Development Archives | Page 35 of 43

Sep 17 No Comments

How The Pandemic Has Changed Apartment Building Amenities

Author: Admin

Categories: Commercial News,Development,Multifamily,Trends

While slow to embrace major changes — some developers say they’re hopeful that pandemics will not be a concern when their projects finally open in 2023 — developers are making tweaks in the face of the COVID era.

They’re adding cabana-lined roof decks, repurposing lounges as outdoor schools and switching out built-in couches for more movable versions to facilitate social distancing, as well as adding ventilation systems that are deluxe even by the standards of luxury apartments.

“We haven’t had drastic changes,” said Whitney Kraus, the director of architecture and planning for Brown Harris Stevens Development Marketing, but added, “I don’t think amenities will ever go back to the way they were before.”

Some upgrades will likely appeal whether a disease is rampaging or not.

Click here to read more about this story.

Sep 15 No Comments

Is The Pandemic Priming Neighborhoods For A New Wave Of Gentrification?

Author: Admin

Categories: Allapattah,Aventura,Commercial News,Development,Leasing,Miami Beach,Multifamily,Wynwood

Last year, we might have viewed gentrification as one of the worst aggravators of the housing market. We did not expect a pandemic. We’ve spent months indoors, lost work or transitioned to telecommuting, and watched once-bustling streets go silent; and as the coronavirus persists, more and more people have fled cities to hunker down in rural locations.

The question of gentrification still looms, and in deciphering what this exodus means for the future of housing, some have looked to the phenomenon of disaster gentrification in particular.

“When [people] talk about disaster gentrification, they’re referring to instances where a community was hit by a disaster that caused, at a minimum, temporary displacement,” says Lance Freeman, a professor at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation at Columbia University, and a leading researcher on gentrification. “In the rebuilding process, the area was rebuilt for people from higher social economic status households,” preventing original tenants from moving back to their neighborhoods and uprooting communities.

New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina is perhaps the best-known example of disaster gentrification—reported by CityLab: “Those neighborhoods with a higher percentage of physical building damage were more likely to have gentrified one decade after the storm”—but it has occurred in New York, Miami, and other cities that have experience major climatic disasters. With the pandemic now worldwide, it’s worth considering if the pattern will reappear, though for different reasons—namely, people forced out of their homes by financial hardship, and a migration from urban to rural areas.

For gentrification to occur, two things must happen. For one, “you have to have an area that has very low values on residential real estate, which involves disinvestment and [maybe] abandonment of certain areas,” says Bruce Mitchell, a senior analyst for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC).

The second thing? Investment—or, as Freeman notes, a rebuilding of an area so that it effectively prices out the current residents in favor of higher-income renters and buyers.

Right now, the U.S. is currently in a recession, with about 31 million people unemployed. With so much uncertainty around when the pandemic will end, people will continue to suffer economically, especially those who live in lower-income communities, which are disproportionately people of color, notes Freeman.

“If you look at the number of predominantly white communities and then at the number of communities of color, the disinvestment in the community of color will be more disproportionate than in the white neighborhood,” he adds. “In that sense, you can say they experience more gentrification because they’re disproportionately in the working-class, disinvested neighborhoods.”

According to the Center for American Progress, “Housing instability triggered by the coronavirus pandemic is a growing threat across the United States, especially in communities of color.”

It notes that where 9% of white homeowners missed or deferred a mortgage payment in May, 20% of Black homeowners did the same.

If people of color and low-income communities continue to suffer economically, will they be forced to abandon their homes for areas that are more affordable, causing an abandonment or disinvestment of a neighborhood? And will that prime a neighborhood for gentrification to occur? Perhaps so—especially when you consider how many people in these neighborhoods are renters.

“In the short term, it looks like there are going to be a lot of repercussions having to do with the current rental crisis and the inability of people to pay their rent because they simply don’t have the income,” says Mitchell. “[If] people can’t pay rent, then landlords—particularly small landlords—are not going to be able to meet their mortgages, perhaps.”

While Mitchell views the eviction and rental crisis as something that may cause an increase in temporary homelessness, others are concerned that city residents will voluntarily turn to small towns and rural places due to the rise in telecommuting, or be forced into these areas in search of more affordable living.

“The workplace has increasingly moved into people’s homes,” says Mitchell. “It could result in movement out of central cities to areas that are less expensive.”

Rural gentrification has occurred in the past. Freeman notes, “In the New York area, you had these smaller towns in Upstate New York along the Hudson River that many artists and other creative types moved to starting at the latter part of the last century. They were drawn to those areas because housing is cheaper, [and] it’s scenic.”

