Revitalizing Downtowns with Live/Work/Play Communities
February 12, 2025
Urban downtowns have been seen as the center of city life. Recently, however, this system has been going through some growing pains.
Urban downtowns have been seen as the center of city life. Recently, however, this system has been going through some growing pains.
Answering the call for housing everywhere, 2024 was truly the year of multi-family properties, as over 500,000 new units were completed by the end of December. While 2025 may see a slight step back in completions, 2 million new apartments are arriving on the market by 2028.
Commercial properties require frequent inspections for many different reasons. From new acquisitions, to lease renewals, to recurring maintenance checks, commercial inspections are a standard part of every business’ annual expenses. From a property inspector’s perspective, these jobs are great due to the more professional, less emotionally charged approach in comparison to residential inspections. Plus, commercial properties offer an opportunity to examine bigger, more complex systems in pretty much every category. Investors and property owners may find themselves wondering just how the costs for commercial inspections are determined. Even if you’re newer to the commercial inspection process, you’ve likely seen firsthand that pricing is rarely just a flat rate and that it differs significantly from residential inspection costs. Just as commercial properties serve a wide variety of purposes and come in all shapes and sizes, commercial inspectors know that they have an equally wide variety of inspection needs. While this might make the cost of a commercial inspection tougher to predict in advance, a commercial inspector who factors in all of the unique qualities of the property in their proposal is more likely to deliver a product worth the cost! So, if you’d like more insight on how pricing is determined
Access to affordable housing has been an ongoing issue all across North America, and communities everywhere have been searching for their own solutions. In New York City, an attempt to address this problem has led to widespread debate and plenty of tension. That attempt? New zoning laws. To be a bit more specific, New York City has a regulation known as the Floor-Area-Ratio cap (or “FAR” cap) which restricts the maximum height of new residential construction within certain areas of the city, like the historic Hell’s Kitchen. We’ve previously discussed how developers have started to convert empty office buildings into apartments in order to add housing opportunities but NYC’s FAR cap might be limiting creative solutions like this. Spectators to this discussion may find themselves wondering if these zoning laws are such a hindrance, why were they put in place originally? And if some zoning laws are only a thorn in the sides of developers, investors, and the average renter, how have they lasted this long? Let’s discuss! What are Zoning Laws?Broadening the discussion for just a second, let’s dive into a few definitions and some background information on zoning laws. To simplify, zoning laws are the rules and restrictions
Over the past hundred years or so, human life has changed radically. From the farms to the city, from simple dugout homes in the prairies to towering high-rise skyscrapers in bustling downtowns, there are many aspects of the modern world that would leave the architects and engineers of yesteryear amazed. Still, that hasn’t stopped many from imagining what our future cities might look like, not to mention guessing at how we might solve the problems we face today. According to the President and Designated Expert of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), one feature that may grow in prominence within cities around the world is the skybridge. In the CTBUH Journal, Wood writes: “For more than a century, architects and urban visionaries have foretold of three-dimensional cities, with tall buildings linked by skybridges forming a new kind of urban fabric. Rapid urbanization and new technological advances have converged to reignite the potential of such constructions at the urban scale.” Antony Wood’s 2020 comments carried an excited vision for skybridges moving into the future, but have these predictions become a reality, or are we still waiting to see their full potential? What is a Skybridge?For the uninitiated, skybridges
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a hot-button topic of discussion, in not only educational settings, but the workplace. Business owners and investors want to stay ahead of the curve, and employees fear becoming redundant, but to make a long story short, no one knows fully what to expect with AI. For those who are using AI in their businesses already, early tools are being lauded as time-savers, improving productivity in many different areas and limiting time spent on mundane tasks. According to Forbes, the AI market size is on track to reach $407 billion by 2027 (from $86.9 billion in 2022), which means that all industries are going to have to learn to adapt. With a new industry that’s growing so quickly, AI is going to demand its own space to expand physically. To answer this growing demand, here’s how the CRE space will answer. Answering AI’s Growing Space DemandArtificial intelligence tools need developers and specialists working in those fields, which makes tech centers particularly reactive to industry growth. Areas like the San Francisco Bay area, Boston, Seattle, and New York will need to provide adequate working options for tech employees. In the past, this meant that investors could expect
