As COVID continues to take a toll on the world, come learn about real estate repurposing, relocating people and companies, reshoring, remote everything, robots, ROI, and rising risk during this virtual event on the state of the economy and gain insight into what it will now look like over the next couple of years. Submit questions in advance here.

Our Presenter

Ted Abernathy is the Managing Partner of Economic Leadership LLC, a consultancy that is currently working in more than a dozen states to develop economic and workforce strategies. Ted has 35 years of experience in directing economic development and workforce development programs. From 2008-2013, Ted was the Executive Director of the Southern Growth Policies Board, a 42-year old public policy think tank that provided economic development research, strategy, and marketing advice, to states and communities across the South. He also served as an economic development policy advisor to the Southern Governors Association. Read More.

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CREW Network’s fourth benchmark study measures progress for women over the last 15 years and benchmarks diversity, equity, and inclusion in the industry.

Executive Summary

The purpose of this study is to guide women, Black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) and other diverse groups of people striving to advance their careers in the industry, inform companies and managers about the values and priorities of their employees, and enhance the research and data for organizations that desire greater diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

This project, in partnership with the MIT Center for Real Estate, is made possible by Capital One Commercial Banking, CREW Network Industry Research Program Partner and leading underwriter of the 2020 study.

Read the Study

Originally published by Nate Berg for FastCompany.com on September 10, 2020.

Alums of real estate juggernauts Cushman & Wakefield and JLL are betting that the future of commercial real estate lies in not just selling office space, but designing and building it, too.

With the pandemic placing a large question mark over the future of offices and commercial buildings, two leaders in the world of commercial real estate are making a pivot that could show how the industry might adapt. They’re betting that the future of office real estate lies in not just selling the office space, but designing and building it, too.

Click Here to Read More

Become A Sponsor

Note: NAIOP Charlotte Cornerstone Sponsors (Capstone & Archstone Levels) and CRCBR Alliance Sponsors (Chairman & Corporate Associate Levels) are confirmed as hole sponsors.

Questions about sponsorship?
Contact the NAIOP Charlotte office at 704-940-7383 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Originally published on September 9, 2020, by NC Rep. Jay Adams District 96

Below is a press release from NC Representative Jay Adams regarding the announcement of the passage of NC House Bill 1105 that will directly provide positive economic impact for Catawba County and Future Jobs.

Recently House Bill 1105 The Coronavirus Relief Act was signed into law that will have lasting impact on the United States, North Carolina and the Catawba Valley. Within the $1.1 Billion bill there is a $14.3 Million appropriation to the City of Conover and Gaston County to fund the establishment of facilities that will bring the research, development, and manufacture of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to North Carolina.

During the early days of the pandemic the US relied on suppliers based in China for a number of PPE items including, but not limited to, a variety of mask and garments used in hospitals and care facilities. As you may recall, China restrained delivery of some of the products due to their internal demand for the products and later used them for leverage in various negotiations.

It's time once again for Business North Carolina's annual Building NC Awards--for commercial real estate projects with the greatest impact and most innovative designs, to be featured in our November issue.  Use this opportunity to promote your business and know there is still time to submit nominations to: https://businessnc.com/building-nc/. 

Submit Your Nomination

NAIOP Charlotte 2020
Developing Leader Mentorship Program

Make connections that help make a career.

While this year hasn't gone exactly as we all thought it would, we were still able to have a successful DL Mentorship Program! The majority of one-on-one meetings between DLs and Mentors were able to take place prior to social distancing and some have taken place virtually! Both Mentors and Mentees thought this year's program was enjoyable and successful - read some quotes below!

Thank you Mentors for your generous commitment of time and thank you to the DLs for participating!

Originally published by Pat Fogleman, Executive Director of NAIOP North Carolina on August 25, 2020.

NAIOP North Carolina comprised of NAIOP Charlotte, NAIOP Piedmont Triad, and NAIOP Raleigh Durham, is recognizing our 2020 project winners. NAIOP is proud to recognize projects that positively influence our communities and industry in North Carolina.

The winning projects will be officially announced during an upcoming NAIOP NC webinar this September. The award presentation was initially scheduled to be held at the 2020 NAIOP NC conference at Pinehurst in March but due to COVID-19 the conference has been rescheduled to March 2021 at which time we will again recognize our 2020 winners along with our 2021 winners.

View Press Release

View NAIOP NC Award Winners 

Originally published in the Real Estate & Building Industry Coalition (REBIC) Newsletter on September 1, 2020.

North Carolina’s new ‘Phase 2.5’ starts Friday at 5 p.m.