Though some may have sought rural areas at the beginning of the pandemic, Freeman doesn’t foresee Americans moving to rural areas en masse.

“As we’re seeing in many of these smaller communities, you’re still not immune or protected from the virus, necessarily,” he says. “I think in the short term, perhaps that’s happening. I’ve seen anecdotes about it, but I don’t think it’ll be a permanent trend.”

We’ve also heard these anecdotes and reports of New York City residents moving to Upstate New York, Connecticut, and Vermont, or Californians in cities like San Francisco heading to Montana. In April, Redfin’s CEO said demand for rural homes was higher than for urban homes, and in May, the company noted that Redfin page views of homes in towns with fewer than 50,000 residents were up 87% year over year. And yet, the company also found that 27% of users who were looking to move during the pandemic were focused on metros like Las Vegas and Sacramento.

Comparing these statistics to actual homebuyer behavior will take time. In the meantime, we should keep in mind that many reports of city dwellers migrating to rural areas have centered on residents of metropolises in California and New York; those anecdotes are not necessarily representative of the entire nation.

Shad Bogany, a realtor who serves on the board of directors for the Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), feels similarly to Freeman. While he notes that the real estate market dipped in April and May, Bogany says that people are currently buying and selling houses in droves. “We don’t have enough houses to sell,” he says.

For Bogany, there’s one reason that the market has remained strong, and it’s not that buyers are moving to areas they deem safer or cheaper—rather, “people are making decisions based on the low interest rates.”

Source: Dwell

Sep 09 No Comments

14 Big Factors Driving CRE Trends This Year And Beyond

Author: Admin

Categories: Commercial News,Development,Healthcare,Leasing,Multifamily,Offices,Retail,Shopping Centers,Trends

The Covid-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented challenge for the real estate industry.

Commercial real estate professionals have had to navigate new obstacles like virtual showings, finding buyers during an economic downturn and perhaps most significantly, the shift away from centralized offices toward full-time remote work.

The current climate and circumstances will continue to impact real estate trends in the months and years to come, and if you’re in the industry, it’s important to be prepared for what’s ahead. To help, Forbes asked 14 members of Forbes Real Estate Council for their insights.

Below the members identified the biggest factors driving commercial real estate trends this year and beyond.

1. Utility Management For Remote Work

One factor is the ability of some companies to effectively and responsibly manage critical business initiatives while telecommuting. Companies are evaluating the health, safety and necessity of their employees working remotely versus maintaining the continuity of a central office location which may have redundant electrical power, data connectivity and other security measures necessary to maintain sales and operations. – Josh Gopan, Simone Development Companies

2. The Need For Office Space In The Home

While everyone has always needed a place to live, people’s homes now have added value. With many people shifting their workplaces from offices to their homes, their dwelling also has increased in importance. Conversely, this has had a detrimental effect on office space across the country. – Matt Picheny, MJP Property Group

3. Smart Amenities

The adoption of technology will drive smart amenities from the “nice-to-have” column to the “need-to-have” column as restrictions are put in place by local, regional and state governments. Adoption was already trending up pre-Covid-19, but should continue to see a strong increase over the next 12 to 24 months. – Marshall Friday, ADT Security Services

4. Newly Available Subleases

Large, established institutions, like Twitter, Facebook, etc. have put work from home requirements in place that are minimizing their physical space requirements. Combined with businesses negatively affected by Covid-19, there is a large volume of subleases hitting the market. Younger companies that are doing well are looking for flexible space and terms, so subleasing might be the top CRE trend. – Matt Weirich, Realync

5. Less Demand For Commercial Office Space

The outlook of office space is uncertain, but possibly very dark. Businesses had to adjust quickly to a virtual workforce. Many of those businesses will find that they can operate just as well without the overhead costs associated with owning or leasing a physical office. – Chris Bounds, reHacking / Bounds Realty Group by eXp Realty

6. Uncertainty Around Retail Business Operations

One of the key factors driving commercial real estate trends since Covid-19 is the uncertainty surrounding which type of businesses will be able to operate during the pandemic and how that drives the values of those assets. Businesses in strip malls, like nail salons and hair salons, have previously been immune from fluctuations in the economy, but are now at the peril of intermittent shutdowns. – Todd Sulzinger, Blue Elm Investments

