An international commercial developer was involved in a joint venture to develop a mixed-use project in a suburb of Beirut. The client in developing the proposed site wanted to assess the feasibility of the project and the various real estate segments under consideration: office, residential, leisure, hospitality, and retail. In order to assess the optimal mix for the location, InfoPro carried-out a supply and demand analysis. The aim of analysis was to provide an economic overview of Lebanon and the Greater Beirut area, the competition level across the various segments under study, the success / failings of the competition, demand drivers and generators, preferred features and facilities, in addition to new and potential development projects currently under construction. For the office segment, InfoPro interviewed real estate developers, brokers, and experts. The interviews provided information on current and future trends, competitiveness, and demand. InfoPro covered well-known commercial/office hubs in the Greater Beirut area. These included Beirut Central District, Hamra, Verdun, Dbayeh highway, Ashrafieh, and Kaslik. For the residential real estate segment, InfoPro relied on its real estate databases and in-depth interviews with developers. InfoPro provided a general overview of the supply and demand in Greater Beirut specifically for high-end projects. The mapping of high-end projects enabled the client to gather information on the financing provided by developers, profile of target market (locals, expatriates, tourists), occupancy rates, services and facilities most in demand, in addition to unit sizes and divisions. For the retail real estate segment, InfoPro assessed street front shopping hubs and malls. InfoPro gathered feedback from retailers and retail real estate brokers on the trends in demand in the catchment area and their views on future trends. InfoPro also assessed the hospitality market and specifically hotels in order to provide the client with an overview of the various hotel categories available in Greater Beirut area. The assessment included performance data by category, tourist data gathered through desk research and interviews with tour operators in order to evaluate demand across various hotel categories. InfoPro also assessed their perception of impact of future supply on ARR, RevPAR, and occupancy. The market assessment of the segments under study allowed the client to assess the most optimal mix to be included in location.
