How The Vaccine Can Help Real Estate Recover, And How Real Estate Can Help The Vaccine Succeed

After a year of bleak facts and figures, the news in early November that the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech was more than 90% effective was a cause for celebration, and when it came to the economic sectors that would benefit, real estate celebrated like few others.

Shares in the biggest real estate names on both sides of the Atlantic saw huge gains; Simon Property rose 24%, Vornado by 25%, SL Green by 31% and British Land by 26%. The prospect that we would be able to move around the world more freely provided hope for a sector hit hard by the impact of lockdowns and social distancing. 

But amid this almost-blanket rejoicing, the arrival of coronavirus vaccines will not be a silver bullet fixing the problems facing the cities and real estate markets of the U.S. and UK.

Bisnow wrote a four-part special report on the COVID-19 vaccine and commercial real estate — click here to see it all.

In Case You Missed It...

In May 2019, women’s clothing retailer Dressbarn announced it was closing its approximately 650 stores. In May 2020, home goods retailer Pier 1 said it would close all of its 942 stores. 

Normally, that might have been the end of those brands, but instead, both were bought by a company, Retail Ecommerce Ventures, that relaunched them as online-only stores. REV’s modus operandi is exactly that: “We transform well-known distressed retail brands into e-commerce success stories,” their website proclaims.

Retail stores have been shuttering in record numbers over the last couple of years, but moving operations online is easier said than done, and can come with trade-offs, experts say.

Read the full story here.

This series asks rising stars in commercial real estate about their thoughts on some of the biggest issues facing the industry, such as inequality, climate change and technology.

Lilian Yool considers commercial real estate a mission. It is her way of helping secure safe and affordable housing for those who struggle to put a roof over their heads, a struggle she knew at a very young age after her mother fled war-torn Guatemala with her children in the 1980s.

“We came to the U.S. when I was 3 years old, and at first we stayed with friends, but while my mom was working at two to three factory jobs, she was able to find an apartment we could afford,” Yool said.

The family’s new home was in Pilsen, a neighborhood just southwest of Chicago’s downtown, heavily populated by immigrants from Latin America. But it wasn’t exactly the American dream.

Read the full story here.