We’ve talked before about pervious concrete and how it can be a solid option in regards to storm water management. There are also times when, even thought it’s more expensive, pervious paving can be the more practical option. We recently finished a project on the coast. Upon completion, our customer quickly realized that more parking was …
As the wild ride of 2020 comes to a close, I’m hearing a lot of talk about what the economy might look like next year. I don’t have a crystal ball, but the Fed appears willing to keep the rates down in the less-than-1-percent range and let inflation run wild for a bit north of …
One of our project managers is also an excellent drone pilot and recently used our place to test drive new software. We ended up with some cool images. This one caught my eye, because you can really see the “figure eight” of our entry. It was designed this way for some specific reasons. For starters, …
For us, getting involved in an FMI peer review group has been one of the smartest ways to grow our business. We meet periodically with other construction companies in non-competing markets to discuss best practices. I kept hearing others talk about using employee selection assessments in the hiring process, and we made the call to …
Because of the construction industry’s independent nature, technology typically lags. This means that roll out of new products, even some that really work, can be slow. One of the new systems we have discovered with our multifamily projects is ZIP System. Sheathing installation followed by a “housewrap” vapor barrier had been the industry standard for years. …
When I was a child growing up in Atlanta, the Lenox Square Shopping Center opened. At the time, it was one of the most remarkable retail centers in the southeast. There were two department stores–Rich’s, which was still owned by Mr. and Mrs. Rich, and Davidson’s, which is now Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s. There was also …
When we made the decision to trade our offices in a corporate environment for a 16-acre campus, a garden was part of our plan. We saw a garden as part and parcel to the building, a place of beauty where we would all learn to eat a bit better. Beyond the fruits and vegetables that …
We are currently involved with the rebuild of a major United Way campus. This involves bringing an existing multistory office building constructed in the 1950s to current standards, including a new skin. Most of our projects that have a new curtain wall as a component are structural steel frames, but this project is reinforced concrete. …
I am fortunate to be a part of the Master’s of Real Estate Development (MRED) program at Auburn University. It’s a 2-year tract targeted at people who have been out of school and working for a while. The focus is “training a new generation of executives to build places that matter.” I enjoyed sitting on a …
In some ways, current retail direction mirrors retail of the past, with a renewed emphasis on neighborhoods, the storefronts where we live and “the experience.” It seems retail is becoming more focused on community, creating spaces where people spend time with friends and family. Shopping is part of the experience, but not the only goal. …
We have been fortunate to participate in a number of adaptive reuse projects over the years, with the most recent being the conversion of a former industrial warehouse into commercial office space. We’re now in the early stages of converting an abandoned school into a company’s primary office. We’ve learned a lot along the way, …
If there is one constant in life, it’s change. When it comes to habits, things swing one way, then another, before finding the equilibrium for a while. Then the cycle starts over. We’re starting to see that trend in retail. For years, we’ve heard “brick and mortar retail is doomed,” but it seems the pendulum …