Elevator Modernization: Tips on Project Planning, Budgeting, and Management

“Think about a LinkedIn or Shutterstock employee,” says Thomas Durels, executive vice president, chief of property operations and leasing for Empire State Realty Trust. “Those are our tenants; they’re working at the Empire State Building any time, day or night. They’re traveling to and from restaurants, a fitness center, conference space, and their workspaces – all under one roof. We’re contributing to their productivity by making sure they don’t have to wait in line for…

The Evolution of Destination Dispatching

With urban U.S. populations growing faster than any other demographic, and UN World Urbanization Prospects reports projecting that 60 percent (4.9 billion) of the world’s population will live in cities by 2030, space in the modern American city has never been at a higher premium. As more and more people funnel into urban areas, the […]

Destination Dispatch Streamlines Travel in Office and Residential High-Rises

Along with the cities of Durham and Chapel Hill, Raleigh forms one of the points of the Research Triangle, home to three major universities and numerous corporations engaged in advanced research and development. Thanks to its outstanding quality of life and business-friendly approach, Raleigh is a fast-growing area and frequently listed as one of the […]

Stand-Outs: High-Rise Managers Share Their Team’s Best Practices

Owning or managing a tall building is a lot like operating a small city. Being responsible for the services and infrastructure that keep occupants and tenants in business is a big job. So why not take some suggestions and help from your colleagues when you can get it?

We found some examples of best practices that are being incorporated in high-rise facilities, and arranged them into categories.

High-Rise Hotels That Get IT

High-def flat screens embedded into bathroom mirrors. Electronic doorbell systems that feature guest presence detection and tray removal tracking. Energy management systems that set lighting and temperature levels based on whether guests are in the room, out of the room, or checked out.

All of these technologies are being incorporated into upscale high-rise hotels, according to Jeremy Rock, president of RockIT Group in Anaheim, CA. These amenities bring added comfort and satisfaction to guests, and can offer productivity advantages for hotel staff members as well.

The 5 Rings of High-Rise Residential Security

Tenants living in residential high-rises have different security expectations based on a wide variety of factors, says Daun St. Amand, vice president at RTKL Associates. “They ebb and flow relative to several things.”

Security levels and expectations vary…

Restroom Faucets Get Smart

It may seem like all touchless restroom faucet fixtures are created equal (and have been that way for the past few years). Recently, however, manufacturers have unveiled new technology that offers helpful benefits and savings for facilities professionals. The latest commercial faucet lines offer smart fixtures that don’t just dispense water for hand-washing – they […]

UFAD Robot Cleans Beneath Raised Floor Systems

Martins Maintenance is one of the largest family-run commercial cleaning companies in the northeast with over 200 clients in 10 states. Among those clients is a Fortune 500 company occupying a high-rise office building. The firm called on the aid of Manuel Martins Jr. and Jordan Amaral to help solve an interesting problem at their […]

Texas’s Tallest Residential Tower Solves Hot Water Delivery Problem

The Austonian is Austin, Texas’s premiere luxury residence. Located in the heart of Austin’s eclectic culture, it offers 360° views and unparalleled amenities to its residents, and has received a Four Star rating from Austin Energy Green Building. At more than 680 feet tall, The Austonian is the tallest residential tower West of the Mississippi River.

Shortly after opening, in 2010, homeowners noticed a plumbing problem. In some cases, 2-3 minutes were needed for warm water to reach the fixtures.

Power Down to Reduce “Phantom Energy” Use

Don’t forget to pull the plug and turn out the lights! While the concept is known by different names – phantom load, vampire power, standby mode – at the end of the day, “phantom energy” does the same thing: it pulls unnecessary extra energy from the grid into commercial buildings when you aren’t looking. Many […]

Don’t Overlook These Energy-Saving Opportunities

Facilities managers of large commercial buildings can’t open a trade publication or scan an industry website without reading something about energy-saving products, practices, or protocols … and with good reason. In 2011, commercial buildings accounted for nearly one-fifth of the total energy used in the United States, with an aggregate expenditure of more than $132 […]

Turn Building System Data into Actionable Insight

Many high-rise facilities have evolved to become multi-function, multi-tenant spaces where tenants can live, work, and shop all in one building. Managing a large space can be a challenge when trying to provide a comfortable environment while maximizing energy efficiency and keeping building costs low. The balance between happy tenants and reasonable costs can be […]

Mixed-Use On the Rise: Challenges and Solutions for a New Breed of High-Rises

Although they’re not incredibly common yet in the United States, mixed-use towers are growing in popularity. They maximize building infrastructure, address density issues, and capitalize on building owners’ investments through multiple income streams. They also provide a type of investment diversification (when office lease rates are down, residential leases may be up, for example). But many of today’s commercial architects find themselves working on…

LED Versus Fluorescent Lighting: Is it Time to Upgrade?

