CHALLENGE

Vacant or abandoned retail property can often take a beating during winter. Few or no tenants
combined with security and weather conditions leave retailers at risk for disaster. If a property is
not properly winterized, property issues such as freeze damage, burst pipes, and flooding can
happen. In situations where there is no one working inside of a building and therefore, nobody is
available to observe the condition of that property during cold spells, freeze damage can occur
unabated and without warning. History has shown that even properties in traditional warmer
locales, including the southeastern U.S., can be victim to dangerous cold temperatures subjecting
these properties to damage caused by temperatures that drop below 32 F (freeze level).

BEST PRACTICE IMPLEMENTED

Managing a vacant retail property through the cold winter months requires consideration of
certain factors:
• Location: Above all, it is a store’s geographic location that is the primary factor in
determining whether it is necessary and when to winterize. Winterization should be
performed in virtually every state in the U.S. The only exceptions are Florida (south of
Jacksonville), Hawaii, Nevada (other than the Reno/Lake Tahoe area), and those Arizona
and California properties located less than 2,000 feet above sea level. This list clearly
indicates that any property that is located in an area in which freezing temperatures can
occur should be winterized.

As far as when to winterize, service must be performed on a newly vacant building
between October 1 and March 31. Previously and newly vacant buildings should be
winterized starting in early September if the property is located in a northern climate. In
many states it is permissible and strongly recommended to winterize all year round. This
list includes: Alaska, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire,
New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and more.

• Security: A building must be completely secured before winterizing it. Security should
always be the number one concern for a vacant property. It is especially important during
the wintertime because vagrants may try to access a vacant property for shelter against
the elements, or worse, vandalize the property. Poorly protected or unprotected property
can impact the cost of winterizing a property or lead to freeze damage. It is not
uncommon for water pipes and electrical lines at a vacant property to be stolen for their
copper all year round. If the pipes contain running water during the winter, there will be
significant monetary losses from copper theft as the water will eventually cover the
ground and freeze. Proper winterization stops water from running through the pipes.

• Maintaining Heat: The best protection against freeze damage is maintaining building
heat. A trade-off exists between the risk of freeze damage and the cost to continue
operating heat. In all cases, freeze damage is much more costly then maintaining a
minimal temperature in the building. If the property has a fire suppression system fully
charged with water then it is crucial to make sure heat is maintained in the building to
keep the pipes from freezing. Minimal heat can be as low as 55 to 60 degrees, as long as
many ceiling tiles are propped up to allow air to circulate. Winterizing of the fire
suppression system itself is not recommended and in some municipalities may be illegal.

• Heating Systems: A commercial property maintenance provider can determine what
type of heating system is installed in the building. The type of heating system will
determine the sort of winterization service that should be performed. For example, when
a property has a boiler system that is operational, it is best to leave it up and running.
Draining a boiler can dry out valves causing severe damage and making it problematic
for some boilers once water is restored.

It is important to have a qualified commercial property maintenance supplier determine if
the heating system can hold pressure. It may be necessary to have the supplier make
repairs and code improvements to ensure reliability during the winter.
Partial Winterization: A partial winterization should be performed in cases where a retailer’s
store is part of a multi-tenant building with some occupied units. A partial winterization consists of:

• Maintaining heat in the store because there will still be water in the lines of the vacant
unit(s).

• Setting thermostats to 55 to 60 degrees F.

• Setting the thermostat in the mechanical room or exterior mechanical closet to 65
degrees F.

• Operating an electrical heater in the mechanical room or exterior mechanical closet.

• Propping up ceiling tiles (those without fire sprinkler heads) throughout the store and in
the mechanical room to help the heat circulate above the ceiling.

• Turning the water off to the vacant unit fixtures — commodes, sinks and utility sinks.

• Pouring antifreeze into the fixtures, floor drains and traps. Be certain to use non-toxic
antifreeze.

• Wrapping exterior faucets and exposed water pipes along exterior walls with pipe wrap
insulation. This is not necessary if a frost-free faucet is present.
Documentation and Signage: Written details along with extensive photographs showing the
winterization steps as they are being completed should be used to document the work. In
addition, notices should be posted on the front entrance of the store, all water fixtures and in the
kitchen/break areas, to indicate that the property has been winterized in order to reduce the risk
of the water system being compromised.

