FEATURE ARTICLE, APRIL 2005
A BLUEPRINT FOR SUCCESS
Design professionals discuss prominent trends and the current state of architecture in the Northeast. Kevin Jeselnik
The creation of a commercial real estate project is often long and arduous. Yet the fruits of the laborious process are often a satisfying reward for the hard work poured into the development of a real estate development. Often, the focus is fixed on the developer — who out in front, actively ensuring the project’s completion. In the background, the initial driving force of each endeavor is the architect. Together with the developer, engineers and various other teams, the architect creates the design that guides the development.
Recently, Northeast Real Estate Business spoke with a number of architects and engineers active in the Northeast about the trends and challenges they are facing in today’s commercial real estate market. The participants include Kevin James and Scott Hoffman, principals of Pasadena, California-based MCG Architecture; John Rufo, associate design director at Dallas-based Carter & Burgess; Stephen DeSimone, president of DeSimone Consulting Engineers; Joseph Aliotta, principal with Swanke Hayden Connell Architects of New York City; and Fred Habenicht and Jay Tuller of Lake Success, New York-based Rosenbaum Design Group.
NREB: As the economy has recovered in recent years, development has picked up in many segments. How has this affected architecture?
Rufo: Office space being converted to residential space is a common trend in Boston now. It’s interesting to think that we can do that; just reoccupy buildings according to what is more viable economically. The design parameters of the original design are concretely in place but the occupancy is completely different and apparently it works.
DeSimone: The multifamily market has increased tremendously over the last 2 years. The projects that our firm is involved with are occurring at a much higher price point, with much more attention on luxury and amenities than before. We are also finding that brand-name architects are increasingly brought in to make these projects more marketable.
Tuller: Favorable interest rates and an improved economic climate have enticed landlords and retailers to upgrade in order to remain competitive. We find many retail chains that are not currently doing business in the New York metropolitan area are taking a new look in our market and seeking local architects that know the landscape from a variety of vantage points, including local building and zoning codes, political intricacies, and local community needs and desires.
NREB: How is the business of architecture changing?
James: I think that the scope of work that the architect is involved in has expanded significantly. It is not just about designing buildings; it is about creating environments and really integrating social space. I think more and more the American public is spending its social time in these commercial environments. The architect needs to have a lot more awareness with regards to the social aspects of the community.
Hoffman: I think developers are expecting a better quality of architecture. And it is not necessarily that they are driving the trend, but that the consumer they serve is expecting more. They are not expecting just a storefront; they want it to look nice. There is some restraint imposed upon developers and architects that helps the overall quality of the work.
Aliotta: Architecture is becoming more sophisticated and competitive. It now incorporates new technologies such as 3-D modeling software, online project management and a greater use of wireless technology for business communications as well as for building design.
NREB: How are new technologies affecting the design process?
Habenicht: Our technological resources enable our clients to do virtual walk-throughs of our designs. Client presentations are shown in three dimensions, where we can drop 3-D renderings over existing photos to better illustrate the relationship of a proposed building in the actual context of the site. Ninety-nine percent of our designs are done using our CAD capabilities.
Aliotta: Wireless technologies are providing instantaneous communication. This includes the ability to take digital photographs and send them instantly. Another trend is with historic preservationists who are using hand-held personal computers to mark-up surveys in the field.
NREB: How is New Urbanism guiding the industry’s activity in suburban areas?
James: I’ve talked on the New Urbanism topic a great number of times. One of the things that happened after World War II was that the New Deal — which was a presidential decree that helped families purchase homes — enacted a series zoning ordinances that created a number of bedroom communities that didn’t have all the components organized properly to allow for a whole community to exist. A community requires communal space, and these communities totally lacked that. These same communities are now striving to create cores, to create communal space, and reinvent themselves so that the residents do not always have to leave to find the products they are looking for. And by that I mean the cultural interface, social interface, retail interface and so on. The commercial component seems to be what developers are attempting to use as the focal point for tying all the other aspects together.
Rufo: Community groups and urban planners want the focus of retail and mixed-use commercial projects to be on the street and other public realms. This planning agenda helps give momentum to the trend of de-malling — where malls are turned inside out.
