Colorado Real Estate Journal - September 2, 2015
Hammersmith acquires Mountain Managers Hammersmith Management, one of the state’s largest community association management companies, acquired Mountain Managers, a homeowners association management and vacation rental company located in Summit County. Hammersmith will occupy the existing Frisco office, with onsite locations in Breckenridge, Keystone, Dillon, Frisco and Copper Mountain. The acquisition adds 22 employees to the more than 220 Hammersmith employees in Colorado, and increases the total number of Hammersmith-managed associations to well over 200. Certification program tests building Internet speeds Beacon Capital Partners LLC, a commercial office investor and manager, announced that the majority of its Class A office properties located throughout the U.S. have earned Wired Certifications of Silver or above through WiredScore. The company’s Denver office properties include 1560 Broadway St., 600 17th St. and 1700 Lincoln St. WiredScore provides a standardized rating system that is designed to identify and certify commercial buildings with the fastest and most reliable Internet connections. Wired Certification assists prospective office tenants in making more informed leasing decisions. The Wired Certification standards, used to measure and rate the Internet connectivity of commercial office buildings, were established by experts in the technology, telecommunications and real estate industries, and have been adopted by many of the nation’s leading owners.
The criteria for Wired Certification include building connectivity, infrastructure and readiness of a building to upgrade in the future. Buildings undergo a thorough review by a technical team to validate the accuracy and completeness of connectivity data. Currently nearly 90 percent of Beacon’s portfolio has earned a rating of silver certification or higher. Beacon intends to attain a silver certification level or higher for all current and future properties it owns. “Our goal is to provide our tenants with the highest-quality services and infrastructure,” said Sara Shank, Beacon Capital Partners managing director. “Companies require enhanced connectivity to conduct business effectively.” LEED certified projects on track to exceed previous year The U.S. Green Building Council Colorado Chapter released its midyear report on LEED certified projects in the state for the first half of 2015. The report finds 73 projects in 2015, which represent 8.52 million square feet of real estate. This number puts the state on track to outpace 2014 numbers, in which Colorado certified 102 projects representing 15.82 million sf of real estate. In the first quarter of 2015, two projects reached the Platinum level, 16 Gold, 17 Silver and 10 certified, totaling 45 projects overall. In the second quarter, four projects were granted Platinum status, 15 Gold, five Silver and four certified, totaling 28 LEED certified projects. The majority of the buildings were in Denver, which had 25 projects, and Fort Collins, which had 18 projects. “These numbers show that LEED certification is becoming more common for buildings in the state, helping Colorado continue to lead the way in green building,” said Patti Mason, USGBC Colorado executive director. Several 2015 projects are in education, including buildings on the Colorado State University campus and University of Colorado Denver campus. In addition, many of the LEED certified schools are in rural areas due to the BEST Grant Program, which provides annual funding in the form of competitive grants to schools.