FHI 360, a global public health and economic development organization, is moving its headquarters to downtown Durhams American Tobacco Campus next year.

The nonprofit has signed a 15-year lease to occupy about 95,000 square feet in the 130,000-square-foot Diamond View III office building now under construction beyond the left field wall of the Durham Bulls Athletic park.

FHI occupies about the same amount of space at the Headquarters Park building at the intersection of Interstate 40 and N.C. 54 in Durham. FHI, previously known as Family Health International, will move about 400 employees into the building when its lease expires next year.

Diamond View III is expected to open sometime in mid-2013. It is named after the two office buildings that overlook the ballpark.

The deal with FHI is one of the largest leases signed in the Triangle in recent years and provides American Tobaccos owner, Capitol Broadcasting, with an anchor tenant for the new five-story building. The building will also include 15,000 square feet of retail. No other tenants have been announced.

American Tobacco, which charges some of the highest rents in the Triangle, has continued to perform remarkably well during the economic downtown. Less than 2 percent of the 850,000 square feet of office space Capitol owns in American Tobacco is now vacant.

FHIs lease rate is very competitive with what it is paying at Headquarters Park, said Ramona DuBose, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit. She said in addition to being drawn to the revitalized atmosphere in downtown Durham, the move also gives FHI access to more meeting and training space.

FHI, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, roughly doubled its size last year when it acquired the programs and assets of Washington-based AED, a nonprofit that had run afoul of the federal government.

At the time of the acquisition, FHI said the deal would bring its total work force to more than 4,500 employees worldwide. FHI, which operates in more than 60 countries, has been advancing beyond the health sector in recent years and now employs experts in a wide range of fields.

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Nonprofit FHI moving to American Tobacco in 2013

The Logan County Commissioners on Tuesday opened the single bid they received for construction of a Safe Room (tornado shelter) at the Central Services Building. They immediately referred it to Dennis Hunt, grant manager, and County Attorney Alan Samber for recommendation.

Later in the meeting, Hunt returned with the bid and suggested the commissioners table it for more negotiation with the grant provider. Hunt also said he wanted to contact FEMA and the Office of Emergency Management for their recommendations.

Dave Conley of the Logan County Lodging Tax Board presented requests for funding from a number of projects. Mega Music, who sponsors the High Plains Music Fest, requested $2,000 for advertising. Commissioner Debbie Zwirn questioned the approval of monies to a business. Conley said that in the past, any profit has been given to high school bands although he does not have any accounting of that.

The commissioners decided to table the request until a representative of Mega Music could be present to answer questions about the event.

The July 4 Heritage Festival request for $2,500 was approved and the Colorado Flatlanders request for $1,500 was also approved.

The commissioners approved $2,500 toward a Logan County Fair Board request. The board had asked for $5,000.

A agreement for construction of the pavilion with restrooms at the fairgrounds with Yost Construction was approved, as was an agreement with Concrete Specialties, Inc., for the construction of a four-inch sewer line for the pavilion/restroom.

In other business, the commissioners approved an agreement with Demolition Derby Racing Association for the promotion and production of the demolitionderby at the Logan County Fair.

Also approved was an agreement with Wattle and Daub Contractors for Phase Five of the Logan County Courthouse Restoration Project to be funded in part by State Historical Fund grant funds, not to exceed $979,727.

The next regular business meeting will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 24, at the Logan County Courthouse meeting room.

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Construction contracts for fairground improvements signed by Commissioners

LOS ANGELES, April 17, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PacMutual, a landmark building in Downtown Los Angeles, was acquired yesterday by developer Rising Realty Partners ("RRP") and funds controlled by their financial partner Mount Kellett Capital Management LP ("Mount Kellett".) The acquisition marks the notable reentry into the California real estate market by the RRP team of CEO and Chairman Nelson Rising, President Christopher Rising and Executive Vice President Reed Garwood. RRP plans to transform this historic property into a marquee lifestyle commercial office space for Class A local, regional and national tenants. Current occupancy is 63%.

"We've been observing a historic shift in how people use office space," says Nelson Rising. "Tenants are seeking work spaces that fit their business and professional lifestyles. They are looking for an experience. PacMutual offers all of that and more."

RRP teamed with Mount Kellett to acquire PacMutual, because of its strong asset value, premium location, unique historic design, street-facing retail, below-grade parking and the potential for larger floor plans.

"We're happy to be working on PacMutual with RRP as our management and acquisitions partner given their strong track record and the quality of this asset," said Andrew Axelrod of Mount Kellett Capital Management.