• Indoor fitness facilities and bowling alleys can open at 30% capacity
• Museums can open at 50% capacity
• Playgrounds allowed to open
• Mass-gathering limits raised to 25 indoors, 50 outdoors

Places that still remain closed include:

• movie theaters
• night clubs
• amusement parks
• bars

The order announced today has no effect on restaurants, which are at 50% capacity, or schools, which are mostly online.

Tracking Trends and Tangents as We Reimagine
Our Post-Pandemic Economy (and Lives)

Tuesday, October 20, 2020 | 9:00am - 10:00am

As COVID continues to take a toll on the world, come learn about real estate repurposing, relocating people and companies, reshoring, remote everything, robots, ROI, and rising risk during this virtual event on the state of the economy and gain insight into what it will now look like over the next couple of years. Submit questions in advance here.

Our Presenter

Ted Abernathy is the Managing Partner of Economic Leadership LLC, a consultancy that is currently working in more than a dozen states to develop economic and workforce strategies. Ted has 35 years of experience in directing economic development and workforce development programs. From 2008-2013, Ted was the Executive Director of the Southern Growth Policies Board, a 42-year old public policy think tank that provided economic development research, strategy, and marketing advice, to states and communities across the South. He also served as an economic development policy advisor to the Southern Governors Association. Read More.

Registration

Click Here to Register

Questions

Originally published by Shawn Moura Ph.D. on August 27, 2020.

Last week, NAIOP conducted its fifth monthly survey of its U.S. members on the impacts of COVID-19. Since April, the association has examined the pandemic’s effects on commercial real estate and how firms have responded. Respondents to the survey report continued, gradual improvement in rent collections, deal activity and conditions for ongoing development projects. However, their expectations for the duration of the pandemic remain virtually unchanged since July. 

The survey was completed by 210 NAIOP members between August 17-20, 2020. Respondents represent a range of professions, including developers, building owners, building managers, brokers, lenders and investors. 

Click Here to Read More

Originally published by Tejaswi Ponnada Parker on August 28, 2020.

The second-quarter contraction in commercial real estate (CRE) capital markets evokes memories of the significant liquidity and price discovery challenges encountered during the global financial crisis (GFC). However, the two crises share little else in common, at least up to this point. While the GFC indiscriminately impacted volumes and pricing across commercial property types as a result of the significant financial market stress, the impact of the pandemic on capital markets thus far has been more selective, widening the gulf between “winner” and “loser” property types. We begin with a brief overview and then dive into a cross-sectional and time-series comparison at the aggregate sector, sub-sector, and market level, in a bid to identify trends and understand investor risk sentiment.

Second-quarter 2020 volumes per Real Capital Analytics (RCA) reported the steepest year-over-year (YoY) decline in any single quarter since the GFC recovery. Over the last 10 years — the longest economic expansion in U.S. history — annual deal volumes steadily increased. They first peaked in 2015, a record year of deal-making for large-scale portfolio and entity-level transactions, before reaching an all-time high[1] of $592 billion in 2019. Transaction volume is often a barometer of liquidity in capital markets—and individual, portfolio and entity sales all reported a steep contraction in the second quarter this year. But how does liquidity today compare with that observed during the GFC, and more importantly, are these trends here to stay?

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Originally published by Grace Winters and Timi Anyon Hallem in NAIOP's Summer 2020 Issue

It’s crucial to review contracts during uncertain times.

As global markets, economies and governments marshal their resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, real estate professionals must assess their options to address and absorb the impact. A critical and time-sensitive activity is analyzing the force majeure provisions in important agreements and preparing to make creative arguments to achieve the most favorable outcomes.

What is Force Majeure?

A well-written force majeure provision broadly excuses nonperformance of contractual obligations when there are unavoidable events outside the party’s control that were not reasonably foreseeable, either when the contract was written or in the exercise of due care. Typical clauses include “acts of God” (such as earthquakes, floods or other natural disasters), actions — or inactions (such as unanticipated governmental action, delay or restraint, terrorism and wars), and usually some version of a catch-all provision referring to “other events outside of the control of the parties.” Many force majeure provisions specifically exclude increases in the cost of labor, fuel or materials; labor shortages; economic hardship; and transportation delays, unless they are affecting a wide area beyond the property in question.

Click Here to Read More

Originally published in the NAIOP E-Newsletter on September 1, 2020 

The Federal Reserve last week announced it was ending its longstanding practice of preemptively hiking interest rates to stave off inflation. Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank would instead focus on maintaining low levels of unemployment, even if it comes at the expense of higher prices for consumers. The Fed is expected to maintain its benchmark rate – which was cut twice back in March in response to the COVID-19 pandemic – at near-zero percent levels for the foreseeable future. 

