Earthquakes and Elevators: Seismic Detection Devices in High-Rises

An earthquake, even a light one, can distort or break the precisely aligned components of an elevator system. Possible damage due to a seismic event includes derailed counterweights (which could collide with the cabs), damaged or unseated wire rope and broken or damaged rails or guide rollers. Even a small tremor could bend a rail […]

Elevator Maintenance Delivery Practice Trends

The cost of elevator preventive maintenance continues to be on the rise. Additionally, recent industry trends with maintenance agreements now containing obsolescence clauses have significantly changed maintenance coverage and whether all parts of an elevator system are or are no longer covered. Recent Code changes requiring a Maintenance Control Plan (MCP) have also impacted a […]

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…

Mobile Access Opens New Doors for Property Managers and Tenants

When Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide rolled out its new mobile access solution in November 2014, the initiative demonstrated the many benefits of replacing keys with phones for opening hotel doors. It also showcased the value of this new access control model in any large high-rise facility. Starwood’s new system turns smart devices into trusted […]

6 Trends in Automating High-Rise Lobby Security

The opening of One World Trade Center this year is a tangible and celebrated reminder of the day security in America changed. After 9/11, high-rise buildings had no choice but to take visible security steps to protect tenants. While the expense of security has limited movement by some, many buildings have made security a priority. […]

Deploying a Crisis Awareness Solution in a High-Rise

Most office buildings have an access control system that controls and monitors who enters a specific part of the building. To date, however, no high-rise building has had a crisis management system in place that can alert building security and law enforcement about an intruder, active shooter, medical condition, missing person, or disturbance. Until now, […]

Boost Your High-Rise’s Immunity to Bacteria, Mold and Dust Mites

If someone told you there were new ways to solve old problems, how open would you be to learning about them? Consider building-related illness (BRI). What do you know about the new ways to mitigate this pervasive problem, which continues to have a huge impact on health and productivity? The Costs of Doing Business as […]

HVAC Mistakes That Could Be Costing You Big Money

After talking to energy and HVAC experts, we uncovered some real-world examples of problems they’ve seen unfold in both newer and older facilities. Read on to see what other facilities professionals have had to deal with in their high-rises, and pick up some pointers on preventing these situations in your own building.

High-Rise Hotel Technology: Modern MEP Systems Improve Guest Experience

Comparing high-rise hotels with low-rise suburban hotels – especially when it comes to MEP systems (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) – won’t get you very far if you’re looking for ways to preserve operating costs while keeping guests comfortable. Some energy-efficiency measures, such as LEDs and window film, can be applied across the board for hotel savings. But, in many cases, conservation strategies that are successfully implemented in a suburban hotel are completely […]

Power Monitoring in High-Rises: Three Perspectives, One Goal

Everyone is interested in lowering their costs. Monitoring power and energy consumption offers a way to accomplish that goal in a large commercial space. Typical commercial facilities contain common areas, such as lobbies, hallways, elevators, and mechanical/electrical spaces. The interior is also occupied by tenants with various power needs. A building owner, a facility manager, […]

Inside High-Rise Facilities: Building-Integrated Photovoltaics

A building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) system integrates photovoltaic modules into the building envelope itself: typically in the roof or façade (or both). A BIPV system can simultaneously act as building envelope material and a power generator, offering the potential for material cost savings. For instance, building integrated photovoltaics may be used in place of traditional […]

Controlling Costs with Electrical Preventive Maintenance

On December 2, the city of Detroit experienced a widespread shutdown of its electric power due to failure of grids. This power failure “forced evacuations, trapped people on elevators and darkened hospital rooms,” according to the Detroit News. The report continued with a statement from Randi Berris, DTE Energy spokeswoman: “Everybody is aware the system […]

Beyond Lighting: The Future of IT and Light Fixture Integration

Light has been around as long as the human race. First came fire – primitive, serving a dual purpose of heating and illumination. Fire, as a technology, was around for thousands of years. Relatively recently (roughly 100 years ago), incandescent light was invented. This light source remains in use today, and involves a relatively simple […]

Making the Most of Every Square Foot of Office Space

Facilities managers who occupy real estate inside high-rise buildings must make the most of every square foot of interior office space. Office buildings are like budgets – just as financial managers look to squeeze value out of every single dollar, facilities managers must similarly look to extract utility from all available space on their floors. […]

