TURNER CORP. FORECASTS CONSTRUCTION COST INCREASE
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DALLAS - The Turner Corp. announced that
construction costs in the second quarter of 2001 were expected to
increase 0.66 percent from the first quarter of 2001. According to the
Turner Building Cost Index, the second quarter 2001 index will increase
to 613, four points above the first quarter 2001 figure and 3.55
percent above the second quarter 2000 index of 592.
"Although there is a general feeling that the construction market
is softening, most major geographic markets remain active," said
Karl F. Almstead, the Turner vice president responsible for the Building
Cost Index. "Specific segments, such as the primary and secondary
educational
markets, appear universally strong. Market demands continue to stress
labor pools. Manpower in the masonry, mechanical and electrical trades
remains in short supply in many areas of the country," Almstead
said. 06-28-01 |
POWER CENTER TO REPLACE WALTER INDUSTRIES HQ
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TAMPA - The Walter Industries building, a
decades-old landmark at Dale Mabry and Interstate 275, will come down by
year-end to make way for a unique three-story retail power center, said
Frank Fralick and Frederick Hames of Beers Construction.
But don't look for any minor players in the new facility. Literally
across the street from another Beers project, Bromley Cos.' mixed-use
Tampa Bay One, the power center is expected to comprise three 100,000sf
tenants.
The design-build project will be coordinated by Beers, with Bill
Criswell of CBB Architects as lead designer. Fralick is group president
and Hames is manager of business development for Beers. 06-28-01 |
HIGH DEMAND, DOWN MARKETS MAKE INDUSTRIAL A PREFERRED
INVESTMENT
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TAMPA - Industrial real estate enjoys a
stability that has held it in good stead with lenders over the past 15
years. And the trend continues today despite a slowing economy and
corporate belt-tightening.
Stability, though, is not the only reason capital markets are looking
favorably upon industrial real estate. Lenders also are attracted by the
increasing demand for industrial real estate, a demand fueled by a low
capital investment, low maintenance cost and short construction time.
Find out more about the investment side of industrial real estate in the
July 16 edition of Florida Real Estate Journal, which will contain a
special section devoted to the sector. 06-28-01 |
REPORT TRACKS NEW TYPE OF SUBURBAN CITY
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WASHINGTON - Large, rapidly
growing cities are bursting on the urban scene, surrounding more
traditional cities and forcing policy makers and others to take notice
of their impact on sprawl and other hotly-debated issues, a Fannie Mae
Foundation report analyzing 2000 Census data has
found.
The Fannie Mae Foundation report identifies 53 cities with a different
look and feel from traditional cities, and gives them a name "Boomburbs."
The report defines a Boomburb as an area that currently has more than
100,000 residents, has maintained double-digit rates of population
growth in each recent decade, but is not the largest city in its
metropolitan
area.
Boomburbs differ from traditional central cities and older satellite
cities in that they almost always lack a dense business core. Rather,
their housing, retail, entertainment, and offices are spread out and
loosely configured.
The 53 Boomburbs identified in the report are located in 14 metro areas
surrounding Tampa, Miami, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, San
Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Las Vegas, Portland, Dallas, Salt Lake City,
Norfolk, and Seattle. Boomburbs range from Mesa, Ariz., with nearly
400,000 residents, to Westminister, Colo., with just over 100,000.
06-26-01 |
NAR PRAISES LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENT PROPOSAL
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WASHINGTON
- The National Association of Realtors is applauding Sens. Kent Conrad
(D-N.D.) and Don Nickles (R-Okla.) on the introduction of the Leasehold
Improvement Act of 2001 in the U.S. Senate on June 22. The measure would
allow landlords to amortize the cost of improvements made for tenants in
non-residential properties over a 10-year period.
Under current law such leasehold improvements are depreciated over a
39-year period. NAR believes the current law 39-year recovery period for
interior building improvements is not economically realistic, arguing
that neither the leases nor the improvements are likely to last that
long.
The Leasehold Improvement Act of 2001 is a companion bill to H.R. 1030,
which would reduce the cost recovery (depreciation) period from 39 years
to 10 years for improvements made in a commercial building on behalf of
tenants. 06-26-01
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MORE INNOVATIONS, ENTREPRENEURS ON THE WAY, SIOR
PREDICTS
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WASHINGTON, D.C. - Buying, selling and
leasing of office and industrial real estate properties in the U.S.
generates brokerage commissions each year totaling an estimated $10.4
billion to $13.3 billion, a magnitude that is great enough to continue
to attract e-commerce innovations and entrepreneurs to the sector. This
is the chief finding of the first phase of a new study on commercial
real estate brokerage, information technology and the future.
According to the SIOREF study of U.S. commercial properties, office
space in the U.S. totals an estimated 7.4 billion sf and industrial
space totals an estimated 22.9 billion sf. Each year, office space
generates lease revenues of $115 billion, and industrial space generates
lease revenues of
$69.9 billion.
"The recent boom and bust of e-commerce companies may lull many
bricks-and-brokerage firms into thinking that they can thrive without
using information technology and Web-based tools. Wrong approach,"
says Stephen F. Blau, president of the SIOR.
"The right approach," he says, "is for commercial real
estate brokerage companies to understand which of the varied tasks they
perform will be more likely to feel the impact of e-commerce than
others. Armed with that knowledge, brokerage professionals should then
embrace effective information technologies and Web-based efficiencies to
hold down the cost
of commercial real estate transactions and improve the delivery of
commercial real estate services to their end users, property owners,
investors and tenants." 06-26-01
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