The ft.² Report

Who’s On The Move – Week Ending 03/12/10

Posted in build to suit, commercial real estate, data centers, downsizing, headquarters, lease, LEED, new office, office brokerage, office space, oregon, portland, rental rate, square feet, start up, sublease, Vacancies, tagged aguilar & bobadilla, archive systems, blue mountain community college, carroll community development, Citicaster, cochran inc, cognitive enhancement center, fei, focus enhancements, FT material solutions, guardian life insurance, heiling dwyer, HSRI, inside track, jonathan education center, lease, legacy health, national fish & wildlife, office space, prime lending, relocation, renewal, rental rate, sponsored link management, square feet, sublease, UTI worldwide, vacancy, waterscapes on March 15, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

GeneralBizDex (consulting|finance|insurance|legal|other)

UTI Worldwide - 400 SW Sixth Ave | 20,238 SF sublease of Avenue A/Razorfish space

Citicaster Co – 4949 SW Macadam Ave | 29,992 SF

Heiling Dwyer – Terminal Sales Bldg | 1220 SW Morrison | 3,794 SF

Inside Track – Crown Plaza | 1500 SW First Ave | 3,100 SF renewal

Guardian Life Insurance – Tigard Triangle Commons | 11850 SW 68th | 4,589 SF

Prime Lending – Creekside Corp Park | 8905 SW Nimbus | 1,850 SF

Aguilar & Bobadilla – Park Place Center | 4915 SW Griffith Dr | 1,665 SF

Jonathan Education Ctr – Three Town Center | 10121 SE Sunnyside Rd | 1,610 SF

Cognitive Enhancement Ctr – 604 SE Water Ave | 5,947 SF

NonProfDex (charitable|education|trade assoc)

Oregon Assoc of Plumbing – 300 Oswego Pointe Dr | 2,235 SF

Blue Mountain Community – Tanasbourne Commons | 17933 NW Evergreen Pkwy | 1,831 SF

National Fish & Wildlife – Commonwealth Bldg | 421 SW Sixth Ave | 3,039 SF

GovDex (government agencies)

Mexican Consulate – Forrester Bldg | 1305 SW 12th Ave | 10,440 SF

TechDex (apps|provider|hardware|var)

Focus Enhancements - Sunset Corp Park | 22867 NW Bennett | 10,900 SF

FEI - 5665 B NW Wagon Way | 21,000 SF

Cochran Inc - SW Commerce Ctr | 7550 SW Tech Center Dr | 21,250 SF

Sponsored Link Management – Ford Building | 2505 SE 11th Ave | 3,053 SF

Archive Systems – Birtcher Ctr Fairview | Townsend Way & NE 230th | 40,000 SF

FT Material Solutions – Birtcher Ctr Fairview | Townsend Way & NE 230th | 40,000 SF

HealthDex (hospital/provider|managed care|equipment)

Legacy Health Systems – Fremont Place II | 1650 NW Naito Pkwy | 3,423 SF

Human Services Research Institute – South Center III | 7690 SW Mohawk | 3,785 SF

Advanced Health Care Ctr – 4000 SE 82nd Ave | 1,468 SF

DesignDex (A/E|consulting|graphic d)

Waterscapes – 735 NW 18th St | 8,365 SF

High Times For Tenants in 2010

Posted in building sale, commercial real estate, data centers, downsizing, Forecast, lease, new office, office brokerage, office space, oregon, portland, retail brokerage, square feet, start up, sublease, Trends, Vacancies, vancouver, tagged commercial loans, commercial real estate, cost basis, DCR, debt coverage ratio, lease, loan to value, LTV, office space, retail space, tenants on September 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Many industry experts are predicting 2010 as one of the best year’s for tenants in a long, long time. Why? Because as more commercial properties exchange hands (whether through foreclosure or preemptive moves by distressed owners/banks) the cost basis for new owners will be significantly lower than for the previous asset holders. This will, in turn, push rents down as new owners no longer have such high cash flow needs to cover the debt on the building, called the Debt Coverage Ratio or DCR. This is a comparison between the monthly income of the property and the monthly debt payment on it. If the debt is lower, then the monthly income can be lower.

The escalating prices of an overheated market caused the value of commercial loans to rise dramatically over the last 3 years and thus drove up rents as the income on buildings had to increase in order to cover operations plus the cost of the loan. As scores of owners walk away from their investments over the next year or two, banks will be forced to put up properties for sale at much lower prices than in 2006-2007. Lower purchase prices, means buyers will be in a much healthier position to build a good tenant base through competitive rates and still meet their obligations as well as see a return on investment (albeit a much smaller return these days).