Across commercial real estate sectors, various amenities rise and fall in prominence each year as investors track what attracts top-tier tenants and drives business. In the face of increasing urbanization where city center locations are in high demand, one property trait that’s been steadily gaining attention is walkability. But what does it look like when a property has good walkability, and is there anything that owners and investors can do to improve this feature? Let’s delve deeper into this subject to provide some clarity. What is Walkability?Walkability is an overarching term referring to a property’s proximity to other businesses that serve its tenants and visitors, and to the number and quality of pedestrian-friendly characteristics present. For apartment buildings, this might include benches or bike racks around the exterior, and parks or grocery stores nearby. For office buildings, a coffee shop opening on the ground floor could be a prime example. The benefits of investing in walkability are numerous. It reinforces healthy habits, has positive environmental effects, and revitalizes communities. However, the real reason why walkability is becoming a bigger focus today is the trackable evidence it has on investors’ pocketbooks. How Does it Impact Commercial Real Estate (CRE)?The importance of
Adaptive reuse is on the rise in commercial real estate as somewhat radical shifts continue to reverberate throughout various CRE subsectors. With the mercurial nature of office and retail space utilization, finding creative ways to repurpose properties without starting from scratch is certainly in the air. This is where “adaptive reuse” comes into play. Do you own a warehouse that’s become an underused capital sink? Restore and renovate the property so that you can reopen it as trendy luxury apartments! Defunct businesses like switchboard operator buildings sitting empty? Rather than tearing it down, reopen it as a unique coffee shop or restaurant. Adaptive reuse is all about creativity and innovation while preserving the interesting historic buildings that can bring a neighborhood or a city its unique character. There are many ways for CRE investors to utilize an adaptive reuse mindset in today’s volatile market, and the benefits of this strategy just might have a considerable impact on their ROI. Common Applications for Adaptive Reuse TodayThe first form of adaptive reuse that we’re seeing pop up over and over recently is the multi-family conversion. Office buildings have continued to struggle filling up post-pandemic, and features like high ceilings, which are somewhat
On October 1st, the student loan pause that stretched back to early 2020 will come to its climactic end, leaving many economic analysts as well as borrowers anxious about the future. An extra few hundred dollars of costs affecting the budgets of roughly 44 million Americans is sure to send ripples throughout many industries. And for commercial property investors, staying up to date on the latest speculation tends to have its value. Looking forward, here’s how the end to The Pause might impact a few key real estate sectors. Forecasting the Effect on Multi-Family PropertiesAs we’ve discussed, property owners are getting creative with ways to add to multi-family property inventory as other sectors have been negatively impacted by inflation. While it’s true that most still consider multi-family properties a smart add to any investor’s portfolio, recent conversion strategies and new builds have prioritized higher-end units, which doesn’t balance well with student loan payment continuation. Those impacted by student loans are likely to look for ways to save, which may mean downgrading their living situations by moving from Class-A locations to Class-B, or from Class-B to Class-C. Millennials and younger renters who have opted to rent alone may also choose to
Comfort and familiarity are things that people cling onto for comfort. While most are willing to venture out to a new restaurant or clothing store from time to time to “mix it up,” wider lifestyle changes are generally met with major push-back. In the realm of real estate, this fact is perhaps the most clear in instances of new construction near residential communities. Often, residents of existing communities fight to preserve the familiar feel of their neighborhoods through protesting affordable housing developments, new high-rises, or any unwanted businesses. These conflicts are natural issues for developers and property investment groups, and while these residents may not realize it immediately, derailing growth often comes back to harm their communities beyond what they expected. Change can be tough, but many cities formerly resistant to developments (notably wealthy enclaves) are starting to shift their views to their benefit. What is NIMBY?NIMBY, also sometimes known as nimbyism, is a term used in reference to groups in a community that fight in an organized manner against new developments that threaten their way of life in some manner. Standing for “Not In My Back Yard,” NIMBY started mostly to defend against environmental and public contamination in the
Urban downtowns have been seen as the center of city life. Recently, however, this system has been going through some growing pains.
