Energy & Efficiency
Calif. Gov worries about blackouts, ponders extending nuke plant’s life
California’s last nuclear plant may be getting a reprieve from the governor — or at least his backing. Gov. Gavin Newsom is considering supporting keeping the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant running beyond its planned closing in 2025, KXTV in Sacramento reports. The plant is the state’s largest producer of electricity. Newsom is worried about electricity shortages. He has no direct authority over the operating license for the plant, but he suggested PG&E could seek a share of $6 billion in federal funding the Biden administration established to rescue nuclear plants at risk of closing. No matter what, California will still be getting electricity form nuclear power after 2025. California utilities own a little more than 20% of the Palo Verde nuclear plant in Arizona and receives a share of the power it produces.
Texas
South Korean investment company buys Academy Sports campus
Mirae Asset Global Investments of South Korea purchased Academy Sports + Outdoors campus in Katy, the Houston Chronicle reports. Mirae bought the 1.5-million-square-foot property for $190 million. Academy isn’t moving. The sports retailer has a long-term, triple-net lease in which the tenant pays the property expenses. “From a logistics perspective, this property is exceptionally well-located, with access to highways in all directions,” Newmark’s executive managing director, Ken Hedrick, says. Newmark represented the seller, Tratt Properties of Phoenix. “The scarcity and increasing value of land in the west Houston area further enhance the property’s value.”
Texas
Frisco-based tenant rep Esrp will become part of Cresa
A North Texas commercial property firm has been acquired by a company with global operations, The Dallas Morning News reports. Frisco-based Esrp, a 9-year-old company that represented commercial tenants has merged with Chicago-based Cresa. Esrp CEO Sharon Morrison will become a member of Cresa’s board, and Esrp will lead Cresa’s Texas operations and bring nearly 50 workers to the company. Cresa will take over Esrp’s headquarters in the Dallas Cowboys Star at Frisco development.
Arizona
Lincoln Property buys 140 acres in Glendale near Luke Air Force Base
LPC Desert West, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co., paid $53 million for 140 acres in Glendale for a large industrial project called Luke Field, AZ Big Media reports. Plans for Luke Field call for 2.3 million square feet of development in three buildings. Construction is scheduled to begin late this year and be completed by early 2024. The site is close to the Loop 303. Companies with operations near Luke Field include Walmart, Boeing, Microsoft, UPS, REI, Daimler-Benz, Red Bull, Ball Corporation and Williams Sonoma.
Mexico
Mexico’s office occupancy to remain low through 2024, Fitch says
The Mexican office-space market is expected to remain slow the next two years, Fitch Ratings reports. The market is slow enough that rental prices may fall slightly this year. The office markets should recover slowly as pandemic restrictions ease and the economy recovers. Office demand is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels in the middle of 2024. The office market had too much inventory when the pandemic began.
