There's no reason the "new" development can't incorporate retail, nor do they have to be "luxury" rentals. Christown Spectrum mall in Phoenix is starting its redevelopment and will include big-box retail and apartments. Likewise, Paradise Valley Mall is retaining the JCPenney and Costco stores, adding retail, and building apartments. Phoenix needs the housing, and this is a way to build it in an otherwise built-out area.storewanderer wrote: ↑November 7th, 2023, 12:28 amNot to keep going off topic but there are also major tax incentives for these developers to build energy efficient dense properties and the incentives are in some cases contingent on the density of the property. Certain incentives you need a minimum number of units in the property to qualify for. The best tax code money can buy.ClownLoach wrote: ↑November 7th, 2023, 12:20 am
The news articles saying that we are going to have a "glut" of luxury apartments and such go way back to 2015, and new ones are being written everyday but the developers keep building them. I'm convinced it is a way to milk their holdings for shorter term cash. Can't borrow much against the old "No Tell Motel" property that's falling down, but every dollar you invest in rebuilding it as a luxury apartment complex yields $3 in equity. Those paper gains can then be borrowed against. It's a gigantic house of cards. Yet I am completely baffled by the fact that I've seen more new megacomplex construction starts in the last 6 months than I have in the preceding 5 years. The developments are accelerating, and they keep getting bigger. Furthermore single family home starts seem to be down, replaced by multiunit townhome/condo starts. This is what I said when this merger first arrived out of left field, and I continue to say it - the real estate scenario in the urban parts of the west coast is a threat to the existance of both chains and merging is a way to get ahead of it.
Some of these tax benefits can exist for commercial property too but you can make out like a bandit doing multi family development with those various energy efficient incentives.
A good example of what a redeveloped shopping center can look like is Uptown Hillcrest, site of a Ralphs, Trader Joe's and myriad other stores. The parking lot is horrible, but that's because the shopping center is so busy.
There are several Vons locations in San Diego that would be good candidates for redevelopment into housing above the grocery store. The downtown Ralphs is another site that could accommodate housing and a supermarket, much like the Albertsons in East Village. Of course, it would require closing the store for redevelopment, which would affect the community.