Editors’ Weekly News Roundup September 23 – September 27
Real estate may be affected by macroeconomic trends or geopolitical currents, but above all, real estate is local. That point was driven home by this past week’s top five stories on Connect CRE, three of which detailed local transactions.
While no-frills go-kart tracks have long been a presence (here and there) on the retail landscape, the most-read story for the week ending Sept. 26 detailed a track that will go above and beyond the norm. Backed by Andretti Indoor Karting and Games, the venue detailed in $45M Go-Kart Facility to Open in Houstonpromises to offer electric go-karts on multilevel tracks, an arcade, virtual reality experiences, 7D motion theater, racing simulators, a restaurant, full bar and about 8,000 square feet of event space.
The project is slated to open in 2026. It will be the second Houston-area location for Andretti, which also operates facilities in North Texas and in the metro areas of Phoenix, Atlanta and Orlando.
A headquarters move was the subject of the past week’s second-most-read story. While Connect CRE has reported its share of relocations from one part of the U.S. to another, this one was more localized.
Denmark-based GN, a global provider of hearing, audio, video and gaming gear solutions, will vacate its longtime base in Bloomington, MN for a larger space elsewhere within the Twin Cities, as detailed in GN to Relocate North American HQ to Shakopee.
The company plans to turn a former Shutterfly Midwest production facility into a 218,437-square-foot manufacturing, repair and shipping hub. The Shakopee, MN space will be 79% larger than the Bloomington location.
Connect CRE broke the news this past week that Robert Thornburgh will conclude his service as CEO of SIOR Global at the end of 2024. We reported in SIOR Global CEO Robert Thornburgh to Step Down at Year’s Endthat membership worldwide has increased by 18% throughout Thornburgh’s tenure while reaching a record-breaking 97% retention of existing members.
With Thornburgh providing transition assistance, SIOR Global’sgovernance committee will conduct a search for a new CEO to lead the global organization that now counts more than 4,000 members in 50 countries. The story was the third most read on the website last week.
Coming in fourth place was another Midwestern transaction story, this one southeast of the Twin Cities. Highlighting the appeal of net-leased properties occupied by household names, SRS Completes $8M Sale of a Lowe’s in Columbus detailed the acquisition by a repeat client of the SRS Real Estate Partners team.
Besides the inherent appeal of a credit tenant that recently extended its lease, the 125,357-square-foot property also has the advantage of adjacency. It’s located next to a shopping center with big box tenants and sits along a retail corridor with other traffic drivers.
Rounding out the past week’s top five was a story highlighting an infographic from Placer.ai. Infographic Highlights Top Markets for Office Recovery, Population Growthinformed readers that most of the markets leading in return-to-office metrics are in one part of the U.S., while most of the leaders in population growth are in another. That said, the photo illustrating the article depicted a city that happens to be highly ranked in both areas: Miami.