How long does it take for the lifecycle costs of fluorescent fixtures to exceed LEDs? Do the maintenance requirements of fluorescent fixtures have an impact on these costs? How will the development of LED lighting affect the breakeven point between the two technologies? These questions and many others are frequently on the minds of anyone […]

Increase Your High-Rise Building’s Value With Efficient Lighting

While high-rise buildings have unique energy-efficiency challenges relative to occupancy and ownership, there is significant evidence that energy reduction not only saves money for building owners and operators, but also increases property value. According to the Institute for Market Transformation, lower energy costs translate to higher returns. Energy-efficient properties have higher occupancy levels, lease-up rates, […]

High-Rise Hotel Analyzes Window Film Effectiveness

What’s the best way to prove that your green investments are paying off? To measure the savings on utility bills, and improvements that tenants are experiencing as a result of your investment.

Whether you’re cutting back on energy use due to mandates or voluntary efforts, quantifying the savings from your green initiatives can help determine whether the purchases are truly worth it (or at least offset implementation costs). This data can go a long way toward supporting other green investments in the future as well. It can also be a solid indicator of improved building performance, which could make your facility more attractive to tenants or prospective buyers.

Media Facades are Multi-Faceted 21st-Century Communicators

Media facades have become a firm feature of the 21st century metropolis, increasingly bathing gray cities in an imposing play of light and color. What once began with lurid neon advertising hoardings in New York’s Times Square has grown beyond its initial purpose as a pure advertising medium to present itself today as a conveyor of artistic and social messages, transforming buildings into giant screens. There are now even architecture practices specializing in “mediatecture”.

Fire Hazards Associated with Dubai’s Aluminum Clad High-Rises

The rapid development of scores of spectacular high-rise buildings in Dubai between 1994 and 2009 was unsurprisingly not without some growing pains. 1994 saw the start of the Burj Al Arab, the lemon-wedge-shaped building on whose heli-deck we see international sports stars hitting tennis and golf balls, which I think makes a fitting start to […]

UFAD Robot Cleans Beneath Raised Floor Systems

Martins Maintenance is one of the largest family-run commercial cleaning companies in the northeast with over 200 clients in 10 states. Among those clients is a Fortune 500 company occupying a high-rise office building. The firm called on the aid of Manuel Martins Jr. and Jordan Amaral to help solve an interesting problem at their […]

Stand-Outs: High-Rise Managers Share Their Team’s Best Practices

Owning or managing a tall building is a lot like operating a small city. Being responsible for the services and infrastructure that keep occupants and tenants in business is a big job. So why not take some suggestions and help from your colleagues when you can get it?

We found some examples of best practices that are being incorporated in high-rise facilities, and arranged them into categories.

38-Story Residential High-Rise is First in NYC to Offer Composting Program

The 38-story Helena apartment building on Manhattan’s West Side is the first in the city to offer its residents regular food scrap collection through the city’s Organics Collection Program. The program takes “organic materials” such as food scraps, soiled paper and plants out of the trash stream, and recycles them , helping the City reduce […]

Preparing for the Next Big Storm: NYC Task Force Examines Disaster Readiness

A few obvious factors come to mind when high-rise building owners and managers think about preparing for and recovering from a natural disaster: creating emergency plans, establishing reliable back-up power, forming business continuity strategies to preserve data… and the list goes on. But as New York continues its recovery from Hurricane Sandy, the recommendations released in a report from Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn are a good reminder that there are other things to think about when preparing your facility for a possible disaster.

