Office-to-Apartment Conversions – A Good Idea, but Tricky to Pull Off (Audio)
Valuing a commercial asset is a tricky business.Often, in the eyes of a purchaser, an asset's value is tied in part to the likelihood of future events—a significant customer order, a change in purchasing patterns, a...more
As part of a strategy to combat rising commercial office vacancy rates, Fairfax County, Virginia, has announced a series of strategy recommendations that include potential updates to its building repurposing policy, providing...more
The following is a primary on some of the key IRA incentives that hospitals should explore before undertaking any clean energy or energy efficiency projects....more
Welcome to the trendy revolution of urban farming. Three years ago, Washington, DC, Mayor Muriel Bowser unveiled a plan to transform vacant office buildings in downtown DC into residential properties with hopes of creating a...more
Last year, in V.I.T. Estates Ltd. v New Westminster (City), 2023 BCCA 183, the British Columbia Court of Appeal (BCCA) dismissed a challenge to a municipal bylaw that restricted zoning to residential rentals. The court found...more
It's now been more than four months since the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA) introduced new requirements that sought to improve the overall safety of high-rise buildings that have some element of residential use. Incepted to...more
Do you live in a building? Work in a building? Or own a building? Do you admire from afar not only how those buildings look aesthetically, but also how they keep you dry and comfortable when the weather is inclement?....more
The United States Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy Building Technologies Office (“BTO”) released a Request for Information (“RFI”) to solicit feedback on a draft document titled: ...more
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”) will disburse approximately $370 billion to spur private sector building decarbonization. As it relates to commercial real estate, there are at least four (4) key tax incentives...more
Following up on recent PSH Land Use Client Alerts on June 26, 2023 and August 22, 2023, an important collection of bills were passed through both houses of the Rhode Island state legislature in June and signed into law. ...more
On October 27, the Biden-Harris Administration announced new initiatives across various governmental agencies to support and encourage the conversion of high-vacancy commercial buildings in downtown urban environments to...more
“Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers and business.” — Mark Sanborn. This past July, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu,...more
We all take real property purchase agreements seriously. We read only the title and we know that a transaction is likely to occur, perhaps a significant one. We can also reasonably expect that there will be a property, a...more
The industrial real estate sectors in Calgary and specifically, Rocky View County, and Edmonton, have experienced a consistent demand for both purchase and lease transactions over the past several years. This is driven by a...more
Governor Newsom recently approved multiple state housing bills passed by the State Assembly and Senate. The following is a summary of a few of the key bills that are expected to benefit multi-family, mixed-income housing...more
In our second episode of Lay of the Land, hosts Heather Horowitz, Jen McCosker, Christian Major, Tobias Gries, and Anna Amprimo discuss office asset market trends in the United States, Australia, the UK, Germany, and Italy....more
Vodafone Ltd V Potting Shed Bar & Gardens Ltd (Formerly Gencomp (No. 7) Ltd) & Ap Wireless Ii (Uk) Ltd - A freeholder granted a lease to Vodafone allowing it to erect telecoms apparatus on the tower of its building. A few...more
The average vacancy rate for laboratory and research and development space across the top 13 U.S. life sciences markets stood at 9% in the second quarter, up more than four percentage points from a year earlier and more than...more
On July 24, 2023, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law Assembly Bill 4682/Senate Bill 2389 protecting non-managerial and non-professional service workers, who work at eligible locations, from sudden and unexpected loss of...more
California was, by January 1, 2023, home to nearly 470,000 jobs that generated $413.7 billion in total business output in 2022, according to Biocom California’s 2023 Economic Impact Report. This represents a nearly 8 percent...more
World’s Largest 3D Printed Building Erected in Florida - “With a total floor area of more than 10,100 sq ft or about 940 m2, the structure is apparently nearly 50% larger than the previous record-holder in the Middle East,...more
Bennett Jones was pleased to host an oversubscribed NAIOP panel discussion on current issues in office financing, and I am happy to share my key impressions from what was a compelling and thoughtful dialogue....more
Since the major fire event at Grenfell Tower in June 2017, a significant period of cultural and professional change has occurred within the construction industry in regard to fire safety. During this period, we have seen the...more
As many companies settle into hybrid work models, office occupancy rates in the United States have flatlined during the first half of 2023. In the Borough of Manhattan (the Borough) in New York City, upwards of 255 million...more
Decarbonization in the commercial real estate sector is top of mind for building developers, owners and operators, as it has garnered increased policy momentum at all levels of government in Canada. Stakeholders must ensure...more