CCR Issue 10 - 2022

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Issue 10, 2022 • www.ccr-mag.com

What people are saying

Glen

Dave

Matt

26 For the health of it Building inviting rehabilitation facilities 38 Riding into the horizon

CCR Women’s Rountable attendees discuss the trends—and other things—as we head into a new year 68 Protecting the house

Cybersecurity solutions extended to protect the rise of smart buildings and IoT technology

SPECIAL SECTIONS

Commercial Kitchens 77 Growing the bird How Starbird is taking its chicken brand to the next level

Multi-Housing 89 Multi-functionally Speaking Responsive residential design in the hybrid work era

Federal Construction 103 Mission Security How USACE is helping provide aid and shelter for our NATO allies

Craft Brand and Marketing 111 Experimentation. Progression. Purpose. Why Costa Tequila is a sweeter, softer, more floral tasting craft spirit experience

They drive among us

Ihad this dream. And in this dream, I was heading to an appointment. It was a dream, so I am guessing there really wasn’t actually an appointment, but that doesn’t matter I sup pose. At any rate, there I was weaving in and out of the lanes. It seemed a lot like the time Kramer painted over the lanes on the stretch of the highway he adopted in that “Seinfeld” episode, but again, I digress.

Back to my driving. As I come upon a vehicle ahead of me (still in my dream, by the way), I noticed that there is something incredibly peculiar about the whole “LookI-am-passing-you-with-no-hands-on-thesteering-wheel” phase (again, dreaming). The truck, as it turns out, is driverless, as in no matter at the wheel. Empty. A radio playing to nothing. Actually no hands on the steering wheel.

Okay, so I’m in a dream (I men tioned that), this is perfectly acceptable. Right? Well, somebody woke me up— and now. The roadways are not fraught enough with distractions—do we really need 18-wheelers out there operating by themselves?

Apparently we do. And, in case you’re wondering, I am awake now. And as it turns out, IKEA announced that it will test deliveries using Kodiak Robotics self-driv ing trucks. And, because it is Texas, the self-driving trucks have been running since 2019.

In this scenario, IKEA will move items from a Houston warehouse to a Dallas store, some 300 miles away. Did I tell you that safety drivers also will be in the trucks? But still, the trucks will run via autonomous technology.

Here in the world where the editor is awake, this technology is groundbreaking. And to be fair, Kodiak’s autonomous-driving system isn’t trying to put drivers out of business. Quite the contrary. The technol ogy is designed to make the drivers’ lives easier by helping enhance safety, improve working conditions and create a more sus tainable freight transportation system.

As I mentioned (while awake I might add), Kodiak has been running these drives since 2019, recently conducting pilot tests with logistics giants Werner Enterprises and US Xpress. The routes run from Dallas to Lake City, Florida and Atlanta (maybe it wasn’t a dream).

So, now that I can close my eyes and get some sleep (not while driving), I am excited to see what other technological marvels will make themselves known. And, if you really want to know, in my dream, I was a real boss on the road.

No, really, I was.

We want to hear from you

At Commercial Construction & Renovation, we’re always looking to showcase the best of what our industry is doing. If you have a project profile or a fresh perspective on how to keep our industry positively moving forward, shoot me an email at mikep@ccr-mag.com. We’d love to take a look.

Michael J. Pallerino is the editor of Commercial Construction & Renovation. You can reach him at 678.513.2397 or via email at mikep@ccr-mag.com.

Kodiak’s autonomous-driving system isn’t trying to put drivers out of business. The technology is designed to make the drivers’ lives easier by helping enhance safety, improve working conditions and create a more sustainable freight transportation system.

RETAILERS

AARON ANCELLO

Facilities Asset Management

Public Storage

DEDRICK KIRKEM

Facilities Director

Fragracenet.com

BOB MEZA

Senior Construction Project Manager Target

JOHN MIOLOGOS

Director, Store Standards Store Design and Planning Walgreens Company

LAURA GROSS

Retail Facilities Manager American Signature Furniture

RON VOLSKE

Development Director Focus brands

RESTAURANTS

RON BIDINOST

Vice President of Construction Bubbakoo’s Burritos

DAVID SHOTWELL

Construction Manager Atticus Franchise Group

ROB ADKINS, LEED AP CDP

Project Development Manager- Licensed Stores- National Accounts Starbucks Coffee Company

ISYOL E. CABRERA

Director Development and Construction Focus Brands LLC

DEMETRIA PETERSON

Project Director, Design and Construction HMSHost

GENERAL CONTRACTOR

DAVID THOMPSON

Vice President TCB Construction Group LLC.

MATT SCHIMENTI President Schimenti Construction

HOSPITALITY

JOHN COOPER

Principal Executive Vice President

Stormont Hospitality Group LLC

SAMUEL D. BUCKINGHAM, RS

CMCA AMS President & Co-Founder Evergreen Financial Partners LLC

GARY RALL

Vice President of Design and Development Holiday Inn Club Vacations

ROBERT RAUCH

CEO

RAR Hospitality Faculty Assoc. Arizona State University

JOE THOMAS Vice President Engineering Loews Hotels

LU SACHARSKI

Vice President of Operations and Project Management Interserv Hospitality

ANDY BRIGGS, CHA

Managing Principal A14 Capital Management

REAL ESTATE

MEGAN HAGGERTY

Founder Legacy Capital Investment

JOHN STALLMAN Marketing Manager Lakeview Construction

DEVELOPMENT/PROJECT MANAGEMENT

KAY BARRETT NCIDQ, CDP Senior Vice President Cushman & Wakefield

CLINTON “BROOKS” HERMAN, PMP Construction Project Manager Hill International, Inc.

PAM GOODWIN

Goodwin Advisors, LLC Goodwin Commercial The Pam Goodwin Show

JIM SHEUCHENKO President Property Management Advisors LLC

CHRIS VARNEY Principal, Executive Vice President EMG

STEPHEN HEKMAN Executive VP Kingsmen Retail Services US

KEN DEMSKE Vice President Jones Lang LaSalle

PERMITTING

VAUN PODLOGAR

CEO, Owner, Founder State Permits, Inc.

CONSULTANT

GINA MARIE ROMEO

Founder Connect Source Consulting Group, LLC.

ARCHITECTS/ENGINEERS

JEFFREY D. MAHLER

RCA Advisory Board Member

MICHAEL MAGEE

Studio Leader Retail, Store Design Senior Associate Little

FRED MARGULIES

Director of Retail Architecture Onyx Creative

STEVEN MCKAY Managing Principal, Global Design Leader DLR Group

STEVE TURNER Director GPD Group

STEVEN R. OLSON, AIA President CESO, Inc.

ADA

BRAD GASKINS

Principal The McIntosh Group

ACADEMIA

BOB WITKEN Chief Operating Officer KCA Development

DR. MARK LEE LEVINE Professor Burns School/ Daniels College University of Denver

AroundtheIndustry

RETAIL

Forever 21

Forever 21 is back in brick-and-mortar growth mode with plans for 14 new US stores, most of which will be in outdoor lifestyle centers and outlet malls. The new locations will be smaller and feature more curated selections aimed at appealing to Generation Z fashion fans.

Tractor Supply

Tractor Supply has won federal regulatory approval for its planned $320 million acquisition of Orscheln Farm & Home, a smaller rural lifestyle retail chain. The Federal Trade Commission approval is contingent on Tractor Supply selling 85 of Orscheln’s 166 stores, 73 of which will go to Iowa-based Bomgaars, and the other 81 stores will be rebranded with the Tractor Supply banner.

Walmart

Walmart has retrofitted its 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center in Palestine, Texas, to include high-tech automation that can sort, store, retrieve and pack merchandise. The upgrade is part of efforts to increase efficiency, speed and safety across all 42 of Walmart’s regional distribution centers.

Target /Apple

Target will grow the number of in-store Apple shops to 150 locations, with a lineup of gadgets including Apple TV devices, iPhones and Apple Watches available in time for the holiday shopping season. Target’s first mini-Apple shops opened last year as part of the retailer’s growing focus on partnerships with popular brands, a lineup that also includes Walt Disney Co. and Ulta Beauty.

Boot Barn

Western apparel retailer Boot Barn has grown to 321 stores with the opening of 10 new locations during its fiscal second quarter, including its first shops in New Jersey and Delaware. The retailer plans to grow to between 500 and 900 stores as it breaks into new markets in Maryland, New York and Connecticut.

DSW/Cobblers Direct

DSW has partnered with Cobblers Direct to roll out shoe repair services to all of its more than 500 US stores, as part of parent Designer Brands’ plan to expand service offerings. DSW customers can access repair services by scanning a QR code and placing a digital order and consulting with a Cobblers Direct staffer on a range of services including sole replacements, strap repair and deep cleaning.

Culture Kings

Streetwear retailer Culture Kings opened an experiential, 14,000-squarefoot store in Caesars on the Las Vegas Strip. The 14-year-old, Australiabased company is prioritizing a “retail-tainment” approach to physical retail.

Warby Parker

Warby Parker is planning to open hundreds of stores over the next several years to add to its almost 200 physical locations currently. The retailer, which used to be online only, has also opened its own optical labs in New York and Las Vegas and is offering in-store eye exams and other services.

Tapestry

Tapestry, parent of luxury brands including Coach and Kate Spade, opened 60 stores in China over the past two years and will open an additional 30 in the next 12 months. Tapestry’s brands are seen as “accessible luxury” and the company’s strategy has been to move into smaller, less-affluent cities where other luxury brands haven’t opened stores.

RESTAURANT

Crisp & Green

Health-focused fast-casual chain Crisp & Green aims to grow from its current 26 locations to more than 1,000 over the next few years. The Minnesota-based company is on a mission to give consumers across the Midwest access to convenient, healthy meals.

Panera Bread

Panera Bread debuted a new urban format in New York City that melds features of the chain’s traditional units with aspects of its newer Panera To Go concept. While the concept is focused largely on takeout and delivery orders, it features counter seating, unlike a Panera To Go unit set to open in the Union Square neighborhood next month, which will not include a dine-in option.

Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar

Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill + Bar is closely monitoring its new pickup windows, the first of which opened this year, to determine whether they’re meeting goals of customer and employee satisfaction and providing a return on the investment. The chain expects to have as many as 20 of the windows up and running by mid-2023.

Chili’s Grill & Bar

Chili’s Grill & Bar will open a small-format unit near Southern Methodist University in Texas today focused on serving offpremises orders. Takeout and delivery account for about one-third of Chili’s orders and the new format could allow for expansion into nontraditional venues.

Mendocino Farms

Mendocino Farms plans to open its ninth new location this year, bringing the fast-casual concept to 51 units in California and Texas. The company has opened nine new restaurants this year.

Starbucks

Starbucks opened a 23,000-square-foot, three-story Reserve store in New York City’s Empire State Building. The new space features signature cocktails, classes and workshops, and will be the first Starbucks location to use the chain’s new Cold Pressed Espresso brewing system.

Hooters

Hooters has partnered with ghost kitchen company Franklin Junction to fulfill off-premise orders through a host kitchen in Rogers, Arkansas. The partnership will work both ways, with some Hooters locations acting as host kitchens for other brands, and Hooters may also use the ghost kitchen network to offer off-premises ordering for the fast-casual brand Hoots Wings and some of the company’s virtual brands.

AroundtheIndustry

Chinah

Chinese fast-casual concept Chinah plans to grow to four locations with the opening of restaurants in Brooklyn, New York and the area near New York City’s Grand Central Terminal early next year. The chain, which specializes in bowls inspired by homemade Chinese cooking, also has plans to open two ghost kitchens to serve delivery orders.

MrBeast Burger

Virtual restaurant brand MrBeast Burger opened its first branded brick-and-mortar location on Sunday at New Jersey’s American Dream mall. MrBeast Burger has grown to more than 1,700 virtual locations since launching in 2020 with a business model that signs existing restaurants as partners under licensing agreements.

HOSPITALITY

Waldorf Astoria

The Waldorf Astoria has opened its first resort in the Mexican Caribbean adjacent to the Hilton Cancun. The Waldorf Astoria Cancun has 173 rooms, five restaurants and bars and a 40,000-square-foot spa.

Choice Hotels

Choice Hotels is going upscale with the purchase of Radisson’s Americas. The company has 969, with 470 extended-stay in development, but sees upscale and midscale markets growing.

Darwin Hotel

The new owner of a four-story hotel near Ponce City Market and the Atlanta Beltline is trying to keep up with the area’s rapid change. The Darwin Hotel, a boutique hospitality concept, showcases the surrounding Old Fourth Ward neighborhood and how it’s changed in recent years.

BWH Hotel Group

The extended-stay segment continues to be the rock star of the lodging industry, so it’s fitting that the BWH Hotel Group introduced a new extended-stay brand during its North American Convention— which was themed BW Rocks and held in the home of rock ‘n’ roll.

Marriott International

Marriott International will open 30 new hotels in various locations in Africa by the end of 2024, while Radisson Hotel Group plans 150 hotels in the next five years. Meanwhile, IHG Hotels & Resorts has signed franchise agreements to rebrand three properties in Tanzania and Kenya.

Hilton Hotels

A secret tunnel under The Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center, where former Louisiana governor Huey P. Long reportedly lurked to watch the capital city’s train and river traffic, has been converted to an event space called The Tunnel. The space with a speakeasy atmosphere hosts weekly live music with a curated drink menu and has plans for murder mystery-themed dinners.

Marriott International

Twenty new Marriott International properties will be opening in the Middle East over the next 15 months. Half of the properties are planned for Qatar ahead of the FIFA World Cup, while the others are planned for Saudi Arabia and UAE.

Cambridge Suites

Toronto’s Cambridge Suites Hotel is removing its peaked roof as it proceeds to add 50 floors to the existing 21. The unusual project will require building a bridge structure atop the hotel to support the weight being added to the tower, which will rise 757 feet when finished.

GROCERY ALDI

Aldi will open its first store in Staten Island, the southernmost of New York City’s five boroughs, in 2023. With 2,200 stores across 38 states, Aldi is on track to become the third-largest grocery retailer by store count by the end of 2022. Aldi currently has 123 locations in the state of New York.

Grocery Outlet

Grocery Outlet and Uber have expanded their partnership, bringing ondemand and scheduled grocery delivery to Grocery Outlet stores across the United States. Grocery Outlet locations throughout New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania have come online, joining stores in California, Oregon and Washington for a total of 386 in seven states. The service is now available at locations in Los Angeles; San Francisco; San Diego; Philadelphia; Seattle; Sacramento; Portland, Oregon; and other cities.

The Kroger Co.

The formal opening of an Ocado-automated “spoke” facility in Oklahoma City has extended The Kroger Co.’s reach to 36 states, now including Oklahoma.

SuperFresh

SuperFresh plans to open two 16,000-square-foot SuperFresh stores in Clifton and Passaic, New Jersey—areas it has considered food deserts. The supermarkets will focus on perishable items like produce, meats and dairy but also will offer boutique-like finishes such as fresh sushi and a live fish tank featuring Chilean sea bass and lobster.

Harps Food Stores

Harps Food Stores has agreed to acquire all seven locations of independent grocer The Markets in central Louisiana and southwest Mississippi. The deal marks Harps’ entry into the two states and brings its store count to more than 140.

Clover Food Lab

Clover Food Lab, a Massachusetts’ cult-favorite vegetarian, fastcasual food chain, will open its 15th location restaurant, but its first location to include a grocery store.

Hy-Vee

Hy-Vee has cut the ribbon on another of its “totally reimagined” stores in La Crosse, Wisconsin, featuring digital shelf labels, a Hy-Vee Scan & Go mobile payment option and digital kiosks for ordering cakes and prepared foods. The store also has more than 100 televisions highlighting services and promotions alongside a food hall with several meal offerings, a pub and an outdoor patio.

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Meet me at Trader Joe’s

Trader Joe's holds the top spot among supermarkets and drug stores in Fordham University's American Innova tion Index. Other top-ranking grocers and drug stores in the consumer survey-based index include Whole Foods Market, Publix Super Markets, ALDI, CVS, Kroger, Albertsons, Walgreen, Safeway and Rite Aid. The survey, the only one in the United States that measures company innovativeness, is based on customers’ experiences. Conducted this past July and August, it covers 190 firms from 19 industries, including airlines, hotels, banks, TV and internet service providers, wireless phone providers, manufacturers, and retailers. The study surveyed 6,416 consumers and covered more than 30,000 custom er-company relationships.