Fire Hazards Associated with Dubai’s Aluminum Clad High-Rises

The rapid development of scores of spectacular high-rise buildings in Dubai between 1994 and 2009 was unsurprisingly not without some growing pains. 1994 saw the start of the Burj Al Arab, the lemon-wedge-shaped building on whose heli-deck we see international sports stars hitting tennis and golf balls, which I think makes a fitting start to […]

Landmark High-Rise Fire Study Evaluates Effectiveness of Crew Sizes, Elevator Use

When responding to fires in high-rise buildings, firefighting crews of five or six members—instead of three or four—are significantly faster in putting out fires and completing search-and-rescue operations, concludes a major new study carried out by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in cooperation with five other organizations. Results of the study, conducted […]

Making Wireless Work at Floor 50 and Beyond

When potential tenants come knocking, a marquee address, square-footage, floor plans and breathtaking high-rise views aren’t the only things they are looking for. Today business and residential lessors place a high value on cellular voice and broadband mobile data coverage. Landline telephones are rapidly becoming a thing-of-the-past for homes and for an increasing number of […]

Stand-Outs: High-Rise Managers Share Their Team’s Best Practices

Owning or managing a tall building is a lot like operating a small city. Being responsible for the services and infrastructure that keep occupants and tenants in business is a big job. So why not take some suggestions and help from your colleagues when you can get it?

We found some examples of best practices that are being incorporated in high-rise facilities, and arranged them into categories.

32 Avenue of the Americas to Host New State-of-the-Art Data Center

In a significant transaction for the technology industry in New York City and Lower Manhattan, Telx, a leading provider of interconnection and data center services, has “plugged in” to the Rudin Family’s 32 Avenue of the Americas in TriBeCa. The cloud enablement provider has signed a 20-year, 45,000 square-foot lease for the entire 10th floor […]

130 High-Rises Under Construction in Toronto, 91 in New York

Toronto remains North America’s high-rise boomtown going into 2014. With its impressive total of 130 projects, the city is the top North American city for skyscrapers and high-rises currently under construction. New York City, the “real” center of North American high-rise architecture, appears in second place on 91 buildings. Montreal then follows some distance behind […]

Time Warner to Move Headquarters to Hudson Yards by 2019

Time Warner has sold the 1.1 million square feet of office space it owns in Time Warner Center for $1.3 billion to a venture of Related Companies, an entity owned by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) and GIC. The venture will lease office space back to Time Warner until early 2019 when Time Warner […]

Grounbreaking for Tallest Residential High-Rise in New Jersey

Mack-Cali Realty Corporation and its joint venture partner, Ironstate Development Company, broke ground this week on URL Harborside, a high-rise residential complex in Jersey City, New Jersey. According to the developer, URL, which stands for Urban Ready Living, is a direct response to the needs and desires of those looking to live in apartments that […]

Avison Young Tapped to Lease Two Chicago High-Rises

Harbor Group International has appointed Avison Young as the exclusive leasing agent for two iconic downtown office properties in Chicago: 2 North LaSalle and One South Wacker. The two properties comprise nearly 2 million square feet of combined leasable area. Harbor Group has made many recent upgrades to the buildings. Improvements underway at One South […]

Lerch Bates Appoints New Chicago Elevator Consultant

Lerch Bates announced Charlie Geist has joined the company as project manager, elevator consulting group, in its Chicago office. Geist joins the international consulting firm for vertical transportation, façade access and materials management with more than seven years of leadership and sales experience in the elevator industry. Geist is tasked with managing Lerch Bates’ elevator […]

Carl Baldassarra Takes Office as President of Society of Fire Protection Engineers

Carl F. Baldassarra, PE, FSFPE, takes the office as president of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) for 2014. Currently, Baldassarra is an executive vice president at Rolf Jensen & Associates’ corporate offices in Chicago, where he has been since 2009. He also served as President of Schirmer (Aon) Engineering Corporation, where he worked […]

Trade Group Proposes Hot Water Pipe Insulation as California Declares Drought

Speaking at a San Francisco news conference on January 17th, California Governor Jerry Brown officially declared a drought emergency in the state. Brown called on all citizens to voluntarily reduce their water use by at least 20%. 2013 was the driest year on record in California with San Francisco receiving the least amount of rain […]

San Francisco Goodwill Placing Collection Bins in Multi-Family High-Rises

SFGoodwill is launching a new initiative that will make donating textiles as convenient as dropping a bottle in a recycling bin. Designed to serve multi-unit apartment towers, the Goodwill goBINTM lets residents donate – and do good – without leaving their buildings. Clothing, shoes, and accessories can be dropped in anytime, eliminating the weekend trip […]

Hines Sells San Francisco High-Rise 101 Second Street to Invesco

The San Francisco office of Hines announced today that they closed on the sale of 101 Second Street to Invesco Real Estate. The high-rise office building is located in the South of Market district in San Francisco, on Mission Street. Financials on the deal were not disclosed though the price is rumored to be $291 […]

