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Social constructionism – Wikipedia -
November 13, 2018 by
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Social constructionism is a theory of knowledge in sociology and communication theory that examines the development of jointly constructed understandings of the world that form the basis for shared assumptions about reality. The theory centers on the notion that meanings are developed in coordination with others rather than separately within each individual.[1]
Social constructionism questions what is defined by humans and society to be reality. Therefore, social constructs can be different based on the society and the events surrounding the time period in which they exist.[2] An example of a social construct is money or the concept of currency, as people in society have agreed to give it importance/ value.[2][3] Another example of a social construction is the concept of self/ self-identity. Charles Cooley stated based on his Looking-Glass-Self theory: "I am not who you think I am; I am not who I think I am; I am who I think you think I am."[2] This demonstrates how people in society construct ideas or concepts that may not exist without the existence of people or language to validate those concepts.[2][4]
There are weak and strong social constructs.[3] Weak social constructs rely on brute facts (which are fundamental facts that are difficult to explain or understand, such as quarks) or institutional facts (which are formed from social conventions).[2][3] Strong social constructs rely on the human perspective and knowledge that doesn't just exist, but is rather constructed by society.[2]
A social construct or construction concerns the meaning, notion, or connotation placed on an object or event by a society, and adopted by the inhabitants of that society with respect to how they view or deal with the object or event.[citation needed] In that respect, a social construct as an idea would be widely accepted as natural by the society.
A major focus of social constructionism is to uncover the ways in which individuals and groups participate in the construction of their perceived social reality. It involves looking at the ways social phenomena are developed, institutionalized, known, and made into tradition by humans.
In terms of background, social constructionism is rooted in "symbolic interactionism" and "phenomenology."[5][6] With Berger and Luckman's The Social Construction of Reality published in 1966, this concept found its hold. More than four decades later, a sizable number of theory and research pledged to the basic tenet that people "make their social and cultural worlds at the same time these worlds make them."[6] It is a viewpoint that uproots social processes "simultaneously playful and serious, by which reality is both revealed and concealed, created and destroyed by our activities."[6] It provides a substitute to the "Western intellectual tradition" where the researcher "earnestly seeks certainty in a representation of reality by means of propositions."[6]
In social constructionist terms, "taken-for-granted realities" are cultivated from "interactions between and among social agents;" furthermore, reality is not some objective truth "waiting to be uncovered through positivist scientific inquiry."[6] Rather, there can be "multiple realities that compete for truth and legitimacy."[6] Social constructionism understands the "fundamental role of language and communication" and this understanding has "contributed to the linguistic turn" and more recently the "turn to discourse theory."[6][7] The majority of social constructionists abide by the belief that "language does not mirror reality; rather, it constitutes [creates] it."[6]
A broad definition of social constructionism has its supporters and critics in the organizational sciences.[6] A constructionist approach to various organizational and managerial phenomena appear to be more commonplace and on the rise.[6]
Andy Lock and Tom Strong trace some of the fundamental tenets of social constructionism back to the work of the 18th century Italian political philosopher, rhetorician, historian, and jurist Giambattista Vico.[8]
Berger and Luckmann give credit to Max Scheler as a large influence as he created the idea of Sociology of knowledge which influenced social construction theory.[9]
According to Lock and Strong, other influential thinkers whose work has affected the development of social constructionism are: Edmund Husserl, Alfred Schutz, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Paul Ricoeur, Jrgen Habermas, Emmanuel Levinas, Mikhail Bakhtin, Valentin Volosinov, Lev Vygotsky, George Herbert Mead, Ludwig Wittgenstein, Gregory Bateson, Harold Garfinkel, Erving Goffman, Anthony Giddens, Michel Foucault, Ken Gergen, Mary Gergen, Rom Harre, and John Shotter.[10]
Since its appearance in the 1950s, personal construct psychology (PCP) has mainly developed as a constructivist theory of personality and a system of transforming individual meaning-making processes, largely in therapeutic contexts.[11][12][13][14][15][16] It was based around the notion of persons as scientists who form and test theories about their worlds. Therefore, it represented one of the first attempts to appreciate the constructive nature of experience and the meaning persons give to their experience.[17] Social constructionism (SC), on the other hand, mainly developed as a form of a critique,[18] aimed to transform the oppressing effects of the social meaning-making processes. Over the years, it has grown into a cluster of different approaches,[19] with no single SC position.[20] However, different approaches under the generic term of SC are loosely linked by some shared assumptions about language, knowledge, and reality.[21]
A usual way of thinking about the relationship between PCP and SC is treating them as two separate entities that are similar in some aspects, but also very different in others. This way of conceptualizing this relationship is a logical result of the circumstantial differences of their emergence. In subsequent analyses these differences between PCP and SC were framed around several points of tension, formulated as binary oppositions: personal/social; individualist/relational; agency/structure; constructivist/constructionist.[22][23][24][25][26][27] Although some of the most important issues in contemporary psychology are elaborated in these contributions, the polarized positioning also sustained the idea of a separation between PCP and SC, paving the way for only limited opportunities for dialogue between them.[28][29]
Reframing the relationship between PCP and SC may be of use in both the PCP and the SC communities. On one hand, it extends and enriches SC theory and points to benefits of applying the PCP toolkit in constructionist therapy and research. On the other hand, the reframing contributes to PCP theory and points to new ways of addressing social construction in therapeutic conversations.[30]
Like social constructionism, social constructivism states that people work together to construct artifacts. While social constructionism focuses on the artifacts that are created through the social interactions of a group, social constructivism focuses on an individual's learning that takes place because of his or her interactions in a group.
