Boston Councilors Delay Vote On Order To Nix Parking Requirements At Affordable Housing Projects

In Case You Missed It...

Tens of billions of dollars are being raised this year by some of the biggest investment firms in real estate into nontraded REITs, a rapidly growing segment of funds that are shifting the dynamics of the industry's hottest property sectors.

Read the full story here.

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears’ decision last week to sign a $197M purchase agreement for Arlington International Racecourse in northwest suburban Arlington Heights sets up the possibility of the city losing its storied football team. But before the Bears and racetrack owner Churchill Downs Inc. complete that deal, many questions will have to be answered.

The team will need to finance a new stadium, a tough task as modern football stadiums typically cost between $1.5B and $2B and generally have to be built without taxpayer support.

Although neither the team nor Arlington Heights officials have spoken much about what will replace the historic racing palace, the Bears are likely to use the racetrack's 326 acres to foster a mixed-use development, and attempt to attract fans and customers year-round, even when games are not underway. Going in that direction will require massive private investment as well as buy-ins from developers and prospective tenants who believe in the site’s long-term potential.

But brokers and developers familiar with suburban Chicago say such a strategy could succeed. The demand for such a development likely exists, which would both help finance a new stadium and greatly inflate the team’s value.

Read the full story here.

NEW YORK CITY — The coronavirus pandemic brought New York City’s office market to a screeching halt, and even as the crisis subsides and a semblance of normality returns, many buildings are facing an uncertain future.

“The leasing market’s brutal. It's getting better now and I think it's highly segmented — the term location, location, location for real estate has really morphed into location, location, transportation, as far as I am concerned,” Savanna founder Chris Schlank said at Bisnow’s National Real Estate Finance Summit Tuesday. “People are coming back to work, thank God, but we've seen on the leasing side people want to commute, to get out at Grand Central, Penn Station or Port Authority and walk to work.”

Read the full story here.