They said it...

“Shoppers are continuing to spend despite inflation and economic headwinds, and while higher prices will drive some of the increase in holiday spending this year, overall retailers are poised for a successful holiday season”

— ICSC President and CEO Tom McGee on why traffic will increase during the holiday shopping season, as 81% of consumers report they plan to visit a shopping center in a recent survey

“We’re somewhat agnostic, but literally at the end of the day, we come to market with a very clear statement, which is we want to have a lot of touch points...across a multitude of different real estate types.”

— Capital Tacos co-owner Josh Luger on why the fast casual chain is branching out into different formats, including food trucks and virtual restaurants, alongside traditional brick-and-mortar locations

— Kimski Chef Won Kim on how the Korean-Polish restaurant continues to shake things up with a new pop-up each month from November through March to show off new concepts

“It’s like having five restaurants opening up in Bridgeport during the hardest season in Chicago.”

Walk on up

The Rego Restaurant Group, which owns Quiznos and Taco Del Mar, is teaming with BCubed Manufacturing to create prefabricated drive-thru and walk-up units for both brands. The 650-square-foot units—called "The Qube" at Quiznos and "Baja Shack" at Taco Del Mar—will be built offsite, and shipped with the plumbing and wiring already installed. Rego is hoping the perk will attract new franchisees.

Stranger than ‘Stranger Things’

Did you know you could turn your TV watching experience into a lifestyle one? Thanks to leaders in both the public and private sectors in Gwinnett County (Georgia), a Duluth shop ping center is being converted into a mixed-use development. The shopping center has grown in popularity after it was used as a set for the filming of the widely popular Netflix series, "Stranger Things." Under the plan, Global Villages would comprise seven residential villages centered on a 4.5-acre park, and include 2,700 housing units, 25,000 square feet of office space and up to 100,000 square feet of retail. It also would include a 40,000 square foot cultural center, international library and eight additional acres of greenspace mixed among the villages.

The numbers game

The number of states that have added construction jobs between August and September, according to recent analysis of federal employment data by the Associated General Contractors of America. The numbers show that Florida picked up the most jobs, while North Dakota posted the largest percentage increases. Texas and New Jersey lost the most jobs during that period.

14

The percentage increase in hotel leisure travel that is expected over 2019 by year’s end, according to data from the American Hotel & Lodging Association. The projections show the recovery varies by city and could be affected by inflation.

2,074

The number of hotel projects that are in the pipeline over the next 12 months (along with 987 under construction), according to the most recent Construction Pipeline Trend Report. By the end of the year, 525 new hotels are projected to have opened, a 1.1% increase in new hotel supply for 2022.

Riding out the storm

How today’s construction professionals work and navigate tough times

How do you better prepare for new variables in the con struction process? When do you change construction methods? What construction costs are increasing and which materials are increasing the most? Why should you and how to map out a project's entire supply chain?

There are so many questions facing today’s commercial construction executives. Over the past two-plus years, the industry has not only faced its share of unprecedented challeng es, but the future is filled with a sense of uncertainty.

So, how do project leaders actually work and navigate through these mazes?

We asked Kenneth M. Colao, President and CEO of CNY Group, to share his insights on the road—and ride—ahead.

Where does today’s construction industry stand?

The industry is cyclic and has a history of going through periods of uncertainty and change. The pandemic upended our industry for a short period of time, but we have adjusted, and I think for the better. Today

there is one certainty: The rate of change is continuously increasing, creating a greater need to increase our time in planning and analyzing more scenarios and options.

While much of the conversation is about how to capture and increase costs due to inflation and escalation, these issues only scratch the surface of the challenges of today’s construction industry.

We also encourage developers and owners to focus on investing in durability on the front end because building operations and maintenance may become more expen sive over time, otherwise making it worth the initial capital investment.

The largest variable is rising costs, delays of materials and availability of adequate labor. This has altered how we work with our cli ents, requiring us to meet earlier and more frequently to ensure lighter cost manage ment and scheduling.

But I believe the industry is stabilizing and returning to pre-pandemic form. The change and uncertainty of the past twoplus years have left a long-lasting impact; safety protocols are being reviewed and updated more frequently and some workers continue to wear masks voluntarily and practice safe distancing.

The goal is to provide a safe envi ronment where people can work produc tively again, which I believe the industry is returning to.

My team recently adjusted our approach to erecting the facade of a building, despite the original design being programmed as a least-cost method. Due to the delivery times on the precast, we had initially planned on, we instead opted for handset masonry and terracotta facade to avoid extending construction delays even further.

Most clients will start with a least-cost method. But similar to the project I men tioned, the cost of extended schedules will add costs and eventually surpass the premium between the two methods. The ability to pivot is crucial and is the reason we spend more time with clients throughout our pre-development process to ensure we manage budgets and to explore problems and provide the best possible solutions.

The best action one can take is to sit down earlier and more frequently with clients to plan and strategize the project’s developmental process.

Construction costs ultimately depend on the market, geography, complexity and the size of the project. In the last two years, we have seen the cost of some materials rise upward of 140%. These include materials such as miscellaneous iron, stairs, staircases, ladders, railing, metal moldings, trims and storefronts. We have even seen the costs of softwoods, plywood, and structural steel increase by over 60% in the last 18 months.

We recommend selecting larger sup pliers and trade contractors to defray some of these growing costs because of their ability to bulk purchase materials to smaller contractors who are buying items off the shelf from smaller contractors who will pay significantly higher costs.

Today, we map out the entire supply chain to be as prepared as possible for delays and price adjustments.

What advice do you have on mapping out a project’s supply chain?

We want to know where the raw goods are sourced from, location of manufacturing processing, and where they are being fabri cated. We research how many touch points there are for each item and material, and communicate with both of those companies to understand the factory schedule.

We are visiting factories more so than we ever had before. By mapping out our supply chains, we save our clients time and money by knowing exactly where our mate rials are. I believe preventing those stressful situations makes it a worthwhile investment for both the client and your team.

Developers thinking longer term are spending more money upfront and upgrad ing, particularly in the MEP area to reduce energy usage of the buildings. The best way to analyze this is to understand the payback period and whether it is feasible to finance the added upfront costs.

It is a no-brainer to invest more upfront when you can look at the cost of a building’s operation and maintenance over 30 to 40 years, see the operation costs, and find where you can invest wisely to reduce future costs. I believe owners and developers are moving in this direction. CCR

What new variables are you seeing with respect to your construction management? What has stayed the same or returned to pre-pandemic levels?

What construction costs do you see changing? How can people reduce these costs in their projects?

How do you recommend working around logistical issues of importing international materials without breaking budgets with costly domestic materials?

When should someone change from a least-cost construction planning method to a least-time method? Do you see one being prioritized over the other?

What long-term costs should be prioritized in the construction process? How can someone convince their clients that long-term operational savings will offset required upfront costs?

The change and uncertainty of the past two-plus years have left a long-lasting impact; safety protocols are being reviewed and updated more frequently and some workers continue to wear masks voluntarily and practice safe distancing.

Eye on Green

for sustainability throughout the build and renovation process

The commercial construction industry has a monumental opportunity to help companies launch their energy journeys and deliver on corporate sustainability goals.

The Green Building Council estimates that 39% of the world’s carbon emissions are generated by the construction industry, meaning any reduction here has the potential for major impacts on reducing our carbon footprint.

By Sandeep Modhvadia

Building professionals with an eye on sustainability can turn to a data-based energy efficiency blueprint throughout any project to create safer, greener spaces.

A recent cross-industry survey reflects these heightened efforts to accelerate adoption of Environmental, Social and Gov ernance (ESG) goals. The "2022 Atrius State of Energy Management" report, based on a survey of more than 600 energy and facility professionals, offers a detailed outlook on how the organizations are meeting the corporate sustainability goals.

Advocating

The annual report captures the experiences of energy professionals in multiple industries over the previous year, gathering data on what resources and investments these professionals require to meet their organizations’ ESG goals. Stakeholders can use these findings to not only inform their strategies moving forward, but gauge where their peers are on their own respective journeys towards creating greener spaces.

Optimized Systems and Fine-Tuned Control Needed to Meet ESG Goals

With energy use within buildings represent ing a third of global resource consumption, and accounting for nearly 20% of the green house gas emissions worldwide, energy and sustainability teams are championing solu

tions to make their buildings more efficient to hit carbon-reduction goals.

Nearly 80% of the “State of Energy Management” survey respondents reported a commitment to creating greener spaces. The report also underscored how energy teams require more executive support and increased budgets to better develop, com municate and accelerate progress toward sustainability goals.

Optimized ventilation and air-condition ing, lighting, and heating systems are also integral for meeting broader environmental goals. Improvements here will help the general building sector attain its potential of energy savings of 50% or more by 2050. Among this year’s survey respondents, 69% anticipated investing towards more efficient HVAC equipment, while 52% ranked reduc ing carbon emissions important.

The survey results also showed that to accomplish their corporate sustainability goals, energy managers require finer control of buildings at scale, a clearer picture of cor porate goals and more precise data that most of today’s solution sets struggle to provide.

Technologies such as digital twinning and IoT networks can give deeper insights on how people are interacting within a space to better understand how to lower operational costs. Whether we are constructing a new building or upgrading existing systems, investments in modern building management technolo gies and solutions will lead to smarter, safer, greener and overall more efficient spaces.

Corporations Are Beginning to Provide Much-Needed Resources

For the third year in a row, time and money continue to thwart teams trying to develop and lead reduction strategies. Nearly 40% of respondents said their organizational ESG goals are tied to financial reporting but resources are not invested to align with these mandates. A further 31% stated their

ESG goals are not incorporated in their business reviews.

There is hope that these numbers will decrease in following reports as major companies such as Chipotle, McDonalds, Caterpillar and others are increasingly tying executive pay to ESG goals. As organizations continue elevating their sustainability initia tives to regulators, the public, and financial markets, those teams responsible for achieving these goals have a better chance at influencing stakeholders for resources to accelerate their success.

Commercial Construction Integral to Energy-Efficient Builds and Renovation

No longer a static aspect of any business, buildings have the real potential for being an intelligent entity no matter how the space is used. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is propelling disruption across all sectors, including commercial building construction and renovation.

A site that monitors resources and en ergy use automatically gives more time back to teams to focus on planning, collaborating and generating ideas.

Creative solutions at the design stage of any commercial construction project, whether it is a state-of-the-art new building or a digital overhaul of an older building, will create a smarter, safer, and greener built environment.

Commercial construction professionals are in the pivotal position of both demon strating leadership through their own green practices and positioning our buildings toward a more sustainable future. CCR

Sandeep Modhvadia is Vice President, Product at Acuity Brands, an Atlanta-based lighting and building management firm with operations throughout North America and in Europe and Asia.

Creative solutions at the design stage of any commercial construction project, whether it is a state-of-the-art new building or a digital overhaul of an older building, will create a smarter, safer, and greener built environment.

Therapy gym with leading-edge therapy technology and outdoor therapy areas.

By Zachary Byard

For the health of it

Building inviting rehabilitation facilities

As Reunion Rehabilitation Hospital (Reunion) expands its system of state-of-the-art inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, the Dallas-based company partnered with Adolfson & Peterson (AP) Construction and Dallas-based American Development & Investments (ADI) to build a pair of facilities in Peoria and Phoenix, Arizona.

Photography by NGN Photography

The brand new facility offers the amenities needed for patients to experience a pleasant and productive stay, including large common areas for family and friend visitation as well as an on-site cafe and vending machines.

Why are these locations ideal?

A recent US Census Bureau report revealed the Phoenix area is the fast est-growing big city between 2010 and 2020, adding more than 163,000 residents during that time. This growth spilled over to Phoenix’s West Valley suburbs, including Peoria, which makes these locations ideal for modern rehabilitation hospitals.

In addition to the growing populace, the US Census Bureau states almost one-quarter of the US population is older than 60, resulting in an increased need for medical services for potential injuries given the aging demographic.

Building these new construction projects in the ever-changing world of healthcare comes with unique issues. Complexities from creating facilities that maintain privacy while providing the latest treatments can add to the challenges. That does not even include building state of the art facilities that also are welcoming (and within a budget and on time).

Reunion Rehabilitation Hospital pro vides its patients with a results-oriented

environment where they can accelerate functional recovery and restore confidence while also being comfortable.

The 51,000 square-foot, three-story Phoenix hospital is located at 1675 E. Villa St. and the three-story 49,128-square-foot Peoria location is at 13451 N. 94th Dr. These stateof-the-art facilities were both custom-built.

The rehabilitation hospitals create a more inviting atmosphere than you typi cally expect in a medical environment. The Phoenix facility has 48 private inpatient suites, two advanced physical therapy rooms, a large visitation room, an on-site café, multiple apartments designed for working on daily living tasks and an outdoor therapy and relaxation space. The Phoenix location opened in April 2022.

The Peoria location includes 40 patient beds (20-bed nursing units on each floor), two high-tech physical therapy gyms, administrative offices and dining and kitchen spaces along with various back-ofthe-house support spaces. AP is managing the complete interior build-out as well as all associated site work and utility services with anticipated opening in January 2023.

Both buildings have more of a resort feel versus an institutional setting. Hospi tals are focused on a patient’s well-being. These facilities treat people with com prehensive inpatient physical-medicine rehabilitation therapies for debilitating illnesses and injuries, such as stroke and brain injury, as well as other complex neu rological and orthopedic conditions.

The high quality of these upscale, well-thought-out structures set them apart from other standard, run-of-the-mill rehab facilities.

Photography by NGN Photography

The Reunion projects provide treat ment in spaces that offer a more relaxed vibe. For example, in the Phoenix location, the physical therapy gyms are on the third floor with lovely views throughout the space, including scenes of the mountains on the northeast corner.

Additionally, the gym area is de signed to jut out of the building within an overhang. Three of the four walls in the therapy gym are full-height glass from floor-to-ceiling, which creates a more in viting atmosphere filled with natural light. The first level also features floor-to-ceiling glass. Even in the full production kitchen, there are several exterior windows to allow natural light into the facilities.

There also is a substantial amount of ceramic tile throughout the facilities. In each bathroom, the tile goes up five feet from the floor to the ceiling in the shower. AP was able to successfully maneuver through the challenges of getting the de tails of the drainage in the bathroom with the profile of the tile.

Upscale rather than institutional

The high quality of these upscale, wellthought-out structures set them apart from other standard, run-of-the-mill rehab facilities. Designed by Dallas-based Callaway Architecture, the design and finishes selected for the projects are not the typical selections you’d expect to see in a rehabilitation facility.

Callaway put a lot of time into designing each individual patient room, with 48 beds in Phoenix and 40 beds in Peoria. Each patient room is larger than a conventional room and they all feature floating wood-look shelves under the television with a wardrobe in each one.

All rooms come with window shades, giving the patient the ability to choose to have the window shade open or closed. There is a private bathroom in each pa tient room with a full walk-in shower. The patient rooms also have a sink inside for easy hand washing without having to go into the bathroom.

The flooring is a luxury vinyl tile, which is a polyvinyl chloride material that is low maintenance and durable with a long-life span. The rehabilitation facilities

The Reunion projects provide treatment in spaces that offer a more relaxed vibe. For example, in the Phoenix location, the physical therapy gyms are on the third floor with lovely views throughout the space.

Reunion Rehab Hospital Phoenix1675 E Villa St-81 – Phoenix’s brandnew facility offers 48 private patient suites equipped with features for patient safety and security.

Photography by NGN Photography

City of Peoria Vice Mayor Bill Patena was present at the Topping Out Ceremony for RRH Peoria where he signed the steel beam and addressed the public before the last beam was placed.

(Pictured: Jason Axtell, AP Project Manager; Bill Patena, Vice Mayor for City of Peoria; Zac Byard, AP Senior Superintendent.)

also feature day rooms on the second and third floors that line the building.

In the center is a larger day room with open spaces filled with tables, chairs and living areas so patients can relax out side of their rooms while also using these spaces for therapy. There are no narrow hallways like found in a typical medi cal building. The incorporation of glass throughout the buildings allows natural light to brighten the interiors.

