Posted: Friday, August 1, 2014 2:44 pm | Updated: 3:55 pm, Fri Aug 1, 2014.

After years of a hold on development at the Branson Landing because of litigation, HCW Development, LLC, submitted plans to the city of Branson for more retail space on the north end of the property.

HCW CEO Rick Huffman said the company can now develop because a lawsuit involving the land was settled in St. Louis County court.

Were really busy right now, he said. Its very good to be busy.

HCW is planning for the development of 29,000 square feet of retail space, Huffman said.

That is out to bid as we speak; plans have been turned in to the city for building permits, Huffman said. Were waiting for comments, but I would anticipate probably a late September start date with the completion in May.

HCW is looking for new tenants for the three buildings and Huffman said HCW has received letters of intent from several interested parties.

Demand for retail space at the Landing has been high, he said.

This space is obviously not in the heart of the Landing, but its on the north end and it will have new stores in it, Huffman said. And we added some parking.

Huffman said roughly 130 parking spots will be added. He wont know how many stores will be in the space until he knows how much space retailers will require.

Originally posted here:
Development set for north side of Landing

A new wave of construction is coming in downtown Dallas.

Dont expect more shiny office towers, trendy loft apartments or retail space. Oh, therell be some of that.

But whats really in demand now is parking.

With downtowns worker population on the rise, developers and building investors are trying to figure out where to put all the cars.

For decades that wasnt much of an issue: Dallas central business district has had acres of ugly surface parking lots.

Now some of the lots closest to downtowns biggest office skyscrapers are starting to vanish thanks to new developments and public projects.

Thats put a pinch on parking.

Its a double whammy, said Steve McCoy, principal with commercial real estate firm Transwestern. More people are coming downtown at the same time we have fewer places to park.

McCoy said while mass transit plays an important roll getting workers to the central city, theres still a need for parking.

Its one of the top negotiating points for companies that lease office space, he said. They want to make sure their people have a convenient place to park and it is secured.

See the article here:
Parking pinch means more garages coming to downtown Dallas

The recently opened and already busy Target retail store at the Regal Plaza shopping center reflects the demand for new retail development on the South Hill, says prominent Spokane real estate developer Dave Black, who also notes that it took more than a decade for the project to come to fruition.

Black says Target is the catalyst for other retail tenants looking at Regal Plaza and other sites on the South Hill.

Were negotiating five more leases, he says of Regal Plaza. Thats all but one of the remaining spaces.

With the Target store opening last week, Black announced that three new tenantsMod Pizza, Sally Beauty, and Supercutshave signed leases for Regal Plaza space.

The Target store employs about 200 mostly part-time employees, says Daniel Sweeney, the stores manager.

Sweeney says most of the stores employees are hired locally and half of the 10-member management team is from the Spokane-Coeur dAlene area.

The 135,000-square-foot store is a typical size for a newer Target, Sweeney says, adding, This model is working very well.

The store is one of five Target stores that Minneapolis-based Target Corp. has scheduled to open this year in the U.S. and the only store its opening this year in the Pacific Northwest, Sweeney says.

The store includes a grocery department that Target has been rolling out in its stores over the last couple of years.

With the fresh market, our goal is to have Target guests come more often throughout the month, he says. It has what most people want and need for fill-in grocery shopping, including healthier options even in our own brands.

Excerpt from:
New Target draws retail focus to South Hill

While big box retailers like Target have struggled to get a foothold in Canadian markets, demand for luxury retailers is strong and fuelling massive expansion projects at shopping malls across the country.

A construction crane towers over the expanding Sherway Gardens mall in Toronto on Friday, July 25. Photo by The Canadian Press

According to research by commercial real estate company CBRE Group, more luxury retailers are predicted to arrive in Canada, albeit at a more moderate pace compared to the flurry of activity seen in the last three years.

The aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and recession spurred a boom in retail development with foreign retailers, primarily American ones, turning their sights to Canada and construction hasnt kept up with demand.