Cut Energy Bills in High-Rise Restrooms

Even though the focus of most restroom projects is water conservation, that doesn’t mean energy-management improvements aren’t also possible. Because restrooms are usually located in the core of taller buildings, solar heat gain and heat loss through outside walls aren’t major culprits. But restrooms still consume their fair share of energy thanks to the hot […]

How Engineers Are Protecting 432 Park Avenue’s Concrete from the Elements

Standing at 1,397′ 432 Park Avenue is now the tallest residential building in the western hemisphere & truly is a spectacular feat of design, engineering & construction - the sheer size of the tower required over 70,000 cubic yards of concrete & 12,500 tons of rebar. On a remarkably clear day, while driving across the […]

Protect Your High-Rise from the Elements with Glass Rainscreens

Building façades serve a dual purpose: they create the visual identity of a building, and, more importantly, repel the elements – wind, rain, heat, and cold – in order to maintain a watertight enclosure and protect the structure. Cracks, crevices, or other openings in exterior shells – even minute breaks in the surface – can […]

Gardens in the Sky: Integrating Green Space in High-Rise Design

In packed high-rise districts, open green space is highly desirable, though not always so easily incorporated or executed. Yet the investment of time, energy, and financial resources is worthwhile: Integrating green space can help high-rise buildings meet sustainability standards, introduce new amenities, and increase overall property value. The following are important techniques and considerations when […]

High and Dry: High-Rise Facilities Save with Hand Dryers

Managers of high-rise facilities who want to lower operating costs don’t need to look any further: Restrooms offer an easy but significant opportunity to drastically reduce expenses. With hundreds of visitors and employees in a typical high-rise facility on a daily basis, a large number of restrooms are necessary – sometimes several on each floor. […]

High-Traffic: Extending Your Carpet’s Lifespan

When it comes to high-rise building carpets – or any carpet in a multi-tenant office building – certain pathways receive most of the foot traffic (and the wear and tear, as well as soiling, that go along with it). As a result, these pathways start to darken over time. This darkening is referred to as […]

Balers and Compactors for High-Rise Waste Recycling

High-rise facilities managers and owners are always looking for innovative ways to save money and help the environment. An often overlooked option is trash compacting and baling. With increasing landfill prices and ambitious government recycling goals, high-rise managers are looking at balers and compactors to help reduce costs and satisfy regulations. Balers Balers are powerful […]

Dispelling Some Common High-Rise Fire Sprinkler Myths

Automatic sprinkler systems have enjoyed an enviable record of protecting life and property for over 100 years. Yet, there are still common misunderstandings about the operation and effectiveness of automatic fire sprinkler systems. The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA), a non-profit association representing fire sprinkler contractors, would like to dispel some of those myths. AFSA believes that the installation […]

Indoor Communications: A Critical Component of Life Safety

Supporting wireless communications in high-rise buildings has become a necessity for facility managers and owners. While it may not be the first amenity that comes to mind to give a high-rise building a competitive advantage, there’s no service more important to communications or critical to life safety. In today’s wireless world, no one will lease […]

Inside High-Rise Facilities: Mass Notification Systems

The ability to notify tenants and occupants of an emergency situation is no longer just a nice option for commercial buildings to have. From an active shooter scenario to severe weather to a fire alarm activation, facilities professionals are choosing to invest in mass notification systems to provide a comprehensive crisis communication solution that works […]

Inside High-Rise Facilities: Mass Notification Systems

The ability to notify tenants and occupants of an emergency situation is no longer just a nice option for commercial buildings to have. From an active shooter scenario to severe weather to a fire alarm activation, facilities professionals are choosing to invest in mass notification systems to provide a comprehensive crisis communication solution that works […]

Using High-Power DAS in High-Rise Buildings

Mobile service subscribers – your tenants and occupants – demand clear, consistent mobile services no matter where they are. To address the demand of mobile coverage and capacity within high-rise buildings, distributed antenna systems (DAS) are being used to provide wireless coverage and capacity. As bandwidth demands grow at unprecedented rates, solutions that can deliver […]

A Web of Wireless Challenges

Imagine for a moment that you’re trying to have a one-on-one conversation in a large, empty room. At first you’re able to speak at a comfortable level and hear each other perfectly, without much effort at all. But as the room slowly begins to fill, you have to adjust your volume and work a little […]

