Posted on March 7, 2018

Architect and Work Design magazine publisher Bob Fox has identified seven major trends that he predicts will make an impact on the workplace in 2018. To attract and retain top talent, he believes businesses will create health-oriented workplaces that offer a sense of community through wellness programs and collaborative projects with other building tenants. Fox also sees the rise of “resimercial” office designs that bring the comforts of home into work and can accommodate a broader range of functions. Other trends Fox predicts include office designs that reflect the companies’ missions, the prioritization of overall value rather than cost reduction when redesigning space, the use of virtual assistants, and women leading change to create healthier, higher-performing workplaces.

Posted on March 6, 2018

By: Paul N. Dubrasich

Anyone considering developing a mixed-use project should be aware of these key legal, design and management considerations.

Mixed-use development projects of all types – including urban infill projects, transit-oriented developments and walkable lifestyle communities – have taken hold in urban centers and suburban areas across North America. Millennial consumers, as well as downsizing retirees, increasingly favor living within walking distance of stores, their favorite cycling and barre classes, restaurants and cultural venues, rather than having to drive to homes at the distant reaches of urban sprawl.

Local governments love mixed-use development for a variety of reasons. They put less pressure on infrastructure cost than more sprawling development, create accessible job opportunities, reduce traffic and help stimulate local commerce. Developers are responding to the evolving demographics and environmental forces driving these types of developments, not just in the urban core, but also in outlying areas, especially on sites close to public transportation.

Posted on March 6, 2018

The City of Charlotte is a little more than a year into a multi-year effort to draft a comprehensive Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), which will update the policies and regulations that guide land use and development in Charlotte. When finished, the UDO will combine zoning districts and development ordinances in a single document that should allow for more a streamlined regulatory process.

The two major components of the UDO will include:

Posted on March 5, 2018

The City of Charlotte has released a draft of its Transit-Oriented Development A (TOD-A) ordinance, which would allow higher-density, mixed-used development within a quarter-mile of transit stations like the CATS Blue Line.

TOD-A is the first of at least 4 transit-oriented zoning districts that the Planning Department plans to unveil in the next few months, and is intended to accommodate the highest-intensity development along the transit corridor, with allowable building heights as tall as 250′.

After setting base densities and building standards, the ordinance uses a voluntary points system to incentivize developers to meet aesthetic design, open space and affordable housing objectives through allowances for greater building heights.

Posted on March 5, 2018

Interest groups in California are collecting signatures in order to place an initiative on the November ballot that could change the way property taxes are calculated.

If passed, the move (known as “split roll”) would place a heavier property tax burden on commercial real estate and hinder economic growth. Any NAIOP member doing business in commercial real estate in California would be impacted by the ballot initiative.

Since the passage 40 years ago of Proposition 13, the tax rate on residential and commercial property has been treated the same way. Prop 13 controlled the growth of property tax rates by limiting annual increases of property assessments to no greater than 2 percent each year. NAIOP members participated in discussions during the California Business Properties Association winter board meeting last week on ways to preserve Proposition 13 and its economic benefits.

Posted on March 2, 2018

An Energy Code exemption championed by REBIC and NAIOP will finally take effect this week, after the Rules Review Commission set an effective date of March 1, 2018, for N.C. Session Law 2017-10, formerly known as SB131.

Language in the bill, which was signed into law during the 2017 session of the General Assembly,  excludes from state Energy Efficiency Code requirements any buildings with the following use classifications:

• Factory Group F
• Storage Group S
  
• Utility & Miscellaneous Group U
  

Furthermore, language in the legislation introduced by Representative Bill Brawley ensures that the energy code exclusion ‘shall apply to the entire floor area of any structure’ included in the provision. This language was intended to prevent the office or showroom portion of a warehouse, industrial or manufacturing building from having to meet energy efficiency code requirements, when the majority of the structure does not.

Posted on February 28, 2018

A recent Memoori report, Occupancy Analytics & In-Building Location Based Services 2017 to 2022, finds “value-added services such as space utilization, indoor positioning, connected lighting and asset tracking are helping to drive the adoption of As-a-Service business models.”

