- Donations Demystified
-
Charitable gifting through donations of real estate is one of the most underutilized methods of transferring assets in today’s market. An estimated $300,000 billion of assets are given to more than 1.3 million 501C3 charities in the U.S. each year,
- Thinking Outside the Box
-
They once may have been superstores, category killers, or simply the biggest new store for miles around. But now they’re just empty. In the frenzy of building more and bigger big box stores during the last five years, many people
- The Upside of Downtown
-
Central business districts of all sizes nationwide are working to bring businesses and people back downtown. Already hard hit by the post World War II suburbanization that shifted growth outside of city limits, CBDs recently were hammered by corporate downsizing
- Buying Into Brownfields
-
Redevelopment is a major thrust in the world of commercial real estate for many reasons. These include anti growth policies, difficulties in locating suitable properties zoned for particular developments, and housing trends indicating that both young and older couples find
- Promoting Preservation
-
In the past, many U.S. towns and cities demolished historic areas in the name of urban renewal and replaced them with housing developments and strip malls. But today, preservation has become the new ethic, the key to creating many small
- Re-Useful
-
Repurposing an old property demands creativity, especially in a climate where reluctant buyers, frozen credit markets, and rigid zoning regulations can immobilize even the most vital projects. To maintain momentum, adaptive reuse experts have broadened their strategies &mdash and, in
- Everything Old Is New Again
-
Modern commercial real estate abounds with restrictive development guidelines such as land use policies and urban growth boundaries intended to protect farmland and open space while encouraging economic growth in inner cities. However, these policies limit the amount of new
- Demanding Deals
-
Commercial real estate poses myriad challenges for brokers, developers, leasing agents, and property managers who must contend with market fluctuations, supply and demand factors, and intense competition to close deals. Consider, however, what happens when those challenges move beyond the
- Got Vacant Space? Think Inside the Box
-
The good news about tough economic times is that they breed ingenuity. Leasing specialists in retail and other property sectors need to think “inside the box” – the vacant big box, the empty warehouse, or the small office building abandoned
- Run of the Mill
-
The Enterprise Mill in Augusta, Ga., was vacant for more than 10 years when Clayton P. Boardman III, local businessman and owner of Boardman Petroleum, purchased it in August 1997. Boardman's plan included transforming the mill into a mixed use
- Hidden Treasures
-
What was once an unusable chunk of Bethlehem, Pa.'s taxable land base is under redevelopment to become the Bethlehem Commerce Center, which is expected to generate $1.5 billion in investment capital and add 6,000 jobs
- Redevelopment Done Right
-
Visualizing a historic bank rehabbed as a luxury condominium building, a shuttered mill as a mixed use development, or an abandoned big box space divided into office condominiums requires more than a little creativity and foresight. Whether the property conditions,
- Destination: Downtown
-
Across the country, downtowns of all sizes are undergoing transformations. From reinvestments in public infrastructures and existing properties to the development of new hotels, retail stores, and sports stadiums, downtowns are becoming more people friendly. Fueling the redevelopment is the
- Beyond the Façade
-
Across all property sectors, users and developers are eyeing urban locations. And given the lack of available land in central business districts, today’s urban infill projects often are adaptive reuse or conversion projects. In the past, good, affordable space for
- Brownfield Bonanza
-
Many private developers rarely take advantage of public agency brownfield cleanup programs at either the state or federal level. As a rule, they like the environmental oversight process to remain at the local level, if possible, to keep it simple
- Extreme Makeover
-
The extreme makeover is omnipresent these days. Reality television show contestants with less than perfect features are given facelifts and tummy tucks. Dated homes are made shiny and new with fresh façades and rehabbed interiors. The message is clear Everything
- Evaluating Brownfield Properties
-
It is impossible to present a universal brownfield redevelopment formula because every brownfield site is unique. As in all real estate transactions, location matters. Many brownfields will never be redeveloped because their location is economically distressed or rural. The redevelopment
- The Cleanup Conundrum
-
As infill developers move back into urban cores and others seek land for large scale suburban projects, they come up against a looming redevelopment obstacle environmentally tainted properties. Given land shortages and other factors, environmental cleanup challenges may be well