How Today’s Economy is Affecting Commercial Real Estate
by Neil A. Dolgin Fall has arrived with an economy still finding its way. There is low unemployment which bodes well, but the challenges of high interest rates and inflation are increasing concerns about the possibility of a recession. Interest rates are already up 2% this year, and inflation is still soaring despite a downturn… Read more »
Dollar General to open 1,110 stores in 2022; plans international expansion
Dollar General unveiled aggressive expansion plans that includes its first stores outside of the U.S. and the acceleration of the rollout of its more upscale Popshelf store concept. The discounter’s 2022 real estate plans include 1,110 new stores — including its first stores in Idaho, its 47th state — and 1,750 remodels. Dollar General will… Read more »
What a $660-psf gift shop lease says about Times Square’s recovery
Tourism may be down, but retailers are still making bets on Times Square. Most recently, a souvenir shop signed a lease for 1,000 square feet of ground-floor space at 566 Seventh Avenue. The store will be paying $55,000 a month for the space, next door to the newly opened Margaritaville Resort. On its face, a… Read more »
Forrester: Physical stores to account for 72% of U.S. retail sales in 2024
Physical retail continues to drive the bulk of retail sales — and will for quite some time. Despite all the attention given to e-commerce, 72% of U.S. retail sales will still occur in brick-and-mortar stores in 2024, according to new research from Forrester. Even during pandemic-induced mandatory shutdowns and with additional safety concerns, consumers have… Read more »
Back-to-Work Malady Hurting Manhattan Retail Recovery
The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the City’s leading real estate trade association, today released a special report documenting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on storefronts in Midtown Manhattan’s critical retail corridors. These corridors have historically relied on foot traffic from Midtown office workers to power the local economy, and the continued… Read more »
Retailers jostle over cut-price space as Brooklyn market looks for solid ground
The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the City’s leading real estate trade association, today released its Summer 2021 Brooklyn Retail Report which highlights steady leasing in the Brooklyn retail market as tenants capitalize on market opportunities in select trade areas. According to the report, demand is being driven primarily by retailers taking fully… Read more »
New York City’s small businesses are facing a pandemic-altered commercial real estate landscape
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing spread of the COVID-19 delta variant, certain opportunistic retailers in New York City have been able to take advantage of tenant-favorable market conditions, successfully negotiating free rent, flexibility on term length and percentage-rent deal structures, and other previously unthinkable extras. As the COVID-19 pandemic has turned New York City’s… Read more »
Food & beverage fortifying commercial NYC real estate market
Shrugging off the pandemic’s impact on sales, supply and hiring, food-and-beverage uses continue to lead all retail-leasing categories in the Big Apple – and the lead even grew larger over last year. We had a look at some not-yet-released data which show the extraordinary resilience of edibles and drinkables in today’s historically challenged retail-leasing market…. Read more »
Mall Landlords Look to Charter Schools to Fill Vacant Space
Time for a field trip to the food court. The coronavirus pandemic pushed malls — already struggling to survive a “retail apocalypse” — to the breaking point. But the children, specifically schoolchildren, might be the future, as more malls begin hosting public charter schools in need of more space. Dozens of charter and public schools… Read more »
“A New Frontier For CRE: Cannabis Brokers Work To Corner The Market Before The Big Names Make A Move “
Cannabis is a new frontier for real estate, a kind of Wild West, with danger lurking but money to be made, and that has led many brokers and real estate professionals to at least consider what it would be like to get into the cannabis business. Experts caution, however, that much like the actual frontier… Read more »
It’s starting to look like New York City will be just fine
As the wealthy fled for the Hamptons, local restaurants shuttered their doors, and Times Square went quiet during the onset of the pandemic, many declared the city dead. But a year after it became the coronavirus epicenter of the world, NYC is starting to shine once again. Despite a seeming exodus of the city’s richest,… Read more »
5 Key Medium-Term Factors Shaping Commercial Real Estate in NYC
For those of us invested in New York City’s commercial real estate (CRE) — either financially or emotionally — getting through 2020 was like processing the five stages of grief: First came denial, followed by anger, then bargaining, onto depression and, finally, acceptance. After all, one in seven chain stores permanently closed in 2020, along… Read more »
U.S. 2021 Retail Vacancy Rate May Rise To 7-Year High After Record Store Closings
Coronavirus has led to a record number of U.S. store closings in 2020 and to Manhattan’s retail rents plunging to historic lows, and the toll on the brick-and-mortar sector may not ease any time soon. After a record 12,200-plus store closing announcements from major chains in 2020 that translate to a record 159 million square… Read more »
Retail and Hotels Stall CMBS Recovery
The CMBS delinquency rate has steadily improved since a peak in June, but some asset classes are keeping the overall rate high. A new report from DBRS Morningstar looks closely at the CMBS delinquency rates from the last year, and found that retail and hotel properties could be hindering a recovery. Overall, the CMBS delinquency… Read more »
$2B Flushing Waterfront District Approved By City Council
Rendering of the Flushing Waterfront District via Jeff Stikeman Architectural Art After a year filled with political resistance to new developments, the New York City Council approved the Flushing waterfront development Thursday afternoon after several delays. Developers United Construction & Development Group, F&T Group and Young Nian Group are set to create a new district… Read more »
Distressed Commercial Property Sales Seen Surpassing Last Crisis
An estimated $126 billion in commercial real estate will be forced to sell at distressed prices through 2022, more than the first two years after the global financial crisis, according to CoStar Group Inc. Distressed hotel, retail, office and other properties will continue to flow to the market over the coming five years, potentially reaching… Read more »