New High-Rise Office Tower Planned for Downtown Bellevue, Washington

West coast developer Schnitzer West plans to build a 16-story Class A+ office building in Bellevue, Washington. The project site is located in the central business district on the corner of 106th Avenue Northeast and Northeast Fourth Street. Plans call for a 360,000-square foot office building that will include street-level retail and a Bank of […]

55-Story Seattle Office Building to Undergo Complete Facade Restoration

Four elevations of aluminum facade are undergoing a complete restoration at 1201 Third Avenue, a 55-story office building in the heart of downtown Seattle. Built in 1988, the high-rise has experienced wear and tear over the years, creating an aged facade in need of cleaning. The architectural restoration company, Stuart Dean, will clean, refinish and […]

College to Build High-Rise Student Housing in Downtown Seattle

Capstone Development Partners (CDP) and Cornish College of the Arts are working together to bring new student housing, classrooms and administrative offices to the Cornish campus in downtown Seattle. “We are so pleased to partner with CDP on this project,” said Cornish President Nancy J. Uscher. “This new building will be the heart of our […]

Trade Group Proposes Hot Water Pipe Insulation as California Declares Drought

Speaking at a San Francisco news conference on January 17th, California Governor Jerry Brown officially declared a drought emergency in the state. Brown called on all citizens to voluntarily reduce their water use by at least 20%. 2013 was the driest year on record in California with San Francisco receiving the least amount of rain […]

High-Rise Residential Tower Planned for Old Hollywood CBS Broadcast Facility

Plans have been unveiled for a 20-story luxury residential high-rise that will serve as a centerpiece of Columbia Square, an approximate $385 million, 675,000-square-foot mixed-use creative office, residential and retail development now under construction on the site of the historic CBS broadcast facility on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. Located in the heart of Hollywood […]

Major Renovations Planned for Recently Acquired San Diego High-Rise

Los Angeles-based Kearny Real Estate Co. has purchased the downtown San Diego 27-story high-rise office building at 530 B Street, also known as the Union Bank building, for an undisclosed price. The seller was Union bank of California, who will remain in the building and keep their signage. Kearny’s San Diego office is also located […]

DTZ Appoints Paul Bedborough as President of Facilities Management

DTZ, a leading global property services firm, has announced the appointment of Paul Bedborough as President of Facilities Management, Americas, effective immediately. In his new role, Bedborough will lead DTZ’s high-potential facilities management operations, a nearly $1 billion business in the Americas. He will be based in both Boston and Chicago. With 14 years’ executive […]

New Residential High-Rise Under Construction in Boston’s Chinatown

One Greenway, a Class A high-rise multi-housing property located along the southern end of the Rose Kennedy Greenway in Boston’s Chinatown neighborhood, has broken ground. HFF worked on behalf of the borrower, an affiliate of New Boston Fund, Inc., Urban Strategy America Fund LP, and the Asian Community Development Corporation to secure a $104 million […]

Boston’s One Financial Center Sold to MetLife and Norges Bank

MetLife, Inc. and Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the asset manager for the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, have formed a joint venture to invest collectively in Class A office properties in key U.S. markets. The initial investment through the joint venture is One Financial Center in Boston, Mass. One Financial Center is a 46-story, Class […]

Downtown Houston Landmark Slated for Multi-Million-Dollar Renovation

Hines will oversee a multi-million-dollar modernization and repositioning of Two Shell Plaza in the epicenter of downtown Houston. The property, which is located on the block bounded by Louisiana, Milam, Rusk, and Walker streets, will move its main entrance to Louisiana from Walker, and will be renamed 811 Louisiana. This classic tower is poised to […]

Proposed 34-Story High-Rise First in Houston with LEED v4 Platinum Precertification

Capitol Tower is the first Houston development to be awarded LEED v4 Platinum precertification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and one of only three core and shell projects nationally to be pre-certified under the new standards. The 34-story Capitol Tower, designed by architectural firm Gensler and built by Skanska USA Commercial Development, is […]

W. P. Carey Acquires 22-Story Houston Office Tower

W. P. Carey announced its managed REIT, CPA:17 – Global, acquired a 22-story office tower in downtown Houston, leased primarily to KBR, Inc., a global engineering, construction and services company. The seller was Trizec Properties. The 390,479 square foot office tower, located at 500 Jefferson Street in downtown Houston, is being leased to KBR through […]

KBS Names Ryan McManigal VP for Dallas Region

KBS Realty Advisors and KBS Capital Advisors announce the promotion of Ryan McManigal as KBS VP/market leader for Dallas. As a market leader, McManigal’s duties will include managing a portfolio totaling more than 3.7 million square feet as well as identifying new acquisition opportunities within the greater Dallas market. Additionally, McManigal will be responsible for […]