Answering the call for housing everywhere, 2024 was truly the year of multi-family properties, as over 500,000 new units were completed by the end of December. While 2025 may see a slight step back in completions, 2 million new apartments are arriving on the market by 2028.
Commercial properties require frequent inspections for many different reasons. From new acquisitions, to lease renewals, to recurring maintenance checks, commercial inspections are a standard part of every business’ annual expenses. From a property inspector’s perspective, these jobs are great due to the more professional, less emotionally charged approach in comparison to residential inspections. Plus, commercial properties offer an opportunity to examine bigger, more complex systems in pretty much every category. Investors and property owners may find themselves wondering just how the costs for commercial inspections are determined. Even if you’re newer to the commercial inspection process, you’ve likely seen firsthand that pricing is rarely just a flat rate and that it differs significantly from residential inspection costs. Just as commercial properties serve a wide variety of purposes and come in all shapes and sizes, commercial inspectors know that they have an equally wide variety of inspection needs. While this might make the cost of a commercial inspection tougher to predict in advance, a commercial inspector who factors in all of the unique qualities of the property in their proposal is more likely to deliver a product worth the cost! So, if you’d like more insight on how pricing is determined
Access to affordable housing has been an ongoing issue all across North America, and communities everywhere have been searching for their own solutions. In New York City, an attempt to address this problem has led to widespread debate and plenty of tension. That attempt? New zoning laws. To be a bit more specific, New York City has a regulation known as the Floor-Area-Ratio cap (or “FAR” cap) which restricts the maximum height of new residential construction within certain areas of the city, like the historic Hell’s Kitchen. We’ve previously discussed how developers have started to convert empty office buildings into apartments in order to add housing opportunities but NYC’s FAR cap might be limiting creative solutions like this. Spectators to this discussion may find themselves wondering if these zoning laws are such a hindrance, why were they put in place originally? And if some zoning laws are only a thorn in the sides of developers, investors, and the average renter, how have they lasted this long? Let’s discuss! What are Zoning Laws?Broadening the discussion for just a second, let’s dive into a few definitions and some background information on zoning laws. To simplify, zoning laws are the rules and restrictions
Over the past hundred years or so, human life has changed radically. From the farms to the city, from simple dugout homes in the prairies to towering high-rise skyscrapers in bustling downtowns, there are many aspects of the modern world that would leave the architects and engineers of yesteryear amazed. Still, that hasn’t stopped many from imagining what our future cities might look like, not to mention guessing at how we might solve the problems we face today. According to the President and Designated Expert of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), one feature that may grow in prominence within cities around the world is the skybridge. In the CTBUH Journal, Wood writes: “For more than a century, architects and urban visionaries have foretold of three-dimensional cities, with tall buildings linked by skybridges forming a new kind of urban fabric. Rapid urbanization and new technological advances have converged to reignite the potential of such constructions at the urban scale.” Antony Wood’s 2020 comments carried an excited vision for skybridges moving into the future, but have these predictions become a reality, or are we still waiting to see their full potential? What is a Skybridge?For the uninitiated, skybridges
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a hot-button topic of discussion, in not only educational settings, but the workplace. Business owners and investors want to stay ahead of the curve, and employees fear becoming redundant, but to make a long story short, no one knows fully what to expect with AI. For those who are using AI in their businesses already, early tools are being lauded as time-savers, improving productivity in many different areas and limiting time spent on mundane tasks. According to Forbes, the AI market size is on track to reach $407 billion by 2027 (from $86.9 billion in 2022), which means that all industries are going to have to learn to adapt. With a new industry that’s growing so quickly, AI is going to demand its own space to expand physically. To answer this growing demand, here’s how the CRE space will answer. Answering AI’s Growing Space DemandArtificial intelligence tools need developers and specialists working in those fields, which makes tech centers particularly reactive to industry growth. Areas like the San Francisco Bay area, Boston, Seattle, and New York will need to provide adequate working options for tech employees. In the past, this meant that investors could expect
