Real estate development is an ever evolving and, at times, volatile business. Advanced technology can help to mitigate that volatility and improve processes in the construction and real estate industry. Building information modeling, or BIM, is one of the most powerful tools developers can use to reduce risk and ensure the profitability of their investments. BIM not only allows for better planning and project design, but also facilitates collaboration, communication, efficiency and ongoing asset management. Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Real Estate What is BIM? Building information m ..read more

The office space market is facing a new reality in 2024: lower demand and a need for adaptation. While new construction shrunk by 28% compared to last year with 97 million square feet currently under development nationwide, there’s an interesting twist: Cities are responding by converting unused offices into other uses, such as housing. Using CommercialEdge data, CommercialCafe released its yearly pipeline report that looks at trends around office construction activity throughout the country’s major real estate markets and ranks the largest office projects set to be d ..read more

A passion for sustainability is the driving force behind the work of Langan Senior Project Manager Andrew Chun, CHMM, a recipient of the 2023 Developing Leaders Award. After studying environmental science and urban environmental analysis, Chun brought his expertise and interest in sustainability to a career in commercial real estate. A crucial part of sustainability efforts, he says, is the adapted reuse of blighted properties and brownfields sites. Andrew Chun As senior project manager at Langan, Chun specializes in brownfield redevelopment. He has more than 10 years of experience focusing o ..read more

In the ever-changing world of construction, creative solutions are key to moving projects forward. In an industry where tradition can take precedence over innovation, it’s important for general contractors to regularly challenge the norm; doing so can uncover modern insights that reshape the way we build the communities where we live and work. Embracing New Technologies Technology exists at the root of all innovative breakthroughs, especially in the construction world. Although sometimes daunting to adopt, these new tools are positioned to help increase project efficiencies, save time and unc ..read more

On March 11, President Joe Biden submitted his FY 2025 Proposed Budget to Congress. Like the budget he proposed last year around this time, it contains a number of tax policy changes that, if enacted, would have an outsized negative impact on the commercial real estate industry. But unlike last year’s proposal, this is an election-year proposal intended as the administration’s statement on the economic agenda Biden will pursue if re-elected this November. That does not mean, however, that this budget proposal should be seen as simply a rhetorical document with little chance in a Republican-co ..read more

NAIOP’s Market Share blog sat down with 2024 NAIOP Chair Brian Walker to ask him about his career path, NAIOP experience, and vision for the association this year. You are the first NAIOP Developing Leader to be named chair. Tell us about that. I can recall what it felt like to be a young CPA just starting my career. NAIOP and the Pittsburgh chapter were essential in connecting me with the knowledge, research, education and people I needed to launch my career. Our DLs comprise nearly 28% of our total membership, and they’re the future of our industry and association. I’m thrilled to have the ..read more

NAIOP members know that the procurement of a local permit is a fundamental and essential part of commercial real estate development in providing communities with properties for people to live, work and play. However, local permitting processes vary and too often become unnecessarily delayed. These variations and delays lead to uncertainties that affect the development’s completion, the financing structure, the retention of contractors, resources and equipment, and, ultimately, the cost for the owner, tenant and end-user. Because of this, NAIOP chapters across the U.S. are using Georgia’s legi ..read more

Although this year’s I.CON West conference is taking place in California, much of the due diligence session applies to the rest of the country. In all aspects of due diligence, the goal is the same: How do we get the project for our investors through the approval cycle with the least risk, time and expense?   In a panel session, four experts discussed slightly different aspects of due diligence practices (political; biological and resource; California Environmental Quality Act, if applicable; and site selection). Still, the take-home consensus was how properly executed due diligence ..read more

Warehouses used to be spartan, utilitarian production and storage spaces. The emphasis was on throughput and convenience. However, some companies are incorporating human-centric features focused on wellness to capture market differentiation, increase employee retention and impact productivity. Authors of the recent NAIOP Research Foundation report, Designing for Wellness in Distribution Centers, spoke to I.CON West attendees about their design ideas, and an end user who has incorporated wellness standards in their facilities.  Why Design for Wellness?  Nate Maniktala, principal at ..read more

How do you know if you are optimizing the space in all your properties worldwide? How long would that take you to figure out with your current analytical tools?   While everyone might think they know what AI is, a session at I.CON West this week in Long Beach, California, did the job of defining it. Taylor Odegard, founder, CEO, chairman and head of innovation for NavigatorCRE, said that AI needs two things before it can be defined as such: data analytics and machine learning. AI learns from each of these to deliver its “product.”  For William O’Donnell, managing partner with P ..read more