Chinese Buyer Acquires Midtown High-Rise in Off-Market Purchase

MHP Real Estate Services announced the acquisition of 850 Third Avenue, in partnership with Chinese conglomerate HNA Property Holdings, from previous owner Shorenstein Properties. MHP will be the operating partner of the joint venture, with HNA serving as majority partner. The off-market purchase of the 617,000-square-foot office building, located between East 51st and 52nd streets, […]

JEMB Repositions 75 Broad Street, Retains NGKF as Leasing Agent

New York City-based JEMB Realty, a privately held real estate development, investment and management company, has retained Newmark Grubb Knight Frank as leasing agent for 75 Broad Street as part of a repositioning effort for the 35-story, 750,000 SF office property. The repositioning project will include lobby enhancements, state-of-the-art pre-built space and common corridor and […]

Largest Tenant in Manhattan’s Largest Office Tower Renews Lease

McGraw Hill Financial has renewed its 900,027-square-foot lease at New Water Street Corp.’s 55 Water Street in Downtown Manhattan. The multi-year renewal includes the entire 34th through 46th floors—along with a portion of the concourse and 52nd floor. “This lease renewal is the culmination of our efforts to upgrade 55 Water Street via a significant capital improvement plan,” […]

New Ownership Has Big Plans for Chicago’s Historic One North LaSalle

Hilco Real Estate and two senior executives of MB Real Estate Services, Peter Westmeyer and Kevin Purcell, have acquired the historic landmark tower One North LaSalle located in Chicago’s Central Loop. The new joint venture announced that the 47-story property will be undergoing an extensive redevelopment effort to introduce a variety of high-end tenant amenities. […]

Chicago’s 111 South Wacker Earns LEED Platinum Certification

Chicago’s 111 South Wacker, a 51-story, 1.1 million-square-foot Class A office tower, has been at the forefront of LEED certification since its completion in 2005, when the building became the first speculative, high-rise office development awarded LEED Gold certification in the Core & Shell category from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The building was […]

Renovations, New Leasing Agent at FiveOneFive North State Street in Chicago

Big changes are underway at FiveOneFive North State Street in Chicago. The 29-story, Class A high-rise located in the River North submarket, is in the midst of a major renovation and has just been assigned a new leasing agent. On behalf of the property owner, BCSP 515 North State Street LLC, an affiliate of Beacon Capital Partners […]

Transamerica Pyramid to Light up the Night as the Big Game Comes to Bay Area

The Transamerica Pyramid is taking the celebration of the Super Bowl, coming to Santa Clara, CA on February 7th, to the next level with special lighting of celebratory colors from February 1 – February 7. At 853-feet-tall, The Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest skyscraper in the San Francisco skyline. Designed by architect William Pereira and built by Hathaway […]

San Francisco High-Rise Unveils LED Video Wall Public Art Installation

A state-of-the-art, high-resolution LED video wall was recently unveiled at 350 Mission Street in San Francisco as part of a digital art show organized by Kilroy Realty Corporation. For the event, titled “Virtual Depictions: San Francisco,” Kilroy Realty and the City of San Francisco commissioned acclaimed media artist Refik Anadol to create an immersive public […]

TMG Partners Buys 18-Story Oakland Office Tower, Plans Major Upgrades

TMG Partners, one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s largest mixed-use property developers, today announced their purchase of 1330 Broadway in Oakland. TMG purchased the property from Zimmerman Investments.  1330 Broadway is an 18-story, 300,000 square-foot building with immediate access to BART at Oakland City Center’s 12th Street Station.  The aluminum-clad tower was built in 1958 […]

Otis Elevator to Provide 22 Elevators for Prominent Seattle High-Rise

Otis Elevator has entered into a multimillion-dollar agreement with Schnitzer West to supply elevators and escalators for Madison Centre, a prestigious 37-story high-rise development in Seattle. This high-tech, LEED Gold certified tower is located at one of Seattle’s best known intersections and will incorporate the latest innovations in workplace effectiveness and smart design for an […]

Carey Watermark Acquires High-Rise Hotel in Booming Bellevue Market

Carey Watermark Investors 2 Incorporated (CWI 2), a non-traded real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on investing in hotels, has acquired the Seattle Marriott Bellevue. The newly developed hotel includes 384 guestrooms and is located in Bellevue, Washington, which has evolved from a Seattle suburb into a vibrant, independent city as a result of the high-tech […]

