Nordstrom Returns to Oakridge Mall

Here's something that I never thought I would see. Nordstrom is returning to Oakridge Mall in South San Jose (yes, I know it's a Nordstrom Rack, but it's still Nordstrom).

The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal is reporting that Nordstrom will be opening a 30,000 sf Nordstrom Rack in Oakridge this fall in the space formerly occupied by a Linens 'N Things store that closed last year. (Click on the title for the whole article.)

This will make my wife happy since she has been in mourning since Nordstrom closed their full-line store at Oakridge Mall (replaced by Sears) in 1995. This will be a real good thing for Oakridge Mall and Westfield since it appeared that they were going to have a problem filling that huge space that Linen 'N Things left.

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Interested In Green Building Technology?

If you're interested in Green Building Technology, there is a special 4-1/2 hour seminar titled: “Energy Efficient Buildings: ‘Green’ Technology That Works” in San Francisco hosted by IREM, CCIM and Realcomm.


Speakers will present new, innovative solutions and case studies for "green" sustainable buildings as well as methods for establishing ROI on these new solutions. This seminar is a "must-attend" for owners, developers, property managers, architects, facility managers, engineers, system integrators and consultants.


Click here to see the agenda. Click here to register. (I just learned how to use these types of links and I had to try them.)


Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Random Thoughts on Get Motivated! 2

I wasn't going to write about the Get Motivated! seminar that I went to yesterday, but then I saw the article that the SJMN had on their front page on Michael Phelps and his participation at the seminar.

I must admit that I was a little ticked off at the attitude that the writer had. It probably wouldn't have hurt if the writer had actually spoken to the people that attended the seminar. I guess that I'm one of the those "underemployed" commercial realtor that attended to get motivated in these difficult times. It probably wouldn't hurt if the writer got a little motivated.

I was there all day. Out of all of speakers, only two of them offered additional seminars and Tamara Lowe plugged her book.

I especially enjoyed Zig Ziglar, Steve Forbes, Rudy Giuliani and Gen. Colin Powell (and they didn't try to sell anything). It was obvious that Michael Phelps (he didn't try to sell anything either) is not a polished motivation speaker, but I cheered for him anyway for his accomplishments and dedication.

I guess that negative news sells better than positive news, but I get a little tired of it. How about you?

Sorry about the rant. Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Random Thoughts on Get Motivated!

I decided to go to the Get Motivated! seminar at HP Pavilion in San Jose tomorrow. Considering the commercial real estate market, I figured that I need some motivation. It was only $4.95 for the seminar and $4.99 for the Get Motivated! workbook for a total of $10.37 (including tax), so I figured that it was pretty cheap if I get motivated.

The interesting thing is that it's being held live at both the Cow Palace in San Francisco and the HP Pavilion in San Jose. I guess that they are going to run the speakers between the two locations. I hope they don't get stuck in traffic.

Has anyone been to one of these seminars? Should I be prepared to be bombarded by email offers? Was it worth it?

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

CCIM SV District Meeting March 31

Here's another plug for our local CCIM Silicon Valley District meeting. This is a good opportunity for the people who don't have the time or don't like to drive to the Chapter meetings in Pleasanton.

Speakers:
Paul E. Chandler - Property Sciences will speak about New Appraisal Regulations plus Current Market Valuations.
Carl San Miguel - Highland Group will speak about NAR's Commercial Source plus Our Current Economic Dilemma.

Location:
The Offices of Miller, Morton, Caillat & Nevis, LLP (a premier sponsor)
25 Metro Dr., 7th Floor, San Jose, CA

Itinerary:
Networking @ Le Boulanger (1st Floor) 8:30 - 9:00 AM
Coffee & Pastries provided.
Meeting (7th Floor) 9:05 - 10:30 AM

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Random Thoughts on Commercial Real Estate & Technology

I attended the Investment Exchange Counselors Meeting this morning. This group consists of a lot of old-timers in the commercial real estate business and they are very knowledgeable. It's a good meeting.

However, one of the members mentioned that he had to return his Blackberry because it was too complex for him. He went back to his normal cell phone.

This got me to thinking about all the new technology, including social networking, that we have available to us as commercial brokers (especially since my 20-something son is trying to get me to get a Blackberry and I'm weakening).

I blog, I text and I'm on LinkedIn, but I'm not on MySpace or FaceBook nor do I "Twitter". I know of brokers who have gotten clients because they have websites or blogs.

How many of you have gotten deals from the new technology, such as a Blackberry or FaceBook or Twitter and which technology was it?

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Random Thoughts from the Bay Area Apartment Brokers Forum

Here are some random thoughts from the March 11 Bay Area Apartment Brokers Forum regarding the multi-family market:

1. The general consensus was we're not at the bottom yet.


2. The demand has increased for the larger units. Apparently, more people are sharing apartments.


3. It seems that some landlords are actually reducing rent in order to keep their tenants.


4. The multi-family market is still feeling the credit crunch. The lenders say that they are still lending, but you have to fit in their box (and it's a small box).


5. A bit of positive news. Again, there was a general consensus that the multi-family market would lead when the commercial real estate market starts to come out.

There was also a interesting presentation on "How to Calculate the True Return on Real Estate Investments" put on SIFF Investment Services Inc of San Francisco.

This can be considered a plug for the CCIM Education Program, so if you're not interested, you can stop reading now.

A lot of what they talked about (including their model) was covered in the CCIM classes that I took in order to get my designation. I actually prefer the CCIM model because it allows you to calculate the best, worst and probable cases as well as calculate after tax return on investment for each of the cases.

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Professional Broker Forum for March 12 Cancelled

Sorry for the last minute notification, but I just heard that the Professional Broker Forum for March 12 is cancelled.

I was looking forward to the restart of the Professional Brokers Forum. Apparently, they had a problem with the speaker cancelling at the last minute and they were unable to find another speaker at the last minute.

Future Dates are April 9, May 14 and June 11 at 777 North 1st St, mezzanine level from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM.

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Bay Area Apartment Brokers Forum - March 11, 2008

Here's my usual plug for the Bay Area Apartment Brokers Forum.

Group: Bay Area Apartment Brokers Forum
Guest Speaker: Ivan Fujihara - CEO, SIFF Investment Services, Inc.
Topic: How to Calculate a True Return on Real Estate Investment
Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2008 - 8 AM
Place: First American Exchange Company, 1737 North 1st St, 4th Flr, San Jose
Breakfast: Continental Breakfast - no charge - First American Exchange
Chairman: Richard Domich - CB Richard Ellis, Inc.
Vice Chairman: Keith Suddjian - Cornish & Carey Commercial
Membership: Kari Noomen - WaMu - J. P. Morgan Chase
Sponsor: Mary Kay Kennedy - First American Exchange
Adjournment: 9:30 AM

Note: All present will have an opportunity to present their listings, buyer requirements, as well as their analysis of current events and market trends that directly effect the multi-housing (apartment) industry in Silicon Valley and greater Bay Area. (I think that this is often the best part of meeting, even though I specialize in Office/Industrial properties.)

Your comments are always appreciated. Thanks for reading.