Author: naimartens

From indoor climbing gyms to ping-pong clubs and ballet studios, there has been a big push for unique “fitness concepts” in recent years in vacant shopping centers and malls. We expect this trend to continue into 2018 and beyond with a variety of new fitness concept trends coming to a neighborhood near you. Charlotte Country Club, Fitness Center, and Resort In-One In Charlotte, unique fitness concepts are taking over the city. One fitness concept in particular just opened at the end of last year called Life Time Athletic. The builders…

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Transit-Oriented Development is all the rage in CRE these days. Partly as a result of a sharp decrease in car ownership among city dwellers and millennials in general and the need to find new uses for vacant spaces, transit-oriented development is a trend that began several years ago and will continue to get bigger and spread to more cities. Here are 5 things you might not know about TOD: #1: Atlanta’s Transit Authority Developed the Guidelines Identifying the Core Elements of TOD There are 4 core elements for designing a…

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Managing properties used to take a robust staff of dozens of people to collect rent, maintain the grounds, perform repairs and routine maintenance, etc. Current technology has made it so that nearly every single task in property management can be handled through technology, making it much easier to manage properties, engage with tenants, collect rent payments, and secure and retain new tenants. #1: CRE Management Platforms Commercial real estate was late to the game but as of late, there are tech companies catching up with this underrepresented market. It is…

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Starting the business was the hard part. Now you are looking for a space but how do you find the right commercial building? You need a good commercial real estate brokerage but each brokerage and broker is different. How do you choose the one that’s right for you? Here are 4 things to look for: #1: A broker that specializes in the type of commercial property that you need. One of the first things you’ll come up against when you start looking for commercial property is zoning. You may think…

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Commercial leasing is a complex business. Understanding terms, finding the right properties, negotiating the best short or long term deal possible is all complicated by the detailed financial and legal processes that have to be secured along the way. Without the aid of a professional broker, tenants can find themselves locked in a long term deal that doesn’t work all because of some common leasing misconceptions. #1: Trying to Lease in Retail is Futile Unless speaking of online retail, the industry has taken its lumps over the last couple of…

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NAI Martens presents the Q2 2018 Market Update. Inside you will find market trends and statistics for local commercial real estate from the second quarter! Q2 2018 Market Update Having trouble viewing? Click here ABOUT NAI MARTENS NAI Martens is the largest full-service commercial real estate firm in Kansas. Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Wichita, NAI Martens provides a vast array of commercial real estate services throughout south-central Kansas and Topeka. NAI Martens is led by CEO Steve Martens, CCIM, CPM, SIOR and President Tom Johnson, CRE – two industry…

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Virtual reality (“VR”) will create opportunities for everyone. In an excellent article on the topic by The Counselors of Real Estate (read it here), they explain how the use of virtual reality could change every aspect of deal making. “One of the main uses of VR for real estate is marketing. While the cost of a virtual model may seem high to some, the cost can be offset through the reduction of other marketing spend, a reduction of holding costs by compressing the transaction cycle and accelerating cash flow, which…

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Small format stores may not be the next “big thing,” as much as they are a natural step in retail’s revolution, given you understand the role physical retail will play in the future. Mega-retailers like Macy’s, WalMart, Whole Foods, Best Buy, Nordstrom, Kohl’s and Target are among the few making headlines for their downsizing efforts. A lot of these smaller format retailers are downsized by over half the size of their traditional store formats, and are common in more urban neighborhoods. While other retailers like Sephora have launched smaller format…

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International retailers are drooling over the opportunity in American retail. We’ve seen many fast-casual chains and grocery stores make headlines for making their way across the pond, and now retailers are following suit. Here are three retailers we’re betting are bound for disruption. KidZania Self-described as an “experimental learning center” the retailer is “capitalizing on the global trend of educational entertainment, KidZania will establish new ventures in Dallas and Chicago, building on an existing network of locations in 24 major cities worldwide,” according to their press release. “‘At KidZania, we…

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NAI Martens is proud to announce the sale of the former Days Inn Motel in Pratt, KS. Troy Farha, Vice President of Retail and Investment with NAI Martens, represented the seller in the transaction. Farha brokered the sale of three hotel properties in 2017, including the Northrock Suites and Wichita Inn North. Farha has worked on a number of notable hospitality projects recently, including site selection for the new Best Western Plus West Lawrence, opening this fall, and representing the buyer of the site for the new Avid Hotel planned for…

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