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Refrigerated warehouses and cold storage facilities were once considered unattractive investments for several, salient reasons: exceedingly high construction costs, enormous power demands (and the expensive, complex infrastructure to satisfy them) and relatively low demand among end-users. The facilities are still complex and costly, but demand for them shot up quickly…

Landlords and companies alike are still struggling to pinpoint the perfect draw to lure employees back into traditional work environments, while careful to not present any indication of force. Because the great work-from-home experiment has worked so well for so many people and industries, certain employees are considering this arrangement…

Achieving net zero emissions in building heating and hot water is perhaps the greatest challenge of all the sector transitions necessary to meet Maryland’s greenhouse gas reduction targets. To reach net zero by following a high electrification strategy requires that a large majority of existing buildings convert from fossil fuel…

A recent ruling by the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) is fueling predictions that the state is about to experience a surge of investment in manufacturing and logistics facilities. In December, the PSC awarded additional Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Credits (ORECs) to U.S. Wind and Orsted – the…

Despite all the apocalyptic talk about the demise of brick-and-mortar retail and the fact that 13% of all retail purchases now happen online, 2022 is a great time to have a physical retail location. In a recent Placer.ai webinar, retail experts backed up that opinion by pointing to shipping problems…

What is the construction headline that you expect will be written at the end of 2022?   Marty Copsey President/COO & Principal MacKenzie Contracting The medical sector leads an extremely active 2022                                 …

Legislation At A Glance The Maryland General Assembly is considering nearly a dozen climate related bills that affect commercial construction and existing buildings. The House and Senate have introduced slightly different proposals that mandate an all-electric building code for new construction and a building emissions standard for existing buildings. The…

Could new infrastructure transform Maryland’s economy? Economic development experts compare it to the construction of the interstate highway system. Federal infrastructure funds, analysts say, have the potential to trigger “generational change” in Maryland’s economy. That could include growing the innovation economy and making developments, such as Port Covington,…

Industry tackles rising standards for healthy buildings As America approaches year three of coping with Covid-19, the commercial real estate industry is implementing lessons learned about how to improve indoor air quality and preparing for heightened, long-term requirements for healthy buildings. “The pandemic has created an incredible focus on indoor…

A multi-front effort to create no-net-loss forest conservation policies in Maryland counties is challenging the development community to influence, understand and adapt to a varied and changing array of regulations. Efforts to greatly expand the preservation of specimen trees in Howard County failed in January when the county executive vetoed…