- SoftBank Seeks More Space as City’s Tech Industry Expands “SoftBank Group Corp. is looking for a big block of expansion space in Miami in the latest sign that this city’s tech sector is flexing its muscles. The Tokyo-based company, one of the world’s largest tech investors, is searching for as much as 100,000 square feet of space, according to executives in the real-estate and technology industries. A SoftBank spokeswoman confirmed that the company is looking for expansion space in Miami but declined to go into detail.” (Wall Street Journal)
- Tech Retains Office Space Leasing Crown “Tech companies leased more office space than any other industry last year although both the aggregate square footage they leased and their share of total office leasing declined from 2019 levels. Total U.S. office leasing activity decreased by 36% year-over-year in 2020, with tech leasing down by 48% to 26 million sq. ft. Although tech’s share of total leasing fell to 17% from 21%, it has remained the top industry for office leasing since 2013. New transactions representing expansions and relocations dominated the top 100 office leases by tech companies last year.” (CBRE)
- Why Commercial Real Estate Lenders and Originators Should Be Learning ESG “Commercial mortgage pros are going to have to start learning the intricacies of ESG. Those three letters, representing the environmental, social, and corporate governance aspects of an investment, a company, a business, or a project, were once a niche concept reserved for sustainability-minded retail investors. Now BlackRock, the world’s single-largest asset manager, has declared it intends to make environmental sustainability a key goal in all its investment decisions.” (Mortgage Professional America)
- Duke Realty Refinances $1.2B in Facility Linked to ESG Metrics “Duke Realty Corp. has closed a refinancing of a $1.2 billion revolving credit facility that includes a reduction in borrowing costs if certain sustainability linked metrics are achieved each year. The logistics REIT’s amended and restated credit facility matures in March 2025. The facility lowers the REIT’s borrowing costs by 10 basis points from its prior facility, according to CFO Mark Denien.” (GlobeSt.com)
- Datassential: More Than 10% of U.S. Restaurants Have Closed Permanently “More than 10% of restaurants in the United States have closed permanently since the coronavirus pandemic began last March, foodservice research firm Datassential said Monday. According to Firefly, Datassential’s proprietary database, 79,438 restaurants in the United States have closed, which is 10.2% of the total of 778,807 restaurants that were in operation at the outset of the public health crises.” (Nation’s Restaurant News)
- Here Come Hot Desks and Zoom Rooms. And Holograms? “Since the pandemic sent workers home last year, a slew of modifications have been made to office buildings to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. Now, as companies prepare to bring workers back, experts say even more changes are on the way. Expect expanded gathering spaces and fewer personal workstations, for instance, changes that are being fueled by the success of working from home.” (The New York Times)
- Ingka’s Next Ikea-Based Urban Center Will Rise in Toronto “Ingka Centre’s $8.6 billion worldwide effort to plant Ikea-anchored mall shopping centers in major cities chose its first American site in San Francisco last year and has now designated its first Canadian stop in Toronto. It announced last week that it had acquired the Aura Retail Podium and would re-develop the center around a small-format Ikea store.” (Chain Store Age)
- How Red Tape Keeps Parents from Getting the Day Care They Need “On paper, any families whose earnings fall below a low-income threshold set at the state and federal level are eligible for subsidized child care, either by using vouchers to enroll in private centers or home-based day care or by sending their children to a city-contracted day care center. In practice, many parents struggle to access help, a problem that has been exacerbated by the pandemic, just when people are poised to try to get back to work and the city is reeling from the economic blows of the Covid-19 crisis.” (The New York Times)
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