Data met Dickens in our September Breakfast, “A Tale of Two Cities,” dealing with how the haves and have-nots are faring in a changing commercial real estate market.

In a continuing effort to bring to our members the latest news of the day, the May Breakfast explored the subject of the Washington State Convention Center Expansion. The breakfast was sponsored by Clark Nuber, PS, Auburn Mechanical, and VECA, and we sincerely thank them for their continued support. President John Teutsch began the meeting and gave the assembly an update on new members and we also received an update on the Summer Social. It sounds like a fun time will be had by all! John introduced Matt Griffin from Pine Street Group who is developing the Convention Center expansion.

In a very highly attended event, the annual Broker’s Forecast was presented to our Breakfast attendees on April 20. The breakfast was sponsored by Adolfson & Peterson, Norris, Beggs & Simpson, CBRE and Intervest - we sincerely thank them for their continued support. President John Teutsch began the meeting and gave the assembly an update on new members and introduced Kris Beason who gave some background on Adolfson & Peterson. Mike Wood also spoke a few words about Norris, Beggs & Simpson. We heard about the Community Enhancement Project which will be on September 24 at the New Start High School in Burien.

On Wednesday, February 17, attendees of the monthly Breakfast meeting were treated to the Capital Markets Forecast. The breakfast was sponsored by US Bank, JLL, and Intervest Mortgage Investment - we sincerely thank them for their continued support. President John Teutsch gave the assembly an update on the new members and watched a video regarding the Real Estate Challenge.

On Wednesday, January 20, attendees of the monthly Breakfast Meeting were treated to our annual program with the Runstad Fellows from the University of Washington. The program, “Risks & Collaborations: A Discussion on the Future of Seattle,” was sponsored by Touchstone and Deutsche Asset Management - we sincerely thank them for their continued support. President John Teutsch gave the assembly an update on the new members. We also heard that nominations were open for the Community Enhancement project for 2016 and are due February 15 (click to download the nomination form).

On Wednesday, December 16, attendees of the monthly Breakfast meeting were treated to our 4th annual “Defining Moments” program, which focused on the Development and Land Assemblage of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. The breakfast was sponsored by Clark Construction - we sincerely thank them for their continued support. Sharon Coleman gave the assembly an update on the new members. We viewed a wonderful video presentation on the Community Enhancement project at YMCA’s Camp Terry and received heartfelt thanks from the YMCA. We also got an update on the Real Estate Challenge. Our neighbors to the south – Portland State University – will be in the challenge this year, along with University of British Columbia and University of Washington.

The 2016 session of the Washington State legislature will convene on January 11 for a 60-day session. Following a record 172 day session in 2015, expectations for 2016 are that the legislature will complete its business on time.

Davis Property & Investment is pleased to announce that construction is underway for a new 36,237 square foot flex building located at 2750 Williamson Place NW, DuPont, WA. This will be DPI’s 7th building under construction in Washington State in 2015.

Like offensive linemen and line cooks, facility managers only get noticed when something goes wrong. That’s why they need the right tools to make sure that tenants remain happy where they work, equipment is properly cared for and proper vendor oversight is provided.

Many organizations turn to technology tools to help manage their buildings and preserve their assets. The goal is to help you run your facility (and your business) more efficiently. These tools have the potential to automate the process of managing maintenance on mechanical systems, critical power systems and other building infrastructure. They can also help define how a variety of tenant issues are tracked, resolved and closed out – everything from changing light bulbs, to dealing with a hot/cold temperature issue.

The problem is that an out-of-the-box technology tool is not an operational solution. Real estate organizations often underestimate or entirely fail to consider the amount of time required to tailor the tool to the desired outcomes. A technology in and of itself is not always enough without the appropriate investment of people and process.

Investment or expenditure?
Most organizations take one of two paths with their issue management solution: underinvest or internalize the costs. Those that underinvest in the infrastructure may encounter issues with tenant satisfaction, vendor performance, maintenance scheduling and tenant bill-back, among others.

Internalizing the necessary costs isn’t easy, either. Someone has to answer the phones, input the work orders and follow up to make sure they are addressed. This labor burden can add up to hundreds of hours in a single building, or thousands of hours across a portfolio, far more than the one-time cost of a technology tool itself.
There is also a third way: outsourcing these back-end administrative tasks to an expert third party that is dedicated to issue management.

Outsourced issue management at a glance
One of McKinstry’s clients, a large national REIT that manages over 15 million-square-feet of office space, saw significant tenant satisfaction issues and administrative challenges with their technology-only platform.

By outsourcing their issue management needs to a third-party system, they boosted their occupant satisfaction scores, increased tenant bill-backs by over a million dollars and reduced operational overhead across their portfolio by 20 percent, saving another million dollars.

Highly-trained engineering staff now devote a fraction of the time to administrative tasks like answering phone calls and asking tenants clarifying questions. The time saved can be put to good use, freeing up staff members to perform regular check-ins with their tenants to pre-emptively address any concerns.

One of the best outcomes of a well-managed issue management system is good reporting and data. When preparing to sell one of their properties recently, our REIT client was able to quickly cull all maintenance data from the past several years, saving the internal due diligence team significant time.

The data also showed that the building had been well-maintained, sustaining its high market-rate price. The client estimated that they saved six figures on this sale due to maintenance data alone.

Invest like it’s your business – because it is
Remember, issue management solutions are investments, not one-time purchases. Invest appropriately, and you’ll see returns in tenant satisfaction and labor efficiency. As you consider your own buildings, we encourage you to ask yourself: what’s the best way to invest in an issue management solution to achieve the results you’re looking for?

On Wednesday, October 21, the Developing Leaders Committee presented a program entitled “Are You Ready for the Next Generation of Leadership?” The breakfast was sponsored by BN Builders and Adolfson & Peterson Construction - we sincerely thank them for their continued support. Incoming NAIOP President John Teutsch began the meeting with a list of new members. Davis Vaughn from the Developing Leaders Committee gave an update on the Mentoring Program. Angelia Wesch, Partner with Oles, Morrison, Rinker moderated a panel that was eminently qualified to address the topic at hand. Panelists included: