Universal Commercial Joins Concordis Advisors Alliance

Universal Commercial Real Estate has joined the Concordis Advisors Alliance.
Concordis Real Estate Advisors, LLC (Concordis Advisors) is the largest national commercial real estate services company wholly owned and operated by minority professionals. Concordis Advisors offers an array of comprehensive real estate solutions including advisory, transaction, investment and development, valuation, corporate services and project management and facility planning.

In markets throughout the country, Concordis clients range from companies who are leaders in their respective industries to smaller organizations who are making an impact in their own distinctive way. Concordis Advisors combines a national service platform with a level of expertise that can adapt to any client need in delivering dynamic real estate solutions for business.

"We are proud to add this additional arrow to our quiver" said Darrell Cobbins, President/CEO of Universal Commercial Real Estate. "Joining a group of committed professionals, with such vast experience and depth as Concordis has comprised from across the U.S., allows Universal Commercial to compete at a higher level and serve our clients' real estate interests wherever they may be throughout the globe. This is a very valuable partnership."

To learn more visit:
www.universalcommercial.com
www.concordisadvisors.com

Get to Know the Chairman of the Board (Memphis Light Gas & Water)

Get to Know the Chairman of the Board

Darrell T. Cobbins, a member of the MLGW Board of Commissioners since March 2008, was recently named the new MLGW Board Chairman for 2010, replacing former Board Chair V. Lynn Evans.

Chairman Cobbins established Universal Commercial Real Estate, LLC in 2007, as Memphis’ first black-owned commercial real estate and community development services firm. He has served as Vice President at Commercial Advisors, LLC, a commercial real estate firm, as Senior Resource Development Officer for Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce and as Unit Manager at Guardsmark, Inc. Cobbins is a graduate of Rhodes College and holds an MBA from the University of Memphis’ Fogelman College of Business and Economics.

This is part 1 of a 5 part interview my coworker conducted with him. See the rest here: http://www.youtube.com/mlgwwaystosave?aia=true

Universal President/CEO Profiled for Civic Service

From the Commercial Appeal:

The person in line to be the youngest board chair of Memphis Light, Gas & Water Division learned years ago how to relate to his elders.

Darrell Cobbins, founder and owner of Universal Commercial Real Estate, will be the youngest chairman of the board of Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division when he assumes the post in January. After graduating from Rhodes College, Darrell Cobbins began work at Guardsmark, a company that employs security officers.
Still in his early 20s, Cobbins had to learn to politic quickly at his new job managing people twice his age throughout the Mississippi Delta. "It was a good experience that matured me fast," Dobbins, now 37, says.

Cobbins was born in Memphis and has lived here his whole life.
Raised by his divorced mother, he and his older brother grew up in Whitehaven.
After Rhodes, Cobbins later earned his MBA from the University of Memphis.
Cobbins also worked in fundraising for the Greater Memphis Chamber.
"I learned a lot about economic development, what it takes to make a company relocate or stay, or how to bring 'x' number of jobs to the region," he says.

In 2001, Cobbins began working for the Commercial Advisors Real Estate Company, where he represented companies in real estate transactions. Cobbins' family has a long history of leadership in the Memphis real estate community.
His grandfather developed Lakeview Gardens. One of the first neighborhoods designed for middle-class black families, the development won numerous national awards.
His mother likewise pioneered as a black woman working in real estate, having had her license for 37 consecutive years.
Now, Cobbins owns his own company, Universal Commercial Real Estate, which he founded two years ago.

The company is the first and only commercial real estate firm in Memphis owned by an African-American. Its name honors Universal Life Insurance Company.
"For years, that was the premier black business in this region," Cobbins says. "They financed mortgages when people couldn't get loans and were a big, positive force in Memphis. I thought, 'Let me try and make that name mean something again through my company.'"
Community involvement is the cornerstone of Cobbins' work.
"When I was younger, my mother took us touring all around town. Over time, this exposure gave me a big sense of civic duty," he says.
"Professional and civic contributions go hand in hand. I have an inability to say 'no' to certain opportunities; if I see a way I can help out, I help out."

Cobbins was recently named to the transition team formed by new Memphis Mayor A C Wharton. "We'll be taking a look at key functional areas in city government that he wants to articulate his position on. We'll be identifying young talent to bring new ideas into City Hall," Cobbins says. "It's a very exciting time for Memphis."

Cobbins describes himself as a "serial social entrepreneur."
Having graduated from Leadership Memphis, The Leadership Academy and having helped found MPact Memphis, Cobbins is also a member of the Memphis Urban League of Young Professionals, New Path and Nexus.
He serves on the board of The Leadership Academy and the Shelby County Crime Commission.