Across commercial real estate sectors, various amenities rise and fall in prominence each year as investors track what attracts top-tier tenants and drives business. In the face of increasing urbanization where city center locations are in high demand, one property trait that’s been steadily gaining attention is walkability. But what does it look like when a property has good walkability, and is there anything that owners and investors can do to improve this feature? Let’s delve deeper into this subject to provide some clarity. What is Walkability?Walkability is an overarching term referring to a property’s proximity to other businesses that serve its tenants and visitors, and to the number and quality of pedestrian-friendly characteristics present. For apartment buildings, this might include benches or bike racks around the exterior, and parks or grocery stores nearby. For office buildings, a coffee shop opening on the ground floor could be a prime example. The benefits of investing in walkability are numerous. It reinforces healthy habits, has positive environmental effects, and revitalizes communities. However, the real reason why walkability is becoming a bigger focus today is the trackable evidence it has on investors’ pocketbooks. How Does it Impact Commercial Real Estate (CRE)?The importance of
Adaptive reuse is on the rise in commercial real estate as somewhat radical shifts continue to reverberate throughout various CRE subsectors. With the mercurial nature of office and retail space utilization, finding creative ways to repurpose properties without starting from scratch is certainly in the air. This is where “adaptive reuse” comes into play. Do you own a warehouse that’s become an underused capital sink? Restore and renovate the property so that you can reopen it as trendy luxury apartments! Defunct businesses like switchboard operator buildings sitting empty? Rather than tearing it down, reopen it as a unique coffee shop or restaurant. Adaptive reuse is all about creativity and innovation while preserving the interesting historic buildings that can bring a neighborhood or a city its unique character. There are many ways for CRE investors to utilize an adaptive reuse mindset in today’s volatile market, and the benefits of this strategy just might have a considerable impact on their ROI. Common Applications for Adaptive Reuse TodayThe first form of adaptive reuse that we’re seeing pop up over and over recently is the multi-family conversion. Office buildings have continued to struggle filling up post-pandemic, and features like high ceilings, which are somewhat
On October 1st, the student loan pause that stretched back to early 2020 will come to its climactic end, leaving many economic analysts as well as borrowers anxious about the future. An extra few hundred dollars of costs affecting the budgets of roughly 44 million Americans is sure to send ripples throughout many industries. And for commercial property investors, staying up to date on the latest speculation tends to have its value. Looking forward, here’s how the end to The Pause might impact a few key real estate sectors. Forecasting the Effect on Multi-Family PropertiesAs we’ve discussed, property owners are getting creative with ways to add to multi-family property inventory as other sectors have been negatively impacted by inflation. While it’s true that most still consider multi-family properties a smart add to any investor’s portfolio, recent conversion strategies and new builds have prioritized higher-end units, which doesn’t balance well with student loan payment continuation. Those impacted by student loans are likely to look for ways to save, which may mean downgrading their living situations by moving from Class-A locations to Class-B, or from Class-B to Class-C. Millennials and younger renters who have opted to rent alone may also choose to
Comfort and familiarity are things that people cling onto for comfort. While most are willing to venture out to a new restaurant or clothing store from time to time to “mix it up,” wider lifestyle changes are generally met with major push-back. In the realm of real estate, this fact is perhaps the most clear in instances of new construction near residential communities. Often, residents of existing communities fight to preserve the familiar feel of their neighborhoods through protesting affordable housing developments, new high-rises, or any unwanted businesses. These conflicts are natural issues for developers and property investment groups, and while these residents may not realize it immediately, derailing growth often comes back to harm their communities beyond what they expected. Change can be tough, but many cities formerly resistant to developments (notably wealthy enclaves) are starting to shift their views to their benefit. What is NIMBY?NIMBY, also sometimes known as nimbyism, is a term used in reference to groups in a community that fight in an organized manner against new developments that threaten their way of life in some manner. Standing for “Not In My Back Yard,” NIMBY started mostly to defend against environmental and public contamination in the