Social constructivism has been studied by many educational psychologists, who are concerned with its implications for teaching and learning. For more on the psychological dimensions of social constructivism, see the work of Ernst von Glasersfeld and A. Sullivan Palincsar.[31]
Systemic therapy is a form of psychotherapy which seeks to address people as people in relationship, dealing with the interactions of groups and their interactional patterns and dynamics.
A bibliographic review of social constructionism as used within communication studies was published in 2016. It features a good overview of resources from that disciplinary perspective.[32]
The concepts of weak and strong as applied to opposing philosophical positions, "isms", inform a teleology the goal-oriented, meaningful or "final end" of an interpretation of reality. "Isms" are not personal opinions, but the extreme, modal, formulations that actual persons, individuals, can then consider, and take a position between. There are opposing philosophical positions concerning the feasibility of co-creating a common, shared, social reality, called weak and strong.
John R. Searle does not elucidate the terms strong and weak in his book The Construction of Social Reality,[33] but he clearly uses them in his Chinese room argument, where he debates the feasibility of creating a computing machine with a sharable understanding of reality, and he adds "We are precisely such machines." Strong artificial intelligence (Strong AI) is the bet that computer programmers will somehow eventually achieve a computing machine with a mind of its own, and that it will eventually be more powerful than a human mind. Weak AI bets they won't.
David Deutsch in his book The Fabric of Reality uses a form of strong Turing principle to share Frank Tipler's view of the final state of the universe as an omnipotent (but not omniscient), Omega point, computer. But this computer is a society of creative thinkers, or people (albeit posthuman transhuman persons), having debates in order to generate information, in the never-ending attempt to attain omniscience of this physicsits evolutionary forms, its computational abilities, and the methods of its epistemologyhaving an eternity to do so. (p.356)
Because both the Chinese room argument and the construction of social reality deal with Searle and his debates, and because they both use weak and strong to denote a philosophical position, and because both debate the programmability of "the other", it is worth noting the correspondence that "strong AI" is strong social constructionism, and "weak AI" is weak social constructivism.
Strong social constructivism says "none are able to communicate either a full reality or an accurate ontology, therefore my position must impose, by a sort of divine right, my observer-relative epistemology", whereas weak social constructivism says "none are able to know a full reality, therefore we must cooperate, informing and conveying an objective ontology as best we can."[34]
Weak social constructionism sees the underlying, objective, "brute fact" elements of the class of languages and functional assignments of human, metaphysical, reality. Brute facts are all facts that are not institutional facts (e.g., metaphysical, social agreement). The skeptic portrays the weak aspect of social constructivism, and wants to spend effort debating the institutional realities.
Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker[35] writes that "some categories really are social constructions: they exist only because people tacitly agree to act as if they exist. Examples include money, tenure, citizenship, decorations for bravery, and the presidency of the United States."
In a similar vein, Stanley Fish[36] has suggested that baseball's "balls and strikes" are social constructions.[37]:2931
Both Fish and Pinker agree that the sorts of objects indicated here can be described as part of what John Searle calls "social reality."[38]:22 In particular, they are, in Searle's terms, ontologically subjective but epistemologically objective.[33]:63 "Social facts" are temporally, ontologically, and logically dependent on "brute facts." For example, "money" in the form of its raw materials (rag, pulp, ink) as constituted socially for barter (for example by a banking system) is a social fact of "money" by virtue of (i) collectively willing and intending (ii) to impose some particular function (purpose for which), (iii) by constitutive rules atop the "brute facts." "Social facts have the remarkable feature of having no analogue among physical brute facts" (34). The existence of language is itself constitutive of the social fact (37), which natural or brute facts do not require. Natural or "brute" facts exist independently of language; thus a "mountain" is a mountain in every language and in no language; it simply is what it is.[33]:29, et seq
Searle illustrates the evolution of social facts from brute facts by the constitutive rule: X counts as Y in C. "The Y terms has to assign a new status that the object does not already have just in virtue of satisfying the Y term; and there has to be collective agreement, or at least acceptance, both in the imposition of that status on the stuff referred to by the X term and about the function that goes with that status. Furthermore, because the physical features brute facts specified by the X term are insufficient by themselves to guarantee the fulfillment of the assigned function specified by the Y term, the new status and its attendant functions have to be the sort of things that can be constituted by collective agreement or acceptance."[33]:44
It is true that language is not a "brute fact," that it is an institutional fact, a human convention, a metaphysical reality (that happens to be physically uttered), but Searle points out that there are language-independent thoughts "noninstitutional, primitive, biological inclinations and cognitions not requiring any linguistic devices," and that there are many "brute facts" amongst both humans and animals that are truths that should not be altered in the social constructs because language does not truly constitute them, despite the attempt to institute them for any group's gain: money and property are language dependent, but desires (thirst, hunger) and emotions (fear, rage) are not.[33]:62 (Descartes describes the difference between imagination as a sort of vision, or image, and intellect as conceptualizing things by symbolic manipulation.) Therefore, there is doubt that society or a computer can be completely programmed by language and images, (because there is a programmable, emotive effect of images that derives from the language of judgment towards images).
