Introduction to XR technology: Exploring the technology and process of AR, VR and MR, how they’re different–and what they can do for you

With the ever-increasing perception that technology is progressing at lighting speed comes confusion at the terminology being used to describe it. One example is the collection of acronyms that describe the various computer-enhanced realities. Their commonly-seen names are VR, AR, MR and, more recently, XR. Whether you’re applying the terms to video games or augmented experiences for your customers or clients, they needn’t be confusing.

The first (and perhaps the oldest), virtual reality (VR), defines an immersive experience that is completely computer-simulated–that is, one in which computer technologies use reality headsets to generate realistic sounds, images and other sensations that create an entirely virtual world, from whole cloth. A true VR environment engages all five senses (taste, sight, smell, touch, sound)–the ultimate goal of virtual reality is true immersion–though this is not always possible. The demand for VR was born in a video game industry that craved the sensation of being “really there.” This technology has moved into more practical applications with lots of progress expected in the near future.

The biggest value in virtual reality is that it provides an intuitive way to interact with and be immersed in the digital experience–the “story.” VR can be called a hardware innovation–an input and output device that offers intuitive control and deeper immersion in the digital world.

What are some of its best applications? VR is best used for telling stories and conveying experiences–touring a commercial real estate development or one that doesn’t exist in the real world, for example. More examples: Attending virtual sales or marketing conferences which can be expensive to provide travel and expense for each attendee, and fantasy experiences such as digital tourism of fictional communities.

Augmented reality (AR) is a live view of a real-world physical environment, elements of which are augmented or supplemented by computer-generated sensory input like video, sound, graphics or GPS data. The view may be direct or indirect.

AR is like a computer-driven overlay on the real world. It utilizes existing reality and adds to it with the assistance of a device. The apps available for mobile devices are popular mediums of AR. Through the camera, the apps add a layer of digital content into the environment. Custom headsets are another means to augment reality. Pokemon Go, Facebook’s ability to tag friends on photos and Instagram and Snapchat’s funny face filters are all examples of AR applications, as are pointing a phone at a mixed used property development to see features and amenities,and visualizing furniture and decor items in an office or retail space before purchasing.

Where VR brings the user into an all-digital world, augmented reality brings digital information into the real world. In a more technical sense, AR is a software innovation that happens when software extracts data from visual information of the existing world. Its ultimate goal is to provide contextual information to the user.

In addition to being a descriptive term for situations when virtual reality and augmented reality are used together, mixed reality (MR) reminds us that VR and AR can coexist. Sometimes referred to as hybrid reality, MR happens when real and virtual worlds meet to create new environments and visualizations with real and digitally-created objects co-existing and interacting in real time.

What about the newer label, XR? Extended reality is a less-specific term that could be any or all of the above. Extended reality refers to all environments where real and digital worlds interact, and human-tech interactions that are generated by computer technology.

Extended reality includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed Reality (MR). It could be called an umbrella definition that covers all three–and we’ll be hearing a lot more about it. For example, it is becoming the favored term for the next-level digital content finding its way onto our phones from tech companies like Microsoft, Samsung, Apple, Google and Facebook.  

Mixed reality (MR) and extended reality (XR) as concepts are more abstract than AR and VR. They aren’t a specific kind of technology but rather a combination of technologies.

As producers, consumers, sellers, and buyers all shift to using digital and virtual tools more than ever before, now is the time to explore AR, VR, and MR tech.

Your company’s website is often the face you present to the world–and a crucial way the world interacts with your company. And though you may have put a lot of creative effort–and a significant investment–into building it, you could be missing a key opportunity to grow your business if you treat it like a static advertisement rather than an important and always-evolving marketing tool. Outlined below are some key strategies for making the best of your website and the resources you invest in it.

Keep up with updates
New versions and plug-ins will often fix bugs and add new features and sometimes address crucial security issues. New applications often change the requirements for using them; making sure your site is up-to-date ensures that it can handle and make the best of new tech.

Be thorough about security
It’s much easier, as they say, to be safe than sorry, especially when it comes to the important information that may be accessible via your website. Smart hosting and app support means keeping the information in and the bad guys out.

Keep content fresh and relevant
You can have all the bells and whistles, pretty pictures, and social media presence in the world, but if it isn’t interesting and fresh, interest will fade quickly. And getting attention won’t get very far if the quality isn’t behind it. A satisfying experience will continue to captivate visitors’ interest and keep them coming back.

SEO really works
Optimize your site so it reaches the most people and gets the attention it deserves. It may seem complicated, but SEO pros know their stuff and keep up with new algorithms and ways to keep your site on top.

Be diligent about backups
Even if the worst never happens, it’s easy to set up and maintain fail-proof backup strategies that happen automatically so you never lose a thing.

Always keep visitor experience in mind
See everything that happens on your site through your site visitors’ eyes and mind. This is another area that may seem like a challenge, but it’s second nature to someone who knows their UX ps and qs.

Scale your content for every platform
The way we interact with digital content is expanding rapidly, from wall-sized screens to watches. What you have to say should reach everyone, everywhere, on every device.

Keep up with new features and integrate them into your site
Being an early adopter means you’ll know before everyone else what works and what doesn’t. If you think they’ll be relevant, exploring new features that can be integrated into your website helps you find new ways to beat the competition–and avoid the hype.

It’s important to stay informed, because you know best what suits your business and the people you want to reach. But it’s just as important to find savvy experts to keep their eye on this important part of your business strategy; they’ll know all of this already, and be ready to focus on making it happen for you.

All images via Adobe Stock

Technology is now the underpinning of every part of the CRE business. Though it may be happening at a slower rate compared with some other industries, companies are adopting a variety of advanced technologies. Investors have certain expectations about technology usage: In a recent study done by professional services giant Deloitte, nearly two-fifths of investors plan to increase the use of predictive analytics and business intelligence to make their investment decisions. Ross Litkenhous, Global Head of Business Development at Altus Group, told Propmodo, “The last few years have ushered in the single largest evolution in commercial real estate technological advancement since the introduction of the Excel spreadsheet.”

Another way technology is affecting the mindshare of those who control large amounts of real estate is that their investment decisions are being influenced by the disruption caused by new business models. “Sharing economy” companies like Airbnb led the way with 82% of the U.S. executives saying that their investment and portfolio decisions were influenced by the company’s effect on the industry. Sixty-nine percent of those same managers said that the growth of coworking was influential with the effects of e-commerce sites like Amazon not far behind at 58%.

Disruption in the retail market is having a similar influence in manufacturing as warehousing and distribution markets experience increasing demand due to the yearly growth in online purchases. It should come as no surprise that many large retailers are making investments in extremely complex technical fulfillment sites that are strategically located.  

Which technologies are the ones to master?

National Real Estate Investor points us toward Benjamin Breslau, managing director, Americas research, at real estate services firm JLL, a founding partner of the MIT lab, who advises investors to consider technology that (1) automates and helps run businesses more efficiently; (2) impacts the size of tenant spaces and future-proofs buildings throughout their lifecycle; and (3) collects data to power analytics that help run buildings efficiently.

Artificial intelligence (AI) will collect data that improves information transparency and helps investors make better decisions by providing access to specific data, such as building energy consumption, market rates, and how tenants utilize workspace and common areas. Greater transparency works to raise competition for assets, as more investors will have access to the same information. Breslau adds, “The key may no longer be who has the data, but more who knows how to interpret it and apply insights.”

For example, the website 42Floors provides office space rentals and commercial real estate listings for owners and prospective tenants. Some companies like CompStak and DealX implement a crowd-sourced platform by providing lease comparables for public usage, coupled with details like the tenant's name, rent amount, length of lease and landlord concessions. Real Massive and VTS have even more comprehensive platforms, offering property listings, relevant market data, workflows, and information to owners, CRE professionals, and tenants.

