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As commercial and office real estate markets continue to be upended by societal shifts touched off by the COVID-19 pandemic, some economists are looking to these now under-utilized spaces as potential avenues for bringing additional housing supplies online in American cities. Previously on... View full entry
“This is an opportunity to think in new ways, but people will still want to live close to transit,” [Dr. Richard J. Jackson] said.
The challenge for developers will be marrying density with safety, which will now require an interdisciplinary approach [...]
— The New York Times
The New York Times takes a look at the potential impact the coronavirus pandemic could have on the future of transit-oriented development in the United States. Transit use has fallen drastically during the lockdown period, while many high-profile figures, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo... View full entry
OMA was commissioned by Australian retail developer Sandhurst Retail to design the mixed-use Wollert Neighborhood Center in the suburb of Wollert, which is about 25 kilometers (about 15.5 miles) north of Melbourne's Central Business District and is one of the fastest growing regions in the state... View full entry
As more people order food to eat at home, and as delivery becomes faster and more convenient, the apps are changing the very essence of what it means to operate a restaurant.
No longer must restaurateurs rent space for a dining room. All they need is a kitchen — or even just part of one.
— The New York Times
Food delivery apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub are reshaping the $863 billion restaurant industry in the United States, according to The New York Times, as delivery-only "virtual restaurants" take off. The New York Times reports that over 4,000 virtual restaurants and "ghost... View full entry
The hypothetical Retail Apocalypse should be supported by a decline in the total retail establishments, but that's not the case. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported 1,044,509 establishments for 2018, for a net gain of 2,413 establishments over 2017 (1,042,096). The 2018 figure also represents a net gain of more than 20,800 establishments since a retail trough in 2011, a low point resulting from the Great Recession. — Congress for the New Urbanism
Sharon Woods, CEO of real estate consultant group LandUseUSA, writes in Public Square, a journal produced by the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) presents an opposing, data-driven view of the future of America's retail landscape. Woods writes, "The future for brick-and-mortar retail... View full entry
Commercial-property prices in major cities around the world tumbled in the second quarter, amid signs of slower global growth and heightened trade tension between China and the U.S.
Average property prices fell in the second quarter from the first quarter in Hong Kong and Seoul to London and Washington, D.C., according to data from Real Capital Analytics.
— The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal reports that Melbourne, central Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Paris, London, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. all saw a retreat in commercial real estate property values during the second quarter of 2019. The trend applies to struggling sectors like office buildings and malls. View full entry
The Department of City Planning studied commercial corridors in 24 neighborhoods across the five boroughs and concluded that while shuttered storefronts plague some of the city's richest and poorest areas, the phenomenon is far from a pandemic.
"There is no single dominant trend in retail in New York City," the survey asserts. "Data did not indicate a pervasive vacancy problem across the city, but did identify a number of high-vacancy corridors."
— Crain's New York
Her newly resurrected 114-year-old Purse Building features a floor-to ceiling mural of the late Jacobs, an urbanist activist and author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities, superimposed on a downtown street grid. Above Jacobs’ striking bespectacled image, her mantra “New ideas need old buildings” blazes in neon lights. — Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Morning News profiles Tanya Ragan, a Dallas-based real estate developer who is taking on commercial real estate's "boys club" mentality with a Jane Jacobs-inspired approach. Ragan's Wildcat Management is behind a series of new and forthcoming projects, including the... View full entry
Steven Holl Architects gave a first glimpse into their second mixed-use project in Beijing. At 26,000m2, the geometric building will accommodate office and retail spaces in the city's Fengtai district. Courtesy of Steven Holl Architects.SHA's main elements in their design were light, structure... View full entry
At a time when the cannabis industry is growing its commercial presence in Los Angeles, a new private members club for industry elites is setting up shop at 718 South Hill Street, in the heart of Downtown L.A.'s Jewelry District. Local architecture firm M-Rad was put in charge of redesigning... View full entry
[T]hough in practice CVS is context agnostic: A CVS looks like a CVS no matter where it is. It is a structure without character or distinction, and to walk along such a building is an unpleasant experience that degrades pedestrian life, the civic space and all the other properties around it. — Mark Lamster, Dallas News
Architecture critic Mark Lamster of The Dallas Morning News gives his two cents on why CVS Pharmacy, America's largest pharmacy chain, should rethink the “manipulative designs” of their retail stores, describing it as a case of “urban malpractice by chain retailers”. “As a CVS customer... View full entry
Architects pH+ and Developer City & Suburban have received planning permission to transform a decommissioned electricity works into a mixed-use residential scheme at The Camp, St Albans. Wrapped around two courtyards the project implements hidden parking below the landscaped shared spaces to... View full entry
In their latest collaboration with Apple, Foster + Partners envisioned the tech giant's new retail store near Macau's Sands Cotai Central resort as a luminescent “paper lantern” that reveals a “tranquil oasis” inside. According to the design team, the store can offer a sense of calm and... View full entry
Located in the affluent Melbourne suburb of Ringwood along Maroondah Highway, the Sage Hotel is the next phase of ACME's ongoing redevelopment of the Eastland mixed-use town center. The center first opened in 2015. The Sage Hotel is a simple volume whose structure is constrained by existing... View full entry
Built atop the rolling hills of eastern Napa Valley in California, the Odette Estate Winery was designed with sustainable farming and wine production in mind. Designer Signum Architecture was awarded as an Industrial Building category winner for the project in the 2017 American Architecture Prize... View full entry