Finally, against the strong theory and for the weak theory, Searle insists, "it could not be the case, as some have maintained, that all facts are institutional [i.e., social] facts, that there are no brute facts, because the structure of institutional facts reveals that they are logically dependent on brute facts. To suppose that all facts are institutional [i.e., social] would produce an infinite regress or circularity in the account of institutional facts. In order that some facts are institutional, there must be other facts that are brute [i.e., physical, biological, natural]. This is the consequence of the logical structure of institutional facts.".[33]:56
Ian Hacking, Canadian philosopher of science, insists, "the notion that everything is socially constructed has been going the rounds. John Searle [1995] argues vehemently (and in my opinion cogently) against universal constructionism."[39]:24 "Universal social constructionism is descended from the doctrine that I once named linguistic idealism and attributed, only half in jest, to Richard Nixon [Hacking, 1975, p. 182]. Linguistic idealism is the doctrine that only what is talked about exists, nothing has reality until it is spoken of, or written about. This extravagant notion is descended from Berkeley's idea-ism, which we call idealism: the doctrine that all that exists is mental."[39]:24 "They are a part of what John Searle [1995] calls social reality. His book is titled the Construction of Social Reality, and as I explained elsewhere [Hacking, 1996], that is not a social construction book at all."[39]:12
Hacking observes, "the label 'social constructionism' is more code than description"[39]:15 of every Leftist, Marxist, Freudian, and Feminist PostModernist to call into question every moral, sex, gender, power, and deviant claim as just another essentialist claimincluding the claim that members of the male and female sex are inherently different, rather than historically and socially constructed. Hacking observes that his 1995 simplistic dismissal of the concept actually revealed to many readers the outrageous implications of the theorists: Is child abuse a real evil, or a social construct, asked Hacking? His dismissive attitude, "gave some readers a way to see that there need be no clash between construction and reality,"[39]:29 inasmuch as "the metaphor of social construction once had excellent shock value, but now it has become tired."[39]:35
Informally, they require human practices to sustain their existence, but they have an effect that is (basically) universally agreed upon. The disagreement lies in whether this category should be called "socially constructed." Ian Hacking[40] argues that it should not. Furthermore, it is not clear that authors who write "social construction" analyses ever mean "social construction" in Pinker's sense. ".[41] If they never do, then Pinker (probably among others) has misunderstood the point of a social constructionist argument.
To understand how weak social constructionism can conclude that metaphysics (a human affair) is not the entire "reality," see the arguments against the study of metaphysics. This inability to accurately share the full reality, even given time for a rational conversation, is similarly proclaimed by weak artificial intelligence.
Constructionism became prominent in the U.S. with Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann's 1966 book, The Social Construction of Reality. Berger and Luckmann argue that all knowledge, including the most basic, taken-for-granted common sense knowledge of everyday reality, is derived from and maintained by social interactions. When people interact, they do so with the understanding that their respective perceptions of reality are related, and as they act upon this understanding their common knowledge of reality becomes reinforced. Since this common sense knowledge is negotiated by people, human typifications, significations and institutions come to be presented as part of an objective reality, particularly for future generations who were not involved in the original process of negotiation. For example, as parents negotiate rules for their children to follow, those rules confront the children as externally produced "givens" that they cannot change. Berger and Luckmann's social constructionism has its roots in phenomenology. It links to Heidegger and Edmund Husserl through the teaching of Alfred Schutz, who was also Berger's PhD adviser.
