Southern California Industrial Real Estate Blog

THE LOS ANGELES CLEAN TECH CORRIDOR WILL MAKE L.A. THE LEADER IN GREEN TECHNOLOGY

By Jodi Summers

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA/LA) hope to transform L.A. into ‘the global capital of clean technology.” The goal is to transform the manufacturing corridor east of downtown into the center of green innovation. The mayor and his team are marketing this industrial parcel, dubbed the CleanTech Manufacturing Center, as a green business incubator, the way Silicon Valley hatched technology.

“We will make clean tech as synonymous with LA as motion pictures,” Mayor Villaraigosa boldly declared. “We will make LA the capital of green technology … and transform the city into a laboratory for green development.”

The CleanTech Corridor city planners envision spans 2,236 acres — about 10% railroad-owned — east of Alameda Street, and is accessible by the Metro Gold Line. It begins at a swath of land straddling the L.A. River, near Los Angeles State Historic Park (the former Cornfield), that Councilman Ed Reyes hopes to transform into a neighborhood where bicycles and pedestrians would rule and carbon emissions would be cut by 35%. Then it runs south through the site of a future Department of Water and Power research center into the Artists-in-Residence district, which stretches from Alameda to the river and from 1st Street to south of 7th Street. The vacant CleanTech Manufacturing site at Santa Fe Avenue and 15th Street, just south of the 10 Freeway, forms the corridor’s southern anchor.

“…The City is standing with the world-class academic institutions of Los Angeles and our dynamic business community to stake a claim as a global leader in the clean and green technologies that will drive the 21st century economy,” the mayor pronounced. “From R&D to manufacturing to design, this partnership taps into the creative assets and innovative spirit of our City to foster new industry and spur job growth.”

Of course, there are no local funds to make this conversion happen, so the city of Los Angeles will be calling for private investment and money from state and federal sources,

Last fall, CRA officials and the mayor’s business team began courting clean technology companies — talking up the purchasing power of the city’s public utilities, as well as the array of federal, state and city tax incentives available to business.

More than 100 companies, from solar and electric car manufacturers to a garment recycling business, expressed interest in the CleanTech site, which the city purchased from the state last April for $14 million.

“The Los Angeles Business Council believes that attracting green-tech companies will be a prime economic driver for the region,” said Los Angeles Business Council President Mary Leslie. “We were proud to launch the website CleanTechLA.org at our Sustainability Summit last year and look forward to continuing our partnership with the consortium to build a vibrant green economy in Los Angeles.”

For capitalist development, the Los Angeles Times reports that the most intensive push has been for an Italian rail manufacturer, AnsaldoBreda, which is angling for a $300-million rail car construction contract with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. If it secures the contract, AnsaldoBreda has promised to build a $70-million manufacturing plant. The contract is controversial because some MTA officials have been unhappy with the company’s performance in meeting rail car contract specifications in the past, but the company has several political insiders in town pushing this deal, said to be Los Angeles County Federation of Labor lobbyist Chris Lehane, and the green building company Shangri-LA Construction, founded by prominent Democratic contributor and Villaraigosa donor Steven Bing.

More altruistically, farther north in the corridor, a DWP research center focusing on renewable energy, climate change and water intended to attract companies that want to work with area universities.

Dubbed CleanTech Los Angeles, the city is seeking to create a research alliance (not unlike the Department of Energy’s Commercial Building Energy Alliances) involving local area educational institutions, with major roles being played by the California Institute of Technology, University of California Los Angeles and the University of Southern California, among others.

“I’ve often said that Los Angeles may have the best collection of intellectual talent of any county in the nation. I believe it’s important to invest our intellectual capital in programs that enhance the quality of life for all of our citizens” noted University of Southern California President Steven Sample. “USC is delighted to partner with our colleagues in higher education, and with our friends from the public sector and from private business, to help make Los Angeles the greenest city in America.”

“Broader recognition of Los Angeles as a global regional center of science and engineering research and clean technology development bodes well for its economic competitiveness in a rapidly changing world,” added Dr. Jean-Lou Chameau, President of the California Institute of Technology.

