Patrick Sisson
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Writer. Trends, tech & policy shaping cities. Bylines: New York Times, Bloomberg CityLab, MIT Tech Review, Bisnow. patsisson at gmail dot com & psiss on Threads
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Articles by Patrick Sisson
Commercial Real Estate’s Biggest New Financing Source? Really Rich People.
It’s a moment of global instability, inflation, consequential elections and economic uncertainty. And, despite that bitter cocktail, investment volumes continue to climb. SEE ALSO: At 25 Kent, Global Holdings Turns a Hospitality Mindset Into Office Leasing Success Finance firm MSCI found that commercial real estate investment in the third quarter of the year hit $263.7 billion, a striking 89 percent leap over the same time last year.
Academia ao ar livre transforma abrigo para sem-teto em Paris
No abrigo para pessoas em situação de rua Emmaüs Solidarité, em Paris, não é incomum que novos moradores passem noites sem dormir. Mas, há alguns meses, eles ganharam uma nova maneira de lidar com o estresse das noites de insônia: basta ir até o pátio e fazer algumas séries nos equipamentos da academia ao ar livre recém-instalada.
Como um museu pretende traduzir a filosofia de Charles e Ray Eames
Quando o Instituto Eames de Curiosidade Infinita divulgou as imagens conceituais de seu novo museu, a intenção era mostrar como um complexo cultural poderia sintetizar o legado do casal de designers mais famoso do século 20, Charles e Ray Eames.
Esta startup de Texas obtiene litio para baterías del agua de los pozos petroleros
En la cuenca Pérmica, la extensa región rica en minerales del oeste de Texas que suministra buena parte del crudo estadounidense, las torres de perforación extraen enormes cantidades de petróleo: alrededor de seis millones de barriles al día. Pero ese volumen palidece frente al agua sucia y salobre que también sale durante la extracción. La perforación en la región produce unos 26 millones de barriles diarios de agua, aproximadamente el consumo diario de toda la ciudad de Nueva York.
'It Has Gotten Worse, And Everybody Is Feeling It': Hiring Slows, Raises Shrink In CRE
The CRE hiring landscape has been harsh since the pandemic, and there is little relief in sight. The 55-year-old Laguna Beach, California, resident who has worked as an executive with office and industrial investment companies has been job-hunting since falling victim to one of the industry’s earliest Covid-era rounds of job cuts in October 2020. “I told my wife that I feel like I’m never going to get hired again,” he said. “It has gotten worse, and everybody is feeling it.
'It Has Gotten Worse, And Everybody Is Feeling It': Hiring Slows, Raises Shrink In CRE
This story was originally published on Bisnow, the newsroom global commercial real estate reads first. To receive daily news and analysis, subscribe to Bisnow's free suite of newsletters. The CRE hiring landscape has been harsh since the pandemic, and there is little relief in sight. Just ask Ken Robertson.
Voters Couldn’t Be Clearer About the Housing Problem
Undergirding the midterm landslide for Democrats was a consensus that the costs of living must come down. While the Democratic party's paradigm-shifting electoral performance will be the main takeaway from Tuesday's election, one of the likely ripples will be more opportunities to pass legislation supporting housing production and housing access. Like the 2024 election, affordability became a major theme of this election season.
Developers Eye Golf Courses for Data Center Projects Original
To counter the data center backlash that’s become an animating political force across the US, developers in California are suggesting an eco-friendly swap: Trade in a golf course — and its profligate water usage — for less-thirsty computer servers. In the City of Industry, a municipality in the suburban San Gabriel Valley region of Southern California, the owners of the 18-hole California Country Club have submitted plans to add a 99 megawatt data center to the 124-acre site.
Developers Eye Golf Courses for Data Center Projects
Source: Ramus Development (Bloomberg) -- To counter the data center backlash that’s become an animating political force across the US, developers in California are suggesting an eco-friendly swap: Trade in a golf course — and its profligate water...
