New York, NY (PRWEB) March 01, 2014

Operators in the Commercial Building Construction industry in Canada have experienced strong growth over the past five years. Though vacancy rates for retail and office building space increased in 2009, the industry has since picked up strongly. The federal government implemented numerous initiatives in 2010 to assist the industry in a rapid turnaround, according to IBISWorld Industry Analyst Omar Khedr. These contracts include both new-building construction and smaller-scale renovation and repair projects, benefiting both large and small industry operators. In addition, slow growth in consumer spending and a drop in private investment prompted the federal government to loosen lending standards, which urged businesses to increase spending. As a result, falling vacancy rates and rising consumer spending have led to a sharp increase in the number of building starts since 2010.

Unlike in the United States, consumer spending in Canada never contracted. Consequently, industry revenue expanded in 2010 by 8.8% and rose another 7.0% in 2012. Between 2009 and 2012, most industry operators managed to keep healthy profit margins by efficiently subcontracting labor and leasing equipment. Due to these trends, IBISWorld expects revenue to increase at an average annual rate of 5.7% to $37.9 billion in the five years to 2014. Aggressive lending into the commercial sector, higher corporate profitability and gains in disposable income have prompted increased demand, says Khedr. Also, a surge in private investment activities is expected to push revenue up by 4.7% in 2014.

Commercial construction typically lags behind the overall economy by one to two years, due in part to the length of construction contracts and the pipeline of projects that general contractors keep on the books. Over the five years to 2019, this pipeline of strong projects is anticipated to allow revenue to continue its upward trend that began in 2010, albeit at a slower rate of an annualized 3.5% to $45.1 billion in 2019. The industry is set to benefit from the increased migration of the population toward metropolitan areas; additionally, stronger sentiment toward green and sustainable construction will push up demand further. As of June 2013, 29 municipalities across Canada have programs in place to promote green and sustainable construction.

For more information, visit IBISWorlds Commercial Building Construction in Canada industry report page.

Follow IBISWorld on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/IBISWorld.

Friend IBISWorld on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/IBISWorld/121347533189.

IBISWorld industry Report Key Topics

This industry constructs (i.e. new work, additions, alterations, maintenance and repairs) office, retail, hotel and entertainment buildings. The majority of participants are general contractors or project managers. This industry does not include municipal building construction, which comprises institutional buildings such as schools, hospitals and churches.

Industry Performance Executive Summary Key External Drivers Current Performance Industry Outlook Industry Life Cycle Products & Markets Supply Chain Products & Services Major Markets Globalization & Trade Business Locations Competitive Landscape Market Share Concentration Key Success Factors Cost Structure Benchmarks Barriers to Entry Major Companies Operating Conditions Capital Intensity Key Statistics Industry Data Annual Change Key Ratios

Excerpt from:
Commercial Building Construction in Canada Industry Market Research Report from IBISWorld Has Been Updated

MARTINSBURG - Residents of the greater Martinsburg area were invited to a grand opening celebration at the new Berkeley County Sheriff's Office on Saturday afternoon to learn more about the building and tour the facility.

The 36,000 square-foot building, located at 510 S. Raleigh St., was formerly a Martin's grocery store. According to Doug Copenhaver, president of the Berkeley County Council, remodeling the entire building cost less than $90 per square foot.

The new sheriff's office houses a locker room with showers, holding cells, training classrooms and an evidence processing lab.

Journal photo by Mary Stortstrom

Berkeley County Council president Doug Copenhaver passes the ceremonial scissors to Berkeley County Sheriff Kenny Lemaster at the ribbon cutting marking the grand opening of the new Berkeley County Sheriffs Office at 510 S. Raleigh St.

Approximately 79,000 feet of data cable run through the building, which is electronically connected to the judicial center and the Dunn Building across the street.

According to Copenhaver, the project went over its $3 million budget, but, he said, the result was better quality work.

"We actually went over budget, probably about $60,000, because our budget was $3 million," he said. "I asked the council for a $60,000 buffer, but we ended up doing about 20 percent more work. Our original plan was just to have the front facade redone, but we did all four sides and we added a courtyard on the south side. It was about 20 percent more work, better quality stuff and only three percent extra that we asked for, and I don't think we're going to use it all."