Property Checks: Of equal importance to the act of winterizing the vacant store is conducting
periodic follow-up inspections after the winterization to check on the condition of the property.
Property checks are a prudent and inexpensive business decision. Winterized properties can still
incur break-ins, vandalism, copper theft or even the simple use of a faucet or commode by a
vagrant or a broker, thereby inviting the risk of a water system breach. Winterization without
periodic property checks only provides partial protection against the hazards of cold weather.

RESULTS OF THE BEST PRACTICE

Properly winterizing a building and accompanying the winterization service with periodic property
checks virtually eliminates the risk of freeze damage. Proactively taking these property protection
actions lowers insurance risk and ensures that a property retains value. Through the performance
of a winterization service combined with periodic property checks, retailers can sleep easier at
night knowing that their properties in cold weather regions are also resting comfortably all day
and night.

VERIFICATION OF EFFICIENCY AND/OR SAVINGS CAPTURED
There are numerous documented instances of freeze damage to properties. Nearly every retail
facilities maintenance professional can recall an incident of frozen pipes. Most often freeze
damage occurs when a retailer or building owner attempts to save money by choosing not to
winterize a property in the hope that the weather never gets cold enough to freeze, or that they
can transfer the vacant property to a new owner before freezing temperatures occur. Winter
storms cause an average of $1.25 billion in annual losses. The average claim for damage from a
frozen pipe is about $18,000. When comparing the average one-time cost of $650 for a retail
store winterization and the low cost for an occasional inspection to make sure that the
winterization is still intact, clearly it is always best to invest in a professionally managed
winterization program. Better to be safe than sorry.

Commercial Asset Preservation is the premier U.S. provider of general maintenance, repair, day
porter and inspection services for operating and vacant commercial real estate.

Reprinted from Nexycity.org. Cinnamon Janzler

Florida’s Zero Empty Spaces connects artists with spaces in otherwise vacant spots to bolster their careers, activating unused space in the process.

 

Since the pandemic, large swaths of office space across the United States have sat vacant. The downtown areas and other commercial centers that have enjoyed the built-in business that office workers bring have gone from bustling to bust.

At the beginning of 2024, 13.7% of office space was empty, while 7.6% of multifamily buildings, 4% of retail spaces and 5.6% of industrial spaces were vacant. As cities scramble to find creative new uses for these spaces, from climbing gyms to small-scale manufacturing to vertical farms, one organization in Florida has a stop-gap answer: Use the empty space for affordable artist studios.

Since launching in June 2019, Zero Empty Spaces has placed more than 600 artists in 10 commercial buildings in 10 cities. Most are in Florida but extend as far as Little Rock, Arkansas, and Boston.

Placements last about 18 months on average, with some lasting for years. Artists pay between $2.50 to $4.50 a square foot, including all utilities, for spaces that range from 80 to 250 square feet. Artists must commit to working on at least one piece a month and being in the space at least one day a week between noon and 5 p.m.

Prior to the pandemic, Zero Empty Spaces co-founders Evan Snow and Andrew Martineau had already been working on innovative ways to bolster the arts in Florida’s Broward County where they’re based.

“Our community has always been considered a cultural wasteland,” Snow explains. “We’re in between Miami to the south and Palm Beach to the north.”

Having spent plenty of time in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District, which helped turn the city’s warehouses into a hotspot for the arts, Snow and Martineau decided to play on their community’s water-based strengths and host art shows in mansions that could only be accessible by boat.

“Long story short, we did that for four years up until COVID,” Snow says. By summer 2019, they had worked with more than 1,000 independent artists, many of whom lamented the perennial challenge of finding affordable studio space.

At the same time, brokers, developers and members of the county’s real estate community were asking Snow and Martineau to host art shows in their commercial spaces.

“We saw all these ‘For Lease’ signs and said, what if we can make [Broward County] one of the most affordable places for artists to create and collaborate?” Snow says. Equipped with Martineau’s background in retail development for shopping centers, which included vacancy management strategies that transformed vacant mall spaces into commission-free art galleries, the idea for Zero Empty Spaces was born.

The duo reached out to Fort Lauderdale’s mayor and shared their idea to activate vacant commercial spaces to create affordable artist studios until permanent tenants could be secured. The mayor suggested reaching out to the man who held the most property in downtown Fort Lauderdale at the time. He happened to have a whopping 19 vacancies.

Zero Empty Spaces brought in nine artists to fill one of the developer’s spaces, which had actually been an art studio originally. “We had one of the best attended grand openings in anything in Fort Lauderdale’s history,” Snow says of the event, which won local and national news coverage.