During the 1970s and 1980s, social constructionist theory underwent a transformation as constructionist sociologists engaged with the work of Michel Foucault and others as a narrative turn in the social sciences was worked out in practice. This particularly affected the emergent sociology of science and the growing field of science and technology studies. In particular, Karin Knorr-Cetina, Bruno Latour, Barry Barnes, Steve Woolgar, and others used social constructionism to relate what science has typically characterized as objective facts to the processes of social construction, with the goal of showing that human subjectivity imposes itself on those facts we take to be objective, not solely the other way around. A particularly provocative title in this line of thought is Andrew Pickering's Constructing Quarks: A Sociological History of Particle Physics. At the same time, Social Constructionism shaped studies of technology the Sofield, especially on the Social construction of technology, or SCOT, and authors as Wiebe Bijker, Trevor Pinch, Maarten van Wesel, etc.[42][43] Despite its common perception as objective, mathematics is not immune to social constructionist accounts. Sociologists such as Sal Restivo and Randall Collins, mathematicians including Reuben Hersh and Philip J. Davis, and philosophers including Paul Ernest have published social constructionist treatments of mathematics.
Social constructionism can be seen as a source of the postmodern movement, and has been influential in the field of cultural studies. Some have gone so far as to attribute the rise of cultural studies (the cultural turn) to social constructionism. Within the social constructionist strand of postmodernism, the concept of socially constructed reality stresses the ongoing mass-building of worldviews by individuals in dialectical interaction with society at a time. The numerous realities so formed comprise, according to this view, the imagined worlds of human social existence and activity, gradually crystallized by habit into institutions propped up by language conventions, given ongoing legitimacy by mythology, religion and philosophy, maintained by therapies and socialization, and subjectively internalized by upbringing and education to become part of the identity of social citizens.
In the book The Reality of Social Construction, the British sociologist Dave Elder-Vass places the development of social constructionism as one outcome of the legacy of postmodernism. He writes "Perhaps the most widespread and influential product of this process [coming to terms with the legacy of postmodernism] is social constructionism, which has been booming [within the domain of social theory] since the 1980s."[44]
Social constructionism falls toward the nurture end of the spectrum of the larger nature and nurture debate. Consequently, critics have argued that it generally ignores biological influences on behaviour or culture, or suggests that they are unimportant to achieve an understanding of human behaviour.[45] The view of most psychologists and social scientists is that behaviour is a complex outcome of both biological and cultural influences.[46][47] Other disciplines, such as evolutionary psychology, behaviour genetics, behavioural neuroscience, epigenetics, etc., take a naturenurture interactionism approach to understand behaviour or cultural phenomena.
In 1996, to illustrate what he believed to be the intellectual weaknesses of social constructionism and postmodernism, physics professor Alan Sokal submitted an article to the academic journal Social Text deliberately written to be incomprehensible but including phrases and jargon typical of the articles published by the journal. The submission, which was published, was an experiment to see if the journal would "publish an article liberally salted with nonsense if (a) it sounded good and (b) it flattered the editors' ideological preconceptions."[48] The Postmodernism Generator is a computer program that is designed to produce similarly incomprehensible text.[49] In 1999, Sokal, with coauthor Jean Bricmont published the book Fashionable Nonsense, which criticized postmodernism and social constructionism.
Philosopher Paul Boghossian has also written against social constructionism. He follows Ian Hacking's argument that many adopt social constructionism because of its potentially liberating stance: if things are the way that they are only because of our social conventions, as opposed to being so naturally, then it should be possible to change them into how we would rather have them be. He then states that social constructionists argue that we should refrain from making absolute judgements about what is true and instead state that something is true in the light of this or that theory. Countering this, he states:
But it is hard to see how we might coherently follow this advice. Given that the propositions which make up epistemic systems are just very general propositions about what absolutely justifies what, it makes no sense to insist that we abandon making absolute particular judgements about what justifies what while allowing us to accept absolute general judgements about what justifies what. But in effect this is what the epistemic relativist is recommending.[50]
Later in the same work, Boghossian severely constrains the requirements of relativism. He states that instead of believing that any world view is just as true as any other (cultural relativism), we should believe that:
If we were to encounter an actual, coherent, fundamental, genuine alternative to our epistemic system, C2, whose track record was impressive enough to make us doubt the correctness of our own system, C1, we would not be able to justify C1 over C2 even by our own lights.
Woolgar and Pawluch[51] argue that constructionists tend to 'ontological gerrymander' social conditions in and out of their analysis. Following this point, Thibodeaux[52] argued that constructionism can both separate and combine a subject and their effective environment. To resolve this he argued that objective conditions should be used when analyzing how perspectives are motivated.
Social constructionism has been criticized by psychologists such as University of Toronto Professor Jordan Peterson and evolutionary psychologists, including Steven Pinker in his book The Blank Slate.[53] John Tooby and Leda Cosmides used the term "standard social science model" to refer to social-science philosophies that they argue fail to take into account the evolved properties of the brain.[54]
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Social constructionism - Wikipedia
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More coveted waterfront retail space will be available in early spring along Richlands George Washington Way.
The new 11,062-square-foot strip mall will cater to retailers and restauranteurs.
Ground was broken in mid-August, and general contractor on the project, OBrien Construction Company Inc., estimates a six-month construction period, with completion planned for February or March.
Company Vice President Zak OBrien said the multi-tenant retail space will be a vanilla shell at full build-out, or in other words, unfinished inside.
Unless between now and then tenants approach us to build out their space, which we will build and do improvements for them, OBrien said.
The building could accommodate up to seven tenants, according to a building permit filed with the city of Richland.
Russell C. Page Architects of Spokane designed the concrete block building, which will be similar in aesthetic to its next door neighbor, Hilton Homewood Suites.
The architectural look of the facility will resemble the Hilton, OBrien said. It will have a Tuscan-style look tile roof, stucco-like wall appearance and natural rock.
I love that Tuscan design, said property owner Dick Vandervert of Spokane-based Vandervert Developments. He said he has applied the style to other building projects throughout the region.
Hard costs for the project are valued at $1.5 million, though the total cost of the project, including soft costs, has yet to be estimated, Vandervert said.
OBrien said the site has great east-side river frontage and the benefit of the Hanford 500 coming through that corridor daily, he said, referring to rush hour traffic coming to and from the Hanford Site.
An eight-story, high-end, condo complex with two stories of parking beneath were originally planned for the site at 1080 George Washington Way by Dick and his wife, Bonnie Vandervert.
The condos would have neighbored the former Waterford Condos, which were converted in 2015 to a Hilton Homewood Suites.
The construction of the condos had barely begun on the site when the economic recession hit in 2007-08, effectively bringing the project to a grinding halt. The site has seen no further activity until now.
OBrien said the reason for the change of plans for the lot is that the Vanderverts stand to earn more of a return on investment with retail space.
I think that retail is the best thing we can do, agreed Vandervert, who went on to say the new shops will provide additional amenities for neighboring hotel guests. We will have good services there for them. We only want tenants who will provide good services.
So far, there are no confirmed tenants for the new building, but OBrien did note there is active interest, including one Spokane-based business.
Vandervert said that leasing will be handled through Vandervert Developments and will be actively marketed once standing walls are erected.
OBrien encourages prospective tenants to inquire, as other recent developments the company has worked on have filled up quickly prior to construction completion.
Im just really happy to do it for Dick and Bonnie. Theyre great people. Its going to be a beautiful addition to the G-Way corridor and Richland, OBrien said.
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Retail spaces construction is a discipline of commercial construction and design that combines several areas of expertise for the design and construction of retail space. Although the design of retail space is an architectural specialty that includes interior design, but also incorporates advertising, ergonomics, graphic design, industrial design and interior decoration, as well as site design.
Retail is such a competitive area of business and providing the right layout, circulation, entrance and exit and atmospheric conditions take a cooperative effort between the designer and the contractor. It is essential the designer and contractor work together in an understanding and cooperative manner to make the project a success and if the contractor is also the designer, that is a bonus.
Lets discuss five items to keep in mind when considering hiring retail spaces construction contractor.
It is important a retail spaces construction contractor understand the permitting process and the necessary permits that must be obtained before the work begins. There are always local permits to obtain and depending on the type of work there may be state and possibly federal permits that are required. The permitting process may impact the time frame for starting and completing a project and that has to be taken into consideration when bidding and estimating a time frame for the project.
It is essential the retail spaces construction contractor carry the proper licensing and insurance. The proper licensing assures the client the contractor has demonstrated their ability to perform and complete the tasks undertaken for the project and the work will be of a certain quality. Proper insurance protects both the contractor and client in case of accident while the work is underway.
References are very important to check and the ability to speak directly to others the contractor has worked for is vital to help evaluate if the contractor will meet the needs of the client. It is important the contractor has experience in the type of retail space that is needed. Keep in mind a newly formed company may have the necessary experience as long as the employees have been in the industry for a decent amount of time.
Since the design of retail space must be in such a way that promotes a hassle free and enjoyable shopping environment it is important the retail spaces construction contractor be experienced in the type of retail space being built. Shoppers want to have plenty of room to roam the store without feeling like they are in a sardine can. If a shopper is feeling cramped in a store they will most likely curtail their shopping expedition earlier than the original plan and may view products, as well as the store in a negative light.
Before signing a retail spaces construction contractor for a specific project, it is wise to obtain at least three bids for the work. The bids, which should always be written should include specifics about the project such as an expected time frame to start and complete the project, the materials to be used, items the client will provide such as plans and specifications and what happens if something unexpected while the work is underway such as weather events or a delay in obtaining the supplies and materials. The bid should also include who is responsible for cleanup and disposal of debris. The bid should also outline the permitting process and who will be responsible for application items and fee.
If you are in need of retail space construction, please contact us and speak to one of our experienced technicians and let is guide you through the process.
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The University of Louisiana at Lafayette will begin construction next week on a project to bring nearly 600 new beds and 5,000 square feet of retail space to campus.