7. Property Maintenance As A Priority

Covid-19 has pushed property maintenance to the forefront. Consumers are more concerned about disinfecting than ever, and well-maintained locations—including everything from sanitization to spotless floors and regular, visible cleaning to fresh landscaping—instill confidence. Facilities maintenance is an area companies will need to increase investment in as it becomes integral to brand experience. – Marc Shiffman, SMS Assist

8. High Demand For Essential Businesses

In the net lease world, investors are focusing on quality and stability, both for guarantor and real estate fundamentals. We’re seeing very high demand and capital being reallocated to essential businesses like grocery stores, dollar stores, auto parts and service centers, pharmacies, medical companies and quality guarantors in fast food. Stable cash flow with quality tenants paying rent wins in a high-risk market. – Kyle McCollum, Trinity Real Estate Investment Services

9. Short-Term Market Performance

Covid-19 prompted many investors to spend more time tracking short-term market performance. From an investment perspective, our strategy and analysis begins by evaluating which sectors experienced stability in the last 20 weeks. Multifamily, self-storage, healthcare, NNN retail and office performers are well-documented, however, we must consider how each asset will also perform in the long run. – Keith Lampi, Inland Private Capital Corporation

10. Increased Importance Of Rental Property Amenities

With many people sheltering in place, office properties are relatively empty and time spent at home has never been higher. This makes multifamily amenities increasingly important. The trend of renters seeking well-appointed properties is not new, but in the wake of Covid-19, the value of on-site dining options, co-working lounges, fitness centers and other amenities has never been greater. – Salvador Garcia, MAS Development Group

11. The Internet’s Impact On Land Value

Technology and digital connectivity have disrupted many industries and real estate is not immune. We have been forced to realize that such advances may alter our approach to land use and the built environment. There will be increasing discussion about the effect of the internet on the value of land generally, although we are in the very early stages. – Eliot Bencuya, Streitwise

12. Changes In How Office Space Will Be Used

When demand returns for office, the largest part of the workforce will be hybrid workers that come to the workplace two to three days a week. This is down from four to five days per week meaning a 20 to 30% decrease in demand for office, retail, hospitality, etc. This will dramatically shift how these assets are used and valued. We will see the productization of the office from a couple of products to several. – Jacob Bates, CommonGrounds Workplace

13. Industry Adaptability And Resilience

This trend is truly remarkable as it has shown how resilient the industry is. The market has made huge progress in creating work-from-home environments with management companies investment firms and doing the best they can through the use of many tech support programs. It’s been remarkable to see this trend take life while showing the industry stays strong (thanks to interest rates being low). – Heidi Burkhart, Dane Real Estate

14. Capital Reallocation

As we’ve seen in past downturns, there is a massive reallocation of capital for investment to commercial sectors deemed safer with cash flows that are perceived to be more durable. Look for pricing to tighten and competition to increase in multifamily, industrial, self-storage and medical sectors while loosening in retail, office and hospitality. – Max Comess, Hodges Ward Elliott, LLC.

Source: Forbes

Sep 01 No Comments

There IS A Doctor In The House: Amenities Get Medical In The COVID-19 Era

Author: Admin

Categories: Commercial News,Development,Healthcare,Multifamily,Trends

Architectural Digest reports a new trend in amenities for multifamily residential buildings: on-site healthcare facilities or services that allow residents to receive medical testing or treatment at home. In this peri-pandemic era when home confinement is the prescription for avoiding infection and transmission of COVID-19, the appeal of having medical care come to you is undeniable.

As AD indicates, these new amenities go beyond the gyms, yoga studios, spas, and other ”wellness”-focused spaces found in many communities. While semi-private exercise spaces will likely be preferable to fully public ones for quite a long time to come, even those ‘safer’ options still require frequent disinfection, social distancing, and strict scheduling, and therefore may be less likely to provide the serenity—and therefore some of the health benefits—that they did prior to the pandemic.

For the next level of residential wellness offerings, developers are teaming up with providers of telemedicine, COVID testing, and concierge medical services to give their buildings and communities access to medical care from the comfort and isolation of one’s apartment.

The nexus for this boom in health-focused amenities, according to AD, is South Florida—which should surprise no one. The state has long been a mecca for older residents savoring their retirement years, making the population more likely to access healthcare in general. Additionally, the area is home to a sizable international community that may find concierge-style medical services easier to navigate than the traditional (and Byzantine) American healthcare system. It’s also a popular destination for medical tourism—and who wouldn’t want their elective surgery consultation (or even the procedure itself) conducted in the comfort and privacy of a residence?

