This week’s roundup explores the cooling housing market and plummeting mortgage applications, potential tax-savings as a result of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and new developments in the multifamily sector.
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (03/01/23) – Mass Timber, IIJA Funding and Distressed Real Estate
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This week’s roundup explores how Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding is being deployed, mass timber is on the rise as decarbonization efforts continue, and commercial real estate remains distressed.
“Groundbreaking” SEC Complaint Accuses Oil Major of Greenwashing Its Investment Reporting
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In a “groundbreaking” complaint, environmental NGO Global Witness asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Climate and ESG Task Force to investigate oil major Shell for possible violations of federal securities laws. The complaint, filed this February, alleges Shell misled its investors by including some of its gas-related spending in its “Renewables and Energy Solutions” (RES) reporting segment. Global Witness claims that, while Shell reports spending 12% of its annual expenditures on RES ($2.4 billion), removing expenditures related to integrated power, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage reduces that percentage to only 1.5% ($288 million).
OMB Revisions to Implementation of Build America, Buy America
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The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently proposed new regulations regarding the use of domestic construction materials, which, among other things, identify what items will be considered construction materials and the process for determining whether they are of U.S. origin.
In “OMB Proposes Revisions to Guidance Supporting the Implementation of IIJA’s Build America, Buy America Act Provisions,” colleagues Marques O. Peterson, Stephan E. Becker and Whitney Alston take a closer look at these regulations.
A Court-Side Seat: Hog Catching, “Hard Looks” and Hardship Exemptions
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If “Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?” It’s been a quiet term thus far for the Supreme Court, due in part to the hearing of oral arguments in many contentious cases. Below is a brief summary of some of the recent significant matters decided by the Federal Courts.
Real Estate & Construction News Roundup (02/15/23) – Proptech Solutions, Supply Chain Pivots, and the Inflation Reduction Act
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This week’s roundup explores how proptech could alleviate the financial burden of property owners’ vacant office space, manufacturing firms are bolstering the industrial real estate sector, a 200-MW Texas project is first to leverage IRA tax credit for stand-alone energy storage, and more.
Something to Build Toward: 2026 World Cup Will Bring Fresh Round of Investment in Major Cities
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Although the 2022 Men’s FIFA World Cup concluded less than six weeks ago, plans are already being laid for the next iteration of the tournament, which will take place in cities across North America. The United States, Canada and Mexico won their joint bid to host the 2026 Men’s World Cup, which is returning to North America for the first time since the U.S. hosted the tournament in 1994. In June of 2022, FIFA—the international governing body for the sport of soccer—announced the 16 cities which will play host to the tournament.
Real Estate & Construction News Round-Up (02/08/23) – The Build America, Buy America Act, ESG Feasibility, and University Partnerships
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This week’s round-up explores President Joe Biden’s recent State of the Union address and plans for the Build America, Buy America Act, the feasibility of real estate companies achieving their ESG goals, and how developers, lenders, and tenants are partnering with universities to solve real estate challenges.
The Increasing Popularity of Women’s Soccer Heralds a Surge in Investment Opportunities
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This spring, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the top professional women’s soccer league in the United States, will kick off its eleventh season of play. It is by far the longest-enduring and most successful professional women’s soccer league in U.S. history, and appears poised for significant growth in its viewership, fan engagement, and financial strength in 2023 and 2024. Savvy investors and entrepreneurs are looking increasingly toward women’s soccer as an area of great potential growth in the coming years, and for good reason.
The “Builder’s Remedy” Looms Over Bay Area Cities
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Cities in the San Francisco Bay Area are frantically working to finalize their state-mandated “housing elements” in their General Plans by the January 31, 2023, deadline imposed by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). For Bay Area cities like San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and Berkeley, the plans must be approved by HCD on or before January 31, 2023. California municipalities have extra incentive to get their housing elements approved this year, because the failure to meet the deadline may subject them to a remedy known as the “builder’s remedy.”