The apartment complex is the latest step in UL Lafayettes ongoing effort to expand and renovate on-campus student housing.
Once built, the facility will offer students a choice of two-, three-, and four-bedroom units. Each furnished apartment will have a full kitchen, and washer and dryer. Meal plans will be offered, but not required.
The complex will include five buildings with 591 beds on a 12-acre tract at the corner of Johnston and East Lewis streets. One of the buildings that will front that intersection will have 4,883 square feet of retail space on its first floor, with apartments on the second and third floors.
The complexs outdoor recreation areas will include a swimming pool, sand volleyball court and grilling pavilion. A clubhouse will feature a fitness center, study and game rooms, and a lounge.
The facility is scheduled for completion by Fall 2019.
Plans include 632 parking spaces for residents, guests and retail customers. More than half of the spaces will be located on the east side of Coulee Mine, which runs through the tract. A new pedestrian bridge will connect the properties.
The University acquired the Youth Park in 2012 when it sold its former horse farm now Moncus Park to Lafayette Consolidated Government.
The dog park, skate bowl, dirt bike track and ball field on the site will be eliminated. A restroom building, set of bleachers, and some maintenance and storage facilities will be removed.
The agreement when the University acquired the park property from the city was that as long as we did not have plans to develop the site, the dog park and skate bowl could stay temporarily. But obviously, the housing project will affect them, said Bill Crist, UL Lafayettes director of Facility Management.
The University allowed public use of the Youth Park during the design phase of the student apartment complex and as plans to develop Moncus Park were finalized. The Youth Park will close May 9.
Dog owners have alternatives to Youth Parks dog park. LCG built a new dog park in Brown Park in Upper Lafayette, for example.
Also, Lafayette Central Park Inc. is including a dog park in Phase I of the Moncus Park construction that recently got underway. Phase 1 is expected to be finished in 2019.
LCG also maintains a dog park at Graham Brown Memorial Park, 1234 E. Pont Des Mouton Road. LCG may add another pooch playground at Beaullieu Park, 411 W. Bluebird Drive, later this year.
Cajun BMX Park, a 1,200-foot, all-dirt public bicycle racing track, recently opened at Picard Park in Milton, Louisiana.
The ball field at Youth Park is no longer in use; teams play at other city-parish facilities.
Were considering options for an alternative to losing the skate bowl, said Aaron Martin, the Universitys chief communications officer.
UL Lafayette currently can accommodate 3,180 students in its residence halls. The complex's additional 600 beds would enable nearly a quarter of its student population to live on campus.
Residents of the new apartments will range from sophomores to graduate students.
Construction of the five buildings on the site is anticipated to cost $48 million. The University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors has approved the expenditure of up to $105 million if the University chooses to expand the apartment complex on this site.
The project will be financed through a partnership with the private, nonprofit Ragin Cajuns Facilities Inc.
Ragin Cajun Facilities Inc. maintains funds needed to design and build student housing and other University-related construction projects. It qualifies for tax-exempt status because it is a nonprofit. Bond funding enables the University to construct facilities without having to compete for state capital outlay funds.
RISE Real Estate, formerly known as Ambling University Development Group, is project developer of the new apartment complex. Niles Bolton Associates is the architect, and The Lemoine Company is the general contractor.
Contractors working on the project are expected to comply with all city noise ordinances, according to Crist.
Photo credit: Courtesy of Niles Bolton Associates
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Construction to expand University housing, add retail ...
Commercial building construction is about more than just the floors and walls. Your retail construction project deserves attention to every detail to ensure that you get exactly the store you want. Our excellent commercial contractors at Stovall Construction, Inc. have the skill and expertise necessary to deliver the very best.
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In the competitive world of retail sales, having a retail construction company that understands the business is key to developing a winning design. We can help you create a comfortable space where your customers can relax and shop longer, adding up to more sales for you and more dollars to your bottom line.
Quality workmanship on your retail building construction project also translates to better product flow. Before a customer even sets a foot through the door, products must make their way to the display areas. Smooth movement of inventory from storage spaces to retail shelves is planned during the design phase. Cutting down the amount of time your employees spend navigating the storage areas increases their availability on the sales floor. Our retail building construction experts understand these challenges and can help find the right design for your business.
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Retail Construction Contractors, Management, Retail ...
The cost of commercial construction projects fluctuates considerably depending on numerous factors. Below is a chart with rough estimates of the cost of various commercial construction projects in the Midwest. It does not attempt to account for the many factors that can cause such fluctuation. It simply provides a basic guideline. For information about the factors that can influence the cost of a building, see our blog post on need-based factors that can influence cost or contact ustothoughtfully compile a plan for your facility that incorporates these and other factors and receive a preliminary estimate regarding the cost of your prospective building.