On-demand medical concierge services were already available at the Ritz-Carlton Residences Miami Beach before COVID-19, reports AD, but their use has increased dramatically since the pandemic hit.

“It seemed like an added-value luxury perk and now it’s something they find essential,” a representative tells the outlet, referring to the development’s unit owners.

Jim Carr, co-founder of real estate development firm CC Homes, recognized the benefits of telemedicine even before the pandemic.

“If you have a routine illness or a checkup,” he tells AD, “you don’t want to tie up your day going to the doctor’s office.”

To that end, CC Homes now offers complimentary telemedicine to buyers of its units through a partnership with Baptist Health South Florida, a nonprofit clinical-care network with 10 hospitals and more than 100 outpatient centers throughout the region. Homeowners receive a one-year membership to Baptist Health Care on Demand, AD indicates, which includes unlimited virtual urgent-care visits along with an in-home TytoCare digital diagnostic device that transmits heart rate and temperature and allows doctors to examine patients’ skin, ears, and throat remotely.

Danny Elfenbein, director of digital and consumer solutions at Baptist Health, tells AD, “Developers have always looked at wellness—yoga classes, gyms, rooftop gardening—but actual healthcare hasn’t really been part of the mix before.”

Citing the TytoCare device as a “tipping point” toward a more formidable in-home healthcare trend, Elfenbein indicates that he is already hearing from other real estate companies interested in Baptist Health’s offerings for residents.

And this fall, as reported by Forbes, developer Royal Palm Companies will break ground on Legacy Hotel and Residences, a 50-story tower in downtown Miami with a full-service medical facility on the ground floor. Residents will have priority access to the $60 million, 100,000-square-foot Center for Health + Performance, which will include an onsite lab and pharmacy, elective surgical suites, diagnostic imaging capabilities, and a dedicated number of medically equipped hotel rooms for post-surgical patients, according to the outlet.

“When we set out to do this project we were contemplating… what’s not been done in hospitality,” says Royal Palm Companies’ chief executive officer Dan Kodsi.

After the coronavirus pandemic hit, he says the developers decided to apply the same design principles from the medical center to the hotel and residences, upgrading the ventilation systems and planning to include more voice-activated, touchless technology and UV light sanitation.

“Having a medical center has made people more enthusiastic,” he says of the post-pandemic response. “People take comfort in buying in a place that has these kinds of amenities. Health is the new wealth, we say.”

The development is averaging four to five contracts a week, according to Forbes.

Not everyone agrees that this trend of in-home access to medical services is 100% beneficial. James Plumb, a doctor and co-director of the Jefferson Center for Urban Health, part of Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, indicates to WHYY that residents, as well as landlords and developers, should think carefully before diving head first into boutique or ad hoc health services. He cautions that these services don’t necessarily involve consulting a patient’s primary care physician or reviewing their medical history, which can lead to unintended negative health consequences.

“You try to maintain folks in a contained system so decisions can be made with background information on patients,” he tells the network.

Plumb also points out the redundancy of telemedicine as a housing amenity or perk, indicating that most major U.S. health systems, including Jefferson, have robust telehealth offerings already. A service like Health+ might not be filling any gaps, in that case; moreover, “[It] might be potentially harmful for continuity of care,” Plumb concludes.

Like with most trends, the popularity of healthcare amenities in residential buildings might only last until the next big thing comes along. Or until the development and worldwide administration of an effective coronavirus vaccine.

Source: The Cooperator

Aug 25 No Comments

Miami Beach Approves Co-Working, Co-Living Project

Author: Admin

Categories: Commercial News,Development,Miami Beach,Multifamily,Offices,Retail

Miami Beach officials approved URBIN, a coworking, co-living project that includes wellness and a hotel.

URBIN Miami Beach Partners‘ project was approved for 62,000 square feet of development, including four floors of coworking with 139 desks, 49 co-living units, 56 hotel rooms, and a 4,000-square-foot wellness center at 1234 and 1260 Washington Ave. There would be a garden and lounge on the roof. The project would include a small retail space.

The developer, Rishi Kapoor, would demolish a retail building on the property and renovate an office building. The new building would rise six stories.

Source: SFBJ

Aug 13 No Comments

Investors Searching For Hotels In Distress

Author: Admin

Categories: Commercial News,Development,Trends

South Miami-based multifamily developer The Estate Companies has purchased the Ramada Hotel in Hialeah for $15.25 million.

“The distressed hotel sector has created investment opportunities that firms like ours are ready and able to capitalize on,” said Jeffrey Ardizon, a principal of The Estate Companies, in a statement.

