New Jersey shopping centers that once buzzed with a steady hum of activity have been quiet since late March, with most retail businesses shut down to contain the spread of COVID-19. Retail landlords are now scrambling to figure out how to deal with tenants who say they can’t pay rent because their revenue streams have stopped cold — even though property owners still have their own financial obligations.
Rutgers real estate program eyes new degrees, new investment as it looks to the future
With a foundation in place and support from many of the state’s top commercial real estate leaders, the Rutgers Center for Real Estate is now looking ahead to the next five years and beyond. The program’s leaders feel that further growth will hinge on expanding and fine-tuning the course offerings — such as creating a standalone real estate major and a master’s in real estate — while navigating the challenges of fundraising and scaling up to support their growing student population.
Developers, state officials face dual task with Opportunity Zone projects
Amid the rollout of the new federal Opportunity Zone program, developers and public officials are trying to balance two key objectives: Identifying shovel-ready projects — allowing investors to maximize the tax benefits of the law — and steering capital to low-income areas that weren’t already attracting investment and may have higher barriers to entry. The state believes it can check both boxes with the right coordination and by layering in the subsidies that have helped revitalize many of New Jersey’s cities and downtowns.
A white knight for Whitehouse Station
For all the buzz around walkable, urban submarkets and higher-density workplaces, our readers have never lost interest in the fate of the Merck property in Whitehouse Station. I was reminded of that on Jan. 3, when a story about a potential buyer for the complex quickly became the most-read item we’ve ever had on RE-NJ.com.
‘Fierce competition’ in focus at Rutgers CRE finance summit
For a market that is seeing an extended growth period, it isn’t all that complicated to sum up what exactly is driving the major trends in commercial real estate lending: Fierce competition. At least, that’s according to panelists at a recent conference hosted by the Rutgers Center for Real Estate, where lenders and other experts gathered to discuss the state of commercial real estate finance in New Jersey and beyond.