Commercial Construction & Renovation

JUL-AUG 2016

Commercial Construction & Renovation helps our subscribers design, build and maintain better commercial facilities by delivering content to meet the information needs of today's high-level executives.

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timelines. The requirements and expense for permitting and gaining zoning approvals seems to grow and grow without ends in sight. Some areas are very difficult to plan for project openings, while other areas are more streamlined. Knowing those differing area requirements is essential before ever securing a property to develop into a store. The last item that comes to mind is inflation. The costs for construction over the past couple of years have been fairly consistent on most areas. In some markets, such as South Florida and Texas, where the development of commercial building has been on a rise, also bring a rise to costs. You plan for certain percentages to factor in relating to costs from year to year. When markets get hot and building is increased, it becomes difficult to determine what the proper inflation planning number should be. These are all challenging issues when planning projects. Talk about sustainability. What are you doing? Sustainability and LEED building as concepts have been welcomed everywhere in restaurant construction. However, the cost for full LEED buildings has not proven out. The return of dollars on invest- ment can exceed 20 years. This is not a return acceptable to the industry. Yet, some municipalities force the concept. Eventually, as more and more manufacturers provide sustain- able items and costs are reduced, this idea of full LEED buildings will evolve into the design. Currently, we adapt affordable LEED and energy savings items into the design. Lighting, electrical usage and HVAC are the main expenditures where certain LEED products will pay off. Roofing, for example, being made from recycled products is a more affordable product implemented into our buildings. We utilize LED lighting packages, energy efficient HVAC systems and any recycled product where and when we can. What do you see as some of your biggest opportunities moving ahead? For a company like ours that is growing, there are advantages to being able to move quickly on real estate opportunities. This allows us to get A+ locations and beat out our competitors. One area we as a company look at closely are conversion opportunities. This is where we look to convert a closed restaurant into our new building design. We've been successful securing these types of projects. It is advantageous to us primarily from a timeframe of obtaining a location to the actual opening. We can convert projects quickly by not having to go through zoning and municipal approvals that take much longer on new building projects. Are you optimistic about what you see in the restaurant sector? Yes, I believe the restaurant business has rebounded and going to continue to grow stores over the next several years. We are seeing a lot of growth in Florida and Texas. 91 JULY : AUGUST 2016 — COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION

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