the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Management Matters with Mike Myatt: How to Delegate for Success
If you desire to become a top CEO, it will be essential for you to master the art of leveraging down. Think of any top performing CEO and you’ll find that to the one, they possess an uncanny ability to focus on highest and best use activities. While most executives that have reached the C-suite level understand the importance of scaling via delegation, far too many CEOs struggle with the effective implementation of the concept. To this day I’m amazed at how many CEOs still own tasks, roles, projects, and responsibilities that should be delegated to others. So, in today’s…
JLL, RICS Reports Note Decline in Global Investment Volumes, Tenant Demand
After a record 2007, global investment market volumes are expected to be down more than 30 percent over this year, while tenant demand for global property has turned negative for the first time in four years and interest in emerging markets is beginning to decline, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. and Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors reports have found. Jones Lang LaSalle has forecast that The Americas and European investment markets will see a material decline in full-year transaction volumes, and although Asia may be more resilient, volumes will not achieve last year’s height, according to a report released today. Reduced…
NYC Crane Collapse Throws Spotlight on Safety
The crane collapse that killed one worker and injured two others this morning on Manhattan’s Upper East Side again throws a spotlight on construction safety issues. Today’s fatal accident occurred at a residential tower under construction on East 91st Street in Manhattan’s Upper East Side district. As it fell, the crane severely damaged a residential building across the street. At a hastily called press conference broadcast by local radio station WINS and other outlets, Mayor Michael Bloomberg (pictured) said, “We don’t know why it snapped off, but we will certainly do an investigation.” The mayor, who was surrounded by a…
M-F Sales Decreasing in NYC, LA; Investors Holding
While multi-family property sales in New York City and Los Angeles have decreased over the last two years, one analyst attributes the drop to investors holding on to their assets until the market rises. In its investment properties first quarter report, PropertyShark.com tracked recorded sales of investment properties defined as two-family dwellings, three-family dwellings, four -family dwellings, five- or more family dwellings, and mixed use properties in Los Angeles County, San Francisco County, and the five boroughs of New York City through the end of the first quarter of this year. New York City’s investment property market over the last…
Citigroup Pursues Green Retail Banking Portfolio
Financial giant Citigroup Inc. has achieved pre-certification for a retail commercial interior prototype through a pilot U.S. Green Building Council program. Among other things, the prototype features low-flow plumbing fixtures; energy-efficient office equipment; carpets, desks, seating, fabrics and cabinetry made from recycled materials; and green power to provide 50 percent of the electrical load for at least two years. The pilot program, known as the USGBC Portfolio Program, focuses on the permanent integration of green building and operational measures–throughout a portfolio–into the standard business practices of companies and organizations. The Portfolio Program recognizes companies with high levels of LEED certification…
Construction Underway on Green Blue Cross HQ in Providence
The Providence skyline is headed for change now that construction has commenced on the new 13-story headquarters for Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island. The 327,000-square-foot building, designed by the architectural firm of Symmes Maini & McKee Associates, will be a study in sustainable design with an anticipated LEED Silver certification. BCBSRI’s new home will be located downtown at Waterplace Park, just across from a commuter rail station. SMMA worked with the healthcare concern to determine the best location for the new facility, which will sit adjacent to two new residential properties in a burgeoning mixed-use area. When…
Hines REIT Takes Pair of DFW Properties
Hines REIT has announced the purchase of two buildings in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The firm purchased the buildings, 4050 and 4055 Corporate Drive, from Dividend Capital Trust. The buildings are single story class A industrial warehouses, located within the DFW Trade Center, a 180-acre office park four miles from the Dallas-Fort Worth airport. Combined, the two buildings total approximately 650,000 square feet and function primarily as distribution, light manufacturing and office facilities. Currently, the buildings are 100 percent leased, with tenants including Kay Chemical and Verizon. “4050 and 4055 Corporate Drive have a stable and high quality tenant roster…
Hudson River Park Celebrates 10th Anniversary, Looks to Future
The Hudson River Park Trust held a press conference yesterday to celebrate the park’s 10th anniversary and discuss future improvements. The press conference, which commemorated the tenth anniversary of the Hudson River Park Act, was used to update the public on the park’s progress and the agency’s vision for the future. The park will undergo a great increase in construction in the coming years, with $110 million of additional construction activity set to commence shortly to complement the $170 million of construction currently underway in the park. The park is currently 40 percent complete, and the Trust expects to complete…
BBA Decides Against Changing LIBOR
The British Bankers’ Association has just announced that it has wrapped up its review of the composition of its London Interbank Offered Rate Contributor Panels, but contrary to heavy media speculation that changes would be made to LIBOR, the BBA did not alter a thing. The review commenced in April. The last changes to LIBOR were made a decade ago. The Contributor Panels are the banks that contribute to LIBOR rate-setting procedures, and under review were the panels for Australian Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Danish Krone, Euros, Japanese Yen, New Zealand Dollar, Swiss Francs, Sterling, Swedish Krona and U.S. Dollars. As…
JLL Global Capital Markets Expert Carpenter to Advance Loan Sale Advisory Service
Noble Carpenter has been appointed to lead Jones Lang LaSalle’s loan outsourcing and disposition as part of the firm’s real estate investment banking team. This move is a response to the JLL’s “First Quarter 2008 Capital Markets Report” that indicated an expected strong increase in loan sale outsourcing as investment and commercial banks and mortgage companies seek to tap unconventional debt buyers and loan participants to clear balance sheets. In an exclusive interview with CPN, Carpenter said, “Some of the most active buyers of debt have been hedge funds and opportunity funds. So the new investors include many of the…