Build-to-Suit High-Rise Under Construction in Dallas’ Harwood District

Work is underway on a new build-to-suit 22-story Dallas high-rise by developer Gabriel Barbier-Mueller. Frost Tower is being built by Dallas-based Harwood International - developer of Harwood, Dallas’ fastest growing district. The Class-AA building at 2950 N. Harwood Street will have eight levels of parking with 13 floors of office space on top of that. […]

Dallas’ 50-Story Thanksgiving Tower Receives $105.8 Million Acquisition Financing

Woods Capital Management LLC has received $105.8 million in debt for the acquisition and planned improvements of Thanksgiving Tower, a 50-story high-rise in downtown Dallas. Woods purchased the tower in July in partnership with Third Point Opportunities Master Fund of New York.  It is believed the new owners paid about $70 million cash for the […]

Comcast to Build 59-Story $1.2 Billion Philadelphia Mixed-Use High-Rise

Philadelphia’s skyline will soon change with the addition of a 59-story, 1,121-foot tower. Comcast Corporation and Liberty Property Trust are jointly developing the “Comcast Innovation and Technology Center” on the 1800 block of Arch Street in Center City Philadelphia. The $1.2 billion mixed-use tower is expected to be the tallest building in the United States outside of New York and Chicago and will be the largest private development project in the history of Pennsylvania.

Planned Residential High-Rise Aims to Transform Philly’s Skyline

Developers sbe and Dranoff Properties are planning plan to construct a 47-story hotel and condominium high-rise at the intersection of Broad and Spruce Streets in Center City Philadelphia. Directly across from the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on Broad Street, the planned tower is being designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associated (KPF), and upon […]

Former GlaxoSmithKline Tower Listed for Sale in Center City Philadelphia

One Franklin Plaza, a 607,471-square-foot trophy office tower at 200 N. 16th St. in Center City Philadelphia, is up for sale. NGKF Capital Markets, the listing agent for the 24-story asset, claims the tower offers a unique redevelopment opportunity to bring hotel, multifamily or other uses to a highly accessible central business district location. “This […]

Africa-Israel USA Sells Hotel Property at Marquis Residences in Miami

Developer Africa-Israel USA (AFI-USA) has sold the hotel portion of the Marquis Residences located at 1100 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami – the Casa Moderna Hotel and Spa – for $37.5 million to CGI Merchant Group (CGI), a Miami-based investment and asset management group. “CGI is a visionary real estate owner who will expertly upgrade the […]

Florida Law Firm Leases Two Floors in Miami’s Wells Fargo Center

GrayRobinson, one of the fastest growing law firms in Florida with 280 attorneys and 11 offices across the state, is relocating its Miami office. Taylor & Mathis signed the firm to a long-term 35,358-square-foot lease at MetLife’s 49-story Wells Fargo Center in Downtown Miami. The full service law firm is moving from 1221 Brickell to […]

$40 Million Dollar Renovation Begins at Southgate Towers in Miami Beach

Construction has commenced on a $40 million dollar renovation of the bayfront Southgate Towers apartment buildings located at 900 and 910 West Avenue in Miami Beach. Architect Jonathan Cardello, Principal – Director of ADD Inc. in Miami, leads the renewal project of the two-tower 14-story building that will include a new façade, 495 newly designed […]

Tenant Tax Credits Target Vacancy at Atlanta’s Bank of America Plaza

Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta is the tallest building in the southeast at 1,040-feet with 55-floors and contains 600,000 square-foot of vacant space. Now the building’s landlord, CWCapital Asset Management, hopes to fill some of that space by offering tenants newly approved tax credits. In combination with the property’s existing Opportunity Zone designation, the […]

Thinking Beyond Buildings: Gordon Beckman, AIA, John Portman & Assoc.

Gordon Beckman’s interest in high-rise buildings started when he was 12 years old. Along with several of his neighborhood friends in Rockford, IL, he decided to construct a tree house. It started with modest dimensions, but “pretty soon, it was a five-story tree house that went well above the telephone wires,” says Beckman, AIA, principal […]

Life Safety and Business Continuity Technology Provider Continues Expansion

Property managers are responsible for the life safety of all their tenants, but often in an emergency their response is hampered by out-of-date contact information, untrained floor wardens, and slow methods of emergency notification such as phone trees. A poor emergency response can instantly damage a building or management company’s reputation plus impact tenant retention […]