After a tough few years, business space has become a prized commodity in and around Bakersfield, with demand for some property exceeding pre-recession levels.

Led by warehouse work and other industrial activity, the area's commercial real estate market is posting across-the-board improvement in vacancy rates. Some developers have responded by building, or proposing to build, new industrial space, offices and retail space.

The local market is almost superlative by one measure: Bakersfield's 4.1 percent warehouse vacancy rate at the end of September was the nation's third-lowest, behind only Honolulu and Los Angeles, according to Colliers International.

"Bakersfield is proving to be the gem of the Central Valley," Bakersfield industrial real estate broker Wayne Kress noted in an email highlighting local strength in energy, logistics and agriculture.

The tightening market speaks well of Bakersfield's economic prospects. While not all the property uses are part of high-paying industries, they nevertheless contribute jobs that support local services and bolster the housing market, which, in turn, generates additional employment.

"In the short term, very low (industrial) vacancy rates like we are now experiencing are a harbinger of large-scale construction projects that will bring jobs, wages and (economic spillover) effects," Cal State Bakersfield economics professor Mark Evans noted.

"In the long run, these new properties provide the infrastructure that is essential to attracting new companies that further build our economic base in areas such as logistics and energy-related support services."

Even retail, the weakest category of Bakersfield's commercial real estate market, is posting substantial gains from the depths of 2010 and 2011. Properties left vacant by the recession are beginning to fill up, and chains such as Walmart are poised to expand locally.

This sort of staggered progress is to be expected, said Bakersfield commercial broker Anthony Olivieri. Jobs generated by industrial and office activity tend to feed the home market, which he said is what outside retailers study when making decisions about where to grow.

"The big picture is that retail does trail, generally, the job creation out of the industrial sector and the office sector," Olivieri said.

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Businesses snap up commercial space

Work continues on the Texas Roadhouse restaurant on Friday, December 6, 2013, at Tikahtnu Commons. The restaurant is slated to open in February of 2014.

ERIK HILL Anchorage Daily News Buy Photo

Anchorage logged $631 mil- lion in new building permits in 2013, a 40 percent increase over 2012 construction, according to data presented by architect Brian Meissner at the Building Owners and Managers Association's annual commercial real estate forecast luncheon Friday.

"2013 was as big as the years before the bust," Meissner said.

Major construction projects under way around the city include hotels, office buildings and retail space.

Commercial vacancy rates throughout the city generally went down in 2013, said Brandon Walker, an associate at Pacific Tower Properties in Anchorage. Retail vacancy rates are just more than 4 percent, lower than the national average of 7.7 percent, he said.

National retailers that set up outlets in Anchorage in 2013 included cosmetics giant Sephora and designer Michael Kors. Walker said a number of other national brands have plans to open in here in 2014: Cabela's, Bass Pro Shops, Hard Rock Cafe, Texas Roadhouse and Tilted Kilt Pub and Eatery.

Industrial vacancy rates fell below 2 percent in 2013, Walker said.

Speaking of the city's available commercial properties, Walker said, "Much of the inventory right now is plagued by obsolescence. This is limiting the already limited supply of properties."

Fortunately for the city's commercial tenants, Walker said, they haven't seen an upswing in rents as a result of the decrease in vacancies.

Original post:
Commercial property prices hold up despite new construction

A sprawling parking lot across the street from Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles has been sold to local investors who plan to build a large-scale residential and retail complex perhaps including a hotel.

It was the second sale of a parking lot in the area around Staples and the L.A. Live entertainment complex in recent weeks as real estate development in the neighborhood south of downtown's financial district picks up speed.

The latest sale was a 2.7-acre parcel at 12th and Figueroa streets that has city approval for construction of apartment or condominium towers above stores and restaurants, real estate broker Adam Tischer of Colliers International said.

Tischer is an advisor to the seller, L&R Group, which is the parent company of Joe's Auto Park. The broker declined to name the three buyers, but other downtown property experts not authorized to talk about the deal identified one of the new owners as David Y. Lee.

Lee's Los Angeles company, Jamison Services Inc., is one of the largest office landlords in Southern California.

L&R paid $31 million for the property in 2010 and hadn't planned to sell it, but a trio of local buyers offered to pay substantially more than twice that amount, Tischer said. He declined to reveal the exact price.

The parcel, which was once owned by condominium developer South Group, has preliminary approvals for two high-rise towers of about 35 and 27 stories housing 648 residential units. About 40,000 square feet of space for stores and restaurants would be available for rent at street level.

The new owners may seek a variance from the city that would allow them to use some of the approved 863,000 square feet of development space as a hotel and perhaps accommodate more retail space, Tischer said.

"They are eager to get started and hope to be under construction this year," he said.

The other Staples area parking lot to be sold recently was a 4.6-acre site just to the north at 11th and Figueroa streets. Chinese property developer Oceanwide Real Estate Group acquired the land now used as a parking lot from New York landlord Moinian Group.