Going to the gym just got easier for residents at this Paris homeless shelter
At the nonprofit Emmaüs Solidarité homeless shelter in Paris, it’s not uncommon for new residents to have sleepless nights. But since the summer, residents have had a new way to cope with the stress of a restless evening: head to the courtyard and do a few circuits on their new outdoor gym.
Going to the gym just got easier for residents at this Paris homeless shelter
Now Martha Stewart has said she is “distressed” and “sorry,” after her choice of Halloween costume sparked a backlash. In a since-deleted image on Instagram, the TV personality, entrepreneur and author — who is America’s first self-made female billionaire — appeared dressed as a homeless person, wearing …
A new California museum is a beautiful and complicated ode to the Eameses
When the Eames Institute of Infinite Curiosity released renderings of its new museum last week, it aimed to show how a museum campus could encapsulate the legacy of the 20th century’s most famous design couple, Charles and Ray Eames. The architectural project—helmed by museum design heavyweight Herzog & de Meuron, along with local firm EHDD and landscape architecture firm Field Operations—is meant to be more a celebration of the Eameses’ philosophies and ideas than an Eames theme park.
A new California museum is a beautiful and complicated ode to the Eameses
2 days ago Airbnb’s story began back in 2007 with three air mattresses in a San Francisco living room—prompting then-roommates Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia to conceive clever ways to make rent. Nearly two decades later, things came full circle on Wednesday evening, as a star-studded crowd learned about the …
Is Prop 45 a Quick Fix to California’s Slow Construction Pace?
The Golden State’s perpetual morass when it comes to quick development has been generating all the wrong kinds of headlines. In addition to the growing issues with housing production and affordability, it seems like any megaproject or big idea envisioned for California sinks due to red tape and regulations. The state’s perpetually delayed high-speed rail project continues to get pushed back.
The New Challenge For Apartment Managers: Proving Listing Photos Are Real
Following a surge in AI-altered listing photos, multifamily owners and brokers are scrambling to prepare for a new generation of disclosure laws designed to protect renters from misleading marketing. Two artificial intelligence disclosure laws in California and Wisconsin go into effect on Jan. 1, and others are under consideration. A similar measure was introduced earlier this month in Washington, D.C., and other proposals have popped up in New York and New Jersey.
Alexandria Sells Stakes In Megacampuses To Weather Life Sciences Downturn Original
Alexandria Real Estate Equities is shedding portions of some of its marquee life sciences campuses as the REIT grapples with shifting priorities in a biotech market that remains oversupplied and slow to recover from the pandemic-era building boom.
Amazon’s Same-Day Delivery Expansion Reignites Demand for Last-Mile Logistics
When Amazon makes moves in the delivery business, the entire retail industry tends to reorient itself around the e-commerce giant. So, when a September report from Business Insider revealed preliminary plans for Amazon to embark on a “massive blitz in same-day delivery” with a proposed expansion of facilities code-named Project Mercury, industrial real estate took notice.
This Texas startup is turning oil well waste into EV batteries
Across the Permian Basin, the vast, mineral-rich swath of land in West Texas that supplies much of the nation’s crude oil, derricks pump out massive amounts of oil, roughly 6 million barrels a day. But that amount pales in comparison with the amount of dirty, brackish water that’s also extracted during oil drilling. Drilling in the Permian Basin also unearths roughly 26 million barrels of water a day, about the same daily water use as all of New York City.
'Illegitimate' Or 'Leveling The Playing Field'?: Why Habitability Cases Are Surging In Eviction Court Original
More tenants have access to an attorney than ever before, a fact that is increasingly reshaping eviction cases across the country, giving renters new leverage to challenge landlords over allegations of mold, deferred maintenance and unsafe living conditions. Property owners say the trend is fueling a growing number of costly settlements and legal headaches, while tenant advocates argue that it is holding landlords accountable for housing conditions that too often go unchecked.
What in the Name of Preservation Is Happening With Frank Lloyd Wright’s Sturges House?