About three months into that activation, the landlord found a permanent tenant. “We just ask for a 30-day notice to vacate when that happens,” Snow says.

Zero Empty Space’s Boca Raton location is the largest single office facility in the state, according to Giana Pacinelli, director of communications for CP Group, the location’s commercial partner. She tells Next City that working with the organization “has allowed us to activate our vacancies while bringing a special amenity to our existing office tenants.”

Pacinelli says the tenants enjoy seeing the work of the 17 artists placed there as they move through the campus. They’ve ultimately developed their own relationships with the artists, even purchasing their work as gifts or for their personal collections. “The collaboration helps us develop a productive and creative ecosystem that tenants won’t find at other office buildings, giving us a competitive advantage,” she says.

Naturally, there are benefits enjoyed on the artists’ side as well.

The emerging, mid-career and established artists Zero Empty Spaces works with are able to afford studio or gallery space in popular parts of town that would otherwise be unattainable. And in the process, they can enjoy opportunities that might otherwise evade them.

The Fort Lauderdale gallery, for example, was located on a street that Snow compares to Rodeo Drive. “Artists would never have been able to afford [space] there,” he says. “Some of [our artists] have had tens of thousands of dollars of sales and made life-changing connections, gotten exposure to the press.”

Most recently, Zero Empty Spaces is working to expand beyond in-person events. They’re working to launch an online store so customers nationally and internationally can support their artists.

“It’s going to be another ‘win’ scenario that helps artists sell and get discovered,” Snow says.

This article has been corrected to reflect that Zero Empty Spaces is not a non-profit organization, to update the number of artists at the Boca Raton location, and to indicate that the Fort Lauderdale location was a gallery rather than a studio.

A Letter From Our Executive Director

Imagine a world where every voice is heard and where every community thrives. This world isn’t just a dream; it’s a possibility, a reality that you, as an integral part of Next City’s network of city-builders, help to create.

But, let’s face it—the journey isn’t easy. You know too well the adversaries we face together: entrenched bureaucracies, outdated systems, and societal structures designed to divide and diminish. These challenges are real, and they can sometimes make you feel isolated in your pursuit of a better world. Yet, you persist, fueled by the belief that change is not just possible but is happening right now.

That’s where Next City steps in. We are your ally. Our stories aren’t just stories—they are affirmations that change is underway. Our articles, webinars, podcast episodes and ebooks provide you with inspiration, but also with the insights and information necessary to fuel change that brings about more equitable and inclusive communities.

And now, more than ever, we need your support. The status quo ought no longer be acceptable. Next City has continuously published for 20 years, and for even longer, our leaders have said we must be impatient for change. Today, in everything from our politics to our climate, I believe we are at a pivotal moment when action in cities cannot be desired but required.

As a Next City reader, you are already taking responsibility. You recognize that the systems you are part of matter, and you are committed to making a difference. There are 45,000 of you subscribed to Next City’s newsletters, 175,000 following us on social media, and over 1 million people visit nextcity.org each year. Each has a different capacity to give, but every donation, no matter the size, makes a significant impact.

By donating to Next City, you are not only supporting our mission but also breaking down barriers and challenging norms. Your contribution is a powerful tool that enables our journalists to continue unearthing and sharing the stories that catalyze change and remind us all of what’s possible when we come together.

So, we invite you to take this step with us. Use the button below to make a contribution to Next City today, and be part of a collective effort to build a just, inclusive and sustainable future for all. Your donation today is more than just a gift—it’s a commitment to a future we all believe in.

With gratitude,
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Executive Director, Next City

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Cinnamon Janzer is a freelance journalist based in Minneapolis. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, U.S. News & World Report, Rewire.news, and more. She holds an MA in Social Design, with a specialization in intervention design, from the Maryland Institute College of Art and a BA in Cultural Anthropology and Fine Art from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

 

Reprinted from AP U.S. News:

 

 

DETROIT (AP) — Patricia Kobylski remembers when there were lots of people living in her eastside Detroit neighborhood. There aren’t as many anymore — and haven’t been for a long time.

“Right now, on our side of the street there are probably only 10 houses. Should be 50, 60,” the 78-year-old Kobylski said Monday after the city announced a plan to bring to her neighborhood solar arrays, which are blocks of ground-based solar panels.

Detroit is using something it has plenty of — vacant land — to produce something the city needs — clean and relatively inexpensive energy.

