Jodi Summers = Industrial Real Estate

GREEN CONSTRUCTION TOOLS MATTER

May 20, 2013 on 9:20 am | In Bravo, Government, Green, New Developments, Problem Solving, Trends, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

by Jodi Summers

California is an example of green construction. In 2008, state energy regulators adopted a long-term plan that called for having all new residential buildings achieve zero net energy use by 2020 and having all commercial buildings achieve zero net energy use by 2030. The provisions also reduce water use by 20% and divert 50% of construction waste from landfills.

The Los Angeles Green Building ordinance has been heralded as “the most far reaching plan of any big city in America to promote green building practices in the private sector.”

L.A. is on track to reduce the city’s carbon emissions 35% below 1990 levels by 2030. Our goal is the greatest reduction target of any large US city. It takes the state’s stringent CalGreen building codes a step further.

So going forward, we’re good, but we’re still dealing with an existing building stock, and some antiquated customs and equipment all the way around. Restructuring a structure’s infrastructure (say that 3x fast) is not an overnight process. We are sprinting toward net zero construction, yet large parts of the old-style building infrastructure will still dominate the landscape for the next century.

Any improvements and renovations made to your properties can impact the environment. Be conscious of your choices in paint and floor coverings. Anything you upgrade on your properties can be done with green in mind heating, plumbing, and electric all offer green fixes that can save the business money on the long term, and increase profitability on resale.

But some things are a slow fix…we may be building green buildings, but the machinery used to construct the property may not be. You’ve seen those backhoes and cranes bellowing black diesel carbon fumes. Around the shop, some old power tools use 3x the needed energy.

Construction equipment companies are catching on. JCB is aware of their duty to make their plant machinery more environmentally sound. For example, the Scot JCB Digger has numerous variations including the brand new 3CX-ECO with increased fuel efficiency in all aspects of its functionality.

Construction companies – particularly in Southern California – are up to speed on CalGreen construction, ICC codes, and other modern methods. Our fair county is an example of sound building, with cities like West Hollywood, Los Angeles, and Santa Monica offering some of the strictest green construction codes in the country, if not the world. And we’re setting an example for going forward. Today’s green apprentice may someday become the foremen of their own company, selling jobs and their bids.

Green building goes beyond the edifice, it includes the source of the raw materials, and the distance they travelled, the equipment that goes into the building and that goes into building the building. Society is progressing forward at warp speed, and we’re along for the ride. Let’s do our best to contribute to the greater good for now and for generations to come.

http://greenbuildingelements.com/2013/02/07/the-buildings-green-what-about-the-equipment-that-built-it/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+IM-greenbuildingelements+%28Green+Building+Elements%29

http://www.socalgreenrealestateblog.com/?p=2613

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WHAT WOOD WILL BE USED IN NEW CONSTRUCTION?

March 10, 2013 on 8:20 pm | In Fascinating Information, Green, Trends, Uncategorized | No Comments

edited by Jodi Summers

Here’s a cool chart predicting the growth in production of machine stress-rated (MSR). MSR wood is used mainly for trusses and I-joists, so when new construction rises, so will production. Second, design values for visually graded Southern yellow pine–another wood type used in trusses and joists–were reduced. That makes MSR of all types more desirable. The Forest Economic Advisers (FEA) predicts a boost in production of Southern pine MSR as production in Canada slows due to the mountain pine beetle’s destruction in the west and reduced harvests in the east.

SOCAL INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT – MARCH 2013 ~ GROWTH THROUGH STUFF

March 1, 2013 on 10:18 pm | In Economy, Fascinating Information, Investment Opportunities, Market Snapshot, New Developments, Trends, Uncategorized | No Comments

by Jodi Summers

It’s in the cards. In the future, we’re going to buy more stuff, build more stuff, make more stuff and warehouse more stuff, and these activities will keep SoCal industrial real estate market strong. Experts say the wide array of economic and real estate expansion that we are currently noticing around town will support healthy employment activity over next two years. This year, countywide employment is predicted to grow by 61,000 positions, or 1.6%, followed by 72,000 new hires in 2014, an increase of 1.8%.

Much of this new employment is coming in the way of new construction, and is good for the industrial market. Why kind of new construction, you wonder? Check out these billion dollar projects:

* Our football stadium, Farmers Field, was finally approved by the Los Angeles City Council in a 12-0 vote on September 28, 2012. The $1 billion, 78,000-seat stadium downtown in downtown will double the size of the Convention Center.

Soon, Los Angeles will be able to host an NFL team < this hasn’t happened since the Rams and the Raiders left Los Angeles at the end of 1994.

Construction of the project is anticipated to generate over $1.7 billion for the local economy, and add nearly 20,000 full-time jobs resulting from direct and indirect operations.

