Category: News & Market Reports

Tech, Not Amenities, Key to Bringing Office Workers Back?

Posted on by Sarah

What will bring workers back to the office? Many companies are banking on flashy, high-end office spaces filled with amenities such as onsite cafes, fitness centers and high-tech conference centers. But a new survey suggests that these amenities might not play much of a role in convincing employees to leave their home offices.

According to a survey of 1,000 U.S. office workers commissioned by essensys, only one in five respondents said that amenities would bring them back to the office. But 63% of respondents said that technology and flexible workspaces do inspire them to work in the office.

Of those workers, 34% said they returned to their offices, at least on a hybrid basis, because they liked the convenience and layout of their office space. An additional 27% said they liked having access to multiple workstations, while 26% said they valued their office’s more reliable WiFi.

The survey also found that 81% of respondents are frustrated with their current office experiences and 52% envy the technology available in other office buildings.

“Many of the conversations we have had on the return to the office have been around investment into top-of-the-line amenity space,” said Jeremy Bernard, North American chief executive officer of essensys, in a statement. “While creating an attractive physical space is important, it’s only one part of the puzzle. Our research revealed that the real driver is access to in-office tech.”

More than half — 56% — of the 1,000 U.S. workers surveyed said that the tech in their offices enhances their ability to work.

What tech do workers want in their office buildings? Building-wide WiFi, sensor-controlled lighting and climate control and the ability to access space and services across a network of locations.

“Technology can’t be overlooked as a tool in the back-to-the-office battle,” Bernard said. “Against today’s backdrop of economic uncertainty, this can’t be, nor should it be, ignored. The modern office is completely changing. If real estate strategies don’t evolve quickly and support today’s occupiers, there will be even tougher roads ahead in the fight to remain competitive and relevant.”

Colliers Mortgage Closes Fannie Mae Loan for The Edmond in Waco

Posted on by Sarah

Fritz Waldvogel of Colliers Mortgage’s Minneapolis office closed a Fannie Mae loan for a repeat client for the refinancing of The Edmond in Waco, Texas. The 124-unit market rate property was constructed in 1967 and includes 10 two-story garden-style buildings and two one-story maintenance/storage buildings. Community amenities include a courtyard, BBQ/picnic area, covered parking, on-site management, pool, package receiving, clothes care center, on-site maintenance, and surveillance camera system.

The loan was arranged through a partnership with Old Capital Lending and carries a 10-year term.

Fritz Waldvogel of Colliers Mortgage’s Minneapolis office closed a Fannie Mae loan for a repeat client for the refinancing of The Edmond in Waco, Texas. The 124-unit market rate property was constructed in 1967 and includes 10 two-story garden-style buildings and two one-story maintenance/storage buildings. Community amenities include a courtyard, BBQ/picnic area, covered parking, on-site management, pool, package receiving, clothes care center, on-site maintenance, and surveillance camera system.

The loan was arranged through a partnership with Old Capital Lending and carries a 10-year term.

Hines Announces Newest Industrial Venture with The Galesi Group

Posted on by Sarah

Hines, the global real estate investment, development, and property manager, announced that it has formed a joint venture with The Galesi Group (Galesi) to develop a Class-A industrial and logistics park at the NE corner of Harris Branch Parkway and Parmer Lane in Austin. The site encompasses 150 acres and lies between Harris Branch Parkway and SH 130 and is accessed by both Howard Lane, from the north, and Parmer Lane, from the south.

Phase I of the project is being designed by Powers Brown Architecture and will offer 315,000 square feet of Class-A industrial warehouse space across three buildings. The buildings will feature a sleek, distinctive design while also providing tenants with functional and efficient floor space, all within a controlled business park setting. The park will contain approximately 1.7 million square feet of industrial and logistics space upon full build-out. The venture is located two miles from the Samsung Austin Semiconductor plant, less than one mile from SH 130, and less than 10 miles from downtown Austin as well as the Tesla Gigafactory.

The site is in a PUD with LI Base Zoning and allows for warehouse distribution, light manufacturing, high-tech industrial, and e-commerce fulfillment center uses, among other permitted uses.