The purchase of the five-acre site, at 1950 W. 49th St., closed Friday, according to the release. The Downtown Miami-based LV Lending provided $11.5 million in financing.

The Estate Companies does not have any plans finalized for the site, according to its spokesperson.

Other multifamily developers are expected to buy South Florida hotels, said J.C. de Ona, southeast Florida division president of Centennial Bank, to convert the buildings to apartments or redevelop the land.

“The pandemic has spurred distress with the hotels. Even if an owner is able to carry it, the owner may have to make the decision whether they are going to carry the hotel long term. The longer the pandemic goes the more distress you’re going to see.”

Hotels, especially older ones, that catered primarily to the airports or ports are more likely be bought for redevelopment, de Ona said. Those in areas with a growing renters population, including Hialeah, may have particular appeal.

The developer acquired the 258-key hotel, which opened in 1970, because of its location.

“The site is situated on arguably the City of Hialeah’s busiest corridor and main artery. The City of Hialeah is a market with very high barriers to entry, strong demographic support and close in proximity to some of the largest employment hubs in South Florida,” Ardizon said in a statement.

Homeowners in the area saw values rise in 2020. Hialeah experienced one of the biggest gains on its existing property values from 2018. Values increased by 6.7 percent. Rental rates are among the least affordable in the country, according to a 2020 report by WalletHub.

The Estate Companies opened in 2012 and has built a handful of apartment buildings across Miami-Dade and Broward. Five projects in the works including locations in Downtown Miami, the Health District and Dania Beach.

Source: Miami Herald

Aug 06 No Comments

Miami Worldcenter Developer Sells Site For $24M

Author: Admin

Categories: Commercial News,Development

Miami Worldcenter’s development group sold off another part of the mega-project.

Abbhi Capital bought a 1.15-acre parcel of land at the Miami Worldcenter development site at 1016 Northeast Second Avenue for $24 million, according to a spokesperson for Miami Worldcenter. MWC Block A, LLC, led by Nitin Motwani, sold the property.

The site is zoned T6-60a-O, which allows the developer to build up to 60 stories with a wide variety of uses, according to property records.

Abbhi Capital’s plans for the site remain unclear. Attorneys for both Abbhi Capital and Miami Worldcenter and a spokesperson for Miami Worldcenter declined comment.

The property is next to Akara Partners’ planned mixed-use apartment project that will feature 450 apartments, 10,000 square feet of retail and 20,000 square feet of co-working space. Akara closed on the property in July for $18.85 million.

Abbhi Capital’s lawyer, Elena Ortero of Holland and Knight, said Abbhi Capita, through its affiliates, partnered with Akara on that recent acquisition.

Abbhi Capital is a privately-held investment firm based in Miami. The company, led by Sankesh Abbhi, focuses on investing in healthcare, technology, real estate and hospitality, according to its website. Abbhi is also the CEO of ArisGlobal, a cloud solutions provider for life sciences companies.

Miami Worldcenter, which spans 27 acres near downtown Miami, is being developed by Art Falcone, Nitin Motwani and Dan Kodsi. It is one of the largest commercial real estate projects on the East Coast.

The phased Miami Worldcenter project will include 300,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and entertainment space; the completed Paramount Miami Worldcenter condominium tower; Caoba, a 444-unit apartment tower that is completed; and a 348-room CitizenM hotel that is now under construction. It will also include a 434-unit rental tower by ZOM Living and 500,000 square feet of Class A office space.

Source: The Real Deal

Jul 24 No Comments

The CARES Act Is Positioning Healthcare Real Estate For A Bright Future

Author: Admin

Categories: Commercial News,Development,Healthcare,Trends

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, known as The CARES Act, was passed with great fanfare and a lot of promise.

In a lot of ways, it hasn’t lived up to that hype as small businesses struggled to get the help that they needed. But Kyle O’Connor, President and Founder of MLL Capital, which owns medical and life sciences facilities, thinks one sector was well-positioned to benefit from The CARES Act.

“One of the things that has been a big help for the medical industry has been The CARES Act, whether it be the payroll protection program [PPP] or the other funding that went to the health systems,” O’Connor says. “That has, I believe, helped quite a bit.”

O’Connor thinks the medical sector has received many benefits from the act that haven’t been there for other sectors.

“If you look throughout the economy, not every type of business was as well suited as the health care industry was to take advantage of the payroll protection program,” O’Connor says.

The employee size limitation for PPP grants is 500 employees. Since most medical offices won’t clear that threshold, they are great candidates for that funding.