* The Tom Bradley International Terminal is undergoing a $1.5 billion renovation and expansion project that will be complete this year. This modern engineering marvel will feature 18 roomier boarding gates with nine built for new-generation aircrafts. The project is using recycled building materials and is expected to achieve a LEED Silver certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, as well as a host of other architecture and design awards.

The passenger experience will be enriched by upgraded customs/immigration and federal security screening areas for more efficient processing, as well as secured corridors so connecting passengers can travel between the New TBIT and Terminals 3 and 4. New state-of-the-art, baggage-handling systems will improve passenger wait times and speed travelers through the ticketing process.

Fyi, LAX is the sixth busiest airport in the world and third busiest in the United States, offering more than 600 daily flights to 91 domestic cities and over 1,000 weekly nonstop flights to 58 cities in 32 countries on nearly 75 air carriers. In 2011, LAX served more than 61.8 million passengers, processed more than 1.8 million tons of air cargo valued at nearly $84.6 billion, and handled 603,912 aircraft operations (landings and takeoffs).

* And the award for entertainment development goes to the Grand Avenue redevelopment project. Plans call for a $3 billion, 3.2 million-square-foot project near the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown Los Angeles. The project will include 2,600 residential units, 449,000 square feet of retail space, a five-star hotel, and a 16- acre park. The development is expected to support 5,900 permanent positions. The wide array of economic and real estate expansion will support healthy employment activity over the two-year forecast period. This year, countywide headcounts will grow by 61,000 positions, or 1.6%, followed by 72,000 new hires in 2014, an increase of 1.8%.

* And let us not forget our much-anticipated Expo Line light rail. The Expo Line will run from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica in approximately 46 minutes – even during rush hour. The 15.2 mile Expo Line will bring light rail to the Exposition Corridor, with 19 stations. Service on Phase 1 began service to the Culver City station on June 20, 2012. Phase 2 will extend the line out to Santa Monica and construction is scheduled to be completed in 2015. Estimated costs for the project are $930 million for Phase 1 and $1.5 billion for Phase 2. By 2030, an estimated 64,000 passengers are expected to ride the Expo Line each day – which would make it one of the most heavily used light rail lines in the country.

Those with a vision, see our growth. Be a part of the plan, buy more stuff, build more stuff, make more stuff and warehouse more stuff.

We’re here to help you with your real estate needs. Please contact Jodi Summers and the SoCal Investment Real Estate Group @ Sotheby’s International Realty – jodi@jodisummers.com or 310.392.1211, and let us move forward together.

http://blog.commercialsource.com/fed-industrial-production-capacity-utilization-up/?om_rid=AAFjw1&om_mid=_BRFBXaB8wsws$y&om_ntype=NARWeekly

http://www.allenmatkins.com/Publications/Videos-and-Presentations/Videos/2013/01/30_01_2013-Winter-Anderson-Forecast-Main-Video.aspx

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=avi7aSwzqXE

http://www.costar.com/News/Article/CRE-Sales-Surge-In-2012-As-Pricing-Recovery-Spreads-To-More-Markets/145720?ref=100&iid=323&cid=383F14EEE265B182474DA2442BACBBBF

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farmers_Field

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http://westfieldatlax.com/blog/2012/12/05/premier-dining-retail-coming-to-new-tom-bradley-international-terminal/

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/01/lax-renovation.html

http://www.buildexpo.org/

http://www.apartmentupdate.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=markets.main&mktpage=861&login=1

THE REVIVAL OF SPEC INDUSTRIAL BUILDING IN LOS ANGELES

February 20, 2013 on 12:00 am | In Bravo, Investment Opportunities, New Developments, Trends, Uncategorized | No Comments

by Jodi Summers

Spec building is coming back to Los Angeles area industrial real estate. Builders are creating small, high tech storage and distribution facilities with easy loading and easy access.

“What we’re trying to do is design the best building for the market.” Notes Panattoni Development partner Mark Payne.

The growth of Internet sales is creating a need for more warehousing. As you might expect, Los Angeles area industrial buyers place their priority on location. There is a desire for industrial sites near LAX, the Ports, UPS and FedEx stations. Taking a broader view, beyond local infill, there will be a demand for more distant locations where next-day delivery products can get shipped quickly and easily.

New development is going forward because experts praise the SoCal industrial real estate market as “by far the deepest and largest industrial market in the nation, with LA and Orange counties having the lowest and second-lowest vacancy rates at 2.4% 3.8%.”

**

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BIG NEW ROOFS MAY HAVE TO BE SOLAR READY

February 10, 2013 on 3:20 pm | In Government, Green, New Developments, Problem Solving, Trends, Uncategorized | No Comments

by Jodi Summers

Rumor floating around Sacramento has it that California regulators are ready to approve energy standards that would require new homes and commercial buildings to have “solar-ready roofs,” among other energy-efficient standards.

The new regulations would not require commercial or residential property owners to install solar systems, but the roofs of new properties would be built to easily accommodate solar installation.

