AvalonBay Resuming Apartment Construction

After nearly a year of halting new construction, AvalonBay has resumed apartment construction. The company has plans to construct some $400M of new apartment product as the company and others begin to wager that jobs will return and apartment vacancy rates will plummet.
AvalonBay, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is putting shovels in the ground when 8 [...]

AIA Projects 13% Fall in Commercial Construction

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is forecasting that office, retail and hotel development may fall 13% this year. In July, they were forecasting 12%.
ndustrial construction spending is likely to slump the most this year, 24 percent, and an additional 7.8 percent in 2011, the institute said.
The group expects hotel building to also fall about 24 percent [...]

Construction Costs Steadying – Uptick Expected

We’ve seen construction prices fall as construction activity has slowed over the past year or so. Reed Construction Data is now reporting that the price is leveling. We anticipate prices to remain steady and to rise as well, driven by a pickup in activity off the lows, and because of the weak dollar.
Construction materials prices [...]

Dan Tishman from Tishman Construction on CNBC

As much as I dislike the personalities at CNBC and their bandwagon reporting, they do have meaningful guests on their shows. Daniel Tishman, CEO of Tishman Construction Company was on CNBC and had some insights.

Construction pricing has come “way down”
2010 tougher year than 2009 for construction industry
Supply constraints of product will start to push prices [...]

Cupertino Mixed-Use Project to Go Before Planning Commission

Sand Hill Property’s 17.4 acre mixed-use project in Cupertino is slated to go before the planning commission for a preliminary review later this month. Sand Hill acquired the 17.4 acre parcel from Hewlett Packard earlier this year for roughly $65M ($85 psf) and is proposing a project which would include:

150,000 square feet of retail
100,000 square [...]

Amazing Sunnyvale – TMG and Principal Moving Forward to Bring Another 100K SF of Office Online

The Martin Group and its JV partner Principal Global Investors have plans to break ground shortly on 384 Santa Trinita Ave, a four-story Class A office project in Sunnyvale. The building will feature 25,000 square foot floor plates, and 3.35/1000 parking. This development would dump another 100,000 square feet of space on top of a market which [...]

Construction Costs for Parking Stalls

In development, municipal codes and zoning generally dictate parking requirements. For most office projects, parking requirements are generally in the ratio of 3.3-4 spaces per 1,000 square feet. For most multi-family developments which have a mix of 1-3 br, ratios are generally in the 1.5-2 spaces or stalls per unit. Retail can vary greatly, as [...]

Palo Alto Mandates Green Building for Commercial Construction

Palo Alto has announced that any commercial construction greater than 25,000 square feet will require Green Building Council verification. That move makes it the first south bay city to codify green building. While many new projects coming out of the ground today seek LEED certification, the fact is that ultimately the increased expense of LEED [...]

Construction Costs on The Rise Again

Over the past several weeks, construction prices have climbed about 10% as the combination of a weak dollar and high crude oil prices filter their way through the economy. The weak dollar and global demand has caused base materials products to increase thereby causing an upswing in building material prices. High fuel prices further compound [...]

Green Building Requirements Becoming Mandatory

The San Francisco Building Inspections Commission voted in favor on enacting new green building requirements. The requirements would require almost all commercial buildings (those bigger than 5,000 square feet) to comply with LEED standards. In addition, residential structures exceeding 75 feet in height and other buildings in excess of 25,000 square feet must also comply [...]