Another unique design feature includes a charting station for the nurses and physical therapy professionals that is centrally located in the physical therapy gyms rather than back at the nurses’ station or in another room. This allows nurses to do charting while staying near the patients. There is also a centralized nursing station located on each of the upper floors centered in the floor plates with patient rooms on either side.

Having an ongoing working relation ship with the developers creates a synergy that translates across multiple projects and even multiple regions. In addition to the Phoenix and Peoria hospitals, AP and ADI are developing a 47,000-squarefoot hospital in Englewood, Colorado; a 55,617-square-foot hospital in Plano, Texas; and a 50,800-square-foot hospital in Arlington, Texas.

As the developer of the project, ADI owns the building and the land, and Allen, Texas-based Novus Rehabilitation Partners will be the end-user. AP’s relationship started with ADI on our first project together in Colorado.

AP continues to pride itself on establishing a working relationship with its clients. The plan is to have them return and avoid the pains of finding a new general contractor. It is comfortable working together. It is a relationship that goes beyond building a project to creating two-way communication, which means the company can pick up the phone and call a partner at ADI and have a conversation any time it is warranted.

At AP, the culture sets the company apart from other general contractors. While the family owned contractor works in a lot of different regions, having that relationship continue across the Mountain

Building these new construction projects in the ever-changing world of healthcare comes with unique issues. Complexities from creating facilities that maintain privacy while providing the latest treatments can add to the challenges.

Ground-level shot of a crane lifting the last steel beam for placement to complete the exterior structure of the new rehabilitation hospital

Celebration after successful placement of the final steel beam that completes the exterior structure of Reunion Rehabilitation Hospital Peoria.

States to the Gulf States and Southwest regions is rewarding. It likes to maintain that connection, so the developers and owners can work with us in any region and get the same exceptional product and client experience.

Additionally, working as a construction manager at risk (CMAR) means AP is com mitting to deliver the project within a guar anteed maximum price. So, AP has the full design done in advance and we work with ADI and the end-user, Novus, to improve the facilities as construction moves along.

ADI challenges themselves to build beyond the prototypes; they are always looking for ways to make the buildings better. Because AP is building projects with them in multiple regions, we can apply

lessons learned through meetings with the design team and end-user. It shares what it has experienced to improve and adapt while addressing challenges to avoid the obstacles of building in different business atmospheres and geographical regions.

With the current construction envi ronment of supply chain struggles that everyone in the industry is facing, we have set goals to stay within our time frame and avoid procurement delays of building materials. AP is constantly working to eliminate the supply chain issues. That was really the goal on these projects.

Some items are long leads, but AP ac tively works to combat that. It communicated with ADI that these are the issues it may possibly encounter. AP establishes very early

communication with the owner when award ed a project. Building that relationship early creates an atmosphere of problem-solving.

AP’s biggest achievement to date is staying on schedule and keeping its original commitment to the owner and not pushing it out for reasons outside of its control. AP establishes how it can get it done and then execute.

Zachary Byard is a Kansas State University graduate and a Certified Healthcare Constructor through the American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE). He began his career at Adolfson & Peterson Construction in 2010. You can reach Zac at 602-206-1909 or zbyard@a-p.com

Aerial image of the completed 51,000-SF inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Phoenix.

Photography by NGN Photography

Magnetic

Window Film Depot Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary

Window Film Depot (WFD) recently celebrated its 30th anniversary in the window film industry! FutureVu Brands’ (FVB) President Jeff Franson and WFD’s President Krissy Mosby reflect on their respective companies’ journeys, entrepreneurship, and their experience in the window film industry.

Franson, raised in a successful entrepreneurial family, had a passion for running his own business. He drew from his experiences and determined the life of an entrepreneur offered excitement, freedom, and innovation. “An opportunity presented itself in Atlanta, and I took it. I started to work with my brother in a home services business. Ultimately, we ran across a really cool product: window film; people loved it, and they didn’t know where to buy it.” Franson embraced this gap in the market to build a successful brand.

Garnering immediate success, WFD enabled Franson to turn his passion into profit at the perfect time. The ability to recruit talented individuals was one of the

brand’s first major wins. As sales grew, so did the need for more staff. Krissy Mosby, who joined as an intern, initially planned to work in medicine before joining WFD.” I started working answering phones, stuffing envelopes,

doing mailers, stuff like that… (By the time) I graduated, I was doing sales, and even managing one of the small accounts we had.”

Franson believed a young, determined team would leverage new technology to help outpace its competitors, marking a foundational growth period for the company. “We were young in an older man’s business, quite frankly,” Jeff remembers, “The internet, early on, was the biggest accelerator of our growth. We employed tools more rapidly than our counterparts.”

When housing crashed, WFD pivoted from residential to commercial business, breeding expansion. Mosby reminisces firsthand how fluctuating markets impacted

WFD’s business model, “Back when I joined, our company was very local to Atlanta. We were over 95% residential and started to see a need for a national presence. Fast forward, we’re now over 90% commercial and one of the largest 3M dealers in the country, servicing national accounts.”

Rapid growth led WFD to be recognized as the US’s #1 3M Window Film Dealer.

Franson didn’t expect this kind of recognition, but it was a byproduct of WFD’s commitment to its customers. When customer needs shifted, he built sister brands to fulfill demands. “We didn’t see what we thought the market needed, partnered with glazing engineers, and invented retrofit security shields we brand as DefenseLite,” Franson explains. “From there, Impact Security branched off” and became a subsidiary.

From humble beginnings to industry leaders, WFD is a successful business model others seek to replicate. With the launch and acquisition of new businesses including Impact Security and CoolVu, , Franson created FutureVu Brands as a parent (FVB), while WFD continues to operate independently with Mosby as its President.

The past 30 years have proved how innovation continues to overcome adversity, exemplify outstanding leadership, and drive success in the industry. Here’s to another 30 successful years for Window Film Depot! Click here to view full interview.

Jeff Franson

Krissy Mosby

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Riding into the horizon

There is no discounting the extreme lengths the commer cial construction industry went to keep things moving ahead during our recent once in a lifetime pandemic.

But if anyone thought that was going to slow down the industry, they were sadly mistaken.

During our recent CCR Women's Virtual Roundtable, some of the industry's leading con struction and real estate professionals not only discussed the ins and out of what happened, but how they are pushing the dial up.

Following is an edited version of our discussion.

CCR Women’s Rountable attendees discuss the trends—and other things— as we head into a new year

First Vice President

Patti AmecAngelo

Karly Iacono Senior Vice President, Investment Properties

Dolores Kelley Attorney/Sharholder

Leslie Cook Strategic Partnerships, Business Development

Kim Kretowicz Healthcare Fellow (HCS) Healthcare Services Senior Managing Director USA Capital Markets

Nancy Mozzachio Managing Principal

Gina Marie Romeo Senior Consultant, Key Accounts

Marcia Minton Senior Director, Real Estate

Deb Tantleff Founding Principal

Nancy Mozzachio, Sine Qua Non RE Advisors: What I am seeing, particularly with my clients, is that they are closely fol lowing the data to support which sectors are the most lucrative. I’m fortunate enough to work with clients who have the bandwidth to explore particular sectors. They’re not really locked into one area.

We are seeing that multifamily trends are a hot commodity. Having the ability to build in that sector, or to acquire or sell property continues to be beneficial. I think the whole mixed use concept—not relying on one particular area—continues to generate returns.

As for challenges, I think the challenges are just that. You have to be able to under stand each area well enough so that you are not acquiring the wrong property—you’re not developing in an environment where that particular region is overdeveloped.

The labor shortages in the manufactur ing sector are causing high barriers of entry. Those roles are tough to fill when they’re vacated. Our tenants are experiencing the brunt of those labor shortages.

The wage inflation is affecting us as building owners. I am hiring property man agers, who are now requesting increases because they’re not able to continue to maintain and manage our properties at rates that we had previously negotiated. The challenge becomes those fees.

On the construction side, there have been some challenges with vendors, which also is due somewhat to labor shortages. Larger projects take precedence over smaller projects because they are more profitable for the vendors.

From a supply chain perspective, those issues are still being felt due to labor and logistics issues. Roofing materials were sparse earlier in the year so several or our roof projects were delayed. On average, those costs went up a good 20% month over month. Currently, the HVAC supply

I am also heavily involved in land develop ment and investment sales. I partner often with Karly [Iacono] of CBRE. I represent several national tenants and specialize in gas convenience. The challenge now is cap rates—interest rates are rising, supply and demand issues as well as inflation have really impacted the market. In essence, it has been difficult to finish projects and get stores open as quickly as retailers would like.

Rising construction costs have impacted both landlords & tenants across the board. The current state of the economy has also affected our ability to complete deals in a timely manner and/or sell triple-net assets at desired asking price.

The trends we are seeing are in mixed-use development and quick-service restaurants.

Overall, my clients are looking to open new retail locations across the country regardless of the state of the economy.

Looking forward, I am hoping to see these issues resolved, especially supply and demand for my clients.

Dolores Kelley, Stark and Stark: I’ll take a little bit of a legal spin on this. We’re starting to see a lot of title-related issues and title claims. We’re not quite at the point where we’re seeing tax sales certificates popping up, which usually takes a couple years before we see that. But I do expect in a couple years to see more issues related to tax sale foreclosures. And then, we’re also seeing, believe it or not, some fraud.

Having good data and boots-on-theground knowledge is still incredibly import ant. I don’t care what software tool you use; I think whatever it is, you need to augment it with real-time knowledge.

Marcia Minton, Four Springs Capital Trust: The external factors of the cost of building operations, services, insurance, maintenance across the board is definitely shaping the cost of the facility manage ment and the operations for our tenants. Additionally, labor challenges for hard and soft services are accompanying wage inflation.

National Healthcare

chain is completely backlogged, which is causing project delivery delays.

Supply and demand resulted in higher priced goods and services. From a transac tional perspective, since I handle disposi tions, cap rate increases are definitely ob served across the board in retail, industrial and medical office asset classes. The same thing has happened in Q2 and Q3. The vola tility is slowing up deals tremendously. We’re finding a lot of re-trades on pricing based on the increased cost of debt.

Patti AmecAngelo, CBRE: I specialize primarily in tenant & landlord representation.

I think with the market, there was so much volume, so much moving quickly, that we’re seeing a little bit of a fallout of some people pushing the envelope. In addition, we’re seeing claims related to that come up.

On the transactional side of things, on a positive note, we’re seeing that parties are working together to get deals complet ed. Previously, maybe a year ago, parties would be less patient, because there were a lot more opportunities for a sale or an acquisition, more on the sale side. But now we’re seeing sellers a little bit more flexible in terms of extending deadlines and giving flexibility to buyers to get to the final deal. We are seeing some re-trading happening.

For the most part, everyone is working together. There also is still a little fear of inventory—a lack of inventory for buyers,

CCR: What type of trends are you seeing out there today? Challenges?

“Tenants that were looking for a $100 work letter are now looking for $175 just for a basic medical office building buildout. That’s very disconcerting. They’re still looking for 2021 pricing. You must navigate the buying/selling process to avoid re-trading.”

– Kim Kretowicz, Colliers

especially on the 1031 side. But we still are seeing a lot of 1031 net lease deals. They remain attractive to 1031 buyers.

I have some clients who are struggling a little to find replacement properties in their mid-1031, and the market has shifted a lot since they did their sale transaction.

Kim Kretowicz, Colliers National Healthcare: It has been an interesting year. Transactions in the Medical office sector remain robust, although some investors went pencils down due to the unstable economy and rising interest rates. The midyear rate market was erratic and caused some repositioning on pricing; however, we are experiencing a very active year-end disposition market.

The high capital requirements of new build outs act as a buoy encouraging exist ing tenants to remain in existing facilities while maintaining rental rate growth.

With that said, inflation is real. The fear of a recession is real. Construction costs have gone up 70% in some of the devel opments I’m working with for a future sale. That’s 70% over last year.

Tenants that were looking for a $100 work letter are now looking for $175 just for a basic medical office building buildout. That’s very disconcerting. They’re still look ing for 2021 pricing. You must navigate the buying/selling process to avoid re-trading. We have had some very tough conversations with sellers and buyers regarding cap rate ascension and modeling anticipated interest rate increases to avoid re trading.

Deb Tantleff, Tantum Real Estate: My focus is on New Jersey. And the trend here is that everyone will always need a place to live, so housing remains strong. New Jersey has particularly benefited greatly from COVID in the outmigration from all the boroughs, when everybody came to realize what having a backyard and an extra window or two can mean for your sanity. With that has come an unconscionable increase in rent growth, which has exacerbated the cost-of-living issues that we have.

As a country, we are several million homes undersupplied. And New Jersey is in an even greater position of a housing short age. The fundamental disconnect between

supply and demand has contributed to the growth and rent and the increase in home pricing, which has just made it fundamentally more difficult.

With the increase in construction costs and the issues of supply chain and getting materials and the inability to secure con sistent labor, the ability to deliver that new housing inventory has been compromised, again contributing to the price point of what it costs to deliver and live in a home.

It is not just the sequence of de livering new homes to new buyers, but the turnover of inventory and the resale of homes, so the entire ecosystem of existing housing and building new housing has been affected. People aren’t moving because they don’t have buyers for their houses or they cannot afford to move someplace else. Those lower-priced buy ers and first-time buyers don’t have a place to go.

From an infrastructure perspective, the cost of doing business in New Jersey is also quite cumbersome—in terms of the land use process of getting something approved and built. That trend is never going to change, no matter what concerted effort is made at the state level. It is an underlying contributing factor that will always contrib ute to the cost of delivering and occupying housing in the state.

There is just a lot of equity on the side lines that has to deploy. Multifamily is—and always will be—a valuable investment.

There were a lot of the ground-up projects and existing transactions happening predicated on the cheap cost of capital. Now that interest rates have moved, lender requirements are getting more stringent— and additional equity is required. A lot of deal flow is slowing down and stopping. You had lots of owners and developers that had no choice but to move forward in their construction based on where they were in the project. Nobody is looking to start that process over again, which will only contrib ute to the supply issue.

As On the for sale side, the cost of mortgages has dramatically contributed to a slowdown.

That means we will continue to be in a stressed state of demand and supply— probably for a number of years.

The good news is that as a state, we have been focused on our legislative obliga tions to deliver affordable housing. This has pushed through a number of development projects, which has forced local rezoning and review of redevelopment opportunities they might not have otherwise considered.

Karly Iacono, CBRE: On the investment sales side, we are navigating the fastest interest rate increase in several decades. And not only are rates basically double where they were last year, the pace of these increases is like nothing we’ve seen in the last 20 to 30 years. It’s actually twice as fast as the 1988/1989 jump that everyone references as a period of history where rates were exceptionally high.

It is not only that rates are increasing, it is how quickly everything is moving. This is creating a negative leverage situation in the investment sales market, which means financing actually reduces your overall return. instead of being accretive to investing. Asking cap rates, in many cases, are still below interest rates, which is really slowing down

“There were a lot of the ground-up projects and existing transactions happening predicated on the cheap cost of capital.

Now that interest rates have moved, lender requirements are getting more stringent— and additional equity is required.”

– Deb Tantleff, Tantum Real Estate

the market overall and forcing buyers to be a lot more creative when they want to transact.

In addition to increasing interest rates, lenders are making their loan covenants more restrictive, meaning they are putting more limitations on the funds they will lend. Because of that, we are seeing less velocity in the market. U.S. commercial real estate investment volume fell by 24% year-overyear in Q3 2022. Despite this, retail real estate fundamentals remain strong. In fact, the overall retail availability rate fell to 5% in Q3 – this is the lowest level since CBRE began tracking this metric in 2005.

On a positive note, there are a lot of cash buyers for lower price point deals. We have people coming out of the stock market who are worried about volatility and want hard assets. We have a lot of people coming from other asset classes into retail and net lease, because it’s really outperformed the last few years.

fundamentals are still very strong, so it is a matter of getting creative to get transactions over the finish line.

Leslie Cook, IMC Construction: On the construction side, the challenges are definitely supply and demand related. It’s not predictable. In our offices, we have screens everywhere tracking where we can get items. It looks like the stock market. We’re in constant communication with our clients.