Skyline AI, a proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning platform, automates asset valuation and underwriting. JLL Spark made the decision to invest in the start-up because it leverages industry data from more than 130 different sources and analyzes more than 10,000 attributes of each asset for the last 50 years to predict future performance and accurately estimate asset value.

Though now only in the testing phase, autonomous vehicles are expected to have an enormous impact on the urban landscape and future building uses. Developers are already adding drop-off platforms to building infrastructure to accommodate services like Uber and Lyft. According to Breslau, “We’re advising developers to future-proof projects by preparing for a building’s future lifecycle in the planning and design stage.”

The internet of Things (IoT)

There are now more “things” connected to the internet than people. Deloitte reports that over a quarter of the respondents in the aforementioned survey said they thought CRE companies should prioritize the use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology when redesigning buildings. Respondents from China (48%) and Singapore (43%) place a greater emphasis on the use of IoT technology compared to respondents from the United States (15%).

IoT devices can be put to use to monitor and control the mechanical, electrical, and electronic systems used in buildings of all types, in home automation and building automation systems. IoT is powering smart city technology, using connectivity and sensors that control city and development infrastructure, and harnessing the computing power that collects and analyzes data, which could be useful to real estate planning and investment.

Blockchain, a digital ledger of economic transaction data validated by a network of computers, can be programmed to record financial transactions and basically everything of value. The technology is relevant for processing real estate transactions and should be quickly adopted by the commercial real estate industry.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
Change the mindset to embrace technology.

Next: Start operationalizing your digital strategy across your entire business–from the ground up.

Images courtesy of Adobe Stock

Technology is now the underpinning of every part of the CRE business. Though it may be happening at a slower rate compared with some other industries, companies are adopting a variety of advanced technologies. Investors have certain expectations about technology usage: In a recent study done by professional services giant Deloitte, nearly two-fifths of investors plan to increase the use of predictive analytics and business intelligence to make their investment decisions. Ross Litkenhous, Global Head of Business Development at Altus Group, told Propmodo, “The last few years have ushered in the single largest evolution in commercial real estate technological advancement since the introduction of the Excel spreadsheet.”

It’s time to upgrade digital strategy and infrastructure. What should you make sure you’re doing? Currently, most companies are tactically focusing on individual technologies relevant for a specific business area and not looking at an enterprise-wide picture. As a result, CRE technology leadership tends to spend significant time and resources in managing both modern and legacy infrastructure while not yet reimagining the power of fully utilizing data. Perhaps one of the challenges facing CRE companies is the ability to prioritize investments between different technologies and needs.  

Develop an enterprise-wide strategy and a strong, agile digital core as part of your company’s central strategy, which can be bolstered by implementing data gathering and analytical technologies. An enterprise-wide technology strategy is often a first step toward effective technology deployment and integration. It also leads to more efficient management of IT budgets and resources. A strategy could include, for example, an enterprise-wide evaluation of data capture, the use of predictive analytics, and enhanced internal reporting with business intelligence software. To this end, a planned and phased deployment of technology is a better strategy than ad hoc adoption.

CRE companies should invest in modern, more dynamic core technology systems that are automated and easy to integrate with new solutions that emerge. Example: Include smart building management systems that will be able to carry out automated procedures and track building operations.  

Enhance data-gathering and analytics capabilities. CRE companies should consider different approaches to gather, store, and analyze large sets of internal and external data. Many companies today are overwhelmed by the huge variety in types of data, but also by the sources. Some of the external and alternative data sources include news feeds, satellite imagery, geospatial information, and crowdsourcing. Internally, advanced technologies such as IoT, blockchain, and robotic process automation (RPA) can yield new data sets. In a recent study done by professional services giant Deloitte, more than three-fifths (62%) of the surveyed investors prefer having access to IoT data for their CRE investment decisions.

CRE companies can achieve sophisticated practical insights for different strategic and tactical actions by using alternative data sources and advanced technologies. For example, companies can create what-if scenarios while managing tenant experience. Some of these could include analyzing tenant benefits due to flexible leases or tenant convenience through better designed spaces. Companies can also collaborate with tenants and drive value by leveraging the insights, whether customer and traffic information for a retail center or employee usage information for an office property.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
Start operationalizing your digital strategy across your entire business–from the ground up.

Image courtesy of Adobe Stock

Whether you manage a series of large residential buildings or commercial buildings, security is a constant concern. Knowing who is coming and going from the premises at any given time is the best way to protect one’s tenants and property. Alongside human security staff, technology has longed played a role in building security. From video surveillance to swipe cards, technology is already part of the security landscape, but over the coming decade, a new era of security is about to arise. As automated facial recognition technologies become increasingly powerful and affordable, they seem likely to transform the security industry, but what should building owners and managers consider before investing in this new security solution?

What is automated facial recognition?

Automated facial recognition is just one form of biometrics. Facial recognition software can detect faces in images and match the faces against stored information in a database. Law enforcement agencies have been using facial recognition software for several years. Among other things, they rely on the software to spot wanted individuals in photographs and video images, even of large crowds. But law enforcement agencies aren’t the only organizations already relying on facial recognition.

How and where automated facial recognition is already being used

When Delta Air Lines opened its new international terminal at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) in 2018, they also unveiled the first biometric terminal in the United States (a similar airport already exists in Singapore). The new biometric facility means that customers flying direct to an international destination on Delta, Aeromexico, Air France, KLM or Virgin Atlantic Airways can use facial recognition technology to do anything one needs to do when boarding an international flight. This includes checking in, dropping one’s bags, moving through the TSA checkpoint, and boarding the flight. For travelers coming back to the United States, the technology also enables one to go through the required Customs and Border Protection process.

While the type of facial recognition software required to run an international airport terminal remains complex and costly, for the average residential or commercial building, the technology is already well within reach. In summer 2018, for example, Forbes Magazine decided to try out Amazon’s Rekognition (an affordable facial recognition solution) in their Jersey City and London offices. An article by staffer Thomas Brewster reported, “Based on photos staff consensually provided, and with footage shot across our Jersey City and London offices, we discovered it took just a few hours, some loose change [about $10] and a little technical knowledge to establish a super-accurate facial recognition operation.”

The Benefits

In most buildings, visitors are signed in, but visitors don’t always sign out. Likewise, employees with access cards may tag in when they arrive at work but leave through another exit without tagging out. As a result, knowing exactly who is in a building at any given time is often difficult, if not impossible, to determine. Whether you’re managing a residential or commercial building, facial recognition addresses this ongoing security problem.

With installation costs already low, especially if you opt for an affordable option such as Amazon’s Rekognition, there may also be considerable cost savings connected to adopting this biometric solution. If, for example, the need for human security officers declines, building owner and managers can expect to see high returns.

Finally, from a tenant perspective, facial recognition technologies also offer at least two key benefits. First, they facilitate greater ease of access. After all, these technologies ensure no one needs to waste time signing or swiping in and out of their own building multiple times each day. Perhaps most surprisingly, there is even hope that as this new security technology evolves, it will do more than simply keep track of who is in a building at any given moment. Combined with advanced emotion detection software, one’s security cameras will soon also be able to help identify people in distress or even spot someone acting in a suspicious manner.

The Concerns

While there is no question that automated facial recognition holds many potential benefits, the technology also comes with several notable downsides, or at least concerns. First, facial recognition continues to raise widespread privacy concerns. Second, there is compelling evidence that the software may also perpetuate certain biases.