Lennar and Icon Announce Visionary 3D-Printed Homes Underway in Georgetown

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GEORGETOWN, Texas, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Lennar, one of the nation’s leading homebuilders, and ICON, a construction technologies company pioneering large-scale 3D printing, announced today that construction on the largest community of 3D-printed homes is underway and reservations will begin in 2023.

Situated north of Austin in the city of Georgetown’s master-planned community of Wolf Ranch by Hillwood Communities, a Perot company, the 100-home community combines innovative robotics, software and advanced materials to create homes that are technologically advanced, environmentally sustainable and architecturally striking. Each Lennar home in Wolf Ranch is co-designed by the renowned architectural firm BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group. Prices are anticipated to start from the mid-$400,000s.

“We are very pleased to partner with ICON and BIG in building a first-of-its-kind, printed home community that combines innovative designs with sustainable features at an affordable price,” said Stuart Miller, Executive Chairman of Lennar. “Given the housing shortage that persists across the country, it has never been more important to innovate in order to find new methods of construction that will enable greater design flexibility and greater production at affordable prices.”

Click to read more at www.prnewswire.com.

Midway and Arc Capital Partners Acquire Sabine Street Lofts

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A joint venture between Midway, the privately owned, fully integrated real estate investment, development and management firm, and Arc Capital Partners, the real estate owner and investment manager known for mixed-use urban infill investments with strong and beneficial impacts on communities, has acquired Sabine Street Lofts, a 198-unit, Class-A, loft-style apartment community located near Downtown Houston on Buffalo Bayou. Tom Fish and Jonathan Paine with Walker Dunlop represented the joint venture in financing the transaction.

Located at 150 Sabine Street, Sabine Street Lofts benefits from its accessibility and direct access to the revitalized Buffalo Bayou Park and is immediately west of Downtown Houston. Completed in 2001, the institutional-quality asset features large one- and two-bedroom floorplans with an average size of 1,017 square feet, approximately 100 square feet larger than the average apartment in Central Houston. Unit amenities include granite countertops in kitchen and baths, 10-foot ceiling heights with exposed ducts, in-unit washers and dryers, stained concrete and wood flooring and private balconies or patios. Community amenities include gated entrances with immediate access to the Buffalo Bayou trail, a fitness center, two resort-inspired swimming pools, outdoor fireplaces, expansive sundecks and pet-friendly amenities. Plans are underway to renovate the property, investing capital specifically into the common areas and project amenities that all residents can enjoy.

Additionally, many of the units will be converted into workforce housing as part of Midway’s MPact program, a new initiative within Midway’s property operations division. Aligning with the firm’s values to be purposeful and community-driven, MPact seeks to support those who are making a difference in our communities. Designed for professionals earning around 80% of the area median income, MPact will provide quality housing to those who have dedicated their careers to serving others.

Additional Midway properties that offer MPact units include Braeburn Village, Villa Del Prado and The Laura, which will debut in 2023 as part of Midway’s future East River mixed-use development.

OwnProp Continues Expansion – Enters Houston Market

Posted on by Sarah

The Web3 Technology company fractionalizes investment in 22-story Class A property

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Peter Rex, founder and Executive Chairman of Rex, announced that OwnProp, a Rex company, is continuing its recent geographic growth by expanding its offering to Houston, Texas. This news comes on the heels of OwnProp’s recent expansion into Atlanta. OwnProp is a tech platform democratizing access to high return and cash flowing commercial real estate deals by fractionalizing assets using blockchain technology.

The Rex Company expands to Houston.

“With OwnProp’s technology, we’ll continue to make real estate investments just like this, more accessible,” said Rex.

“OwnProp has successfully closed offerings for hotels, multifamily apartment complexes, commercial office spaces, and now will be offering a 22-story Class A property located in the prestigious Uptown district of Houston,” said Peter Rex. “With OwnProp’s technology, we will continue to make real estate investments just like this, more accessible,” said Rex. Click to read more at www.finance.yahoo.com.