Converting Commercial Buildings to Residential Spaces: A Promising Solution for Wichita’s Housing Crisis?

The concept of converting commercial buildings into residential spaces is gaining traction across the United States, and Wichita, Kansas, is no exception. This innovative approach has the potential to address the city’s housing shortage, boost its local economy, and improve the quality of life for Wichita residents. The National, a new 10-story luxury apartment complex with co-working space and retail components, is being converted from a former office building at 150 N Main in downtown Wichita. Expected to be completed in mid-2023, the project is a significant example of commercial…

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NAI Martens Blog ~ Exploring Wichita’s Prospects: an Insight into Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts

To facilitate the overhaul of the Union Station campus, this TIF district was established in 2014. At the heart of Wichita’s vibrant economic landscape, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts have played a pivotal role in revitalizing and reimagining various areas of our beloved city. As a commercial real estate brokerage, we believe it’s essential to keep the community well-informed about the impact and whereabouts of TIF districts in Wichita. This blog post is dedicated to explaining what TIF is and providing an overview of the nine active TIF districts in…

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NAI Martens 

What the tax bill reveals about CRE in NYC and beyond

Commercial real estate (CRE) is counting the costs of Covid-19 as the property tax bills went out last month. Bloomberg News is reporting that the property tax bills have shone a stark light on what they’ve termed the “carnage wrought by the pandemic” on one of the world’s most resilient and vibrant CRE markets, New York City (NYC) – and some of its most iconic landmarks. Furthermore, the valuations method is being criticized by many owners who want to push the city for further relief, according to BisNow. No small…

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NAI Martens 

Top Tech: Salesforce

We’ve been on a mission lately, to share best practices and some of our favorite commercial real estate (CRE)-related technology tools in a series of blogs. This is our fifth in the series, and explores the uses of Salesforce. For clarity, this is NOT a paid or sponsored blog. We are motivated only by sharing information with our network. We want to hear from you too: What are your favorite tech tools? Is there a CRE digital solution we should know about? Below we provide just a few reasons why…

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NAI Martens 

Industrial CRE: the party isn’t over yet!

Real Capital Analytics (RCA) has released their latest US National All-Property Index data for industrial, apartment, retail, and office sectors, which shows index growth of 8.4% year-on-year to April 2021. The biggest gains were evident in Industrial (up by 9.4%), which we all know has been one of the few spaces for which Covid-19 proved to be a boon. But GlobeSt analysis of Crexi data and Moody’s Analytics suggests that a “market correction” may be on the cards In the monthly Crexi National Commercial Real Estate report, they write, ‘for…

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NAI Martens 

Rethinking the retail model post-pandemic

It is now a well-established fact that the retail sector was both broadly and deeply affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, in the US and abroad. Our NAI Global Real Estate Outlook study, Q42020, includes the finding that over half of survey respondents (57%) said the “Amazon effect” was expected to have an even larger impact on their CRE markets than the pandemic itself. Additionally, as we’ve reported, e-commerce fulfilment and warehousing are now seen as a dominant drive factor in real estate markets, leading the report authors to deem e-commerce…

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NAI Martens 

Major-League Affiliated Baseball is Back: What this means for Wichita and CRE

Last week saw the official return of affiliated baseball to Wichita. The journey to this point was filled with unexpected setbacks – controversy over a land deal, a pandemic, a change in the team’s MLB affiliate and the sudden death of team owner Lou Schwechheimer. But none of these seemed to matter on the night of the home opener, which saw a crowd of nearly 8,000 show up. The community appeared excited to witness its first taste of affiliated baseball since the Wichita Wranglers last game in 2007. The success…

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NAI Martens 

Thought leadership: CRE as a proxy for financial stability

In late March 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a blog about the “crossroads” that real estate currently finds itself, and warning that this has implications for the wider economies and economic stability. It is a fascinating read and one that really drives home the centrality of the commercial real estate (CRE) sector. “Empty office buildings. Reduced store hours. Unbelievably low hotel room rates. All are signs of the times. The containment measures put in place last year in response to the pandemic shuttered businesses and offices, and dealt…

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NAI Martens 

Eye of the beholder: Tapping into the art of CRE photography

Commercial real estate (CRE) comes alive with compelling photography, and this has never been truer than in this age where most prospective tenants and clients begin and end their search for property online. Of course, there are some things a great photo can’t do: it can’t negotiate rates, or check leases, and it certainly doesn’t have the connections that a broker has. Thankfully, they are not competing. In CRE, a great photograph (several actually) and a great broker are a killer combo. Here’s how to get the best visuals of…

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