In 2018, the ACLU issued a warning about facial recognition technologies, specifically Amazon’s Rekognition software. As stated in their briefing, among other concerns, the ACLU worries that facial recognition is just not yet accurate enough to be put into use. For example, the ACLU conducted at test of Rekognition, and as reported, “In the test, the software incorrectly matched 28 members of Congress, identifying them as other people who have been arrested for a crime.” Worse yet, in the ACLU test, “The false matches were disproportionately of people of color, including six members of the Congressional Black Caucus, among them civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.).”

So, should buildings invest in automated facial recognition technologies? Moving forward, it seems nearly inevitable that building security will be radically transformed by biometrics, including facial recognition. However, until the technology is refined and ethical concerns, including those flagged by the ACLU, are addressed, it seems prudent to either wait to adopt facial recognition security solutions or to only rely on facial recognition as a supplement to one’s established security system.

Lead image via Pexels

In cities like Los Angeles and New York, renting to film crews is an opportunity that property owners are actively seeking out. Whether the rental is a stop-gap measure between long-term tenants or an ongoing project, the financial benefits can be significant. However, just as there are risks associated with renting out one’s property to event organizers and pop-up stores, renting to film crews can result in unforeseen damages, costs, and complaints. But first, the good news.

The benefits of renting to film crews

Depending on where your property is located and its nature, film crew rentals can be phenomenally lucrative. In New York City, many film crews are willing to pay $1,500 just to gain access to a doorstep for an hour or two. Access to apartments often yields over $20,000 per day and commercial buildings and other large and unique locations can demand even higher daily fees.

Attracting film crews

In the past, location scouts typically sought out potential locations and then approached owners directly or posted signs around the neighborhood. Increasingly, property owners are seeking out location scouts.

First, there are a growing number of film location brokers such as Sallie Slate. Slate, who notably got into the business by renting out the American Museum of Natural History to film companies, including the producers of Night at the Museum, now has a roster of locations (mostly in the New York City area) that she regularly rents to film crews via her company, Sallie Slate Productions. Her clients include individual homeowners, co-ops, and even churches and synagogues. But your property doesn’t need to be listed on Slate’s highly curated site to be in the movies.

Increasingly, property owners are reaching out directly to location scouts to share their properties. If you don’t personally know any location scouts, however, you can still get in on the action by listing your properties on Wrapal, Reel Locations, LocationHub, or Giggster, which also list properties available for fashion and photography shoots. However, depending on the platform, listing your property may come at a cost. Annual listings on LocationHub, for example, run from $49.45 for a basic membership that enables you to list one location to $685.45 for a gold membership that enables you to list up to 500 locations.

Reasons to think twice before renting to a film crew

While there are clearly many potential financial benefits to renting out a property to a film crew, before you start contacting location scouts or listing your property on one of the previously mentioned platforms, it is important to consider a few associated risks.

• Risk of property damage: Before you sign you agree to rent your property, carefully consider the potential impact on your property. To begin, ask about the scale of the shoot (e.g., how many vehicles they will be bringing to your location, and, of course, the number of days they will need to complete the shoot, prep, and wrap). If you’re renting your property to an action film crew, also ask about the use of special effects. If there will be any fire effects, confirm that the crew has notified both the NYPD Movie/TV Unit and FDNY. Most importantly, ask for a walk through with the creative team. During the walk through the crew is obligated to disclose any impact their filming process might have on your property.  
• Liabilities: Unless you’re renting your property to a group of film students who have are fumbling their way through their first shoot (and this is not advisable), the film crew should already have third-party liability insurance. Still, ensure you have proof of their liability insurance before you agree to rent your property.
• Impact on current tenants and neighbors: Like it or not, when you choose to rent to a film crew, your current tenants and neighbors will be impacted and unlike you, they won’t be benefiting financially from the film crews’ presence. If you’re an owner with current tenants, ensure that the shoot won’t disrupt their access and if it does, be prepared to compensate your tenants in some way. If you’re renting out a vacant commercial property in a high-traffic retail district, your decision to rent may also have a negative impact on your neighbors’ businesses as pedestrian traffic is diverted. While you might not need to compensate your neighbors, you should brace yourself for potential complaints, including complaints about parking tickets and towing fees. To avoid conflicts, be certain to give neighbors as much advance notice as possible.

Lead image via Wiki Commons

In 2017, something unusual happened in Nipton, California. The town, which is located in San Bernardino County on the edge of the Mojave National Preserve, was purchased by American Green Inc., a cannabis company, for a mere $5 million dollars. For less the cost of purchasing many luxury condos in New York City, American Green Inc. got 80 acres and just about everything in the 80 acres, including an old-West-style hotel, RV park, a few homes, and a coffee shop. What American Green Inc. didn’t get were many residents—by the time of purchase, Nipton had dwindled to a couple dozen residents.  

According to Realtor Magazine, American Green Inc. has grand plans for Nipton. The company plans to turn Nipton into “an energy-independent, cannabis-friendly hospitality destination.” In addition to expanding the town’s existing solar farm that already provides much of its energy, the company hopes to use the town as a base to start bottling and selling cannabis-infused water. American Green Inc. is also contacting other cannabis businesses in a bid to get them to relocate to Nipton, which they hope to eventually turn into a cannabis mecca.

While purchasing an entire town, especially at a bargain-basement price, might be a good business move, is it ethical? Also, when entire towns go on the market, what additional questions should investors consider before closing any deals?

Company Towns and Ghost Towns

While Nipton may be one of the most recent towns to be purchased by a company, it is certainly not the first example of a “company town.” In the United States, there is a long history of company towns, though in the past, they were typically established not purchased. Examples include Hershey, Pennsylvania, which was established in the early 1900s by the Hershey Chocolate Corporation, and Playas, New Mexico, which was established by Phelps Dodge Corporation in the 1970s. In addition, there are company neighborhoods, such as Steinway Village in Astoria, Queens, which was established by the piano manufacturer Steinway & Sons in the 1870s.

Today, it is more likely for a company to purchase than establish a town, and cannabis entrepreneurs aren’t the only people on the market. In 2017, Johnsonville, Connecticut was purchased by Iglesia Ni Cristo—the Church of Christ—for $1.85 million. Notably, this wasn’t the first time Johnsonville had been bought and sold. The town was originally purchased by Raymond Schmitt, the CEO of AGC Corporation, in the 1960s. Oddly, Schmitt not only bought the town but later bought and relocated several Victorian-era buildings to make his town look older and quainter than it was in reality. Another recent town sale is Tiller, Oregon, which was purchased in 2018. The new owners of Tiller have asked to remain anonymous, so it is unclear if the town was purchased by a business or individual, but the new owners have made a few things clear—shortly after the town’s sale, they told the Oregonian that they are neither a cannabis company nor nudists.

For anyone currently looking to purchase an entire town, there are still bargains like Johnsonville and Tiller on the market. In 2016, Cal-Nev-Ari, Nevada, which includes an airstrip, diner, and casino went on the market for $8 million and to date, there is no record that a deal has been closed. Another potential option is Millican, Oregon, which is currently not on the market but has recently been listed on two occasions for just under $1.5 million. If Millican, which only had four residents at last count, is too sleepy, however, you might want to consider Toomsboro, Georgia. This active listing—for more details see the town’s promotional video—is home to 700 residents and includes a syrup mill, opera house, cotton warehouse, and grist mill among many other buildings. As of September 2018, the entire town was up for grabs for a mere $1.7 million.

Considerations Before Buying a Town

While buying a town may sound appealing, before you start shopping, it is prudent to consider a few potential challenges and ethical questions.

First, if you’re purchasing a remote ghost town, it is likely the town is off the grid. While you may be able to rely on wind or solar power, depending on the location, other essential utilities, including water and broadband access, may be harder to come by. While inspections and land surveys are a standard part of any real estate purchase, when purchasing a town, expect this stage of the process to be far more extensive and expensive.

