Features

By Cara Aliek BRUNSWICK, GA. — About a year and a half ago, Lincoln Property Co. (LPC) began looking for a 50-acre piece of land where it could build spec industrial property. Its search soon led the company to the “Coastal Corridor,” a stretch of land situated between Jacksonville, Fla., and Savannah, Ga. There, Lincoln found a 687-acre site and acquired it from the Glynn County (Ga.) Development Authority for an undisclosed price. LPC is developing a master planned, mixed-use development called Tradewinds on the site. It will feature more than 3 million square feet of industrial space, 1 million square feet of commercial space and more than 2,500 multifamily units. Tony Bartlett, senior vice president with LPC, says good things are happening in Brunswick and his company wants to be a part of it. “Brunswick has a progressive government, and it’s in one of the counties on the coast down there that ‘has its lights on,’” says Bartlett. “Sea Island, Jekyll Island and all those coastal islands — there’s already a tourist trade that goes on there and there’s a very strong business community as well. It’s a long-term bet for us that we believe will be very successful.” …

By Chris Gamel, CCIM The Austin industrial market has grown significantly in the last few years as a result of the city’s economic expansion. The addition of retail centers across the area, new business moving to town as a result of the population and job growth, as well as the growth in high tech firms and suppliers for Dell, Samsung, Applied Materials and other major employers, have caused this growth. The new road infrastructure and tollways have provided better and quicker access across town and improved transit time to outlying areas in the north, east and south. The roads also lead to better access to available and cheaper dirt for industrial development. SH-130 serves as a valuable link between north, east and south Austin, extending beyond the older, traditional east Austin market. The SH-130 Bridge across the Colorado River has also provided relief to the traffic bottleneck on Highway 183 across the river to the airport. The 45 North and South tollways also help link Mopac, IH-35 and SH-130, providing Austin with a long-needed loop (except for a small gap southeast) around the city. One of the latest industrial trends is the development of new projects along the new roads …

By Adam Lega, KAI Design & Build It is a fact that BIM is revolutionizing the Architecture/Engineering/Construction (AEC) industry and making history. The industry is now beginning to construct buildings the old fashioned way, but with the backing of better technology. Unfortunately, for the past sixty or so years, the industry had the notion that historical precedent was not necessarily the best method — well, that notion is being undone by the BIM movement, and the Integrated Project Delivery trend. Knowing that technology can be used to model everything in a project helps to alleviate the potential for confusion in a typical set of construction documents. Questions such as whether the Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing (MEP) engineers ran an interference check on the pipe and duct system to make sure that the hot water is not getting cooled off by the air-conditioning vent, or whether the structural system is going through the ceiling or stopping at it, can all be answered quickly and easily using BIM technology. There are several advantages to a Building Information Model. But sometimes there can be too much of a good thing. It is not always necessary to model every last nut and bolt in the project. In …

By Adam Lega, KAI Design & Build Imagine a virtual world where an architect, an engineer, a contractor and a client are working simultaneously on a project. Their goal — to create the most cost effective, efficient and structurally sound building possible, all without compromising their artistic vision. Sounds impossible? Not any more. Welcome to the new world of BIM, where interoperability and Integrated Project Delivery is key. BIM is an unofficial word with many different meanings: BIM (n.) – Building Information Model. The building information model is the virtual representation of a project, built on the computer in 3D. This virtual model is typically comprised of multiple databases in which all of the information about the particular project is stored. BIM (n.) – Building Information Management. This is the process of actually managing the databases in which all of the information about the built information model is stored. This process extends to managing the project team as well as the information in the model. BIM (v.) – Building Information Modeling. Also known as Virtual Design and Construction. This is the act of creating the virtual model and implementing the management process. BIM is revolutionizing the design/build industry today, but …

By Miles Berger The City of Newark, New Jersey, is enjoying a renaissance punctuated by a tightened Class A office market, heightened entertainment and culture, and an enhanced transit infrastructure. Add to that skyrocketing lodging rates in Manhattan and an ever-expanding passenger volume at Newark airport, and the city’s hotel inventory — a sometimes overlooked component of its commercial real estate sector — is poised for new levels of growth and prosperity. Traditionally, Newark’s hotel stock has been largely dependent on traffic from Liberty International Airport. While the airport continues to be a strong contributor to the city’s hotel industry, many other moving parts are in play, beginning with the resurgence of the office market. The corporate migration toward cities continues in New Jersey, bolstered recently by programs like the state’s new urban tax incentive. Additionally, under the administration of Newark Mayor Cory Booker, the city has seen a strong increase in Manhattan firms interested in relocating their back office operations, and even their headquarters, to Newark. With New York City rents skyrocketing to approach $100 per square foot, Newark offers a tremendous alternative. Typically, B and C+ buildings run near $27 per square foot, with Class A rates at …

By Brian Patton, Capital Listings Live, work, and play has become a mantra of progressive thinking communities throughout the nation. Evidence is mounting that consumers not only want to live near their work because of the convenience, but also because of the rising costs of energy. In the north Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, one such business owner that I spoke with has taken advantage of a little known allowance in the zoning code. That portion of the code allows business owners in certain commercial districts to live in the same building as they work. He loves being close to downtown and is able to walk to nearby conveniences. While he still maintains a car, it is no longer a necessity and his vehicle gas bills have dropped to almost nothing. Another measure of the popularity of the live and work concept is the number of people that are working from their homes. Home occupation licenses, as they’re called, have increased in Alpharetta, for example, by a large factor. Starting in 2004, the number of home occupation licenses issued doubled from 2003. And, again in 2007, the number doubled over the previous year. James Drinkard, Alpharetta’s assistant city administrator, speaking on …