“Most medical practices plan to rehire all of their laid off or furloughed employees given they expect demand to resume,” O’Connor says. “It’s also important to note that the health systems received/will receive funding from other elements of The CARES Act. In the medical field, The CARES Act has allowed doctor’s offices to keep critical medical workers employed. The doctors can only see so many people. So the nurse practitioners, the administrative staff, all the nurses that support each individual practice are a pretty important part of the system.”

Doctors are also adopting things like telehealth to offset a decline in office visits.

“The occupiers in our buildings were organizing themselves for dealing with the issues that have been caused by the stay-at-home orders,” O’Connor says.

Once the COVID crisis eases up or clears, O’Connor does not doubt that patients will return to medical offices. And demand could be even more significant as there is pent-up demand for medical services.

“They’re going to be much more comfortable going back to the doctor, and there will be a flood of requests for appointments,” O’Connor says. “There will likely be greater levels of health care that is being provided as the impact of the stay-at-home orders dissipates.”

The support from The CARES Act, in addition to the resilience of the sector, has made O’Connor optimistic about its future.

“Medical offices and life science property types have a defensive element to them,” O’Connor says. “We are going to hold their value better than some of the other property types.”

Source: GlobeSt.

Jul 24 No Comments

Pair Of Mixed-Use Towers Planned For Wynwood

Author: Admin

Categories: Commercial News,Development,Multifamily,Offices,Retail,Wynwood

On the eastern side of growing Wynwood a developer plans a large mixed-use residential project that will also bring in new commercial tenants.

PRH CHO Dragon Wynwood LLC plans to build the pair of neighboring buildings at 2804, 2810, 2819, 2828, 2838 and 2804 NW First Ave.

The city’s Urban Development Review Board considered the project at a virtual meeting and recommended it for approval with a couple of thoughts.

With a current working title of Wynwood 29, the vast development tops out at 375,383 square feet.

The project includes a 12-story building that connects to an 8-story portion, and a separate 8-story building across the street, with 248 multifamily residential units, 28,071 square feet of ground floor commercial uses, a garage for 372 vehicles and room to park 22 bicycles.

Wynwood 29 will include a pool and amenity deck. The garage is intended for both residential and commercial tenants, as well as patrons.

The project is to have 6,360 square feet of open space.

The collection of parcels is between Northwest 28th and 29th streets, split by Northwest First Avenue.

The 12-story portion is planned for the southwest corner of Northwest 29th Street and First Avenue. The southern end of that block has the connected 8 stories. The ground floor is set for retail uses.

What’s referred to in the plans as Parcel 2 is on the northeast corner of Northwest 28th Street and First Avenue. Planned there is the 8-story building, which has eight levels of parking, seven levels of residential and ground floor retail.

The property is currently vacant and is within both the T5-O and T6-8-O Zoning Transects and the Wynwood Neighborhood Revitalization District (NRD-1) Overlay.

Multifamily structures sit to the east and west of the property.

Attorney Brian Dombrowski, representing the developer, told the review board the project was previously approved in September 2016 and this is a slightly modified design, updated after the company gained an additional parcel.

In a letter to the city, Mr. Dombrowski detailed requests for one warrant and several waivers in order to construct Wynwood 29.

The developer is requesting a warrant to allow on-street maneuverability to access two loading berths. Turning movements associated with more than one loading berth per development may be permitted on-street by warrant, except along Wynwood Corridors, under Miami 21 zoning.

The project proposes on-street maneuverability to access two loading berths from Northwest 28th Street, on the western portion of the project, according to the letter.

The waivers being sought include:

Up to a 30% reduction in required parking within the quarter-mile radius of a Transit Corridor. The property is within a quarter mile of multiple bus and trolley stops.
Up to a 10% increase in lot size from 40,000 square feet to 44,000.
Up to 90% lot coverage through the Flexible Lot Coverage Program, of the NRD-1 Regulations. This additional lot coverage allows both the activation of the roof terrace as well enhancing the pedestrian realm.
Up to a 10% increase in lot coverage for the T6-8-O portion of the property, allowing 84.3% of coverage when 80% is allowed.
To allow vehicular entry, loading docks, and service entries from the primary frontage, Northwest 28th Street.
Up to a 10% reduction in the minimum square footage for a one-bedroom residential unit. Miami 21 typically requires a minimum square footage for a one-bedroom residential unit of 550 square feet. The project proposes one-bedroom units at 531 square feet, 3.5% below the minimum.

