I have decided, after many years of juggling appraisal work for two, and sometimes three, appraisal practices (including my own), to concentrate all of my time and effort on my private practice, Snowdon Valuation.
So, to those of you who know me from my association with CBRE-Albany and L.B. Berdan, “Welcome to Snowdon Valuation.” My contact information is listed on the sidebar at right. I look forward to our continued relationship!
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New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today that IBM, Intel, Samsung, TSMC, and GlobalFoundaries will all be adding jobs upstate, according to the Business Review.
Five major international computer-chip companies will inject $4.4 billion into five new R&D operations in New York to develop the next generation of chips. The state is contributing another $400 million to the initiative.
Albany will be a focal point, mainly through the University at Albany’s College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. The moves, announced Tuesday, will help retain or create 800 jobs at Albany NanoTech, and create an estimated 1,500 construction jobs in Albany. Also, Intel Corp. will locate its 450mm East Coast headquarters in Albany.
The term “450mm”refers to the size of the wafers the computer chips are built upon, and it represents the next wave of computer-chip technology. The current standard is 300mm.
Other upstate sites will include Utica, Canandaigua, East Fishkill and Yorktown Heights.
Three events rocked Washington DC last week- the earthquake, Irene, and the NAIFA National Conference. Once the earth stopped moving, Monica Trotter got things moving again with her seminar on Forensic Appraisal Review. Robert Murphy of the FDIC presented the new Uniform Appraisal Dataset at lunch. I then had the pleasure of presenting my class, The Appraisal Spreadsheet: Regression Analysis. Thursday brought the Fraud Symposium presented by representatives of the Department of Justice, FBI, FDIC, and other government agencies involved in the investigation of mortgage fraud. Attorney John Russell, who represents NAIFA and ASA in Washington spoke at lunch about lobbying efforts on behalf of the two appraisal organizations. Ann Susko, Peter Vidi, and John Russell joined two Washington area attorney’s to discuss courtroom preparation and presented several mock trial examples on Thursday afternoon. Paul Wetzel, one of the founders of NAIFA fifty years ago, presented a history of the organization, his view of its future, and the future of the profession at the annual general meeting.
…Albany. The Wall Street Journal reports,
It’s a lesson that’s all too easy to forget in a world driven by mobile devices, cloud computing and home offices. There are big benefits to setting up shop in the right spot—especially among lots of peers in the same field.
Just ask sports-gear makers in Ogden, Utah. Or health-care companies in Nashville. Or nanotechnology researchers in Albany, N.Y. These cities, and others like them across the country, have become hubs for specific industries. Entrepreneurs are moving there and flourishing in the teeth of a bleak economy. The cities, in turn, are nurturing the entrepreneurs by giving them access to funding, mentors and facilities.
The capital of New York state is becoming a big player in a field that deals with small things—nanotechnology. The city now boasts more than 4,000 people in the industry, centered on the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the University at Albany.
Mia Ertas/CNSE
Albany is becoming a big player in a field that deals with small things—nanotechnology.The school has doubled in size during the recession to its current 800,000-square-foot complex. Dozens of nanotechnology companies have established a presence there to take advantage of research facilities and business incubators; since 2008, nearly 50 new start-ups have launched within its walls.
The build-out was part of a state plan, formulated years earlier, to revive the economy in upstate New York. Financing came partly from the state and partly from corporations like International Business Machines Corp., which now have offices there alongside entrepreneurs. That means companies can share the cost of equipment and labor—and start-ups get to associate themselves with big names.
“The prestige of being here and the credibility is amazing, which helps when you are talking with VCs and investors and large companies,” says Primal Fernando, CEO and chief technology officer of Resource Management Technology Systems Inc., which moved to Albany from La Junta, Colo., last year. “And the equipment available here is not available elsewhere.”
Many companies are launching off-campus, as well, in laboratories that are opening in once-vacant buildings. And financiers and other vital players have been moving in to be a part of the action.
