U.S. Tax Change Proposals Anger Builders, Real Estate Agents, Charities “Looking for an easier legislative win ahead of the 2018 midterm elections, most lawmakers in the Republican majority want to cut individual incomes taxes. President Donald Trump has been pushing hard for tax changes this year. Still, proposed changes to the personal tax code have already stirred opposition from real estate agents, home builders, mortgage lenders and charities. These groups say proposed changes will hurt home sales and cut charitable contributions.” (CNBC)
How to Insure Your First Investment Property Isn’t a Bust “Investment property is a prime way to start your real estate portfolio and get in on the rental game. While it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of making your first property purchase, it is important to take it slow and proceed with some caution. Jumping the gun on a property can be a costly lesson for buyers to learn. You could end up with an investment that costs far more than you bargained for.” (Forbes)
Chicago’s Grocery List Gets Shorter: Fewer Stores in Area “Grocers aren't stocking up on new stores in Chicago, leaving many shoppers with fewer places to fill their cart. There are 262 grocery stores in Chicago and close-in suburbs, the lowest number since 2009, according to an urban grocery report by retail brokerage Mid-America Real Estate Group. Grocers occupy just over 9.3 million square feet of space, also an eight-year low.” (Chicago Tribune)
Meridian, Rockefeller Partner on DC-Area Office Tower “The Gensler-designed Boro Tower, located at 8350 Broad St. within close proximity of the new Greensboro Metro station, will be part of the first phase of The Boro, a mammoth 15-acre project that will ultimately feature approximately 1.8 million square feet of office space; 1,500 apartments and condominium units; 316,000 square feet of retail space; and a hotel. Boro Tower will be the first office facility to be erected at the Washington, D.C.-area mixed-use destination.” (Commercial Property Executive)
Brick-and-Mortar Shops Are Surviving the Retail Apocalypse “Lisa Salzer, who opened her first Lulu Frost store on Prince Street in July, is one of the latest entrepreneurs to go brick-and-mortar in the city — and so far, she says, ‘I love it.’ Salzer, a jewelry designer who started her Lulu Frost online 14 years ago, met up with floral designer Tess Casey when the two did the flowers and jewelry for the 2006 movie ‘The Devil Wears Prada.’” (New York Post)
“Like a Divorce with No Prenup”: The Story of How a Century-Old Real Estate Dynasty Got Divided “On August 19, 2014 lawyers for Robert and Laura Lemle met in a courtroom in Lower Manhattan. Litigation is a fact of life in the New York real estate business, which the Lemle family had been involved in for almost a century. But this suit didn’t involve disgruntled tenants or contractors. Instead, Laura was suing her brother, alleging that he had refused to pay her nearly $800,000 as a 2014 arbitration decision stipulated.” (The Real Deal)
OC Corporate Campus Trades for $443M “An investor group led by Five Point Holdings, LLC has acquired Broadcom Limited’s 73-acre corporate campus in Irvine, Calif., for $443 million and renamed the property Five Point Gateway. The Orange County campus consists of nearly one million square feet of planned research and development and office space across four buildings. Broadcom will remain the property’s largest tenant, leasing approximately 660,000 square feet of R&D space pursuant to a 20-year lease.” (Commercial Property Executive)
Why Discount Grocer Aldi is Getting into Delivery Game “One of the hottest discount supermarket chains in the U.S. is partnering with Instacart to offer grocery delivery—a service once reserved primarily for high-end food retailers and high-income customers. The move by German grocery chain Aldi, which will test the service in Dallas, Atlanta, and parts of Los Angeles starting August 31, is a sign of how competitive the supermarket landscape has become as food retailers look for every edge possible in a fast-changing marketplace.” (Fortune)
Developer Describes ‘Epic’ Impact of Google’s Downtown San Jose Plans “Mike Kim grew up in San Jose and can deftly describe the transformation of the city’s downtown — its gradual, and at times painful, progress toward becoming an urban destination. Planners and developers have been waiting for the day when there are enough feet in the street to create a big city vibe in the downtown core. That day may be upon us now that plans are on the table to remake downtown San Jose into a massive, transit-centered Google village with up to 20,000 new jobs. Separately, Adobe Systems has announced its own expansion plans to bring 3,000 more workers downtown.” (Mercury News)
A Real Estate Play That’s More Than ‘Location, Location, Location’ “One type of investment that's typically shunned in a rising interest rate environment is real estate investment trusts, or REITs. That's because higher rates mean higher borrowing costs -- literally the price of doing business for REITs -- which can weigh on returns for investors. Also, as rates move higher, lower-risk fixed-income investments, including Treasuries, become attractive again. But not all REITs are created equal.” (Nasdaq)