The cluster of laboratories would be housed in an old transformer warehouse overlooking the river on the DWP’s Main Street site, and the DWP recently secured a private donation that will allow the department to perform a $4.5-million “green retrofit” of the building.

Among the projects planned: development of aerospace technology with Caltech and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that would help the DWP better measure snowpack in the Eastern Sierra and dust in the Owens Valley.

In the basement of the DWP building, UCLA would build a wind tunnel testing facility. Meanwhile, USC is exploring the site as a home for a research institute that would study how to make data centers more energy efficient.

“The city really provides a platform to have a lot of technologies tested,” said John X. Chen, the DWP’s executive director of customer service and water conservation. He said the city will be spending billions of dollars trying to reach the mayor’s renewable energy goals. For those reasons, he argued that when competing for grants, “We will be very, very competitive against anybody out there.”

And, you can’t have business without housing nearby. At the northern end of the corridor, the Cornfield/Arroyo Seco specific plan area spans more than 600 acres — from Los Angeles State Historic Park, across the river into Lincoln Heights. It will be one of those picture pretty pedestrian- and cyclist-centered neighborhood

The city would also place special restrictions on developers within a mile of the river, requiring open space and measures to reduce carbon emissions in the neighborhood.

FYI…The L.A. Times notes that the CleanTech corridor is a critical component of the mayor’s “green jobs” agenda as he eyes a probable run for governor in 2010. And it could be a test of his pledge to transform Los Angeles into “the greenest and cleanest big city in the nation,” drawing more than a third of its electrical power from renewable sources by 2020.

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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-clean-tech28-2009apr28,0,669366,print.story

http://www.ioe.ucla.edu/news/article.asp?parentid=3347

http://www.today.ucla.edu/portal/ut/la-to-become-the-capital-of-green-88893.aspx

http://cleantechlosangeles.org/

http://www.lachamber.com/clientuploads/EWE_committee/RFI_FINAL_9_16_2008.pdf

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/hoDaoA3nwB-/Mayor+Antonio+Villaraigosa+Votes+Election/jvGcHFcTcLF/Antonio+Villaraigosa

THE SUN IN SHINING BRIGHTLY ON CALIFORNIA SOLAR

By Jodi Summers

Prices on solar panels have dropped considerably in the past 18 months – and this has caused the California solar installation market to boom. According to research by Mark Bachman of Auriga USA, in the first quarter of 2010 there have been applications for the installation of almost as many megawatts of residential, commercial, and government solar power as the entire year in 2009.

2010 applications for the state’s solar subsidy program, the California Solar Initiative, totaled 252 megawatts in the first quarter. At this point last year, only 68 megawatts had been applied for, and the by the year’s end the number sat at 267 megawatts.

A big boom in manufacturing capacity in Asia, the economic slowdown, cheaper raw materials and less generous subsidy programs in Europe have combined to cause the drop in prices. Companies such as Suntech Power (NYSE:STP), Yingli Green Energy (NYSE:YGE), Trina Solar (NYSE:TSL), and Kyocera Solar (NYSE:KYO) are dominating the market.

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http://www.energyboom.com/solar/driven-asian-manufacturers-solar-fire-california?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+energyboom+%28EnergyBoom+Daily+Briefing%29

http://blogs.forbes.com/energysource/2010/05/06/solar-on-fire-in-california/

http://www.rechargenews.com/multimedia/archive/00027/Suntech_solar_panels_27731b.jpg

http://www.maxsolarsystem.com/images-1/suntech-solar-panel.jpg

HOW MANUFACTURING + INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE FIGURES INTO THE ECONOMIC DOWNTOWN

By Jodi Summers

Now that we are coming out of the recession, the statistics are coming in. According to a report by Cushman + Wakefield, the manufacturing sector was one of the hardest hit in the recent economic downturn. Bet you didn’t know that more than 15.8% of all the manufacturing jobs in the US were lost in the recession, which is why the usually strong industrial marketplace took such a huge hit.

California cities with the highest proportion of employment in manufacturing include: Orange County (11.3%). San Francisco (11.1%) and Los Angeles (10.2%). As you might expect, all three of these cities have seen above-average employment declines.

