The LAI-ZIA Chapter welcomes you to Santa Fe and Alburquerque New Mexico—The Land of Enchantment

The Fall 2010 LEW, headquartered in Santa Fe, New Mexico’s Capital, will focus on how the rich history and culture of New Mexico along the Santa Fe—Albuquerque stretch of the Rio Grande Corridor has been preserved, even as cutting edge development projects are defining New Mexico’s built environment in the 21st Century.

Located at the base of the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) Mountains, 7000 feet above sea level, Santa Fe (also known as “the City Different”) is internationally recognized as an art Mecca, a place of extraordinary light and natural beauty, the oldest (400 years) Capital city in the United States, preserved Historic Districts and a place whose history and character are defined by Native American, Hispanic and Anglo cultures.

About 60 miles south lies Albuquerque, New Mexico’s largest city by far and its financial center. It has its own long and rich history, which will be evident throughout the Weekend.

Among other activities, we will explore the “old” and “new” Santa Fe. Our itinerary includes stops at the Plaza, the historic town square, (which marked the end of the Santa Fe Trail); the redevelopment by Drury Hotels of the old St. Vincent Hospital in the city’s downtown historic core; lunch at La Fonda Hotel, the city’s oldest, known as “the Inn at the End of the Trail”; along with presentations and tours of:

• Santa Fe’s emerging “second Plaza”—the Railyard Project
• The art hub that is the College of Santa Fe
• The award-winning Tierra Contenta affordable housing development
• Las Soleras, a large transit-oriented mixed use community to be developed on the southern edge of the city.

On the second day of the LEW we will bus to Albuquerque with commentary from expert speakers about: the creation of the RailRunner, New Mexico’s new commuter rail line between Santa Fe and Belen, 30 miles south of Albuquerque and casino development on Sandia Pueblo lands. We will tour the Old Town, the railroad museum, Wheels, and redevelopment projects along historic Route 66. We will lunch at the historic Hotel Anadluz (originally built by Conrad Hilton) which has been converted to a LEED certified historic structure.

Then, after visiting Mesa Del Sol, the largest (12,000 acres) mixed use development in the country under public ownership, we will return to Santa Fe on the RailRunner in time for dinner on your own.

Our headquarters hotel will be the highly rated Eldorado Hotel. Filled with Southwestern ambiance, it is located two short blocks from the Plaza.

We look forward to welcoming you to New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, in October! Please register early as room space during these dates is limited. Bienvenidos!

PRESIDENT'S LETTER

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Are you into rubbish? Well, maybe you should be...

Dr. Karen Sieracki LAI President

Did you know that landfill will soon become a thing of the past as the UK is running out of sites?
Land fill is becoming more expensive as it will increase from £40 per tonne in 2009 to £72 per tonne in 2013. We just do not have the room for the stuff anymore. So what is the alternative – recycling – but by whom, what cost, how and where. The UK has to dejunk and declutter.

How can we in the property market make money out of this?
We can supply the product in the right location at the right rent and yield. We all have crappy secondary industrial space which needs to find its own place in the sun – a price discovery option. So recycle your space!

Waste Management and Recycling – Some Facts

• UK waste take up has increased from 2% of the total industrial take up in 2008 to 4% in 2009. For Q1 2010, 1.4m sq ft (ie 19%) of take up was waste from a total of 7.4m sq ft total.
  
• The UK is the third highest country in the EU to use landfill, after Greece and Spain. 61% of all UK waste goes to landfill. This is partly due to the relative cheapness of landfill and it being the easiest option as the UK has clay soil. However, things are now changing on the cost issue.
• Pricing at the moment is based on landfill. Within five years, the price will be technology driven.
• EU targets–
  • By 2010 reduce municipal waste sent to landfill to 75% of that produced in 1995.
    
  • For 2012, reduce by 50% of the 1995 levels.
    
  • By 2020, reduce by 35%.

We are running out of landfill space and time.

• It is a reverse logistics business – stuff comes in and then disappears!
• It does not create a high number of jobs.

Potential Waste Treatment Technologies – How do they do it?

• Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) – comingled dry waste gets sorted on a mechanical conveyor belt and then gets compressed for transport to a materials reprocessor. Best unit type – logistics with its high eaves height, 125.000 sq ft +.
  
