the Editors of Commercial Property Executive
Another Green Milestone as Solar-Powered City Takes Shape in Florida
Just days after news that the Empire State Building would undergo an environmentally sustainable retrofit, green development has reached another milestone, with the unveiling of a plan to develop the world’s first solar-powered city.Real estate developer Kitson & Partners has announced an agreement with electric utility Florida Power & Light to build a solarvoltaic power plant at Babcock Ranch, Fla., which will provide all of the power to a 17,000-acre mixed-use development (pictured). The developer said that the the project, dubbed Babcock Ranch, will consume less power than the proposed Florida Power & Light facility, which will allow it to…
Manhattan Office Climate Favors Tenants, Buyers
The first quarter of 2009 is on the books, and a wide range of reports published this week agree on at least two things. First, bright spots remain scarce in the Manhattan office market, and second, that situation is unlikely to change much for the next few quarters. Among the reams of data released this week, no indicator is more striking than Manhattan’s investment market. During the first three months of the year, just $1.1 billion in office investment sales valued at $10 million or more closed in Manhattan, estimates Cushman & Wakefield Inc. That marks a half billion-dollar drop…
In Challenging Casino Development Environment, 2 Projects Underway in Pennsylvania
With hospitality development being hampered across the nation by the credit crunch and staggering economy, Pennsylvania is looking to buck the trend, with a pair of casino projects on the horizon.Pennsylvania’s Gaming Control Board has approved the first of two resort casino licenses, awarding one to the Valley Forge Convention Center, located west of Philadelphia. The 500-slot, $42 million casino will be located within one of the two hotels in the complex, and could be open in nine months. The Bushkill Group, which applied for a resort casino license for a property in the Poconos, was granted 90 additional days…
Economic Update – Commercial RE Industry Seeks Longer Terms Under TALF
Commercial real estate defaults are predicted to continue their upward march for the foreseeable future as the industry groans under the weight of un-refinanceable debt and sagging property values. That’s why commercial real estate lobbyists are busy asking for–pleading for–five-year loans via the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) for commercial real estate refinance, instead of the standard three-year terms. The difference, it’s hoped, will provide a bridge to a time when credit is easier to get and property values have recovered. Whatever TALF ends up offering the commercial real estate industry, that doesn’t mean that commercial property owners are…
As Condo Projects Hit Snags, Seattle’s $350M Escala Bucks Trend
Condominium developments across the country have fallen prey to severe drops in demand and financing challenges, but there are exceptions, like the $350 million Escala in Downtown Seattle. Developer LEXAS Cos. has just topped off the 30-story luxury condominium, and is progressing right on schedule with its completion. Rising 330 feet above Fourth Ave. and Virginia St. in the city’s Midtown district, Escala will ultimately feature 270 residences and a 25,000-square-foot private club. Ground broke on the building in summer 2007 when the national condo craze was still in full swing. The marketplace has since turned 180 degrees, yet those…
Wrightwood Latest Firm to Eye Discounted Investment Market, Closes $243M Fund
Adding its name to the list of firms looking to capitalize on opportunities in the down commercial property market, Wrightwood Capital has closed a $243 million fund. The company’s High Yield Partners II Fund will be invested in recapitalizations, acquisitions and selected new development projects.Wrightwood Capital’s mezzanine and equity program is available for assets with sponsor equity and provides capital structured as either a mezzanine loan or a preferred equity investment, company executives said. As the commercial real estate investment market has seen prices fall as the credit crunch and economic downturn have taken hold, many financers are looking to…
Economic Update – Merging Homebuilders Look to Survive
Only a few years ago, it would have been just another bit of the M&A torrent, but these days the acquisition of homebuilder Centex by the even larger homebuilder Pulte Homes in a $1.3 billion stock-for-stock deal is considered a survival gambit. Small wonder: as separate entities, Centex lost $664 million in the quarter ended in December, while Pulte lost $338.2 million in its most recent quarter. One day, perhaps, the combined strengths of the two–somewhat different demographics in somewhat different parts of the country–might help the larger entity back to profitability. “By acting decisively now, we’re creating unrivaled firepower…
Sustainable Path to Efficiency
Much more than a catchy slogan, “Going Green” can provide a path for property managers that allows them to shed wasteful inefficiencies and reduce costs. Among the possible procedures involved are paperless invoice processing and centralized, Web-based procurement, environmentally friendly real estate practices that are also setting new industry standards for efficiency and cost effectiveness. Fully automated paperless invoice processing, for example, can sharply reduce labor and costs–by nearly $11 per invoice, according to an Aberdeen Group study. Vendor invoices arrive at a central location and are bulk scanned into the property management database, becoming electronic transactions. Leveraging the property…
Looking Back to Look Ahead
Future proofing is inherent in perhaps every building design. Nobody wants to be responsible for a design that will soon be dated, especially given that the useful life for a building is 30, 40, even 50 years. Every day we hear about and await the next best product—the product that will save us energy, save us labor. Smart buildings, automatic lighting control, indirect and direct lighting, high-efficiency lighting—new options are constantly coming out. But are these the products to go with? Are there more new ideas we should hold out for? What if we apply this new technology and it…
Standing Out Online
As commercial real estate spending for online marketing continues to rise, companies must carefully evaluate the best approaches for their business needs. Two popular tactics with application for corporate and property marketing are search engine optimization, or SEO, and search engine marketing, or SEM.SEO leverages the potential of “free” search–the natural, organic search results that appear, for example, in the main, lefthand column on the page of search engine Google when someone searches for companies or properties. The results link directly to Web sites with content that best matches the searcher’s request, as interpreted by the search engine’s algorithms. These…