RETROFITTING SUBURBIA Author/Expert to Speak in Memphis

RETROFITTING SUBURBIA

Speaker and Author Ellen Dunham-Jones

THURSDAY . SEPTEMBER 17 6:15 pm@ The Brooks Museum of Art 1934 Poplar Avenue
cost: free for museum members / non-members regular admission

Ever considered what can be done with the abandoned strip malls, dying office parks, and other signs of suburban growth gone wrong? There are solutions! Come hear how other cities are responding to a national problem.

Ellen Dunham-Jones, AIA, is a world-renowned expert on urban and suburban design. As the director of the architecture program at the Georgia Institute of Technology, an award-winning architect and a board member of the Congress for the New Urbanism, she shows audiences how design of where we live impacts some of the most pressing issues of our times—reducing our ecological footprint and energy consumption while improving our health and communities and providing living options for all ages. In particular, she shows how changing has been featured in media that include CNN, CBS, Newsweek, Time, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Boston Globe and has authored more than 35 articles or chapters in books on design, architecture and sustainability demographics like fewer households with children will change how we build.

As co-author of Retrofitting Suburbia: Urban Design Solutions for Redesigning Suburbs (Wiley, January 2009), she and June Williamson explore more than 50 case studies across North America of “underperforming asphalt properties” that have been redesigned and redeveloped into walkable, sustainable vital centers of community—libraries, city halls, town centers, schools and more. She has received more than 20 awards for her work in architectural design, education and research, and serves on the editorial boards for the journals Places and The Urbanist in addition to several local and national boards. Dunham-Jones has been featured in media that include CNN, CBS, Newsweek, Time, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Boston Globe, and has authored more than 35 articles and chapters in books on design, architecture and sustainability.

Sponsors: Audio Video Artistry Triton Stone Group W.G. Yates & Sons Construction
Presenting Partners: Brooks Museum of Art Court Square Center Memphis Regional Design Center ULI Memphis USGBC Memphis

For more information, please contact AIA Memphis at 901.525.3818 or

Commercial Brokers Learn the Green Ropes

By Debra Hazel (GlobeSt.com)

They don’t design, build or manage buildings, so why on earth should real estate brokers be green? To better market, lease and coordinate the sale of energy-efficient properties, say the Commercial Brokers Association and the Cascadia Green Building Council, which have launched an online Certified Green Broker education program designed for commercial real estate industry professionals. "We’re excited," says Tricia Deering, president and CEO of the Seattle-based CBA. "We do a lot of educational programs for brokers, but this feels like it is so much more important."

The program arose from a simple query from a member looking for a "green broker," Deering recalls. "We said, no we don’t, but I do know developers who building sustainable buildings," Deering says. "We thought this was getting big enough and important enough to pursue."
The CBA approached Cascadia about creating a course. "It was one of those things that was very fortuitous," says Jason F. McLennan, CEO of Portland, OR-based Cascadia. Cascadia is one of three original chapters of the US Green Building Council and, as a chapter of the Canada Green Building Council as well, is the only international chapter in North America. "Some of our members are brokers."

The goal is to prepare brokers to discuss the features and advantages of the buildings they represent. Developing the program took about a year to ensure that the mix of information was appropriate for the audience.
"When talking about an architect or engineer there’s a depth of technical data," McLennan says. "But [brokers] need to understand how it shows up in the value of a building, its operating costs, because green building touches all of those things. They need to know what LEED is, to know the whys and results."

The program consists of 10 three-hour seminars presented in an interactive, online format. The course commences with green building basics and continues onto in-depth subject areas such as the development of green leases, the valuation of green buildings land use laws, and specific "green" and toxic materials. Brokers learn the benefits of green leasing to both landlords and tenants including tax incentives, return on investment and reduced energy costs. Each seminar contains instruction and quizzes.
"There were definitely a lot of 'A-ha!' moments," Deering recalls. "The key thing the brokers need to know is that there is a business reason why owners and managers [build green]."

The course is available online 24 hours a day, and offers 30 hours of real estate continuing education credit where applicable.
"In today’s world, people are really busy," McLennan says. "They can log in 24/7."
Participants in the program will have unlimited access to the Green Broker reference library, which contains sustainability resource materials. "They can dig as deep as they want," McLennan says.

The seminars must be completed within 90 days, and the student must then pass--with 75%--a timed final exam for certification. A core group of experts developed the questions for the certification test. Brokers who do not pass the exam the first time out can take it once more. If they fail a second time, they must repeat the course. After two years, brokers must take a refresher class to maintain their certification.
Certified brokers will be included in a national directory and have access to the Green Broker Institute, a web-based depository dedicated to program graduates. The Institute will provide industry and educational updates and a broker feedback forum for the sharing of information and contacts.

The Certified Green Broker course website is http://greenbrokereducation.com/. The course syllabus, overview and a live demonstration are available for public preview. The course is being offered at an introductory rate of $750 per course through May 2009. After June 1, the retail price is $975. Group discounts are available.

