TODAY IN ROTARY we heard from
Greg Whitehead who gave us a brief “Know Yer Ro” and a more in depth update on
what’s up here in Southern Utah in housing and commercial real estate. Says Greg, a member of SGR for about a year,
“I love to travel (he’s been to Korea, Canada, Belize, Mexico, Australia, New
Zealand and lots of other places), his wife and kids. He attended DSU where he earned a Bachelor’s
degree in Business Administration with a minor in Accounting, then went on to
earn a Masters in Business Administration at SUU. He is a lifetime member of Beta Gama Sigma,
the international honor society serving business programs accredited
by AACSB International and the highest recognition for a business student
anywhere in the world. He ran – but did
not win – for a place on the St. George City Council and currently serves on
the Housing Authority Board of Directors.
He currently works in NAI’s commercial real estate division.
He spoke with enthusiasm about the current growth and
construction in the St. George area, including:
·
a 400,000 square foot addition
at Dixie Regional Medical Center currently under construction at a cost of $600
per s/f
·
construction in Ivins of Rocky
Vista Medical School
·
several assisted living
facilities
·
downtown property purchases and
renovation by the City of St. George
·
a rebuild of the Washington
County Administration building
·
a new facility for DXATC on the
old airport bluff
·
a new Tech and Business Center
at DSU
·
Crimson High School, Middle
School and two elementary schools
The retail marketplace is bustling as well, including:
·
a less than 3% vacancy rate for
all existing properties
·
a new Dairy Queen on Main Street
·
a new Magleby’s in the renovated
Crystal Inn Motel
·
a new Starbucks
·
several new or newly renovated
Maverik stores
·
an expansion at Stephen Wade
·
a new building on St. George
Blvd. for Brent’s Interiors
·
CLYDE Company is buying a large
block of land off Exit 2
Multi-family developments are being built to address the need
for affordable housing (currently at .04% … or basically no vacancies) offset
by a 6.5% income in monthly rental costs and going up again in 2017. There are also high impact fees – about $15,000
per door – with large and wealthy companies around the country buying up single
family homes and turning them into rentals averaging a minimum of $1100 per
month rent.
According to Greg, “our economy is robust. There are numerous new motels coming on line
this year and office space is at a premium with only about 5% available for
rent or purchase.”
Haven’t we been here before?
