These are tough times, and many businesses will be forced to make do with less staff and, in many cases, the resulting excess space. In the face of this challenge, office leaders can make changes to improve the way their employees work. Small and creative positive changes today could have long-lasting impacts on worker productivity and corporate profitability for years to come.

Modern construction techniques are being profoundly altered by the convergence of the three most influential process changes of the current decade. A new concept -- Project Integrated Delivery -- combines lean construction methods, Building Information Modeling software analysis and LEED green building standards to set a new benchmark for defining the best commercial buildings.

James Lawrence, CEO of Ecolite Concrete, saw the immense potential in the eco-friendly wall system when he evaluated the company as the CTO of a hedge fund in 2007. This convinced him to come on board, first as its director of technology and more recently, in June this year, as its CEO.

NEW YORK (AP) -- NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. (NYSE: NRF), which invests in commercial real estate debt, posted third-quarter results that beat Wall Street expectations, despite turmoil in the credit markets.

One year ago, just as the credit doors were swinging closed, Blackstone Group LP (NYSE: BX) succeeded in pulling off one last deal and it was a beaut: The $26 billion leveraged buyout of Hilton Hotels Corp., with its 2,900 hotels and 490,000 rooms throughout the world.

Voit Commercial Brokerage is poised to be an industry leader in the retail marketplace to secure national retailers for the region's largest retail developments, as well as assisting top retailers seeking new sites to expand their presence in San Diego.

Green real estate grew out of corporate America's adoption of the Triple Bottom Line system (3BL) of corporate accounting: people, planet, profit. From Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) to Citigroup (NYSE: C), America's largest, most respected firms now address social responsibility (people) and sustainability (planet) alongside profit in their day-to-day operations. This expansion of corporate accountability has spawned a new breed of corporate officer -- the director of sustainability -- who is focused on finding ways to reduce the firm's carbon footprint and strengthen its public image.

The first big wave in the green building industry began in 2000 when the U.S. Green Building Council launched the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for New Construction (LEED NC). It took another four years to develop a pilot LEED rating system for the current portfolio of buildings -- LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED EB). After several years of working with the LEED EB system and refining it to provide the sought-after value, the new LEED Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance was launched in February.

Clients are looking at long-term investments, seeking more value and a reduction in operating expenses, and retaining tenants in the current market conditions, according to several property managers that the Transcript spoke with recently.

When some people read "real estate crisis," they automatically think of the hundreds of thousands of homes across the country in distress. However, there is another sector of the market feeling the repercussions of the subprime mess: commercial real estate.

Life science space in San Diego remains at a premium even in soft economy.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. commercial property investors expect losses next year for the first time in almost two decades as companies cut jobs and the economy slows, an industry report said.

NEW YORK -- Hotel companies, which have been struggling all year with reduced travel demand and tight credit conditions, are now facing a new challenge: how to conserve capital.

Kearny Mesa-based GMI Integrated Facility Solutions is an eclectic firm capable of constructing tenant improvements, supplying security services, managing buildings, maintaining them and cleaning them as well.