Thinking about investing in the St. Louis real estate market? There are lots of reasons why St. Louis housing is a good place to put your money. Here are some local and national trends we want to share, that may affect how and where you invest in our city.

Groundbreaking Date Set for $1.7B St. Louis Campus

 The federal agency estimates the project will require up to 1,300 workers per day

The development team behind the new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency campus in St. Louis is breaking ground on Next NGA West (N2W) on Nov. 26. The McCarthy HITT joint venture will lead construction on the $1.7 billion venture, which marks the largest federal investment project in the history of the city, slated for opening in 2025. (Commercial Property Executive)

Student Housing Market Still Strong

Cushman & Wakefield sees a 1 million bed deficit in the U.S. student housing market, as vacancies in privately owned properties hover just above all-time lows and universities brace themselves to accommodate Generation Z, an even larger cohort than the Millennials.

A new report finds that rents for privately owned off-campus student housing have grown by 3.2 percent annually in the current economic cycle. Rent growth has cooled recently but is expected to pick up again, with fewer properties coming online in the wake of a construction boom that has tapered off since 2017. (Multi-Housing News)

Missouri Student Housing Asset Changes Hands

GMH Capital Partners and AGC Equity Partners have acquired Everly on the Loop, a 428-bed student housing community serving Washington University in St. Louis. The property at 6105 Delmar Blvd. is the only privately owned, purpose-building student housing property catering to the private research university in St. Louis, which has a total enrollment of more than 16,000. Learn more here. (Multi-Housing News)

How Restaurant Demand Bolsters Retail

The restaurant industry is in growth mode and it’s undergoing an evolution, both of which will have a notable impact on the retail real estate sector, according CBRE’s new report, U.S. Food in Demand Series: Restaurants.

The New Drive-Thru

As noted in the report, delivery is now considered the new drive-thru in the restaurant industry. CBRE expects restaurants to persist in their bid to refine solutions to delivery challenges, resulting in an adjustment in restaurant formats and layouts to better accommodate pickup and delivery. “Expect delivery orders to be received and delivered from a separate area of the restaurant/kitchen and more restaurants to leverage ghost kitchens,” Rodriguez said. “Restaurant owners will use these models to ensure that the in-store dining experience is not compromised.”

Delivery-Only Restaurants

Additionally, CBRE anticipates that delivery-only restaurants will become the primary growth vehicle for meal-delivery platforms. The advent of these virtual restaurants, or ghost kitchens, is sparking tenancy in secondary retail space and industrial space, as well as the reuse of vacant space in shopping centers. Furthermore, CBRE foresees restaurant operators increasing investment in consumer-facing and back-of-house technology to mitigate rising costs, and as more restaurants rely on technology, the physical layouts of eateries will undergo alteration.

Tech Tools Top Renters’ Wish Lists

Mobile phone and high-speed Internet connectivity throughout an apartment community are among the top must-haves for renters in the 2020 Apartment Resident Preferences Report released Tuesday. High-speed Internet connections were important or very important to 91.7 percent of those surveyed.

Pet Amenities

Also from this survey, more than one-third of respondents said they were pet owners with the majority owning dogs. Dog owners responded they would pay between $28 and $34 more per month for pet perks like a community dog park, pet-washing station or on-site pet services.

Average Rent in Saint Louis, MO By Neighborhood (RentCafe)