An interesting national trend, in the 10 cities where employment has fallen the most, manufacturing accounts for, on average, 7.5% of all jobs, while in the eight cities with the smallest decline, manufacturing represents 6.1% of total employment.

The bright side to the whole equation is that the manufacturing sector tends to be one of the most cyclical markets. Just as we saw steep declines in employment during the recession, this sector is likely to experience above-average increases in the recovery. It is expected that new industries and new types of jobs are likely to emerge as the economy resumes growth (imagine the rise of L.A. Green Tech corridor).

Cushman + Wakefield deduce that the cities with the greatest potential to expand in the recovery will be those that have a diverse, educated work force that can adapt to new growth areas as they arise.

The report concludes, “Commercial real estate in the US is in much better condition than one would expect given that the nation just experienced the worst recession in 70 years. Relatively low vacancy compared to previous recessions suggests that the industry will also recover more quickly than expected.”

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https://www.cushwake.com/cwglobal/docviewer/AmericasEconomicPulseMAY2010.pdf?id=c33600033p&repositoryKey=CoreRepository&itemDesc=document&cid=c27400005p&crep=Core&cdesc=binaryPubContent&Country=GLOBAL&Language=EN&just_logged_in=1

http://somaweb.org/lacre/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/amerappar.jpg

http://www.socalgreenrealestateblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/los-angeles-2.jpg

http://www.socalofficerealestateblog.com/wp-content/newuploads/2010/03/port-of-la.gif

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/cleantech-la-aerial.jpg

http://suebellyank.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/panoramicviewfromrunyoncanyon.jpg

http://www.latimes.com/includes/soundslides/then_now_city_hall/05a.jpg

http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect4/los_angeles_skyline.jpg

http://faizanbaloch.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/downturn-1.jpg

THE INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET IN L.A. IS GROWING STRONGER

By Jodi Summers

“This particular cycle has caught us with something we have never seen before. We have been left with a significant amount of industrial space,” observed Ken Jackson, director of sales and acquisitions at Dynamic Builders. “Nonetheless, the demand for industrial space is still strong, he said.”When you are Downtown, and look to the southeast and see the one-story and two-story buildings out there, there are thousands of apparel and general merchandise companies that started there. It shows the huge strength of L.A.”

In 2009, the industrial market had one of the worst years in decades, purchase prices and lease rates reached 10-year lows. The U.S. vacancy rate for industrial properties hit 10.3% at the end of last year, according to the Urban Land Institute. Other firms, such as Grubb & Ellis, peg it slightly higher at 10.7%. Locally, we have always been blessed, as Los Angeles, peaked at 3.3% in the fourth quarter of last year, according to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation – up from 2.2% a year earlier.

Now, the industrial property market is slowly returning. “The worst has passed,” confirmed Craig Meyer, a managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle. “We’re clearly at the bottom looking up.”

Major cargo hubs like Los Angeles, Seattle, Kansas City, Houston and Dallas are expected to bounce out of the slump faster than other markets. While Phoenix, Chicago and Detroit are among the cities projected to lag.

Exports are up and manufacturing activity jumped last month to the fastest pace in more than five years. Around the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which together handle about 40% of the nation’s cargo container shipments, sales and leasing activity for industrial properties began rising last summer. Cargo volume posted a 28% annual increase in February, reinforcing the continued strengthening of the industrial real estate market.

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http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/apr/09/industrial-property-market-recovery-seen-2011/

http://www.laedc.org/businessscan/index.html

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/29/business/la-fi-ports-exports29-2010mar29

https://www.cushwake.com/cwglobal/docviewer/AmericasEconomicPulseMAY2010.pdf?id=c33600033p&repositoryKey=CoreRepository&itemDesc=document&cid=c27400005p&crep=Core&cdesc=binaryPubContent&Country=GLOBAL&Language=EN&just_logged_in=1

http://www.globest.com/newspics/la_urbanmarketplacepanel.jpg

http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/03/01/how-feasible-is-antonio-villaraigosas-3010-gambit-for-los-angeles-transit/

http://la.streetsblog.org/2010/04/22/3010-survives-the-metro-board-of-directors/

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/26/opinion/la-oe-rutten27-2010feb27

http://www.globest.com/news/1622_1622/losangeles/184054-1.html

http://somaweb.org/lacre/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/amerappar.jpg

http://www.socalgreenrealestateblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/los-angeles-2.jpg