Urban Renaissance Group Acquires Four Portland High-Rise Office Towers

Urban Renaissance Group (URG) has acquired the operating portfolio of Portland-based real estate company Langley Investment Properties (LIP). With this acquisition, URG’s total operating platform is now more than 10 million sq. ft. in Portland, Seattle and Denver. Going forward, LIP will refocus its efforts on new investment and development opportunities as well as related […]

Gemini Rosemont Acquires High-Rise Office Tower in Downtown San Diego

Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Gemini Rosemont has acquired the 19-story 610 West Ash commercial office building in San Diego. The acquisition of the office tower adds 177,489 rentable square feet of Class A office space to the company’s portfolio. The company now owns 114 buildings in 21 states across the U.S. The building was purchased […]

Talent Agency ICM Takes Top 5 Floors in Century City High-Rise

ICM Partners is expanding its Los Angeles corporate headquarters in Century City. The talent and literary agency will remain at the same address, 10250 Constellation Boulevard, also known as Constellation Place, but will relocate from its current three-story space on floors 7, 8 and 9 to the top five floors of the 35-story high rise. […]

Glass Slide Airlifted into Place atop Los Angeles’ US Bank Tower

On Saturday, US Bank Tower’s newest attraction, an all-glass slide, was airlifted via helicopter onto the 69th floor observation deck at the iconic high-rise in downtown Los Angeles. Opening on June 25, 2016, OUE Skyspace LA will be California’s tallest open-air observation deck and the premiere destination for 360-degree views of Los Angeles. In addition […]

Boston’s Two Liberty Square Sold for $28 Million

Philadelphia-based CenterSquare Investment Management has sold Two Liberty Square, a 67,609-square-foot office building in Boston on behalf of one of its institutional clients for $28.25 million. CenterSquare acquired the asset for $18 million in 2013. HFF arranged the sale and secured a 10-year, fixed-rate loan through SunLife for the buyer, Boston-based The Winhall Companies. The […]

16-Story West Loop Chicago Office Tower Trades Hands for $135 Million

Boston-based AEW Capital Management has acquired a 16-story Class A office tower in Chicago’s West Loop for $135 million. The seller, Northwood Investors, was represented in the transaction by HFF. Northwood acquired control of the property in 2012 in a transaction that valued the building at $95 million. At the time, the seller, a tenancy […]

Skanska Celebrates Groundbreaking for Boston’s 121 Seaport

Skanska USA Commercial Development, joined by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and CBT Architects, broke ground this week on the city’s newest office tower - 121 Seaport - a 17-story, 400,000-square-foot Class-A office building with two floors of retail - in Boston’s Seaport District. Located at the corner of Seaport Boulevard and East Service Road, […]

JMJ Raising Money for Construction of San Antonio Residential High-Rise

Dallas, Texas-based developer JMJ Development, led by principal Tim Barton, is planning to build a 30-story residential high-rise in supply-constrained San Antonio. Villita Tower will contain 201 market rate units overlooking San Antonio’s iconic River Walk on the San Antonio River. Colliers International’s structured finance team of Jeffrey Donnelly and Ulrike Ahrens has been retained to source $47 million in debt and […]

High-Rise Apartment Tower to Be Built in Texas Medical Center

Greystar and Medistar Corporation have formed a joint venture to develop Ascent Med Center, a luxury apartment community located in Houston, Texas. The 35-story high-rise development will feature 375 apartment homes at the corner of Travis Street and Old Main Street in the Texas Medical Center (TMC). “Ascent Med Center was designed with a top-notch amenity package, high […]

Groundbreaking for 58-Story Downtown Austin Luxury Condo Tower

The development team of Aspen Heights, Constructive Ventures and CIM Group have broken ground on The Independent, a 58-story, 370-unit condominium tower in downtown Austin. Located at the corner of West 3rd Street and West Avenue, the property was acquired from the City of Austin in November 2015 under the terms of a Master Development […]

Powerhouse Los Angeles Ad Agencies Lease Space in Dallas’ McKinney & Olive

Crescent Real Estate Holdings has achieved a major coup by leasing space to two Los Angeles-based advertising agencies expanding into Dallas. The new tenants, Saatchi & Saatchi and Team One, have agreed to lease a minimum of 52,000 square-feet in McKinney & Olive, Crescent’s newest high-rise office tower in Dallas’ Uptown. Saatchi & Saatchi is […]

