Most architects maintain $1 million or less in professional liability insurance, and the large firms typically carry no more than $5 million. Simple human mistakes, like miscalculating a structural load or specifying the wrong type of concrete...
When a Goldman Sachs representative called Mark Schurgin, president of Los Angeles-based The Festival Cos., two years ago, the caller wanted to discuss starting a fund. Schurgin's reaction was decisive: Not interested. Despite the rebuff, the Gol...
The commercial paper market is in disarray, real estate lending has ground to a halt in many markets, and mortgage brokers everywhere are running for cover. But not Cohen Financial Corp. in Chicago. CEO Jack Cohen is opening new offices, hiring...
Amid the slowing economy, flagging housing market and unfolding credit crunch, neighborhood and community center REITs posted lackluster results during the third quarter, suffering as consumers reined in spending. Still, the sector as a whole is...
Australia-based Centro Properties Group earlier this year acquired New Plan Excel Realty Trust. As a result, despite operating in the U.S. for less than five years, the company is now one of the top owners of retail real estate in the country...
This year was supposed to be the coming-out party for the commercial real estate collateralized debt obligation (CRE CDO) market. After topping $35 billion in issuance in 2006, expectations were the market would nearly double to $60 billion this...
One of the defining trends of the retail industry in the past decade has been a great hollowing out of the middle. Mid-tier chains have struggled or disappeared entirely. Discounters — exemplified by Wal-Mart — have thrived at one end of the...
The commercial mortgage market faces one of its toughest credit climates in more than a decade. The most complex corners of the securitized mortgage market are getting hammered. Products that flew off shelves 12 months ago now are piling up: As of...
In these three dominant areas, architects have an unprecedented opportunity to reshape retail real estate in the coming years. Recently, four members of the American Institute of Architects' Retail and Entertainment Knowledge Community sat down to...