Neighbors are convinced the famous Los Angeles home is falling apart. The owners don't seem to know what they're talking about. Roughly a dozen years ago, if you walked up the steep incline of North Skyewiay Road in the upscale Brentwood Heights neighborhood of West Los Angeles, you might have seen Jack Larson's dog sprawled on the deck of the actor's brick-and-wood home soaring over a steep embankment.
As Investors Pull Back, L.A. Warehouse Users Step In
While the logistics and shipping sectors seem more uncertain than they have in years, with shifting tariffs and trade policy compounded by a diesel fuel crisis, a number of companies are looking to invest in a more stable future. Increasingly, that means owning, not renting. It’s a dynamic that’s playing out more and more in Southern California, the nation’s largest industrial market. SEE ALSO: How Bad Would an AI Bust Be for New York’s Office Market?
Space Race: How The Private Sector's Orbital Aspirations Are Driving CRE On Earth Original
Space‑age technology that once sounded out of this world is becoming a reality — and taking up huge swaths of real estate in the process. With $11.3B in fresh venture capital funding to firms like Varda Space Industries, Sierra Space and Astranis in the first half of the year and a shift toward mass production, companies are snapping up everything from old toy plants to megacampuses.
Flock is facing a surveillance backlash. Meanwhile, its drone business is booming
For much of the last year, security cameras sold by the tech firm Flock Safety have been blacked out, painted over, even wrapped in trash bags. Roundly criticized for ushering in high-tech surveillance, the company’s automated license plate readers (ALPRs) have not only been broken, but banned by cities across the nation.
America’s next family car might look a lot like a golf cart
For decades, automakers have been designing cars to look like they have faces. Headlights resemble eyes, grilles look like mouths, and the shape of a hood can give a vehicle something resembling an expression. That is, of course, no accident. Designers have long played on our tendency to see human features in inanimate objects, giving sports cars aggressive scowls and family-friendly vehicles softer, more approachable expressions.
America's next family car might look a lot like a golf cart
Kia Motors 21 hours ago 5 Big EV Deals for October, Including Up to $37,500 Off Autoblog - Karl Furlong • 21h From small crossovers to luxury GTs, these are the best EV deals available this month. Electric vehicles continue to benefit from some of the highest discounts across the industry this year.
Proposed EPA Rule Change Could Cut Months From Timelines Of Projects Near Wetlands Original
Developers could see faster approvals and fewer federal hurdles under the Trump administration’s latest proposal to narrow which wetlands fall under the Clean Water Act, a shift that would hand far more permitting authority to states and cut months from project timelines. The draft rule would redefine the term “waters of the United States” in the Clean Water Act, which would remove federal oversight from many wetlands and leave state agencies to decide what qualifies for development.
L.A. Might Be Commercial Real Estate’s Best-Kept Secret
For at least the past six years, finding investors with positive sentiment around investing in Los Angeles has felt more difficult than finding a taker for your Chargers season tickets. That’s changing, albeit slowly. SEE ALSO: DRA Advisors Buys 49% Stake in 1301 Avenue of the Americas After all, pandemic-battered San Francisco up the coast has soared recently due to both demand for office and residential space from AI company principals and executives.
Life Insurers Writing Riskier Loans To CRE, Setting Off Alarm Bells Original
Insurance companies, long considered among the most conservative of CRE lenders, have jumped on the recent trend of making riskier loans as they increase lending volume to commercial property owners. As carriers raise leverage and deepen their exposure to sectors like data centers, they’re taking on more sensitivity to valuation swings as the market braces for turbulence stemming from capital costs that just keep rising.
Feeding the Beast Behind the AI
Planning Magazine A housing development that once overlooked farmland now abuts data centers in Loudon County’s Arcola, Virginia. Photos by Stephen Voss.