Even more complicated than purchasing a ghost town, however, is the decision to purchase a town with living residents—for example, a town like Toomsboro, Georgia. In this case, beyond inspections and land surveys, the onus will also be on you to determine what services—for example, public schools and roads—you’ll be expected to keep up and running. If you’re purchasing a town to set up a new business, it will also be important to consult current residents. While they may not be able to dictate what you do with the town, having the support of existing residents will certainly make your life and business venture easier.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it is important to consider the broader ethical questions raised by any town purchase. Given the very long history of company towns in North America, there is certainly nothing unusual about corporations owning entire towns. Yet, this history also reveals that corporations have also not always been reliable landlords. Indeed, most ghost towns are towns that were once owned by companies, usually mining or lumber companies that abandoned the towns in question once the resources they sought to extract were depleted. The ethical question to ask before investing in a town seems rather obvious: What are you prepared to invest in the town beyond the initial purchase price and how long-term is your investment and commitment?

Lead image via Wiki Commons

By now, most of us have stumbled across a storefront that is vacant one day and fully stocked the next, often with a new and unrecognizable product or a product that appears to have no obvious utility at all. In our on-demand, just-in-time culture, the so-called “pop up store” has become a de facto way for retail startups to gain fans in person and test-run storefront retail in new markets without making a long-term investment. It’s obvious that pop-up stores are good news for retailers, but are they also good news for commercial real estate owners?

A Short History of the Pop-up

In many respects, there is nothing new about pop-up stores. Christmas markets have existed since the 13th century and the stalls found in these markets are not unlike today’s pop-up stores. The retailers and restaurateurs who set up shop at festivals of all kinds might also be seen as part of the very long history of pop-up stores. In the early 2000s, however, a new breed of pop-up stores started to appear and since then, these stores have radically disrupted the retail landscape.

Comme des Garçons was among the first retailer to fully embrace the pop-up store trend. In 2004, Comme des Garçons started to set up pop-up outlets that lasted no longer than a year in various locations around the world. In the process, they attracted new customers while testing the retail waters in different global hubs. Other companies, like Warby Parker, have used pop-up stores to help transition from an Internet to bricks-and-mortar retailer. In the case of Warby Parker, however, the company did not rent empty storefronts but chose instead to set up stores nested within existing stores.

The success of these companies and many others has demonstrated the value of pop-up stores and since 2010, temporary locations have increasingly become a critical part of the 21st-century retail business model. Retailers now create pop-up stores to scale gradually, move into higher-end retail districts, and test new global markets without the risk that accompanies establishing permanent shops.

Temporary Retail Space Brokers

Given that there is now an app for everything, it is no surprise that since the pop-up store explosion, several companies have appeared to help connect owners to retailers and event planners in need of temporary spaces.

The London-based Appear Here, for example, started to operate in the United States in early 2018. Appear Here is a bit like Airbnb for commercial landlords. Owners list their spaces on the app. If they don’t already have great photographs, Appear Here will even send a photographer over to help capture their space at its best. Once the listing is up, owners can start connecting with renters in need of a space for a store, event, or even temporary restaurant. But Appear Here isn’t the only platform helping owners find temporary commercial tenants. Similar platforms include The Storefront and Splacer.

In early November 2018, The Storefront had a 700-square-foot boutique in Nolita listed at $960 per day and a 1400-square-foot gallery space in Soho listed at $2,400 per day. On Appear Here, a storefront on North Third in Williamsburg was listed at just under $25,000 for the month of December. While these rents will yield a higher return than leaving a space empty, depending on the neighborhood, temporary rents can also lag well below long-term rents. A 2017 article in the New York Times reported that in high-end retail neighborhoods such as Soho, pop-ups often pay as little as $25,000 per month for spaces that were previously rented to long-term tenants for up to $150,000. Also, bear in mind that in addition to the fact that pop-ups often rent for less than long-term tenants, platforms like Appear Here, The Storefront, and Splacer also take a cut. Appear Here, for example, takes 15 percent of an owner’s profits.

The Pros and Cons of Temporary Retail Leasing

If you’re an owner and seriously thinking about listing your property on a temporary space platform—or using your own resources to directly rent to tenants on a temporary basis—it is important to consider whether the potential for return is greater than the potential risk.

• Liabilities: When an owner rents to a long-term tenant, the tenant must have insurance, and if they are an established business, they likely will have insurance. When owners get into the pop-up market, they can’t assume their tenants will already have liability insurance that covers damage to a third party’s property. Whether renting directly or going through a platform like Appear Here, The Storefront, or Splacer, owners are advised to state up front that they require tenants to hold liability insurance that will cover damage to a third party’s property.
• Modifications: When renting to a long-term tenant, one expects that their tenants will modify the space. When renting to a tenant for a night or even a month, modifications are a different story. Again, whether an owner is renting directly or using a platform, they should stipulate what changes can be made and clearly state what condition the property must be returned to at the end of the lease. Also, even if the rental is short-term, asking for a high-security deposit is strongly advised to protect the property and retain its current value.
• Access and departures: If the ultimate goal is to find a new long-term tenant, it is important to address access up front. If an owner plans to keep showing the space to prospective long-term tenants, they should make the terms of access part of the lease with their temporary tenant. Likewise, it is advised that owners include a clause about departures. Some temporary leases state that if a long-term tenant signs a lease, the temporary tenants must agree to leave on as short notice as three days.

For retailers, pop-up stores generally are a win-win situation. For owners, the pop-up store market may be a great way to ride out a sluggish retail market or just a risk one is better off avoiding.

Buying a commercial building that is also a historic landmark can be a great investment. Depending on the building’s current state of repair and where it is located, the investment may even come with considerable financial incentives, including multiple tax breaks. But owning and managing a building that has been designated a historic landmark can also place additional burdens on owners that may ultimately limit one’s return on investment.

Municipal, State, and Federal Designations for Historic Buildings

A building or entire district can be designated historic at the municipal, state, and/or federal levels. Each level carries different implications, and of course, different cities and states also have their own unique restrictions.

• Municipal Regulations: At the municipal level, owners will discover a hodge-podge of different rules governing historic buildings. In New York City, for example, the exterior of any building designated as historic by the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) can’t be altered without review by the LPC. While there are some exceptions (e.g., fixing a broken window), any major modifications first need to gain the approval of the committee first. Similar restrictions hold true in many other cities and localities nationwide.  
• State Regulations: Like many municipal regulations, state regulations can range from entirely honorific and entail few restrictions to considerably restrictive. In many states, including California, if you own a historic building but later modify it in a way that leads to a “loss of integrity,” your building will lose its historic designation and the many benefits associated with the designation.
• Federal Regulations: Somewhat surprisingly, if your building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, there are few restrictions at all. Even if your building receives this designation, you’ll be free to alter your property as you see fit and if you ever want to build something else in the same location, you’re free to destroy the original property. However, there are several incentives, including tax credits and grants, that may make the prospect of maintaining the old building more attractive.

Tax Credits

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 enables owners and in some cases even lessees of buildings listed in the National Register to take a 20 percent income tax credit on rehabilitation costs of industrial, commercial, or rental residential buildings.

At the state and even municipal levels, building owners typically also benefit when they choose to purchase and preserve a historic building. In Arizona, for example, commercial property owners who rehabilitate and maintain a property to preserve its historical integrity receive a substantial reduction in their annual state property taxes. To receive the tax reduction, the owner enters into a 10-year agreement with the state. During this period, they agree to rehabilitate the property and increase its value, but the state agrees to not modify the building’s current base assessment. In fact, modifications intended to restore or rehabilitate the property are nearly entirely tax-free and assessed at one-percent of full cash value rather than 25 percent. Many other U.S. states, including Washington State, also offer special tax valuations on properties with a historic designation.

