'They're Playing A Dangerous Game': CRE Leaders On Congress Leaving Without Passing Relief Bill

Commercial real estate brokers and market experts believe the coronavirus has fundamentally shifted the leasing market to unfamiliar territory, and it is time to begin thinking about creative ways to reposition retail, restaurant, hotel and office properties that are at risk of losing tenants permanently.  

"I think, generally speaking, the market is not quite ready to face the fact that things are changing more than we care to admit," Dominus Commercial Inc. Vice President Aaliyah Haqq told Bisnow. "I think we are going to find ourselves a little bit behind in being forward-thinking about what we can do to repurpose spaces as we come out of whatever is on the other side of ... COVID."

Haqq, who operates in both brokerage and development, is advocating for the CRE industry to start thinking creatively about how to reinvent spaces to remain revenue-generating after a mass exodus of traditional tenants and little to no leasing activity expected in the near future. She believes the only way to do this is to bring…

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The debate over California's long-standing limit on commercial property tax increases is heading to the finish line after years of contentious jockeying on both sides.

In November, California voters will decide whether to repeal part of Proposition 13, a 1978 state ballot measure that put property taxes on residential and commercial properties at 1% of the purchase price and caps reassessment increases at 2% per year. In its place, Proposition 15, otherwise known as "split roll" or, officially, the California Schools and Local Communities Funding Act of 2020, will reassess commercial and industrial properties valued at more than $3M to fair market rate.

The measure, which would generate a tax windfall of at least $10.3B, according to a study by the University of Southern California released earlier this year, pits much of the CRE industry against advocacy groups like Schools and Community First, the measure's main backer, and the >

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In Case You Missed It...

A former associate in JLL’s New York Capital Markets Group is suing the company, saying she was denied bonuses because she was a woman, had to put up with a sexist work culture and was fired for complaining about it.

In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, Tiffany Catalini accused the brokerage of violating federal and state labor and human rights laws by discriminating against her, creating a hostile work environment and retaliating when she brought her complaints to her superiors. The bulk of the…

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After the election, the political will to keep the Opportunity Zone program in place seems to exist, regardless of who wins the White House and Congress.

Yet it is also just as likely that changes will be made, either in the program's fundamental goals, or maybe just some tinkering at the edges. There is a wide spectrum of opinion on what should be done about OZs, a possibility Bisnow covered in the first section of this series…

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Before the coronavirus pandemic, the factor of where you live (and whether you are willing to relocate) may have meant the difference between getting a job interview or not.

But in a tough job market, candidates may find that declining to volunteer one’s geographic location on a job application may help broaden their options, and companies that struggled to staff top talent in secondary or tertiary markets may find the pandemic’s forced remote work to be a silver lining.

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