RRP is repositioning PacMutual to appeal to a variety of downtown Los Angeles office users, and has engaged Santa Monica-based real estate services firm Industry LTD to work with them on the building's transformation. Industry Partners, an affiliate of Industry LTD, will manage the leasing and marketing effort. RRP selected Industry Partners for its expertise and successful track record in repositioning a wide variety of office and industrial properties to meet the demands of creative office users who are driving leasing activity in Los Angeles.

Industry Partners will establish a Downtown Los Angeles office in PacMutual under the direction of Carle Pierose who will be responsible for leasing and Tom Majich who will be in charge of construction management.

"We are seeing the boundaries of the creative office market shifting East," says Industry Partners founder Jim Jacobsen. "With little or no space available in Santa Monica for creative users with a requirement of 10,000 square feet, downtown Los Angeles is becoming a more attractive alternative. Downtown LA has done a wonderful job in reinventing itself with more loft-style housing and an infrastructure of entertainment and services to support it, and as a result is attracting a new breed of office user."

The RRP lease-up strategy will benefit from improving market conditions in the heart of the city. Downtown Los Angeles has attracted over 500,000 square feet of tenants from the west side and other areas in the last two years. As regional access to the area improves and housing options become more available in the downtown area, this trend is expected to continue.

"We understand what a quality retail experience, in an inspiring setting, can do for a tenant's quality of life," says Christopher Rising. "Building-wide free Wi-Fi and 24/7 accessibility is essential, however, the tenant's experience must be authentic and not feel forced. Whether it's easy access to public transportation, more green areas, creating a sustainable environment, or simply constantly interacting with our tenants -- Our primary goal is to create a full lifestyle experience for our tenants, rather than just some place to work."

RRP knows California. Drawing from the seasoned experience of co-founder and real estate veteran Nelson Rising and the progressive vision of his team of real estate experts, RRP has strength in identifying prime California investment opportunities. This is their first project as a new company.

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L.A. Landmark Office Building to Get a Rising Reposition

By Rita Price

The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday April 18, 2012 4:39 AM

Franklin County Children Services is breaking ground today on a $17 million East Region complex in Whitehall, above, that will allow it to consolidate operations from two sites. Below is the agencys office at 205 N. Hamilton Rd., one of two buildings that will close.

For employees whove spent years working in a noisy office next to a transmission shop, construction of the Franklin County Children Services east office building cant happen soon enough.

The families the agency works with will benefit, too, and tax dollars will be saved, according to Children Services.

Tom Drumm, a supervisor at the current East Region site, said he and other workers have been eagerly following the progress via architect renderings, building layout plans and construction photos.

You can probably find people who are more excited than I am, but it wouldnt be easy, Drumm said.

Children Services is holding a ceremonial groundbreaking today for the $17million office complex thats under construction at 4071 E. Main St. in Whitehall.

The agency has been planning and budgeting for the project for years. By consolidating operations, it expects to save about $780,000 a year on leases and other costs, Executive Director Chip Spinning said.

Thats the financial savings, he said. What you cant measure is how much better this will be for families. With 96,000 square feet, the complex will be far more family- and kid-friendly, officials say.

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New offices for Children Services

DIXON Construction on a new transit facility has been delayed because all of the bids came in over budget.

The Lee-Ogle Transportation System building will be in the industrial park at Interstate 88 and state Route 26.

Construction will start in June at the earliest, about a month behind schedule, said Kathy Lalley, LOTS acting administrator.

On March 30, the projects engineer received seven bids for the project, all of which came in over the $1.8 million budget, officials said. All seven also had technical errors, disqualifying them from consideration.

The agencys options are to seek more money or scale down the facility so as to reduce its costs, officials said.

The engineer is scaling back the project, but that wont take long, Lalley said.

We already know which items that we dont have to put in the building right away, she said. As much as I want a sprinkler system in the building, its not necessary under the code.

The building will provide more indoor storage for buses, which will mean less wear and tear on the vehicles.

It also will include a mechanical area and a wash bay, which is expected to save money. The agencys dispatchers will be consolidated there.

Under the new schedule, the building is expected to be ready by February.

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Construction of Lee-Ogle transit facility delayed, bids over budget

BUILDING PERMITS

Boulder

Building construction permits over $10,000 in value that were approved in Boulder between April 2 and April 8, 2012. Listed below are: the case number; address; total project valuation; owner name; contractor (if applicable); and description.