Grants to Support Preservation Projects

If you own a building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, you’ll not only be eligible for a tax credit but also two other notable benefits: grants-in-aid and façade easement. Grants-in-aid are administered in conjunction with state governments (as an example, see New York State’s guidelines). Façade easements also involve another entity but in this case, a nonprofit. Essentially, the program enables building owners the right to grant control over any change in the property's facade to a nonprofit organization. In this case, the nonprofit essentially becomes a partial owner of the property, as it controls any façade changes, but it eases the owners responsible for keeping up the building’s external façade. Better yet, once the value of the easement is appraised, owners can take a tax deduction for his or her charitable contribution.

Other Reasons to Invest in Historic Buildings

Beyond the tax incentives and access to grants for capital improvements, there are a few other reasons to consider investing in a historic property. First, in some jurisdictions, owners of historic buildings can also take advantage of other unique perks, including zoning and building code relief. In Seattle, for example, an owner of a historic building doesn’t need to fully comply with established zoning and building codes. Second, investing in a historic landmark may also just be good for business relations. After all, when you buy and rehabilitate a historic building, you’re giving something back to the local community. For investors and developers, maintaining good relations with neighbors and local community leaders is always a good idea, and historic preservation is a great way to start.  

Lead photo of the Greenville Commercial Historic District courtesy of Wiki Commons

If you didn't already want to work for Google, you will once you see their new office space in a restored, 750-foot, timber-framed hangar that was originally built by legendary businessman, film producer, and pilot Howard Hughes in 1943 for the construction of the H-4 Hercules aircraft, the largest wooden airplane ever made. Nicknamed the Spruce Goose due to its massive size and wooden structure, the plane was only flown once.

As a nod to Hughes–who seems like a pretty fair match for Google given the eccentric millionaire’s wealth and hubris–the office has been christened Google Spruce Goose, Dezeen reports. Inside the building in Playa Vista, a neighborhood near LAX, Oregon-based studio ZGF Architects created a unique and inspiring workspace with lofty, curving exposed timber beams, open workspaces, and elevated walkways.

Google has been using the building, which was previously being used as a film production facility, since 2016, when they began leasing it. They identified ZGF for the adaptive reuse project that would require creating what amounted to a new building inside the old one. On their website, the architects explain that, “Given the nature of the client organisation and the rich history of the building, the project demanded a wholly unique design approach,"

Employees move through the fluid, open workspace via zigzagging steps and the aforementioned elevated walkways. Surrounding each floor is a "boardwalk" with mesh or glass railings. Above, newly-created windows and skylights punctuate the hangar's original timber beams. The 450,000-square-foot building holds offices, conference rooms, cafes, a fitness center and a 250-person event space. Colorful Interiors were customized with furnishings, art and plants. Phone and meeting rooms have aviation-themed names.  

According to the architects, "The varied shaping of each floor allows daylight to penetrate every level and maintains clear sight lines spanning the full length of the building, putting the magnitude and workmanship of the historic structure on display. Hospitality spaces are each designed with a contemporary twist on the iconic style of a bygone era.”

ZGF are based in Oregon (because of course they are). Also in Oregon: The Spruce Goose, Hughes’ massive plane, is on view at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, where you can find out more about it. Or you can just Google it, of course.

Expect more from the mega-company’s creative workspace arsenal: Google recently submitted plans for a new Mountain View, California, campus–the company’s first to be built from the ground up–designed by Bjarke Ingels/BIG and Heatherwick Studio. The new spread reportedly will consist of rectilinear modules topped by a giant canopy.

[Via Dezeen]

Photos by Connie Zhou

Over the span of a year, 21 Detroit natives traveled around the country visiting the great public parks of the United States. The group was made up of average citizens, indicative of the diversity of Detroit: 62% female, 48% African-American, and 29% Latino. Their goal? Help craft the vision for West Riverfront Park, a 22-acre swath of land situated on the Detroit River and overlooking the Detroit and Windsor skylines. “We set out to build the best park in the country for Detroit by building the best park in the country for Detroiters,” says Detroit Riverfront Conservancy President Mark Wallace of his Community Advisory Board. “The idea was to elevate voices that are rarely heard in city planning meetings.”

Along with a Community Advisory Board, the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy held 20 public meetings to receive feedback from residents. They then displayed proposals from four architecture firms earlier this year, using public feedback to select Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and Sir David Adjaye to develop the park in August.

The development of West Riverfront Park is, in a nutshell, how the entire city of Detroit is being rebuilt. Over the past few years, Detroit has seen billions of dollars of investment in hundreds of constructions projects, from neighborhood planning to adaptive reuse. All of these developments follow the principles of inclusive design, a result of  the city’s designation as a UNESCO City of Design in 2015, the first and only U.S. city to receive this honor. Inclusive design is a method of design that takes into consideration all different points of human difference to develop products, services and systems that allow people to live independently and confidently. Whereas urban renewal has pushed low income residents to the margins in cities like New York and San Francisco, Detroit hopes inclusive design will ensure its renewal benefits all residents.

“Ever since the assembly line was created, Detroit has been a leader in design,” says Olga Stella, executive director of Design Core Detroit, an organization that champions design-driven growth. “In our city, though, design can’t just be beautiful, it has to produce an outcome. We’re trying to show how smart design can drive the different change you want to see in a city.”

Here are eight examples of Detroit developments that are practicing inclusive design:

Seebaldt Pilot

The Seebaldt Project aims to turn vacant lots in low-income neighborhoods into a source of renewable energy and community space by installing solar canopies that double as rainwater collectors. The rainwater can then be used to irrigate community gardens. The pilot is taking place in ZIP code 48204, a neighborhood where 28% of the homes are vacant, and many more have been torn down. It Starts At Home, a community redevelopment group, and Studio Ci, an urban design collective, are working together to install the canopies. The hope is that they will revitalize the neighborhood, create local jobs, and deliver sustainable self-reliance.

Fisher Building

Real estate developer The Platform is planning to invest $50 million in the restoration and modernization of the iconic Fisher Building in New Center to turn it into an office, retail, and entertainment space. The Platform has been hosting cultural programming and exhibitions known as Beacon Projects to establish a dialogue with residents on the redevelopment. One of their goals is to create office space for those who cannot afford Class A rents, such as independent contractors and freelancers. On their website, The Platform says their plan is to upgrade the Fisher Building to welcome all.

Roosevelt Park

The redevelopment of Roosevelt Park, led by Assembly Design Studio and Human Scale Studio, is meant to reestablish the connection between the two neighborhoods the park intersects: Corktown and Mexicantown. The park once served as the grand entranceway to Michigan Central Station, but as the station fell out of use (it closed in 1988), so did the park. Before drafting plans to redesign the park, representatives from Assembly Design Studio and Human Scale Studio convened multiple meetings with local residents and government officials to ask what they wanted out of the park in terms of access, form and activation. A final design for the park will be unveiled soon.

Danish Brotherhood Hall

The renovation of the 100-year-old social hall is aimed at stabilizing an area of high vacancy by attracting residents from the nearby dense residential core of Woodbridge. The design is led by Laavu. The masterplan calls for the construction of a range of housing types around the hall that can support different life-cycle stages.

City Modern

City Modern is a community development in the Brush Park neighborhood featuring an array of residential, shopping, and dining options. Designer Hamilton Anderson Associates collaborated with existing residents, city and state agencies, local developers, and active community groups to achieve a shared vision for the project. The result is a diversity of housing types, architectural aesthetics, historic preservation strategies, and residential unit costs designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of existing and future Brush Park residents.

