Editors’ Weekly News Roundup July 29 – August 2
A sale that demonstrated the resurgence of brick-and-mortar retail, especially certain sizes and formats of brick-and-mortar retail, was the most-read story on Connect CRE for the week ending August 3. In this case, the subject was a mixed-use property in Atlanta that traded at 40% more than its pre-pandemic acquisition price.
Asana Unloads Atlanta Mixed-Use Propertydetailed Asana Partners’ sale of the retail and office components of a development that also includes residential. Westwood Financial was the buyer, paying $25.5 million for an asset that Asana acquired for $18.1 million six years ago. The story drew strong readership both in Atlanta and across the U.S.
Ranking second in the past week’s top five was another regional story tied to retail. Batbox, an immersive sports entertainment concept that originated in Mexico, will open its first U.S. location in the Dallas metro area. Connect CRE readers in Texas and across the U.S. clicked through to Baseball Version of Topgolf to Open in Dallas, which provided the particulars on the new concept.
It’s probably too early to be discussing a general resurgence in the office sector, although there have been some green shoots recently in the form of sizable renewals and expansions. However, VTS believes that as far as new demand for office space is concerned, it’s safe to call a bottom—because it already occurred more than a year and a half ago.
As reported in VTS: “Worst is Officially Behind Us” for Office Demand, our third most-read story last week,the VTS index of new demand has posted year-over-year increases for the past 12 months. “In the months after the now-declared bottom, the national needle has moved up slowly, making it vulnerable to a quick about-face amidst economic headwinds,” said VTS CEO Nick Romito. “However, the growth the VODI has experienced in the past 18 months combined with positive data on the office-using workforce tells me that the market has reset.”
The past week’s fourth and fifth most-read stories both originated in Los Angeles. CIM Group, an LA-based investment firm that operates across the U.S., has provided financing for the creation of Round Hill Capital Ventures, a newly formed investment platform that acquired management contracts for assets formerly managed by Round Hill Capital.
Those assets, located primarily in Europe, constitute a $2.1-billion management portfolio. We detailed the partnership between CIM and Round Hill Capital founder Michael Bickford in CIM Group Partners on Creation of Round Hill Capital Ventures. Bickford will lead Round Hill Capital’s successor as well, while CIM will provide growth capital.
Law firm Allen Matkins and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management have produced a biannual survey of California real estate professionals for the past several years. The implications of the survey extend far beyond the Golden State, which is why readers both local and national turned to Allen Matkins/UCLA Survey Predicts Rising CRE Distress, which rounded out the week’s top five.
Among other things, the summer 2024 edition of the survey found that a majority of respondents expect to see more distress in the coming months and less development occurring in the next few years. There were also optimistic themes sounded in the survey, with most respondents predicting increases in tenant demand for both the multifamily and office sectors.