PMT2012-01006; 1050 Walnut St., No. 100; $199,036.69; Alecta Real Estate; Sand Construction; Tenant remodel of Suite 100 for Sotheby's including non-bearing demising and office partition walls, associate finishes, electrical, mechanical and plumbing.

PMT2012-01136; 1615 Seventh St.; $33,291.39; Peter Olivo; CPWest Design and Construction; Renovation of 647 square feet to an existing one-story accessory structure to include new shed dormer, new powder room and replacement exterior doors and windows. No increase in building coverage or floor area. No change in setbacks.

PMT2011-04265; 4920 Table Mesa Drive; $6,400,000; PCL Construction Services Inc.; New pedestrian bridge at U.S. 36 and Table Mesa Drive for RTD Denver. Includes pedestrian bridge, elevator/stair towers, lighting and landscaping. (Site, grading, concrete work, etc. by separate ROW Permit)

PMT2011-05180; 2425 Canyon Blvd.; $653,972; Waterstreet Plaza; Facilities Contracting Inc.; Tenant remodel of 5,702 square feet on the ground floor to create an outpatient medical imaging facility for Envision Radiology. Exterior mechanical equipment to be installed as RTUs. Exterior building changes, including window and door relocation.

PMT2011-04935; 4121 Westcliffe Court; $400,000; J. Hendricks; Hendricks Fine Homes LLC; New single-family dwelling -- three story structure comprised of four bedrooms, two and a half bathrooms, (with basement rough-in) 3,105 square feet finished, 1,197 square feet unfinished basement, 589 square feet attached garage, 710 square feet in decks and porches. Rough in A/C lines, gas piping to roof for fire-pit, hard-pipe BBQ device at back porch. See ADR2010-00233 for minor modification -- front yard setback reduction to 15 feet.

PMT2012-00636; 1240 Georgetown Road; $150,000; Ira and Sarah Freedman; Sarah Free Sheldon Builders Inc.; Remodel/addition to an existing ranch style single-family dwelling -- addition of 151-square-foot second story conditioned storage area with access through a panel in the ceiling; remodel of 1,143 square feet on main floor. Install replacement boiler and evaporative cooler. This permit replaces PMT2011-04497.

PMT2012-01015; 6175 Longbow Drive; $11,000; Longbarrel Property; Upgrade existing AT&T telecommunications array on wall and rooftop of building. Proposal includes construction of new antenna/equipment screen, relocation of existing antenna and the installation of two new wall mounted antenna and two new rooftop antenna and associated electrical work.

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Boulder building permits: April 16, 2012

BUILDING PERMITS

Boulder

Building construction permits over $10,000 in value that were approved in Boulder between March 19 and March 25, 2012. Listed below are: the case number; address; total project valuation; owner name; contractor (if applicable); and description.

PMT2012-00751; 401 Pine St.; $436,718.94; Robert and Elana Katz; Significant remodel of all four levels of existing single-family residence. Remodel of the existing 1985 addition and reconfiguration of existing internal stairways, which results in an increase of approximately 39 square feet to the existing non-compliant FAR. Addition of new (non-FAR) square footage in the basement under the proposed exterior deck for an additional 588 square feet below grade. Proposal also reflects a reduction in building coverage of 254 square feet. See HIS2011-00273 and ADR2012-00042.

PMT2012-00834; 4680 Ludlow St.; $122,874.54; Sarah Sager; Remodel of existing finished basement and the main floor of a one-story single-family dwelling, which includes the conversion of the existing attached one-car garage to living space on the main level. No new floor area of building coverage proposed.

PMT2011-04449; 3293 Ouray St.; $475,000; North Boulder; Coast To Coast Residential Development; Construction of a duplex -- addresses of 3293 Ouray St. and 3775 Ridgeway St. Lot 27, Northfield Commons -- 4,024 square feet finished, 1,518 square feet in unfinished basements, 908 square feet in attached garages and 551 square feet in decks and porches. Each unit to have two full bathrooms, one powder room. 3375 Ridgeway to have one rough-in.

PMT2012-01205; 4720 Walnut St.; $120,000; Tierra Buildings; Rincon Development Inc.; Tenant remodel for technical office space, no new light or plumbing fixtures.

PMT2012-00735; 5010 Ingersoll Place; $15,127.77; Dawn Brandt and Douglas Peterman; Addition and remodel to existing single-family dwelling. Remodel of 132-square-foot kitchen, addition of 81-square-foot entryway. Relocation of plumbing fixtures.

PMT2012-00743; 1050 Walnut St., Suite 202; $86,659.44; Alecta Real Estate; Sand Construction; Tenant remodel for professional office for TechStars business incubator. Includes electrical and mechanical.