• Pyrolysis and Gasification – heat treatment to unsorted and sorted waste with an output such as gas or liquid which creates electricity. Cost is in the equipment, not the shell. Size 150,000sq ft+.
  
• Energy from Waste (EfW) – plants to produce energy and/or heat. Again capital cost for the plant. Waste handled in a pretreated form.
  
• Anaerobic Digestion (AD) – Biochemical process to organic waste in the absence of oxygen with methane and carbon dioxide as outputs. Need highly bespoke facilities and it can smell but technology could be changing that.
  
• Composting – natural biological process which is damp and heat intensive. Would wreck a building’s fabric quite quickly.
  
• Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) – waste treatment using one or more of the above technologies. Could be in existing shed or bespoke.

Three Tiers of Occupiers

1. large scale waste business – eg the water companies
2. Midsized copies – eg Cyclamex who have supply chains and proven technologies
3. Technology driven companies who are still trying to prove the technology and its effectiveness.

Each level needs to raise capital for the business. It is relatively easier to raise capital for the tier one companies than the tier three ones who are more at the cutting edge in terms of the technology.

Hurdles

• Quality of tenant covenant and need to look at how the business is funded.
• High capital cost of the equipment - £5m - £70m.
• Local authorities need to construct waste plans; only one has done it so far.
• Need planning permission (usually sui generis) and Environmental Permit from Environment Agency. This can all take up to 18 months which at the moment restricts supply. As operators are getting known, this is becoming less of an issue. The Permit is specific to the operator, not the site. This front end risk is taken by the operator. The Permit is technical, not political as it is concerned with the technology.
• It is crucial for the company to have the supply chain in place as it needs the waste. This is usually sourced within a 10 miles radius of the site. The business needs to be self sustainable within this diameter to link in with the waste disposers.

Specification of Building and Lease

• Acres 1-50 range with average currently 7 acres.
• Eaves height greater than 12m.
• Floor loading – 75 kilo newtons as opposed to 50.
• Use of level access, not dock level access.
• Need space outside due to rigid vehicles.
• Need weigh bridge.
• Need enclosures inside for storage.
• Leases 20 -25 yrs + with RPI rent reviews. Sometimes this fits in with local authority waste management contracts.

Karen Sieracki, LAI President

Lou Slade KeyNotes Editor

Within the next few months, the transition to electric and alternative fuel vehicles will move into the next stage as several manufacturers will introduce the Volt, the Leaf, and others to the market. Even the venerable BMW internal combustion engines will soon make room for a plug-in electric vehicle in the BMW fleet.
This month’s column highlights how the infrastructure necessary to support the fleet of the future will become part of the landscape and part of land economics across the U.S.

Our current recession was first triggered by US$147/barrel oil that resulted from a demand-to-supply peak. The recession slowed things down and reduced that peak ratio so the price of oil came down. Experts predict that with the end of this downturn, oil will peak at $200/barrel, a series of oil-based recessionary cycles will occur, and the price of gas at the pump in the U.S. will stabilize in the range of US$6 per gallon (in current dollars) in 2030. This increase in the cost of gasoline along with concerns about our dependency on middle-Eastern oil, and climate change is driving the market for alternatives to the conventional internal combustion (IC) engine.

Our fleet of personal vehicles will continue to add IC-powered cars, but to remain competitive, great improvements in fuel consumption efficiency will be incorporated using existing and emerging technologies. The gas pump won’t go away, but we won’t have to visit it as frequently. Lighter IC vehicles are already flooding the market because they are more fuel efficient and make sense in cities where space is expensive. Thus, the Mini-Cooper, the Smart Car, motorcycles, motor scooters, conventional and electric bicycles and Segways are a growing proportion of the fleet, and they will eventually be accommodated in our urban parking codes with a new category of smaller parking spaces.

Plug-ins are desirable, but they rely on electric power that is currently generated across most of the U.S. using oil or coal, and that is counter-productive to the goals of energy independence and reversing climate change. The consumer market will demand electricity generated with domestic renewable energy sources, and localized wind and solar will part of that solution.

The design of buildings will accommodate the changing fleet in their parking facilities that will provide battery charging access and smaller parking spaces for smaller vehicles. Also, the demand for electricity for charging vehicles will be part of the economic justification for more solar and wind energy devices to be integrated into the design of buildings.