Smart Building As-a-Service refers to third-party companies working with building owners to deploy technology to maximize efficiency and use data-driven analytics to understand better how people operate within the building. For example, if building owners and managers subscribed to a sensing-as-a-service firm, the firm would be responsible for not only installing the equipment but also managing, analyzing and reporting the data the sensors collect.

Posted on February 27, 2018

According to a REIS, Inc. analysis, the industrial sector experienced robust growth at the end of last year and will continue to expand during 2018. Warehouse and distribution space vacancy is at a historic low and flex/R&D space vacancy rates fell in the fourth quarter. Both subcategories had strong rent growth due to “improved trade and robust e-commerce sales.” Additionally, market indicators such as increasing e-commerce sales, manufacturing sector expansion, growing aggregate trade and added industrial-related jobs all indicate the sector is poised for further growth in 2018.

Posted on February 26, 2018

The City of Charlotte has released a draft of its Transit-Oriented Development A (TOD-A) ordinance, which would allow higher-density, mixed-used development within a quarter-mile of transit stations like the CATS Blue Line.

TOD-A is the first of at least 4 transit-oriented zoning districts that the Planning Department plans to unveil in the next few months, and is intended to accommodate the highest-intensity development along the transit corridor, with allowable building heights as tall as 250′.

After setting base densities and building standards, the ordinance uses a voluntary points system to incentivize developers to meet aesthetic design, open space and affordable housing objectives through allowances for greater building heights.

Posted on February 23, 2018

By: Brian L. Reetz, and Emilie C. Carter, PLA, ASLA

THE METROPOLITAN Downtown Columbia, one element in the master plan for Downtown Columbia, Maryland, is the first new mixed-use, multifamily project to be developed in the area, which eventually will incorporate a vibrant, walkable downtown that will complement what was formerly an inward-focused mall. Developed by Kettler, the six-story, 375-unit apartment building features ground-floor retail space that faces a 0.82-acre promenade.

While the primary goal for the landscape architects designing this promenade was to create an appealing open space, they faced several additional requirements and challenges, including the need to integrate a public art component, fulfill county requirements for a playground area and comply with state stormwater regulations. The design for the promenade, which was completed in summer 2015, incorporated an integrated micro-bioretention system, educational and interpretive signage, and abstract play sculptures. The result is an iconic open space lined by shops and restaurants that connects Downtown Columbia, the mall and the surrounding community. The roughly $1 million promenade also offers some valuable lessons for landscape architects and developers.

Click here to read more.

Posted on February 22, 2018

By: Clay Edwards

Open ceilings, with their exposed ductwork and industrial vibe have become popular – but trendy rarely equals inexpensive. For many years, omitting the traditional drop ceiling was assumed to be not just cooler but also to cost less. Common sense seemed to be that by choosing open ceilings, the cost of the drop ceiling was simply avoided, saving on labor, materials and time.

A 2008 study of retail and office interior construction in five cities seemed to back up that assumption. Sponsored by the Ceilings & Interior Systems Construction Association (CISCA), the study found that initial construction costs for suspended ceilings were 15-22 percent higher than for open plenums in offices, and 4-11 percent higher in retail spaces.

Posted on February 21, 2018

By: Richard B. Peiser, Ph.D. and Raymond G. Torto, Ph.D.

Office building owners have found that to remain competitive in today’s marketplace, they must enliven their buildings by offering more amenities and adding vibrancy to the common areas. Some have introduced a range of new amenities, including outdoor workspaces and food trucks, and they have also programmed areas with happy hours, featured speakers and other activities. The common element in these amenities is that they all “activate” the common space by creating opportunities for socialization among tenants and the opportunity to work in areas beyond the tenant’s suite.

The study examines the following:

• New and different types of amenities that owners are including in buildings, their locations within the building, what they cost and how they are funded.
• Programming or social gatherings in building common areas, the types of activities offered, their frequency, what they cost and how they are funded.
• Whether coworking space is becoming an amenity that owners must offer in their buildings so that tenants can have access to space for occasional overflow situations.

