More than 100 CRE professionals attended REjournals’ Columbus Commercial Real Estate Summit held in late July. And the focus of the event? Resiliency.
This isn’t surprising. Columbus, like all Midwest CRE markets, is still fighting through the COVID-19 pandemic. And while the availability of vaccines have brought plenty of hope, the rise in COVID cases because of the Delta variant has brought about its own challenges.
The commercial pros working this market continue to watch, like the rest of the country, for a slowdown in the number of new cases.
The good news? Columbus’ industrial market remains hot. In fact, the industrial market in the Columbus region is busier today than it was before the pandemic. Credit the rise in demand of online shopping for this: Companies need to get more products to more consumers in less time. This means they need more warehouse and distribution centers across the country, including in the Midwest.
And multifamily remains strong, especially in suburban Columbus. Developers continue to build new product in the suburbs surrounding the city, products offering the latest in amenities. As companies continue in work-from-home mode, many employees have moved to the suburbs in search of more space and better amenities.
Retail and office? These sectors continue to face struggles. No one knows when office buildings in downtown Columbus and its suburbs will be full again. And retailers have had to evolve and rely on their creativity to survive the last 18 months.
But overall? Speakers during the summit were hopeful that better times are ahead for the Columbus CRE market. And many pointed to this city’s and industry’s resiliency as the key to these better times.
