MicroMain Corp. has launched new Blackberry maintenance software, it reported in May. The software lets workers more conveniently transmit communications to respond to and update work orders in real-time. In addition, all of the data can be managed by log-ins, which permits administrators to monitor the information. “Managers in the commercial real estate industry will be able to leverage workforce resources more effectively . In addition to easily transmitting work orders to maintenance technicians [who are] using Blackberries, managers can also track the workflow in real-time on their own Blackberries. This enables them to make better decisions throughout the day,”…

Sentinel Real Estate Corp. has chosen Irvine, Calif.-based Sendio Corp’s ICE Box for email protection, it has announced. I.C.E. Box is a stand-alone email security appliance that authenticates monitors and controls both incoming and outgoing email messages. NewYork-based Sentinel, which manages a $5 billion portfolio of 156 properties in 29 states for pension funds and other institutional investors, has more than 1000 employees. Sendio, a privately- held company founded in 2004, develops email products particularly designed to help the growing number of companies who rely on email as a key instrument to conduct business. Emile Rashkovich, Sentinel’s senior vice president…

CB Richard Ellis Inc. has signed on with Ariba software and services, it has been announced. The firm has licensed the entire suite of Ariba’s On-Demand Spend Management Solutions. The Suite includes four main product solutions: Ariba’s Spend Visibility, Sourcing, Procure-to-Pay, and Contract Management programs. The Spend Visibility helps a business to gain a clear view into spending needs and habits, spotting areas for more cost saving. Ariba Sourcing negotiates prices. Procure-to-Pay is a software management solution that reorganizes orders, invoice and payments, and The Ariba Contract Management manages compliance worldwide. Hari Candadai, director of solutions marketing told CPN, “Now…

Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT Inc. has acquired eight properties in three separate deals.First up is the acquisition of Renaissance Medical Centre, a five-story, Class A medical office building located in the Salt Lake City suburb of Bountiful, Utah. Located at 1551 S. Renaissance Drive, Renaissance Medical Centre consists of approximately 112,000 square feet of gross leaseable area. The property is part of the larger Renaissance Towne Centre mixed-use development and is approximately 88 percent leased. The Renaissance Medical Centre was acquired from an unaffiliated third party represented by Chris Bodnar of CB Richard Ellis-Colorado Private Client Group. In another…

The Philadelphia-based Reinvestment Fund has launched its online mapping tool called PolicyMap, according to the non-profit community development fund. This online mapping site, now open to the public, makes available a wide array of data sets, many of which were formerly available only to researchers. PolicyMap was originally created for the investors, state and local governments, clients and foundations, to provide online and updated information about their investments and loans. The tool will be helpful to city planners, real estate brokers, builders, commercial property owners and investors. It contains more than 4,000 indicators and it continues to be updated. Maggie…

Houston-based third-party logistics firm Palmer Logistics has leased almost 500,000 square feet of warehouse space from First Industrial Realty Trust at InterPort Distribution Center in the Houston suburb of Pasadena. Specifics of the lease were not disclosed. The InterPort development (pictured)–which includes industrial, distribution and warehouse facilities –was built in 2007. The Houston Chronicle report said Palmer Logistics leased 468,000 square feet of the center’s 598,000 square feet. More than one-half of Palmer Logistics’ business is transported by the ports in Houston. “This served a dual purpose of being close to the ports and because of its size,” Palmer executive…

California-based Yes! Solar will be working on three Salinas, Calif., affordable housing project, it has reported. The three housing developments are the Monterey Street Apartments, Fanoe Vista Apartments and the Benito Street Apartments, and are in the communities of Soledad and Gonzalez in Monterey County in Northern California.The new work is in keeping with California’s push in the energy arena, as evidenced by Gov. Arnold’s Schwarzenegger’s recent executive order that set a goal to reduce energy use in state owned buildings by 20 percent by 2010. Kirk Stokes, general manager at Yes! Solar Solutions, told CPN, “SPI is the first…

A California company, Trilliant Inc., has just announced that it has hit a major milestone for so-called “Smart Grid” initiatives. It reported in early May that it had delivered more than 750,000 intelligent devices that support advanced metering, demand response and other Smart Grid applications. The “Smart” power grid effort was born from the shocking impact of of power outages, which cost the U.S. $80 billion every year. Just one, the Cleveland blackouts that occurred in August 2003, cost $4.5 billion to $12 billion in lost economic activity. Managing energy supply and demand, therefore, focuses on cutting down the odds…

Howard Roth will take over as global and Americas director of real estate at Ernst & Young US, replacing the retiring Dale Anne Reiss. Roth (pictured) will step up from his current post as head of the Northeast real estate practice at E&Y. In his new position, he will coordinate a network of 5,000 real estate professionals around the world from the firm’s global real estate center offices in New York City. Speaking with CPN today, Roth said that he plans to undertake initiatives on key priorities in the immediate future. Among these are infrastructure development and privatization and sustainability…

Privately held-Urban Real Estate, in Chicago, has replaced their traditional AT&T communications systems with RingCentral, an on-line and on-demand internet based system. Urban Real Estate helps business owners, individuals, and investors buy, sell, and manage real estate in the downtown Chicago area. RingCentral, also a privately-held company, is based in Redwood City, Calif. It was founded in 1999 and launched this product in 2003, which offers overall communication management for small and large businesses. Unlike traditional telephone service providers that require wiring or hardware, or new internet providers like Finality, Shortell, Cisco, or Phonell that also require a PBX, or…