- The Latest Luxury-Apartment Perk: Alexa Everywhere “Alexa, can you make a splash in the New York City luxury rental-apartment market? That is the question being asked by the developer of Jackson Park, a huge new apartment complex in Long Island City. New York developer Tishman Speyer is making a bet on voice-activated smart-home devices at each of the 1,871 apartments there.” (Wall Street Journal, subscription required)
- They’re Watching You: Malls Tap New Tech to Track Shoppers “It's a sign of the times. Against a backdrop of falling foot traffic and shuttered department stores, mall owners are looking for ways to more accurately track shoppers at their properties. The information allows landlords to make more informed decisions about how to redevelop and pick tenants. Jones Lang LaSalle, a services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management, will begin using a new tool called Pinpoint to monitor shoppers within a ‘geofence’ at malls.” (CNBC)
- What Happened to the American Boomtown? “The places that are booming in size aren’t the economic boomtowns — the regions with the greatest prosperity and highest productivity. In theory, we’d expect those metros, like the Bay Area, Boston and New York, to be rapidly expanding, as people move from regions with high unemployment and meager wages to those with high salaries and strong job markets. That we’re not seeing such a pattern suggests that something is fundamentally amiss. The magnets aren’t working.” (The New York Times)
- Insurance Claims for Northern California Wildfires Reach $9B “More than $9 billion in insurance claims have been filed following wildfires that ravaged Northern California two months ago, the state's top insurance regulator said Wednesday. The figure represents residential, commercial, automobile and other property claims filed with 260 insurers by Dec. 1, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said. It's up from $3.3 billion in losses that Jones announced in late October. He said the number is not likely to rise significantly.” (The Associated Press)
- Brookfield’s Takeover Bid Is the Latest Chapter in Mall Giant GGP’s Turbulent History “It also marked the latest chapter in the tumultuous history of the Chicago-based real estate investment trust formerly known as General Growth Properties. The past decade, in particular, saw GGP emerge from the wreckage of one of the biggest real estate bankruptcies in history in 2009—when it was unable to refinance more than $27 billion of debt in the wake of the financial crisis—to re-establish itself as one of the nation’s major players in the Class A mall space, with assets ranging from prestigious shopping centers in Honolulu and Southern California to high-street storefronts on Fifth Avenue.” (Commercial Observer)
- Dallas Medical Real Estate Firm Buys $167 Million in Buildings “Dallas-based health care real estate developer, Caddis Partners LLC, which recently purchased a dozen properties, plans to add at least three more to its portfolio by the end of the year. Together, the 15 properties including one in Plano, are valued at about $167 million. Last month, Caddis launched a new investment fund that purchased 12 buildings from affiliates for $111 million. The three medical office buildings currently under contract are valued at $56 million.” (Dallas News)
- Macklowe Claims Real Estate Fortune Has Shrunk from $548M to $23M “Now that’s some funny math. In his bitter divorce from wife Linda, billionaire developer Harry Macklowe insists the value of his vast real-estate empire is a mere $23.6 million — but two years ago he told lenders that the properties were worth 23 times that figure.” (Page Six)
- Tenants and Landlords Disagree on Mall Priorities “Think the road ahead is clear for malls and shopping centers needing to win over web shoppers and millennials? Think again. FTI Consulting and Oxford Economics surveyed 90 retailers and 30 center owners and REIT principals and found them miles apart on the answers to such issues as mall traffic, new center design, and changing demographics. Nine out of 10 property owners put the onus on retailers’ to build new stores to improve sales. Only six of 10 retailers agree. At the same time, 63% of tenants see competitive pricing and promotion affecting their receipts, while just 17% of landlords see that as the problem.” (Chain Store Age)
- C. Penney Opening Jacques Penné Holiday Pop-up in Soho “Department stores may be having their problems, but J.C. Penney is hoping to bring a little cheer to Soho with a Jacques Penné pop-up store.” (Commercial Observer)
- Private CRE, Public Education Development Among Construction Spending Highlights “Private construction provided a bright spot, on both year-to-date private residential and non-residential spending, the Associated General Contractors of America report showed. However, the association raises concerns about declining infrastructure spending.” (Commercial Property Executive)
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