Brett White, President and CEO, CB Richard Ellis

On the final day of May, CB Richard Ellis officially went green, claiming it as the first time a major commercial real estate services firm has announced plans to go carbon-neutral. The company announced a goal to become carbon neutral by 2010 and a plan to assist clients with energy efficiency programs at the 1.7 billion square feet of building space that CB Richard Ellis manages around the world.

The company said the initiative is a response to the growing demand for green facilities from both clients and employees. The Natural Resources Defense Council, a partner with CBRE on the project, says energy use in buildings is responsible for 40 percent of the nation’s global warming emissions.

"Our decision is driven by our desire to do the right thing, but is also a direct result of a rapidly evolving marketplace. A large number of our clients — both property owners and occupiers — are already actively working to reduce energy costs and create greener space," said Brett White, president and CEO of CB Richard Ellis. "Our clients are driving toward energy savings and solid, sustainable environmental performance. We see a great opportunity to partner with them to improve their operational performance and help protect the climate at the same time. The relationship with NRDC [Natural Resources Defense Council] will help us to uncover new ideas that we hope our clients will adopt at their properties."

In addition, the Company recently registered its new Washington, D.C. office with the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Commercial Interiors program, and expects to be awarded Gold status.

"CB Richard Ellis is to be commended for their groundbreaking commitment to carbon neutrality, which will help drive a fundamental shift in the thinking of the real estate services community about the financial and environmental impact of green buildings," said Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair of USGBC. "In addition to dramatically reducing greenhouse emissions, LEED certified buildings substantially improve the health and productivity of their occupants. By walking the talk with their space in Washington, D.C., CB Richard Ellis will showcase how easy it is to realize the benefits of green buildings."

In May, redevelopment and construction firm Weston Solutions, Inc. commemorated its 50th anniversary on the corporate campus in West Chester, Pa. The employee-owned company now boasts over 60 offices and more than 1,800 "highly engaged" employees.

"For fifty years, our clients have trusted us to solve their most complex and difficult challenges," said Patrick G. McCann, Weston’s chairman, CEO and president. "They know we have the technical expertise to address their toughest environmental and redevelopment problems, but even more than our technical skills, our customers value our role as project integrator. They know we strive for sustainable solutions that will represent the best interests of all stakeholders involved."

Over the years the company has served as a leading environmental contractor managing time-critical emergency response and recovery efforts for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Defense (DoD). Weston was one of the first environmental contractors to assist with Superfund-designated hazardous waste sites.

New IAMC member firm Rolf Jensen & Associates (The RJA Group), a consulting firm for fire protection including code analysis, fire/smoke/egress modeling, performance-based design and life safety construction management, has opened a new office in Seattle to serve clients in Washington, Oregon and the Pacific Rim.

"We have been tracking the steady increase of work being done in the Pacific Northwest, which in turn has created a demand from our clients for a local presence. Seattle, a vibrant center of business and industry for this area, became the obvious choice as the newest RJA office location. We are excited and privileged to be a part of the growth this region," said Martin H. Reiss, P.E., president and CEO of The RJA Group, Inc. The office will be headed by Carlo Gegen, formerly working out of the firm’s Phoenix office.

On July 11, UNICCO Service Co., represented in IAMC by Connecticut-based Thomas Hanson, director of business development, announced it would be acquired by the same firm that acquired fellow IAMC member organization Equis Corp. one year earlier: Australia-based United Group Limited. The purchase price of the transaction, expected to close in September, is $408 million. A press release from United stated that the transaction "will have little to no impact on UNICCO's current 18,000 employees across North America, and most customers will notice little change as a result of the new corporate ownership. Once completed, the combined company will have approximately 30,000 employees worldwide as it competes in the global FM services business."

"While both UGL Equis and UNICCO will continue to operate independently, United Group can now deliver FM and CRE services for our customers throughout North America, Australia, Asia, Middle East and parts of Europe," said United Group's Managing Director and CEO Richard Leupen.

New IAMC corporate member firm Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc., based in Plano, Texas, has announced a strategic realignment.