Hybrids and Plug-ins are all driven by electric motors full-time or much of the time, and that means that batteries are part of their drive-train. Batteries are a significant added expense so systems are being established that will allow vehicle owners to lease batteries for their useful lives, or for just the life of the charge. We’ll charge our batteries at home, at work, or at charging stations, or will just change out the depleted battery for a fresh one at stations designed for this purpose.

Hybrids include a motor that is either a conventional IC engine, or could be an engine that runs on alternative fuels such as biofuels, natural gas, or hydrogen. The distribution of these fuels to the market has implications for the scale of fueling stations that will have to be larger to serve various kinds of fuel, or will have to be specialized to serve only one kind of fuel.

This all means that our urban areas will need to accommodate a broader range of vehicle sizes with a myriad of fueling needs. There will be very large fueling/charging/battery changing stations that try to serve all categories of fuel requirements, and there will be specialized stations that serve only one category of fuel. I can imagine that vehicle navigation systems will be equipped with GPS-based fueling station finders that will keep the driver aware of when he needs to make a fueling stop so he doesn’t get stranded without access to his type of fuel. The computer will tell the motorist “Last chance for hydrogen fuel two blocks away; do not travel more than 5 miles from this fueling opportunity.” I can also imagine that special service vehicles will be on call like tow-trucks to bring a change-out battery, or a quick charge, or some natural gas or hydrogen to a stranded vehicle.

As the automotive technologies evolve, some of them will become obsolete, and the associated support systems will drop out of the picture, so investors in the support systems will need to incorporate flexibility into their long range investment plans. Consumers may get stuck with a vehicle with an obsolete technology that is a useful as a VCR, so automakers may develop the capability to retrofit a different engine into your old biofuel hybrid when biofuels are no longer economically supportable. The first of these kinds of modifications may happen when gasoline hits US$6 per gallon. Cash for clunkers anyone?

“What Every Leader Should Know About Real Estate”

Introduced as the Peter Drucker of corporate real estate, Mahon (Sandy) Apgar, IV quipped he was recovering his urban roots, having just relocated from Baltimore County into an 1880s home in Baltimore City’s Federal Hill neighborhood – heralding back to his days living Boston’s Roxbury area. Fresh from studying British new town planning at Oxford University, he worked for James W. Rouse during the summer l967 and helped launch the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. From this experience,
Sandy claimed he learned from Jim the importance of persistence and to capitalize on unforeseen events. When asked today by young people and students about what kind of real estate job can they find during the economic recovery, he advises them to create their own since they can take risks and have the least to lose.

Recounting highlights in his real estate career of advising leaders of corporations and governments, he was the principal author of the blueprint for Saudi Arabia’s national urbanization strategy while at McKinsey and Company. Appointed in l998 under President Bill Clinton to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations and Environment, he had global responsibility for the Army’s housing, real estate and facilities. Apgar worked with Congress to create and implement the Residential Community Initiative (RCI). Overseeing a pilot program in 4 locations, including nearby Ft. Meade, RCI transformed the Army’s portfolio of rental family housing by permitting the private sector to build and operate 16,000 housing units on Army installations. Today, close to 85,000 homes for soldiers and their families to live have been developed through forty five (45) partnerships in 23 states. Other services are picking up on this, and the next wave is military barracks with its half million beds.

Mr. Agpar observed that real estate in the United States equals about seventeen to eighteen percent (17-18%) of GDP, and in mature economies, about twenty percent (20%) of GDP. For most companies, he contends real estate is the largest or second-largest asset on the books, yet rarely is it seen as a strategic resource. Undergirding Agpar’s approaches are two fundamentals: a company’s business should drive real estate, not real estate driving the business; and booms and bubbles and busts are unavoidable. The only industry other than real estate that requires the art of the long view is oil exploration. He discussed his five (5) maxims of real estate and his template of 10 composite items to assess the performance of corporate real estate, known as the Apgar Real Estate Score. All are outlined in “What Every Leader Should Know About Real Estate”, an article in the November 2009 issue of Harvard Business Review, www.hbr.org, Reprint RO911J.