Tuller: In suburban areas, masking or disguising retail stores has been introduced to break up the big box look on the outside. This is done to create a streetscape with a human element through the use of façade design, parking configuration and other features to reduce the scale of a large retail facility.
NREB: What are architects experiencing when designing projects in areas that lack developable land?
Habenicht: National retailers and chains need to think outside the “big box” box. We have designed, or are in the process of designing, several projects that break the typical prototype used by the major retailers. For instance, we converted a derelict beverage distribution plant in Forest Hills, Queens into a supermarket with multi-level parking and additional retail stores. It’s a creative and effective use of limited space in an urban area that can also be applied in mature suburban areas where there is a lack of available developable land.
Aliotta: Most of our work has been in urban areas where there has almost always been a lack of land. The solution has been “upzoning” of some areas, redevelopment of older properties and unusual shapes, and zoning requirements for new parcels.
Hoffman: If a developer can find a way build in an existing center, the challenges are a lot less than trying to create a new project. There is already a built-in community and as long as that community can support the retail that is coming in, it is a lot easier to go in and redevelop an existing structure than trying to find vacated land some place else.
DeSimone: Air rights have significantly changed the nature of development in the city. The new potential for growth in previously developed neighborhoods is changing the available options for both developers and building owners. For structural engineers, this aspect of redevelopment is quite appealing, as our skill set makes us very integral to the process.
NREB: Do you predict any new trends will catch on in the next 1 to 2 years?
Rufo: Actually, the industry is in the middle of some important trends right now, namely New Urbanism, lifestyle retailing and urban investment.
DeSimone: Currently, there is a growing interest in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and brownfield projects, I believe this trend will grow in the coming years.
Aliotta: Enhanced fire protection and egress systems will also be more of a trend. It will include encapsulating building cores in concrete and separation of the stairs for egress for improved safety to building tenants.
NREB: How is the movement to develop sustainable, “green” buildings affecting the industry?
Aliotta: Sustainable design is permeating everything we do and how we, as architects, approach projects. Sustainable design has become part of an architect’s subconscious and must be applied to almost every project we undertake.
Tuller: There is a broad-based awareness and growing market demand for energy-efficient, environmentally friendly buildings. “Green architecture” will continue to grow with the introduction of more environmentally friendly materials.
DeSimone: We have noticed that there has been more client awareness about the benefits of greening projects. We have also noticed that there is more impetus from government entities to include environmental wording in the project scope.
Rufo: Some clients embrace green building as added monetary and political value and some see it as another hurdle in a development process that’s already stacked against them.
There are some great stories coming out now regarding the incorporation of green design in certain instances. All the major new skyscrapers in New York City have high-level LEED certification. Major retailers like IKEA are very forward thinking and incorporate green elements such as solar fields on the roofs of their buildings.
NREB: What is your biggest challenge as a commercial architect?
Rufo: Providing quality design services for clients in a highly competitive and cost-conscious development industry. In the early design phases, good ideas are critical to get a project off to a good start. Producing and testing those ideas takes time, which equates to money for the client. Convincing them that it is well spent in the early phases is a challenge.
Tuller: The biggest challenge is meeting tighter schedules imposed for a host of reasons, some of which involve developers securing financing, getting certificates of occupancy faster so that projects may be completed quicker and revenue can be generated sooner.
Hoffman: The architect is becoming more the liaison between all the different parties — trying to satisfy the city, developers, residents and tenants. Tenants don’t want to give up their image because that is what they are known for. Everyone must be happy and more importantly from the developer’s standpoint, the project has to be within budget.
James: Architects are in the middle of all the puzzle pieces. You have cities that have certain desires or expectations that are based on community wants, not on financial impacts or costs. You have tenants that require certain formats that have been proven in their other models. Then, you have developers that have the concern of competing against existing centers and creating something that will draw tenants. There are all these tugs and pulls, and the architect is trying to come up with the compromise that best fits everyone’s needs.
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A sketch illustrating the differing views often held by the parties involved in developing a retail center. It shows the challenging task architects undertake to create a project that satisfies the needs of all involved — from the developer to the tenants to the city, architects find the compromise to suit all uses. Courtesy of MCG Architecture.
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Rosenbaum Design Group
Project: New Super Stop & Shop Supermarket at Turnpike Center.