There is little to no vacancy in highly sought after shopping centres and neighbourhoods, according to CBREs head researcher Ross Moore.

We just dont have empty retail to speak of. Across the country malls are generally full. If youre a Spanish or Italian or U.S. retailer, you are going to be put off by that. Supply is the key. Until we build more thats going to be a challenge.

The study, which measured the number and type of retailers that set up shop in 2013, found that luxury and high-end fashion brands constitute the majority of new arrivals in Canada.

Newcomers in the jewellery, designer fashion and accessories categories are driving the demand for additional retail space.

In the cities, where most of Canadas top income earners reside, construction cranes are busy piecing together the new extensions: In Vancouver, the Pacific and Oakridge Centres are getting bigger (adding 578,000-square-feet and 373,000-square-feet respectively); Calgarys Chinook Centre is expanding (140,000-square-feet) as well as Ottawas Rideau Centre (230,000-square-feet).

In Toronto, top-tier malls Yorkdale and Sherway Gardens are simultaneously undergoing multi-million dollar expansions to accommodate new anchor tenant, the upscale U.S. department store Nordstrom.

Original post:
Mall construction boom fuelled by tastes of Canadas wealthiest

FILE Demand for top flight office space in the Salt Lake Valley is growing, according to two reports detailing the Wasatch Front commercial real estate market during the second quarter of the year.

Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News

Enlarge photo

SALT LAKE CITY Demand for top flight office space in the Salt Lake Valley is growing, according to two reports detailing the Wasatch Front commercial real estate market during the second quarter of the year.

Both CBRE and Coldwell Banker Commercial released their respective studies on trends in the office, industrial and retail real estate sectors. A common theme was increasing demand as the states fiscal potency continues to remain among the best in the country.

The Coldwell Banker mid-year 2014 report states that steady yet positive changes are expected to occur over the remainder of the year. Class A office space in the downtown central business district showed improved viability for tenants looking for enhanced amenities, new construction and better transportation.

Expect to see the downtown office market remain unchanged throughout the year while tenants look for upgrades and renovations to be made in Class B and C buildings, the report states.

Class A buildings have high quality standard finishes, state of the art systems, exceptional accessibility along with a definite market presence. Class B properties have finishes that are fair to good for the area and systems that are adequate. Class C buildings compete for tenants requiring functional space at rents below the average for the area.

The overall progress observed in the Salt Lake office market offers good reason for optimism through the remainder of 2014, explained Lew Cramer, Coldwell Banker Commercial president and CEO.

The report notes that the average asking lease rate for the Salt Lake office market registered at $21.85 per square foot, a slight hike of 1.4 percent from last years overall average. Of the three top segments, Class A space showed the highest rate gains climbing 2.4 percent from 2013 to a current average asking lease rate of $24.58 per square foot. The increase came despite upward movement in the overall vacancy rates in the office market.

Excerpt from:
Commercial real estate market improving, report says

PAKISTANS retail sector is undergoing a facelift, as several business groups are diverting significant investment to construction of modern retail infrastructure to take advantage of changing preferences of urban consumers, who now prefer to shop from superstores, hypermarkets and large malls for convenience and quality.

A population of 180m people with a huge youth bulge, rapid urbanisation and lack of modern retail space are said to be the main factors driving new corporate investments into the organised retail business.

The retail trade in Pakistan still remains at an early stage of development, dominated by street shopping. Theres an unlimited space for investment in the organised retail, notes Ahmed Khan, head of leasing at the Emporium, the countrys largest shopping mall being built in Lahore by the Nishat Group at an estimated cost of Rs10bn. The complex will also have a 123-room hotel with the largest banqueting facility, restaurants, nine-screen cinema complex and play area for children.

The modern retail format comprising hypermarkets, superstores and malls represents only a fraction of the total retail trade, encouraging investors to invest their money in this sector. Apart from Nishat, other major business groups investing in the creation of modern retail infrastructure in major cities include Arif Habib, Bismillah Group, Packages and Giga Group.

