Posted on January 15, 2020 by Patricia Kirk

With online retail sales rising by 10 percent annually, the volume of returns is also growing. According to research from market data firm Statista, returns for online sales tend to be two to three times more frequent than returns for in-store sales, with 15 to 30 percent of online purchases returned, compared to 8 to 9 percent of merchandise bought in-store. UPS estimates that nearly $42 billion of the total $138 billion in products sold online during the 2019 holiday season in the U.S. will be returned, which is up from $37 billion the previous year.

The longer it takes for items to be returned and processed, the greater the depreciation on the merchandise, especially for fashion apparel and seasonal products, notes David Egan, CBRE head of industrial & logistics research, Americas & Global. Reverse logistics software provider Optoro estimates that the value of apparel depreciates by 20 to 50 percent within eight to 16 weeks, and electronics lose 4 to 8  percent of their value per month. The challenge for retailers, according to Egan, is to get returned items back into inventory for resale quickly.

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Posted in the Winter 2019/2020 Issue by Shawn Moura, Ph.D.

In October, the NAIOP Research Foundation’s National Research Directors Meeting brought together NAIOP Distinguished Fellows and research directors from national real estate brokerage, data and investment firms at CRE. Converge 2019 in Los Angeles. Attendees discussed current Foundation research and trends in industrial and office development.

Market Tiers and Rankings: Clear as Mud?

Maria Sicola and Charles Warren of CityStream Solutions presented the initial findings of a white paper sponsored by the NAIOP Research Foundation that describes how the commercial real estate industry currently sorts metropolitan markets into tiers or rankings. Sicola and Warren-based their findings on interviews with industry researchers, consultants, and academics, plus published reports that utilize or examine market tiers and rankings.

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Nominations are now being accepted for the 2020 Developer of the Year – NAIOP's highest honor.

This annual award recognizes a developer demonstrating exceptional leadership and innovation in commercial real estate. Nominees must be a Principal member in good standing and will be judged by a panel of industry peers using the following criteria:

1. Outstanding quality of projects and services. Detail your portfolio’s innovation through the incorporation of sustainability, technology, building wellness and resiliency as they apply to the development and building operations. Judges take into consideration the size and diversity of a nominee’s portfolio.
2. Financial consistency and stability. Detail your company’s strategies for return on investment, economic sustainability and success.
3. Ability to adapt to market conditions. Detail your company’s adaptability and success navigating economic, community impact, demographic and environmental conditions.
4. Active support of the industry through NAIOP. Detail how your company and your employees are involved in NAIOP through the number of active NAIOP members, your chapter participation, your support of NAIOP Corporate programs, and your employees’ participation in chapter and Corporate Boards of Directors.
5. Support of the local community. Detail your company’s charitable and philanthropic activities within your market.

Nominations close Friday, February 28, 2020.

Click here for nominations

Posted on January 27, 2020

By Aaron Ahlburn

How advancements in transportation, technology, and construction continue to converge.

Global economic uncertainty, rapid technological advances, and pressure from e-commerce are forcing radical innovation in supply chains. With transportation and the movement of goods and materials making up a significant portion of total logistics operating costs, these innovations are altering the logistics landscape. They allow supply chain and transportation managers to focus on cost efficiency, profitability, and service to clients.

However, changes in individual sectors of logistics are not progressing at the same pace. Some are being deployed. Others may not live up to expectations. As trends such as faster e-commerce fulfillment, more urban deliveries, and autonomous trucking and robotics continue to converge, what will be the impact on industrial real estate?

Posted on January 21, 2020

By Jason Beske, AICP

The declining prospects of North America’s shopping malls have been the subject of significant media attention, industry concern and public interest. Faced with competition from e-commerce and shifting consumer preferences for other retail formats and experiences, hundreds of traditional shopping malls have closed in recent decades, with many more closures expected in the coming years. The NAIOP Research Foundation commissioned this report to examine how developers are transforming struggling or closed malls into properties that fit within current market conditions and serve the needs of their surrounding communities.

Once able to attract consumers by offering a range of retail options in a single location, traditional malls have struggled to compete with other retail formats in recent years. Many anchor stores and smaller mall-based retailers have gone out of business due to competition from online and budget retailers. Although certain upscale malls located in dense and growing metropolitan areas continue to attract customers, Class B and C retail centers have struggled to remain open.