Over on Capitol Hill, Senate Democrats are out with a new report. Called The Case for Climate Action, it recommends trillions of dollars in investments to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. In terms of buildings in the commercial and industrial space, it highlights options for “decarbonizing everything,” but the plan is far less specific than the one released in July by House Democrats. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), who chairs the select committee that published the paper, said many of the recommendations are intentionally open-ended in order to “maintain flexibility going into the next Congress.” 

Click Here to Read More

Thank you to Batson-Cook Construction for being our Scoreboard Sponsor at this year’s NAIOP Charlotte/CRCBR Golf Tournament on September 28!

Sign up as a sponsor to get your company name in front of brokers and developers, and catch up (from a safe distance) with your industry peers. For one price, your company will be recognized as a sponsor during this two-flight tournament! Sponsorships are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Learn more and sign up here: https://www.naiopclt.org/golf-tournament

Originally published by Dr. Hany Guirguis, Manhattan College and Dr. Timothy Savage, New York University on August 2020 for NAIOP Research Foundation

COVID-19 Spurs Demand for E-Commerce, but Recession Produces Headwinds for Industrial Real Estate

The U.S. macroeconomic landscape has deteriorated significantly since NAIOP’s February 2020 Industrial Space Demand Forecast. Most notably, the economy entered a recession that is likely to continue through the end of the year. Although industrial real estate has outperformed other commercial property types this year due to a surge in e-commerce, broader macroeconomic indicators suggest industrial space absorption will decline sharply in Q3 2020 and then rebound to positive levels in Q2 2021 (see Figure 1).

After spreading quickly within the New York tri-state area, the COVID-19 pandemic moved south and west to states such as Arizona, Florida and Texas. As of mid-August, U.S. states and municipalities continue to implement a patchwork of public safety orders and partial lockdowns on business activity. Solutions to this crisis depend on the development and distribution of a successful vaccine; three candidate vaccines will soon enter large-scale trials.

Prior to the pandemic, CRE was already being disrupted by several major economic trends, in particular the growth of e-commerce. In part, this was driven by the economic efficiency of e-commerce distribution over traditional brick-and-mortar retail.¹ The pandemic will likely accelerate the transition of retail sales online, which will continue to drive long-term demand for industrial space. In urban and suburban communities, same-day and next-day delivery through e-commerce will support industrial absorption. The automation of physical tasks within warehouses and distribution centers has the potential to increase their efficiency, further contributing to e-commerce’s competitive advantage over traditional retail.²

Originally published on Ron Derven in NAIOP's Summer 2020 Issue

Flexibility is a must, but document everything as specifically as possible.

All the legal precedent in the world won’t solve the problem of tenants who cannot pay their rent, such as restaurants or businesses forced to lay off all their employees because they have no revenue in the aftermath of coronavirus-related shutdowns.

“It is impossible for lawyers to predict how courts are going to rule on these issues in the future as defaults from COVID-19 situations begin to work through the judicial process,” said attorney George Pincus of Stearns Weaver Miller, P.A., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, during a recent NAIOP webinar.

Pincus said many large national retail tenants are informing landlords that they are not going to pay rent for the foreseeable future and claiming impossibility of performance and force majeure (unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract). Pincus said if a landlord receives such a letter, they must assert their rights immediately.

Originally published on August 25, 2020 y NAIOP E-Newsletter

U.S. Federal Reserve officials last month agreed on the need for additional government action to support the economy, according to minutes from the July 28 meeting released last Wednesday. The comments come amid a Congressional stalemate over the size and scope of the next coronavirus relief bill.  

A key quote from the minutes reads as follows: “Participants observed that uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook remained very elevated, with the path of the economy highly dependent on the course of the virus and the public sector’s response to it … A number of participants observed that, with some provisions of the CARES Act set to expire shortly against the backdrop of a still-weak labor market, additional fiscal aid would likely be important for supporting vulnerable families, and thus the economy more broadly, in the period ahead.”

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Collaboration | Guidance | Networking | Leadership

Earlier this week, members heard about taking your business to the next level with NAIOP. NAIOP’s Bennett Gray discussed with Tricia Noble, Ascentris; Brian Richards, Beacon Partners; and Patrick Pierce, Selwyn Properties, about why they participate in Forums and how it’s been a rewarding experience that’s allowed for professional and personal growth and development. Click here to view the full video recording.

The National Forums bring together industry professionals in select groups to share deep industry knowledge, develop successful business strategies and build long-term relationships.

National Forum groups meet twice annually and connect year-round online, but the Forums experience is more than just the face-to-face meetings. Regular virtual meetings between annual events and the development of individual relationships among members are highly valued benefits of the program.

The application period for the National Forums closes Monday (8/31)!

Click Here to Apply

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