There is a visible change in consumer spending patterns. The new retail formats are replacing the old trend of street shopping. We expect a footfall of 40,000-50,000 a day at the Emporium, Ahmed argues. Many factors have contributed to the change in the trend: extreme weather, convenience, quality, choice and rising disposable incomes.

Wholesale and retail trade contributes 18.6 per cent to the gross domestic product and has a 31.9 per cent share in the services sector, according to the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2013-14. It grew by a respectable 5.2 per cent in the last financial year, compared with 3.38 per cent a year before.

Private consumption in Pakistan has increased over the last few years in spite of slow economic growth. The size of the retail market is estimated to be somewhere between Rs3.5 trillion and Rs4 trillion.

Pakistan was identified in 2011 by Deloitte and PlanetRetail as one of the 10 hidden heroes in the emerging markets with a huge potential for growth in the retail sector. Although the country is poor, if only a small share has discretionary spending power, this represents a sizable market for modern retailers, emphasises the report.

The Pakistani retail industry is one of the least concentrated in the world. There are few major chains. Low rate of car ownership, home refrigeration, purchasing power and relatively small number of modern retail formats means that most Pakistanis shop daily at small neighbourhood shops, it notes.

Overall, the traditional sector accounts for the majority of the countrys retail sales. However, in the long term, as competition increases, modern retail formats will gradually take an increasing share of the market.

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Corporate investment in retail sector - Newspaper - DAWN.COM

Rising construction costs have prevented Butler County residents from getting some new amenities such as restaurants, even while construction of mega-projects appears to be flourishing.

Fairfield Twp. had hoped to get a new Quaker Steak restaurant near the Menards home improvement store. Earlier this month, however, the man overseeing the project, Jim Combs, said an unexpectedly high price tag put it on the back burner indefinitely. The construction costs came in a half-million dollars over projections, he explained, and the economics simply didnt work.

At the same time, within less of a mile from each other, the $160 million expansion of Cincinnati Childrens hospital is under way, along with the construction of the Liberty Center, the $350 million mega-retail complex, even while contending with rising costs. The total cost of investment of Liberty Center increased from $300 million.

As we enter the third quarter of 2014, trends indicate that the marketplace is changing and construction prices are heading up. One strong indicator of this increase were seeing is the number of projects that are coming in over clients desired budget, said Kevin Cozart, vice president of the Messer Construction Company.

A report by the firm Building Design and Construction states that as of late last year, construction costs had increased for 22 consecutive months. Driving that increase were labor costs, amid concerns about the availability of skilled workers. The Turner Construction Company publishes a building cost index. That index has seen a 4.24 percent increase from a year ago.

Cozart said published costs are primarily based on material costs and labor rates, but they do not take into account subcontractor overhead and profit, which had sunk as low as five percent during the recession.

For the companies that survived the recession, there is finally an adequate flow of work. The overall economic situation has improved to the point that projects delayed or shelved during the recession are back online. Increased business activity is generating the need for additional space, Cozart said.

There are signs in some areas that the local market is picking up. Tim Bachman, the director of development for the city of Fairfield, said he has seen a rebound lately due to market demand.

Ive heard that several years ago, people were acquiring empty buildings because of the cost of construction and because they were cheap, he said. Now, those buildings, at least in Fairfield, are pretty absorbed by the market, so we are seeing people kicking tires on new construction.

However, smaller projects like restaurants might be canceled or modified, while large projects that have been in the planning for many years manage to stay on track, said Bachman.

The rest is here:
Rising costs crimp some construction projects while others flourish

Published: Saturday, 7/26/2014 - Updated: 2 minutes ago

BY JON CHAVEZ BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

Vacancies among retail space in metro Toledo fell to 12.9 percent from 13.2 percent over the first six months of 2014, according to a new midyear report by the Reichle Klein Group, a local commercial real estate firm.

The vacancy rate for industrial sites in the area also declined, falling to 7.5 percent from 7.8 percent between January and June.

