

Smart Phones at Dinner – Subtle Clues for Commercial Real Estate?
A few weeks ago at dinner, my wife and I were seated amongst a long row of tables set for 2 people. To my left was a young couple (20′s) and to my right was an older couple (60′s+). Being that we are in our 40′s, there was quite a dynamic at work that evening between our three tables. The younger couple was constantly on their iPhones do various things and they only spoke to each other intermittently and it seemed that when they did talk it was about what they were doing on

Sustainability – more than saving energy
We recently were awarded Energy Star status for one of our office properties – the second year in a row. This is a nice accomplishment for the property and shows our tenants and the community that we are focused on reducing our energy consumption. There are many ways to reduce energy consumption in commercial properties – some are low cost/low risk while other methods are more expensive and intrusive. Regardless of the how you get there, reduced energy consumption is not yo


Real Estate Taxes & Assessments – Do they work?
We recently attended tax appeal hearings for two office properties we own and we are currently appealing 5 office property tax assessments. It’s interesting how governments have attempted to fund their costs through applying market values to both commercial and residential properties that are in their municipalities. The market turmoil of the past few years has made it almost impossible to value properties with any credibility. As governments search for new income, some have


Can you build a new Class “B” building?
There is always controversy in local markets about how office properties are judged. Which ones are A, A-, B, etc. Everyone has their own opinion and there is certainly movement between the classes depending on two primary factors – the basic construction and layout of the property and how it is maintained by the owners. I’ll make the argument that any new office construction automatically qualifies as an A property simpy due to it being new – new systems and new constructi