"The outfitting budget was $250,000, and I believe that's going to come under. We were under the $3 million price tag and we were under the $250,000 last time we looked at the numbers, which was two weeks ago. We've been working so hard to get the building done that we're going to look at it again and catch up with it in a few weeks," he said.

The project was partially funded through Community Participation Grants, and according to Copenhaver, the grants accounted for less than $100,000 of the total budget. The rest, he said, was financed through a local bank.

Follow this link:
Grand opening of Berkeley County Sheriff's Office celebrated

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) Gov. Jay Nixon gave the go-ahead Friday to spend $132 million on improvements to state facilities, including a long-delayed waterproofing at Missouri's century-old Capitol building.

The Democratic governor cited an improving economy as a reason why he was releasing the money he had frozen when the state's 2014 budget took effect eight months ago. Republican legislative leaders had contented there was no reason for the budget freeze, because the state ended last fiscal year with more money than it had expected.

The money includes $28.5 million for repairs at the state Capitol, which has been plagued by water leaks in the basement. State budget director Linda Luebbering said part of the money also will be used for stonework repair on the Capitol dome.

As passed by lawmakers, the budget also included $38 million "for planning, design and construction of a state office building, including space for and renovation of the Missouri Department of Transportation Central Office."

Many lawmakers had envisioned the construction of a new state office building, which could house the transportation agency and free up its current headquarters just east of the Capitol. Some people who currently work in the Capitol then could be shifted to the old transportation building, and the Capitol could be renovated to remove a double deck of offices on its first floor that currently are used by some House members. Besides being crowded, some offices are not easily accessible to the disabled.

But Nixon's administration doesn't plan to use the money to construct a new building. Instead, the $38 million would be used to renovate existing structures, at least one of which could become the new headquarters for the Transportation Department.

"We think we have enough square footage. It's just making what we already have more efficient space," Luebbering said.

Office of Administration Commissioner Doug Nelson said the goal of the office shuffling still is to free up space in the Capitol.

"There are obviously some needs here to try to make the working space better, more effective," Nelson said. "I think everyone that I've spoken with has expressed concerns regarding the mezzanine offices on the first floor."

The money released Friday includes $53 million for maintenance and repairs at facilities across the state and $12.5 million for improvements at state parks.

See the article here:
Missouri governor releases money for buildings

CHELMSFORD -- An Appeals Court judge has ruled in favor of the town in a lawsuit that challenged the legality of a two-story office building at 9 North Road in Chelmsford center.

The lawsuit, which was rejected in Superior Court in November 2012, alleged that selectmen failed to enforce a preservation restriction on the property, which would have made the building illegal. Resident Roland Van Liew sued the town and real estate developer Epsilon Group LLC shortly after it allowed the construction of the 15,000 square-foot building.

In a decision issued Friday, the Appeals Court said officials' duty to enforce the preservation restriction on the property is discretionary, "rather than a duty required by law." That echoed the earlier Superior Court ruling that said the board has no "unequivocal duty" to enforce such a restriction.

The ruling is the latest victory for the town regarding the controversial property, which has also survived other lawsuits.

An abutter to the site, Michael Sargent, lost a Land Court lawsuit against the Planning Board of Historic District Commission. Resident Richard McClure also sued, and lost, challenging the Zoning Board Approval of the development.

The State Ethics Commission closed an investigation into allegations of cronyism in 2011, finding no basis for complaints of favoritism by town officials. The parcel, also known as the Emerson property, is owned by the family of former Selectman Philip Eliopoulos.

A recall attempt in 2011 of four selectmen who voted in favor of the 9 North Road project was also unsuccessful.

Follow Grant Welker on Twitter and Tout @SunGrantWelker.

See more here:
Judge tosses out Chelmsford project lawsuit

VOL. 10 | NO. 7 | Saturday, March 01, 2014

International Paper Co.s new office tower in East Memphis is under construction now, but its been four years since the last speculative office building opened its doors in Memphis.