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Published on January 15, 2020.

The City of Charlotte’s Placemaking Program launched in 2018 with the mission of using urban design and placemaking to transform underutilized public spaces into vibrant places for people. The Urban Design Center in the City of Charlotte’s Planning, Design, and Development department is leading the effort with their own projects while creating opportunities for neighborhoods to use placemaking to promote community collaboration and accomplish public space goals.

The City of Charlotte Placemaking Program is opening up a new round of Placemaking Grants for 2020. The application will be available on December 30th and be due on March 6th. Please visit our Placemaking Grant page for the guide, application, and other important details.

​Check each project below to see how the City of Charlotte is using placemaking to create more vibrant and well-loved community spaces! A multi-departmental team led by the Urban Design Center has made placemaking more accessible through Placemaking Hub processes and Placemaking Grants for neighborhoods, and a Placemaking Artist program for local artists.

Learn More Here

Posted on December 6, 2019

The NAIOP Research Foundation has published the NAIOP Office Space Demand Forecast for Q4 2019.

Key Takeaways:

• The U.S. office market continues to perform as expected, with an average of 14.7 million square feet absorbed per quarter in 2019.
   
• The forecast for the remainder of 2019 and 2020 remains strong at an average of 13.2 million square feet absorbed per quarter in 2020 and 12.7 million square feet per quarter in 2021.
   
• At present, the economy – and thus the office markets – are expected to remain in an upcycle for at least the next 18 months.
   
• The effects of the WeWork situation are likely to be isolated to a small set of markets and will not broadly impact the national office market. The company's inability to expand may generate more demand for direct leases in some markets, but overall, coworking appears to be a long-term trend, and the forecast will likely resist any short-term impacts caused by WeWork's recent troubles.

Firms might slow their expansion plans in 2020, reducing the need for new office space, in reaction to overall fears of a slowdown. Still, most measures of consumer health, including wage growth, job growth and consumption expenditures, remain strong.

View the Report

Posted on November 25, 2019

By Amanda Abrams

When Research Triangle Park in North Carolina opened in 1959, its bucolic setting was considered a major selling point. With office buildings hidden behind grassy meadows and swaths of pine forest, the quiet development was viewed as a perfect spot for the thinkers who went to work at companies like IBM and RTI International.

Posted on November 15, 2019

About The NAIOP CRE Sentiment Index

The NAIOP Sentiment Index is designed to predict general conditions in the commercial real estate industry over the next 12 months. The forecast is not based on an analysis of historical data, but rather it represents a look into the future by real estate developers, investors, operators and brokers. These NAIOP members are asked to respond to questions based on their ongoing work, including projects in their pipelines. For more information, see Understanding the Index.

Posted on November 14, 2019

By Trey Barrineau

Retail apocalypse? What retail apocalypse?

Yes, there have been significant changes in the retail space in recent years, said Amy Sands, managing director with JLL during “The Latest Trends in Retail,” a panel discussion at CRE.Converge 2019 in Los Angeles. However, she said “apocalypse” is an overblown term for what might properly be called “an experiential revolution.”

Posted on November 13, 2019

By Jonathan Havens and Anamika Roy

Conflicting local and federal laws, along with NIMBYism, could be slowing investment in marijuana-related facilities.

At last count, 33 states have authorized cannabis for medical use, with 11 also permitting recreational use. Recent public opinion surveys suggest historically high support for continued and expanded cannabis access. For example, a March 2019 Quinnipiac University poll found that American voters believe, almost two to one, that “the use of [all] marijuana should be made legal in the U.S.” Support for medical access comes in even higher, at more than 18 to one, if a doctor recommends it.

Posted on October 31, 2019

The Real Estate & Building Industry Coalition (REBIC) has published their 2019 Voter Guide for the General Elections of Mecklenburg and Iredell Counties.  You can access the Voter Guide on REBIC's blog "The Loop" and here.

Posted on October 29, 2019

On October 21 Charlotte City Council voted to approve updates to the sign and tree ordinances. Most importantly, the updated tree ordinance allows for more flexibility for developers on urban sites in the City, which is less than 5% of Charlotte’s total developable land.

