Trends & Insights

Excerpt of article originally published by GlobeSt In advance of the live ICSC Here, We, Go. 2021 networking conference in Las Vegas from Dec. 5-7, GlobeSt.com chatted with a few retail experts on what they are looking forward to from this year’s event. Here, We Go. 2021 networking conference is fast approaching and dealmakers and innovators will soon gather in person from December 5-7 in Las Vegas. Mike Sladich, regional director and partner of Stan Johnson, for one, is excited. “It will be a great opportunity to renew old relationships and build new ones in person,” Sladich tells GlobeSt.com. “Nothing compares to the efficiency of large conferences for business development and knowledge sharing.” Sandy Sigal, president and CEO of NewMark Merrill Cos., exclusively tells GlobeSt.com that he is excited to see so many friends and colleagues. “It will be great to share experiences, compare notes, and create new ICSC experiences.” He adds that “there is no substitute for in person experiences… This is how you create lasting, life changing opportunities.” Hillary Steinberg, senior advisor of MDL Group/CORFAC International, is especially looking forward to being able to meet face-to-face with property owners and asset managers in town for the convention. Additionally, Steinbern says, it will be an opportunity to hear about up and coming retailers from other parts of the country. We also caught up with Vicky Hammond, principal of Coreland Cos., who says that ICSC Las Vegas conferences are valuable events for our industry. “I’m encouraged that the organization is navigating a complicated environment to make it happen this December,” Hammon says. “Retail is a large worldwide industry that relies heavily on relationships and I’m personally looking forward to taking this first step back.”

Stan Johnson Company, one of commercial real estate’s leading investment sales brokerage firms, has completed three portfolio sale transactions for a combined $75.5 million. The portfolios were comprised of single-tenant assets leased primarily to discount retailers. Tenants included Tractor Supply Company, Dollar General and Advance Auto Parts, among others. Ryan Butler of Stan Johnson Company arranged the off-market transactions on behalf of ownership. “All three portfolios had weighted average lease terms in excess of eight years and offered a very attractive mix of retail tenants,” said Butler, Managing Director and Partner in Stan Johnson Company’s Tulsa, Oklahoma headquarters. “We worked diligently to evaluate the buyers for each transaction and executed a series of off-market campaigns that resulted in a competitive environment and strong pricing. We successfully closed with three different institutional investor groups who were each pleased to add these high-quality, high-performing properties to their existing portfolios.” In total, the three transactions included 40 properties which were located across seven states.

Excerpt of article published by Commercial Property Executive Commercial real estate executives weigh in on what’s to come in the office and industrial sectors. With a new year right around the corner, Commercial Property Executive asked industry experts to forecast the business and economic factors that will determine deal flow and pricing in the office and industrial real estate sectors. Jeff Cox, Managing Partner & Sales Leader, East Region, Stan Johnson Company: Access to capital remains quite good, and we’re seeing strong buyer demand as investors rush to take advantage of the current lending environment. Our clients are also watching the return to office policies communicated by large corporate employers, the growing labor shortage, and persistent supply chain issues.  

Excerpt of article originally published by GlobeSt Walmart is launching three full-time DroneUp airport hubs for on-demand delivery operations. The first operation has already taken flight at a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Farmington, Ark. The program features three locations at Walmart stores, making it the first multi-site commercial drone delivery operation. Each will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days per week and will deliver items to eligible Walmart customers by air in as quickly as 30 minutes. The two other sites will begin business in the coming months, Walmart said in a release. “When we invested in drone delivery earlier this year, we envisioned an operation that could be quickly executed and replicated across multiple stores,” Tom Ward, senior vice president of last mile at Walmart US, said in prepared remarks. Walmart Has Significant Infrastructure in Place The process begins with eligible customers entering their address to verify eligibility. They then can select from thousands of items for delivery. Operators next pack the order and secure the box to the drone using a patented delivery release mechanism. The FAA-certified flight engineer then manages a controlled and guided delivery, placing the order gently at the customer’s home. Walmart is well-positioned to be the drone delivery leader given its extensive retail footprint—it has more than 4,700 stores located within 10 miles of over 90% of the US population. Analysts expect drone delivery use to further develop in retail. Drones require fewer fossil fuel-powered vehicles for short delivery trips and also could be a remedy for some supply-chain issues. Warehouses, in fact, have begun preparing for this technology. “The timing is perfect for Walmart to be experimenting with drone delivery,” Chad Byerly, Director & Partner, Stan Johnson Company, tells GlobeSt. “Current supply and labor shortages are impacting the ability to deliver goods to consumers in a timely manner, so I’m not surprised Walmart is making investments in new technology and finding creative ways to reach their customers.” When Amazon launched its drone delivery service back in 2013, the idea seemed very futuristic, Byerly continued. “But now, I think we’re seeing the true beginning of a trend. If Walmart is successful, it’s likely we’ll see other national retailers like Walgreens, CVS, Dollar General and more follow suit.”  

Stan Johnson Company, one of commercial real estate’s leading investment sales brokerage firms, has completed the ground lease sale of a single-tenant retail property leased to 7-Eleven. The 4,070-square-foot convenience store is located at 1343 Belcamp Road in Belcamp, Maryland. Stan Johnson Company’s BJ Feller and Mike Philbin exclusively represented the seller, a local developer. The property was acquired by a New York-based 1031 exchange buyer for $5.0 million. “This property represented one of the more unique opportunities of a 7-Eleven relocation property in tandem with a fresh 20-year lease,” said Feller, Managing Director and Partner in Stan Johnson Company’s Chicago, Illinois office. “The property understandably attracted a wide range of interest from both private investors and also institutional investors, owing to the strength of the location off Interstate 95, as well as a multitude of major drivers nearby, including the Aberdeen Proving Grounds.” The newly built gas station and convenience store is situated on a 2.41-acre parcel near the intersection of Riverside Parkway and Interstate 95 and is just 30 miles northeast of Baltimore, Maryland. The tenant relocated from a nearby site and increased their footprint by 67 percent to meet growing demand.