Location: 89-89 Union Turnpike, Queens, New York
Size of project: Approximately 197,080 square feet
Type of project: Retail
Tenants: Super Stop & Shop Supermarket, Payless ShoeSource, Dress Barn, Starbucks Coffee
Developer: Stop & Shop
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Rosenbaum Design Group joined with Stop & Shop to design a new retail project on the site of a former Coca Cola distribution center in the Forest Hills section of Queens in New York.
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What is unique about this project architecturally? This project is an illustration of how to utilize property in areas where there is a lack of available space and how to recycle or reuse existing structures. The new Super Stop & Shop is located in the Forest Hills section of Queens.
A demised former Coca Cola distribution center, the property had laid dormant for almost a decade. The project took a rundown, graffiti laden building and transformed it into a vibrant new 56,792-square-foot supermarket with parking on the roof section, which was built over a previously demolished portion of the former distribution facility. A two-level parking garage, located in the middle section of the altered building, complements the rooftop parking on the supermarket and provides shoppers with 82,173 square feet of parking. And there is more than 54,000 square feet of additional retail space for additional services.
Today, this energetic supermarket and retail center not only offers area residents a clean, new place to shop, but it revitalizes a previously rundown site and illustrates how the industry meets challenges and demands of changing trends in development in forthright and creative manner.
—Fred Habenicht and Jay Tuller |
Swanke Hayden Connell Architects
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The Atlantic Terminal Office Building, developed by Forest City Ratner, totals 470,000 square feet of office space over 10 floors in Brooklyn, New York. Elliot Kaufman ©2004
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Project: Atlantic Terminal Office Building
Location: Brooklyn, New York
Size of project: 10-stories, 470,000 square feet
Type of project: Office building with retail at its base
Tenants: Bank of New York
Owner/Developer: Forest City Ratner
What is unique about this project architecturally? The terra cotta exterior curtain wall technology has allowed the project to blend in with its surrounding neighborhood. In addition, the building was fast-tracked, enabling the building to be completed in record time. Schematic designs were started in September 2002 and the Bank of New York moved into its new space in May 2004.
—Joseph Aliotta |
DeSimone Consulting Engineers
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The Related Companies’ Astor Place will total 130,000 square feet of residential space in New York City.
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Project: Astor Place
Location: New York, New York
Size of project: 130,00 square feet
Type of project: Residential
Developer: The Related Companies
What is unique about this project architecturally? The project demonstrates how residential design, once considered the black sheep of the city’s building industry, has become a dominant force in New York City’s progress and image. Now the major players from a development and architectural standpoint are those guiding the city’s future image.
—Stephen DeSimone |
Carter & Burgess
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Architects and engineers from several Northeast and national firms discuss current trends in architecture and how those trends are affecting projects such as Assembly Square, a Carter & Burgess-designed retail redevelopment. Federal Realty Investment Trust is developing the 300,000-square-foot project in Somerville, Massachusetts.
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Project: Assembly Square
Location: Somerville, Massachusetts
Size of project: 300,000 square feet
Type of project: De-malling
Tenants: TJ Maxx, Christmas Tree Shops, Staples, Bed Bath & Beyond
Developer: Federal Realty Investment Trust
What is unique about this project architecturally? It’s a reuse and de-malling of an existing building. It is also the centerpiece of a mixed-use, master-planned community. The existing building is an old Ford Assembly Plant and has an industrial aesthetic that the community is very fond of. Integrating tenant identity in a consistent way that was acceptable to both tenant and community was a challenge.
—John Rufo |
DeSimone Consulting Engineers
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Chrystie Place, Avalon Bay Communities’ 457,000-square-foot mixed-use project in New York City, will include ground-floor retail beneath scores of residential units.
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Project: Avalon Chrystie Place
Location: New York, New York
Size of project: 457,00 square feet
Type of project: Mixed-Use
Developer: Avalon Bay Communities
What is unique about this project architecturally? Chrystie Place demonstrates how residential design is invigorating once undesirable sections of New York City and making them vital. This project is also important as it was unique in bringing together both private and public sector money to make a mixed-use project that provides benefits for residents at all economic levels.
— Stephen DeSimone |
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