“By reducing the minimum one-bedroom unit size, the Project can provide more affordable units. The Project’s proximity to mass transit makes it a great candidate for smaller, more affordable units,” wrote Mr. Dombrowski.

“Urban Land Institute studies indicate that smaller units have stronger occupancy rates than typical apartments and individuals choosing to live in smaller units are attracted to them because of a desire to sacrifice space for lower per unit cost and proximity to transit, employment, and vibrant mixed-use neighborhoods,” he said.

The project is designed by the architectural firm of Arquitectonica. Ray Fort, of the firm, described details of the Wynwood 29 project during the virtual meeting.

Mr. Fort told the board: “This quadrant of Wynwood is becoming the residential sector of Wynwood … it is a little bit quieter – there aren’t as many bars – and surrounding projects are planned to be residential,”

Board Chair Willy Bermello said, “I think the project is beautifully designed.”

And while he complimented the bright colors proposed for the project, Mr. Bermello mentioned a concern with the longevity of painted stucco.

“The issue of our Florida sun is that it’s not forgiving when it comes to bright colored paints. [How do you] maintain the crispness of those colors over time?” he asked.

Mr. Bermello asked if they had considered brick for the project.

Mr. Fort said they did not and referred to the size of the development.

Board member Anthony Tzamtzis also voiced concern about the painted surfaces.

“Did you consider glazed tiles? I think the painted stucco is degrading the concept you are trying to promote, which is the industrial [look],” said Mr. Tzamtzis. But he went on to congratulate Mr. Fort for “an extremely elegant presentation and thoughtful design.”

Board member Dean Lewis said the project is “well thought out, well detailed.”

He suggested a pedestrian bridge over Northwest First Avenue to connect the buildings.

Attorney Iris Escarra, also representing the developer, said they have discussed a pedestrian bridge but said it would require a separate approval from the city commission. She said such a bridge may be an option.

Board member Ignacio Permuy said: “I commend you on an exceptional job, starting from the massing to the architecture of the buildings … I truly appreciate the screening on the parking garage.”

Mr. Permuy said he understood the others’ comments about the bright painted stucco but added, “I don’t mind the color scheme that much. I understand comments … but this shows levels of playfulness, it shows you enjoyed designing this project.”

Board member Robert Behar said: “I like the whole project. You’ve done a great job.”

A motion to recommend approval of the project passed unanimously, with recommendations including the developer considering connecting the buildings, perhaps with a bridge, and to consider materials other than stucco.

Jul 14 No Comments

Will The Pandemic Kill Demand For Micro Units?

Author: Admin

Categories: Commercial News,Development,Leasing,Multifamily,Trends,Wynwood

For the past five-plus years, micro-units have been an intriguing subplot in the grand saga of commercial real estate. As demand for housing has boomed, especially in rent-burdened cities like New York and San Francisco, developers gambled that tenants would tolerate tiny units — some as small as 220 SF — for the chance to access cool neighborhoods at affordable rents. Now, though, some real estate experts wonder whether the coronavirus will kill, or at least cripple, the concept.

“Prior to COVID, there was a big surge in the urban areas, urban core, everyone wanting to live in micro-units, and now it looks like everyone wants to move to the suburbs, buy homes, get out of apartments,” FM Capital Principal Aaron Kurlansky said during a Bisnow South Florida webinar last month.

Social distancing is the antithesis of the tight-knit living style that micro-units and their cousin, co-living, promote. With bars and restaurants shuttered and remote work gaining more acceptance, renters may see fewer reasons to remain in city centers, where most micro-unit properties are.

Integra Investments principal Victor Ballestas said his company was considering developing micro-unit projects in the Wynwood and North Beach areas of Miami.

“You sort of have to go towards the micro-market in order to make the numbers work, because the overall rent was pretty high,” he said. But in the wake of the coronavirus, “those are the ones that we’ve probably pulled back the quickest.”

“We always had a little heartburn over the micro-unit model,” he continued. “And then [we] started hearing through the grapevine also that people that are moving into micro-units are, you know, moving out after the year. It’s pretty much like 100% turnover rate, which obviously impacts performance significantly.”

That prompted him to focus on multifamily deals on larger parcels instead, he said. Allen Morris Co. CEO Allen Morris, who also spoke on the webinar, said he shared Ballestas’ concerns.

“People do sometimes tend to move out after a year. They say, ‘Great, look how much money I’m saving!’ and then they say, ‘I can’t stand it! Get me out!’ So, it becomes like student housing — they all move out at the end of the year.”

