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Eight Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (Jan. 9, 2023)

An architect from Gensler has created an algorithm aimed at figuring out which offices make the most sense to convert to residential, reports Insider. Blackstone lost a rent dispute at Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village in New York, according to The New York Times. These are among today’s must reads from around the commercial real estate industry.

  1. Meet the guy whose algorithm could solve the crisis of America's empty office space “The principal at international architecture firm Gensler had spent a lot of time thinking about resiliency in architecture, focusing on making larger buildings out of wood rather than concrete and steel. But the pandemic, and the glut of empty office space it brought with it, presented a new opportunity to think about sustainability: by converting unused commercial buildings to apartments.” (Insider)
  2. Blackstone Loses Rent Dispute at Manhattan’s Biggest Apartment Complex “Tenants living in Manhattan’s largest apartment complex, Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village, won a battle to keep their rents insulated from potentially sharp increases, after a judge ruled this week against their landlord, the Wall Street private equity firm Blackstone.” (The New York Times)
  3. KKR Picking Up Manhattan Office Space Vacated by Facebook “The private-equity company last month signed a lease for around 220,000 square feet at 30 Hudson Yards on Manhattan’s west side, nearly doubling the size of its headquarters in the building, according to KKR and the landlord, Related Companies.” (The Wall Street Journal)
  4. Slowing Rent Growth Pressuring Apartment Financing, Operations “The recent move to stable and even falling rents in many markets is affecting multifamily investment and those who operate apartment buildings. Buyers could find challenges when working with their lenders, and given inflation now rising faster than rents, landlords are in a unique situation compared to recent run-ups.” (GlobeSt.com)
  5. MBA Predicts 5 Percent Drop for Commercial, Multifamily Borrowing, Lending in 2023 “Multifamily lending alone (which is included in the total figures) is expected to drop to $393 billion in 2023 – an 11% decline from last year’s expected total of $439 billion. MBA anticipates borrowing and lending will rebound in 2024 to $887 billion in total commercial real estate lending and $483 billion in multifamily lending.” (Mortgage Orb)
  6. REITs May Feel Sting from Bed Bath & Beyond’s Woes “Earlier this week the big box retailer warned there is “substantial doubt” it can continue. That was enough to send Bed Bath & Beyond shares down roughly 50% this week to $1.31 apiece. But that news also puts the company’s landlords in a difficult spot—at least in the near term.” (Barron’s)
  7. Public Transit Goes Off the Rails With Fewer Riders, Dwindling Cash, Rising Crime “The ridership shortfall is forcing transit authorities to question their decades-old funding models for public buses, subways and trains, which are based on a combination of rider fares and public money. On average, fares provided about a third of the operating income for transit systems nationwide in 2019, according to the Federal Transit Administration.” (The Wall Street Journal)
  8. Plan B for 421a “But the future of the project is uncertain given the expiration of 421a, which freezes developments’ property taxes at pre-construction levels for 25 years and discounts them for another 10. The tax break has long been considered essential for most rental projects in New York City.” (The Real Deal)
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