For landlords who can weather this transition and hold onto their properties, they face the dilemna of lowering their rents in order to be competitive. While several owners already have a low cost basis and can be aggressive with rates (have owned their properties for a long time), others (who have purchased in recent years) will be facing losses for a period of time while they either (1) cut their rates and actually lose money on the front end or (2) hold on rates and see little leasing activity as a result.

The message here is take advantage of these unusual market conditions if and while you can. If you have a lease expiring within the next two years, you may want to start looking at the market now and exploring your options.

Who’s On The Move – Week Ending 8/28/09

Posted in commercial real estate, data centers, Forecast, Green Building, headquarters, lease, LEED, new office, office brokerage, office space, portland, square feet, sublease, Vacancies, vancouver, tagged bank of america financial center, benefit partners, Columbia gorge corporate center, columbia tech center, Fit Right NW, infinity impressions, kruse way, lake oswego counseling, lease, LEED, nationwide, office space, premier property, renewal, scottrade, softsource, solar nation, square feet, SunPower, sustainable, The LoveJoy, two lincoln, Washington State University Vancouver, WSUV on August 31, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Recent Building Sales

Buyer: Fit Right Northwest
Seller: American Industries
Property: 2258 NW Raleigh, Portland, OR 97210
Size: 5,000 SF
Price: $800,000

SustainDex (environmental|sustainable|clean_biotech)

SunPower – The LoveJoy | 1331 NW Lovejoy | 2,458 SF

Solar Nation – Columbia Gorge Corp Ctr | 17116 NE Sandy | 8,375 SF

GeneralBizDex (consulting|finance|insurance|legal|other)

Benefit Partners – Bank of America | 121 SW Morrison | 2,450 SF

Nationwide Mutual Insurance – 847 NE 19th | 24,405 sf renewal

Scottrade – Sunnyside Plaza | 10001 SE Sunnyside Rd | 1,400 SF

Mark E. Landstrom – Kruse Way Plaza II | 4550 Kruse Way | 1,217 SF

Infinity Impressions – Parkside Business Ctr | 8082 SW Nimbus | 3,500 SF

Premier Property Group – 5000 Meadows Rd | 1,995 SF

Sacagawea Inc – Columbia Tech Center | 1301 SE Tech Center Dr | 10,692 SF

TechDex (apps|provider|hardware|var)

Softsource Consulting – 2 Lincoln | 10220 SW Greenburg Rd | 4,847 SF

HealthDex (hospital|provider|managed care|equipment)

Lake Oswego Counseling – Kruse Park | 3990 SW Collins Way 1,334 SF

Who’s On The Move – Week Ending 6/26/09

Posted in commercial real estate, data centers, downsizing, Forecast, headquarters, lease, new office, office brokerage, office space, oregon, retail brokerage, square feet, start up, sublease, Trends, vancouver, tagged American Family Insurance, biamp, Bishop Creek Development, BLIS, bon appetit, bridgeport, Cadence, fmyi, GreyHawk Technologies, International Air, lease, leftbank project, medius medical, office space, relocate, Sojitz, square feet, Total Asstes Management, Turner, Uniforce Staffing on June 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

FMYI SETS UP SHOP IN NEW DIGS

facing mezzanine

A great client of mine, Justin Yuen ( @jyuen) of fmyi, recently made the move across the Willamette River into an exciting new property called the LeftBank Project. The brainchild of developer Daniel Deutsch, LeftBank is an excellent example of a creative restoration of historic properties infused with sustainable features. This fact was of great appeal to fmyi, who is committed to minimizing their environmental footprint.

facing north

fmyi located on the mezzanine level overlooking the main entrance (photo to left) and the LeftBank cafe’ (operated by Bon Appetit). Tenants have access to showers/lockers and secure bike storage (inside the building). Other tenants include: Upright Brewing, Gallopowell Studio, Portland Farmers Market, and SOLIDCORE to name a few.

HealthDex (hospital/provider|managed care|equipment)

Bridgeport Eye Physicians - 20015 SW Pacific Highway | 3,259 SF

Medius Medical Concepts – Cornell Oaks | 15244 NW Greenbrier | 4,100 SF

BLIS Inc – 15055 SW Sequoia Parkway | 2,497 SF

GeneralBizDex (consulting|finance|insurance|legal|other)

Uniforce Staffing - Hilltop Biz Center | 7320 SW Hunziker Rd | 1,187 SF

Wendi Eiland Agency – 12665 SW Center St | 1,061 SF

Bishop Creek Development – 4035 SW Douglas Way | 13,104 SF

Total Assets Mgmt – Triangle Corp Park III | 13221 SW 68th | 2,533 SF renewal

Sojitz Corp – PacWest Center | 1211 SW Fifth Ave | 8,362 SF renewal

TechDex (apps|provider|hardware|var)