Originally posted here:
Investors buy parking lot across from Staples Center

RANDOLPH TWP. Local officials are expecting a scurry of activity on some new and some long-pending development projects that they say will increase tax ratables thereby spreading the property tax burden over a larger base.

Following her election as deputy mayor at the annual reorganization meeting of the Township Council, held on Wednesday, Jan. 1, Joanne Veech outlined the progress of those projects and offered a recap of more than 3,500 acres that has been preserved as open space to date.

Theres an amazing balance between the two that we in Randolph enjoy - smart development and open space, said Veech.

Veech said several new or expanded commercially developed properties are expected to advance during the coming year.

The Grecco property, also referred to as the Shoppes at Randolph, on Route 10 with 80,000 square feet of retail space is still searching for the right anchor store tenant and will begin construction once a lease is signed, said Veech.

An application for a new Walgreens store adjacent to the Randolph Diner on Route 10 has begun the Planning Board review process.

At the same time, existing businesses along the Route 10 corridor are planning to expand their operations, such as the Performance Ford dealership.

The new commercial center, Randolph Commons, behind the Randolph Diner, was the first phase of redevelopment for this highly visible Route 10 corner, said Veech.

Phase 2, the reconstruction and expansion of the diner building, is scheduled to undergo construction in 2014.

The developers of Brightview, a125 independent and assisted living unit development planned on Quaker Church Road just behind Route 10, expect to break ground this winter with an estimated 15-month completion date.

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Open space, development on tap in Randolph

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Ive always been resistant to making New Year'sresolutions. Im not really sure why. Maybe it seems clich; maybe Im annoyed that my yoga classes are now swamped withpeople who have made resolutions to be more healthy, balanced and zen in the new year. But this year, I am making a new years resolution of a professional nature. Arecent studyfoundthat you are 42 percent more likely to achieve your goals by writing them down, so here...

USGBC has started exploring how to clearly link the market transformation that the green building movement has inspired to its opportunity to create an equallytransformationalimpact on human health. InHealth is a Human Right. Green Building Can Help, a report from USGBCs Green Building & Human Health Summit in early 2013, we examine ways to promote and protect human health in relation to the built environment. Additionally, we have put forth a set of...

In case you missed the Greenbuild excitement, AZURE magazine has you covered. Here were their biggest takeaways from the show: The Speakers Alongside the two big political stars who delivered keynote addresses former Secretary of StateHillary Clintonand statisticianNate Silver Greenbuilds Master Series of lectures featured architect Edward Mazria, who announced the official launch of2030palette.org. The new website provides a wealth of...

This fall, the Center for Green Schools received another wave of impressive applications from around the country for our Trailblazing Teacher Awards - a small grant that we give out to deserving teachers to use toward an environmental initiative in their classroom. The creativity and dedication that shows through each of the educators applications is humbling and inspiring (its no secret that our staff love to be picked as the review committee for these awards). For the second...

Heres our weekly collection of green building clips: Achieving sustainability, Grocery Headquarters. USGBC Vice President of Product Management Lisa Stanley discussed how grocery stores are finding value using LEED, but more work needs to be done. My Green Policy Wish List for 2014, Building Green. Enhanced building codes to heighten resilience in the built environment are high on Alex Wilsons list. Record-Breaking Land Deal Completed in Central L.A., Set to Become the Site of New...

January 1st quarterly addenda to the LEED rating systems and reference guides are now available. Use the credit library to access the new LEED Interpretations. Access LEED Interpretations INTERPRETATIONS There are 71 new LEED Interpretations (10292, 1029810367), including 65 for Homes and Multifamily Midrise (100310367). Here are some highlights: Demonstrating compliance for LEED O+M: Existing Buildings SSc8: Light Pollution Reduction by following values listed in LEED BD...

In regions where words like sustainable and green have difficulty gaining traction, supporters of green building look to alternative methods of getting the message out. TheUSGBC Georgia Chapters 2013High Performance Healthy Schools Summitlooked to a broad audience of parents, students, and educators to address a growing need for healthier learning spaces for the states children. The 2013 summit attracted well over 200...

I experienced my first Greenbuild this year and had no idea what to expect. As the manager of our international marketing and communication efforts, I found it to be an exhilarating experience. A whirlwind of passion, activity and commitment. At USGBC we often speak about how LEED is global language. A language that allows us to distribute intelligence throughout the world. A language that allows us to compare how a LEED-certified building in Beijing is performing with one in Dubai, or Chicago...

Greenbuild 2013 meets Greenbuild 2014 when the Philadelphia Eagles meet the New Orleans Saints in the first round of the NFL playoffs this weekend, and much of the green building community will be cheering for the team in green. Were not partial to the disruptive offense of rookie coach Chip Kelly. And we certainly have no gripes with the Saints, who had a strong presence at this years Green Sports Alliance Summit. Its that Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, home of...