The new standards being kicked around also include common-sense measures such as insulating hot-water pipes and ensuring air conditioning systems are inspected for air flow. More to come….

http://www.bizjournals.com/losangeles/news/2012/05/31/california-ready-to-require.html

http://www.socalindustrialrealestateblog.com/?p=1334

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LOS ANGELES INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE SNAPSHOT ~ FEBRUARY 2013 > CONTAINER HEAVEN

January 31, 2013 on 9:51 pm | In Bravo, Charts + Statistics, Market Snapshot, New Developments, Trends, Uncategorized, world | 1 Comment

by Jodi Summers

This month, our Los Angeles Industrial Real Estate update is all about cargo containers…both in traditional and non-traditional uses.

Cargo volume at the ports is up for the year, which bodes well for Los Angeles Industrial real estate. The Port of Long Beach was proud to announce that they had their busiest-ever December for container imports, rising and impressive 18.9% over the same period a year ago. Btw, a busy December is not typical, as shippers use this time of year to import goods for the slower winter and spring retail seasons.

“Business at the Port of Long Beach is clearly on the upswing as the economy strengthens and international trade continues to support hundreds of thousands of jobs in Southern California alone,” shared J. Christopher Lytle, Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach.

Currently, an estimated 21,000 shipping containers arrive in the United States every day. Retired shipping containers are abundant in the United States. Port authorities estimate that over 700,000 used shipping containers are stockpiled on prime waterfront real estate without a significant use, purpose, or typical method for disposal, making them ideal construction modules.

Shipping container architecture has evolved as a form of architecture using steel intermodal containers (shipping containers) as structural element, because of their inherent strength, wide availability and relatively low expense. A container is often referred to as a TEU, or twenty-foot equivalent unit. A standard TEU is approximately 20 feet long and 8 feet wide. The most common height is 8 feet 6 inches, an ample ceiling height.

Cargo containers are a rather perfect sized box for building. Made of steel and wood, this product is stronger than conventional framing, stackable for creating levels and is readily available.

“There are a lot of different types of energy efficiency that cargo container-based construction brings to the table,” offered Leslie Horn, CEO of Three Squares real estate development company. “With the U.S. new construction industry desperate for ways to cut costs without undermining quality, green home construction gaining significant momentum, and a growth rate from $49 billion to $140 billion forecasted over the next five years, shipping container-based construction is an extraordinarily well-positioned solution.”

Shipping containers have been called an ideal building material as they are designed to carry heavy loads and to be stacked in high columns. They are also designed to resist harsh environments – such as on ocean-going vessels or sprayed with road salt while transported on roads. As all shipping containers are made to standard measurements and as such they provide modular elements that can be combined into larger structures. Construction involves very little labor. As they are already designed to interlock for ease of mobility during transportation, structural construction is as easy as stacking more containers. Containers can be stacked up to 12 high when empty. They also keep building costs way down. Containers may be purchased from major transport companies for as little as US $1,200 each. Even when purchased brand new they are seldom more than US $6000.

Many structures based on shipping containers have already been constructed, and their uses, sizes, locations and appearances vary widely. In 2000, the firm Urban Space Management completed the project called Container City I in the Trinity Buoy Wharf area of London. The London docklands development is composed of environmentally friendly work studios and live/work lofts stacked on top of each other to create a 5-story building.

Architect Nicholas Lacey and Buro Happold created a flexible design system that relies on component pieces instead of units. Instead of using a 1 container = 1 unit approach, their system relies on components in various permutations to create very livable, adaptable spaces. Aside from this Container City residential project, the system has been used in projects as diverse as classrooms, office spaces, residential units, retail spaces and even youth centers.

“Containers as architecture are just one of the ways in which we can look at objects and find new uses to them. The modular nature of the containers, their adaptability, and the fact that they can be found in industrial surplus make them an ideal prefab material,” noted Urban Space Management.

In 2006, Southern California Architect Peter DeMaria designed the first two story shipping container home in the U.S. as an approved structural system under the strict guidelines of the nationally recognized Uniform Building Code (UBC). This home was the Redondo Beach House and it inspired the creation of Logical Homes, a cargo container based pre-fabricated home company.

They also have a fine use for low income housing. As an MBA student, Brian McCarthy saw many poor neighborhoods in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. He has since developed prototypes of shipping container housing for typical maquiladora workers in Mexico. And now, people can buy homes for as low as $8,000.

Containers are also used in disaster relief. In 2011, an earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand devastated the city’s central business district. The Cashel Mall reopened in a series of shipping containers within months.

The use of rudimentary containers to ship cargo began in the late 17th century. By the 1950s, the U.S. military standardized their design, building strong, uniform, theft-resistant, stackable shipping containers that were easy to load and unload by truck, rail and ship, and easy to store. Now, containers are not just for shipping anymore. In the future, the cargo container will contribute to construction in a variety of ways.