Frederick J. Florjancic, CEO and President of Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc.
photo: Safety-Kleen Systems, Inc.

"Safety-Kleen currently offers customers the nation’s broadest range of industrial cleaner, used oil collection and re-refining and environmental services," said company CEO and President Frederick J. Florjancic. "This realignment will take maximum advantage of our national network and strengthen the manner in which we deliver services to our core customer base."

Under the realignment, Safety-Kleen will be structured along geographic lines, with the East Group, based in Atlanta, GA, headed by Executive Vice President, Dave Sprinkle, and the West Group, based in Plano, TX, headed by Executive Vice President Steve Grimshaw.

Each group will oversee the branches, operations facilities, and oil operations within its geographic area, with the exception of the company’s oil re-refineries in East Chicago, Ind., and Breslau, Ont., which will continue to report to Sprinkle, and the National Accounts Group and International (including Canada), which will continue to report to Grimshaw.

Each of the two groups will also have its own sales leader, and will be further divided into four geographic divisions, each led by a locally-based Senior Vice President. The company’s Environment, Health and Safety function will report to the corporate Legal and Compliance Department but will work closely with the division leaders.

On the corporate side, Disposal, Purchasing and Procurement will report to Finance; Compliance, Internal Audit and Contract Administration, will be centralized under the Legal and Compliance Department; and, Corporate Support Services and Marketing will report directly to Florjancic.

"This will allow us to be very efficient while strengthening our value proposition with core customers," Florjancic said. "The bottom line will be better service, enhanced growth and increased profitability."

National RV Holdings, Inc., was involved with two IAMC member firms in the July sale/leaseback of a 595,000-sq.-ft. industrial complex in Perris, Calif. First Industrial Acquisitions, Inc., purchased the property. National RV will lease back the property for 10 years with two five-year renewal options. The sale/leaseback transaction was valued at $31.8 million. Grubb & Ellis advised National RV in the transaction.

ProLogis is acquiring a new property portfolio from a JV that features a prominent partners of fellow IAMC member First Industrial. Denver-based ProLogis announced in July it has formed a new North American property fund to acquire of industrial assets from DP Industrial, a joint venture between Dermody Properties (DP), one of the nation's largest private industrial property developers, and CalSTERS, the California State Teachers Retirement System. The total consideration is approximately $1.85 billion, including transaction costs.

Jeffrey H. Schwartz, CEO of ProLogis
photo: ProLogis

The acquisition includes 114 properties comprising 24.7 million sq. ft. of distribution space in Reno and Las Vegas, Nev; Eastern Pennsylvania; Chicago, Ill., and Tejon Ranch in Southern California, including 1.2 million sq. ft. of construction in progress. Also included are 518 acres of developable land that can accommodate up to 9.3 million square feet of future development. DP will continue to operate as a private industrial property developer and will maintain its national headquarters in Reno, Nevada.

The industrial properties will be purchased by the newly formed $1.8 billion ProLogis North American Properties Fund III. Affiliates of Lehman Brothers acted as advisor to the fund and provided debt and equity financing to the venture. ProLogis will retain a 20 percent equity interest in the fund as well as full ownership of the land acquired in the transaction.

"This transaction affords a number of strategic benefits for our company," said Jeffrey H. Schwartz, ProLogis chairman and chief executive officer. "It significantly expands our platform in five key U.S. logistics markets through the addition of complementary, high-quality warehouse assets and elevates us to the market-leading position in Reno, Las Vegas and Eastern Pennsylvania. It also enhances our land bank and strengthens relationships with our base of target customers."

Warren Durham, National Accounts Manager for MACTEC’s Facility Lifecycle Group
photo: Leavitt Communications

Alpharetta, Ga.-based environmental, engineering, construction management, and infrastructure services firm MACTEC in early August named restaurant industry expert Warren Durham as national accounts manager for the company’s Facility Lifecycle Group. Based in Dallas, he will be targeting publicly traded clients and higher education institutions as he oversees work in a 23-state western region of the U.S.