St. Louis port system ranks high on global connectivity

St. Louis port system ranks high on global connectivity

Feature Photo: Progress on the third truss of Merchants Bridge. Photo credit: St. Louis Regional Freightway.

Pandemic aftermath continues to challenge healthcare sector

Pandemic aftermath continues to challenge healthcare sector

Feature photo credit: Sarah Sandvoss | CD Companies

CREW-STL awards professional excellence, service & accomplishments

CREW-STL awards professional excellence, service & accomplishments

Feature photo credit of Erin Valentine with McCarthy Building Companies, Inc: MWM STL | Lisa J. Shackelford

SMPS takes Terra at the Grove tour

SMPS takes Terra at the Grove tour

SMPS event speakers with Terra at the Grove renderings (left to right): Paul Giacoletto, Green Street Building Group; Joel Oliver, Green Street Real Estate Ventures; Douglas McElvain, Rosemann & Associates; Olivia Graff, Arcturis; and Michael Mahoney, Green Street Property Management. Rendering credit: CG Studios; Photo credit: MWM STL | Ruth Thaler-Carter.

A tour of the City Foundry STL transformation

A tour of the City Foundry STL transformation

Feature photo credit: MWM STL

New ‘phygital’ culture drives return to office

New ‘phygital’ culture drives return to office

Feature image credit: UnSplash.

Game on for region's first Esports complex

Game on for region's first Esports complex

Feature rendering courtesy of JEMA.

Insatiable appetite for commercial real estate continues

The St. Louis-area CRE market is still hungry for more, according to Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW)-St. Louis’ “Industrial Outlook” panelists.

Christie Brinkman, director, design build, Castle Contracting, LLC, moderated the March session as panelists, Cara Weber, Wakeel Rahman and Christy Campbell discussed recent pandemic-related challenges and predictions going forward.

Cara Weber, vice president, business recruitment, Missouri Partnership, said the Partnership is a public/private entity funded by the State of Missouri’s Department of Economic Development and the Hawthorn Foundation to focus on attracting new businesses to the state by functioning as a sales tunnel that includes marketing, business development and project management.

“Our Raise the Bar program is identifying sites for development so the region can control its own destiny,” Weber said. 

In the past five years, the Partnership has opened 615 projects and lost 142. Wins by industry include advanced manufacturing, energy solutions, food solutions, logistics and distribution, and office-based space.

“Expansion is incredibly important — about 80 percent of new jobs are coming from expansion,” she said. “I’m excited about the level of project flow so far this year, which has been mostly industrial. We’re seeing a lot of searches for existing buildings, but don’t have a lot available.”

“Retention (of businesses) is the key component. Attraction is our wheelhouse,” Weber said. “We’re getting more opportunities from big OEM businesses.”

Available CRE space is a factor in lost projects, along with whether a business has an existing presence in the area and concerns about logistics, incentives, available workforce, business costs and infrastructure, according to Weber. 

“What’s great about Missouri is our transportation resources: rail and river,” she said.

The CRE profession is faced with “trying to meet an almost insatiable demand for commercial real estate,” said Wakeel Rahman, vice president, NorthPoint Development. “The market is very healthy. Retail stepped up to take a lot of space to compete with Amazon.”

E-commerce is driving the market from “just in time” (JIT) to “just in case” (JIC), and the ratio of inventory to sales in the supply chain should increase. 

Rahman warned that national headwinds to watch include continued supply chain delays and cost increases for materials and construction, NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard) attitudes toward industrial properties, entitlement and permitting, and warehouse fatigue. 

“St. Louis is still one of the tightest markets,” he said. “Looking forward, we will see an increase in automation and more-affordable systems; new geographies where companies can build; and spending more on infrastructure, which means good things for our industry because it creates improved access.”

The preliminary 2022 first-quarter numbers are encouraging, said Christy Campbell, brokerage associate, Cushman & Wakefield: “2.2 MSF of positive net absorption and a 2.9 percent vacancy rate — the lowest ever.” Asking rates are increasing in response, she said. “While St. Louis has always been a stable market, 2021 was a record year and we’re already halfway there in 2022, with 8.3 MSF under construction among 26 buildings with only one that’s tax-abated.”

Royal Canin, Ryder and Imperial Dade are leading the field; Duke Realty has completely left the market. 

The largest Q1 investment sales have been Duke to Exeter Property Group, Inc., TriStar Properties to Apollo Global Management and Duke to Pontegadea Inversiones as cap rates continue to compress.

