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Fighting city hall over land

Wendy Lathrop Civil & Government

Once upon a time (1989 to be exact) in a place not so far from where I live, a man (Francis Galdo) bought a home across the street from a vacant parcel owned by the City of Philadelphia. That parcel, along with others, had been acquired by condemnation in 1974, subsequent to a 1956 consenting ordinance and 1962 agreement to the Pennsylvania Department of Highways plans to establish and occupy certain rights of way, streets and traffic interchanges as part of the construction of the Delaware Expressway within the city.

Transit-oriented development: Beyond the hype

Lucy Wallwork Civil & Government

Transit-oriented development is a concept that chimes with trendy "New Urbanist" ideals of vibrant, walkable neighborhoods. First uttered by San Francisco-based urbanist Peter Calthorpe in the 1980s, it may not yet be a household term, but it is rapidly gaining prominence in cities across the U.S. and beyond its borders. The TOD concept revolves around making transit hubs into hubs for not only switching from bus to train to bike, but also for land-use intensification.

Facilities managers earn higher salaries than national median

Scott E. Rupp Facilities & Grounds

For those working in facilities management, the following salary news is nothing new, but it never hurts to better understand your place in the market and how you stack up to your colleagues. According to new data compiled by FacilitiesNet, the median salary for all titles within facilities management in the field is $85,000, according to survey respondents. Median salaries, raises and bonuses showed significant differences in different regions of the country, the site reported.

Minneapolis’ Super Bowl LII stadium sports innovative sustainable…

Michelle R. Matisons Facilities & Grounds

Whether you are a football fan or not, you probably know that Super Bowl LII is scheduled to happen Feb. 4 at the new U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots. Beyond excitement for the game itself, there's a lot of buzz about the stadium itself, which can seat up to 70,000 fans.

Negotiating commercial leases: Who should be the tenant?

Dale Willerton and Jeff Grandfield Retail

For many commercial tenants, negotiating a good lease or lease renewal against an experienced agent or landlord can be a challenge. While an entrepreneur focuses on marketing and managing, savvy real estate agents and brokers are specialized salespeople. Their job is to sell tenants on leasing their location at the highest possible rental rate.

Does the US have slums?

Lucy Wallwork Civil & Government

It has long been a policy goal of developed countries to become "slum-free." In fact, the town-planning movement in the U.K. was born out of the desire to combat the severe public health problems caused by the densely-packed slum communities that grew up around centers of industry as the Industrial Revolution took hold.

Negotiating commercial leases: When should the lease end?

Dale Willerton and Jeff Grandfield Retail

For many commercial tenants, negotiating a good lease or lease renewal against an experienced agent or landlord can be a challenge. While an entrepreneur focuses on marketing and managing, savvy real estate agents and brokers are specialized salespeople. Their job is to sell tenants on leasing their location at the highest possible rental rate.

Cleveland Clinic setting the bar for green facilities

Scott E. Rupp Facilities & Grounds

For more than a decade, the famed Cleveland Clinic has undertaken a systemwide sustainability drive to make the health system green and reduce its carbon footprint. Health Facilities Management magazine points out that the effort includes energy- and water-reducing strategies, energy-efficient facility design, environmentally-friendly purchasing and an aggressive recycling effort.

Mudslides devastate Montecito, California

Michelle R. Matisons Waste Management & Environmental

After a deluge of rain was forecasted following containment of the Thomas Fire — the largest fire in California history — the prediction of mudslides was a bit much for Santa Barbara County residents. Now, the affluent town of Montecito, population 10,000, has reported 20 dead, with the death count expected to rise as recovery workers wade slowly and cautiously through new mud terrain.

Peering over the edge of the F-Gas cliff

Andrew Gaved Manufacturing

Regular readers may recall that when I first started writing about the revised F-Gas regulations, back in 2014, I reported some concern that the combination of bans and proposed phasedown of HFCs risked precipitating supply difficulties if the industry did not transition to lower-GWP refrigerants quickly enough.

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