Kurlansky said the small apartment complexes his company owns in South Beach and Miami Beach have underperformed compared to the larger units farther from downtown in his portfolio, which he attributed to unit size.

“People are in, then they’re out,” he said. “As we’ve played in the student housing space, as someone from my office told me, it’s like convincing your wife every year that she loves you. You go from 100 to zero to back to 100, so it’s an exhaustive process, and, you know, micro-units, it seems to me, are going to follow that kind of trend where you’re just kind of [going to] be in constant lease-up.”

Source: Bisnow

“We haven’t had drastic changes,” said Whitney Kraus, the director of architecture and planning for Brown Harris Stevens Development Marketing, but added, “I don’t think amenities will ever go back to the way they were before.”

According to the Center for American Progress, “Housing instability triggered by the coronavirus pandemic is a growing threat across the United States, especially in communities of color.”

“The workplace has increasingly moved into people’s homes,” says Mitchell. “It could result in movement out of central cities to areas that are less expensive.”

“As we’re seeing in many of these smaller communities, you’re still not immune or protected from the virus, necessarily,” he says. “I think in the short term, perhaps that’s happening. I’ve seen anecdotes about it, but I don’t think it’ll be a permanent trend.”

1. Utility Management For Remote Work

2. The Need For Office Space In The Home

3. Smart Amenities

4. Newly Available Subleases

5. Less Demand For Commercial Office Space

6. Uncertainty Around Retail Business Operations

7. Property Maintenance As A Priority

8. High Demand For Essential Businesses

9. Short-Term Market Performance

10. Increased Importance Of Rental Property Amenities

11. The Internet’s Impact On Land Value

12. Changes In How Office Space Will Be Used

13. Industry Adaptability And Resilience

14. Capital Reallocation

“The distressed hotel sector has created investment opportunities that firms like ours are ready and able to capitalize on,” said Jeffrey Ardizon, a principal of The Estate Companies, in a statement.

“The pandemic has spurred distress with the hotels. Even if an owner is able to carry it, the owner may have to make the decision whether they are going to carry the hotel long term. The longer the pandemic goes the more distress you’re going to see.”

“The site is situated on arguably the City of Hialeah’s busiest corridor and main artery. The City of Hialeah is a market with very high barriers to entry, strong demographic support and close in proximity to some of the largest employment hubs in South Florida,” Ardizon said in a statement.

“One of the things that has been a big help for the medical industry has been The CARES Act, whether it be the payroll protection program [PPP] or the other funding that went to the health systems,” O’Connor says. “That has, I believe, helped quite a bit.”

“If you look throughout the economy, not every type of business was as well suited as the health care industry was to take advantage of the payroll protection program,” O’Connor says.

“The occupiers in our buildings were organizing themselves for dealing with the issues that have been caused by the stay-at-home orders,” O’Connor says.

“They’re going to be much more comfortable going back to the doctor, and there will be a flood of requests for appointments,” O’Connor says. “There will likely be greater levels of health care that is being provided as the impact of the stay-at-home orders dissipates.”

“Medical offices and life science property types have a defensive element to them,” O’Connor says. “We are going to hold their value better than some of the other property types.”

“By reducing the minimum one-bedroom unit size, the Project can provide more affordable units. The Project’s proximity to mass transit makes it a great candidate for smaller, more affordable units,” wrote Mr. Dombrowski.

Board Chair Willy Bermello said, “I think the project is beautifully designed.”

“The issue of our Florida sun is that it’s not forgiving when it comes to bright colored paints. [How do you] maintain the crispness of those colors over time?” he asked.

“Did you consider glazed tiles? I think the painted stucco is degrading the concept you are trying to promote, which is the industrial [look],” said Mr. Tzamtzis. But he went on to congratulate Mr. Fort for “an extremely elegant presentation and thoughtful design.”

Board member Dean Lewis said the project is “well thought out, well detailed.”

Mr. Permuy said he understood the others’ comments about the bright painted stucco but added, “I don’t mind the color scheme that much. I understand comments … but this shows levels of playfulness, it shows you enjoyed designing this project.”

Board member Robert Behar said: “I like the whole project. You’ve done a great job.”

“You sort of have to go towards the micro-market in order to make the numbers work, because the overall rent was pretty high,” he said. But in the wake of the coronavirus, “those are the ones that we’ve probably pulled back the quickest.”

“People do sometimes tend to move out after a year. They say, ‘Great, look how much money I’m saving!’ and then they say, ‘I can’t stand it! Get me out!’ So, it becomes like student housing — they all move out at the end of the year.”

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