Excerpt from:
Boulder building permits: April 2, 2012

A question that occasionally comes up is what is the right rent for a building to be built and leased to a company. On its face this looks like it would be fairly straightforward to figure out. But a number of the provisions of the lease need to be considered to determine not just the lease rate but if all the elements of the lease line up so construction is feasible.

What is the cost to build? What is the market rate for the space? What financing is possible? What lease rate is necessary to provide the developer its desired rate of return and support the financing?

Take this example. Assume the building is going to be a generic 10,000-square-foot office building in a good location. It will be leased to a financially strong company for 10 years. The cost to build is $275 a square foot, or $2.75 million.

Say the bank will finance 70 percent of the construction cost, or $1.925 million, with 6.5 percent interest on a 25-year term. This financing produces a monthly payment of $12,998 and an annual payment of $155,973. The developer will provide the balance of the required cash, $825,000.

The bank's financing will depend on an appraisal of the value of the proposed building. The bank will commit to the loan only if the appraisal is equal to, or greater than, the cost of construction.

The bank will require the lease income to be bigger than the mortgage payment. This will provide a margin of safety on its loan and is called the "debt coverage ratio." Assume this debt coverage ratio is 30 percent. In this example, the bank will require the annual lease income to be $202,765 ($155,973 x 1.30).

Because the lease is going to be net, where the tenant pays the building's operating costs, taxes and insurance, this payment could be the rental amount. The developer would collect the annual rent of $202,765 and pay the mortgage and keep the remaining money as its return on the cash it put into building the building.

In this example, that cash return would be $46,792 a year, ($202,765 minus $155,973). But that is a return of only 5.7 percent, a low return. The developer will not take the risk for such a low return.

Let's say the developer wants a 12 percent return on the cash it puts into the building, which would be $99,000. The lease rate would be the mortgage payment plus the developer's return and total $254,973, or $2.12 a month per square foot.

Remember this is a net lease so, in addition to the rent, the tenant has to pay the building operating costs, taxes and insurance. If those are about $10 a square foot a year, it means an additional 83 cents a square foot a month. This makes the tenant's total lease cost $2.96 a square foot a month.

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Construction requires lease provisions to line up

A long-reach excavator rips apart the roof of the Rose City Press building Saturday.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Workers with Rodney Loftis and Son Contracting brought down the Rose City Press building -- an old office supply store -- Saturday morning.

The block of Virginia Street between Capitol and Hale streets was closed Friday afternoon and is scheduled to reopen at 8 p.m. Sunday.

Several spectators watched the demolition Saturday, and some snapped photos as crews used heavy construction equipment -- such as a long-reach excavator -- to chew the building to bits.

City National Bank officials decided to raze the building to create a private parking lot for the bank's downtown branch.

The block of Virginia Street between Capitol and Hale streets was closed Friday afternoon and is scheduled to reopen at 8 p.m. Sunday.

Several spectators watched the demolition Saturday, and some snapped photos as crews used heavy construction equipment -- such as a long-reach excavator -- to chew the building to bits.

City National Bank officials decided to raze the building to create a private parking lot for the bank's downtown branch.

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The walls come tumbling down at Rose City Press

Credit: WFAA

Abortion foes say Planned Parenthood is trying to sneak a new clinic into southwest Fort Worth. One subcontractor didn't find out what he was to work on until just a few hours before he was to pour concrete footings this week. When he discovered it was a new Planned Parenthood health center where abortions will be performed, he told the general contractor his religious convictions wouldn't allow it.

by JIM DOUGLAS

WFAA

Posted on March 30, 2012 at 7:41 PM

FORTWORTH - An unmarked construction site on John Ryan Drive in southwest Fort Worth will house a two-story office and surgical clinic to replace Planned Parenthood's current outdated building in Fort Worth.

The organization says the new facility will help meet rising demand for its services to clients who have no health insurance.

Planned Parenthood has confirmed that abortions will be performed in the new building. When a major subcontractor learned that news earlier this week, he left the job just hours before he was to begin pouring concrete. The general contractor told News 8 that a few subs have now dropped out due to religious objections, delaying construction by one to two months.

The owner of the DeMoss Company said his decision to build the clinic could hurt future business, too. Several churches, including the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, have now withdrawn their referrals, and today the company removed them from its website.

But Jim DeMoss said other firms are offering to step in to complete the Planned Parenthood job, and he's confident it will be finished. He also said building it is the right thing to do.

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Construction of Planned Parenthood clinic in Fort Worth spurs controversy