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...

Follow this link:
U.S. Green Building Council - Official Site

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.

See the rest here:
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.

Click here to read the complete draft.

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.

See the original post:
Renovation is precursor to Golden Apple building's next act

Indias decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail towards the end of 2012 and its FDI policy modified in April 2013 put the country back on the retailing map of the world. However, this is not the first time that India has invited global retailers to set up their shops. In 1997, the government approved 100% FDI in cash and carry wholesale stores under the automatic route and, in 2006, 51% FDI was allowed in single-brand retailing, although with prior approval from the government. In December 2011, the government fully opened up FDI in single-brand retail stores. A number of international retail brands such as IKEA and Carrefour were excited to enter the Indian market and announced their plans to start talks on investment proposals with the concerned ministries. In the much-debated and politically-sensitive multi-brand retail space, however, partial 51% FDI was proposed only in September 2012, with parliamentary approval in December 2012. Retail in India - A Growing Story

The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) predicts that the Indian retail sector is poised for 15% year-over-year growth over the next five years through 2018. This robust growth picture also is painted by AT Kearney, whose 2012 Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) puts India as the fifth most favourable destination for global retailers. In 2011, Indias retail industry accounted for 22% of Indias GDP and employed close to 9.4% of the labour force. Organized retail in India currently constitutes only 6-7% of overall retail trade in India, although by 2016-17 this share is projected to grow to 10%. Economic growth of about 7% over the next 10 years, rapid urbanization, a growing young demography with rising income, easy access to credit and rising brand consciousness are indeed contributing to the growth story for the country, but inconsistencies in policy-making, glaring inefficiencies in supply-chain logistics, the high cost of real estate and a shortage of good quality retail properties are the main constraints in achieving the projected growth. While there is no doubt about Indias huge market size that attracts the worlds largest retailers, retail real estate in India is still a young industry. With a history of approximately only 13 years, Indias malls make up only 80 million square feet (sq ft) of space. The global financial crisis and its lingering impacts have resulted in major delays to retail-supply additions planned for over the last five years, with 2012 seeing the lowest number of new mall completions in India since 2006. If all of the planned new supply targeted for completion between 2013 and 2015 gets delivered, India will have 100 million sq ft of mall space by the end of 2015, still a fairly small number given the market size. Visible Impact of FDI Will Take Time

With the relaxation of the FDI policy, the government has ended a waiting period of more than seven years for multinational retailers to enter the market. The impact is likely to be a mixed initially as small retailers and middlemen/agents will face increased pressure on their business with the entry of the international retail-chain operators. However, it will work positively for farmers and small-scale manufacturing hubs as they will find large-scale buyers for their products. It will also be beneficial for customers as this will increase one-stop shopping options with access to international brands. It could require an additional 6-10 years for the market to mature. Even in China, the international giants like Wal-Mart, Tesco, Carrefour, Auchan and Costco had a long settling-in period contrary to a general perception that streamlined approval systems, government facilitation and shorter construction periods can help retailers settle down quickly. While the relaxation in FDI rules will allow a big-bang entry by global retailers, some of them have already set up their business in some way or have collaboration arrangements in place with Indian companies. For example, Carrefour opened its first cash-and-carry store in India in New Delhi, German-based Metro opened six wholesale centres in the country, Wal-Mart plans to invest about US$2.5 billion over the next five years in a joint venture with Bharti Retail and Tesco has signed an agreement with Trent Ltd., the retail segment of the Tata Group, to set up cash-and-carry stores. Additionally, Swedish fast-fashion retail giant H&M has sought permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to invest US$120 million in India to start a fully-owned company that will open 50 H&M stores. IKEA is currently waiting for the final approval from FIPB to open 25 stores with an investment of US$150 million. U.S. casualwear retailer Gap Inc., French apparel retailer Celio and Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo are also ready with their plans to enter India. Some Hurdles To Overcome

The impact of FDI is closely linked with how India can address economic, political and social hurdles. One of the economic hurdles is the high cost of real estate. Rents in India easily account for 9-15% of retailers revenue, which is significantly higher than the global average of 4-10%. International retailers, sensitive about real estate costs, will help to reduce the dominance of central city locations. Good but off-centre locations can bring down the land cost substantially and eventually developers can pass on these savings to their retailer occupiers with rent that is compatible with their retail business. Another hurdle is the role that Indian state governments can play in allowing FDI in the states they rule. Though the central government has allowed FDI in multi-brand retail at the Centre level, the state governments are at liberty to make their own decisions about the implementation of the policy. With Indian elections due to take place no later than May 2014, the decisions of retailers to enter India could be deferred by a few months. Also, the government has laid down some requirements before allowing FDI in retail and these can affect the business planning for international retailers. The retailers must fulfil the conditions of not less than 30% of the value of procurement needs to be sourced from Indian small industries, at least 50% of FDI brought into India should be invested into backend infrastructure (distribution centres, warehousing and logistics) within three years, minimum FDI investment of US$100 million, multinational retailers can conduct their business only in cities with a population of more than one million (54 such cities as of 2011) and a requirement of a minority Indian partner. While these conditions appear fair to most, it will still take at least 12 to 24 months before India can actually experience the fruits of FDI in multi-brand retail. India is likely to witness a new era in retailing which will be defined by the emergence of new formats and, vastly improved collaboration among the various stakeholders and experimentation with concepts such as tourism, luxury and destination-focused retail and rural retail. Upcoming large townships, mixed-use retail developments, retail centres at transport nodes and in office districts, along with a research driven approach by developers, will assist in bringing in quality supply of the right size and in the right place - and hopefully addressing the demand from foreign brands waiting to tap the extensive and mostly under-exploited Indian market.

