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

Questions

Join NAIOP on September 2nd at 2:00PM/EDT as we explore debt and equity capital flow today, and how it has evolved in the face of the current pandemic. Gary E. Mozer, Principal/Managing Director, George Smith Partners, will provide a macro overview of the market; discuss how lenders and investors are pricing and structuring and perceiving risk differently; changes in underwriting; and how diverse sources of capital are each lending/investing in the current climate.

Speaker: Gary E. Mozer, Principal/Managing Director, George Smith Partners

Click Here to Register

The Forums provide a unique opportunity for members to openly discuss project challenges, business opportunities and lessons-learned in a confidential and non-competitive setting. Over time, fellow members become a trusted circle of advisors.

The National Forums are an excellent way to become involved, stay in touch and develop new connections with key industry leaders.

Apply Online

The application period for the National Forums is now open. To submit an application, create an account and apply using our online tool. Deadline: Aug. 31. Notification of appointment will be emailed and followed by letter.

Questions? Contact Bennett Gray or Susan Bornt at 703-904-7100.

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].

Join us on Thursday, August 27th during the Industrial Space Demand: What the Latest NAIOP Forecast Tells Us Webinar at 2:00PMEDT.  Although industrial real estate has outperformed other commercial property types this year, thanks in part to rising e-commerce sales, unprecedented economic indicators suggest U.S. industrial space net absorption may decline to negative levels during the next three quarters. What factors contribute to this projected decline, when will it rebound, and what does it mean for the industrial real estate sector?

To identify linkages between overall economic activity and the demand for industrial real estate, forecast authors Dr. Hany Guirguis, professor, economics & finance, Manhattan College and Dr. Tim Savage, clinical assistant professor, NYU SPS Schack Institute of Real Estate, will walk us through the numbers, provide an overview of their forecasting process and engage in a live Q&A session with attendees.

Speakers

• Dr. Hany Guirguis - Professor of Economics and Finance

• Dr. Timothy Savage - Clinical Assistant Professor of Real Estate

Click Here to Register

Originally published by Ron Derven in NAIOP's Summer 2020 Issue.

During a pandemic, business-interruption insurance may not be a panacea.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues to affect the U.S., commercial property owners need to prepare for potential liability issues arising at their buildings, according to attorney George Pincus of Stearns Weaver Miller, P.A., in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, during a recent NAIOP webinar.

He offered these tips to protect properties, tenants and landlords from liability:

Communicate with tenants. A primary way to mitigate potential liability is by always being a “reasonable and prudent” commercial property owner and operator. That is one who conducts business with “skill, diligence, care, prudence and foresight,” according to Law Insider’s legal definitions dictionary. Establish and frequently use communications channels with tenants (including those working remotely) such as e-mail, websites or written notices.  Ask them to agree that these are the ways you will communicate through the crisis. Update tenants frequently on the status of the building. Provide as much information as possible. This includes hours and services, and building access procedures. If the building’s janitorial services are not equipped to perform decontamination or extraordinary disinfecting, explain why. Provide reminders that tenants should review and institute procedures for cleaning requirements.

Click Here to Read More

Join us on Monday, Aug 24th at 11:30 am as we take a look at an opportunity to create your own personal advisory board. The National Forums brings together industry professionals in select groups to share deep industry knowledge, develop successful business strategies, and build long-term relationships. Learn from NAIOP members about their experiences and how they use their Forum to create impactful relationships for your business.

Our Panelists

• (Moderator) Bennett Gray NAIOP Research Foundation and Forums
• Tricia Noble Ascentris (Industrial Development Forum)
• Brian Richards Beacon Partners (Capital Markets Forum)
• Patrick Pierce Selwyn Properties (Industrial Development Forum)

Registration

Click Here to Register

Originally published by Alan Joel for NAIOP on August 6, 2020.

The must-haves for the office of the near future may not be the same as they were six months ago. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the way people live and work, every community has had to take stock of how their future office space and common area amenities can be safely occupied. As businesses across the country are in various stages of reopening, office real estate experts on opposite coasts shared how their clients are reimagining their office space.

