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Index by subjects, compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals: Facilities Volumes 8‐17; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐17; Property Management Volumes 8‐17; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐17.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

The purpose of this paper is to exam the financial impact on the owner/lessor who is considering a partial energy upgrade to an existing medical office building. The owner who leases the building using a triple net lease does the upgrade prior to leasing the building, with the expectation of earning higher rents. How much should the owner who leases the property spend for a given rent per square foot increase?

The empirical study highlights the impact of key financial variables on the dependent variable medical office construction spending put in place in the USA. The independent variables prime interest rate, cost of natural gas per therm and electricity cost per KWH, resale building prices are significant variables when predicting medical office construction spending. A case study using a cost-benefit model is developed. It inputs corporate income tax rates, incorporates a debt service coverage ratio, prime interest rate, analyzes investment tax credit (ITC) and rebate scenarios and varies the level of rental income and energy savings. The case study results provide insight into which factors are enabling higher net construction spending when considering a green energy retrofit project. Both the regression model and the case study model focussed on the owner of a building who rents medical office space to tenants using a triple net lease. The owner/lessor paradigm analyzes revenue enhancements, the tax implications of having these savings and benefits associated with borrowing when financing the green retrofit. The availability of low cost borrowing, increases in the ITC percent and rebates and increases in rent per square foot have an impact on potential energy upgrade spending.

The empirical model finds the independent variables to be significant. Utility cost, resale value of office buildings, the prime interest rate, business bankruptcy court filings and unemployment rate fluctuations adequately explain movements in medical office building spending for the years 2000 through 2015 yielding a R2 of 73.8 percent. The feasibility case study indicates that the energy saving levels and ITCs not income tax rates are the primary drivers for a partial energy retrofit.

Market incentives are a function of the cost of energy. If the cost of energy drops, then the profit incentive to conserve energy becomes less important. The role of tax credits, rebates, property tax reductions and government directives, then become primary incentives for installing energy upgrades. The owner of an empty building assumes all of the operating costs normally paid by a tenant under a triple net lease. This possibility was not included in the replacement cost-benefit model used in this paper.

The feasibility of doing an energy upgrade to an existing building requires that a cost-benefit analysis be undertaken. The independent variables that are significant when doing a regression model or proxies for these variables are incorporated into a present value model. The results in Table V can be used as an initial template for determining how much to spend per square foot when doing an energy upgrade. The square foot amounts can be applied to different size office buildings. The corporate income tax rate or a personal income tax rate has minimal impact on energy construction upgrade spending.

More energy efficient office buildings reduce the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. Energy efficient buildings also conserve on scarce fuel reserves. ITCs and rebates limit the role of government in directing decisions to do energy upgrades. The market mechanism to some degree can help encourage energy conservation through asset upgrades.

The paper incorporates an empirical model which is a form of technical analysis to examine independent variables that explain medical office building spending with a case study structured on expected revenues and costs which takes a fundamental approach to understanding the relationship between the dependent variable and its independent variables. The regression model combines factors that impact the demand for energy efficient medical buildings from an owner/lessor perspective which includes resale values of existing buildings, business bankruptcy filings and unemployment rates. Supply independent variables include the prime interest rate and electricity per KWH and natural gas per therm. The regression model found these variables to be significant. The case study uses the same independent variables or close proxy variables to determine the maximum financially feasible per square foot spending that can be invested in energy upgrades.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐17; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐17; Property Management Volumes 8‐17; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐17.

This paper aims to investigate the benefits derived from sustainable office buildings in People’s Republic of China (PRC) through their green features, with particular reference to energy efficiency.

A survey on operating costs, energy impacts, productivities from property managers and tenants of sustainable office buildings was conducted in Shenzhen, PRC. All survey data were collected from a portfolio of 12 sustainable office buildings and from 76 responses out of more than 400 tenants who had moved into these buildings from conventional office buildings.

Most tenants were concerned with sustainable operations, practices and policies. Some of them held that sustainable office buildings contribute to higher productivity and less sick time. These buildings typically consume less electricity and water, and have higher occupancy rates and rents.