Reichle Klein said the drop in retail vacancies was significant because it occurred even as two large anchor spaces Giant Eagle supermarkets became vacant when the chain left the Toledo market.

As a result of Giant Eagles departure, the vacancy rate for retail anchor space increased from 9.8 percent to 11.5 percent.

But overall, vacant retail space declined because of higher demand for smaller inline retail space in retail centers. The mid-year vacancy rate for inline retail space was 14.7 percent, down from 15.8 percent at the end of 2013.

Also, according to Reichle Klein, the vacancy situation was helped by the sale of two former Kmart stores one on Reynolds Road in Toledo to At Home stores, formerly Garden Ridge, and the other on Carronade Drive in Perrysburg to Kroger. Together the two stores have 202,347 square feet.

The average lease rate for retail space in the Toledo area fell to $7.43 a square foot from $7.62 at the end of 2013.

Reichle Klein said the rental rate declined because high-value space is primarily filled, leaving mostly less expensive space on the market.

More here:
Retail vacancies drop in area

Queensbury

Two outlet center operators along Route 9 have been expanding their retail space, but with summer in full swing, neither is yet ready to announce who the new tenants might be.

"Some stores are starting buildout now," said Corey Shanus of Sobert Realty, which operates The Outlets at Lake George. "The construction is more or less done. We're still leasing it," he added.

"We're trying to be very selective in putting tenants together," Shanus added.

Farther up the road, the Outlet Shoppes of Lake George is building the first 30,000-square-foot phase of its planned 120,000-square-foot outlet center expansion.

It, too, is not yet ready to announce the new occupants.

The Outlets at Lake George, formerly known as the Lake George Plaza Outlet Center, expanded across Route 9 after acquiring the former Montcalm Restaurant and razing it.

Shanus said more than $2 million has been invested in rehabilitating the center.

An underground parking garage has been spruced up to make it more inviting, and a crosswalk was installed across Route 9 to connect the building that replaced the Montcalm with the original outlet building on the east side of Route 9.

Shanus said a ramp links the building on the Montcalm site to another outlet center, French Mountain Commons.

Link:
Two outlets going all out

A La Crosse County committee gave its nod today to a $68 million proposal by Weber Holdings to build offices, retail space and 94 housing units on county-owned Lot C just south of the Law Enforcement Center in downtown La Crosse.

Weber Holdings, headed by Logistics Health Inc. CEO and founder Don Weber, was the committees narrow choice over a combined plan by Borton Construction, Three Sixty Real Estate Solutions and Doerflinger developer Mike Keil. Doran Companies of Bloomington, Minn., was taken out of the running almost immediately.

Along with the housing, the winning proposal calls for a cafe and market discussions already have begun with a potential, yet-unnamed market tenant along with 100,000 square feet of office space for 500 health care-related jobs Weber pledged it will add downtown over three years. It also has space as requested for Associated Bank, which had agreed to sell its building at 605 State St. to the county as a new administrative center if it could move to Lot C. The total taxable value of the finished complex was estimated at $54 million.

Development of Lot C is part of the countys interlocking plans that include the selling the administrative center at 400 N. Fourth St. to Stizo Development LLC a partnership of Three Sixty and Borton that would gut the building to remove asbestos and then convert it to student housing and shifting county offices to the Associated Bank site.

Like the Weber concept, the Borton-Three Sixty-Doerflinger proposal was a mix of office, retail and residential space, plus a hotel later on after the local market has time to absorb two other downtown area hotels now in the works. But the development would be in phases that run through 2020, including plans for adjacent land that now has the main post office and had until recently been a regional sorting site.

Members of the countys Administrative Center and Downtown Campus Study Committee acknowledged that while they liked both local presentations, the fact Weber Holdings wanted to build the entire complex as a whole rather than in segments gave it a slight edge. The inclusion of street level and underground parking was a plus as well, committee members said.

For more on this story, see Fridays Tribune or check back at http://www.lacrossetribune.com.

Excerpt from:
County panel favors Weber plan for Lot C