Author: Manager

Future of CRE: Impacts of Augmented Reality on Real Estate

Submitted by Erica Buffington with Shield Engineering

Karen Whitt, with Colliers International, introduced the future of augmented reality (AR) and its impacts on the real estate industry.  AR is a technology that allows for digital information to be layered on top of real world objects without having to attach anything to buildings or other structures.  Using AR allows for advertising and signage to become completely digital.  The real estate industry will forever be transformed by AR because buildings can be canvased for content and information which will allow for immediate e-commerce and data analysis.  The smartphone is going to play a very large role in all things AR.  Even Tim Cook of Apple has stated that AR is, “the future of the smartphone”. 

Integrating artificial intelligence technology will further enhance the personalization of the experience by identifying who you are and define your preferences, ensuring marketing preferences are targeted.  AR rights can be retained in a property sale by either party and they can also raise the valuation of an asset.  Exclusive rights to a building to use for AR will be sold at a premium. 

Facebook’s Live Maps research aims to empower people to connect and share in deeper, more meaningful ways by improving how we access information and understanding the context of a situation to deliver a shared experience through AR.  It will change how we engage with the world making it feel more immediate, more intuitive, more nature, more human.  AR glasses are the next technology coming to market (expected in 2023) and they will likely replace smartphones.

The State of Hospitality: COVID Edition

Submitted by Julie Ayers, Aprio

Tom Murray, CEO from the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority moderated our all-star panel to talk about the hospitality industry in Charlotte.   According to the panelists, the outlook does not look sunny and with PPP funding ending and the colder weather arriving the short-term future will be rough….

Tom reviewed several statistics and reminded us that this has been the most damaging event in hospitality history. Tom also reminded us that the employees in this industry are some of the most impacted in the US and since hospitality jobs make up one out of every nine jobs locally it is a considerable impact on our local economy.  

Dan Hooks, President of Party Reflections, an event planning company, talked to us about the employees that they had to let go in this pandemic. Their 62-year-old company went from 240 employees to 55 employees within a week. The company was able to obtain PPP funding; however, they have almost spent through those funds and he is wondering if there will be additional government assistance available. At this point it looks like their revenues have been cut in half from 2019 since their best months in the Spring and Fall fell under the limited gathering restrictions. Dan said he used to think “there is no way to stop somebody from getting married” then enter 2020…

Vinay Patel, principal at SREE Hotels, a company with many Charlotte area hotels, shared with us some insight on how the industry is doing.   He pointed to closings in the industry such as the iconic Hilton in Times Square that is closing in October as indicative of the trends. Vinay mentioned that when occupancy was the lowest in April, the industry was down 90% that month, there were times that there were more employees in the hotel than guests. While the industry has turned around some the industry predictions are it will be 2024 before it is more stable. Hotels in destination areas are doing better than others, which may help Charlotte if we can become more of a destination.   

Kara Taddeo owns VBGB and 8.20, most of the revenue from these companies is based on large events due to their proximity to Live Nation’s outdoor amphitheater and Fillmore music club so they are down 70% in revenue. Kara mentioned that with large concerts and events there is no answer on when they will come back, and we are just waiting on the facts. Currently, 8.2.0 remains closed and Kara is concerned that people may not be ready to dine inside. With the changing weather, people will be less willing to be outside so revenues could drop further. She mentioned the next six months are going to be scarier and they may need to close during January and February.

In the long run, there are some encouraging things in Charlotte such as hotels being built – Grand Bohemian and JW Marriott, restaurants being opened, and hopefully larger events allowed soon. Maybe things will take a turn for this industry…. It was said that we are looking to keep Charlotte’s small business personality, so let’s spend accordingly!

CREW Charlotte October Luncheon – Empty Spaces

Submitted by Holly Alexander, New South Properties

CREW Charlotte featured “Empty Spaces” as the topic for the October virtual luncheon.  The panel consisted of Cassie McCrain, Managing Director of Real Estate Asset Management at Barings; Paula Saunders, broker at New South Properties of the Carolinas; Jessica Brown, Executive Director at Cushman Wakefield; and moderator Holly Alexander, also a broker at New South Properties.  These local experts dove into how leasing office and retail space has been changing and will accelerate in a post-Covid world.  Many landlords are getting creative with repurposing traditional space and several tenants are looking at those empty spaces opportunistically.  Regardless, retail will likely not look the same and “real estate operators will have to sharpen their pencils and look for creative ways to add value,” McCrain said.  Our local office marking is faring well to date.  Unlike other major metropolitan cities who have seen a dramatic uptick in the subleasing of office space, Charlotte remains relatively unaffected.  Brown stated about 60% of the sublease opportunities in Charlotte measure less than 10,000 square feet, with about a quarter of all sublease space in uptown.  While the jury is still out on the what, we will see changes to how we approach space design, layout and features, including how to better integrate health and wellness into our everyday spaces.

CREW Charlotte November Luncheon: Economic Outlook: The New Crystal Ball

Submitted by Amy Massey, PE, Kimley-Horn

It was a pleasure for CREW Charlotte to have Laura Ullrich, PhD, speak at our November 10^th virtual luncheon. Laura, who serves as regional economist at the Charlotte branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, provided an overview of past, current, and potential future economic conditions on both the national and regional levels. Much of Laura’s informative presentation focused on recovery trends in light of changing economic projections for 2020 and beyond compared with what had been expected in late 2019 and even early 2020 due to COVID-19.

With Laura’s primary research focus areas being in higher education, school finance reform, local and state-level tax and expenditure analyses, welfare policy, and the economic impact of local development– all of which are factors in this recovery effort– it is apparent that all sectors have been affected. However, the impacts are not being felt the same in every sector, geographic area, or population demographic. Examples of the hardest-hit and perhaps longer-lead recovery elements would be the hospitality sector, dense urban areas, and lower-income individuals.

Whereas SC is faring slightly better than NC in recovery progress, both Carolinas have more positive momentum than the US overall. Very large metro areas (i.e. NYC) are seeing trends of outflux to smaller metro areas (i.e. Charlotte); however, larger central business districts in the Carolinas (i.e. Charlotte, Raleigh) are seeing a bigger impact due to the lack of office workers, business travel, and the associated trickle effect into other associated sectors. In general, jobs are coming back; just at a slower pace as we continue forward.

Moving on, there are looming questions of how the colder weather will impact us and the economy especially looking at Europe and the unfortunate re-shut-downs happening there. But the recent bright spot with positive vaccine news brings fresh hope in terms of improving our health, happiness, and of course economic recovery in returning to ‘normal’ sooner rather than later.

Click here for Laura's presentation.