E.W. Howell's Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center named Green Project of the Year

E.W. Howell, a Long Island General Contractor, has achieved the esteemed “Green Project of the Year” from NY Construction magazine’s Best for 2010, for their Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center (AERTC) at Stony Brook University. The judges were an independent jury of industry experts who had the pick of 180 nominated projects. 31 of the 180 were award winners; the entry criteria included project management and client service, safety, design and functionality.
The AERTC project included new construction of a two-story 43,000-sf lab building designed by Flad Architects. The building is devoted to research on alternative fuels and energy conservation. The state-of-the-art building will be the most energy efficient building in the state, and only one of 26 in the nation to get the top platinum rating from the USGBC.

“While many buildings nowadays are being built to receive LEED certifications, very few are built for LEED Platinum” says E.W. Howell’s project executive Bob Timperio.

A LEED platinum building is a great achievement, marked by maximum energy efficiency in 5 distinct categories: sustainable site, water efficiency, energy & atmosphere, material & resources and indoor air quality. In order to achieve this, systems for rain water collection for flush toilets and landscaping requiring no irrigation was used. . During construction, at least 75% of construction waste was diverted to recycling sites and 20% of recycled building materials were used. The champion of the building, however, must be the solar panels on the façade of the building. The panels help to harvest the energy from the sun to use for the buildings daily functions and offer designers the opportunity for distinctive architectural impact, while reducing solar heat gains. All of these features are projected to have energy cost savings of 25%. For more information go here.

The Advance Group has 2 new videos!


The Advance Group is proud to present our detailed explanation of our "Best & Final Cost System." Our company goes to great lengths to ensure that your move estimate is completely itemized and accurate. This means that we are completely transparent in our estimates, so you know what you're getting into prior to committing to use our services. In these videos, we invite you to learn more about our system and how it serves our clients in the moving process. 


And in this video, Anthony Parziale takes you through a mock move estimate.



Here is a recap of our "Best & Final Cost System"

BEST & FINAL COST SYSTEM

The Best Final Cost System is our way to provide you with attractive, competitive rates and to deliver high value, on-time, and on-budget performance. By using the Best Final Cost System, you are assured of obtaining the lowest possible final project cost.


THE SYSTEM HAS THREE PARTS:
The Advance Group Visible Advantage
Competitive Rates

Realistic Labor Budgeting

The Advance Group Visible Advantage is a set of 10 competitively superior features that only The Advance Group offers.
We provide competitive hourly rates. By comparing hourly rates, rather than net pricing, you have a meaningful standard of comparison that cannot be mismanaged through unrealistic labor estimates.
We budget our projects by providing realistic estimates of required manpower according to your critical timetable needs. Our employees are experienced, hard working, and dedicated to the success of your project.





CB Richard Ellis reports NYC is retail priciest in the world


The Real Deal reports that NYC beats Sydney, with rents at $1,218 per square foot and Hong Kong, with $1,114 per square foot, as the most expensive retail market in the world. NYC's "prime rents" average in at $1,800 per square foot, according to CB Richard Ellis' global retail market report, released yesterday. The U.S., Canada and South America saw the greatest year-over-year rental increase last quarter, climbing 6%. Globally, the report stated that there is still a strong demand for retail space in most markets. For the full report, please visit here.


Did you know the Advance Group offers full service document management?

 Did you know The Advance Group is a full service document management company providing state-of-the-art secure storage for paper documents, computer discs, tapes, microfilm, master audio & video tapes, films, optical discs, x-rays, blue prints, and fine art?
We also provide record relocation, pickup and delivery, filing and retrievaldestruction of records, data conversions, bar coded inventories, online web access to inventories, boxes and supplies, and a copy center.
Our newest services include record compliance consulting and digital scanning. Record compliance consulting addresses the growing need to comply with legal retention requirements. It includes identifying compliance issues, record retention across hard and digital media, and the development of compliance policies.
For more information please visit our document management business unit site at http://www.RecordGuard.com

Real Deal reports changes in operating leases

The Real Deal reports  that FASB’s new lease generally accepted accounting principles, which would effectively eliminating operating leases from the industry. “Capital leases will be recorded as an asset and liability, on the balance sheet, then depreciated and amortized on an income statement.” Al Petrillo, CEO of Studley, stated “We’re in a world where having something off the balance sheet is a bad thing, and this move will attempt to bring consistency of standards, consistency of reporting and transparency of reporting”
The Real Deal reported that Edward Kang, managing director of Studley, stated “Open issues include operating expenses, real estate taxes, and concessions. Don’t panic, they say, but be aware and have a checklist of how these changes might affect you and how you’ll address them.” For the full report, please go here.

Colliers International Survey shows increased investment activity


According to the Colliers International's third-quarter Global Investor Sentiment Survey, the U.S. investment sales market has the potential for increased activity in the year ahead as reported by the Real Deal. The New York market us one of the key places expecting to see growth, with more than 6 out of 10 real estate investors who responded to the survey stating that they are considering selling property over the next year. This is a jump from 23% in the first quarter. The CEO of Colliers, Dylan Taylor stated "Investors recognize that prices are at the bottom and see tremendous value in commercial real estate...this kind of positive sentiment expressed by U.S. investors is often a precursor to a more active investment sales market." For the entire article, please go here

Mortgage Bankers Association Report Rise in Commercial Lending

While hotels and medical buildings aren't faring so well in the third quarter, commercial and multi-family mortgage lending rose 32%. This seemed to be a result of historically low interest rates, which attracted more borrowers to the market than this period in 2009. 

In general, loan originations were up 15% from the second quarter. Commercial banks posted declines whil Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were among the strongest performers. The origination volume for CMBS rose 43 percent from the second quarter. For the whole report please go here.

Manhattan Commercial Real Estate Sales Show Stability

The Eastern Consolidated just released its third quarter market report today and the numbers are in! It's looking like the Manhattan commercial real estate market is on the rise. The stats read that sales volume during the first three quarters of 2010 hit $9.4 billion...already surpassing activity during the whole of 2009,  when just $5.8 billion worth of transactions were completed. The report shows employment across the five boroughs is improving, and in just the third quarter, 19,000 private sector jobs were added. 
 The CEO and chairman of Eastern's,Peter Hauspurg, stated "At this time last year, we could barely see the light at the end of the tunnel...but this quarter's statistics confirm that we are now clearly out of the tunnel." This is definitely great news for the industry and everyone tied to it! See the full report here