The Best Kept Secret in Commercial Real Estate

I was able to convince Chris Hurn, an expert at commercial real estate loans and frequent expert guest on FOX business news TV shows, to join me as a guest on my radio show today. The title of the show is "The Best Kept Secret in Commercial Real Estate."

Chris will expose how simple it can be to find money, especially during these recession times, to buy commercial real estate. Imagine, owning your own office building for your company or owning your own investment property like a shopping center. Here's how you can do it....

The radio show is a web based show that will be aired at 5:30 pm EST today.

Go to this link to download the podcast to listen at your leisure... "Click Here to Hear More"

If you miss the airing time, no problem, go there anytime and click on the "Fav" heart button, "Share" it with your friends, "RSS" it to have a reminder sent to you of future shows, and (best of all) click on the "itunes" icon to download it as a podcast so you can listen to the show and future shows while driving to work and play. All of these icons are found in a blue box at the center of the screen.

Let me know of your thoughts about the show and please share it with your friends.

Talk to you soon,

Larry Lane

Click on the "ReTweet" button below and follow me on twitter. I am LaneArch there.

March 2008 Newsletter is Available

The new March 2009 newsletter is out. Download your copy of the LAD Sketch Pad for March 2009 at the link that is along the right column of links.

A tip for a Better Office

Anyone can say that they need to hunker down in their dark cave and wait out the recession before doing anything to improve their office environment. I bet your competition is doing just that. Take a step to excel beyond your competition and prepare for the better times to come by taking a good look at the state of your office.

Do you have empty desks scattered about? Having people scattered about the office is very common when lay-offs occur. This leaves the remaining people feeling self conscience about their own job security. While looking at the desk that once was filled by their co-worker, they are bound to think, "Am I next?"

Minimize this dis-empowering atmosphere by relocating departments into a tighter group. This will improve their productivity, create a better feeling of belonging, save money on energy costs if you are able to block off the unused area, and create a concentrated area of empty spaces that can be sublet until this economic storm blows over.

Before you do all of this. Find out where all of your desks, furniture, and personnel, exists today. You need to light up the cave and create a road map of where you are before you can figure out where you need to go.

We can help you with that. Call us at 212-594-2007. Don't go through this recession in the dark.

P.S. I have no idea who is in the above photo. But, don't be without a light and plan of how you will survive the recession.

Seven Ways for Offices to Thrive

With businesses struggling during this recession, we are now finding a staggering increase in vacancies in office spaces. In Manhattan, space that tenants have put on the market for sublease more than doubled last year to 8.2 million square feet. According to Reis Inc., a New York-based real estate research firm, there was an increase of 14.4 percent of office vacancies throughout the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2008. This is the highest in three years.

Two Bloomberg reporters, Peter S. Green and David M. Levitt wrote this quote in one of their most recent articles:
“This quarter was like no other quarter we’ve ever seen before,” said Joseph Harbert, chief operating officer of Cushman’s New York metro region, in an interview. “It’s as if someone let the helium out of the balloon. The downfall of Lehman really changed the real estate consumer’s psychology, and put everyone in a cautious, wait-and-see, don’t-make-a-decision attitude.”

Unemployment continues to rise. It is expected that 175,000 jobs will be lost in Manhattan. Many are from the financial industry.

People are finding that many of their co-workers are now gone. And they are wondering if they are next in line during the next wave of layoffs.

Fear sets in and productivity begins to decrease.

Now is the best time for companies to assess their strengths and challenges in order to come out on top from this recession.

Here are 7 tips for companies to use that will boost their productivity and save them money:

1. Save on the energy costs by subdividing unused areas from active work stations. The heating bills can be reduced by locating open plan work stations near perimeter radiant heating units during the cold seasons.

2. Individual offices are great for privacy. But, they often require their own variable air volume control for the air conditioning. They also require more light fixtures per square foot than open plan office spaces because there is a more efficient distribution of lumens in the open areas. You can save a bit on your energy bill by reducing the number of individual offices.

3. Having vacant desks scattered between occupied desks sends a strong and negative message to the office workers. “That is where my office mate used to sit, will I be next to go?” Get rid of empty office spaces by relocating office workers so they are located closer together.

4. Share common areas such as libraries and file rooms. Sublet the excess and redundant areas.

5. Reduce the number of coffee break rooms by combining their use with other departments. Get rid of excess kitchenettes by subletting them out with the unused office spaces.

6. Digitize old paper documents. Dispose of obsolete documents by storing them off-site or by shredding them.

7. Hire an architect to record where all of your desks, files, chairs, etc. exists. They can draw this on a floor plan that allows you to just click on a space and read who is in that space, the condition of each piece of furniture, and the function of that space. This is the best time to get a clear picture of what should be kept and what needs to be removed or replaced.

It is wise to be cautious during these challenging times. Your competitors will probably remain in the “wait-and-see, don’t-make-a-decision” mode. This is the perfect time to do just the opposite by getting your office to work more efficient than ever before.

Call us at 212-594-2007 to learn more about how your company can thrive in these times.