Its been four years since the last speculative office building the Triad Centre III building from Highwoods Properties on Poplar Avenue opened its doors in Memphis.

(Memphis News File/Lance Murphey)

That was the Triad Centre III building from Highwoods Properties, which closely followed the arrival of the Boyle Development Co. building at 999 Shady Grove Road.

With vacancy rates for Class A space in the East Memphis office submarket declining steadily could Memphis see the announcement of a new speculative office building in 2014?

Several commercial real estate professionals think that prospect is possible, although unlikely.

For one, developers would need to achieve a significant amount of preleasing before they could break ground.

For a developer to announce a new project they are going to need to prelease approximately 50 percent or greater, said Ron Riley of Colliers International Memphis.

The Memphis office market, powered by an unusually strong fourth quarter, ended 2013 with positive net absorption of 40,558 square feet, according to CB Richard Ellis Memphis.

See the original post:
Buzz Around Spec Office Space Starts to Swirl

Bill Glazer, boss at Keystone Property Group, collects aging office buildings, mostly suburban.

He says his Bala Cynwyd-based firm now controls north of 10 million square feet, about seven times the size of the new tower Comcast wants to build at 18th and Arch Streets.

"It's a big job. But it's a fun job," Glazer told me Wednesday, two days after he agreed to pay $231 million for 12 buildings (2.3 million square feet) in the suburbs of New York.

Keystone last year paid $233 million for buildings totaling 1.6 million square feet in Westlakes Office Park in Berwyn, Sentry Park in Blue Bell, and other suburban sites, from the same seller, Mack-Cali Realty Corp., of Edison, N.J., whose bosses now believe there's more money to be made in apartments.

Glazer convinced some cold-eyed lenders, including Deutsche Bank, to back last year's deals - at prices less than half of what suburban buildings used to fetch, or a third of what new construction would cost.

Cheap for a reason, no? "The whole office sector has been a tough space over the past few years," Glazer acknowledged. U.S. employment hasn't yet recovered to 2007 levels.

So how's he going to turn these deals to profits? "By reinventing the workspace with technology, fitness, and lifestyle," Glazer says cheerfully.

What's that mean? He directed me to his proposal for 100 Independence Mall West, the old Rohm & Haas building, where he's asked restaurant owner Michael Schulson to "craft an outdoor beer garden," plus "a very cool cafe" aiming for the street ambience of the Standard Hotel in New York's Meatpacking District.

Excerpt from:
PhillyDeals: Developer's proposals aimed at attracting Millennial workforce

"To date, we have seen no companies closing and no delays in ongoing leasing transactions, but we have seen a drop in enquiries," said Nithipat Tongpun, executive director - head of office services at CBRE Thailand.

"Even if in 2014 office demand is weak, rents are unlikely to fall because of the high occupancy levels and limited new supply," he added.

The total office stock in Bangkok was 8.1 million square metres at the end of last year, and the occupancy rate was 90.4 per cent. Occupancy improved in all locations and all grades.

Rents rose between 5 per cent and 9 per cent from end-2012 levels, depending on the quality and location of the building, said James Pitchon, executive director - head of CBRE Research and Consulting.

The total amount of occupied office space rose by 220,000 square metres in 2013, which was the best performance since 2005.

There are only 450,000 square metres of new office space under construction and due to be completed by the end of 2016, and some of this new space will be owner-occupied and not available for rent.

High occupancy and limited new supply means that office rents in Bangkok are likely to rise further, and that tenants will have limited choice.

The shortage of space, especially for larger requirements, has meant that tenants have been pre-letting in buildings under construction, Pitchon said.

Only two new grade-A buildings will be completed this year: AIA Capital Centre, a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold building on Ratchadaphisek Road, will be completed in the third quarter; and Bhiraj Tower at EmQuartier, located opposite The Emporium on Sukhumvit Road at Phrom Phong BTS station, will be completed in the final quarter.

Both of these buildings already have tenants who have committed to leasing space.

Excerpt from:
Bangkok office rents could rise further due to limited supply

Media Credit: Hatchet File Photo

Mehran, an Indian and Pakistani restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue frequented by students, plans to move to a new location in Foggy Bottom.

Administrators have yet to pick a developer for its 11-story office building along Pennsylvania Avenue, which local business owners say has kept them waiting far longer than expected.

GW will demolish a row of townhouses and local businesses some of which have sat on Pennsylvania Avenue for decades, like Thai Place, Mehran and Panda Cafe to build the office complex early next year. But those restaurants still haven't heard the final word about when they need to relocate their spaces.

Alicia Knight, senior associate vice president of operations, said last week that GW was still interviewing potential developers, but maintained that the project was not delayed.

We are still on track and plan to make an announcement this spring, she said in an interview.

GW had predicted it could begin planning construction as early as 2014, according to its website.

Businesses will receive six months' notice from GW before having to vacate their locations, Knight said in January, but only one has left since the project was announced in November 2011. The project took a small step forward last week when the D.C. Council approved the reconfiguring of an alleyway that will be adjusted in the construction process.

Five-year Mehran employee Kamran Khan said he expected to be notified by the University in March and has begun scouting new locations for the restaurant, including a spot on 21st and L streets, where he said rent is twice as expensive as their current location.

Panda Cafe manager Lisa Zheng said she has not heard anything from the University and does not know when they will be expected to leave their space.

Follow this link:
Pennsylvania Avenue restaurants await answers on GW construction plans

Giant concrete walls, three stories high and 30 feet wide, cut slowly through the air Tuesday morning, hoisted by a giant crane that moved the 204,000-pound slabs as easily as a child lifts the panels of a cardboard clubhouse.

In just under 30 minutes, construction crews guided, positioned and fastened each wall in a speedy process that belied the months of preparation that came before.

By Thursday, the new Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital campus will have its second key facility an 80,000-square-foot medical office building.

A lot goes into this before today, said Jodie Clay, project manager for the construction company Swinerton Builders. There's kind of nothing, nothing, nothing and then all of a sudden you have a building.

The construction process, known as a tilt-up, is common among warehouses and big-box structures such as Wal-Mart, Target and Friedman's Home Improvement. It's not so common for constructing multi-level medical office buildings, said Jim Kobayashi, development manager for Hammes Company, a health care construction developer.

The tilt-up process is more affordable than steel-frame building and shaves one or two months off the construction timeline.

We and a lot of our competitors are going this way to keep construction costs down and keep the rental rates within the market, said Kobayashi.

Unlike prefabricated construction, tilt-up wall sections are poured in place, where casting frames and rebar are laid on a flat surface and, in this case, 10- to 12-inch thick concrete is poured into the frames to form the walls. It takes about seven days for the concrete to cure.

After the walls go up, an interior skeleton of steel columns and beams will be built inside the perimeter of the building. Then floors and a roof will be installed.

So that by May, the interior construction begins and the building will be done by August, Kobayashi said.

Continued here:
New Sutter facility rises in Santa Rosa

The Madras High Court Bench here was flooded with requests on Wednesday to prevent the construction of Anna Universitys regional office buildings here on 83.71 acres of land classified as Kanmoi Poromboke in revenue records.

Lawyers K. Lakshmanan, W. Peter Ramesh Kumar and A. Velan, appearing in three different cases relating to protection of waterbodies, requested Justices R. Sudhakar and V.M. Velumani to stay the proposed construction on S. Kodikulam kanmoi (tank).

They pointed out that on one hand the State government had enacted the Tamil Nadu Protection of Tanks and Eviction of Encroachments Act, 2007, and on the other granted permission for construction of buildings on a waterbody that required to be protected for the progeny.

However, a government counsel pointed out that a Government Order for constructing the building was issued by the Revenue Department way back in August 2010 and that all procedures related to reclassification of the land were followed before granting the permission.

Pointing out that the court could not stay the construction on the basis of newspaper reports submitted by the petitioners, Mr.Justice Sudhakar said the court could interfere in the matter only if a writ petition was filed challenging the G.O.

See the original post:
Construction of Madurai Anna University office opposed