I think where we excel is that we were always really in constant communication. We’re having meetings with everyone who is part of the team. We’re seeing a lot of design build—people who want to move forward. We’re definitely seeing two differ ent classes of developers. Ones who are showing up to the meetings, where before they may have missed a few. They ask lots of questions. They want to know everything.

there, etc. I think everyone felt this need to get out and start networking in person.

In the New Jersey area, the trends are in manufacturing, pharma, life sciences and redevelopment. We’re seeing a lot of munici palities take a good look at downtown areas. They are doing master planning. It is very interesting because everyone is a lot more creative. The design aspect of it makes it interesting. There’s a lot of retail, mixed use and multifamily above. People are looking at behavioral health, too.

We are also in need of affordable housing. It is nice that New Jersey is start ing to follow suit with New York by imple menting different changes and making sure we have better affordable and moderate income housing.

Gina Marie Romeo, Rarefied Real Estate Partners: Trends always come and go. Retail is constantly always changing and evolving, one thing we are seeing more of that I am loving, as it is what I based my entire business strategy on, creative partner ships and collaborations, by joining forces and creating the right partnerships it really adds value to all parties, makes a huge impact and is truly the key to success.

We also have limited new supply. As many people have already touched on, it is difficult to make new construction projects pencil in a lot of cases as construction costs have skyrocketed. Timelines have also been pushed out due to supply chain issues so we are seeing many less retail completions.

The challenge in the next year will be bridging buyer and seller expectation in the market. Sellers are still asking “why can’t I get the price I could just four months ago?” While buyers, who are forward looking are expecting material discounts.

Thankfully there are still a lot of parties who want to transact and alot of equity in the market. Again, the underlying real estate

They understand that every little decision is going to affect their bottom line. We’re also seeing a rise of developers—small devel opers especially in New Jersey—who may have some land in the family to pass down from generations.

No, they have decided to capitalize on what’s going on with the multifamily market. It takes a lot of work to work with a smaller developer because it usually is their first time doing a development.

On the business development side, there is an overwhelming amount of events to attend. I thought things would slow down, but they are not. I’m trying to strategically figure out what to attend, who is going to be

A huge trend has been, and I think we will continue to see much more, is with the various brands and retailer partnerships and collaborations going on, a store-withina-store concepts, sharing pop-up venues, just to name a few, Verizon with NFL just extended their 10 year partnership another 10 years in 2021, Walmart and BuzzFeed, Best Buy and Amazon, Target and Apple, etc. They can share resources, run co-mar keting campaigns, reach new audiences, create a bigger impression as the saying went through COVID, “We are all stronger together,” which is true. The shoppers also love the innovative brand partnerships so it’s a win all the way around.

Restaurants and restaurant concepts are growing, and industrial still is the hottest segment of the real estate market because retailers need more and more space to warehouse products for on and offline sales.

With interest rates rising, we see core commercial assets coming to market. Owners will struggle to refinance loans that are coming due at a rate that will allow cash

“On the business development side, there is an overwhelming amount of events to attend. I thought things would slow down, but they are not. I’m trying to strategically figure out what to attend, who is going to be there, etc. I think everyone felt this need to get out and start networking in person.”

– Leslie Cook, IMC Construction

flow for the properties. The owners will be looking to sell to avoid taking on losses, and cash heavy buyers will benefit.

As for industry challenges, overall, there is so much work and not enough people to do it. In construction, there is an extraordinary amount of work and a shortage of labor force, let alone skilled labor, delays in getting materials which slows down the construction schedules, and everything is contributing to an overall rise in construction costs.

Then, once the stores or restaurants open, they don’t have enough staff to provide the level of service they want to deliver. The shortage is on all sides, which is causing many challenges, including the retailer side. They don’t have enough inter nal staff to handle all their workload in their design and construction departments. That means they are relying heavily on vendors to be more of an extension of them. In turn, this has created more opportunities for outsourced consultants like myself and all of the vendors to be able to be more integrated with their clients, provide additional services and/or grow their territory of work.

On the real estate side, I am still learning, which is a bit of a challenge in itself. I would say it is finding the right space type, then matching up buyers and sellers, tenants and landlords. Sometimes, the expectations do not align but I am learning.

In addition, we are seeing the cost of building, the cost of borrowing capital and the cost of operating businesses higher than any of us can remember. This has a huge impact for developers, landlords, and prospective buyers/tenants. As a boutique brokerage, we can leverage our various skill sets to help provide solutions to these issues while keeping the transaction on the right path.

Colliers Healthcare’s Kretowicz: Technology guided us through COVID and got us to a smarter more efficient world. We will continue to lean on technology. As a reference, I just hosted a Team’s call with 14 doctors on it. The ease of use coupled with its ability to accommodate 14 schedules allowed for a meeting that would have never transpired in person.

On the other end, we’ve also learned how important it is to meet in person. You learn differently; you interact differently. This experience has taught us that while technology is important, it will never displace being in person.

CBRE’s AmecAngelo: I would say that the two lessons I’ve learned over the last two years is that you cannot rely on the time frames we were accustomed to in the past. It is a totally different market now. I am very optimistic about the future, and feel positive that the market conditions will improve as they always do!

Stark and Stark’s Kelley: It seemed like my world was collapsing left and right during COVID. As it started, my mom got very sick. She was one of the early patients in Florida as they started office closings. And then my deals started falling part because nobody

knew what was happening. Lenders were pulling out of deals.

The lesson: Don’t try to predict what’s going to happen. I thought for sure I was going to be unemployed by December 2020. But as it turns out, it was just a rollercoaster. Thanks to government-backed programs, the economy kept strong. A lot of that funding went into real estate, particularly commercial real estate. We had an extraor dinary amount of work, which has continued over the last two years.

I also learned the importance of resil ience both professionally and personally. In every aspect of my days during 2020, it was amazing to see. I never in a million years, for example, thought I would be doing a land use hearing on a Zoom call. It was unbe lievable and bizarre, to say the least. But I was so impressed with every person I dealt with—their ability to bounce back and figure things, make things work.

Rarefied Real Estate Partners’s Romeo: It has taught many of us how to use technol ogy more. I mean, thank goodness for Zoom. Professionally, it helped maintain my business, as with my autoimmune health issues, I was not able to travel through COVID. I am still taking precautions with the larger conferences and, personally, I was even able to get a Zoom divorce. How great is that?

I also love how many people have learned to not only blur the lines between virtual and physical worlds, but profession ally and personally as well. For me, I have always integrated the two since I come from a family owned and operated business. We have always done the live, work and play business model.

Business is very personal to us. We all were a very collaborative team and had to wear many hats to pitch in wherever we were needed. I have always believed in being collaborative

working

CCR: What are some of the lessons you have learned over the past two-plus years?

and

together

“I never in a million years, for example, thought I would be doing a land use hearing on a Zoom call. It was unbelievable and bizarre, to say the least.”

– Dolores Kelley, Stark and Stark

“The shortage is on all sides, which is causing many challenges, including the retailer side. They don’t have enough internal staff to handle all their workload in their design and construction departments.”

– Gina Marie Romeo, Rarefied Real Estate Partners

as one integrated team. I strongly dislike finger-pointing, as it solves nothing and as a conscious leader. I never allowed it. To me, if one team member fails, internally or exter nally, we all fail. We are all in this together.

As I said, that is what I based my entire business on creative partnerships and col laboration over competition, streamlining the process by bridging the gaps of connecting everyone to work together as one seamless, integrated team. It is a team effort and everyone must do their part.

Achieving seamless collaboration among all internal and external teams is the key to success for all stakeholders. I always say, “We all are in this together, so we have two choices, either we all win or we all lose.” There is no in between. The past two years have shown true evidence of this—everyone having to pitch in and pull together.

to understand how the parts work together. COVID forced us to understand what space meant and how to use your spaces.

The office sector finally caught up in understanding the need to amenitize build ings the way apartment buildings have been doing for a while. This will bring people back to the office and get more people to interact.

From a housing perspective, one or two of three things happened during COVID. You either got pregnant, got divorced or got a dog. That affected your space and how you lived.

We saw a lot of changes in the sizes of apartments people were looking to live in— more three-bedrooms are being built than ever before. Robust open-space amenity programs and things like dog runs and dog-washing stations have all become part of the norm of a new multifamily product.

be that day. I wanted to be consistent and intentional about my business. It helped get through the ups and downs. Whether you feel that way on the inside every day or not, projecting a confident, consistent message to the market is helpful.

And I think you have to be strategic about what deals you work on. If you are a developer, build more spread into some of your projects and say no if something seems too tight or doesn’t work. I think we all were nervous; we tended to scramble and take on things that maybe aren’t accretive to our business model.

Being very focused and consistent with what we work on—both from a client perspective and then in our own business es—helps keep us on the right track.

IMC Construction’s Cook: I learned to do a few different things. Professionally, I learned that there’s a strong need for community. I think we all need to be more flexible and sensitive. It’s hard to take on a project you are trying to develop that is $5 million over budget because of inflation. Our construction teams are taking time to explain things before changing the pricing. It helps give them options. We can help figure things out by being more creative.

Another lesson we learned besides technology is how important collaborations and partnerships are. You must be flexible, nimble, creative and very curious. Ask a lot of questions. Ask your customers, clients, friends, colleagues, etc., their thoughts on market trends and what they may need help with or how you could be of service to them and then work together to make the magic happen.

Tantum Real Estate’s Tantleff: The thing that became very apparent during COVID was just how much your personal life and home life mesh together. For a long time, the trend of this live/work/play vernacular start ed going through the industry, but mixed use is a unique kind of thing that you really have

From a business perspective, we learned how to mesh those worlds, because I think that was happening for all of us from a mental and personal perspective. And so, we had to figure out how to implement that into our assets.

CBRE’s Iacono: The last few years have taught us that business is more than 50% a mental game. It is very easy to wake up each day and listen to the negative sto rylines, whatever is on the news, whatever you see on your social feed, etc. It was very easy to fall into that trap, even today, with the volatility in the market.

But I started each day with a lot of coffee, really intense music and I focused on what I wanted my message to the market to

Personally, I just reevaluated my company culture so I ended up reevaluating everything. I was in the field and realized I was there 12 hours a day, six days a week during COVID. I was working really, really hard, but missing time with my children, my family. With COVID, you just don’t know what is going to happen next.

I really started to appreciate my home and family life more. I have come out of this a lot better. Thankfully, I didn’t have any major tragedies or anything, so I’m very blessed.

Four Springs Capital Trust’s Minton: I can echo a lot of what everyone has shared. On a personal level, the last two years have really brought to light the old saying that everyone is fighting some battle you know nothing about. We all experienced some hardship these last two years and some of us are still battling it. The pandemic was a battle we all faced. It affected all of us in one way or another but for a short while, there was a common collectivism in society

to

“We saw a lot of changes in the sizes of apartments people were looking to live in— more three-bedrooms are being built than ever before. Robust open-space amenity programs and things like dog runs and dogwashing stations have all become part of the norm of a new multifamily product.”

– Deb Tantleff, Tantum Real Estate

share and express kindness and empathy. Some of that has worn off and we are feeling it.

We’re all busy. We all have a lot of demands on us, personally and profession ally. The data is out there that many people are anxious, overwhelmed and close to burnout. The pandemic amplified everything. We are working harder than ever before but the pressure feels even higher. But why? We traded our commutes for Zoom and Mi crosoft Teams meetings but we lost human connection. I think being open,honest, and practicing empathy and kindness everyday has never been as important as it is today.

Lastly, I’m a firm believer in em bracing your role in where you are in your life. Accept the positive and negative with equanimity and know how to pivot—profes sionally or personally. Reframe your mindset. Instead of believing things are happening to you, flip the script that things are happening for you, not against you. Sometimes, life delivers you blessings that you may not have otherwise seen.

Sine Qua’s Mozzachio: I had a family member, my father-in-law, who was sick prior to COVID. The pandemic exacerbated it. He passed away during that time, so it really makes you reflect on what you need in life—on what happened during that time. For me, I started to rely on some of the methods and tools and ideas I was able to employ during past recessions. That fear on the business side didn’t really come through me.

What kept me calm was relying on how to deal with matters, whether it was a $40 million transaction or $4,000 matter. You have to kind of pitch in and do your best, no matter the circumstances. You have to

find creative solutions and communicate, communicate, communicate.

What was different this time was that a group of my friends in business forged our own group to discuss anything and every thing. Nothing was off the table. We talked about our family, our lives, our business transactions, what we were doing day to day, how we were dealing with the stress of it, and how to be creative.

Like in times of recession, everyone hunkered down and tried to do the best they could with the information they had in front of them. I started a podcast about a year and a half ago while mentoring young women as part of a group out of business school. Some of these young women called and were concerned, fearful.

I thought, you know what, I’d love to be able to direct them to women who have either been through these situations, or have struggled or have succeeded. I started to reach out to a number of friends and was able to put together 50 podcasts. It was amazing to hear all these stories—still is amazing. I’m learning every day that ev eryone is dealing with their own challenges and circumstances.

Nobody is going to forget those dark, dark times, but it is important to continue

the work you’re doing—try to be a kind person, understanding.

Sometimes, when you’re in the heat of work, you can get caught up in all the pieces of a deal; you can forget that there are human beings behind the steps of that deal.

CCR: What opportunities do you see ahead?

Rarefied Real Estate Partners’s Romeo: For my consulting firm from a design and construction perspective, my retail clients in the following segments have not slowed down at all through the pandemic, and are continu ing to expand: convenience, value, grocery, pharmacy, medical and cannabis

For Rarefied, on the real estate side, it seems industrial and multi-family are grow ing the most. In general, people are selling their larger homes and are downsizing, so self-storage also is a big part of today’s market. Multi-family, too, because with all the “downsizing.” People need places to live. More and more people appreciate the “turn-key” lifestyle high-end multifamily buildings offer.

Retail overall can still use help, as the market works to reshape its look and feel. I think retail needs to explore social commerce more; they need to evolve fur ther into a deeper relationship with online platforms like TikTok, Instagram, etc. That’s where the eyeballs are these days. And, of course we must continue to enhance the customer experience, and innovate and continue to look for different opportunities to partner and collaborate.

For me, it is more collaboration. I am very imaginative and think outside the box, so I feel the possibilities are endless. I use a multidisciplinary

approach to everything I do and collaboration brings tremendous

“Like in times of recession, everyone hunkered down and tried to do the best they could with the information they had in front of them. I started a podcast about a year and a half ago while mentoring young women as part of a group out of business school.”

– Nancy Mozzachio, Sine Qua Non RE Advisors

“I am very imaginative and think outside the box, so I feel the possibilities are endless. I use a multidisciplinary approach to everything I do and collaboration brings tremendous amounts of opportunities which is a huge success for all of us.”

– Gina Marie Romeo, Rarefied Real Estate Partners

amounts of opportunities which is a huge success for all of us.

Some other big opportunities I see and I have been focusing on are: Bringing communities back together and revitalizing downtown areas. Many cities are looking to rebuild their downtown areas—more live, work and play mixed-use developments.

Also, Conscious Capitalism, ethics and values. People care about values that impact their families, their community, the country and the planet. So ESG and green-building practices, adaptive reuse projects allows for existing buildings to be restored as reno vated buildings minimize the impact of the environment, health and wellness, healthier food options, etc., anything that aligns with these missions have huge opportunities

For Rarefied VIP residential team is fo cusing on “downsizes,” as well as, off-mar ket multi-family and industrial opportunities.

I think there is always opportunity, one just needs to know how to connect the dots to make each good for everyone, in every market.

CBRE’s AmecAngelo: You really have to be creative in the world today. You have to find your own opportunities—make your own future in this business. If one area is not working because of the economy and what’s going on, move to a different sector in the business. That’s what I’ve been fortunate enough to do. I’m involved in development. I’m involved in triple-net sales. I’m involved with tenant placements. I’m involved with selling properties. There is so much opportunity.

In essence, you have to be a realist in this market. You have to find the positive in everything you do every day and hope for a better future for all of us.

Stark and Stark’s Kelley: Some of the opportunities I see, particularly for lawyers in commercial real estate, is the growth of a national practice. Traditionally, lawyers are licensed in certain states, but this has been a trend that started before COVID. There are real opportunities across the country to help our clients. We’re seeing clients who traditionally only owned real estate in New Jersey, but now are looking at other states.