REBIC sent a letter to the Council urging their support, and we would like to thank those who voted in the affirmative: Mayor Pro Tem Julie Eiselt, Councilman Braxton Winston, Councilman James Mitchell, Councilman Larken Egleston, Councilman Greg Phipps, Councilwoman LaWana Mayfield, Councilman Justin Harlow, Councilman Tariq Bokhari and Councilman Ed Driggs. We would also like to thank Mayor Vi Lyles for her leadership and ability to support council through contentious discussions in a judicious manner.

Thank you to our members who personally reached out to Council Members as well!

Posted on October 25, 2019

City of Charlotte Development Center Customer

The City of Charlotte Development Center is committed to continuous improvement in order to be the best partner with our customers to efficiently, effectively and collaboratively build a safe and thriving community.

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www.surveygizmo.com

Posted on October 10, 2019

By Kathryn Hamilton

E-commerce is driving growth in neighborhoods where malls used to stand tall, and multistory is the name of the game in industrial development today. In Brooklyn, an 18-acre site in the Red Hook district will be the future home to a four-story, 1.3-million-square-foot distribution center – the largest multistory warehouse in the U.S. It’s groundbreaking in its scope and design, but not without its own issues. So what are the challenges with multistory and how can developers make it work? A panel at NAIOP’s I.CON East 2019 sought to answer the tough questions.

Leslie Lanne, managing director with JLL, said the primary driver behind multistory is getting as close as possible to the consumer base. This proximity is more than just mileage – it’s the time it takes to get the goods to the consumer. For example, a warehouse in New Jersey is located only five miles from Brooklyn, but it can be tough to achieve a trip from the warehouse to consumers and back in less than two hours.

Posted on October 7, 2019

The NAIOP Research Foundation has published a new report titled "Profiles in the Evolution of Suburban Office Parks," by Dustin C. Read, Ph.D./J.D.

The author interviewed five developers who have recently updated suburban office parks in the United States and Canada to learn how they made these properties relevant for today's market.

Key Takeaways:

• Redeveloped office parks must fit the preferences of the local workforce and the needs of local employers.
• Developers should seek to understand local officials' priorities.
• Developers should build flexibility into their plans and partner with creditors who understand that they may need to adapt to unforeseen circumstances.
• Developers can maximize the value of their improvements by leveraging design, technology and amenities to develop a property's identity and build community.
• Rebranding is often a critical component of a successful redevelopment strategy.

 Read the Report.

Posted on October 1, 2019

By Shawn Moura

In recent years, builders have faced a shortage of workers that has only grown more acute amid increasing demand for construction and record-low unemployment. Many of the 2.2 million construction workers who lost their jobs during the last recession either retired or found employment in other industries. At the same time, fewer new workers are taking their place because millennials are less attracted to careers in construction than past generations. Workers under the age of 25 make up only 9.0% of the construction workforce in the United States versus 12.3% of the nation’s overall workforce, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A report published by the NAIOP Research Foundation in July , “Addressing the Workforce Skills Gap in Construction and CRE-related Trades,” examines how employers are partnering with local communities in innovative training and recruitment programs to boost the supply of skilled construction workers in both urban and rural areas.

Posted on September 22, 2019

By Dustin Read

The NAIOP Research Foundation has published a new report titled "Profiles in the Evolution of Suburban Office Parks," by Dustin C. Read, Ph.D./J.D.

The author interviewed five developers who have recently updated suburban office parks in the United States and Canada to learn how they made these properties relevant for today's market.

Posted on August 22, 2019

By Linda Strowbridge

Strategically parked over a manhole on a downtown Manhattan street, John Meko spent months working inside a 20-foot storage trailer and learning about resiliency the hard way.

Meko was wrestling with the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012. His employer at the time was an internet service provider (ISP) that supported about 200 office buildings in New York City, primarily in the Financial District. The massive storm and flooding had destroyed electrical and internet infrastructure throughout large sections of the city, and businesses were desperate to regain service so they could resume their operations.

Posted on August 21, 2019

By Mark L. Elliott, David C. Kirk and Jenna E. Lee

Shared parking paired with technology offers solutions for changes in building usage.

Providing parking for commercial properties has always been a challenge for developers, but it’s even more so today. Why?

First, no one really knows where parking needs and requirements are heading, especially for commercial office space. On one hand, there is the densification of work space, which has seen the square footage per employee decrease. According to research from Cushman & Wakefield, the national average in 2018 was 194 square feet per employee, which is down 8.3 percent from 2009. That suggests more parking is needed for office users and their buildings, which now have more people working in the same amount of space.