Daily finance had an interesting interview with Jeff Speck, author of Walkable City: How Downtown Can Save America, One Step at a Time. Jeff Speck is an architect and city planner in Washington DC and served on the Mayor’s Institute on City Design. He also served on the Sustainability Task Force of the Department of…
The city of Dublin, Ohio has embarked on a grand project with this one so here’s an update on the progress. The project is moving along and the city is offering a quick look at what it could be. http://vimeo.com/61395284 The Bridge Street Corridor run along State Route 161 (Bridge Street) from Sawmill Road through…
There’s a lot going on around here aside from the I-70 / I-71 project. IF we have a mild winter as we did last year, it will get these projects moving along toward completion early in 2013 except for the freeway reconstruction. That will take a little bit longer. Columbus Commons, 600 Goodale, Harrison West,…
Reis Reports announced that the 126,022 unit Columbus / Central Ohio multifamily market vacancy rate had fallen to 6.1 percent by the end of the second quarter 2012, which is the latest quarter we have numbers for. That’s down 30 basis points over the prior quarter and down a whopping 190 points from second quarter…
There’s continued good news for the Central Ohio market as homes sales were 2,429 for June 2012, up 18.1% from the 2,056 for June 2011. Sales for the first half of the year were 10,473, up from the first half for 2011 at 9,507. Median price was $155,250, up 15% from $135,000 in June 2011. …
I’m not saying that we’re quite back to pre crash levels of pricing but we’re getting there. Given the general malaise in the American economy with job growth, GDP growth and most other indicators, it’s surprising that the commercial real estate recovery has been as strong and broad based as it has. It didn’t start…
Residential home sales are gaining strength in Columbus and Central Ohio according to the Columbus Board of Realtors. May 2012 homes sales were up for the fifth consecutive month to 2,070, up 5% from the 1,971 sales in May 2011. Year to date is 7,966 up 6% from 74,51 in the same time period last…
As prices get stupid for the product of choice – the triple net or absolute net, S&P BBB or better, single tenant retail, it starts pulling up secondary and tertiary markets and slightly weaker credit single tenant retail. Multi tenant won’t be far behind. We’re now in a broad based recovery that is pulling the…
I did a short post on the Dublin, Ohio, Bridge Street development a couple of weeks ago. I’ve since located much more detail regarding the long term development, which is at the link thanks to Walker Evans of the Columbus Underground blog. The development will bordered by I-270 on the north and west and State…
Many folks are aware that Starwood Capital Group agreed to acquire $1 billion in seven shopping centers from Westfield and KKR. As Starwood is starting to acquire retail commercial real estate we expect other REITs to do the same across the country as an expected surge in new retail properties are expected to hit the…
A strengthening residential market seems to be the rule around central Ohio over the last year and its getting stronger. First quarter 2012 homes sales for Central Ohio were up 7.1 percent over first quarter 2011 with 4,045 this year versus 3.776 last year. The average price for March 2012 was $153,557, which is up…
True, many banks are still working through their distressed property pipeline, but many have recently decided that it’s time to jump back into commercial lending, and yes, even for development and construction financing. It must be noted though that this is one area that brought down more banks during the downturn than any other. The…
Randyl Drummer with CoStar News reports that the rebound in office type jobs is becoming strong enough that we could see rent growth in the near future. The growth spreading to smaller businesses and secondary markets coupled with positive absorption and little new supply coming on the market will lead to rent growth over the…
It was just announced by Mark Heschmeyer at CoStar News that Blackstone, DRA Advisors and AEW Capital invested in large industrial portfolios valued at a total of $1.5 billion. That’s over one third of all industrial sales completed this year. The industrial segment has been healing nicely this year with vacancy falling almost a full point…
First quarter 2012 softened a bit as compared to fourth quarter 2011, but net absorption remained positive according to Mark Heschmeyer of CoStar news. Plus, a mild slowdown in the rate of recovery is balanced by the lack of new commercial space coming out of the ground so as a result, vacancy rates are still…
An Atlanta Developer has signed on to build a $50 million apartment complex with groundbreaking scheduled for late this summer and completion for late winter 2014. The complex will consist of three six story buildings with 300 units over 23,000 sq ft. of first floor retail. Apartments will be built to “condo specifications,” Capitol South Community…
As many of us are aware, unless congress takes action, the top tax rate of dividends will increase from the current 15% to 43.4% next year. That’s a top ordinary income rate of 39.5% plus the 3.8% on investment income as part of Obamacare passed in 2009. Another good reason for commercial real estate and…
Dublin Ohio’s 800 acre core has been slated for a massive redevelopment effort along Bridge Street from Frantz Road to Sawmill Road. Now, Dublin has a plan that will redevelop the corridor “into a mix of high density uses – an urban, walkable community that will include new options in housing, entertainment, retail and areas…
This is the last reminder because valuation appeals are accepted from December to March 31. Your chances of winning are about half so it’s well worth doing, but must be done correctly and very soon. It’s the 27th so get moving. Lock your new, hopefully lower, valuation in for three years. Take a look at the…
At the link is a status update on our new Hilton Hotel across from the convention center in Columbus’ Short North. The pedestrian bridge is yet to be received and installed, but other than that the exterior is mostly complete. The grand opening is set for mid October. http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/2012/03/slideshow-hilton-hotel-update–.html