10 Must Reads for the CRE Industry Today (June 30, 2015)

Forest City Ratner Will Keep Its Modular-Housing Factory in Brooklyn, Names Construction Exec to Run It “Forest City Ratner Cos. has created a new position to head up the firm’s modular-housing division, the company announced Monday, meaning that it plans to keep its Brooklyn Navy Yard factory running after the completion of a 32-story tower next to Barclays Center in downtown Brooklyn.” (Crain’s New York Business)

Barnes & Noble Files Plan for Spinning Off Campus Bookstores “Barnes & Noble Inc. filed plans for the previously announced spinoff of its college unit, a move intended to help the largest U.S. bookstore chain focus on navigating a changing market.” (Bloomberg)

Investment Firm to Sell AlliedBarton to French Firm Wendel “Blackstone Group L.P. agreed to sell its U.S. security services business, AlliedBarton, to French investment firm Wendel for about $1.67 billion.” (Wall Street Journal)

The Hunt for Downtown Office Space Keeps Getting Harder “The balance of power in the downtown office market tilted even more toward landlords in the second quarter, as the vacancy rate fell further. Downtown vacancy dropped to 13 percent, down from 13.3 percent in the first quarter and 14.1 percent a year earlier, according to Los Angeles-based CBRE. That's the lowest vacancy since 12.4 percent at the end of 2008, during the recession.” (Crain’s Chicago Business)

Is the Internet More Important Than Office Location? “An overwhelming majority of office workers rank reliable internet connectivity as the most important factor in selecting office space, according to a survey released on Friday.” (Commercial Property Executive)

Willis Group, Towers Watson Agree to Merge “Insurance broker and risk advisory firm Willis Group Holdings and professional services group Towers Watson on Tuesday said they had agreed to an all-stock merger that values the combined company at $18 billion.” (Wall Street Journal)

Bricks-and-Mortar Retail Spaces Are Shrinking “A few weeks ago, Build a Bear Workshop closed its store at 565 Fifth Ave. and loudly touted that it was moving to the Empire State Building. Much of the easily led retail-industry press proclaimed the ESB opening an ‘expansion.’” (New York Post)

REITs Continue to Tap Unsecured Notes Market “This year, real estate investment trusts (REITs) have raised $17.1 billion of capital through the sale of unsecured notes, bringing the total raised over the past two and a half years to just more than $75 billion. That is more than they raised during the previous five years.” (Urban Land)

Bon-Ton, REIT in $84M Deal “Bon-Ton Stores Inc., like a number of other retailers, is turning some of its real estate in to cash.” (San Diego Source: The Daily Transcript)

PREIT CEO Says Demand Growing for Mall REIT’s Space “Joseph Coradino, CEO of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview during REITWeek 2015: NAREIT’s Investor Forum, held in New York.” (REIT.com)