JMJ Raising Money for Construction of San Antonio Residential High-Rise

Dallas, Texas-based developer JMJ Development, led by principal Tim Barton, is planning to build a 30-story residential high-rise in supply-constrained San Antonio. Villita Tower will contain 201 market rate units overlooking San Antonio’s iconic River Walk on the San Antonio River. Colliers International’s structured finance team of Jeffrey Donnelly and Ulrike Ahrens has been retained to source $47 million in debt and […]

Quadrant Investment Properties Acquires Saint Paul Place in Dallas

Dallas-based Quadrant Investment Properties (QIP) has acquired Saint Paul Place, a twenty‐two story, 273,217 square‐foot office building located on the corner of Ross Avenue and Saint Paul Street in the Dallas Arts District. The building is currently 78% leased to a diverse roster of small to mid‐sized tenants including D‐Magazine, Crowe Horwath and Sendero Business […]

Shorenstein Acquires Downtown Pittsburgh’s One Oxford Centre

Oxford Development Company has sold One Oxford Centre, a one million-square-foot, Class A, trophy office tower in downtown Pittsburgh, to Shorenstein Properties. HFF marketed the property and worked on behalf of the new owner to place the acquisition loan with Helaba and CIBC. While no terms were revealed, the firm is believed to have paid […]

Groundbreaking for Center City Philadelphia Residential High-Rise

The Goldenberg Group of Philadelphia, international real estate firm Hines, and ASB Real Estate Investments, today celebrated the groundbreaking of a new Class A residential tower at 1213 Walnut Street in Center City, Philadelphia. The project represents the first venture by the partnership of Goldenberg, Hines and ASB. 1213 Walnut will be a 26-story 300,000-square-foot, […]

Newly Built Philadelphia High-Rise Apartment Tower Sold for $51 Million

AQ Rittenhouse, a newly constructed, LEED Silver certified, 110-unit high-rise apartment residence, located in Rittenhouse Square, has been acquired by LaSalle Investment Management for $51.1 Million. The sale of AQ Rittenhouse was the first transaction of its kind for ARA Newmark in Philadelphia since the company was acquired by BGC Partners, Inc. in December 2014. The NGKF […]

New York Buyer Acquires Miami’s Courthouse Tower in Off-Market Sale

Downtown Miami’s landmark Courthouse Tower has been sold to New York real estate private equity firm Brickman for $27.5 million. Mika Mattingly of Sterling Equity Realty’s Mika Miami team represented the seller, Courthouse Towers LLC, which is owned and operated by The Donovan Family. RFK Senior Directors Benjamin Mandell and John Ellis represented the buyer. […]

New Leasing Agent for Iconic Limestone Office Tower in Tampa

CBRE has been appointed exclusive leasing agent for Rivergate Tower – the landmark, cylindrical high-rise office building located at 400 North Ashley Drive in Tampa, Florida. Miami-based Banyan Street Capital acquired the 31-story tower in August 2015 with plans to be at the forefront of Tampa’s emergence as a top destination for corporate relocations as […]

Coworking Firm Takes Full Floor in Downtown St. Petersburg High-Rise

In the year since acquiring First Central Tower, Feldman Equities has leased over four full floors at the office building signing seven firms to leases totaling over 100,000 square feet. In the latest deal Regus, the global workplace provider, has leased a full floor, 15,296 square feet, at the building. The long term lease was […]

Atlanta’s 36-Story Centennial Tower Sold for $69 Million

Durham-based The Dilweg Companies, a commercial real estate investment and management firm, has acquired Centennial Tower, a 652,092 square-foot office tower in downtown Atlanta from Jackson Corporate Real Estate for $69 million. Centennial Tower is a 36-story, Class A office building located in the heart of downtown Atlanta at 101 Marietta Street. The building is […]

Cousins Properties to Develop New Midtown Atlanta High-Rise

Cousins Properties has signed a 15-year build-to-suit lease with NCR Corporation, a leader in consumer transaction technologies, for the company’s world headquarters building. Known for developing Atlanta high-rise such as the 55-story Bank of America Plaza and the 50-story One Ninety One Peachtree Tower, beat out real estate companies including Houston-based Hines and Atlanta-based Carter. […]

Atlanta High-Rise Student Housing on Track to Open in August 2015

University House Communities (UHC) announced today that as construction is nearing completion on University House Midtown, the student apartment community at 930 Spring Street is 100 percent pre-leased. In August, the community will welcome its first residents for the 2015/2016 school year, serving students from the Georgia Institute of Technology. The 20-story building, which features […]