The Quantum Coast: Meet America’s Top New Tech Hub
Along the coast between Silicon Valley and Southern California, another major industry hub is forming for a new kind of technological innovation. Quantum computing utilizes quantum mechanics to vastly expand on traditional binary computing, solving devilishly complex problems exponentially quicker.
Data Center Foes Run for Office as Activists Become Candidates
Running for public office wasn’t in the cards for Steven Kung. But then Kung, a director and screenwriter who lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Monterey Park, discovered that a 250,000-square-foot, 50-megawatt Australian-backed data center project, along with more than a dozen diesel generators, was being planned for Saturn Park, a business park just a five-minute walk from his house. “I didn’t even know what a real data center was when I heard it was coming to town,” he said.
Meet the Data Center Candidates
Photographer: Ghawam Kouchak (Bloomberg) -- Running for public office wasn’t in the cards for Steven Kung.
Retail Is In Growth Mode Again, But Construction Isn't Keeping Up Original
The retail renaissance in the U.S. is accelerating, with promising new leasing metrics and a resilient economy giving retailers confidence to push forward with expansions. But their growth efforts are increasingly colliding with a supply shortage as rising construction costs prevent developers from putting shovels in the ground to take advantage of rising rents and historically low vacancy.
Mold Is Growing Into Major Problem For Apartment Owners
Lawsuits against multifamily landlords over mold and habitability are on the rise. The issue of mold in the U.S. housing stock is a growing one as properties age and rising costs lead to deferred maintenance. Keeping properties free of the fungus is crucial to maintaining tenant health. At the same time, increased risk of lawsuits has driven up the cost of habitability insurance, pushing some carriers out of states like California.
Mold Is Growing Into Major Problem For Apartment Owners
Jury verdicts in the cases can reach into the millions of dollars, as in a February decision that awarded $2.3M in a Long Beach, California, mold case. Hiring an attorney and mounting a defense without insurance can cost landlords between $50K and $100K, Gray said.
Billion-Dollar Blockbusters Won’t Revive L.A.’s Film Industry
Hollywood, or at least some aspect of it, had a summer. Between massive box office performances from “The Odyssey” (partially shot in Los Angeles), “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “Obsession,” the industry appears to have recaptured some of its cultural magnetism and moneymaking ways. Adjusted for inflation, the movie industry’s $4.76 billion summer ticket haul represented a 26 percent jump from the summer of 2025.
In Los Angeles-Area Retail, a Widening Divide
Los Angeles remains a locale that runs on ambition and the pursuit of opportunity. But a significant bifurcation is taking place. Increasingly, the marketplace for retail real estate has significantly split between those benefiting from buoyant dynamics and tenants whose small business dreams are starting to evaporate.
Aging Pipes, Climate Change and Hackers Menace US Water Systems
This July, in the middle of the night during one of Southern California’s 2026 heat waves, a 36-inch utility pipe gave way beneath West Hollywood, sending 17 million gallons of water coursing past the nightclubs of the famed Sunset Strip and opening up a massive sinkhole that flooded nearby homes and garages.
Aging US Water Systems Are No Match for Climate Change
Photographer: Jim Shannon/Connecticut Post via Getty Images (Bloomberg) -- This July, in the middle of the night during one of Southern California’s 2026 heat waves, a 36-inch utility pipe gave way beneath West Hollywood, sending 17 million...
Data Center Demand Has Made IOS An Institutional Capital Playground Original
Wall Street is plowing deeper into industrial outdoor storage, pushing deal sizes to new highs even as the trucking sector, one of IOS’ traditional demand drivers, weathers a prolonged contraction. The trucking industry is coping with a labor shortage and high diesel prices that cut into bottom lines, but a surge in demand among data center developers, combined with chronic undersupply of IOS lots, has investors willing to pony up for the properties.