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http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2006-01/26/xin_190103251121249355818.jpg

http://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-california/Panorama%20along%20Broadway%20St.,%20Los%20Angeles,%20showing%20City%20Hall,%201946-500.jpg

http://www.santamonicapropertyblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/cleantech-la-aerial.jpg

http://suebellyank.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/panoramicviewfromrunyoncanyon.jpg

http://www.latimes.com/includes/soundslides/then_now_city_hall/05a.jpg

http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect4/los_angeles_skyline.jpg

LOS ANGELES INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY SNAPSHOT – MARCH 2010

By Jodi Summers

Industrial investors like Los Angeles as an investment opportunity. Hamid Moghadam, chief executive of AMB, is one of those investors. Currently, AMB owns or controls 155 million square feet of distribution space around the globe > making it one of the largest property owners on the planet. Figure CEO Moghadam has is pulse on the industrial property market. He believes that “Smart real estate investors aren’t worried about 2010 earnings. They’re already looking ahead to the recovery in 2011 and 2012 and the ability to capitalize on future opportunities.”

Moghadam gives the L.A.-area industrial market a thumbs up as a place to be looking for property values. “Our favorite global markets include Los Angeles/Long Beach, New York/New Jersey, Toronto, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, London, Paris, Hamburg, Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo,” he confirms. “We look for the following characteristics in selecting our markets: They need to include a large population base and a deep pool of industrial tenants; contain a major container port and an international airport served by a diverse set of airlines; include an established transportation infrastructure involving multiple freeways and rail lines; and most important of all, have significant constraints on the development of new competing products. These constraints can be physical (difficult topography, etc.), political (zoning, no growth policies, etc.), or economic (very high land costs).”

The situation in the industrial market is mixed throughout Southern California, sites Jack Kyser, Founding Economist of the Kyser Center for Economic Research. As unstable as our industrial market may seem, the research shows that Los Angeles County is the lowest in the U.S. at a 3.3 percent vacancy, while the vacancy rate in the Riverside-San

Bernardino area high at 12.5 percent at year-end 2009.

“While the annual comparisons reflect broad declines since 2007, quarterly data show a marketplace that appears to be making a remarkable recovery,” Real Capital Analytics confirms. Volumes surged in Q4 to $147 billion, the first rise in seven quarters. “So far, investment activity is rebounding in a clear V shape but risks remain, and some fear the V could easily become a W. Nevertheless, sentiment among investors is much improved and 2010 is starting with a broad but cautious sense of optimism.”

Fourth quarter global deals surged 85% against Q4 2008 to $147 billion. Volume was up across markets geographically and across nearly every property type, with hotels the sole exception. Sales of office, retail and industrial properties were up 29% collectively.

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We would like your real estate business. If we can provide you with more detailed information, please contact the SoCal Investment Group through Jodi Summers, Jodi@jodisummers.com. We look forward to working with you in your next real estate transaction.

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http://www.globest.com/news/1604_1604/europe/183658-1.html

http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/23/real-estate-advisor-personal-finance-warehouse-reit_3.html

http://www.laedc.org/newasroom/releases/2010/100217_LAEDC%20Economic%20Forecast%202-17-10.pdf

http://somaweb.org/lacre/wp/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/amerappar.jpg

http://www.socalofficerealestateblog.com/wp-content/newuploads/2009/04/portoflaskyview.gif

http://www.amb.com/about/leadership/moghadam.html

L.A. COUNTY INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY SNAPSHOT – FEBRUARY 2010

Signs of Hope

By Jodi Summers

Look forward, better times are on the horizon. U.S. economic growth surged during the fourth quarter!! According to estimates of the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the U.S. economy bounced up by +5.7% last quarter (seasonally adjusted annual rate). This pace was the biggest increase since the third quarter of 2003.