Adapting for the Short Term

Stefan Rogers, senior vice president, Voit Real Estate Services/CORFAC International, said Orange County, California, business owners who have transitioned to a remote workforce are extending that policy instead of retrofitting their existing space to enable a return. This way they avoid incurring a potential short-term capital expense in a space they’re not sure they may need in its current format moving forward.

Click Here to Read More

Originally published by Trey Barrineau for NAIOP's Summer Issue.

Expanded sanitation processes and improved HVAC systems could become standard in the years ahead.

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing building owners and tenants to consider something they may not have given much thought to in the past — how clean their facilities really are.

The good news is that most property managers were well prepared for the outbreak. A survey conducted in March by Appfolio found that 90% had already set up strategies for dealing with coronavirus, including revised sanitation policies.

“Within our company and all the properties, we established a communications system to track on a daily  basis cleaning supplies and sanitation supplies at every property,” said Barry Blanton, senior vice president with Blanton Turner, during a recent NAIOP webinar. (Blanton Turner is based in Seattle, an early COVID-19 hot spot.)

Originally published by Shawn Moura, Ph.D., for NAIOP's Research Foundation in August 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a broad impact on local economies across the U.S. and Canada. Mandatory closures and reduced consumer expenditures have impaired business operations across many industries, making it difficult for some commercial tenants to pay their rent on time and in full. Although less severely affected by the outbreak than hospitality or retail tenants, some office and industrial tenants have asked building owners for assistance in the form of rent abatements or deferrals. A small minority of these tenants have simply refused to pay rent.

Building owners have quickly developed strategies to respond to struggling tenants without jeopardizing their own financial health. At the same time, they have also adapted their leasing strategies to changed market conditions while updating the way they show spaces to facilitate social distancing.

Most North American localities have relaxed the regulations that required widespread business closures in March and April, but concerns are growing that an increase in infection rates may require another round of closures in some parts of the U.S. High rates of unemployment and reduced consumer expenditures may also lead more tenants to seek relief, even when their businesses remain open. Concerns about potential infection from face-to-face contact are also unlikely to disappear in the near future. For these reasons, practices that owners developed in the first months of the pandemic are likely to remain useful until the coronavirus and its economic effects have abated.

Take a quick look at an opportunity to create your own personal advisory board. The National Forums brings together industry professionals in select groups to share deep industry knowledge, develop successful business strategies, and build long-term relationships. Learn from NAIOP members about their experiences and how they use their Forum to create impactful relationships for your business

Our Panelists

• (Moderator) Bennett Gray, Vice President, NAIOP Research Foundation and Forums 
• Tricia Noble, Ascentris (Industrial Development Forum) 
• Brian Richards, Beacon Partners (Capital Markets Forum)
• Pat Pierce, Selwyn Properties (Industrial Development Forum)

Click Here to Register

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 by Shawn Moura Ph.D. on August 3, 2020.

Last week, NAIOP conducted its fourth monthly survey of its U.S. members on the impacts of COVID-19. Since April, the association has examined the pandemic’s effects on conditions in commercial real estate and evaluates how firms have responded. The July survey results reveal that commercial real estate fundamentals are improving, but that the pandemic continues to impact development projects and appears likely to remain a significant challenge for longer than many had initially expected.

The survey was completed by 347 NAIOP members between July 15-20, 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 Aquiles F. Suarez, Toby Burke , and Alex Ford for NAIOP's Summer 2020 Issue

Congress and the Federal Reserve took unprecedented action to shore up businesses, including commercial real estate.

As the COVID-19 pandemic began to shut down the economy, lawmakers in Washington responded, reaching agreements on several bills intended to help the country survive the economic chaos caused by the pandemic. Congress passed three relief bills in March, and the House passed a fourth bill in May that was headed for further negotiations with the Senate.

“Phase I” was H.R. 6074, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, signed March 6. It provided approximately $8 billion in additional funding to federal health agencies and eased regulations to allow for over-the-phone consultations between Medicare recipients and their health providers. The bill also empowered the Small Business Administration (SBA) to issue an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration, which makes loans of up to $2 million available to small businesses.