There are only 40 sustainable office buildings in Shenzhen, and our study, albeit with proper methodology, with 12 sample buildings may not reflect entirely the attitudes of tenants and property managers of sustainable office buildings in Shenzhen. Advisably, future works can be carried out on a larger scale in other main cities of PRC to obtain a more comprehensive and precise evaluation on which strategic sustainable central/local government policies might be formulated.

The concept of facilities management on sustainable buildings, especially on their derived benefits, is relatively new in developing countries such as China. This study is one of the first attempts in this area. In addition, this paper also contributes to existing literature by looking into the green lease provisions and operating policies of these sustainable buildings.

A complete enumerative study was made of the operating and maintenance costs of the 1,255 delivery post offices throughout Japan in 2000, in order to grasp the characteristics of the whole life costs of post office buildings. The operating and maintenance cost of five standard post offices were also monitored for 20 years. This paper demonstrates how the acquired knowledge of the whole life costs is used for the decision making of the facility investment. After analysing the relationship between the rebuilding cycle, and rebuilding, repair and improvement costs, by changing the present rebuilding at age 40 to building additions at age 40 and rebuilding at age 60, it became apparent that a significant reduction in facilities investment costs could be expected.

Index by subjects, compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of early design decisions made in the 1980s upon the future adaptability of the Gateshead Civic Centre building and the implementation of a workspace strategy in the 2010s, and how they have supported the efficiencies achieved through the increase in office workspace numbers, and the associated advantages of accommodating more employees within the Civic Centre.

Available documents related to the original development of the Gateshead Civic Centre and the 2010s workspace-related adaptations were examined to establish potential links between the two, and compare the findings with designing for adaptability-related research.

The results show that the early design decisions made in the 1980s have contributed to the future adaptability of the building and thus facilitated the implementation of a workspace strategy within Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council in the 2010s. In addition, they have supported the achievement of other efficiencies through the increase in office workspace numbers and location of more employees within the Civic Centre. The findings can guide future trends within the Council, as well as inform organisations on the potential benefits of designing for adaptability.

The study provides a prospective consideration of how an early design decision influenced the long-term adaptability of the building.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of spatial dependency in the construction of a price index for the transactions of whole office buildings. It examines transactions of office buildings over a 15-year period and addresses an under-researched area in investment property analysis.

The study examines data relating to transactions of all office buildings in the Melbourne (Australia) central business district between 2000 and 2015. The methodology uses a spatial weights matrix to construct a hedonic model, spatial error model, spatial lagged model and an office building transactional price index.

The findings confirm the existence of spatial dependency for the transactions of office buildings. In addition, incorporating the effect of spatial dependency by constructing spatial error and spatial lagged model improved the accuracy of the estimated transactional price index for office buildings.

These findings make an important contribution to the literature by highlighting the importance of the issue of spatial autocorrelation in the estimation of valuation models and price indexes for office buildings. Until now the focus has predominantly been on individual office units rather than whole office buildings, where the barrier has traditionally been access to comprehensive data. The analysis did not consider leasing details as this information is not accessible in the Australian market.

The research will assist stakeholders including valuers, investors and market regulators to improve their understanding of movements in the office property transactional market. The findings provide an insight into trends associated with the transfer of office buildings. It will assist future decisions about the location of a new office building developments in order to optimise their proximity to transport and other buildings.

The study will assist planners to ensure the location of office buildings are optimised from a social sustainability perspective. This equates to buildings located in close proximity to transport facilities and also supporting the development of office buildings in locations, which are associated with lower future risk.

The construction of an accurate and reliable property index is critically important for practitioners to understand the movement in both the property market and also in the broader economy. A substantial increase in whole office building acquisitions has been observed in recent years, especially after the 2007 Global Financial Crisis (Lizieri and Pain, 2014) although there has remained limited research undertaken in this area.

Compiled by K.G.B. Bakewell covering the following journals published by MCB University Press: Facilities Volumes 8‐18; Journal of Property Investment & Finance Volumes 8‐18; Property Management Volumes 8‐18; Structural Survey Volumes 8‐18.