Whether youre looking at a retail, office, medical or another type of commercial or industrial building, our team is ready to help you estimate the cost and timing of your project. Just have an idea about what you want to build but no concrete plans? Thats ok too. We work with customers from dream, to concept, to planning, to buildall the way through. Just usethe form below to request a free consultation. And lets talk.
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How Much Does a Construction Project Cost ...
While youre hunting for the perfect location, dont let other preparations fall by the wayside. Make sure you select the right POS for your style of business. For large inventories, we suggest using Lightspeed. They make it easy to make sure you never run out of stock, and also let you build customer contact lists to quickly advertise your sales. Start a free trial today.
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Before you go out and scout potential locations for your business, you need to know what you can afford. This will help you narrow down your choices and prevent you from jumping on a place simply because it looks appealing. Remember, your lease amount will take big chunk out of your monthly budget so its important to stick to a figure youre comfortable with.
The maximum percentage a business should allocate to their lease payment differs depending on the industry. However, the range is typically 3 % to 10 % of gross monthly sales. Ideally, you should spend no more than 10% of your monthly gross sales on your lease payment.
Below are sample figures from property management company, Hartman, to give you an idea of how much different types of retail stores typically spend on rent.
In order to determine what percentage of your business profits will go to your lease payment, simply take the annual cost of rent and divide it by your gross annual income.
Here is a quick sample calculation:
Annual rent: $150,000.00
Gross Annual Income: $2 million
Equation: $150,000.00/ $2 million = 8%
This means that 8 cents of your profits go to rent for every $1 dollar your business earns.
Although this list will vary from city to city, here are some of the main factors that influence retail leasing costs:
Apart from the lease base rate, there are other one-off and recurring items you need to take into consideration and include in your budget such as:
Be conservative when setting your lease budget because youll need extra cash on hand to run your business day to day and pay for unexpected expenses. These experts agree:
Cedric Stewart, Residential & Commercial Sales Consultant, Entourage RG at Keller Williamssays:
Depending on your type of business,
Carrie Wood, Chief Marketing Officer, Leaseref.comagree:
Its easy to analyze the gross rent,
If you work with a broker, be sure to also factor in their fee. Commercial real estate brokers who lease retail space generally charge from 7 to 10% of the total lease costs. For example, if you sign a 3 year lease at $50,000 a year ($150,000 total), and your broker charges 10%, then the brokers fee would be $15,000.
It is also possible that the fees may be charged on a per square foot basis, generally $1-$5 dollars depending on the length of the lease. For instance, lets say you lease a 5000 square foot building with a 3 year lease term. Your broker fee would be around $15,000 (5000 sq. ft x $3).
To learn more about broker fees and whether you should use a broker, see our commercial real-estate article.
Different landlords offer different types of leases. The main differences between lease types are the kinds of costs each party will shoulder. Below are the types of leases you may come across, what they mean, and how they will impact your monthly lease budget.
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When you lease retail space, you dont want to pay for space that you wont need, but you also want to have enough space to accommodate business growth. Space needs will vary for each business, but here are some common areas for which you may need space:
Come up with a general calculation of how much space you need, within 250 or so square feet, and you will narrow down your property significantly.
Heres a basic formula for estimating the size of your sales floor based on sales goals:
Here are some more tips on how to determine ballpark figures of finding the average sales per square foot.
Check out our articles on Planning Your Store Layout and Store Displays How To Pick The Right Ones For Your Business for additional information concerning how to setup your space.
Now that you have your budget figured out, it is time to locate 4 to 5 quality options for renting retail space. You do not want to limit yourself to one right from the beginning. Instead, find 4 or 5 options that could work and then compare and contrast them to one another to determine the best fit. Having multiple options also gives you more leverage when you negotiate cost later.
Here are the best ways to locate property:
There is no substitute for local knowledge. That is why local brokers are still the top option for locating property for your retail needs. A local broker should have in-depth knowledge of your area, knowing exactly who lives in what sections of town and where the retail traffic is. Even better is if they have previous experience working with the landlord.
Several sites have free commercial real estate listings, such as Loopnet, Craigslist, and Catylist.
These sites usually include featured listings, lease prices, types of businesses that are allowed to operate in the space, property addresses, and agent contact information.
Property listing subscription services help you locate retail properties. The advantage of this is that it is much more than a location tool, also offering in-depth analysis of local markets, demographics, and other pertinent information. However, it will also cost you, around $300 $1000/month depending on the package selected.
Check out our reviews of real estate listing websites and see if its something youd like to consider when hunting for your retail space.
Now that you have 4 or 5 good options, it is time to narrow them down to the one that is best for you. Finding the right retail store for lease really comes down to three things: cost, size, and location. Once you know your budget and the approximate size you are looking for, it all comes down to location.
Heres a summary of the things you should consider when choosing a location:
Now that you have a space picked out, it is time to review and negotiate your lease. This can be a complicated process, especially considering all the legal terminology and lease-speak.