“Trends are an upward pressure on rental rates and annual increases, changes in marketing strategies with less and less advertised rates, increased emphasis on e-commerce, and the move from JIT to JIC,” Campbell said.

In terms of some of the issues that Rahman noted, “The most common misconception about the industrial sector is negative environmental impact of large facilities on a community; but in reality, there’s no stress on schools, there are new jobs, and LEED buildings with high-tech electronics-driven systems are environmentally friendly,” she said.

“Industrial tenants are looking for buildings with 30- to 40-foot clear heights because of racking and are making heavy trailer parking demands,” Campbell said. “Land prices are increasing across the country, although St. Louis is lagging behind the coasts.” 

Upcoming CREW-STL events include Coffee with CREW, April 1; Membership Hike, April 6; Bar K & Green Street Real Estate Ventures Happy Hour and tour, April 12; and Dine Around, April 19. To register or for more event details, visit https://crewstl.org/events.

The Staenberg Group begins $70 million Metro East development

The Staenberg Group begins $70 million Metro East development

The featured site plan from the developer, The Staenberg Group, shows the location of the outlots, retail space and a Menards in the Glen Carbon, Ill. retail development Orchard Town Center. Image credit: The Staenberg Group.

Panel shares '22 forecast at first STL MWM Summit

Panel shares '22 forecast at first STL MWM Summit

Photo credit: Susan Bowen, Rosemann & Associates.

St. Louis’ first world-class, indoor volleyball and basketball complex underway

St. Louis’ first world-class, indoor volleyball and basketball complex underway

The 97,000-SF facility will attract an estimated 900,000 visitors each year. Feature rendering credit: mw Weber Architects.

SIOR panelists voice 'biggest changes ever' in commercial real estate

SIOR panelists voice 'biggest changes ever' in commercial real estate

Photo credit: MWM STL/Lisa Shackelford

Three major projects shaping 'Mid-County Renaissance' in St. Louis

Three major projects shaping 'Mid-County Renaissance' in St. Louis

The design for the $100 million Bemiston Place development (featured rendering) in Clayton, Mo. originated from a competition requiring the exterior skin of the existing building not to be altered. Featured rendering credit: Hord Coplan Macht.

Lawrence Group adds Integrate Construction Partners, names president

Lawrence Group has announced the spinoff of its construction division into a separate entity, now known as Integrate Construction Partners.

The new commercial construction company offers design-build, construction management and general contracting services. Lawrence Group will continue to provide its core design services including architecture and interior design through its three offices nationwide.

Lawrence Group, which has had a construction division since 2004, has seen its construction division grow substantially through client relationships and its own affiliated real estate projects.

“The market for how organizations seek to facilitate their building needs continues to evolve. The establishment of Integrate Construction Partners creates a more independent platform for providing construction services while allowing our design practice to solely focus on industry-leading design solutions,” said Steve Smith, CEO of Lawrence Group.  

Scott Zola has been named president of Integrate Construction Partners; Smith will serve as its chairman. 

“I am excited to build upon the success of our construction group through Integrate Construction Partners. Honesty and transparency coupled with first-in-class full life cycle project leadership is the cornerstone upon which Integrate is built. Through a true partnership, we will work with all our project stakeholders to integrate value, safety, quality, community and fun,” said Zola.

Zola joined Lawrence Group in 2014 to lead the firm’s construction practice. Since then, he has grown the firm’s construction volume from approximately $5 million of St. Louis based work to more than $40 million across multiple states with plans for continued growth.

The spinoff, and recent announcement of real estate affiliate New + Found, is part of the organization’s overall strategic plan to build a multidisciplinary group of companies to provide comprehensive building solutions. 

Upscale multifamily development receives zoning and site plan approval

Upscale multifamily development receives zoning and site plan approval

The Station at St. Peters Luxury Living will be developed by Mia Rose Holdings. Rendering courtesy of Rosemann & Associates, P.C.

Four CRE associations install new officers for 2022

Four CRE associations install new officers for 2022

Photo courtesy of St. Louis REALTORS®

Green Street expands into new city headquarters

Green Street expands into new city headquarters

Photo credit: Jeannie Liautaud Photography, LLC

STL Region positioned to aid in ongoing supply chain crisis

STL Region positioned to aid in ongoing supply chain crisis

Image courtesy of the World Trade Center St Louis.