MINNESOTA | MISSOURI | NEBRASKA | OHIO | TENNESSEE | WISCONSIN | THE DAKOTAS | ILLINOIS | INDIANA | IOWA | KANSAS | KENTUCKY | MICHIGAN
W W W. R E J O U R N A L S . C O M
M AY
2 0 2 6
VOLUME38 ISSUE2 COMMERCIAL SERVICES PAGE 36: ASSET/PROPERTY MANAGEMENT FIRMS BROKERAGE FIRMS CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES/GENERAL CONTRACTORS REAL ESTATE LAW FIRMS
Conservative development, strong demand provide a boost to Indianapolis’ commercial real estate market By Dan Rafter, Editor
The new Traction Yards mixed-use development from Hendricks Commercial Properties is transforming the site of the former Circle Centre Mall in Indianapolis. (Photos courtesy of Hendricks Commercial Properties.)
T
here’s a benefit to the cautious nature of developers in the Indianapolis market. While developers in other big cities built too many office buildings, industrial facilities or multifamily communities for demand, those working in this key Midwest city did not. That has protected Indianapolis during today’s uncertain economic times. A conservative approach to development has led to lower vacancy rates, keeping the Indianapolis-area multifamily, office and industrial sectors healthier than in competing markets. Better times ahead for multifamily? Investor demand is rising and renter fundamentals remain steady in the Indianapolis multifamily market, thanks largely to a level of supply that has stayed in check compared to many high-growth metros across the country.
That’s the view from Steve LaMotte Jr., managing director of investment sales with Walker & Dunlop in Indianapolis, who says the Midwest, and Indianapolis in particular, has avoided the overbuilding that has softened apartment performance elsewhere. “Contrasting Indianapolis with most of the rest of the country in the post-COVID months and years, markets outside the Midwest were flooded with supply,” LaMotte said. “That did not happen in the Midwest. Most markets are not oversupplied. They are all appropriately supplied. Thanks in part to this, we have seen fundamentals maintain themselves in Indianapolis, in contrast to Denver, which is a poster child of oversupplied markets.” Because supply and demand have remained balanced, Indianapolis has avoided the rent stagnation and rising vacancy rates that have hit the multifamily sector in other similarly sized metropolitan areas. INDIANAPOLIS (continued on page 16)
MULTIFAMILY
Big success comes in small packages? Microapartment project in Appleton is showing that it’s true By Dan Rafter, Editor
A historic office building with ties to the region’s paper industry is getting a new life in downtown Appleton, Wisconsin, as a micro-apartment community designed to serve residents looking for shorter-term living. Park Place Holdings is converting part of the office building at 1101 E. S. River St. in ApMULTIFAMILY (continued on page 20)