This is a very exciting time with lots of challenges ahead. I think that all of these

ladies on this panel are intelligent people who bring their creativity and solve problems. To me, that creates huge opportunities. Chal lenges require the best of the best.

Tantum Real Estate’s Tantleff: I think it is a climate like this where you learn the most.The biggest trajectory in my career was during the Great Recession in 2008. I had to figure it out when everyone was shut ting down and laying off people and closing their businesses. Young people get into real estate because they think it sounds fun. You could make a whole bunch of money. I’ll buy this. I’ll renovate it. I’ll flip this. I’ll buy that. I’ll 1031 this to that. It sounds really easy on paper, and it’s easier to do when the capital markets are on your side.

net-lease deals and multi-tenant retail. We still, like everyone’s mentioned, have limited construction completion, rising rents and increased demand throughout the market. So I think that both from a buyer and seller perspective, I’m very bullish on retail, espe cially some of those deals that may be more perceived as value add or higher risk and less in favor over the last few years. Average asking rent grew by 2.5% year-over-year to $22.55 per square foot. I think rising rents coupled with low vacancy and limited construction will push the attention back to the short-term net-lease and multi-tenant retail deals.

On a personal side, I think all the challenges everyone has been mentioning will give us a huge opportunity if we can

But it is times like this that you learn the most about how to do this business. You learn patience. You learn the impor tance of having the right network and the right relationships. The importance of being guided by the right lawyer or reworking a term with your lender. You build bridges with your brokers to get deals done. This is not a world where we make money in virtual Bitcoin.

When the world turns, we have to work, and I think the definition of work has changed over the last few years because of COVID. This is the opportunity for people to figure out what it’s going to take for them to be the best in their space. And it’s this climate where you can learn the most, because you have the most challenges put in front of you.

CBRE’s Iacono: I’ll answer this question twofold. First, from a market perspective, I see a lot of opportunity with short-term

stay mentally strong and focused—if we can put our attention on strengthening relationships and being advisors. Again, as it was mentioned, this is no longer the time where we easily transact. No longer can you throw a deal up and it sells. We have to focus on problem-solving. That’s where people who are dedicated and work hard are going to shine and pick up market share.

I’m choosing to look at this next period of challenge as an amazing opportunity and a time to reposition the business for a very strong next cycle.

Four Springs’ Minton: From a profes sional perspective, many of our properties we own are critical facilities to our tenants that are consistently evaluated to determine opportunities to maximize production and increase efficiency while controlling costs. The costs to try and relocate these oper ations with the increased rental rates and

“The challenge in the next year will be bridging buyer and seller expectations in the market. Sellers are still asking, ‘Why can’t I get the price I could just four months ago?’”

– Karly Iacono, CBRE

capital costs to do so, really present us with an opportunity to assist with the tenant al lowance contributions in exchange for longterm leases. That is a win-win for all. One of the biggest opportunities we’re seeing right now is the engagement of tenants well in advance of five-year expirations on some of these leases.

On a personal level, I pivoted my real estate career when joining Four Springs to diversify my experience while leverag ing my broad industry experience. I was previously 15 years in retail leasing and multitenant shopping center leasing, and made a change to go to the single-tenant net-lease side as Head of Asset Manage ment. I think is opportunity for anyone in this industry that is looking to pivot their career from what they’re doing to some thing new, just like I did.

Sine Qua’s Mozzachio: On a microlevel, I am working with a couple of clients. I’m very much focused in the State of New Jersey, on fair-share housing demands. That means affordable housing, specifically working with developers who this night might be their particular niche. They’re trying to incorporate light industrial with a community that can provide affordable housing to someone. That has been sort of a new element for me and very interesting and challenging.

The takeaway is there’s always learn ing opportunities. No matter how many years you have in a field, you can try to learn what the dynamics are and use your past skills and creative skills to try to get the best product out there for a particular owner or a developer.

On a macro level, one of the things I’ve learned is that a lot of women are phenome nal at what they do. They work very hard for

who they work for, but the question is, are they creating their own generational wealth?

What I’ve been focused on for the last nine-plus months is to work with the invest ment banking community to create a fund where it can be women-led. It can provide opportunities for the investment community to see all the extraordinary women out there able to put forth a vehicle that can produce great returns for a sustainable period of time. There also is an element where there’s a do-good component with that fund.

That’s important to me. I’ve talked to a lot of women who have thought about it and just are not sure how to go about it. I have been using the relationships I’ve had over the years and, certainly, having capital markets experience to really try to put that together.

Colliers Healthcare’s Kretowicz: Broadly, in any real estate investment sector, there is opportunity for the fiscally strongest, best in class buyer, with the crumbling debt market and economic uncertainty this buyer has less competition and is in a position to capture more acquisitions.

My personal opportunity was following the population growth trends. I decided to pivot and put my boots on the ground in

Florida when there’s a population explo sion; there’s a medical office explosion, so capitalizing on that opportunity is critical. As a Fellow with Colliers Healthcare Services, we represent acquisitions /dispositions throughout the country. leading Healthcare Investment Services part of the South Florida Investment Services capitalizing on a national presence and the synergies with Florida and the Tri state market.

IMC Construction’ Cook: I see a lot of changes following suit from New York City, with New Jersey clean energy and moving more toward electric. We see a lot of developers and clients starting to take that into account. Under the affordable housing side, which was my background for many years, they were already taking that into accountability.

We were already working that into the program and are seeing other developers more concerned with their ESG, with build ing greener, cleaner buildings and looking at the community. They are doing this instead of looking at their bottom line. They want to see how they can make money, but also improve the different communities and the people they’re building for, which is great.

I think it’s great that we are now in a place where a lot of women are comfort able supporting each other, because we were a sparse minority in this industry. I think women are starting to learn we can empower each other. We’re stronger together. I think that’s very powerful. We must continue to make sure we are sup porting each other and taking time to talk with each other and give tips and tricks.

must continue to support the younger generation, too, because it is a very intimi dating industry to get into. CCR

We

“Accept the positive and negative with equanimity and know how to pivot— professionally or personally. Reframe your mindset. Instead of believing things are happening to you, flip the script that things are happening for you, not against you.”

– Marcia Minton, Four Springs Capital Trust

“You really have to be creative in the world today. You have to find your own opportunities—make your own future in this business. If one area is not working because of the economy and what’s going on, move to a different sector in the business.”

– Patti AmecAngelo, CBRE

END-USER ATTENDEE INFORMATION

Hybrid Summit

January 26th, 2023 Noon to 4 PM EST held at Rich Hart Global Inc. Studio, Atlanta, GA.

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Survey puts spotlight on industry leading HVAC/Energy firms

One of the critical components to any construction project is its HVAC/Energy components, especially in today’s environmentally conscious landscape. Our monthly survey listings feature some of the industry’s leading HVAC/Energy firms for the retail, restaurant, hospitality, healthcare (and other) sectors. If you’re looking for the best fit for your project, check out our annual listing, which provides the contact information and contact person for each firm. If you didn’t make the list, contact Publisher David Corson at davidc@ccr-mag.com.

A. O. Smith

A.O. Smith Marketing Dept. 106 Adkisson Street Ashland City, TN 37015 www.hotwater.com contacts@hotwater.com

Product Type: Condensing Units, Heat Pump ,Boilers, Tank Water Heaters, Tankless Water Heaters

Accurex

Lisa Bosio, Sr. Manager, Brand Marketing and Communications P.O. Box 410 Schofield, WI 54476 (800) 333-1400 Fax: (715) 241-6191 www.accurex.com sales@accurex.com

Product Type: VAV Systems, Air Handlers, Packaged Roof Top Units, Controls/Monitoring, Filters, Ductwork/Accessories, Make-up Air, Dedicated Outdoor Air Systems, Hoods, Pollution Control Units

Aircuity, Inc. Sarah Callahan, Director of Marketing Communications 128 Carnegie Row, Suite 110 Norwood, MA 02062 (617) 641-8800 www.aircuity.com scallahan@aircuity.com

Product Type: Demand Control Ventilaiton

ASHRAE

180 Technology Pkwy. Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 (404) 646-8400 Fax: (404) 321-5478 www.ashrae.org www.ashrae.org/about/contact-us/contact-us-form

Product Type: Professional Membership Society

Carrier

John Kowalewski, Digital Marketing Manager 13995 Pasteur Boulevard Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418 (561) 365-2000 www.carrier.com jokow926@gmail.com

Product Type: VAV Systems’ Air Handlers, Furnaces/Duct Furnaces, Packaged Roof Top Units, Condensing Units, Controls/Monitoring, Heat Pumps, Refrigeration Equipment, Filters, Chillers, Boilers, Geo Thermal Products

CertainTeed Whitney West, Segment Marketing Manager, Residential 20 Moores Rd. Malvern, PA 19355 (800) 233-8990 www.certainteed.com

Product Type: Insulation

CMS Nextech Nicholas Crandall 1045 S John Rodes Blvd Melbourne, FL 32904 (321) 243-6755 Cell: (321) 243-6755 www.cmsnextech.com nicholascrandall@cmsnextech.com

Product Type: Packaged Roof Top Units, Condensing Units, Controls/Monitoring, Refrigeration Equipment, Chillers

Conservant Systems

Christopher Roman 961 Hamlin Court Lucas, TX 75002 (858) 964-8337 Cell: (858) 964-8337 www.conservantsystems.com croman@conservantsystems.com

Product Type: VAV Systems, Air Handlers, Controls/Monitoring

Corrigan Corporation of America

Account Manager

104 Ambrogio Dr. Gurnee, IL 60031 (847) 263-5955 www.corriganhumidity.com chris@corriganmist.com

Product Type: Other: Humidification Equipment

Cortec Corporation

Jeni Duddeck, Marketing Coordinator 4119 White Bear Pkwy. St. Paul, MN 55110 (651) 429-1100 Fax: (651) 429-1122 www.cortecvci.com jduddeck@cortecvci.com

Product Type: Corrosion Prevention and Solutions, Coatings, Scale Removal, Water Treatment

Daikin Applied

John Marden, Controls Program Manager 13600 Industrial Park Blvd Minneapolis, MN 55441 (763) 553-5330 www.daikinapplied.com daikincontrols@daikinapplied.com

Product Type: VAV Systems, Air Handlers, Packaged Roof Top Units, Condensing Units, Controls/Monitoring, Heat Pumps, Chillers

Danfoss

Director, Corporate Communications & Public Relations 11655 Crossroads Circle Baltimore, MD 21220 (888) DANFOSS (326-3677) Fax: (410) 931-8256 www.danfoss.us lisatryson@danfoss.com

Product Type: Condensing Units, Controls/Monitoring, Refrigeration Equipment, Other: Compressors, Drives, Filter Driers, Heat Exchangers, Hydronic Floor Heating, Radiator and Room Thermostats, Variable Speed

Dexwet

Clemens Sparowitz/ Director, COO 1177 Avenue of the Americas 5th Floor New York, NY 10036 (480) 363-5733 Cell: (646) 452-7157 www.dexwetholdings.com michelle@10to1pr.com

Product Type: Air Handlers

Dynamic Air Quality Solutions

Don Molloy P.O. Box 1258 Princeton, NJ 08542 (800) 578-7873 Fax: (609) 924-8524 www.dynamicaqs.com dmolloy@dynamicAQS.com

Product Type: Filters, IAQ

ECM Technologies (ECMT) David Fenton/Managing Director 3104 E Camelback Rd,, #7123 Phoenix, AZ 85016 www.ecm-technologies.net info@ecm-technologies.net Product Type: Other: HVAC Efficiency Specialists

Far UV Technologies, Inc. PJ Piper/CEO 7208 Wornall Rd., 210 Kansas City, MO 64114 (816) 492-7020 www.faruv.com info@faruv.com

Product Type: Other: Far UV Systems

Friedrich Air Conditioning Friedrich Marketing 10001 Reunion Place, 500 San Antonio, TX 78216 (800) 541-6645 www.friedrich.com facmktg@friedrich.com

Product Type: Heat Pumps, Other: Room Air Conditioners, Package Terminal Air Conditioners, Ductless Mini-splits

Heatcraft Refrigeration Products

Kevin Norris, Head of Marketing Communications and Customer Training 2175 West Park Place Blvd. Stone Mountain, GA 30087 (770) 465-5838 www.heatcraftrpd.com kevin.norris@heatcraftrpd.com

Product Type: Condensing Units, Controls/Monitoring, Refrigeration Equipment, Other: Condensers, Gas Coolers, Unit Coolers

Hempitecture Inc.

Matthew Mead / CEO

PO Box 4463 Ketchum, ID 83340 www.hempitecture.com mattie@hempitecture.com

Product Type: Other: Insulation

Integrated Facility Services

Abby Weidner, Marketing Specialist 1055 Cassens Industrial Ct. Fenton, Missouri, 63026 (314) 208-7970 www.intfs.com aweidner@intfs.com

Product Type: VAV Systems, Air Handlers, Furnaces/Duct Furnaces, Packaged Roof Top Units, Condensing Units, Controls/Monitoring, Heat Pumps, Refrigeration Equipment, Filters, Ductwork /Accessories, Chillers, Boilers, Tank Water Heaters, Tankless Water Heaters

LG Electronics U.S.A., Inc., LG Air Conditioning Technologies

Joslyn Fagan, Manager, Product Marketing 4300 North Point Parkway, 200 Alpharetta, GA 30022 www.lghvac.com joslyn.fagan@lge.com

Product Type: Air Handlers, Packaged Roof Top Units, Heat Pumps, Chillers

Lochinvar 300 Maddox Simpson Pkwy Lebanon, TN 37090 (615) 889-8900 lochinvar@lochinvar.com

Product Type: Condensing Units, Heat Pumps, Boilers, Tank Water Heaters, Tankless Water Heaters

MFM Building Products Corp.

Tony Reis, President 525 Orange St. Coshocton, OH 43812 (740) 622-2645 Fax: (740) 622-6161 www.mfmbp.com ddelcoma@mfmbp.com

Product Type: Other: Jacketing Systems

Mitsubishi Electric Trane HVAC US LLC

Mike Smith

1340 Satellite Boulevard Suwanee, GA 30024 (800) 433-4822 www.mitsubishicomfort.com katiesikorski@lmo.com

Product Type: Air Handlers, Heat Pumps

Modine Manufacturing

Daniel Fisher

Director of Sales Marketing 8279 River Course Dr. Radford, VA 24141 (540) 835-9683 www.modinecoatings.com daniel.w.fisher@modine.com

Product Type: Other: Corrosion Coating

National Air Filtration Association

Emily Bardach, CAE 1818 Parmenter Street, Suite 300 Middleton, WI 53562 (608) 310-7542 www.nafahq.org nafa@nafahq.org

Product Type: Other: Education; Association Membership

NAVAC

Lintno Lu 1099 Wall Street West, Suite 179 Lyndhurst, NJ 07071 (877) 696-2822 www.navacglobal.com llu@navacglobal.com

Product Type: Other: HVAC Tools

Navien, Inc.