Fitzgerald Revitalization

The Fitzgerald Revitalization Project is an initiative led by the City of Detroit to stabilize and strengthen the Fitzgerald neighborhood by transforming publicly owned vacant land and buildings into community assets. Over 300 parcels of land are being redeveloped, including 100 homes that will be renovated. Those that cannot be saved will be demolished, and green infrastructure and urban gardens will be put in their place. The redeveloped homes will be offered at affordable and market-rate prices for buying, and some will be available for rental. The houses should be complete in 2020.

Douglass Site

The Douglass Site redevelopment calls for 900 housing units in the form of townhouses, carriage houses, duplexes, flats, walk-ups, and apartments in the southeast corner of Brush Park near Ford Field. The plan also includes 3.2 acres of open space, an early childhood education center, 1,100 parking spots, 18,000 square feet of retail, and a small hotel. The Detroit city council recently approved a development agreement between Bedrock Detroit and Woodborn Partners to develop the 22-acre plot.

Chroma

The Platform redesigned the 105-year-old Chroma building as a center for creativity, providing work space alongside cultural anchors of food, music, and exhibition. The building was renovated with input from Detroit’s design, craft, maker, music, and food communities, as well as the Detroit Creative Corridor and the Center for Craft and Applied Arts. It boasts a rooftop bar and basement lounge.

True North

One of the most unique developments in Detroit is True North, a community of Quonset huts off of Grand River and 16th Street. The huts are lightweight prefab structures made of corrugated galvanized steel with a semicircular cross section. Designed by Edwin Chan of EC3 and Studio Detroit, True North brands itself as “an alternative for self-stimulated people.” The minimalist structures feature radiant in-floor heat, personal laboratories, landscaped outdoor gathering spaces and a community wellness center.

Lead image of West Riverfront Park courtesy of the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy

If you have bad memories of dorm life, you’re not alone. Dorms are notoriously dirty, chaotic, and stressful environments where all-night noise, bedbugs, and bad food prevail. Over the past five years, however, dorms have started to attract an older and more discerning crowd. In fact, in many of the nation’s most active real estate markets, young working adults are increasingly choosing to live in off-campus dorms and often paying a considerable price for the privilege.

While the idea of working adults voluntarily choosing to live in dorms may sound surprisingly, it is important to bear in mind that adult dorms offer amenities unlikely to be found on any campus. From stylish furniture and kitchens equipped with high-end appliances and wine coolers to roof-top gardens and yoga rooms, dorm life is growing up.

These adult dorms also fill a notable gap in the housing market by meeting the needs and discerning tastes of young urban professionals who are searching for homes with style, amenities, and a built-in sense of community at a monthly cost that still makes it possible to pay back student loans and save for the future.

Dorms by Any Other Name

If an online search for “adult dorm” doesn’t yield many hits, it is likely because these new dorms have been intentionally and wisely marketed by any other name from “hacker house” to “co-living space.” In essence, however, these residences do share the basic structure of their on-campus counterparts. T their core, the concept is identical—take a bunch of complete strangers, vet them to weed out any obvious conflicts (e.g., separate the smokers from the nonsmokers), and leave them to share a bathroom or two, kitchen facilities, and common rooms.

While adult dorms don’t come with a “don” (on campus, this is usually a rule-abiding senior who gets free rent in exchange for policing other people’s behaviors), today’s adult dorms or co-living spaces generally do have a live-in house manager. In some co-living spaces, house managers are not only there to call the plumber when a toilet overflows but also, much like an on-campus don, organize social events and ensure new residents are properly integrated into the community.

Affordability, Amenities, and Community

It’s no secret that in New York City and San Francisco, living alone in a desirable neighborhood that is still commutable is a privilege that few young people can afford. For most young professionals, especially those who are paying off student debts, living alone typically means spending well over 50 percent of one’s monthly take-home pay on rent. In the past, the only alternative was to look for a roommate—something that often meant searching through the dubious roommate wanted listings on Craigslist. As adult dorms become increasingly popular, finding roommates and apartments just got a lot easier.

Take, for example, New York City’s ALTA LIC, which is currently the largest co-living space in the United States. Managed by Ollie, one of the many co-living startups changing how young professionals live, ALTA LIC includes 13 floors of co-living spaces in a larger mixed-use building located in Long Island City. Depending on the unit and specific arrangement, a co-living space at ALTA LIC cost between $1,300 and $2,300 per month. In addition to helping one find a roommate—for this task, Ollie relies on Bedvetter, a roommate matching service—residents get much more than a bedroom. The monthly rent also includes access to a gym with pool, social club and community events, housekeeping, linen and towel service, kitchen wares, transformable furniture (e.g., a wall bed that doubles as a sofa), premium television with over 350 channels, and wi-fi. This means that there's no need to waste one’s salary on quotidian household items like toilet bowl brushes and spatulas nor on typical new home start-up costs such as cable and Internet activation fees. A hybrid inspired by campus residences, boutique hotels, and full-service co-ops, these adult dorms essentially come with everything one needs to achieve a reasonably dignified adult lifestyle on a restricted budget.

Ollie, which was established in 2012 and has raised $15 million in two rounds of funding, is just one of the many co-living startups currently operating in the United States. Starcity, one of the earliest players in the co-living space, operates exclusively in San Francisco. The co-working company, WeWork, recently launched WeLive with bases in New York City and D.C. but reportedly has no plans to expand further at this time. Common, which has raised $60 million in funding since it launched back in 2015, is arguably the most dominate player on the market with co-living spaces in New York City, D.C., Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. Finally, in addition to these major players, there are several newer and smaller startups vying for a piece of the co-living market, including HubHaus, Bedly, and Roam. Outside the United States, co-living is also beginning to gain ground, especially in notoriously pricey real estate markets such as London and Paris.

Investors and Traditional Real Estate Companies Are Buying In

Just a few year ago, co-living was new enough to feel like just another startup world trend, but as co-living gains traction, startup founders aren’t the only people seriously exploring the potential of the co-living market. Investors have poured over $78 million into co-living startups over the past year alone, and increasingly, co-living is also attracting the attention of established real estate companies.
In 2017, Durst, a New York City commercial and residential real estate company that has been in operation for more than a century, reportedly set aside a limited number of units for potential co-living rentals at Frank 57 West. Another established company, PMG has also been making moves to get into the co-living market. Under a new division known as X Social Communities, they have already set up co-living space sin Chicago, Denver and Miami, which notably are all cities that have not yet be dominated by more established co-living startups. But does the co-living concept have the legs to make it a good long-term investment?

Adult dorms or co-living may not offer a long-term housing solution for residents. Let’s face it, at some point, everyone wants to be able to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night without running into virtual strangers. As a concept, however, it seems likely that co-living is here to stay. To appreciate why, one need only consider co-living’s history, which didn’t just begin a few years ago with the rise of adult dorms.

Until the 1960s, unmarried urbanites typically lived in rooming houses, which generally offered a private bedroom, shared kitchen facilities (often with one or more meals per day), and access to common spaces and did so at a set weekly or monthly rate. In the 1960s, a series of social and economic shifts led to the demise of the boarding house. Given the availability of inexpensive housing, especially in the 1970s, few young people were mourning the boarding house’s loss at the time. What happened after the boarding house’s demise, however, is something that continues to impact young urbanites to this day. Between 1970 and 2010, rents in American cities soared and did so at a much faster pace than average incomes.

Combined with another trend—the migration of young people from rural communities and smaller cities to major urban centers—by the 2000s, cities like New York and San Francisco were facing a growing housing crisis and one that has arguably disproportionately impacted the young. Adult dorms are unlikely to fix the current housing crisis in these cities but their appearance does fill a housing gap that was left when earlier co-living spaces—namely boarding houses—all but disappeared in the 1960s.