As the former Chair of the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Corporate Real Estate Council& Maryland’s Real Estate Advisory Service, Sandy encouraged LAI to align itself with others in the industry like ULI to help guide policy makers and elected officials with a comprehensive real estate assets management program.

Tara B. Clifford, Scribe

Ely Chapter welcomes its 2010 new initiates and also honors Michael Mallon of Mallon and Associates with the Daniel H. Burnham distinguished services award and Laurie B. Marston, AICP of Laurie Marston & Associates with the Richard T. Ely distinguished service award.

On June 16th the Ely Chapter hosted the 2010 Initiation Banquet at the beautiful Peninsula Chicago in the Grand Ball Room. This black tie event was well attended by some of our most prestigious members and leaders in the industry. We started the evening under clear skies on the outdoor terrace of the ball room for cocktails and conversation. After cocktails we sat down to a delicious meal prepared by the Peninsula’s chef. S.L. van der Zanden, Chapter President, opened with remarks and description of the evening’s program.

Group photo of the new member for the Ely Chapter

Mike Mallon receiving his award, joined by Donna Pugh and Ely Chapter President S.L. van der Zanden

Laurie Marston accepts her award, joined by Les Pollock and Ely Chapter President S.L. van der Zanden

After dinner the chapter presented two awards to two of Ely Chapters most respected leaders, Mike Mallon and Laurie Marston. Donna Pugh introduced Mike Mallon and commented on his tremendous work as past president and one of the key leaders for last October’s Ely Chapter weekend celebrating the centennial of Daniel Burnham. Mike was then presented The Daniel H. Burnham Distinguished Service Award. In typical form Mike shared the limelight and praise with his team members that also participated in the planning and execution of the “Burnham Weekend”.

Laurie Marston was introduced by, Les Pollock, who described her tireless work on “The Plan of Chicago @ 100”. Laurie and her team with the help of 15 member/authors created a wonderful book of essays discussing “Burnham’s Legacy for the New Century”. Laurie asked that all the authors that were in attendance stand and also be recognized for their significant contributions. For her past leadership and work on the book Laurie was presented with The Richard T. Ely Distinguished Chapter Service Award.

The Ely Chapter congratulates Mike Mallon and Laurie Marston.

Chapter Highlights:

• Ely Chapter Members can now register for all events on the LAI website
• Check the website for the audio recording of Professor Perez’s presentation on Cuba

Barbara Morris, Ely Chapter

The chapter concluded its spring /summer season in May and June with two informative talks from Barbara Byron, Director of Fairfax County, Virginia’s Office of Community Revitalization, concerning the new plan for Tyson’s Corner, VA, and Bill Dowd, Director of the Physical Planning Division of the National Capital Planning Commission. On the vision for 10th Street and Maryland Ave SE in Washington, DC. Additionally Chapter members voted unanimously to nominate 33 new inductees.

In the February Keynotes, editor Lou Slade commented on the “great land economics experiment” that is underway in Fairfax County, VA, a plan to transform Tyson’s Corner, a 1,700-acre Edge City that exemplifies auto-oriented suburban office parks into a high-density, mixed-use, walkable city center with four transit stops to open in 2013 on the extended Metro Silver Line to Dulles Airport, a focus on green buildings, a grid street system where none exists now, and a residential population and work force that will make it one of the ten biggest cities in the U.S. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved this plan in June, and Barbara Byron will be at the forefront of implementing it, a challenge as Lou Slade previously noted because it depends on public-private cooperation and shared public-private funding among many property owners to incrementally create the public infrastructure envisioned by the plan. Guidance will include no maximum floor area ratio within ¼ mile of Metro, trip reduction performance measures, district-level plans for facilities, parks and active recreation and transportation funding through community development associations or similar mechanisms, as well as the public sector. A first phase development of 17 acres owned by the Georgelas Group will be the initial demonstration area to be developed under the new plan. With the adoption of this plan, Fairfax has now joined Montgomery County, MD in adopting measures to reverse the auto-domination of suburbs and enhance use of transit and pedestrian/bicycle transportation, a direction pioneered by Arlington County, VA some 30 years ago and ongoing in the nationally acclaimed Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor.