Click here to download.

Posted on February 21, 2018

Thursday's Rules Review Commission meeting in Raleigh yielded an effective date of March 1, 2018, for N.C. Session Law 2017-10, formerly known as SB131. There’s a portion of this law that exempts buildings with primary occupancies of F (factory), S (storage) or U (utility/misc.) from certain energy efficiency standards. 

So, customers who plan to apply for permits to be issued on or after March 1 have the option of utilizing N.C. Session Law 2017-10. Again, this applies only to buildings with a primary occupancy of F, S or U.

Posted on February 9, 2018

Check out some of the new educational courses offered for 2018.

Posted on January 30, 2018

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Department has been diligently working on Charlotte Place Types and Unified Development Ordinance (UDO), a city-wide effort aimed at updating the policies and regulations that guide growth and development in our community. The project is scheduled to meet some major milestones in 2018 with a draft Place Types Policy Document ready for public review in August and adoption of new Transit Oriented Development (TOD) zoning districts expected in December. The success of this project is dependent upon receiving input all our community stakeholders and we believe your organization can help us reach an important audience. Therefore, would you please take a minute to:

• Sign up for updates at charlotteudo.org for blog posts, upcoming events, and quarterly newsletters;
• Like @CLTPlanning on Facebook for fun facts, relevant articles, and short surveys. 

Posted on January 16, 2018

NAIOP asked some of the Research Foundation’s Distinguished Fellows, the nation’s foremost commercial real estate, economic and public policy experts in academia: How do you cultivate leadership skills in your organization? 

Click here to see what they said.

Posted on January 17, 2018

Analysis by Reis, Inc. shows the U.S. office market in 2017 experienced a slowdown in tenant expansions while supply growth stayed at about the same level as in 2016. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the survey of 79 metropolitan areas revealed that net absorption at the end of 2017 was at its lowest since 2012. In 2017, developers added 37.6 million square feet, only 1 million square feet more than in 2016, which may mitigate slower absorption rates. Vacancy increased during the fourth quarter of 2017 in 33 of the 79 markets, with New York having the lowest (8.7 percent) and Dayton, Ohio, the highest (27 percent). According to the report, growth in absorption has been falling in part because tenants have become more efficient in how they use their space, eliminating private offices and encouraging employees to work closer together. The report stated, “office-based industries are healthy, but tenants have persisted in curbing overall leasing patterns.”

View the current NAIOP Office Space Demand Forecast.

Posted on January 15, 2018

By: Jay Todisco

A prototype design demonstrates the viability of multistory distribution centers in land-constrained North American submarkets.

By now, all commercial real estate professionals are familiar with the growth of e-commerce and its impacts on every aspect of retail sales and logistics, from a product’s point of origin to the consumer’s doorstep. CRE professionals – and the buildings they design and develop – must respond to these quickly evolving market demands.

Posted on January 3, 2018

For the article, “9 Big Trends That Will Shape 2018,” Fast Company interviewed systems thinkers, industrial designers and artificial intelligence (AI) specialists and asked them to name the technology trends and forces they see ahead in the next year. Three of the ideas the designers predicted are:

• User-Friendly Government: A rise in tools dedicated to informing people of local elections, decision-making processes and regulations.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Design: AI Designers “will lead multidisciplinary teams in the creation and design of the era of artificial intelligence.” Much the way design humanized technology, design will play a critical role in the advancement of AI.
• Disaggregation of Core Technology: Digital and physical design will become indistinguishable as the core technology found in smartphones (e.g., cameras, microphones and screens) is disaggregated and embedded into different environments (e.g., clothing, homes). No longer will people be staring at their smartphone screens but instead generating and gathering data fluidly in their wider environment.

Posted on December 29, 2017

The NAIOP Office Space Demand forecast has shifted upward to above 10 million square feet of absorption in 2018, said Dr. Josh Harris on the recent exclusive NAIOP member webinar on what's shaping office space demand. What's the outlook for the U.S. economy and what does it mean to you? Find out in the full archived webinar. 

Click here to view the webinar.