I was lucky enough to have a business / pleasure trip to Amsterdam recently.  What a great place!  As a Californian I haven’t thought much about the impact that the Netherlands has on the world, but when you visit, you realize how much influence the Dutch have had globally.  Widely regarded as the first capitalist country, the...Read More

I was recently introduced to Gensler’s magazine “Dialogue.”  If you are into commercial real estate issues like workplace and architecture it is a must read with great pictures of Gensler’s recent projects.  In issue #22 there are some interesting thoughts on private offices vs. open plan in an article called “Stressed out by Openess”.  Check...Read More

In corporate real estate buzzwords like Sustainability, LEED, and Workplace are all the rage, and for good reason.  We all care about the environment in which we live and work. New approaches and technologies allow us to alter our workplace for the better (unless you miss your private office!) and help protect the environment.  So,...Read More

It seems like every real estate conference or association “state of the market” event that I attend these days has an overriding theme.  All of the money (Equity and Debt) is focused on Core Urban Environments.  I have even written about the dynamic myself in a recent blog entitled Capital and Workplace Strategies Collide.  Many...Read More

I recently attended the NAIOP Capital Markets Review in Newport Beach California.  It was your typical Moderator / Panelist format with Mark Gibson off HFF leading the discussion among 3 large commercial property owners (Donald Akeny of Westcore Properties, Christopher Chee of The Blackstone Group, Bleeker Seaman III of Lowe Enterprises) rounded off by Allen...Read More

I read an article in the Harvard Business Review this morning (http://t.co/q61tlJ07) . It talked about how most big corporations are miserable at innovating. Other than a few bright spots like the Silicon Valley, where tech is driving commercial real estate demand, it seems like many areas just don’t have an economic engine to pull them out...Read More