This growth impacted the industrial sector in several ways:

* Industrial production increased. As output grew, the net rate at which firms drew down inventories plunged as many businesses decided to produce more goods and sell less out of inventory. This change supplied the single biggest boost to the economy, adding a celebratory +3.4 percentage points to the quarter’s growth rate.

* Exports continued to grow rapidly, which contributed +1.9 percentage points to the quarterly growth rate.

The industrial market needs these signs of optimism as, according to Clarus Market Metrics, contrasting Jan-08 vs. Jan-10, the median price of for sale properties is down 47% and the median price of sold properties is down 100%…so Los Angeles County industrial properties need all the stimulus they can get.

Hope is on the horizon. CoStar commercial real estate service reports that while industrial vacancies stubbornly high across the country, they are now flattening. Leasing activity is starting to pick up and, unlike previous downturns, the market is not plagued by an overhang of new supply. Locally, there is still a lot of volume on the market. Comparing Jan-08 vs. Jan-10, the number of for sale properties is up 48% and the number of sold properties is down 100%

Jan-08 vs. Jan-10 shows the number of expired properties is up 100%. Prices have dropped so low, that those who do not have to sell, are waiting and holding. Buyers and sellers are coming to terms with losses inflicted by the recession and the bursting of the real estate bubble, and realizing 2010 can only be brighter.

On the Westside, “There are preliminary signs of price stabilization in leases and sales,” in the industrial market, concludes Klabin Co. principal Luke Staubitz. Transaction volume, which began building last September, “will continue to increase throughout the year with tenants holding the pocket aces,” Staubitz said.

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We would like your real estate business. If we can provide you with more detailed information, please contact the SoCal Investment Group through Jodi Summers, Jodi@jodisummers.com or call 310.392.1211. We look forward to working with you in your next real estate transaction.

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http://www.cirbdata.com/

https://www.terradatum.com/

http://www.SoCalGreenRealEstateBlog.com

http://www.globest.com/news/1590_1590/washington/183353-1.html

http://www.globest.com/news/1592_1592/losangeles/183380-1.html

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http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=3C0803868E6B292E543549E07D5083C4&ref=100&iid=167&cid=383F14EEE265B182474DA2442BACBBBF

http://www.laedc.org/eedge/index.html#1

http://www.iamnotastalker.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/img_18842.jpg

LOS ANGELES INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY SNAPSHOT – JANUARY 2010

LOS ANGELES INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY SNAPSHOT – JANUARY 2010

By Jodi Summers

2009 was an extremely disappointing year for the industrial marketplace, and 2010 is predicted to be as dissatisfying as well.

“Commercial real estate is going to hit to bottom as well,” notes Urban Land Institute researcher Charles DiRocco.

It has been reported that commercial real estate value declines will average more than 40 percent below previous highs of mid-2007. Locally, in Los Angeles County, from December 2007 – December 2009 the median price of for sale properties is down 59% and the median price of sold properties is down 99%. Meantime, volume is up by almost 1/3^rd, while concluded transactions are down 50%.

The ULI notes business environment for commercial real estate in 2010 will be as unsatisfactory as the recession of the early 1990s.

It has been predicted that many late-cycle buyers of 2005 through 2007 could find themselves struggling with foreclosures because of high sales prices, weakening occupancy and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) coming due.

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http://saratogavoice.com/wordpress/2009/10/20/california-real-estate-forecast-for-2010/

http://nyrej.com/37067

http://www.realtor.org/research/economists_outlook/commentaries/forecast1209

http://pittsburgh.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2009/12/07/daily30.html

https://www.terradatum.com/agentmetricsonline/report_chart_view.td

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ALTERNATIVE ENERGY POLL – SOLAR RULES

ALTERNATIVE ENERGY POLL – SOLAR RULES

Edited by Jodi Summers

An overwhelming majority -92% of Americans polled - Support Solar Energy Development, according to the 2009 Schott Solar Barometer. The Schott Solar Barometer is a national survey conducted by independent polling firm Kelton Research.

The overwhelming support for solar power is consistent across political party affiliation with 89 percent of Republicans, 94 percent of Democrats and 93 percent of Independents agreeing that it is important for the U.S. to develop and use solar power.