Click Here to Read More

Originally published in NAIOP's Summer 2020 Issue By Michael Stewart

Many tenants need rent relief, but what are the best ways to go about providing it?

As state and local governments rolled out measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in March, commercial landlords began getting calls for help from tenants. In an environment where social distancing has taken hold and more customers are staying home, retailers and other consumer-facing businesses are feeling the impact of decreased demand, supply-chain interruptions, and in some cases, mandatory closures.

In light of this rapidly evolving situation, here are five issues landlords should consider before negotiating concessions with commercial tenants.

Loan documents could limit tenant relief. Before agreeing to any reduction in rent or other modifications to a lease, owners should carefully review their project’s loan documents. Many documents include financial covenants that must be maintained during the term of the loan. Owners should ensure that aggregate rent reductions will not reduce net operating income to a point where financial covenant tests are tripped, triggering a default or other lender protections (such as cash management) under the loan documents. Additionally, owners need to confirm whether their loan documents permit the modification or termination of a lease, or acceptance of less rent than stipulated.

Click Here to Read More

Originally published by Dustin C. Read, Ph.D./J.D., Associate Professor, Virginia Tech and Sam Kuprianov, undergraduate Real Estate major, Virginia Tech in July  2020

The NAIOP Research Foundation published a timely new research brief titled "Using Capital Improvements to Create Competitive Advantage in the COVID-19 Era," written by Dustin C. Read, Ph.D./J.D., Associate Professor, Virginia Tech and Sam Kuprianov, undergraduate Real Estate major, Virginia Tech.

In addition to disinfecting common areas and promoting social distancing, some owners of office and industrial spaces are investing in capital improvements designed to limit the spread of COVID-19. This research brief evaluates the merits of these capital investments and their potential to create durable competitive advantages.

This is the second in a series of briefs the Foundation plans to publish in response to the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on commercial real estate, following "Navigating a Safe Return to Work: Best Practices for U.S. Office Building Owners and Tenants." 

 Originally published in the REBIC Newsletter on July 28th

The Town of Harrisburg kicked off its Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) update project on May 20, 2020, with a presentation by Kendig Keast Collaborative, the lead consultant on the project, to a joint Town Council and Planning and Zoning Board meeting. The UDO will contain contemporary zoning and development regulations in a format that is easily understood by Town Council, Town staff, residents, business leaders, and the development community.

The project will last until March 2021, with the majority of the time being spent drafting the update to the existing UDO. This project is a key step in the implementation of the Harrisburg Area Land Use Plan (HALUP) so that the policies of the Plan become a reality as Harrisburg develops and redevelops. The update of the UDO will align regulations to meet the community vision illustrated in the HALUP.

Community feedback is essential so that the drafted new regulations are right for Harrisburg. To aid our consultants in their research and discovery, we need your help. This survey is intended to identify common areas of opportunity and concern and to ensure the updated UDO implements the recommendations of the HALUP in a manner that the community supports.

NAIOP Charlotte would like to take a moment to send a special thank you to the companies whose support has allowed us to keep the conversations flowing and our members engaged during these unprecedented times. To learn more about each company, you can click on their logo or company name to visit their website.

Capstone

Archstone

Balfour Beatty
Batson-Cook Construction
Bohler
Choate Construction Company
Crescent Communities
ColeJenest & Stone
ECS Southeast, LLP
InterCon Building Corp.
Northwood Development LLC
Rodgers Builders, Inc

Foundation

Asana Partners
Barnhill Contracting
Beacon Partners
Childress Klein
Clancy & Theys Construction Company
Elliott Davis
GreerWalker
KDC Real Estate Development & Investments
LandDesign
Lincoln Harris
MCI
McIntosh Law Firm
NOVA Engineering
SteelFab
Trinity Capital Advisors
Truliant Federal Credit Union

Virtual Panel – Are Lenders Lending?
Monday, August 3, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:00pm | Zoom Meeting

Virtual Panel – Are Lenders Lending?
Monday, July 27, 2020 | 12:00 – 1:00pm | Zoom Meeting

Registration Fees Increase Tomorrow!