- WeWork Stock Starts Trading Thursday, Two Years After an Aborted IPO “Instead of an initial public offering, WeWork is entering the public markets by merging with a special-purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, something of a craze these days, and will trade under the ticker WE. It is expected to raise as much as $1.3 billion from the deal, a sum that includes stakes held by the investment firms BlackRock and Fidelity. Ahead of Thursday’s listing, WeWork said it was worth nearly $8 billion, a fraction of the $47 billion valuation placed on the company before investors soured on it in 2019.” (The New York Times)
- The Shipping Crisis in California Is Now So Bad That Officials Should Consider Declaring a State of Emergency, the Head of the California Trucking Association Says “Officials in Southern California should consider declaring a state of emergency to help ease clogged ports in the area, a state trucking boss said. In an interview with Fox News, Shawn Yadon, CEO of the California Trucking Association, said every stakeholder in the supply chain needed to act to fix the crisis – from shipping, trucking, and rail to warehousing. This echoed the sentiments of other experts.” (Insider)
- Finger Companies Sells Portfolio Valued at $2B “The Finger Companies recently sold a portfolio comprised of more than 20 garden and mid-rise assets from its national holdings to a venture led by Greystar in a transaction valued at $2 billion. As part of the transaction, the new venture agreed to retain all of Finger’s on-site employees.” (Connect CRE)
- YouTube to Grow its San Francisco Footprint “YouTube is poised to grow its office footprint in San Bruno, Calif., where it has been headquartered since 2006. Last week, city officials approved a set of ordinances, including a development agreement, that will allow the company to proceed with the construction of new office buildings at Bayhill Office Park. The City of San Bruno’s Bayhill Specific Plan is a long-term regulatory framework which aims to guide and facilitate office development within a 92.2-acre site where YouTube’s headquarters is located.” (Commercial Property Executive)
- Amazon Ramping Up Industrial Acquisitions in Pivot Away from Leasing “Amazon is shifting toward owning more of its warehouses, sources tell Bisnow, a move that could have major implications for the industrial leasing market.” (Bisnow)
- Return to Office Rebounding After Delta Variant Slowdown “The RTO began as the economy started to reopen, and proceeded through much of last year. 16 million workers had returned to the office by October 2020, a one-third decline in WFH in six months. Being back in the office has always been contingent on progress in bringing the pandemic under control, however, and the surge in COVID cases late last year brought about a partial reversal in RTO in November and December.” (Forbes)
- Is There a CRE Labor Crisis? Insights from the CPE 100 “The much-discussed labor shortage extends to the commercial real estate industry. Fully 50 percent of respondents to the latest CPE 100 Sentiment Survey report that a labor shortage has affected their company moderately or significantly. A similar number say that the shortage has had a minimal effect on them or none at all.” (Commercial Property Executive)
- Groceries in 10 Minutes: New York City Has Become a Testing Ground for Ultra-Fast Delivery “The explosion of ultrafast delivery services has turned New York City into a testing ground. Gopuff, a pioneer in the “instant needs” category, launched Wednesday in New York City. International players, including Russia-born Buyk and Berlin-based Gorillas, have launched in the city over the past few months. And more are coming, including Turkey’s Getir. All are making a similar bet: consumers want their goods faster and without leaving home. Yet, they still have to prove they can stand out in a crowded field and turn a profit.” (CNBC)
- Psychoanalyzing the Housing Frenzy with Redfin’s CEO “The emotional and financial stakes of buying a home have never been higher.” (Curbed)
- Pandemic Spurs Young Families to Leave Big Cities for the Heartland. Will They Stay? “Colby, a town of 5,500 in northwest Kansas, has made every effort to create an environment that would appeal to young people. It built an aquatic center, expanded hiking trails, and opened a new events center. But when several people were offered jobs at a local hospital and area schools in the past year, they ended up declining the positions after being unable to find suitable housing, said Vernon Hurd, executive director at Thomas County Economic Development Alliance.” (Los Angeles Times)
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