Stan Johnson Company, one of commercial real estate’s leading investment sales brokerage firms, has completed the sale of a single-tenant retail property leased to Dollar Tree. The 14,265-square-foot building is located at 2585 Lineville Road in Howard, Wisconsin. Ronnie Givargis of Stan Johnson Company represented the seller, a New York-based private equity group. The asset was purchased by a private 1031 exchange investor based in Boca Raton, Florida. The property sold for $2.8 million reflecting a 5.10 percent cap rate. “This was a record-breaking cap rate for Dollar Tree in Wisconsin,” said Givargis, Senior Director in Stan Johnson Company’s Newport Beach, California office. “Dollar Tree was in a neighboring shopping center half a mile from this site for many years and outgrew the space. This was a relocation deal to a freestanding building in a proven market.” The property was originally built in 2004 and was renovated in 2021. It is situated on 1.4 acres at a signalized intersection just 15 minutes northwest of downtown Green Bay, Wisconsin. Neighboring tenants include Sherwin-Williams, Auto Zone, Goodwill, Piggly Wiggly and Anytime Fitness, among others.

Originally published by GlobeSt Throughout the majority of the pandemic, office investors were widely driven by a flight-to-quality, as those assets offered the most resilience amid demand uncertainty. While core and core-plus office properties are still in favor, value-add liquidity is quickly recovering as clarity surrounding rent growth and the future of office demand improve, according to new findings from JLL.  Thus far in 2021, value-add is the most sought-after profile with the share of value-add office properties in the current pipeline recovered from declines in 2020, and now recovering towards the 2017-2019 levels, JLL said. Additionally, value-add buyer pools are broadening after significant impact in 2020 and have seen the most improvement in 2021 relative to 2020. “We’re seeing investors pivot back to previously out of favor sectors like office and hospitality that can produce very attractive yields,” said Coleman Benedict, senior managing director and co-head of JLL’s National Office Practice, in prepared remarks. “As part of this rotation back to office, value-add is definitely back on investors’ radar reinforcing the investment community’s confidence in the long-term stability of the office market.” ‘Uncertainty No Longer Clouds’ Multi-Tenant Asset Sectors Ryan Roedersheimer, director in Stan Johnson Company’s Cincinnati office, specializes in nationwide multi-tenant investment property sales. He tells GlobeSt that he has seen a resurgence of interest in recent months for a variety of asset classes that had demand levels squeezed by the pandemic. “The most renewed interest is in multi-tenant assets—this includes office and retail, with an emphasis on value-add properties,” Roedersheimer said. “Uncertainty no longer completely clouds these sectors. Workers are returning to office environments and consumers are returning to stores. “For investors who’ve been chasing yield, they’re finding fewer options in the red-hot industrial market, and this dynamic is leading them to look elsewhere. With suppressed demand for multi-tenant assets in the last two years, there’s a lot of opportunity here for investors, and it will be interesting to see the story play out in 2022.” The Spector of Hybrid Work  To be sure, questions remain surrounding the impact of hybrid work on office demand. However, the majority of corporate occupiers have signaled that the office will remain the center of the work ecosystem. Hybrid work’s net impact on space usage and footprints will be relatively minor. Leasing activity supports this thesis, JLL notes, which nearly surpassed 40 million square feet in Q3 2021 for the first time since the onset of the pandemic and bringing the trailing six-month transaction total almost 40% above the same time period in 2020. Recent sales also drive home the rediscovery of value-add office’s appeal. There was the $155 million sale of Mount Eden Research Park in the Bay Area and the $56.5 million sale of CASA in Phoenix. “The amount of interest we received for Mt. Eden was truly astounding,” said Senior Managing Director Rob Hielscher, JLL Capital Markets. “A combination of value-add and life sciences drove pricing and the number of bids upward in a highly competitive process.” The CASA office sale set a new price-per-square-foot record for Phoenix’s Piestewa Peak submarket.  

Stan Johnson Company, one of commercial real estate’s leading investment sales brokerage firms, has completed the sale of a 60,000-square-foot industrial distribution facility. Located at 13 Chocksett Road in Sterling, Massachusetts, the property is fully leased to Utz Quality Foods. In addition to the Utz brand, the company is also known for Zapp’s, Golden Flake and TGI Fridays Snacks, among other potato chip and snack foods. Stan Johnson Company’s Erik Lundberg represented the seller, an individual investor based in Leominster, Massachusetts. The buyer was NB Partners III LP, a Wakefield, Massachusetts-based institutional investor. The asset traded for $4.2 million. “We were able to achieve full asking price on an off-market basis for this property that features a short-term lease in place with Utz Quality Foods,” said Lundberg, Associate Director in Stan Johnson Company’s Tulsa, Oklahoma headquarters. The two-story, Class B industrial property was built in 2006 and is situated on 4.8 acres just minutes from Interstate 190. Sterling, Massachusetts is located just 20 minutes north of Worcester and approximately 40 miles west of the Boston metro area.