The Commercial Real Estate Revolution

The Commercial Real Estate Revolution takes a sober walk through the current state of our industry. We come out of the chute by sharing statistics that, frankly, surprised us. It took a few months for some of us to filter through the reports we found from around the world and acknowledge the level of waste that occurs on virtually every project. Some of the reaction was professional pride. Most of the surprise, however, came from the fact that there is no single source you can go to that connects the dots.

The first section of the book connects those dots and provides a narrative that puts these statistics into our everyday context.

Consider that 70% of projects complete late and over budget. Buildings create 48% of greenhouse gases; twice as much as transportation and seven times the amount of cars. 80% of contractors have ten employees or less. More than 80% of projects use some variation of a design-bid-build approach. Most contractors and vendors are selected based on the lowest price.

These are only a few of the statistics and their impact and implications are clear. The model is unsustainable.

On the good news side there are several industry initiatives for reform and some even use the word transformation. However, we share the challenge these efforts face and the promising approaches some have found who can really drive the industry to a positive tipping point.

The Commercial Real Estate Revolution will be released on July 6th through Wiley publishing. If you would like to reserve a copy and receive a pre-publication discount click here.

There is a great debate over the cost of changing our industry and the premium owners will have to face. The current NAIOP report says that using a conventional delivery approach will require a 10 year payback to achieve a 30%-50% reduction of energy. That report should cause everyone to see the obvious – “We can not achieve the necessary levels of sustainability needed using  a CONVENTIONAL DELIVERY MODEL.”

We can, however, through a mind shift that embraces a new model. This video of Ray Anderson makes the point that sustainability and profitability are not at odds – in fact with the right paradigm and business model they enhance one another.

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