Inside the September Issue

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Economist’s View: What’s Your Bet: Car or Elevator?

While some favor the low-density, suburbs-focused model of construction, there is still much to be said for the vertical constructions of city centers in terms of CRE investment. All other things being equal, urban development typically brings a much stronger return. By Hugh F. Kelly.

Property Management: On the Front Lines

Despite 10 years of advancement in emergency preparation, managers are still seeking to do better — and tenant involvement is just one of key ways that can happen. By Paul Rosta.

Feature: The Lessons of 9/11:  Ten Years Later, What Have We Learned?

Even for famously immodest Manhattan, the 16-acre redevelopment project rising a few blocks east of the Hudson River near the island’s southeastern tip is an exercise in superlatives. But the significance of the World Trade Center’s redevelopment—and the shattering event that precipitated it a decade ago—extends far beyond the boundaries of the site. By Paul Rosta.

Finance: Life Companies Still Lead, but Banks Return to Financing Market

Even as capital returns to the commercial real estate market, life insurance companies continue to top the list of debt providers. Indeed, in the first quarter, life insurance companies registered an index of 212 on the Mortgage Bankers Association mortgage originations index. By Keat Foong.

Law and Policy: What to Expect from the Continued Deficit Plan

The extreme brinksmanship brought out by the debt ceiling debacle may be destined to carry through the entire process of deficit reduction. And if it does, a polarized Washington will likely have an even bigger impact on the economy—and commercial real estate as a sector—than the tailspin brought on by the slight credit downgrades issued by Standard & Poor’s Corp. By Michael Ratliff.

Leadership: The Latest Non-Listed REITs Offer Enhanced Liquidity, Transparency

One of the commercial property industry’s best-known institutional investment managers is now also striving to sell warehouses through wirehouses. In a move with potentially far-reaching implications for the ever-controversial non-listed REIT sector, the renowned real estate advisor Clarion Partners is aiming to sell shares in the new REIT the company is sponsoring to individual investors through financial advisers. By Brad Berton.

Market View: Green Cities Focus on Buildings

In recent years, the world’s 40 largest cities have adopted a combined 4,700 measures to combat climate change, according to survey results by the Carbon Disclosure Project Cities program. Despite these efforts, 90 percent of cities participating in the survey said they face risk from climate change. By Dan Probst.

News Trend: Lower Manhattan’s Corporate Draw

The south end of New York’s most famous borough has come roaring back. Through a decade that started with the worst terrorist attack ever on U.S. soil and ended with an economic storm of historic proportions, the district of New York has become one of the fastest-growing areas of the country, if not the world. By Nicholas Ziegler.

Sustainability: Why Solar Installations are Proliferating in the Garden State

While efforts to mainstream solar power have generally met with apathy or failed projects, New Jersey has pushed ahead. Developers in the Garden State are in the process of installing the two largest solar arrays in North America. By Brad Berton.

Technology: PBX in the Cloud

In a few years, a visit from the phone company’s tech guy to work on your PBX is going to be as obsolete as an early-morning delivery from a milkman. Traditional in-the-closet PBX is now beginning to be replaced by business phone systems based on voice-over-Internet protocols—or VoIP. By Dees Stribling.