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  Let’s stop talking about how bad everything is for awhile. Let’s think about getting onto the next phase: Recovery. I’m not suggesting the “when”, because we have all heard pundits taking shots at that. The range I have heard is somewhere between 6 months… and never. That’s probably correct. I would like to solicit opinions on how the recovery will start, not when. Will it be a regional thing? Will the Southwest (Phoenix, Vegas, etc.) lead us out the way they led us in? Or will the Rust Belt get a huge boost from the governmental incentives to the…

My travels to Asia over the past few weeks included Seoul, Beijing and Hong Kong, intense experiences, leaving me with reflection on the people, the culture, and our work.  I’m always trying to develop a deeper sense about what is meaningful to the people we are working with and ultimately designing for.  When I asked a young Chinese colleague about her hopes and dreams for her life and her community, her answer was, “I do hope I could leverage my knowledge to beautify our city by building better spaces for better living, working, making more money to help out more poor…

  Cash is increasingly becoming king. This is evidenced on several fronts: Major corporations are increasingly evaluating the sale and leaseback of corporate facilities to generate cash. Longer leases (15 years or more) and parent guarantees are becoming the norm. Lenders on commercial properties are requiring far more equity than in the past. Life companies are requiring 40% – 50% in equity and only lend on the highest quality real estate. Funds that can write the check for the entire acquisition price without the need for financing are the preferred buyer among sellers. The assuredness of closing typically wins out…

Search Engine Marketing has always played a critical role in managing the visibility of a company’s online brand. However with the Internet becoming what is arguably today’s dominant medium, Search Engine Marketing has also risen to become a key driver in a company’s overall brand strategy. Regrettably the maturity of the products and services that comprise search engine related disciplines come at a time when the industry has never been more complicated and difficult to navigate. Even though businesses today have many more options with regard to how they execute their search engine initiatives, I find that many marketing executives…

As the Dow Index dipped below 7000, so did the majority of consumers’ confidence and expectation for an early bounce back and return to economic recovery, especially in our own real estate industry. However, yesterday was also one of the most special days in my personal career, and also for all my colleagues, as we were recognized as the number one firm to work for in Chicago. It is each individual that makes the difference. As the reporter, and his camera man who visited with us noted: “With all the dismal news we report upon these days, it is gratifying…

As we know now, too much debt in many sectors of our economy resulted in a very fragile economic system; we’re paying the price for this now. The process of reducing the debt level is painful for everyone. The levels of debt were high for virtually all assets and businesses in this country. From consumer credit to Investment Bankers and everything in between, too many loans at too high levels. All based on the premise that value only goes one way, up. Well as the saying goes what goes up… Commercial real estate unfortunately will not be immune to this…