Brett Butler, Brand Supervisor

20 Goodyear Irvine, CA 92618 (800) 519-8794 Fax: (949) 420-0430 www.navieninc.com marketing@navien.com

Product Type: Boilers, Tankless Water Heaters, Water Treatment

NCFI Geotechnical

Josh Burcaw

1023 Buffalo Run Missouri City, TX 77489 www.ncfigeo.com josh.burcaw@ncfi.net

Product Type: Other: Geotechnical Polyurethanes for Waterproofing, Void-Fill, Soil Stabilization

Network Thermostat

Jerry Drew, CEO PO Box 3161 Grapevine, TX 76099 (214) 270-1977 www.networkthermostat.com jdrew@networkthermostat.com

Product Type: Controls/Monitoring

Noritz America

Andrew Tran, Senior Marketing Manager 11160 Grace Avenue Fountain Valley, CA 92708 (815) 412-4272 www.noritz.com leoconie@greenhousedigitalpr.com

Product Type: Boilers, Tankless Water Heaters

Ruskin

Emma Barnhart, Senior Marketing Specialist 3900 Dr. Greaves Rd. Grandview, MO 64030 (816) 761-7476 Fax: (816) 765-8955 www.ruskin.com emma.barnhart@ruskin.com

Product Type: Controls/Monitoring, Ductwork /Accessories, Other: Dampers, Louvers, Fire/Life Safety, Energy Recovery Ventilators, Air Measurement Devices, Sound Control

Uponor

Kim Bliss, Technical and Marketing Content Manager

5925 148th Street West Apple Valley, MN 55124 (800) 321-4739 Fax: (952) 891-2008 www.uponor.com kim.bliss@uponor.com

Product Type: Other: Radiant Heating and Cooling

Viega LLC

Christina Martinez, Brand Manager

585 Interlocken Blvd. Broomfield, CO 80021 www.viega.us christina.martinez@viega.us

Product Type: Other: Pipe fittings and valves

WarmlyYours Radiant Heating

Cameron Witbeck, Marketing Communications Manager

590 Telser Rd., Suite B Lake Zurich, IL 60047 (800) 875-5285 Fax: (800)408-1100 www.warmlyyours.com info@warmlyyours.com

Product Type: Electric Floor Heating

Weil-McLain

Michelle Sparacio, Marketing Communications 999 Mcclintock Dr., Ste. 200 Burr Ridge, IL 60527 (630) 560-3700 Fax: (630) 560-3769 www.weil-mclain.com msparacio@weil-mclain.com

Product Type: Controls/Monitoring, Boilers, Tank Water Heaters

Wiegmann Associates

Chad Wiegmann / President 750 Fountain Lakes Blvd. St. Charles, MO 63301 (636) 940-1056 www.wiegmannassoc.com info@waidb.com

Product Type: Controls/Monitoring, Ductwork /Accessories, Other: National HVAC Design/Build Contractor

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Protecting the house

Cybersecurity solutions extended to protect the rise of smart buildings and IoT technology

By Annick Villeneuve

No industry is immune to cyberattacks. Hackers are gaining access to infrastructures across every industry, as the 2021 Colonial Pipeline attack that took down the largest fuel pipeline in the US illustrated it.

Now it has been more than a year since the incident, which led President Joe Biden to sign the Executive order 14028, providing initiatives on how to improve the US cybersecurity defenses for infrastructures and reinforcing the urge for organizations to implement a cybersecurity strategy.

Despite these ongoing efforts to improve cybersecurity protection, as of 2022, 50% of organizations have yet to put a cybersecurity risk plan into place and incidents of cyber-at tacks continue to intensify globally.

Smart Buildings the Next Target for Cyberattacks

One industry specifically at risk is the smart building market, due to the increasing adoption of building IoT technology devices, convergence of IT and OT networks, and the use of cloud-based management and analytic systems.

In fact, building IoT technology is expected to grow from an existing 1.7 billion connected devices to over 3 billion by 2025, meanwhile studies have shown

that 57% of IoT devices are vulnerable to high-severity attacks.

Globally, buildings account for nearly 40% of CO2 emissions, making them a prime target for sustainability initiatives to tackle head-on. Having the ambition to decarbonize buildings can also expand beyond the reduction of CO2 emissions; it can be combined with advanced building controls, IoT devices, distributed energy re sources (DERs) and Building Management Systems (BMS) to lower GHG emissions.

Buildings are taking on unprecedented investments to install smart technology

into their infrastructures because it allows them to visualize key data points within the building’s systems, which enhances produc tivity and saves time and money. With the increase in integrated IoT-connected smart technology, buildings are more vulnerable to cyberattacks than before.

For a building to be truly sustain able, organizations should take the appropriate steps to protect their digital infrastructure, so that building data can be protected, operations can be kept intact and the decarbonization process remains consistent.

Overall, a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy and clearly executed policies are foundational to a security posture that considers the always-evolving cybersecurity risks that buildings face now and into the future.

Through this, the increasing demand for smart buildings technologies are requiring building operators to invest in security measures to protect the safety of their occupants while also maintaining operational continuity and the protection of the assets and invest ments of their shareholders.

To achieve holistic protection across the infrastructure organizations should es tablish a key link across the business sec tor between investments in cybersecurity solutions that protect Building Management Systems (BMS) and the vast amount of data points in the latest IoT infrastructures.

Enhancing Cyber Protection of Building Managing Systems

Organizations should understand imple menting cybersecurity technologies and solutions is a marathon, not a sprint. For impactful results, developing a compre hensive cybersecurity strategy starting with addressing the dynamic cyber threat landscape with a company-wide, end-toend, risk-informed framework.

First, organizations should conduct a formal assessment to reveal onsite threats, risks, and vulnerabilities. Then a governance structure should be established to oversee the strategy implementation; following local regulations and using established industry-recognized frameworks to conform to cybersecurity standards such as IEC62443 is a key success factor in that discipline.

Second, organizations should verify building networks respect a “se cure-by-design” approach that provides an IoT-enabled architecture. This begins with physically separating networks dedicated to different purposes in the building managing system, which protects the perimeter of the networks via firewalls to control the flow of information into and out of the network. This way, if a breach does occur, the dam age can be contained to just that specific system or device.

Lastly, implementing automated tech nology allows organizations to continuously monitor cyber threats, helping organiza tions respond faster and more effectively to real-time issues. For example, OT specific

firewalls are software tools with embedded knowledge of building system protocols and can perform deep packet inspections to filter traffic at the protocol operational code and data element levels. These firewalls and software monitoring tools go a long way toward minimizing build ing-related cybersecurity risks.

Safeguarding IoT usage

The integration of IoT in buildings has sparked an exciting shift across the sector, ranging from hospitals and data centers to commercial real estate. But IoT devices hardly have any inbuilt security,

which opens the floodgates for cyberat tacks and makes them a perfect target for hackers.

As more IoT devices are deployed in buildings and increased connectivity between previously isolated operational technology, building management systems (BMS) and their IT counterparts, become the perfect targets to threat actors looking to disrupt operations.

To take advantage of the new possibili ties that IoT offers, building operators should find ways to safeguard both its access to the company’s IT systems as well as its mission-critical infrastructure.

With the increase in integrated IoTconnected smart technology, buildings are more vulnerable to cyberattacks than before.

As part of the cybersecurity protection and mechanism, there are three aspects as to why organizations should deploy IoT technology as part of their cybersecurity safeguards:

> Faster response to potential cyber-threats: IoT technology must be paired with compatible cybersecurity solutions for buildings in order for organizations to have visibility and quickly evaluate the threats and vulnerabilities across building management systems.

> The blurry lines between IT and OT boundaries: Increasingly, digital transformation is blurring the lines between information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT), so organizations must prepare by executing cybersecurity strategies that include considerations for both digital systems.

> Cyber threats are becoming more complicated over time: Potential threats and cyber-attacks on smart buildings have become more complicated due to auto mated AI and robots, which is why organizations should take advantage of artificial intelligence and advanced

technology in its defense against hackers. [EW3] [AL4]

With direct attention to the above safeguards when developing a cybersecurity strategy, organizations will be better pre pared to prevent hackers from infiltrating IoT devices and protect their building’s privacy.

Incident Response Plan: Containment, Eradication, Backup and Recovery

We cannot forget about the process of contain ment, eradication, backup, and recovery—we must collectively consider an incident response plan (IRP). Containment involves taking steps needed to prevent an intrusion from spread ing further throughout the system.

The intent is to isolate the compromised assets for further analysis and to develop an eradication strategy. How containment and eradication is implemented will depend on the type of attack and vector. Eradication is a process of careful study and action to ensure that the full extent of the breach is known, and the appropriate steps are taken to elim inate all traces throughout the systems. With the threat contained and then eradicated, the process to recover takes effect.

This part of the IRP includes restoring systems from a clean backup, rebuilding a system from scratch, replacing individual files that have been compromised, installing patches, changing passwords, and so on. [AC5] [AL6] Throughout that process, any newly discovered vulnerabilities would also be addressed to minimize the opportunity of a similar compromise in the future.

Overall, a comprehensive cybersecu rity strategy and clearly executed policies are foundational to a security posture that considers the always-evolving cybersecu rity risks that buildings face now and into the future.

Increasing demand for IoT tech nology and advances in smart buildings will continue to evolve and so must our attention and dedication to cyber security best practices for all building operators to reduce incidents that can significantly impact operations, costs, revenue, reputa tion, and potentially the health and safety of building occupants. CCR

Annick Villeneuve is VP of Digital Enterprise Solutions, Digital Energy Division at Schneider Electric.

Zeden Jones Construction Manager, Starbird

Growing the bird

How Starbird is taking its chicken brand to the next level

Interview by Michael J. Pallerino

Arizona. Florida. Colorado. Illinois. Nevada. Oregon. Texas. Utah. Washington.

The Starbird star is getting brighter. Thanks to a recently enact ed franchising program, the Starbird brand—featuring hand-crafted, feel-good crispy chicken, bold flavors and chef-driven innovation—is gearing up to make its presence felt.

Started by Aaron Noveshen and premier food and beverage innovation agency The Culinary Edge (TCE), Starbird plans to double its unit count over the next 18 months, with its first franchised stores slated to open in the second quarter of 2023.

In 2016, Noveshen and TCE saw a growing niche with the rise of chicken consumption. Fashioned with a flair for culinary innova tion, a frictionless service model and operational excellence, Starbird set out to change the future of fast food in the chicken game. And there’s more: Starbird also offers a suite of virtual brands under the Starbird banner, including Starbird Wings, Starbird Salads, Starbird Bowls and its vegetarian plant-based concept, Gardenbird.

Commercial Kitchens sat down with Construction Manager Zeden Jones to get an up close look at where the Starbird brand is heading in 2023.

Give us a snapshot of your brand?

Starbird, one of the nation’s first super-premium fast food concepts, was founded in 2016 by Aaron Noveshen and The Culinary Edge (TCE), a premier innovation agency in food and beverage in the restaurant industry.

The brand currently operates 12 units throughout California, as well as multiple virtual brands in the region under the Starbird name, including Starbird Wings, Starbird Salads, Starbird Bowls, and the brand’s vegetarian plant-based concept, Gardenbird.

While Starbird is considered a small, emerging chain due to its total number of units, the brand is outperforming some of the largest QSR brands. Stemming from Aaron Noveshen’s commitment to driving change and innovation within the foodservice industry, Starbird has reported $3.6 million in average unit volume (AUV) year-over-year.

Most recently, it announced the launch of its national franchise program to expand the brand in select markets, after closing a $12 million capital raise led by KarpReilly. As part of this new growth phase, Starbird entered Southern California for the first time with two new openings in the Greater Los Angeles Area in Q1 and additional LA and Bay Area locations planned to open through out 2022 and 2023.

In addition, the company plans to dou ble its unit count over the next 18 months, with its first franchised stores aimed at opening in Q2 2023.

What was the inspiration behind that concept?

Starbird was inspired by the need for better fast-food in the marketplace. Long before we opened our doors, we were obsessed with perfecting our recipe for crispy chicken. We believed that fried chicken hadn’t reached its true potential—too often being heavy, greasy and featuring the same old flavors—and so a group of like-minded chefs, restaurant gurus and chicken-lovers set out to re-create crispy chicken.

Our goal was to create something fresh and delicious that people could feel good about eating. We tested hundreds of recipes, searching high and low for the secret sauce that would make our bird shine.

We began with quality, trustworthy ingredients and real scratch cooking, taking antibiotic-free chicken raised in our Bay Area backyard and hand-breading it in our secret blend of gluten-free flour and spices.

What type of consumer are you targeting?

We target a broad range of consumers in different markets throughout the Bay Area and Los Angeles. What is great about our concept is there are many different use cases for dining at Starbird. Our lunch and

dinner dayparts are split 50/50 as we pro vide the convenience for the lunch eater but also the comfort and elevated experience for the dinner eater.

Not to mention, we offer quick yet great weekday lunches like our delicious salads with house-made dressings and crispy chick en tacos with fresh veggies and house-made sauces. We also offer great dinners for indi viduals and families like our broad sandwich selection, tender boxes and kids meals.

Overall, we are targeting consumers looking for an elevated super-premium

fast food experience with the ability to eat healthy or indulge in our decadent items based on their preference.

What are some of the adjustments you made with/to your business model surrounding the recent state of events?

Starbird is dedicated to expanding its guest experience in the QSR space by providing an elevated experience at our various locations. With our ever increasing sales, especially as we depart from the pandemic, our guests

are pinned against longer lines and longer wait times for their orders.

Manager of Technology Operations Josh Malander is the architect responsible for Starbird’s technology implementation. Over the past three years, he has collabo rated with the Starbird team to improve its omni-channel customer experience model.

Centered around Starbird’s branded house, the omni-channel strategy offers a seamlessly integrated experience by offering pickup and delivery through a direct OLO integration, forgoing the need for tablets in the restaurant.

In addition, Starbird’s native mobile app allows for direct pickup, delivery and catering while earning rewards points for every order. The integrated mobile app has improved the brand’s loyalty program and created brand consistency and order flow.

To improve pickup convenience, Josh added Order Ready status monitors, which alert customers when an order is completed via text message. The text message provides customers with clear pickup instructions and an order code that matches the location’s order screen.

Additionally, Josh improved order accuracy and reduced ticket times by re vamping the kitchen video system, as well as adding scripting to in-store POS systems to direct cashiers when handling orders. To add to the elevated experience, guests are rewarded for using the kiosks with various “hidden” items from our multi-conceptual

brand offerings that may not be completely available from ordering through a cashier.

Our kiosks are surrounded by branded signage letting our guests know to “skip the line” and “order here.” These incentives drive speed of service, provide quicker ordering and suggest reward incentives to join our loyalty program by providing exciting offers.

In an effort to drive automated sales and efficiently leverage labor, Josh installed and configured kiosks at various Starbird locations that capture demo graphical data through facial recognition only (with guest consent).

With this data, Josh and the Starbird team compile analytics for marketing and menu curation. The data allows for guests to be nearly hands-free for the first part of the order. It retrieves previous orders and data based on face shape, allowing the brand to learn about items ordered and check averages by demographic.

This consumer data is then used to develop LTO (limited time only) offerings and expand items to the ever-growing virtual space.

We launched kiosks in our restaurants for three key reasons. First, our kiosks are designed to be an informative gateway to our other digital platforms like app and web ordering ahead. Secondly, our kiosks are designed and placed in a way for our guests to commit to ordering; when an impatient one would otherwise turn away.

Lastly, with COVID safety conditions at play, we are dedicated to distancing place ment and sanitary needs with sani-stations placed next to each kiosk.

To decrease employee downtime, Josh implemented a more efficient payment processor, installed 4G/LTE internet backup systems at all locations, and integrated a biometric face detection clock device to allow accurate compliance to California labor laws.

Josh also introduced user-authenti cation innovations into all other third-party systems and integrated the clocking, POS and reporting systems to expand access to reporting data and labor forecasting.

Our end goal is to drive sales, improve the customer experience, reduce labor and capture demographic data to be used for our marketing and real estate strategies.

What kind of conversations are you having with your customers?

We are constantly in communication with our consumers through daily feedback, quarterly product surveys, and more. We never stop listening to our guests and are constantly making changes to our recipes, packaging, and store design.

We ultimately want to provide our guests with unmatched convenience and super-premium food. We also listen to our guests when it comes to product develop ment, and survey different menu concepts each quarter to understand what our guests want to see on the menu.

At Starbird, we’re all about positivity; this starts with a positive guest experience and we’re able to achieve that the moment the guest steps in our restaurants, as our designs are focused on convenience and comfort.

We customize each guest touchpoint to ensure a positive experience, from the exterior signage, to the lighting, to the pickup experience.

Our location in Hermosa Beach, which is the most recent unit to open, really

How does the design of the restaurant cater to what today’s consumers are looking for?

Is there a location that really shows how the brand interacts with the community and customers? One of your favorites?

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shows how the brand interacts with the community and customers. I had a con nection to the premises, as I remodeled it over 20 years ago from a Yoshinaya to a Togo’s concept. It was interesting to see how the finishes and amenities withstood the test of time.

Though that original project focused primarily on interiors, Starbird develops its brand presence from the inside out. For example, marketing is actively involved with curated product placement and technology integration, including exterior signage and banners, while our architect Zero10 is keen on materials and presen tation in all settings.