The program was tested by a small group prior to launch, allowing the CBA and Cascadia the opportunity to revise the curriculum and procedures as information changes. The two work together to update the course as needed.

The course was launched last week, and 15 people signed up quickly. The CBA hopes to see 300 people taking the course this year, a goal Deering acknowledges is aggressive, but achievable.
In fact, "a couple" of national firms are looking at including the program in their own educational curriculum, Deering reports. "We’ve been asked, 'Why do we need to do this?'" Deering says. "I can tell you why: It’s a big piece of our business."

Memphis Center City Commission offers Incentive to Downtown Office Tenants

The 2009-2010 Commercial Office Tenant Improvement Program for Office Employee Recruitment and Retention in Downtown Memphis is designed to help stabilize and strengthen the Downtown office market by increasing or retaining the number of full-time employees/equivalents within the area. This will be done by offering eligible tenants a grant that can be applied towards tenant improvement costs.

Basic Eligibility Requirements
• The property or lease space must be located within the Central Business Improvement
District (hereinafter “CBID”) ;
• The Tenant must be classified as and determined as being an office tenant with an office
use and with employees who work within the leased premises or within the CBID;
• The Tenant must employ at least three (3) full-time employees/equivalents (FTEs) at the
eligible location;
• The Tenant must apply prior to entering into a lease;
• The Tenant’s current lease (if applicable) must be due to expire within 12 months of the
application date; and,
• The Tenant must sign a lease that includes a term of at least five (5) years.

Retail tenants are ineligible for the Program.

Grant Disbursement Requirements
The grant amount disbursed shall be the lesser of a) the base grant (including any eligible multiplier);
or, b) the actual costs of the TIS.
Approved grants will be disbursed when the following items are provided:
• A lease signed by Tenant and landlord, with a term of at least five (5) years;
• Contractor cost certification list for TIS;
• Certificate of Occupancy (if applicable);
• Verification of number of full-time employees/equivalents (FTEs);
Downtown Office Occupancy Incentive Program
• Photographs of the completed TIS;
• The office is fully occupied and Tenant is conducting its business in the space; and,
• Documentation of compliance with the Equal Business Opportunity Program.

Once a grant is approved, the applicant has three (3) months after the lease is signed to meet
the grant disbursement requirements. If the applicant does not meet the grant disbursement
requirements within three (3) months of the date on which the lease is signed, the reserved
funds will be returned to the grant pool, and the application fee will be deemed as nonrefundable
and shall be forfeited.

Learn more: http://www.downtownmemphis.com/downtownmemphis/documents/2009OfficeGrant.pdf

Payments for Specified Energy Property in Lieu of Tax Credits under the ARRA of 2009

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The purpose of the Recovery Act is to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery in the near term and to invest in infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits.

It is expected that the Section 1603 program will temporarily fill the gap created by the diminished investor demand for tax credits. In this way, the near term goal of creating and retaining jobs is achieved, as well as the long-term benefit of expanding the use of clean and renewable energy and decreasing our dependency on non-renewable energy sources.

Section 1603 of the Act’s tax title, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act, appropriates funds for payments to persons who place in service specified energy property during 2009 or 2010 or after 2010 if construction began on the property during 2009 or 2010 and the property is placed in service by a certain date known as the credit termination date (described more fully below in the Property and Payment Eligibility section). Treasury will make Section 1603 payments to qualified applicants in an amount generally equal to 10% or 30% of the basis of the property, depending on the type of property. Applications will be reviewed and payments made within 60 days from the later of the date of the complete application or the date the property is placed in service.

Applicants interested in receiving payments under Section 1603 may submit an application on-line by going to www.treasury.gov/recovery. Applications may only be submitted after the property to which the application relates is placed in service, or is under construction. A completed application will include the signed and complete application form; supporting documentation; signed Terms and Conditions; and complete payment information. All applications must be received before the statutory deadline of October 1, 2011.
For property placed in service in 2009 or 2010, applications must be submitted after the property has been placed in service and before October 1, 2011. Treasury will review the applications and make payment to qualified applicants within 60 days from the date the completed application is received by Treasury.

Under Section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 (Section 1603), the United States Department of the Treasury (Treasury) makes payments to eligible persons who place in service specified energy property and apply for such payments. The purpose of the payment is to reimburse eligible applicants for a portion of the expense of such property. Eligible property under this program includes only property used in a trade or business or held for the production of income. Nonbusiness energy property described in section 25C of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) and residential energy efficient property described in section 25D of the IRC do not qualify for payments under this program but may qualify for tax credits under those provisions.

Learn more here:

http://www.treas.gov/recovery/docs/guidance.pdf
http://www.treas.gov/recovery/docs/energy-terms-and-conditions.pdf
http://www.treas.gov/recovery/docs/Application.pdf