Tech Adoption Is Key To Organizational Resilience For Property Management Teams

For an industry that relied heavily on in-person interactions, the property management world had to adapt quickly to remote pandemic realities over the past year. The shift to remote work, virtual leasing and the types of communications needed to relay messages to residents all created an urgency in the property management world to find technology solutions that would best help them navigate business disruption caused by the pandemic.

However, the acceleration of tech adoption in property management is not something that starts and stops with a remote reality. Technology was gaining traction before the pandemic, and the acceleration of tech adoption is going to continue to rise, even when our environment starts to feel a little more “back to normal.”

Mineral royalty interests do not possess any liabilities which are present in traditional real estate. These are assumed by the OpCo including environmental, mechanical, and maintenance. Ultimately, if a well is drilled and there is a cost overrun, it is completely irrelevant to the mineral holder and 100% the operator’s responsibility. Click to read more at www.forbes.com.

Room for Recovery

The hospitality sector was devastated in 2020, but vaccinations, industrywide efforts, and returning demand are reasons for hope.

Perspective isn’t the easiest thing to maintain when facing unprecedented challenges — and the COVID-19 pandemic provided plenty of those for commercial real estate markets in the year-plus since the resulting shutdown affected nearly every facet of daily life in the U.S.

But with a year in the rearview mirror, hotel property owners, operators, investors, and guests alike have gained enough perspective to know there is light at the end of the tunnel. Plenty of variables will dictate just how far the sector has to go to reach it — but it’s a comforting thought for an industry that’s been to hell and is on its way back in 2021.

“Hope is going to be driven by the widespread dispersion of a vaccine,” says Geraldine Guichardo, global head of research for JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group and head of Americas Hotels Research. “Once people feel more comfortable traveling and do not fear the risk of becoming contagious, there is real pent-up demand to travel again.” Cllick to read more at www.ccim.com.

Together Again: Texans Venture out to Make up for Lost Time

With Texans finally stepping out in public again, we asked photographers across the state to give us a look at people enjoying themselves after the long shutdown.

As Texas settles in for another long, hot summer, more Texans are doing something they haven’t done for a year and more: going out into the world and being around other people. The pandemic took a terrible toll on the lives and health of so many, but it also changed how Texans behave. Famously friendly, culturally gregarious and inherently social, many Texans found themselves distanced, masked and unable to comfortably do so many things that before always seemed normal.

But now, with vaccinations readily available and infection and hospitalization rates in sharp decline, Texas is reopening — and Texans are taking full advantage, going swimming and dancing, eating at restaurants, drinking in bars, playing at parks, going shopping and just generally doing what comes naturally. Texas Tribune photographers fanned out across the state to get a feel for a state emerging from the long shutdown. Here’s a little of what they saw. Click to read more at www.texastribune.com.

Mohr Capital Sells Amazon Last-Mile Facility In Austin, Texas

AUSTIN, Texas, June 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Mohr Capital, a Dallas-based privately held real estate investment firm, has sold MetCenter Building III, a last-mile distribution facility occupied by Amazon in Austin, to Four Springs Capital Trust in an off-market transaction.

The 160,000-SF warehouse/logistics building is located at 7000 Metropolis Drive in Austin’s Southeast industrial submarket. The property is 100% occupied by Amazon.com Services LLC and serves as its primary last-mile distribution facility in the Austin metro area. The sale includes the adjacent 20-acre parking lot, which is also currently leased by Amazon.

“After more than a year of owning the facility and the departure of one of its occupants, we worked closely with Amazon in 2020 and early 2021 to exercise its right of first offer to fully occupy the building through 2031. While our intention was always to hold this asset long-term, Four Springs’ off-market offer was very compelling. The extended lease-term, the credit quality of the tenant, the solid real-estate fundamentals of the industrial market and the great relationship we have with Four Springs made this deal possible,” said Rodrigo Godoi, managing director of investments for Mohr Capital.

In 2019, Mohr Capital secured MetCenter Building III as part of a 404,800-SF portfolio acquisition from Zydeco Development. At the time of purchase, the portfolio consisted of MetCenter Building III – then occupied by both Amazon and Uber Advanced Technologies – as well as a four-building, 244,800-SF office facility occupied by technology, government and health care tenants. Click to read more at www.prnewswire.com.

The Intersection of Diversity, Mental Health and Construction

Once a silent topic, it has been encouraging to see the construction industry’s enhanced focus on mental health. We have become more open to discussing the challenges that are faced, adept at recognizing the signs of stress, and critically focused on reducing the suicide rate within the construction industry.

Construction has the 2nd highest rate of suicides among all occupations, four times higher than in the general population. Earlier this year, McCarthy launched our Genuine Care campaign to help partners better manage self-care and spot signs of distress in others.

But what about the intersection of DEI and Mental Health?

Often when diversity, equity, and inclusion work is discussed, there is a focus on legally protected characteristics like race and gender. However, the work touches more than visible layers of identity and is much more nuanced. Nestled within the risk factors for a mental health crisis are feelings of isolation, physical or emotional pain, and concerns around sharing an authentic representation of current struggles.

As DEI practitioners, we are acutely aware of the need for authenticity, candor, and connection. Done well, DEI work is an integrated practice—where multiple layers of the organization are skilled at driving inclusion. All leaders should proactively create and maintain employee connections, reduce incidences of emotional distress, and coach teams to fully embrace coworkers who may need to take time away for self-care or more involved medical care. Click to read more at www.dmagazine.com.

Retail is Already Making its Comeback in Quickly-Growing Houston, Dallas, and Austin

After much of the national economy came to an abrupt halt at the beginning of the pandemic last year, Texan leaders were initiating plans to start reopening the state as early as May 2020. Then on March 2 of this year, Governor Greg Abbott signed a sweeping executive order that rolled back virtually all restrictions and superseded federal guidelines about business reopenings and best practices.

And while there was some ebb and flow to the ongoing challenges for retail throughout last summer and autumn, commercial real estate professionals in major Texas cities, including Austin, Dallas, and Houston, cite the state’s early reopening as one major reason why these retail markets have been able to bounce back rather quickly.

But there’s more to the story as each city has a different landscape and retail demands. Texas cities were affected just like others across the nation, but there’s now a perfect storm of pent-up consumer demand, investor interest, population growth and a general business-friendly sentiment that is brewing and lifting Texan retail to new heights. Click to read more at www.rednews.com.