Use an attorney who is experienced in commercial lease agreements and commercial property transactions whenever possible. We recommend LawTrades, an online legal service provider that will match you with a dedicated attorney. You can sign up for a no commitment free trial here.
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In evaluating your lease, do an extensive review of what you can or what you cant do with the space youre leasing. Below are some items and clauses to watch out for before considering a space for your business:
If your business depends on foot traffic, then you may want to try and negotiate an exclusive use clause into the contract. An exclusive use clause prevents your landlord from renting space out to one of your competitors in the same building or shopping complex.
If you need to make alterations to the space, then you want to make sure it is clearly outlined in the lease what alterations you are allowed to make.
Some space improvements that the tenant has to take on can be counted towards rent, advises Kevin Godfrey, a realtor at Douglas Elliman. If you are replacing a toilet for $500, you can request for that amount to be deducted from next months rent. When a property is not in a good condition, ask for anything and everything you can think of. A broker wants to close the deal and will be more than happy to pitch to the landlord additional requests you may have.
If you want to post for sale signs, open/closed signs, or other signs in your storefront, then make sure that you understand what is and isnt allowed to be installed in the space.
Whenever possible, you want to have the ability to sublease your space. This offers some protection if you are no longer able to pay the rent, or if you have expanded to the point where you need to move into a larger space.
If your business depends on the foot traffic that another nearby business brings into an area, then you should consider adding a co-tenancy clause which allows you to break your lease if the anchor tenant leaves. This is especially important in shopping centers and malls which have one or two very large stores that are responsible for a large portion of the malls customers.
We have an in depth explanation of all the things to consider in a commercial lease in our article How To Lease Commercial Real Estate.
Here are some items you can negotiate on.
You can try to bring this down, especially if youre looking at renting the space long-term. However, if youre looking to stay for less than 3 years, you have less negotiating room here and should focus on your efforts in other areas.
Landlords will generally try and work into the lease an annual increase in rent based on the consumer price index or some other measure. These are also called escalations and should be fully understood before entering into any lease.
Utilities also take a chunk out of your profits, so try to see if this is something the landlord can include in the base rate. While they might not agree to include all, try to negotiate some items such as water and sewage.
Lease terms vary from state-to-state, but are often 1-5 years in duration. Long term lease terms can be daunting, especially if you are just starting out. The majority of lease agreements require a tenant to pay the rent whether their business survives or not, so it can help to be conservative and negotiate down your lease duration. However, do note that a shorter lease duration increases the lease base rate.
You dont know whats going to happen to your business, so try to see if you can include a clause that will allow you to get out of the lease prematurely under unexpected circumstances, such as damages within the space vicinity, loss of sales and bankruptcy, environmental contamination, etc.
Most commercial leases ask tenants to initially pay up to 3 months rent upfront. Try to negotiate this to one or two months to conserve cash flow.
Carrie Wood of Leaseref.com gives a final parting tip. Dont give the impression that you are so interested in the space even with your own broker. Negotiations are won by whomever cares the least. So always leave the impression that you could walk away from the deal.
The best thing to do is to give yourself some time to weigh and consider the options so that youll avoid making hasty decisions. After all, your retail space is the truest representation of your business. If you want to lease retail space for your business, youll need to do a lot of planning, but we hope that this step by step guide gave you a good idea on how to get started and ultimately, close a great and cost-efficient deal with a broker.
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How To Find & Lease Retail Space - Fit Small Business: Get ...
Retail Space Definition | Bizfluent -
October 15, 2017 by
Mr HomeBuilder
by Laura Scott; Updated September 26, 2017
Retail space is the last stop in the manufacturing chain, the spot where merchants sell products to customers. Retail space differs from other commercial properties, such as industrial or office space, in that the emphasis is on product display and customer accommodation.
Merchants usually create or find retail spaces in single-standing buildings, in malls, and on the main streets of busy commercial districts. Airports, college campuses, subway stops, sports arenas, hospitals, train stations and other places that experience heavy foot traffic also have retail space.
Merchants either buy or lease retail space. A triple net lease, which requires merchants to pay for insurance, maintenance and taxes, in addition to rent, is a common arrangement in retail. Rent can be a fixed amount due each month, or a percentage of the retailer's receipts.
Roughly 70 percent of the space in a retail business is devoted to product display, with the remaining area used for office work and inventory. A well-lit spacious floor plan helps merchants present goods to customers. Easy access, nearby parking and proximity to other popular shops and restaurants benefit customers and are considered assets for retail space.
Laura Scott has been reporting for Gatehouse Media New England, Essex County Newspapers and other regional publishers since 1997. She won several New England Press Association awards for her coverage of the fishing industry and coastal communities. Scott is a graduate of Vassar College and has a master's degree in American studies from Boston College. She also attended art school in Italy.
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Retail Space Definition | Bizfluent
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