Furthermore, close to eight in 10 (77%) Americans feel that the development of solar power, and other renewable energy sources, should be a major priority of the federal government, including the financial support needed. This sentiment also remains the same since June 2008 (77%).

If only given the opportunity to support one source of alternative energy, 43 percent of Americans would opt for solar over other sources such as wind (17%), natural gas (12%) and nuclear (10%).

Almost half of all Americans (49%) say they’re currently pondering solar power options for their home or business – and another three percent already have solar power. Among those who would like to take advantage of solar power at home or at work, seven in 10 (70%) envision they would make the change within the next five years.

The general consensus is that many Americans feel they lack information – fewer than one in five (12%) - can claim that they’re extremely informed about the subject of solar power in general. What’s more, almost three in four (74%) Americans admit they wish they knew more about solar power options for their home or business.

http://www.cleanedge.com/news/story.php?nID=6455

http://www.resourceactionprograms.org/blog/index.php/tag/southern-california/

http://saferenvironment.wordpress.com/2009/02/02/solar-power-%E2%80%93-sustainable-green-energy-to-protect-our-economy-and-environment/

http://www.geni.org/globalenergy/library/articles-renewable-energy-transmission/solar.shtml

http://www.sunandclimate.com/images/solar-power-dallas.jpg

http://www.generatormart.com/200806092224444674.shtml

http://earth911.com/blog/2007/10/15/pros-and-cons-of-solar-power/

THE GOVERNMENT’S COMMERCIAL PROPERTY ENERGY GOAL: TO MAKE BUILDINGS NET ZERO BY 2025

THE GOVERNMENT’S COMMERCIAL PROPERTY ENERGY GOAL: TO MAKE BUILDINGS NET ZERO BY 2025

By Jodi Summers

The US Department of Energy wants to reduce the amount of energy used by commercial buildings from about 19% of total US energy consumption to 0% by 2025.

To achieve this goal (watch, Santa Monica), the DOE is offering solutions sector by sector, dialoguing with owners and developers about ways to capitalize on new technologies and reduce energy consumption,.

The DOE kicked off its Zero-Net Energy Commercial Building Initiative lastyear by establishing the National Laboratory Collaborative on Building Technologies and developing the Commercial Building Energy Alliances.

The objective of the Alliance is to share best practices and practical experiences in energy efficiency.

The Commercial Building Initiative focuses on “turning tomorrow’s buildings into domestic energy assets by constructing energy-efficient, high-performancebuildings that expeditiously and cost-effectively achieve sustainable carbon reductions and enable, through energy-efficient buildings, higher ROIs for building owners and occupants as well as to economy as a whole.” - Official word from says Drury B. Crawley, team leader in commercial buildings research and development for the DOE’s Building Technology Programs.

The rollout was a collaboration between U.S. Department of Energy and 19 commercial real estate companies, with the goal of linking building owners to the latest efficiency research and technologies from the agency’s laboratories. High profile retailers including Wal-Mart, Target and Macy’s have become involved in the Retailer Energy Alliance.

The DOE proudly notes that this “public-private partnership designed to minimize the energy consumption and environmental impact of commercial buildings.”

The focus of thе latest phase of the Alliance is to minimize energy use in leased space, offices, shopping malls and the hospitality industry.

Kudos to the DOE for this bold attempt to curtail usage in properties that involve so many random people passing through who give no thought to the building itself.

With commercial buildings comprising roughly 18 percent of the country’s energy consumption, the DOE feels that commercial holdings represent a large opportunity to cut usage. Best practices are shared and the alliance, and the goal is to serve an industry voice to advocate for more energy efficient equipment from the nation’s building materials suppliers.

Henry Chamberlain, president and COO of Building Owners and Managers Assoc. International, called the Alliance “a catalyst for long-term change” that can reduce the use of energy, cut greenhouse gases and drive innovation in the marketplace.

Each Commercial Building Energy Alliance brings together industry experts who can influence the energy footprints of the companies or institutions they represent. Members discuss energy challenges, share non-proprietary information, conduct energy saving assessments and cut the cost of high-efficiency building equipment through group purchases. They can also benefit from the technical assistance of the DOE.