While it is unclear whether adult dorms will prove to be a strategic investment in the long-term, they certainly appear to offer strong potential for growth. After all, faced with the prospect of paying close to $2,000 monthly for a dingy studio with no amenities at the end of the subway line or paying much less for a room in a well-appointed and amenities-rich co-living space in a desirable neighborhood, the choice seems obvious.

Lead image courtesy of Macro Sea

If you’ve heard of Bitcoin, a popular cryptocurrency, you likely already know at least something about blockchain technologies. What many people still don’t fully appreciate is that blockchain technologies aren’t simply changing the world of currency. In fact, some industry insiders predict that the real impact of blockchain will not be its impact on currency but rather on contracts. As a result, there is widespread speculation that over the coming decade, the real estate industry will be transformed by blockchain technology on multiple levels.  

Understanding blockchain technologies

At its most basic, blockchain refers to a decentralized, distributed, and public digital ledger that is used to record various transactions on multiple computers. Unlike traditional forms of record keeping, with blockchain, a record cannot be altered without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the consensus of the entire network. When it comes to contracts, this is a compelling technological breakthrough. Since no single person has full access to any document and no single person or even institution has the ability to alter a document, blockchain technologies open up new potential to ratify contracts without the services of notaries and attorneys. More importantly, blockchain technologies hold the potential to eliminate fraudulent contractual dealings.

Five ways blockchain technologies will disrupt real estate

Given the potential to decrease the cost of real estate transactions while increasing their legality, it seems likely that the real estate industry in particular may have a lot to gain from embracing blockchain technologies. Here are just five ways industry insiders expect blockchain technology to change how the real estate industry operates in the near future.

1. Investors will discover increased liquidity: While real estate is generally a great long-term investment, it has traditionally posed one obstacle: Investors have been expected to trade off liquidity for potential long-term gains. Blockchain technologies change the investment map by increasing liquidity. In short, by creating new ways to invest, blockchain technologies offer investors increased opportunities for early exits if and when an early exit is required. In turn, they also create new opportunities for investors to buy in at different points in the investment cycle (e.g., by making it easier for investors to exchange shares). Another consequence is the potential increased liquidity might have on who can invest. Indeed, increased liquidity is also expected to create more opportunities for investors who may want to buy in but can’t commit to holding for ten to fifteen years on average.

2. Brokers, agents, and buyers will have access to more timely data: Despite advancements in data sharing over the past two decades, multiple listing service (MLS) data is frequently flawed and dated. There is widespread speculation that blockchain technology might eventually solve the MLS problem. Since blockchain technologies make sharing information, even across state and national borders, much easier, there is hope that this obstacle may finally be overcome. Indeed, as Matthew Murphy, Global Vice President at Renren, recently wrote in Forbes, “By providing a way to securely share data, the blockchain makes a shared, nationwide database possible, one that offers real-time access to property information straight from the source and enables a more holistic view. It also opens up more opportunities for collaboration among players in the real estate industry.”

3. Land titles will become more accurate: In theory, tracking down a land title and then having the rightful owner sign it over is supposed to be easy, but this isn’t always the case. Flawed paperwork, forged signatures, and other issues—sometimes due to the fact that a property was purchased long ago under a completely different political or economic system—can make property transfers extremely complex. So-called land registry blockchains are increasingly be proposed as a potential way to fix these problems. There is specific hope that using blockchain technology may help buyers more easily locate and transfer land titles in a global real estate. As Alexandru Oprunenco and Chami Akmeemana emphasized in a recent article published on the LSE Business Review, blockchain technology holds the potential to transform how land titles are managed in two key ways: by offering “an immutable history of transactional records, so no one can ever doubt the authenticity” and by further ensuring these “records are permanently linked to the system so no one can ever tamper with or forge a record of their own.”

4. Real estate lawyers won’t necessarily be required to close deals: This isn’t something most attorneys want to hear, but the reality is that as blockchain technologies become the norm, the need for real estate lawyers will decrease. While it seems likely that their services will still be needed in more complex cases, run-of-the-mill transactions (e.g., closing a condo or co-op deal between two private owners) will likely no longer require the services of a real estate attorney. Given that legal fees alone can often add one to three percent to a sale, this is certainly good news for buyers and sellers. In addition to the cost savings, there is also the potential that blockchain technologies will speed up the agonizing wait one often faces when buying or selling a home.

5. Voting rights in condos and co-ops will become increasingly regulated: It is no secret that on many condos and co-ops, voting isn’t always as accurate as it should be. While it may not be legal, concerns about voting are commonplace in condos and co-ops where residents sometimes take matters into their own hands to ratify or reject certain building matters. Theoretically, blockchain technologies could be used to guarantee more reliable voting. First, since the technologies would enable anyone who is an eligible voting member to participate whether or not they can make it to the meeting, there is the potential to increase the number of votes cast. Second, and more importantly, relying on blockchain technologies as opposed to board members to count votes, there is increased assurance that any votes cast will be registered correctly.

Lead image via Pixabay

Since the arrival of the Model-T Ford back in 1908, cars have been changing where and how we live and even the design of our homes. With the widespread arrival of autonomous vehicles—also known as self-driving cars—on the near horizon, however, there are strong indications that the real estate industry is about to undergo another massive shift thanks to the automotive industry. What’s in store could include shifts that change where we live, where we play, and even how long we’re able to stay in our own homes as we age.  

The historic impact of cars on real estate

As cars became increasingly accessible, it was increasingly possible to work in the city but live somewhere else. This not only led to the spread of suburbs but also to a new type of home. By the 1950s, many people were living in homes where the driveway and garage were among its most prominent features. Indeed, as car culture grew, commonplace home features, like front porches started to disappear. After all, if you always enter and exit your house through the garage, who needs a front porch?  

If the 1950s to 1980s were a time when many Americans were happy to live in homes that appeared to revolve around cars, by the 1990s, car culture was in decline. On the one hand, oil reserves were in rapid decline and cars were increasingly being blamed for a growing host of environmental problems. On the other hand, urban planners and activists were engaged in a massive effort to revitalize the inner core of America’s cities, which included pouring renewed resources into public transportation and by the early 2000s, urban bike-share programs. These combined factors resulted in a mass reverse migration and at least some of those former suburbanites even stopped being car owners altogether. For real estate developers, the move back into urban centers has evidently seen a huge boom, resulting in a massive spike in land values in once decimated urban real estate markets and a growing demand for high-rise developments.

Over the coming two decades, it seems likely that another major shift is about to take place and at least some observers think it might result in a migration back to the suburbs and even into previously underdeveloped regions.

Location will matter less

It’s no secret that location has long been one of the greatest factors determining real estate. Whether it is easy access to the nearest freeway or subway station, values have generally been directly impacted by location and more specifically, the types of transportation options the location makes easily accessible. As autonomous vehicles become increasingly popular, however, some researchers and industry insiders are predicting that real estate may be especially impacted. David Silver, the head of the Self-Driving Car Nanodegree Program at Udacity, recently told Bloomberg News, “Real estate might be the industry that is most transformed by autonomous vehicles. It could change real estate from a business that is all about location, location, location.” This is because autonomous vehicles are expected to make our commutes to work easier, less stressful, less expensive, and significantly shorter. But if we’re no longer renting and buying based on access to transportation, what might happen next?

The suburbs will feel less isolated

One prediction is that as our commutes get a lot easier and shorter, paying significantly more to live in a smaller space in an urban center will lose much of its current appeal. While there will always be a certain number of people who are downtowners and not going anywhere, there is no question that at least some current urbanites would move out to the ‘burbs if it wasn’t for the commute. How much time do suburbanites currently spend behind the wheel? According to one recent study, 19 million Americans spend 2.5 hours per day behind the wheel and another 78 million American workers spend at least 1 hour per day behind the wheel. What if those times could not only be cut in half but also be reclaimed for other types of activities?