In the District of Columbia, the region’s central city, the National Capital Planning Commission, which is charged with planning for Federal interests in the Washington area, has formed an interagency task force to replan the 10th Street and Maryland Avenue corridors in southwest DC. This area has a discontinuous street pattern and a freight line running through it is a barrier between the National Mall and the city’s Southwest Waterfront. Goals include the creation of an Eco-District where the majority of storm and waste water will be recaptured on-site (conforming to Presidential Executive Order 13514 requiring strategic sustainability planning spearheaded by the Council on Environmental Quality); redevelopment of the Department of Energy site; decking over the rail line and creation of a new public park. Requests for Proposals for Alternative Development Analysis will be issued in July.

Rosalyn Doggett, Scribe

Positive Job Growth Outlook for Sacramento; Clean Energy Takes the Lead.

“Sacramento will have job growth by the second quarter of 2011 as unemployment rates drop off modestly through the year,” said Barbara Hayes, Executive Director of Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Association (SACTO). The research team for SACTO has been a reliable forecaster of jobs, and they see area job loss ending prior to year end. Hayes presented her findings to the Sacramento Chapter of Lambda Alpha at its July meeting. While Sacramento job growth in the government is expected to remain flat in Sacramento region, nearly all major sectors are expected to be better off within the year.

Barbara Hayes, Executive Director SACTO, Robert (Bob) Dean, Executive VP, Managing Director Pacific Northwest of Grubb & Ellis and Charles (Chuck) Trainor, Senior Partner of Trainor Fairbrook, Attorneys At Law

Sacramento is recognized as an international leader in the “Green” industry and it is the top ranking city for “Green” job growth in California. Sacramento’s Lambda Alpha member Robert (Bob) Dean heads the Clean Energy Group for Grubb & Ellis nationally. He recently participated in the international InterSolar conference, and California’s commitment to “Clean and Green” drew attention worldwide.

Job creation is expected in the “Green” sector since California has legislated compliance with new “Green” standards. Lambda Alpha member Charles (Chuck) Trainor authored an article regarding a state law that will require building owners to disclose their building’s energy consumption to buyers, tenants and lenders. This initiative is just one of several key pieces of legislation signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that illustrate that “Green” commitment.

Private sector business, utility companies, and universities have also been recognized for their “Green” achievements; Sacramento Metropolitan Utility District (SMUD) and Aerojet have completed a 6 MW solar installation which is the largest of its kind in the United States. Nearby UC Davis was recognized as one of the country’s greenest colleges.

Member sponsors for the July meeting were Jeanne Reeves Consulting and The Evergreen Company.

Lambda Alpha International (LAI) has recently created a group on Linkedin.com. Linkedin is an online professional network of more than 60 million professionals in over 150 industries. Linkedin is a great place to exchange information, ideas and opportunities. Linkedin allows you to:

• Stay informed about your contacts and industry,
• Find the people & knowledge you need to achieve your goals, and
• Control your professional identity online.

Our LAI Linkedin group will provide a means to further promote communication and networking among LAI members. Please join us at LAI’s newest place to network: www.linkedin.com.

Forgot how to login? No problem.

Please visit the LAI Website at www.LAI.org. On the left hand side click on the Members Only Tab. Here you will need to use your email and the password is lai.

Future Land Economics Weekends (Subject to Change)

SPRING 2010
October 21-23, 2010
Zia Chapter, New Mexico

SPRING 2011
June 1-4, 2011
Scotland

Ely-Chapter

Barbara A. Adams Douglas Buster Michael Conlan Thomas A. Corfman Stephen J. Cross Karen Darch Kathleen Dempsey Boyle Sofia Dermisi Thomas Fitzgibbon, Jr. Scott Freres David L. Goldstein Charles M. Hanlon Andrew Jaworski ,AIA LEED AP Lynn Jerath Steven Kandelman Hidetaro Kashima James K. Kutill Ron Lakin

Erin Lavin Carbonargi Susan Lencioni Joseph J. McElroy Robert McKenna Todd Meyer Chinwe Onyeagoro Christine A. Raguso Eleanor K. Roemer ,PhD, JD Patricia A. Scudiero Robin Snyderman Bill Trumbull Carmen Vidal-Hallett Wendy Walker Williams Everett S. Ward Cindy Wonzy-Carl David Woodhouse , FAIA Theodore I. Yi Ferhat Zerin