Economy, Market & Trends
Demand from growing cloud-computing providers has set the U.S. data center market on pace to break 2017’s record leasing activity, according to CBRE’s latest U.S. Data Center Trends Report. Northern Virginia and Phoenix are also seeing significant new construction to meet demand.
Can vacant theaters, banks, schools, libraries, churches, apartment buildings, and storefronts that once were mainstays of Detroit neighborhoods be preserved while also providing an economic boost? That was the issue facing a ULI Advisory Services panel that gathered in the Motor City in late July.
The Dodge Momentum Index, a leading indicator for construction spending for nonresidential buildings, moved 1.4 percent higher in July to 169.8 from the revised June reading of 167.3. The commercial component of the Momentum Index grew by 3.3 percent, while the institutional component fell 1.5 percent.
With the convenience and increasingly experiential process of shopping online, how can retail stores and malls compete? Thriving brands are combining their online and brick-and-mortar experiences to keep foot traffic high and regenerating communities.
Experts in hotel development discuss the rising popularity of social spaces in hotels, the role of technology in the hotel experience, the ways guests are shaping in-room furniture design, the competition from Airbnb, the need for “Instagrammable” spaces in hotels, and changing approaches to hotel restaurants.
Behind the new home construction, park improvements, and a rising downtown skyline that are attracting out-of-state migration, some longtime families in Boise, Idaho, are struggling to afford housing in a market that has seen rents more than double in the past decade.
Hong Kong Central remained the most expensive office market in the world, according to CBRE’s annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costsreport. Hong Kong Central’s overall prime occupancy costs of US$307 per square foot (US$3,305 per sq m) per year topped the “most expensive” list, followed by London’s West End, Beijing’s Finance Street, and Hong Kong’s Kowloon.
A future-focused Urban Leader Summit discussion in Frankfurt in May on embracing new technology raised just as many questions as it answered. Panelists said the waves of change triggered by this digital shift are going to be felt for generations to come, as more and more jobs are capable of being done by machines.
Foxconn Technology Group is investing $10 billion to build some 22 million square feet (2 million sq m) of manufacturing space near Milwaukee, but other cities are also reaping the rewards of the Midwest’s growing tech sector.
Two architects address ten common concerns about shrinking parking requirements.