Wichita city leaders are bringing back a speculative industrial building program. At Tuesday’s meeting, the City Council voted 6-1 to reimplement a program that was first introduced in 2012. The program, which will be a little different than the one that ended in 2014, utilizes industrial revenue bonds to provide a sales tax exemption on construction materials and property tax abatement for perspective businesses. The property tax abatement would last for up to 10 years. Buildings would receive a 95 percent abatement for the first five years and a 50…

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NAI Martens is pleased to present this year’s third quarter Wichita Core Report. Take a look inside to see the latest trends in the core retail market. Please click below on the publication to view or download.   CLICK HERE:   The Wichita Core Report is the product of the most comprehensive database of commercial real estate information in the Wichita retail submarket. Led by NAI Martens’ Research/GIS Specialist Drew Gannon, the Wichita Core Report database tracks commercial property in Downtown, Old Town, Delano, and the Douglas Design District. For…

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After weeks of speculation, President Donald Trump’s tax reform bill passed the Senate 51-49 around 2 a.m. Saturday. The bill, crafted to encourage more investment by U.S. companies and to boost the country’s economic growth, is particularly generous when it comes to commercial real estate developers. The final version of the nearly 500-page tax bill includes last-minute changes such as a larger tax break for pass-through entities, common among real estate developers. The legislation offers a 23% tax deduction for businesses set up as a partnership or entity with a tax burden that transfers to an individual; this deduction used to sit at 17.4%. Much remains unknown…

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Companies ranging from the big automakers in Detroit to tech firms in Silicon Valley are pouring research dollars into driverless cars, and this development is projected to completely change the future of commercial real estate. This transition creates opportunities for new investment as well as challenges for existing properties. Demand for parking The biggest effect of driverless cars will be a reduction in demand for parking. As cars become fully autonomous, passengers can be dropped off at their final destination and continue to pick up other passengers or park themselves…

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Current Economic Conditions by Federal Reserve District- November 2017 Overall Economic Activity Economic activity continued to increase at a modest to moderate pace in October and mid-November, according to anecdotal reports from contacts across the 12 Federal Reserve Districts. There was a slight improvement in the outlook among contacts in reporting Districts. Pre-holiday reports of consumer spending on retail and autos were mixed but largely flat; still, the outlook for holiday sales was generally optimistic. Many Districts highlighted growth in the transportation sector, although the New York District reported a…

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Our new quarterly report will give you an overview of office, retail and industrial activity and trends in the Wichita market during the third quarter! To view or download the 3Q ’17 Wichita Market Report, please submit the form below.

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By some estimates, shoppers were spending $1 million per minute at the peak of Black Friday. By the close of business, $5 billion was estimated to have been spent online. Estimates are that Cyber Monday will be even bigger with digital sales of $6.5 billion; signs that the retail experience in the future will be totally different than it is today. Tailored customer experiences and seamless integration of online and brick-and-mortar will be pillars of the retail experience.  The following are some insights into how retailers are preparing for the…

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Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and while the commercial real estate industry has experienced its share of challenges this year, it’s also evolving at an unprecedented rate. Change creates opportunity, and from booming industrial markets to the promise of new technologies, CRE professionals have a lot to be thankful for this year. 1. Industrial Just Won’t Stop Growing Last year the industry was thankful for industrial real estate’s explosive growth. Happily, that success only accelerated this year. Colliers International‘s latest report said the U.S. industrial market clocked its 29th…

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There is still office space to be had in Wichita, especially in the downtown area. But one local broker says owners and developers might want to think about spending money to make money — especially if they are going to overcome the parking problem that remains one of the biggest drawbacks to officing in the city’s core. By turning some vacant office space into amenities for tenants, says Patrick Ahern, a commercial real estate broker with NAI Martens, buildings could add important new draws in an age where demands go beyond…

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