Live Nation Taps Into Atlanta’s $5B Downtown Comeback

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Good morning. Live Nation is making a major move in Atlanta, signing on to anchor a new 5,300-seat venue at the $5B Centennial Yards project. It's a big bet on entertainment as a driver of downtown revitalization.

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• Steady recovery: US net-lease investment rose 9% in Q125 to $9.6B, led by retail growth and signs of cap rate stabilization. 

• Credit tightening: CRE bank lending hit an 11-year low in late 2024, even as Q125 showed a lending rebound.

• Debt unwind: Blackstone sold another $400M in Signature Bank commercial loans—part of a broader strategy to offload distressed debt from its $17B portfolio acquired in late 2023. 

• Olympic production: Rams owner Stan Kroenke is building a $1B film production campus at Hollywood Park, set to debut as the 2028 Olympics broadcast hub. 

• Reappraisal reform: Davidson County, home to Nashville, is shortening its property appraisal cycle from four to three years after a 45% median value spike rattled property owners.

• Steady absorption: US apartment vacancy fell to 5% in Q125, the lowest in two years, driven by strong absorption, slowing construction, and rising renter retention. 

• Luxury buy: Hines acquired the 108-unit Levare apartment complex in San Jose’s upscale Santana Row for $74M, marking a $684K/unit deal that underscores continued investor appetite for high-end multifamily in vibrant mixed-use districts. 

• Regional pivot: Essex Property Trust acquired two apartment complexes in Campbell for $240.5M, continuing its shift from Southern to Northern California to capitalize on stronger rent growth.

• Policy reversal: St. Paul has rolled back key parts of its rent control law, now exempting new construction and post-2004 buildings.

• Border boost: Despite tariff uncertainty, industrial growth along the Texas-Mexico border is fueling demand in Houston and DFW.

• Digital diplomacy: Saudi firms DataVolt and Humain plan over $30B in US data center investments, boosting AI infrastructure and US-Saudi tech ties. 

• Ohio expansion: Mars has opened a $450M, 450K SF Royal Canin factory in Ohio—the brand’s largest dry pet food plant—creating up to 270 jobs and boosting U.S. manufacturing.  

• Tenant retention: Caterpillar and Nissan have renewed long-term leases at Miramar Park of Commerce, reinforcing the corporate park's status as a major hub for Fortune 500 tenants in South Florida.

• Midwest surplus: The Midwest leads the nation in obsolete retail space, highlighting regional overbuilding of large-format centers and pointing to mixed-use redevelopment as a key reuse strategy. 

• Anchor-backed refi: Optimus Properties secured a $21.5M refinancing for the fully leased Juanita Tate Marketplace in South LA. 

• Power center sale: Quebec Square, a 207 KSF retail power center shadow-anchored by Walmart and Home Depot, sold in East Denver for $56.7M, up from $42.2M in 2019.

• Loan lifeline: RXR secured a three-year extension on its $1.04B CMBS loan for 1211 Avenue of the Americas, as looming vacancies and downgraded debt overshadowed the Midtown office tower. 

• Lease reversal: DOGE has walked back over 180 of its previously claimed lease cancellations, with actual cost savings now less than half the $660M originally touted. 

• Refi of the day: Safehold and Melohn Capital refinanced the ground lease at 32 Old Slip, a 1.2 MSF Downtown Manhattan office tower, with backing from Goldman Sachs, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley. 

• Niche space: Redcar Properties is developing a 46.6 KSF creative office project in Austin’s St. Elmo District, one of the last office builds in the city’s shrinking pipeline.

• Takeover talks: Frasers Property is exploring a potential bid to take Frasers Hospitality Trust private, revisiting a failed 2022 attempt.

• Value collapse: The Sheraton Houston North sold at auction for just $14.8M—less than 22% of its pre-pandemic valuation—as Houston’s hotel market continues a slow recovery.

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📈 CHART OF THE DAY