Such continuous effort helps us to de velop a curb appeal that is fresh and inviting while educating our potential customers on what Starbird is as we redefine fast food. Most recently, I had several local residents drop by to monitor our progress and remi nisce on its tradition, which really brings the project full-circle.

Walk us through how and why it was designed the way it is?

Take us through your construction and design strategy.

Our architect, Zero10 led by John Rojas, leads us through conceptual and schematic design all the way through to construction documents. John is very familiar with our CEO, Aaron Noveshen, and knows his atten tion to operations and aesthetics.

Aaron is a true brand builder and an accomplished chef, so much so that the opportunity to work with him was my impe tus to join Starbird. Starbird has signature elements, such as our brand color and pickets, which are consistently implemented from the roofline outside to our soffits inside and so forth. The central element is our Chef Island, which is the feature of our open kitchen concept.

Give us a rundown of the market’s layout.

Prior to any substantive restaurant devel opment whether company or franchise, we work with internal and external partners to identify and rank trade areas for develop ment based on our consumer profile and using mapping software.

Then, working with our local broker and the Starbird development team, we review potential sites using very specific criteria— traffic, visibility, access, economics—which contribute to a restaurant’s success.

Specifically in the LA metro area, we have used this approach to site selection and are utilizing Beta to assist us with an initial emphasis on the South Bay and expanding from the core over the next 18 months.

Despite a host of challenges, we remain optimistic about the future because we know how to stay agile and shift our strategies as the marketplace continues to change.

Customers are continuing to dine out and we’ve noticed a huge rise in mobile ordering, which is one of our strengths. As long as we continue to stay ahead of the curve and evolve our processes, we will remain optimistic.

What is your growth plan?

Costs. COVID took its toll on material avail ability, equipment manufacturing and labor demand for the workforce returning to build.

All these factors and more contribute to rising investment and so it is critical to be keen on the purpose of each feature and its integration to assure value added.

Talk about sustainability. What are you doing?

Being a California brand, our Green Building Code lends itself to sustainability in energy usage and lighting along with efficient fixtures. As an operator, our Con diment Counter integrates Trash, Recycle and Compost.

We even select a Fryer that filters our cooking oil. Again, being keen to details proves to be resourceful and environmentally-friendly.

We are planning to grow both corporate lo cations and franchise locations in the coming years. Our plan is to double in size in the next 18 months, with growth in LA, the Bay Area, and out of state franchise locations with the launch of our national franchise program.

Starbird franchise opportunities are available in states across the US, including Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Colora do, Arizona, Texas, Illinois and Florida.

While growth is important to us, we are selective about our real estate and franchise partners to ensure every Starbird is positioned in the perfect area to ensure we are able to make a lasting impact on the community we’re serving.

What trends are you seeing?

We are seeing a lot of different trends in the marketplace when it comes to convenience

What’s the biggest issue today related to the construction side of the business?

Are you optimistic about how the marketplace has responded to everything happening today?

and accessibility for restaurants. Four lane drive throughs, pickup windows, “express” units and other convenient-forward trends are taking over the fast food space.

While accessibility and convenience are always top of mind for us, we’re still focused on creating the best possible experience for our guests while maintaining our high-quality level of food execution.

What is the secret to creating a “must visit” restaurant environment in today’s competitive landscape?

Within the competitive fast food land scape, it’s important to know your target audience and define your customer per sona. In other words, find your niche and

stick to it. Some restaurants don’t make it because they try too hard to appeal to the masses without taking the proper time to understand the community in which they reside.

Some other factors that come into play are more obvious like ambiance, quality of food and drink, and of course, price—all of which are key differentiators amongst competitors of Starbird.

What’s today’s consumer looking for?

Value and convenience. We had value with a toothsome meal complemented with an assortment of sauces and vibrant flavors. Our convenience is augmented by our use of technology which eases multiple delivery

One-on-One with... Starbird’s Zeden

Jones

What’s the most rewarding part of your job?

Friends & Family events are the most rewarding part of my job. These pre-opening festivities are a thrill, as we get to see our customers ex perience our restaurant for the first-time. That is the most unique aspect of our industry—we get the satisfaction of see ing what was drafted on paper become a reality.

What was the best advice you ever received?

My first real estate counterpart and peer, Marcelline Mahern,

would always quip, “We are forever learning.”

That motto referenced whenever we braved a miscue or overcame a challenge, which continues to ring true to this day. We were certain to always learn and be come better at our trade for improved perfor mance and edification.

What’s the best thing a client ever said to you?

Early in my career, a franchisee named Greg Woepse said, “Con struction is a comedy of errors.” That mind set helped me to real ize the need to roll with

the punches of each project and to develop the ability to course correct promptly.

Name

I admire servant leadership. I respect purpose, humility and trust. When you have a work environment which prioritizes people, it becomes your most valuable asset like it is at Starbird.

methods and follow-up to ensure constant quality control.

What’s the biggest item on your to-do list right now?

The biggest item, or items, on our to-do list right now are to continue to grow our vendor list and resources as we ramp up our development.

Describe a typical day.

Besides a few Zoom meetings and a plethora of emails, I always visit a Starbird location. Whether under construction or to follow-up on a maintenance matter, I enjoy adding to the restaurant experience by making a location more presentable, com fortable or serviceable. So many aspects go into a welcoming environment, so the details are important.

Tell us what makes your brand so unique?

Starbird is fundamentally changing the future of QSR by delivering feel-good super premium fast food and a tech-driv en, omni-channel customer experience. As Starbird leads the evolving fast food marketplace, we are paving the way for restaurants of the future.

While channel strategies involve selling across multiple physical and digital plat forms, the key difference of an omni-chan nel strategy is a seamlessly integrated experience between all channels offered.

Starbird’s omni-channel approach is centered around its branded house, which includes Starbird and four additional virtual brands, Starbird Wings ®, Starbird Salads ®, Starbird Bowls ® and Garden bird™. Starbird operates its own websites and ordering channels for each brand, offering pickup or delivery through a direct OLO integration.

OLO also allows for each brand to be featured on all third party delivery platforms (UberEATS, DoorDash, Postmates, Caviar & Grubhub), with direct POS integration forgo ing the need of tablets in the restaurant.

In addition to the virtual brands and third party ordering, Starbird’s native mo bile app allows for direct pickup, delivery and catering while earning rewards points for every order. CCR

the three strongest traits any leader should have and why.

Multi-functionally Speaking

Responsive residential design in the hybrid work era

Multi-functionally Speaking

Responsive residential design in the hybrid work era

By Walter Marin

Prior to the pandemic, there was a trend to build compact apartments to accommodate more tenants. The design goal was to provide space for a living room with allowance for a nice kitchen and sleeping area. Due to the rise in remote and hybrid work, the trends have shifted.

Today, developers are reacting to the market changes. In order to appeal to the “New Normal,” they are expanding the size of apartments in urban areas. As people spend more time at home, residential building design must incorporate space for a home office.

Past and Present

In the past, there was a huge influx of young professionals vying to live in large metro politan areas such as New York City. These days, the big city appeal goes beyond Man hattan and involves other neighborhoods including those in Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx. Developers and architects acknowl edged the push to create more affordable units for the transient population.

Lifestyles for these young people involved commuting, working in-person, and activities or rest in the evening. There was not an emphasis on space for a remote work setup or home gym.

Due to the pandemic, smaller units have become unrentable. Rather than devel oping more studios, designers are creating apartments with multiple rooms per unit. The preferred residences are one and two-bed rooms (or larger) and include an alcove to separate the two living spaces.

The New Layout

Studios are no longer a suitable solution, even for in-person workers. Our way of

living has evolved tremendously, and peo ple need to harness their home for cook ing, work and entertainment. L-shaped convertible studios can accommodate two living spaces, while one-bedroom units and larger are preferred.

Any unit with open outdoor space is highly desirable, due to wellness benefits and COVID-safe socializing. Ideal layouts for remote workers include designated or flexible space to fit a desk, separate from the sleeping area. One-bedroom apartments and L-shaped studios often accommodate this arrangement.

As developers and architects move away from studios, there is an increased demand for two-bedroom apartments where the additional room functions as

a dedicated home office, guest room, or nursery. These second enclosed rooms may be used for working out or they may include transitional features like a parti tion so that two people can use the space at the same time.

Alternatively, the extra unit can also act as a second living room for residents to entertain, care for children or conduct remote learning.

Generally, architects aim to position the remote working space separate from the rest of the family, including pets. This work region should be set apart from the kitchen, refrigerator, and any entertainment center to reduce background noise for video calls.

When establishing a remote learn ing or work location within a home, the

As architects, we assess the needs of residents and respond by creating thoughtful spaces that accommodate remote work and new lifestyles.

functional space should resemble your setup at the office. A home office should feature a desk that can accommodate two monitors, have adequate lighting and include an ergonomic chair to support good posture.

Enter Amenities

Some of the amenities that are wide ly desired by remote workers include outdoor spaces, gym facilities, ample mail room space, contactless doorways to avoid germs, and communal lounges. There is an extra appeal that comes with communal lounges as it allows remote workers to venture outside of their homes during working hours. Lounges may be preferred over a co-working space because there are no fees and no commute.

Additionally, new multi-housing and mixed-use designs ensure that roofs are no longer just a place to hold water;

they have become a major amenity. The pandemic has emphasized shortcomings in every aspect of our society, including the lack of private and shared outdoor gathering spaces.

Residents used to justify their small apartments because they spent so much time away from it, but once they were forced indoors for a year, they began to ask more from their building. It prompted a new need: a place to safely meet with friends and family. In a dense and urban neighbor hood, rooftops are the answer.

Our team recently worked on a development in Brooklyn, 305 23rd Street. The residential building has features that are greatly appreciated in COVID-19 era. 305 provides all that is required for fully functioning remote work. Occupants have personal outdoor space, remarkable views, and shared outdoor areas.

The site itself is convenient as it is close to parks and several transportation hubs—making it accessible for workers who need to step out during the day. Similarly, another new development we completed is 730 Hicks Street. The interior layout features a spacious living room, along with generous one- and two-bedroom units.

As architects, we assess the needs of residents and respond by creating thoughtful spaces that accommodate remote work and new lifestyles. Urban living has changed significantly due to the pandemic, and current trends indicate that residential design needs to include multifunctional features and support wellness. MH

Walter Marin, NCARB, is a Senior Principal with Marin Architects.

Any unit with open outdoor space is highly desirable, due to wellness benefits and COVID-safe socializing.

Walking into the light

American Lighting’s Alyssa Stone on the art of doing everything and anything

Like many women in this industry, when I was a younger, I never laid in bed at night dream ing of my future as a sales manager for a commercial and residential LED lighting company.

I grew up surrounded by strong, entrepreneurial women who never gave me any idea that I couldn’t do whatever I wanted or be whomever I wanted to be.

As it turns out, all I ever wanted was to help people and to be a part of something bigger, no matter the industry.

I started at Oakland University in Auburn Hills, Michigan in 2009. While pursuing my degree in Marketing, I was also working as an inside salesperson at a conduit manufacturer in the Detroit metro politan area. While I spent my days doing seemingly rudimentary tasks like entering purchase orders, providing tracking for shipments, and processing the occasional RMA, what I was unknowingly doing was much more important.

I was building my first relationships in the electrical industry, and establishing a reputation for myself of being fast, knowl edgeable and most importantly, being kind.

After graduation, degree in hand, I knew exactly what I wanted to do next—move far, far away from my hometown, which is still a great place. I settled on Denver and used those previously established relationships to find a job in the Mile High City.

I set my sights on my largest customer in Denver, and quickly accepted an offer with one of the largest electrical distributors in the United States. I was a Project Manager that focused heavily on managing large lighting projects around the Front Range.

Compared to conduit fittings, lighting was fascinating. From simple T8 lamps to expensive and extravagant crystal chande liers, I was hooked on how much there was to learn, how many options there were from an endless list of lighting manufacturers, and how the industry operates. I knew I wanted to be more involved in lighting, so

over time, I migrated to one of my favorite LED lighting manufacturers that just so happened to be in Denver.

Starting at American Lighting, I was brought on to establish its Quotations Department and assist with technical support inquiries. While I was comfortable putting together lighting quotes and building relation ships with a new set of customers and reps, I was extremely nervous about assisting our contractor partners when they were in the field and something would not light up.

For those first couple of weeks, every time my phone rang, my stomach would drop because I knew whatever question the caller had, I didn’t have the answer. Luckily, I was surrounded by smart, experienced people that would not allow me to fail. They would not only give me the quick, simple answer so I could assist the customer, they would then go above and beyond to explain the “why” once I was finished with the call.

Gaining this technical knowledge for the first few years of my time here was paramount in my success in sales.

Following my Formula for Success

As my lighting knowledge and experience grew, I continued to build relationships with my customers and sales reps at American Lighting and moved up the ranks. From Quotations, I took on Inside Sales position.

From Inside Sales, I jumped into being a traveling Regional Sales Manager that covered the southern half of the US.

Today, I am the Electrical Distribution National Sales Manager, managing 32 different sales agencies across the US and Canada, totaling more than 225 people. With more than 200 people, 200 different

personalities and 200 different walks of life, there is no cookie-cutter technique to take care of everything they need to be success ful. I find that I have most success being fast, knowledgeable and kind.

Not much has changed from my days growing up. I’m still surrounded by strong, clever, entrepreneurial women—both in my office and personal life. My company never gives me any idea that I cannot do whatev er I want in the pursuit of being successful.

I am proud I spend my days helping people (I still occasionally take a technical support phone call, just to make sure I still have it) and can feel that I’m a part of some thing growing bigger every day. CCR

That is all I ever wanted.

Alyssa Stone is the Electrical Distribution National Sales Manager for American Lighting, a manufacturer of LED lighting solutions, located in Denver. With more than 10 years of electrical and lighting experience, she brings a wealth of product knowledge and industry expertise to her clients after holding positions in technical support, lighting quotations, and inside sales and outside sales.

Not much has changed from my days growing up. I’m still surrounded by strong, clever, entrepreneurial women—both in my office and personal life.

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Mission Security

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District Project Engineer McCabe Stanley checks progress on the exterior of one of several facilities being built as part of the ongoing Army Prepositioned Stock construction efforts in Powidz, Poland, March 17, 2022. The APS project involves the construction of a series of humidity-controlled warehouses and other associated facilities to allow for the storage and maintenance of military vehicles and equipment. It is the largest project in Poland being managed by Europe District’s Northern Europe Area Office. (U.S. Army photo by Chris Gardner).

Mission Security

How USACE is helping provide aid and shelter for our NATO allies

By JoAnne Castagna

When Ivana Lowe’s clients see her, they feel relaxed. They can let go of their every day worries. As an esthetician on Long Island, New York, her days are filled with giving mas sages, facials and pedicures that involve warm sudsy water, casual conversation or maybe a client nodding off. This was what she dreamed of when she left Poland as Ivana Zanio 30 years ago. The dream was always a better life.

Today, she wishes she could give her family living in Poland the same comfort. “Just like what Russia is doing to Ukraine they could do to Poland and all different European countries,” Lowe says. “I talk to my family. They are scared right now.”

Her family still lives in a small city in the northeast corner of the country. Russia’s unwarranted aggression into Ukraine has been cause for concern, for other nearby countries—like Poland, a NATO member.

The US Army Corps of Engineers (US ACE), Europe District, is working on several missions in Poland in support of its NATO allies, which include housing, equipping and training US troops. These missions aim to deter and not escalate potential aggression and provide a sense of security for citizens of NATO countries.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District Deputy Commander Lt. Col. Dan Fox, Europe District Senior Project Engineer James O’Riley, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commander Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon walk through the site of the ongoing Army Prepositioned Stock construction efforts in Powidz, Poland, March 17, 2022. The APS project involves the construction of a series of humidity-controlled warehouses and other associated facilities to allow for the storage and maintenance of military vehicles and equipment. It is the largest project in Poland being managed by Europe District’s Northern Europe Area Office. (U.S. Army photo by Chris Gardner).

Housing US Soldiers

If US troops are sent to a NATO country to provide support, they need living areas. Europe District’s Real Estate Office heads this effort, as well as many other real estate functions throughout Europe.