Biblioteca troca sistema Dewey por lógica de livraria – e volta a ficar cheia
As bibliotecas evoluíram nas últimas décadas à medida que ampliaram seu papel como centros de aprendizado e convivência comunitária. Mas, apesar de todas as mudanças, a maioria ainda organiza seus livros de acordo com a Classificação Decimal de Dewey (CDD), um sistema desenvolvido em 1873 que, segundo seus críticos, ainda carrega concepções sociais ultrapassadas do século 19. Esse tipo de classificação também é usado no Brasil, embora não seja o único.
Retailers Charging Ahead With EV Stations Despite Policy Pullback Original
Retailers are accelerating electric vehicle charger installations on their own real estate, transforming parking lots into value-add infrastructure even as federal incentives shrink and automakers slow their electrification plans. Walmart, Buc‑ee’s, Circle K and other chains are rolling out branded fast‑charging networks across company‑owned land.
Lab Landlords In 'Hand-To-Hand Combat' To Last To Recovery
After two bruising years of stalled leasing, empty megaprojects and tenant‑friendly economics, life sciences landlords say the lab market is finally showing the faintest signs of a turn. But even the most optimistic operators caution that any recovery will be slow and uneven. Landlords are bracing for a long wait for demand to return in earnest, setting up a test of how long they can hold on before the recovery finally arrives.
This Oregon library ditched Dewey Decimal and got people excited about books again
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Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities Distress Is Peaking — Again
Discussions around distress that have dominated the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) market have taken a turn for the worse, with data points shifting in the same unfavorable direction for months. The distress rate has steadily trickled up, approaching a peak, with office distress hitting an all-time high of 8.89 percent in July with another maturity wall nearing.
This Oregon library ditched Dewey Decimal and got people excited about books again
American libraries have evolved in recent decades as their role as centers for learning and community expand. Many have added maker spaces, turned into climate resilience hubs, and even become partners in projects to add more affordable housing. But despite all that change, a vast majority of them still organize books with the Dewey Decimal System, a categorizing system developed in 1873, which critics say still has the outdated 19th century social opinions to match.
KPC Group’s Oceanwide Plaza Bet Started With a Supertall Dream for Manhattan
John Petty, senior partner for KPC Group, had just returned from a site visit at Downtown Los Angeles’ infamous “Graffiti Towers,” the beleaguered mega-development that his firm recently began working to resurrect after it stalled about seven years ago. Like so much of the mixed-use project thus far, cleanup was proving to be tougher than expected. SEE ALSO: Aggregate Buys $58M Northern Virginia Portfolio The graffiti-covered Oceanwide Plaza development in Downtown Los Angeles. photo: Myung J.
Walmart está imprimiendo en 3D el futuro de las grandes superficies comerciales.
Walmart se hizo famoso por promocionar su “garantía de precios bajos”, demostrando cómo la magnitud de la cadena ayudaba a los clientes a ahorrar dinero. Ahora, la impresión 3D de Walmart busca reducir sus propios costos: la cadena está utilizando esta tecnología para construir y ampliar sus tiendas de forma más rápida y económica. En los últimos dos años, los contratistas que trabajan para Walmart han utilizado la construcción mediante impresión 3D en varios emplazamientos de Estados Unidos.
Walmart quer construir lojas mais rápido com impressão 3D
O Walmart ficou famoso por promover sua “garantia de preço baixo”, mostrando como a escala da varejista ajudava os clientes a economizar. Agora, em uma tentativa de reduzir os próprios custos, o Walmart está imprimindo suas lojas em 3D. Nos últimos dois anos, empreiteiras que trabalham para o Walmart usaram construção com impressão 3D em algumas unidades nos Estados Unidos. Até agora, as paredes de cinco ampliações de lojas existentes foram construídas dessa maneira.
For Southern California, Defense Tech Is the Best Real Estate Offense
It’s easy to assume Los Angeles’ biggest contribution to the defense industry and any war effort has been the production of movies and films that celebrate the heroism of combat. But, due to persistent geopolitical instability, combat that’s draining crucial weapon stockpiles, and ongoing efforts to adapt the United States military to the modern demands of high-tech warfare, defense spending is skyrocketing.
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