Editors’ Weekly News Roundup February 24 – February 28
The shutdown of an apartment complex with alleged ties to gang activity, one company’s cancellation of a major development commitment and another company’s even larger pledge all figured in the top five Connect CRE stories for the past week. At the top of the list was Notorious Aurora Apartment Complex Shuttered, reporting on the current status of the Edge at Lowry in the Denver suburb of Aurora, CO.
The 23-unit property has been closed by the City of Aurora and its residents have been relocated. A video of a group of armed men in a stairwell went viral across the U.S. last year and fueled claims that the property had been taken over by a Venezuelan gang.
A takeover of a more amicable variety was the basis for the week’s second most-read story. Originally reported on Connect Money, Connect CRE’s sister website, a breaking news report titled Apollo to Acquire Bridge Investment Group for $1.5B had major implications for the real estate presence of Apollo.
Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Bridge is active in multifamily and industrial—two commercial property segments that have posted the steadiest performance in the past few years. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter and will nearly double Apollo’s real estate holdings to approximately $110 billion.
The rise of the high-tech manufacturing sector has led to announcements of large-scale manufacturing facilities that unfortunately were later walked back. In the latest such example of plans falling through, KORE Power scrapped plans to build a $1-billion plant in Buckeye, AZ after failing to secure an $850-million loan through the Inflation Reduction Act by the time the new President was sworn in.
As reported in Buckeye Hoping to Rebound from KORE Withdrawal, the Town of Buckeye has engaged JLL to market the 214 acres on which KORE planned to build its factory. It’s also going ahead with infrastructure improvements for the benefit of a future user of the site. The story was Connect CRE’s third most-read for the past week.
Another phenomenon of recent years has been rising cap rates, due to factors ranging from rent growth outlook to interest rates. However, CBRE’s latest survey of its in-house capital markets experts found that the tide is turning.
CBRE: Cap Rates Have Largely Stabilized was our fourth most-read story for the week. Although the tide may have turned, it’s not lifting all boats just yet: industrial and multifamily cap rates have declined, while yields on office properties are continuing to trend upward.
In fifth place for the week was a report on the largest domestic investment commitment to date by one of the world’s leading companies. Among other components of the commitment reported in Apple Pledges to Spend $500B in U.S. Over Next Four Years, the Cupertino, CA-based tech giant plans to open a new advanced manufacturing facility in Houston to produce servers that support Apple Intelligence, its AI platform.
Apple’s focus on production—and hiring—in the U.S. is due partly to the looming tariffs that could affect consumer prices for products such as the iPhone. Another effect of the tariffs has been to encourage Asian companies to lease more third-party logistics space in this country, as explored in a new Weekender story.