Anne Kosel, Europe District, Chief of Real Estate Division, says the office ac quires, manages, releases and disposes of real estate interests like leases, licenses and international agreements for approximately 1,700 contract requirements in support of our partners in Europe.

When things did not look good for Ukraine and US troops deployed to Poland, Europe District’s Real Estate Office had to act quickly. Ravi Ajodah, USACE, North Atlantic Division Chief of Interagency, Inter national and Environmental Division, says the office worked with its Polish allies to lease land that is now being used to provide shelter for troops with the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command and the 82nd Airborne Division.

With additional troops recently deployed, including some to Poland, approximately 100,000 troops currently are stationed throughout Europe. It is the highest concentration of American forces in Europe since the end of World War II.

Roughly 12,000 of the US troops are there to train with Polish forces and assist with evacuees from Ukraine, many of whom arrived after Ukraine was invaded Feb. 24, 2022. “Ukraine evacuees in Poland are getting housing and work,” Lowe says. “They’ve adopted Poland, the country, for themselves. With the U.S. helping Poland, they must feel protected. They feel like they have somebody behind them. They are thankful for that.”

Equipped & Ready

If a NATO country is attacked, deployed US troops will need equipment quickly. USACE, in collaboration with Polish contractors, is constructing a combat-configured storage complex in Powidz, Poland, to store equip ment for US troops.

Christopher Gardner, acting Public Affairs Chief, Europe District, says the complex is the first of its kind in Eastern Europe. “It will augment the handful of similar, older sites the Army operates in Western Europe in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy.”

The project—primarily funded by NATO—is the largest NATO investment in the last 30 years. It will allow the rapid deployment of a full armor combat brigade wherever it may be needed. The complex will be operated by the US Army’s 405th Army Field Support Brigade in partnership with local Polish forces.

Gardener says the overall storage facility will comprise roughly 650,000 square feet of humidity-controlled warehouse space, in cluding a vehicle maintenance facility, several additional supporting facilities, and 58,000 square feet of earth-covered munitions storage. In addition, USACE constructed rail tracks and links to facilitate the movement of equipment to and from the site.

The complex also will store approxi mately 85 battle tanks, 190 armored combat vehicles, 35 artillery and four armored vehiclelaunched bridges along with other support ing equipment. These storage complexes save critical time. If there wasn’t a facility, moving this amount of equipment from the US to Poland could take from 45 to 60 days. With this new site in Poland the timeline is reduced to four to seven days to issue the equipment for operational employment.

Even in times when there is no conflict, these facilities are useful. The stored equip ment can be drawn for use in training and exercises. The complex is expected to be completed late this winter or early spring and additional structures are expected to be added to it in the future, such as an airflight hangar.

In addition to this new complex, USACE has been modernizing the existing storage facili ties that support readiness throughout Europe within western NATO countries since 2017.

Europe District Senior Project Engineer James O’Riley says that current events in Eastern Europe have punctuated the importance of projects like this storage

A Polish Army Leopard 2 tank is the first to cross the newly completed bridge over the River Kwisa at the Żagan Świętoszów Training Area in Poland during a ceremony there May 24, 2022. The bridge project is one of many training range improvements the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has delivered in Poland in partnership with the Polish Army, the U.S. Army’s 7th Army Training Command and others. These projects improve readiness and interoperability of U.S., host nation and allied forces. (U.S. Army photo by Alfredo Barraza).

facility in Powidz and others in the region. “I’m quite proud of what we’re doing here. It helps build a safer world and build NATO’s presence and capabilities.”

This work is in addition to dozens of comparatively smaller construction projects USACE has completed at various bases in Poland in recent years. Gardner says the projects range from renovating and building new facilities at the Polish military base in Poznan—where the forward element of the US Army’s Fifth Corps, or V Corps, was recently moved—to working closely with Polish partners and the US Army’s 7th Army Training Command on improvements, and Polish training areas that benefit US, Polish and other partner forces that use the sites for regular training and international exercises.

The work is not just in support of sol diers. USACE personnel also have overseen design and construction of projects like runway improvements and administrative facilities at Poland’s Lask Air Base, which supports NATO air policing operations and is where US Air Force personnel regularly partner with Polish allies.

Training Soldiers

With equipment ready, troops will need training. USACE, Europe District is working in close coordination with Polish partners and the US Army’s 7th Army Training Command on the upgrading of several training ranges throughout Poland—including in Żagań and Drawsko Pomorskie—that are used by US troops, Polish, and other partners forces for regular training and international exercises.

Many of the current training grounds have not been updated in decades and USACE is getting them into shape for the 21st Century. “We’re doing everything from ground improvements to vehicle mainte nance facilities to range towers and anything that facilitates training at these ranges,” says Israel Miller, Civilian Civil Engineer, USACE, Europe District, who has supported a variety of training range improvement proj ects at Polish military training ranges across the country over the past several years.

Miller says the training ranges in Poland help our Polish allies maintain read iness and the ability to defend themselves and are important for joint training too where Polish forces, US forces and other allies train together.

Ajodah, who oversees the work being performed by the Europe District for NATO, says deterrence measures like all of the ones mentioned are important for several reasons the general public should understand. “First, they provide a stable world. It’s in our best economic, societal, and cultural interest. It’s nice to travel to Europe knowing that you’re going to be safe. Second, they help our NATO allies promote a sense of stability. Third, they prevent escalation.”

Ajodah says things can get out of hand pretty quickly. “If we are not careful, greater, more devastating conflicts can happen. Bringing military equipment into Europe and providing shelter for US troops is not done to get ready for war, it’s done to prevent war from happening. It’s not in our interest to have a long-drawn-out war that would only negatively impact citizens.”

Lastly, the forces are globally connect ed, whether it is the stuff they buy or where they travel. “Having the bad guys know the largest and strongest military of mankind is trying to keep the peace and be ready, that should be enough to stand down conflicts,” Ajodah says.

Lowe’s family in Poland may not know the exact details of these USACE missions supporting NATO, but they’re certainly feeling what the US wants them to feel—a sense of security. “My family in Poland is very grateful for what the United States is doing and that there are US troops on the ground just in case something happens. They feel protected.” FC

Dr. JoAnne Castagna is a public affairs spe cialist and writer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, North Atlantic Division. She can be reached at joanne.castagna@usace.army.mil.

Soldiers prepare to cross the River Kwisa on tanks using the newly completed tank bridge in the Żagan Świętoszów Training Area in Poland as part of a ceremony on May 24, 2022, celebrating the bridge project’s completion. The bridge project is one of many training range improvements the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has delivered in Poland in partnership with the Polish Army, the U.S. Army’s 7th Army Training Command and others. These projects improve readiness and interoperability of U.S., host nation and allied forces. (U.S. Army photo by Alfredo Barraza).

Stephen Gavula III, Founder, Costa Tequila

The Voice of Craft Brands

Experimentation. Progression. Purpose.

Stephen Gavula III had a vision. When he was developing the unique blend that Costa Tequila uses in its brand, he worked intentionally to bring the best of the two flavor profiles that define the drink: Los Altos (the Highlands) and Valle de Tequila (the Lowlands).

Tequila connoisseurs know that the Highlands usually offer qualities that include sweet, fruit and subtle char acteristics, while the Lowlands bring in tastes of pepper, spicy and earthiness. Costa Tequila features the perfect Hi/Lo blend—the first blend 100% Blue Weber Agave from the two distinctive locations.

With Costa Tequila, Gavula wanted to appeal to a more inclusive group of people—those who were bent on sharing their memories and experiences, and creat ing life journeys.

Costa Tequila offers two varieties, Blanco and Re posado. As connoisseur reviews attest: The signature Hi/Lo tequilas take turns playing feature and supporting roles on the palate: an engaging floral and fruity, but not overly sweet, initial taste and smell (Hi), that transitions to a silky texture and subtle peppery finish (Lo).

CBAM sat down with Gavula to see how the brand is gearing up for the road ahead.

Interview by Michael J. Pallerino

Why Costa Tequila is a sweeter, softer, more floral tasting craft spirit experience

Give us a snapshot of today’s craft spirit market from your perspective. What’s likely to happen next?

The craft spirits market has and will continue to see a resurgence, led by a focus on consumer education of certain spirits and the experimenta tion and development of smaller yet captivating segments.

Traditional spirits like tequila, gin and rum are being celebrated and distillers are using modern tech niques to redefine what these classic spirits can be. Smaller segments like mezcal should continue to grow with this emphasis on consumer educa tion and experimentation.

What trends are defining the space?

Premiumization is a trending buzz word, but it has become less about

price and more about quality and brand values. Craft distillers are educating and adding value to con sumers not only on their spirits and distilling processes, but also on their brand identity.

This consumer education aspect of branding is an integral piece of to day’s market. We believe a captivat ing and true brand story provides a relatability for consumers that drives

long term brand loyalty and a deeper understanding of what makes craft distilling unique.

What’s your story from a brand perspective? Walk us through your branding strategy.

Costa Tequila has created the first Hi/Lo blend of Tequila. We have intentionally brought together taste profiles of the agave plant from two

The spirits marketplace is booming. The demand for this segment has attracted money and personalities from across the world.

established businesses (from February 15, 2020 forward) can claim the ERTC for 2021 Q3 and Q4, if they haven't had gross receipts over $1,000,000 in the calendar year. (schedule a call for clarification)

traditionally separate tequila regions in Jalisco, Mexico: “Los Altos” (the Highlands) and “Valle de Tequila” (the Lowlands).

Our tequila has an initial sweet, softer and more floral taste as sociated with Highlands tequila, followed by a silky smooth and peppery finish consistent with the agave grown in the Lowlands. Our branding strategy is focused on educating tequila lovers on the benefits of this unique blend of traditional flavor profiles.

We believe in experimentation and progression of tradition with pur pose. Our non-traditional approach to tequila translates to our brand strategy and embodies who we are and what we value: being true, embracing adventure, growing as a family and elevating the importance of a balanced blend.

What’s the biggest issue today related to the marketing/sales side of the business today?

The spirits marketplace is booming. The demand for this segment has attracted money and personalities from across the world. The influx of commercially manufactured brands have saturated the market and driven out some quality products. It is a shame. Our idea has always been to focus on educating our consumer and creating an aware ness about the history of tequila and its cultural relevance. I think we need a better understanding of what we are consuming.

What’s the secret to creating a branding story that consumers can buy into?

You have to live it. There is no short cut to developing or manufacturing a brand. The adage “do what you

love” makes sense not only from a product perspective, but from a brand story as well. The brand has to be what you breathe each and every day.

What’s the one thing that every craft brand should be doing in the way of marketing?

Every brand should spend time putting together a brand ethos, including brand pillars, values and a brand story. This brand architecture is the foundation for a successful brand and should be the guiding light in decision making in almost every aspect of the business.

I recommend new companies find a partner with proven experi ence in branding. We worked with the beverage industry pros at Turn It Up Media to help bring our story to life.

What do you see as some of your biggest opportunities moving ahead?

I feel as though we have entered a new era for Costa Tequila this year. We launched in 2019 just before the pan demic and we are now in 2022 able to stand on our own as a company. Opportunities are coming more frequently, and we are attracting more attention and engagement from whole salers, chain retailers and customers. Expansion in all these segments is the greatest opportunity. Additionally, with the current state of our economy (read: troubled), we believe our brand story along with our price point will lead to much consumer interest and our ability to gain market share.

What’s the biggest item on your to-do list right now?

There are three really important items on the list: expand distribution, raise consumer awareness about tequila and continue to support our outstanding team of wholesalers, retailers, and op erations, marketing and sales person nel as they work to increase the market share of Costa and tequila as a whole.

How does your taproom space integrate into your branding/marketing strategies?

In 2023, we will begin to use our distill ery in Mexico as a gathering place for our partners, friends and customers. It has just undergone a large renova tion and we are excited to open it up to those that love Costa Tequila.

With everything going on today, what are some of the adjustments you made with/to your business model?

I launched Costa Tequila in September 2019, just before the pandemic. By March 2020, our business plan and strategy was thrown out and rewritten. It was a very challenging time to start a business but we have persevered by focusing on our home market first and slowly entering additional core markets.

We knew if we couldn’t make it at home there was no way we were going to be able to expand. The attention we gave to our community on the Treasure Coast of Florida, and their support of our mission, kept us in business.

The most rewarding part of the job

Founding Costa Tequila has given me the opportunity to explore my passion. It’s rewarding to do something I love and to work with an incredible network of talented people.

on...

The best advice you ever received “Stay the course and ignore the noise.” In an industry this competitive, it couldn’t be more true. It’s easy to get distracted by other brands or other opportunities. It’s also very easy to get discouraged by the people who tell you that you won’t succeed. I’ve had my fair share of those, so take it from me: Stay the course and let those comments be fuel for your fire.

The best thing a customer ever said to you

“I get the feeling my grandchildren will be drinking this one day. This product will stand the test of time. Well done.”

His favorite brand story

Yeti. It has built a brand around a true and authentic story, and that will hold value over time.

Costa Tequila Founder Stephen Gavula III

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What a year it has been (so far)

Iam jotting down my thoughts this holiday season while pondering what a crazy year it has been. It has had its ups and downs, for better or for worse, good times and bad. It has been a learning experience—a roller coaster—with no end in sight.

One of my best buds from prep school passed away at the end of March. He was like a brother to me. He was only 59. Then, my 90 year old stepdad passed away in early May on my stepsister's wedding day. Next, my 82 year old mother's doctors thought she had a stroke. She ended up with Bell's Palsy. While recovering, she had to have both eyes operated on. Today, her vision is as clear as a summer day.

Recently, my mother-in-law had a stroke and is in rehabilitation. To make things sadder, we just had to put down one of our oldest rescue dogs. He was loyal to the core. It was a rough day at the vet clinic.

Mother nature did not cooperate either. While helping my mother recuperate this summer, I was almost got whacked by a tor

nado in Springboro, Ohio. It knocked out the power for three days in what ended up being brutally hot and humid temperatures. We had to sit in the dark by candlelight at night. It was like traveling back to the stone ages.

But this year also had some positives. With the funerals, I was able to see family and friends I had not seen in a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed catching up about the good old days when things were much simpler, safe and honest.

On the business front, our digital magazine has kicked tail with millions of visitors hitting our site consuming content. Our new website design went live beginning in November. We might even cross the three-million visits benchmark this month— so we are keeping our fingers crossed.

We also launched our first quarterly “Women in Construction Supplement,” which looks awesome. To complement that, we also held our first “Women in Commer cial Real Estate Roundtable,” featured in the issue.

In addition, we are launching our virtual “Women in Construction: Building Connections” AIA Webinar, Dec 14, 2022, 1 p.m.-2 p.m. (EST). Held via Zoom, the webinar features an amazing panel of women construction pro fessionals. Please add it to your calendar.

And to make my wife and I proud parents, my son recently passed his fifth and final handson exam to receive his FAA A&P (Airframe & Powerplant) Mechanics License. Life is good. After posting his news on LinkedIn, he received eight job offers/interviews within hours of the listing. Everyone is trying to lure him away from his current gig, where he was promoted to the Boeing Special Flight Readiness Techni cian Unit on the flight line a few months back.

His job is elite status, as he finishes off the Boeing 787 Dreamliners coming off the assembly line. It is a dream job for a 23 year old. He was promoted with stiff competition from many co-workers who had tenure and more experience. What separated him was his winning attitude.

In January, our Virtual Summit was a success, with our vendor sponsors making new connections and awarding new proj ects. On Jan. 26, our new Hybrid Summit version will be held in-person in Atlanta, with locals and everyone else attending virtually. Mark your calendars for noon-4 p.m. (EST).

Back to the personal side, we are beginning our permitting to start clearing and breaking ground on our empty nester house on Lake Lanier. We will act as the contractors, so I am excited to place my grandfather's construction helmet on and build a comfortable Southern style ranch to live, work and play for years to come.

And I just graduated from a 12-week digital marketing boot camp that certified me as a Fullstaq Freelance Affiliate Digital Marketing Professional. With the launch of the digital marketing David Corson Marketing LLC division, we will take our CCR digital magazine to the next level, but also consult with many of you to help improve your digital presence.

So, even with all the ups and downs, I am thankful I am still standing and getting ready to close 2022 off strong and with momentum. Bring on 2023. CCR

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