“Venture capital has been growing to feed the innovation,” says Alain Kaloyeros, a physics professor and senior vice president of the college. “Suppliers and law firms are moving to the region to support this ecosystem, so it will be quite an exciting venture to watch.”
I had the pleasure of presenting a “mini boot-camp” version of my “The Appraisal Spreadsheet” course at the American Society of Appraisers International Conference in Washington DC this week. Besides feeling honored to be invited to speak, I also felt inspired throughout the conference.
ASA is a multi-discipline association of appraisers who perform valuations of real property (real estate), business value, personal property (antiques, fine art, etc.), machinery and technical specialties, and gems and jewelry. They confer designations in all of these categories plus appraisal review and management. Much of the focus of the conference this year was on how these various disciplines work together to meet their clients’ needs. One such offering was the “Green Day,” a day-long symposium organized and presented by Kathleen Bowen Ha which examined green construction appraisal in terms of real property, machinery and technical specialties, and business valuation perspectives.
The conference started with a multi-discipline meeting featuring Economist Dr. Stephen Fuller with an examination of our rapidly changing economy. Another feature that morning was the signing of a memorandum of understanding between ASA officers and our counterparts from China, underscoring ASA’s involvement in developing economies internationally.
My appreciation goes out to ASA staff and volunteers for a wonderful conference.
The Business Review reports that the Albany area is among 96 of the top 100 markets that lost manufacturing jobs over the last five years.
The manufacturing sector is in general decline. The nation’s 100 major markets lost 1.43 million manufacturing jobs during the past five years — an average of 783 each day. The Albany, New York, region lost 20,500 jobs during that period, a 12.77 percent decline.
Click here to read the rest of the story.
From the Business Review:
Residents of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy area earned a total of $37.13 billion last year, putting the in 57th place among the nation’s metropolitan areas.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released new total personal income (TPI) data on Tuesday morning. TPI is defined as the income received by all people from all sources (everything from wages to welfare payments) in a given year.
Click here for a database of TPI figures for 366 U.S. metros.
57th out of 366- not bad. For the full story, click here.
Empire State Plaza’s “Egg” has hit the big time- The Popular Mechanics “The World’s 18 Strangest Buildings and Why We Love Them” list.
This July, the American Institute of Architects forecasted steep declines in nonresidential construction spending through 2010. Spending is projected to decrease by 16 percent this year and another 12 percent in 2010. With less money flowing through the industry, high-end design projects are likely to be scaled back; architects, builders and regular folk are opting for retrofits with more practical design. While the demand may be turning to minimal and frugal architecture, unusual design still holds a place for museums and other prominent locations, primarily because it is so effective at turning heads. Here are some of our favorite unusual designs for museums, offices, homes and libraries—and why they are so effective at drawing attention.
The Egg is in good company. The magazine also lists Frank Gehry’s “Dancing House” in Prague, Czech Republic (12), Gehry’s “Guggenheim Museum” in Bilbao, Spain (10),” “The Gherkin,” aka “The Towering Innuendo,” in London, UK, (2), and “Habitat 67,” Montreal, Canada (3). But let’s not get too excited. The list also includes “The Flintstone House” (5), “The Basket Building” (8), and “The Community Bookshelf” (9).
Here’s how they described The Egg:
Background: This building is the Center for Performing Arts.
It holds two theaters for concerts and shows, one seating 450 people and the other with capacity for 892.
How It’s Strange: You won’t see many copies of this design because it requires an intensive support system. A heavily-reinforced concrete beam helps maintain the egg shape and transmit its weight to the supporting stem, which extends six stories underground. The end result is a building that looks like a sculpture, with an interior without straight lines or corners.
Catherine Rampell’s post in the New York Times’ Economix blog states,
the state with the second-strongest economic improvement in 2010 was New York. The rebounding finance and insurance sector was New York’s biggest source of growth, although most of the state’s other industries also grew.
Of all the states, North Dakota’s economy grew fastest in 2010. The biggest decline was in Wyoming, according to a report released Tuesday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
3 downtown Albany office buildings sell for $1.25M http://t.co/oEJRl8N via @Business_Review
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