GreyHawk Technologies – EastRidge Biz Park | 12121 NE 99th St | 4,400 SF

NonProfDex (charitable|education|trade assoc)

Int’l Air & Hospitality Academy – Kelly Bldg | 200 Grand Blvd | 9,024 SF

Cadence – Triangle Corp Park III | 13221 SW 68th Pkwy | 2,170 SF renewal

DesignDex (A/E|consulting|graphic d)

Turner Engineering – Port of Vancouver | 2001 Kotobuki Way | 59,400 SF

Biamp Systems – Arctic Commons | 6020 SW Arctic Dr | 3,376 SF sublease

HP Campus Sells For $55 Million

Posted in building sale, commercial real estate, data centers, downsizing, headquarters, lease, new office, office space, square feet, vancouver, tagged headquarters, hewlett packard, HP, office space, sale, seh america, square feet, vancouver on June 26, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Hewlett Packard has finally sold their Vancouver, Washington campus to SEH America (Shin-Etsu Handotai Group), a Japanese manufacturer of solar equipment and computer chip components. The 174-acre campus, which includes administrative offices, R&D facilities, a basketball court and walking trails among other amenities sold for $55 million after going to the market in 2007 unpriced.

source: costar

In early 2007, HP was marketing a single building for lease (approx. 65,000 SF) which drew the interests of companies like Logitech. But ultimately, a property disposition became the more viable option for HP. Several developers looked into the offering, which has significant acreage of undeveloped land, for viable mixed-use projects. But as the market soured, those buyers dropped off and an owner-user became the likely buyer type. Enter SEH America.

H-P will lease back a portion of the campus for a while, but is likely pulling out of the market entirely over the next year and a half. They have already let go of half their workforce at this site.

Officials at SEH America, Shin-Etsu’s Vancouver-based North American headquarters, will likely use the facility to manufacture silicon wafers for computer chips or to make solar panel components, though nothing has been announced as of yet.

SEH’s current Vancouver campus is not fully built out, and could potentially house more wafer manufacturing. The demand for SEH’s products is booming. The Intel supplier stands to benefit from expansions underway in Hillsboro that will increase Intel’s demand for the 12-inch wafers that SEH makes. And state and federal tax credits, as well as widespread efforts to boost power generation through renewable energy, has spurred growth in the solar industry.

For the full story, click here http://budurl.com/kcsa

Sustainability Center Designs Unveiled

Posted in build to suit, commercial real estate, data centers, Green Building, headquarters, lease, LEED, new office, office space, oregon, portland, square feet, Trends, tagged GBD, gerding edlen, interface engineering, KPFF, living challenge standards, office space, SERA, square feet, sustainability center on June 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

source: Daily Journal of Commerce

Project lead Gerding Edlen Development is preparing to unveil the design of the Oregon Sustainability Center. Awarded this project back in March of this year, Gerding Edlen worked with GBD Architects, SERA Architects, Interface Engineering and KPFF Consulting Engineers to create a building design that incorporates water treatment components, photovoltaics and shading devices. Other key featues include the Portland streetcar line running through the tower and an atrium lined with trees.

Designed to meet Living Building Challenge standards, the estimated cost to build is around $98 million. An open house revealing the renderings for this project is being held June 25th at PSU’s Shattuck Hall from 5:00-7:30pm.

For the full story, click here http://budurl.com/qn4z

Cisco Goes High Tech Healthcare

Posted in build to suit, commercial real estate, data centers, Green Building, headquarters, lease, LEED, new office, office brokerage, office space, square feet, Trends, tagged cisco, commercial real estate, corporate campus, intel, lease, LEED, office space, office trends, pitney bowes, square feet on April 28, 2009 | 3 Comments »

source: NREIonline

In line with an interesting trend among major technology companies in the U.S., Cisco has added an onsite health care center to its San Jose headquarters campus.

The facility is operated by a third party medical group offering primary care, pediatric, nutritional and other health-related services to the 17,000 Cisco employees on campus.

The new building, called LifeConnections Center, is gold LEED certified and features telecommunications equipment hard-wired into the building for video conferencing and medical record transfer services offered to employees both on campus and offsite. The center features wireless check in at the front desk, online scheduling and electronic medical record tracking.

Costing a cool $38 million, LifeConnections Center occupies 24,000 square feet of a 112,000 square foot building that has been retrofitted for health care services. The balance of the building is dedicated to fitness (gym) and childcare services for employees.

Corporate campus health facilities have been gaining traction as companies start to tackle the issues associated with employee health care (costs, lost productivity, recruit/retain). The goal is to achieve significant savings off of medical plans and improve the health status among employees. Intel and Pitney Bowes have also opened medical facilities on their HQ campuses.

For the complete story and details on the extensive technology built into the facility, click here http://budurl.com/krnc