The DOE has already created a steering committee for the next Commercial Building Energy Alliance, which will examine energy use in hospitals. The DOE describes the nation’s 8,000 hospitals as among its “most energy intensive commercial buildings, with more than 2.5 times the energy intensity and carbon dioxide emissions of office buildings. Unlike most other commercial buildings, hospitals are operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week and provide services even during power outages, natural disasters…”

All alliances are part of the DOE’s Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative targeting zero-energy commercial buildings by 2025.

Go to http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/tax_commercial.htmlFor tax deductions that are available for improving the energy efficiency of commercial buildings, as well as links to qualified software available for calculating the savings.

The Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative was signed into law by former President Bush as part of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, and is authorized for more than $1 billion in federal funds over the next decade. DOE committed $15 million last year to the program’s first phase, a research project involving two national laboratories and 21 companies that will produce new and retrofitted buildings with significant cuts in energy consumption.

Tools:

The DOE has taken a number of steps to encourage energy efficiency in the design of new buildings. EnergyPlus is an energy modeling tool, which is augmented by OpenStudio, a plug-in for the Google SketchUp 3-D drawing program that allows SketchUp to work seamlessly with the EnergyPlus program.

Both are available on the EnergyPlus page of DOE’s Building Technologies Program Web site.

http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/energyplus/

That site also features a selection of benchmark models for 16 types of building in 16 locations to help designers understand the energy use of similar new buildings- http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/commercial_initiative/new_construction.html

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sources:

http://www.globest.com/news/1391_1391/insider/178282-1.html?type=pf

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LOS ANGELES INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY SNAPSHOT – NOVEMBER 2009

LOS ANGELES INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY SNAPSHOT – NOVEMBER 2009

By Jodi Summers

According to Forbes the economy grew at a 3.5% annualized rate. That was better than many economists expected, but let’s face it, that’s not booming good times. This slightly more optimistic national forecast is driven by increased consumer confidence and an increased demand for California produced goods.

The UCLA Anderson School Senior Economist David Shulman observed that, “the majority of short-term growth will come from a dramatic reversal in inventories, where after plunging at a revised annual rate of $159 billion in the second quarter, real inventories are expected to increase by $12 billion in the fourth quarter of this year.”

A bit of optimism in a dismal industrial market. Industrial vacancy rates jumped to 10.2% in the third quarter — a 180-basis-point increase from the 8.4% reported during the same quarter last year and up from 9.8% at midyear 2009, according to the third-quarter industrial review delivered by Jay Spivey, senior director of research and analytics, for CoStar. Negative absorption topped 44 million square feet in the third quarter of this year as companies continued to shed warehouse, flex and manufacturing space in the face of continuing job losses.

In Los Angeles from October 2007 to October 2009 the median sold price is down 69%. The number of properties for sale is up by 41%, while the number of properties that have sold continue to be dismally few. Additionally, properties are remaining on the market for longer and the number of properties being taken off the market due to lack of buyers is rising. Only owner-users have been net buyers of industrial real estate in 2009, with private companies and REITs disposing of property and private equity and institutions staying mostly on the sidelines, neither buying nor selling.

Looking forward to 2010, CoStar forecasts that, although the national industrial vacancy will rise as high at 11%, the amount of net vacant space on the market should begin to taper off over the next two quarters. By mid-2010, (barring a double-dip recession) the industrial market is expected to slowly resume, though rents are not expected to start climbing until 2012-13. Net operating income (NOI) growth for industrial building owners, which flattened last year and had fallen nearly 6% as of midyear 2009, will continue to decline through 2011.

Looking for some specific details? Would you like to be our client – we’ll take good care of you. Contact the SoCal Investment Group through Jodi Summers, Jodi@jodisummers.com.

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http://www.clarusresource.com/

http://www.uclaforecast.com/contents/archive/2009/media_91609_1.asp

http://www.dqnews.com/Articles/2009/News/California/Southern-CA/RRSCA091013.aspx

http://www.costar.com/news/Article.aspx?id=A473652CBA5022AE544D5933473223FC

http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/30/property-recession-apartments-personal-finance-real-estate-advisor-stock-talk.html?partner=alerts