Excerpt from:
JLL: FDI in multi-brand retail... Hope In Abeyance

A rendering of the new 11-story Arena Place. (Courtesy Orion Construction - Jan. 7, 2014)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A plan to construct a new building in downtown Grand Rapids' arena district has doubled in size after gaining a new tenant.

The Arena Place building will now have 11 stories and cost about $45 million.

Arena Place, located at what is now a parking lot on Ottawa Avenue SW between Weston and Oakes streets, was initially envisioned as a $28 million, five-story building.

The expansion is because law firm Miller Johnson now intends to move into the building.

In total, the new Arena Place will measure more than 60,000 square feet, according to a Tuesday release from Orion Construction and DO MORE GOOD | Hanon McKendry. That includes 10,000 square feet of street-level retail space and a restaurant, as well as 101 housing units and additional office space. There will also be 250 above-ground parking spaces on three levels.

Miller Johnson, which as been located in four floors of the Calder Plaza Building on Monroe Avenue, will occupy the top four floors of the new Arena Place.

DO MORE GOOD | Hanon McKendry, MINDSCAPE at Hanon McKendry and Meritage Hospitality Group will each occupy one floor of office space.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for this spring and the building should open in the summer of 2015, Orion Construction said. Miller Johnson will move in during the summer of 2016.

The Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authorities still needs to approve the changes to the project. Orion Construction said that could happen Wednesday.

Read the original:
Arena Place project in GR adds 6 stories

MT. VERNON Organizers say the ongoing construction work at Times Square Mall is on schedule and crews have experienced no major difficulties so far.

The work is intended to prepare the mall site for three new retail stores Hobby Lobby, Big Lots and a third tenant that has yet to be named publicly. The third store is being referred to as Retail B.

Since mid-November, crews with Poettker Construction have been installing new entrances at the site for these retailers, as well as completing demolition work inside the mall.

Crews are also building two demising walls between the retail sites in the interior. Also, in the next few weeks, workers hope to begin the steel work for the entrances.

Having the mall open while this work is going on has presented a challenge for work crews, said Eric Kues, project superintendent for Poettker Construction.

Even so, Poettker is on schedule to finish the Hobby Lobby preparation in February, Kues said. Poettker Construction, based out of Breese, is the general contractor on the project.

The Hobby Lobby is pretty well on schedule and Retail B and Big Lots isnt scheduled to be finished until May, Kues said. To keep the mall up and running, theres some challenges there with trying to work around the holidays and all the people, so that was a little bit of a struggle there. It was busy.

Once Poettker has completed its work for Hobby Lobby in February, store crews will be sent in to do finishing work, Kues said. The finishing work should take two to three months.

Hobby Lobby comes in afterwards and they do the finishes, Kues said. So basically all that we leave them is (whats called) a warm gray shell.

The new Hobby Lobby store will be located in the 53,000 square-foot building formerly occupied by Sears. It is projected to open in Mt. Vernon during the second quarter of this year, and will bring about 35 to 50 jobs to the community.

See the rest here:
Mall construction on time

Slide Show

Photo by Perspective Image

Pro Shop at CenturyLink Field

----- Advertising -----

Sandwiched between the end of the 2012-2013 Seattle Seahawks season and the start of the Seattle Sounders soccer season, the project team had four months to demolish an existing 3,100-sq-ft team store and build a new 14,130-sq-ft retail space. In addition to expanding the ground-floor retail footprint, a second-floor mezzanine was added for storage and office space.

Although the Seahawks and Sounders were not in season, other sporting events and trade shows had to carry on without interruption throughout construction. A design-build approach was used to expedite several aspects of the project, including installation of the HVAC, fire projection, sprinklers and electrical systems as well as modifications to the structural curtain-wall system.

Structural steel was completed in less than a month. This included conducting a site survey, creating a 3D model of the entire structure to identify dimensional conflicts, developing and reviewing shop drawings and fabricating and installing the steel.

The project was completed under budget and on schedule.

The new pro shop features a pine facade stained in blue. The concourse wall system includes two clear butt-glazed walls that showcase merchandise on either side of a folding wall system. The wall opens on game days to expose a central flex space.

Continued here:
Office/Retail/Mixed-Use Developments: Award of Merit

Office tower on hold

Completion of a $300 million two-tower office and retail space project on the heel of San Bruno Mountain was postponed due to leasing problems, it was announced the week of Jan. 3, 2014.

San Francisco-based Myers Development made the postponement announcement days before the 12-story tower, which began development in April 2008, was set to be complete. Postponing construction of the second tower was prudent in the economic climate, said Jack Myers, chairman and CEO of Myers Development Company.

With lease negotiations, our progress is slower than we would like, he said. Building a second building without leasing the first seemed like a bad decision, Myers said.

Visa moves headquarters to S.F.

Foster Citys largest employer, Visa USA Inc., signed a 10-year lease to move its headquarters to San Francisco, it was announced the week of Jan. 3, 2009.

Visa was moving its headquarters into the top three floors at 595 Market St. in San Francisco. The move meant the companys administrative offices were moving to San Francisco but other employees were to remain in Foster City.

Manufacturing index drops to 28-year low

The week of Jan. 3, 2009, signs grew that the economy could turn even weaker, as an index of December manufacturing activity sank to its lowest point in 28 years. Every corner of the sector was down, from bakeries to cigarette-makers to aluminum smelters.

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said on Friday of that week that its manufacturing index fell to 32.4 in December, a greater-than-expected decline from Novembers reading of 36.2. Wall Street economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters had expected the reading to fall to 35.5.

Read the original post:
From the archives