The U.S. Department of State (DOS), Office of Logistics Management, on behalf of the Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO), anticipates the award of at least three indefinite quantity/indefinite delivery contracts to provide cost estimating services.

Wayne Gretzky, one of the highest scoring Hockey players, is often quoted that his success was linked to being where “the puck” would be and not where it currently is. The same is true in business; anticipating where the market will be and positioning the firm for those future opportunities enables leaders to get ahead of the markets.

When completed in 1914, the Panama Canal was the largest and most significant construction project in history. The 48-mile canal provides a vital maritime connection between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, spanning the narrow, rocky Isthmus of Panama. Along the canal’s path, which took a decade to build, ships are raised a total of 85 feet to traverse the canal via system of locks, and then are lowered again. This engineering marvel, which will mark its centennial in 2014, cut maritime...

RICS, in collaboration with the Universities of Ulster and Aberdeen in the UK, is slated to roll out a Public Private Partnership (PPP) research report at Georgetown University, Washington D.C. on Monday, June 20, 2011.

RICS Americas is looking for members to train and become a part of our diverse assessor pool! We’re looking to expand our assessor team to accommodate upcoming routes to membership.

We encourage you to stay actively engaged in RICS by connecting and networking with the vast community of RICS members. In an effort to advance and enforce standards in land, property and the built environment, and to promote the usefulness of the profession, we welcome news contributions from all of our members. You can make your mark on the profession by offering article contributions that can add value for your peers.

RICS (Americas) will be one of the Exhibitors at this year’s ICSC RECon – the global real estate convention that brings together the largest gathering of Retail Real Estate professionals for a few days of networking, making deals, and learning from industry experts – at the Las Vegas Convention Center, NV from May 22-25.

RICS President Robert Peto FRICS led a panel of experts at the RICS and DePaul University Global Property Trends event in Chicago on Thursday, May 5. The event was attended by members of the RICS Midwest chapter, members of partner associations such as CCIM and ASA, students from DePaul University and other property industry professionals.

Kim M. Kobriger MRICS CCIM Ph.D. and local Chair of Membership for the RICS South Central Chapter was one of four judges invited by the Texas A&M University Department of Construction Science in their first ever Case Study of Ethics using the American Institute of Constructors (AIC) Code of Ethics for Constructors.

The Massachusetts Real Estate Licensing Commission has appointed Rob Nahigian FRICS SIOR CRE and Principal of Auburndale Realty Co., Newton, Mass. to its Education Subcommittee.

The National Bureau of Economic Research officially announced that the greatest economic downturn in the United States since the Great Depression ended in June 2009, almost 24 months ago. The recovery has been painfully slow, but over the past two quarters we have seen signs that the economy is finally gaining sound and sustainable traction.

As the new chair of the Valuation Council, I am grateful for the opportunity to represent the interests of multidisciplinary valuers around the region. I look forward to working with RICS to address some of our industry’s most pressing issues, including accountability for appraisal work performed and harmonizing the diverse interests in valuation. In addition, I am eager to help move our profession forward with the important work of the Council that involves debating and advising on valuation...

RICS Americas is pleased to announce the appointment of Peter M. Smith FRICS, as the new Chair of the Southern California Chapter. He is an Executive Director and West Zone Property Tax Leader at Ernst & Young, LLP in Los Angeles, California.

• International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for Fair Value require market-based criteria for real estate; • Global challenges in the real estate market require a reconsideration of the real estate investment fundamentals.

As RICS members, we constantly rely on technology and the introduction of new and innovative ways to conduct our business. Data integration, with the analysis tools we use, has been long discussed and is now emerging as a reality. Today, we can now immediately compare the results of our property or portfolio analysis against market data by property type and specific geography in one solution. This integration of leading market data in widely accepted analysis solutions creates more efficiency...

After nearly four decades as a contracting officer, construction manager, and a construction claims consultant, I have concluded that employers routinely make a number of mistakes on projects that actually cause disputes. Those are the following:

The RICS Americas Rocky Mountain Chapter recently became a Member of the Colorado Coalition of Appraisers (CCA). As a Member, the Chapter is entitled to appoint one voting Board of Directors Member to the CCA Board and receive acknowledgment and logo placement on the CCA website and at CCA events. The Chapter is also entitled to lobbyist representation concerning valuation issues in the State of Colorado.

An international RICS Sustainability panel, including Scott Muldavin FRICS (USA), Dr. David Lorenz FRICS (Germany) and Neil Shah, Director, RICS Americas, were featured as guests on Income Property Investment Talk, the fastest growing Internet-based radio show on the Voice America Network with 70,000 listeners.

RICS Americas, Communications Manager, Abigail E. La Croix, conducted a Q&A with the Davis Langdon Group based on a presentation about the Linde Robinson Laboratory, Cal Tech, Pasadena project given at the joint RICS/AIA gathering in 2010. The Q&A also focuses on the dynamics of green buildings. A copy of the project’s cost for sustainable features is attached.

Has the dust finally settled after one of the deepest recessions in the U.S.? It seems so as certain investors appear to believe that economic growth and disposable income will be as abundant as ever considering that certain core office investments realize sub-5 percent capitalization rates. In fact, U.S. office landlords had the first net increase in occupied space in three years in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to Reis Inc., a New York-based property-research firm.

Recent emphasis on sustainability has increased our desire to design more efficient new structures, leading to the development of more energy efficient envelope assemblies and the use of non-traditional and sometimes even novel assemblies – many of which do not have a substantial case history to commend them. Simultaneously, communities are turning to densification and urban renewal as viable options to reduce sprawl. When these two are combined, historic structures are often selected for...

During 2010, Shelterfield Valuation Services conducted a wide-reaching survey of real estate professionals in the Greater Delaware Valley (i.e. Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware). The survey asked recipients for their opinions regarding how certain negative events would affect residential and commercial property values (i.e. would the properties be stigmatized and if so, for how long would the stigma remain?). Most of the scenarios presented garnered approximately 85 to125 responses....

RICS Americas will be one of the sponsors of New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate, Center for the Sustainable Built Environment’s 1st Annual Conference on Sustainable Real Estate. The event would be held at the Kimmel Center, Rosenthal Pavilion, on Tuesday, February 22, 2011 from 8:00 AM – 3:45 PM. The theme is: “Building the Smart City” Removing Barriers, Fostering Innovation.

It's hard to believe that 2011 is already here. I hope that you and your families had a wonderful holiday season wherever you were in the world. As the weather gets colder in parts of the Americas, the economy seems to be warming in certain parts. As we hope for a successful 2011, we certainly can look back on the past year with a sense of accomplishment.

CCIM Institute and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors established a memorandum of understanding last spring that will lead to greater cooperation and opportunities for members of both organizations. Together, CCIM and RICS will advance the commercial real estate profession by advocating for high standards of professional practice, becoming a voice for the profession, and more.