Your Customers, Clients, and Employees Need to Take "Ownership" of Your Workplace

Imagine how you would feel if you were in my shoes when the doors opened for the first time at Niketown, NY. During the period of time that I was the project architect who worked directly with the directors of Nike Image, a lot of other things happened in my life.

For one, my wife saw so little of me because I was at the office or flying to Beaverton, OR to work out design and construction details so she got us a Black Labrador to keep her company. We named the dog Jackson (the painter, Jackson Pollock’s studio was near the dog rescue shelter in the Hampton town where we adopted our dog).

A year later, my first son, David was born. David helped me refocus my priorities, but I was still committed to getting the Niketown, NY project finished. I really feel that part of David is still left within the walls of that building because he became so much a part of my life-even at work where I was able to enjoy my passion of architecture.

There was a lot of fanfare and drama at the grand opening. Celebrities came out of the woodwork and from all parts of the world. When Phil Knight, one of the founders of NIKE came, it was as if a rock star arrived. NIKE employees came out from their hidding places and exploded into a chant, “NIKE,” that echoed throughout the massive atrium space that was filled with curved walls and oval shaped fixtures to emphasize their image of “movement.” It was almost cult-like.

So, when the doors opened during that first day, it was as if I was leaving a big part of me there and to be watched over by strangers.

Have you had that feeling? When you have passion for something or someone, time just stands still. Everything seems to just fall into place and you take “ownership” of all that you do.

Our buildings can cause your clients, customers, or colleagues to feel a sense of belonging – I know because I was able to help NIKE provide that to their customers and employees. The secret of our success is that we design with a focus on the “experience” that you want others to feel while in your space.

Check out the earlier blog dated September 18, 2008 to learn more about how we helped choreograph an “experience” through architecture for NIKE and how we can do that for you.

Also, don’t miss out on downloading the archived radio shows (you can even listen to it as a podcast). You will find out various strategies that you can use in order to get the edge over any of your competitors while having the best fit of a building for your company.

How do architects serve their clients?

Ever wanted to have a bigger office space, smaller office space, a new conference room and didn't know when to hire an architect or a contractor? Also, you might be curious as to what can an architect actually do for you besides draw up plans. Our radio show this week covers some of the basic services that you should expect from an architect. Check it out at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LaneArchitecture

Tips at selecting the carpet for your office

Today, we discussed several important tips about commercial carpets. Listen to our radio show to find more about it while Larry interviews Lane Brettschneider in their Manhattan carpet showroom. Here is the link:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lanearchitecture

You can contact Lane's Floor Coverings & Interiors, Inc. at 212-532-5200 or 888-532-4343. Tell them you heard Lane on the radio when you call them.

Larry Lane

Tune in to learn where Commercial Real Estate investing is HOT!

Today, during our radio show, I interviewed a very successful commercial real estate investor, Mr. Ronald Duguid. Ronald is with Equity Capital Funding and is located at 245 Park Avenue, NY, NY.

Since I moved to NYC in 1986 from Dallas, Texas, it was interesting for me to hear about Ronald's current project that is in Dallas. Back in 1986, Dallas and much of the other parts of Texas, was suffering from oil prices dropping (doesn't sound that bad today though - does it?) and the savings and loans were going belly up. Nowadays, the market in Dallas seems to be hot for commercial real estate investing. Ronald also shared his thoughts of other "hot pockets" in other parts of the nation that also might be a good place to invest.

Ronald's story about his experience with an architect has a great lesson at the end of it. Find out more by linking to our radio show at.....

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LaneArchitecture/2008/07/28/Larry-welcome-guests-to-talk-about-their-experiece-with-architects

TV personality shares secrets to a great office space design

I was fortunate to interview MarkCharles Misilli during the writing of the book that will soon be published. The book will share important up-to-date information that everyone should know before they move into their next office space. You could loose a lot of time, have a miserable working environment, and expect delays in moving into your next office space if you don't get your hands on this book!

As you probably already know, MarkCharles is a TV celebrity interior designer who travels throughout the nation within his industry and designs high end commercial interiors using the secrets that he reveals in our latest radio show. Check it out at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LaneArchitecture/2008/07/21/Commercial-Interior-Design

Don't miss our next radio show! It will be airing live at 5:30 pm, Monday, July 28th. We will be discussing more great topics of architecture that you can use in your own lives.

The photo above is Christie's executive office suite in Rockefeller Center, Manhattan. Designed by Lane Architecture + Design, PC.

Find out clues to choosing the right Commercial Real Estate Broker and Office

Our recent radio show shares important points that everyone should know BEFORE they move into their next office space.

Learn more about:
$ When should you start looking for an office space?

$ What tools are available to determine how much space you need and can afford?

$ What are the keys skills of a good broker?

$ What does an "offer" mean?

$ What does "leased out" mean?

$ What does "loss factor" mean?

And a lot more great stuff given to you in plain English by an expert, Ms. Olivia Wu.

Listen in at:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LaneArchitecture/2008/07/16/Hiring-a-Commercial-Real-Estate-Broker