In the News—Week of November 22, 2022
Deal of the Week
A California-based real estate investment firm recently sold an office space/vacant land in Chandler, Arizona for $115 million to a Texas State-based company. Sheila Hunter, Vice President and Senior Commercial Escrow Officer, in our Scottsdale office added this closing to the list of successful transactions with this exceptional client.
National
Office demand in Cornhusker State strong, U of Nebraska study shows
A study shows that commercial real estate use and demand — even for office — remains strong in Nebraska, the University of Nebraska reports. While work-from-home arrangements became more common during the pandemic, they are not increasing, The Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln found. And 90% of businesses plan to keep the space they use. More than half of the businesses surveyed (58%) owned the space they use and about two-thirds do not sublet.
Energy & Efficiency
UK finance minister pledges billions on efficiency to cut demand by 15%
British finance minister Jeremy Hunt has committed to spending $7.2 billion from 2025-28 to shore up energy efficiency, Reuters reports. Hunt wants energy consumption in the United Kingdom cut by 15% by 2030. That is on top of the $7.8 billion the government already has committed to spending through 2024. “Reducing demand by this much means, in today’s prices, a 28- billion pound saving from our national energy bill or 450 pounds off the average household bill,” Hunt says. Britain’s housing stock is among the oldest and least energy efficient in Europe.
Texas
Plans call for walkable district in Houston’s East End
Concept Neighborhood is refining plans to turn a 17-acre area of Houston’s second ward into a so-called 15-minute neighborhood, the Houston Chronicle reports. A 15-minute neighborhood is one in which residents can meet their various needs within a 15-minute walk from their homes. Concept Neighborhood had previously revealed a plan to turn a warehouse complex into a pedestrian-friendly mixed-use district. Houston has several walkable neighborhoods, but this one is different an expert says. Bill Fulton is a former director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University and is not involved with the project. “What we haven’t seen in Houston is a 15-minute neighborhood in a gentrifying area where the strategy has been to try to retain as many residents and businesses as possible,” Fulton says.
Texas
Houston-based CRE firm expands to Dallas-Fort Worth market
A Houston-based commercial real estate services company is setting up shop in Dallas, The Dallas Morning News reports. Partners Real Estate has opened an office in the 17Seventeen McKinney office tower near downtown Dallas. The company was founded in the late 1980s and now has offices in all the big Texas metropolitan areas. The move comes at a time when many CRE firms are bracing for a recession. “We think the time to be aggressive and grow is during market slowdowns when other firms are letting people go and cutting costs,” Jon Silberman, managing partner, writes in an email to the newspaper.
Arizona
Developer secures land to develop riverwalk on tribal land near Scottsdale
A Scottsdale-based developer and real investment firm has announced the purchase of the lease rights for 100 acres of Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community land to begin developing a riverwalk, AZ Big Media reports. The land for the proposed project — which would include retail, restaurants, hotels and venues for events — is located alongside the 101 Freeway from Talking Stick Way on the south to Via de Ventura in the north in an opportunity zone. “This area will become the epicenter of entertainment for all age groups in Scottsdale and one of the top visited areas in the state once this development is complete,” the president of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Chris Camacho, says.
Mexico
Government plans to invest $394M in Interoceanic Corridor’s first phase
Mexico’s federal government announced that it will invest $394 million (U.S.) for the development of breakwaters, docks and rail lines as part of a project to beef up the country’s logistical capabilities, Mexico Business News reports. This is the first phase of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The corridor includes plans for 10 industrial parks with an investment of $9.2 billion.
