Complying with NYC fire and building department rules

Real Estate Weekly,  August 22, 2007  by Andy McCaffrey

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When selecting a life safety and security provider, property managers, portfolio managers and building owners must take into consideration many variables in choosing the best company.

Several of these items include the new Building Code, which will be approved by the City Council this October, and is the first major update in the building code since 1968.

Also, the implementation of Local Law 26 and the required Emergency Action Plan, and most importantly, the existing buildings fire alarm system and electronic security systems age and availability of replacement parts as well as capacity for future growth for there new tenants are important considerations.

Another major factor is to look at the present NYC commercial real estate market and its trends.

Premier buildings are being sold for multimillions of dollars, and this includes a strong infiltration of foreign investors and new owners in this prolific market.

Trophy class A building's are now commanding $100.00 and more per square foot and rents in NYC have risen dramatically over the past 24 months.

This includes the side street class B and C office properties, where rents are now approaching $40.00 to $60.00 per square foot, and many of these buildings were not previously considered office buildings even though they have been operating as Class E build-ings.

Current terms of leases and rent per square foot are a major concern to tenant's, building management and ownership.

Tenants are exploring there current leases and conditions of the building and there space.

They are looking for incentives, in addition to what they are spending, and have become more sophisticated on how they are spending their money, and their demand for amenities continues to grow.

Building investors and owners look at the building location, occupancy rate and current leases, and must make a decision on upgrading there building.

This includes lobby renovations, heating and air conditioning, electrical, elevators, fire alarm and security and conditions of the building core interior.

In many cases, this involves a substantial investment to the building in order to attract these new tenants, and with higher construction cost the average operating expense has now risen to $15.00 to $20.00 average cost per building square foot.

We at High Rise Fire and Security take into consideration all of these important prerequisites, and pride ourselves in developing a win/win approach to working with property managers in accomplishing the best life safety solutions to achieve these important goals.

High Rise Fire and Security is one of the top five companies that provides life safety and security systems to over 500 buildings.

I understand and appreciate the rigorous requirements that are involved in working with building management to accomplish a successful result in compliance with the NYC Fire Department and Building Codes.

By ANDY MCCAFFREY, VICE PRESIDENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, HIGH RISE FIRE AND SECURITY

COPYRIGHT 2007 Hagedorn Publication
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning