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May | June | 2015 Commercial Investment Real Estate
REGIO NAL
OUTLO O K
S O U T H
Houston's Position Solid
Reports of Houston's demise due to falling oil prices are greatly exaggerated, according to a recent CBRE report.
T e city is in solid shape, having diversif ed its employment base and created four new jobs for every one it lost
during the recession, says CBRE. Of the property sectors, retail should fare best: Houstonians, like the rest of
Americans, will benef t from lower gas prices and most likely spend that money at the mall. Of ce is the most
exposed property sector, given the number of energy f rms headquartered in Houston, plus the large amount
of space coming on line between now and 2017. Industrial and multifamily, already in strong positions, should
fare well, with slower rent growth the only impact. However, CBRE expects oil prices to slowly drif upward
in the next two to three years.
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N A T I O N A L
Top U.S. Cities for
CRE Investment
by 2014 sales volume
in billions YOY change
New York $57.0 ↑19%
Los Angeles $28.8 ↑5%
San Francisco $26.7 ↑51%
Washington, D.C. $14.3 ↓19%
Chicago $13.6 ↑9%
Source: Real Capital Analytics/ULI
Louisville's Big Deal
A public-private partnership is turning a 24-acre
site once occupied by the National Tobacco Co.
into a food hub — "a $45 million commercial
agriculture park that will process, store, and
distribute locally grown foodstuffs," according
to the Louisville Courier-Journal. After receiving
the vacant land worth $1.2 million from the city,
nonprofi t developer Seed Capital Kentucky is
seeking tax credits to fund the fi rst phase of
the West Lousiville Food Hub: development of
a warehouse, offi ce building, and commercial
kitchen. It is also working out agreements
with agricultural companies to build a juicer,
an industrial food processing plant, and a
demonstration farm. A $20 million methane gas
plant powered by compost will break ground
later this year. An industrial and marketplace
mixed-use format, food hubs have sprouted up
in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and St. Louis.
SOUTH