Urbanexus Update - Issue #84
H. Pike Oliver compiles this weekly update of real estate and community development news. Please note that some links may lead to items that are behind a paywall.
Development finance
AD&C loan rates decline in Q3 '19 — eyeonhousing.org
In the third-quarter of 2019, builders and developers reported declining interest rates on all types of loans covered in NAHB's survey on acquisition, development and construction financing.
Retail
Transition at one of the original malls — crosscut.com
The stores at the north end of Northgate Mall in Seattle, including Barnes and Noble, and the stores at the south end, including the Nordstrom Rack, remain open at present, in part because the entrances open to the outdoors. But even a spokesperson for Simon Property Group, the real estate company that owns the mall, wasn’t exactly sure how to describe the future.
More than 9,100 stores closing in 2019 Olympia Sports recently said it plans to close half its stores. Sears, Kmart, Party City, and Walmart have also announced closings.
Some malls are now targeting millionaires Suburban malls in the middle of America have been hit hard due the financial woes of anchor tenants like Macy's and JCPenney and the slow death spiral at Sears.
Housing
Transit-adjacent housing nixed in L.A. — www.planetizen.com
The local planning commission for South Los Angeles rejected a multi-family housing development proposed for a location adjacent to a future light rail station.
Odds were 140 in 3,000 for an L.A. housing lottery Johanna Blocker was homeless before her application was picked for a new affordable apartment complex.
A comprehensive, data-driven strategy results in the developer producing a more unique and exciting product to the market and ensures that it will be met with a favorable reception. Importantly, the product will not be a copy of every other project, helping it maintain its optimal position in the market. We know that renters and buyers will respond more favorably to new product with creative plans.
Metropolitan dynamics
Companies join people fleeing California
A consulting firm, Spectrum Location Solutions, estimates that about 660 California companies moved 765 facilities out of state in 2018 and thus far into 2019.
A different way of thinking about Holland
This is the 30th most densely populated country or territory in the world and the densest country in Europe. Instead of thinking of the Netherlands as a densely populated country, it looks at the Netherlands as if it were a relatively empty metropolitan area.
Environment and resilience
‘Bleak’ U.N. report looms over new climate talks Countries agreed to rein in emissions in an effort to avert climate catastrophes. They've failed, according to the latest United Nations report.
End apartment bans to save the planet
Local bans on attached homes in cities are driving up energy use and helping cook the climate, the United Nations Environment Program wrote in a report published on November 26, 2019.
