Pipeline: commercial real estate roundup for 10.31.08

Morgata LLC purchased the medical office building at 8201 Atlee Road in Mechanicsville, VA, from Meadowbridge LLC for $1.6 million, or approximately $133 per square foot. Innovision Investment Group acquired the industrial property at 1400-1422 Chamberlayne Ave. in Richmond, VA, from Jackson & Edney Investments LLC for $1.74 million, or about $23 per square foot. The 75,000-square-foot facility delivered in 1950 in the Laburnum/Rte360 Industrial submarket.

Knowledge is Good

Ten days after the University of Richmond set the date for the first information session about next fall’s MBA program, the 40 available seats were already reserved.

Highwood’s starting lineup

If Highwood Properties' proposal to redevelop the Boulevard and Shockoe goes forward, a handful of local firms stand to get their slice of the $785 million construction and hourly billing / fee-for-service pie.

Entrepreneurs coming out of woodwork

More people might be starting businesses now that major employers are laying off workers or curtailing raises and career advancement. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance reported that activity for the Business One-Stop website rose 30 percent in October compared with September. Business One Stop helps potential business owners learn how to launch ventures in the state, in particular it helps with permitting and registration requirements and assists with partial completion of the necessary forms. That’s likely a reliable indicator, because the site takes a while to finish and requires users to create a login name, according to William Vehers, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Business Assistance. The site was launched in late spring.

Sarah Palin for Halloween — Join the crowd

So you want to be Sarah Palin for Halloween -- Join the crowd. I predict that at least 50% of women in Richmond ages 18 to 30 will be Sarah Palin for Halloween. It’s an easy costume for brunettes with glasses. Plus it can be a “sexy” costume without too much extra effort.

Developers throw Richmond a meatball. Or is it a knuckle ball?

On Monday the City of Richmond finally announced its plans for Shockoe Bottom and North Boulevard: Tear down the Diamond, and build a new stadium downtown. Throw in an ample mix of retail, office and residential development at both sites. Just $765 million later, fans will have a new baseball team, the city will once again be a major shopping destination, and peace and prosperity will reign over the area for 1,000 years as a choir of heavenly angels sings. BizSense has five pros and five cons of the plan.

Bracing for the ad pullback

It comes as no surprise that local marketing firms and sole practitioners are bracing for a slowdown, and the outlook will probably get worse as state and local nonprofits slash 2009 budgets amid declining revenue.

No natural gas stations in RIC — but Boone Pickens has a plan

If you haven’t heard of the Pickens Plan by now, you must be living off the grid. The radio and television spots have been running since summer urging you to join billionaire T. Boone Pickens in his effort to get the U.S. to quit its $700 billion oil addiction. Last week BizSense ran an article about the availability of natural gas vehicles in the Richmond area, which might be primed for some fast growth depending on the availablility of fueling stations. The always entertaining and super wealthy T.Boone Pickens has a plan to solve that problem, and make a boatload in the process.

Office space getting cheaper

Richmond office vacancies continue to rise, which means prices are likely to fall. The vacancy rate in the central business district rose about 3.5% from the last quarter for a total rate of 13.5%, according to Thalhimer’s recently released third quarter reports. The office vacancy rate for the whole metro area was 8.9% in the third quarter, up 1% from last quarter.

Tech Review: GlassDoor sheds light on employees and salaries

With GlassDoor.com, you can find out what your employees are saying about your company -- at least at the big ones like Yahoo, Microsoft, AOL and Google. And because entries are anonymous, employees feel comfortable being completely honest about their jobs. (It might also turn into a whining session)

The site also provides room for employees to make suggestions to management, working like an electronic version of the suggestion box you find in College cafeterias (alas, my cries for more Buffalo Chicken Wraps at my alma mater went unfulfilled).

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