With only a few short weeks before the New Year, the House and Senate completed a series of important legislative milestones including the bipartisan budget deal. With this budget deal in place, the House and Senate Appropriations Committeewill begin to formally negotiate over the holiday recess by dividing up some $498.1 billion in domestic discretionary spending. They will have until January 15th to negotiate aspendingpackage to replace the expiring continuing resolution...

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Shopping center vacancies in Dallas-Fort Worth have dropped to the lowest level in almost 10 years, thanks to a combination of strong leasing and only modest retail construction last year.

Our occupancy rate is now 90 percent. This has been a goal for our marketplace, said Bob Young, managing director of Dallas retail real estate firm Weitzman Group. We are backfilling existing retail space at a good clip.

This is a good turnaround from 2010, when we faced hundreds of thousands of square feet of vacant space from defunct retail concepts, Young said Wednesday at Weitzman Groups annual retail market update. We cut our supply of vacant boxes almost in half in the last two years.

The number of large vacant retail spaces in the D-FW area went from about 140 in 2011 to fewer than 70 last year.

Every well-located space is seeing activity or offers, Young said.

Net retail leasing in the D-FW area added up to about 2.7 million square feet in 2013.

In the last four years, shopping center and retail building vacancies in North Texas have fallen by about 4 million square feet.

At the same time, a modest amount of new shopping space has been added to the market.

In 2013, developers and retailers opened less than 2 million square feet of new store space in D-FW.

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D-FW shopping center vacancy drops to near decade low as ...

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.Plans are moving forward for a $45 million mixed-use development project to bring more office, retail and living space to Downtown Grand Rapids.

The Downtown Development Authority approved the project, headed by Orion Construction. Its grown to 11 stories and 60 thousand square feet; larger than the original $28 million, five-story project presented last August.

This is a tough enterprise to do, John Wheeler with Orion Construction said last August.

Tough to get financed. Theres not a lot of comparable. We`re filling a need, we`re not creating a want. There are people who want to live down town. They want to park in the basement, take the elevator to the top floor. They want an experience to stay in their building, get out walk around, do the local shopping downtown instead of going to the suburbs. We`re going to provide those opportunities.

Much of the expansion is due in part to a new tenant, The Miller Johnson Law Firm, who is moving from the Calder Building on Monroe.

The project will now have space for 300 office employees, more than 100 residential units and ground level retail and restaurant space. Because the DDA expanded their tax increment financing by about a half million dollars Wednesday morning, Orion Construction plans to break ground this Spring.

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Original post:
Arena Place Plans Move Forward

KATHY PORTIE/Big Bear Grizzly

Construction at the corner of Pine Knot Avenue and Village Drive is going strong. New retail space is being built at the location that will include an outdoor patio.

Posted: Wednesday, January 8, 2014 5:00 am

Construction on the corner

For years the building at the corner of Pine Knot Avenue and Village Drive has been a shell of its former self. The building suffered extensive damage following winter rain storms and forced tenant Richard Millener to seek new digs for his photography business.

Now, with a revitalized Village shopping district, the building is getting a

face lift in time for the summer season ahead.

According to Jim Miller, director of building and planning for the city of Big Bear Lake, the owner is remodeling the location to create new retail space. Its going to be nice retail shop with an outdoor patio, I believe, Miller said. The building will feature a gambrel-style roof, he said.

Miller said he hopes the building will be ready for occupancy by the summer.

Kathy Portie

See the article here:
Construction on the corner

The Canadian owners of the historic Golden Apple Dinner Theatre have pumped more than $600,000 into a renovation that will transform the old theater into three storefronts.

SARASOTA - The building that for decades housed the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre will soon hit the market as a new retail and restaurant complex.

The Canadian owners of the historic downtown structure have pumped more than $600,000 into a renovation that will transform the old theater into three storefronts.

Leaving touches of its 1940s roots, the new 11,783-square-foot retail collection will become one of the most notable commercial spaces available for lease in Sarasota when its doors open in six months, building representatives say.

It has been a massive undertaking, said John Harshman, president of commercial real estate brokerage Harshman & Co. Inc., who is listing the property.

This will bring it back to its shell keeping the historic qualities, while adding modernization.

The building at 25 N. Pineapple Ave. was constructed in 1948, and was home for years to Morrison's Cafeteria, which Elvis Presley was believed to frequent.

The Golden Apple opened there in the early 1970s after the downtown site changed hands for $115,000, court records show.

Theater founder Robert Turoff sold the property in February 2011 for $1.75 million to help pay debts. He had signed a multi-year lease with the new owner, but the theater was evicted in September 2012 after falling behind on its rent.

An attempt to reopen the theater last year was unsuccessful.

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Renovation is precursor to Golden Apple building's next act