In New York City, truncated and stress-free commutes in autonomous vehicles seem bound to have an especially profound impact. While half a million doesn’t buy much at all in New York City and certainly not a condo or co-op large enough for a family of four, half a million would give a buyer considerable options if they moved out to a seaside community in Long Island or into Connecticut. Best of all, in addition to the much better values on homes, for commuters, commuting could become a time to enjoy a coffee, meditate, catch up on work, or make early-morning or day-end calls to clients.

The recreational property market will grow

Along with a potential move to the suburbs, there is no question that recreational properties, even those in more remote areas will become increasingly popular. If you theoretically could hop in your car at the end of the work week, fall asleep and wake up at your cottage early the next morning, distance would no longer pose the sorts of obstacles it currently poses. On this account, there are speculations that not only will buying a recreational property become increasingly popular as autonomous vehicles gain ground but also change where weekend homes are located.

Parking lots, parking garages and street parking will be repurposed

Especially in urban areas, parking is an ongoing issue. In New York City, for example, in its 2017 Mobility Space Report, Moovel Lab estimated that parking apparently currently covers an area equivalent to two Central Parks. Since autonomous vehicles are expected to be relatively expensive, there are speculations that owning a car will go into decline. At least in cities, this likely means that the need for most car garages, car lots, and street parking will be radically reduced as autonomous vehicles take over. In turn, this opens up the potential to both repurpose spaces that are currently being used to house cars and even rethink street space. Among other possibilities is the possibility of widening sidewalks and even closing more downtown pedestrian-heavy streets to car traffic permanently or at certain times of the day.

The need for senior housing will decline

One of the most fascinating potential impacts of autonomous vehicles on housing may be the impact it has on seniors and their housing. While there are many reasons that seniors eventually end up in retirement homes, in rural areas and the suburbs, losing a driver’s license is frequently the tipping point. While older drivers aren’t necessarily more likely to have accidents than very young drivers, declining vision and hearing and slowed reaction times due to chronic conditions like arthritis often force older drivers to give up their driving privileges. In car-dependent regions, this can mean moving in with family or moving into a retirement home. As autonomous vehicles enable the elderly to drive even after they no longer are fit to do so themselves, there are strong indications that many older Americans, even those living in rural areas, will be able to stay in their homes longer. This will theoretically reduce the need for senior housing and many of the costs associated with such housing.

Whether the future finds us lounging in parks that were once parking lots or living out at the lake full-time as commuting times shrink, there is little doubt that when autonomous vehicles finally become widespread, the real estate industry will be disrupted by this new automotive technology.

Lead image courtesy of Tesla Motors

Since Amazon came on the scene in the mid-1990s, the retail landscape has been radically reshaped nationwide, but some regions have been more directly impacted than others. Most notably, storefront retail has suffered in major urban centers such as Manhattan. After years of retailers pulling out of New York’s most popular retail districts—or choosing to maintain a single flagship storefront while shutting down smaller outlets—the effects of online shopping on retail real estate are crystal clear. According to Cushman and Wakefield, retail vacancies in SoHo are currently hovering just under 25 percent and in some major shopping districts in New York City, nearly one third of retail spaces are currently vacant.

With shoppers increasingly doing their shopping online rather than in store, retailers are naturally looking for ways to lure shoppers back. Tactics deployed by retailers include everything from complimentary wine at happy hour to intensified personalized service to off-beat in-store experiences. At the Yeti store in Austin, for example, one can hang out at the store’s bar, catch a concert on the store’s stage, or take selfies next an eight-foot-tall stuffed bear. Until recently, one Saks Fifth Avenue location even tested the waters with an in-house psychic who proved wildly popular until she was charged with extorting the store’s customers. In addition to complimentary drinks, experiences, and gimmicks, some retailers are also attempting to lure shoppers back with retail locations designed by top architects. But do starchitect-designed stores actually attract more customers?

Starchitect-designed retail projects

Over the past decade, a growing number of retailers have been investing in retail projects that aim for more than utility. Consider, for example, Moshe Safdie and Peter Marino bold collaboration for Louis Vuitton at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands’ Crystal Pavilions. The Louis Vuitton store, however, is just one part of a larger mixed-use retail and entertainment venue designed by Safdie Architects that is essentially comprised of two glass buildings hovering over the water on the Marina Bay waterfront. Visitors can access the retail and entertainment pavilion either from a bridge or via underwater tunnels. While certainly the sort of retail venue likely to lure shoppers away from their screens, the cost of the Safdie project in Singapore is also notable—the project reportedly cost $5.7 billion.

London-based David Chipperfield Architects have been exploring the retail landscape. Among their notable designs is the Valentino store on New York City’s Fifth Avenue. Another star architectural firm leaving their mark on retail design is OMA led by Rem Koolhaus. OMA has designed stores for Repossi, Samsung, and Hyundai, and Coach. Daniel Libeskind who is best known for his more serious works, including the Jewish Museum in Berlin, has also been dabbling in retail design over the past decade. One of his most notable retail projects to date is Las Vegas’ Crystals at CityCenter, which reportedly cost $1.13 billion. Like Libeskind, Frank Gehry may be primarily known for his work on museums and cultural venues, but this hasn’t prevented him from also working on retail projects. At 89, Gehry is still bringing turning out bold designs, most recently unveiling plans to transform Los Angeles’ Sunset Strip with a new mixed-use retail and residential project. Unfortunately, to make way for Gehry’s new development, at least one notable mid-century modern building will be demolished.

While most starchitect-led projects continue to be based in urban centers, in recent years, at least a few suburban projects have also been launched. Toronto-based Adamson Associates Architects—who also designed the entry pavilion at the 9/11 Memorial Museum—is currently just one of the firms participating in the completion of the American Dream Meadowlands in New Jersey. When complete, the suburban mall will cover more than three million square feet. But it hasn’t been easy; the $5 billion project, which is expected to be complete in 2019, has had three developers and taken over 15 years to complete.

The long history of architecture and retail

If retailers are betting on architecture to lure customers back to stores, it is not entirely surprising. In fact, architecture has long been used to lure customers and bring certain types of consumers together in the same location.

For example, in the 19th century as iron and glass construction—along with the arrival of gas and eventually electric lighting—were dramatically changing all types of architecture, elaborate indoor arcades were constructed in Paris. These arcades are often cited as a notable precursor to the modern shopping mall since they enabled shoppers to explore shops freely whatever the weather. More importantly, however, unlike the pre-modern city where shops were typically grouped by type or function—hat makers would be found on one street while butchers would occupy another—with the rise of Paris arcades, shops increasingly became clustered together on the basis of the customers they sought to serve. Strolling through an arcade in Paris wasn’t simply about shopping. People also went to the arcades to simply to see (window show) and be seen. In many respects, this tradition is simply being revised in the current retail landscape.

There are strong indications that even online shoppers often visit stores first to experience a product firsthand. One recent study found that 55 percent of online shoppers visit a store before making online purchases. In a retail climate where many people want to touch, feel and/or try on products but still purchase them online at a later date, stores no longer primarily function as small warehouses or supply centers with showrooms. In short, retail spaces are no longer places where inventory is stored and distributed but increasingly places where people can experience products in order to make future purchasing decisions. Given this notable shift, it seems likely that moving forward, retail closures will continue but that we will also see more starchitect-led flagship stores—stores designed to lure in customers and offer a memorable experience but not necessarily drive immediate sales.

Lead image: 8150 Sunset Boulevard by Frank Gehry, courtesy of Visualhouse