Welcome to the Commercial Real Estate Expert Blog! A host of industry leading real estate professionals, lawyers, and consultants providing the latest in real estate relevant news and advice.
Building Experts
How can geologic reviews or geotechnical investigations save you money?
ASTM has updated it A2018-15 Standard Guide for Property Condition Assessments. What were the key changes?
I recently wrote a blog about the value of architecture, in which I concluded that a building’s cultural symbolism or history, and the way its design is perceived by the public and the industry affects the return it delivers to investors. Having spent many years living in Chicago, I decided to look at how this…
What are the key pillars of the Phase I ESA process that determine the quality of the report? Jason Bates discusses important things to look out for when selecting your environmental consultant.
Partner Engineering and Science, Inc.’s Bob Geiger and Joanne Choi discuss Chicago’s new benchmarking ordinance and the requirements for compliance. In September 2013, the Chicago City Council approved the Building Energy Use Benchmarking Ordinance in Chapter 18-4 of the Chicago Municipal Code. The Chicago Energy Benchmarking Ordinance became effective on September 21, 2013 and requires building owners with over 50,000…
An ALTA Land Title Survey can be thought of as a pictorial representation of the title commitment or preliminary title report of the subject property. In essence, it’s a combination of a boundary survey, location survey, and title survey, showing improvements and encumbrances. The ALTA survey is an essential tool for all parties involved in a real estate transaction…
The excitement over the corporate marriage between Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. and the former Birdsall Services Group (BSG) seems justified as the idea of the two working in tandem has quickly become a reality. Key Birdsall competencies are intact: Mechanical/electrical/plumbing (MEP) engineering design, construction services, energy and sustainability services, civil engineering and site survey services,…
Birdsall Services Group (www.birdsall.com) was founded in 1919 and the assets of BSG were recently purchased by Partner Engineering and Science, Inc. (Partner). Birdsall Servicse Group (BSG, Birdsall) was an award-winning full-service engineering firm headquartered in Eatontown, New Jersey. Ralph Orlando was named President of Birdsall Services Group in November of 2012 replacing the retiring…
The State of California as well as individual municipalities within California are on the forefront of energy disclosure. Section 25402 of the California Public Resources Code requires benchmarking and disclosure of energy usage of commercial properties. Energy benchmarking can be conducted through the EPA’s Energy Star Portfolio Manager, which provides ratings based on energy usage…
Seismic Risk Assessments are an assessment that can be “forgotten” when the lender/buyer is not themselves in a seismic risk zone. Property that is in a high risk seismic zone should be evaluated for loss during “the big one.” Seismic Probable Maximum Loss Reports are engineering reports that evaluate the expected amount of loss that…