Pending approval by the City Council, Kobylski’s Gratiot-Findlay neighborhood eventually will see solar arrays on about 23 acres (9.3 hectares) of land. Not far away, another eastside neighborhood is to get arrays on nearly 41 acres (16.5 hectares), while a third will get arrays on nearly 40 acres (16.1 hectares).

Five other neighborhoods are finalists to also get solar arrays. Resident groups had to apply to be considered for the program.

The city is looking to build solar energy arrays on about 200 acres (81 hectares). The arrays would produce enough clean energy to offset the electricity used currently by 127 municipal buildings.

Detroit will use $14 million from an existing utility fund for up-front costs that include acquiring and clearing the land. The solar fields are expected to ultimately save the city $4.4 million per year.

The city touts its Solar Neighborhoods project as a national model for finding solutions to climate change. Duggan revealed plans a year ago following a challenge by President Joe Biden for cities to use more solar power while taking advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which provides federal tax incentives of 30% or more of the costs to cover renewable energy.

Over the past year, neighborhood groups held meetings to consider hosting solar fields. Those selected will receive $15,000 to $25,000 in community benefits to pay for energy efficiency upgrades. They can choose to use the benefits for new windows, roof repairs, new energy efficient appliances, new furnaces and hot water heaters, better home insulation, smart thermostats, energy-efficient lighting and battery back-up for outages.

Duggan said he hopes to break ground on the project by the end of the year.

Donna Anthony, 63, also is in one of the three neighborhoods announced Monday. She wants to get new attic insulation, vinyl siding and a new generator for her home. Anthony also looks forward to not having vacant lots and abandoned houses nearby, which often become sites for illegal dumping.

“When you come outside you get depressed when you see all this trash being dropped,” Anthony said of discarded tires and construction materials. “You go out and clean it up and it’s right back there the next day.”

Under Duggan, the city has made leaps in stabilizing and fixing up neighborhoods that had been deteriorating and in advanced stages of blight. Primarily with federal funds at its disposal, Detroit has demolished at least 24,000 vacant structures since 2014, according to the mayor’s office. Hundreds of others have been transferred to the Detroit Land Bank which has fixed up many houses and resold them to families. Dozens of vacant lots — left by the razing of homes — are being sold to people living next door to maintain and beautify what otherwise would become overgrown, weedy eyesores.

Secure solar farms could also be an aesthetic benefit in these areas, according to Sarah Banas Mills, director of the Center for EmPowering Communities, Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan.

“There are not very many communities that would say ’You know, the thing that would make this better is a solar farm,’” Mills said. “A neighborhood might want a solar farm there to effectively fight illegal dumping. That’s a really unique way of thinking.”

“On more developed land, places that aren’t green field right now, solar is sometimes perceived as a negative change to the landscape,” Mills continued. “In places that already are industrial, it is as an improvement.”

About 633,000 people call Detroit home — more than a million fewer than the 1.8 million who lived in the city in the 1950s. What Detroit may lack in population, it makes up for in land. Currently, about 19 square miles (49 square kilometers) of the 139-square-mile (360-square-kilometers) city is vacant.

“The challenge with solar is that it’s an industrial investment,” said Anika Goss, chief executive of Detroit Future City, a nonprofit focused on improving the lives of the city’s residents through community and economic development. “Unlike trees or some sort of stormwater management, it has its downsides,” she continued. Since the panels absorb energy from the sun, they can also create heat islands — or parts of cities with higher average temperatures than the surrounding areas — “in places that might already have challenges with heat islands.”

Goss also said she is disappointed that the energy produced by the solar arrays will not be used to lower utility bills for residents in the selected neighborhoods.

“The checks that they’re giving as a community benefit for energy, I think that’s a good thing,” she said. “They can use it for window upgrades. They can use it for their own stormwater management. It’s not enough for a new roof, but it could be enough to put something in that could make their own home energy efficient.”

The city says 21 homeowners in the selected neighborhoods have chosen buy-outs to allow for demolition of their houses to make way for the arrays. Renters will receive the cost of relocating and 1.5 years of free rent when they move.

Link to article: https://apnews.com/article/detroit-solar-energy-array-which-neighborhoods-f84e5c4cc7c62fdc845bc74e901d637c

You thought your vacant commercial property was secure. Perhaps you were transitioning to a sale or maybe renovating for a new tenant. You locked doors and used outside security lighting to ward off vandals. Then, the local police call you reporting repeated crimes or maybe the building department in some far away state starts issuing violations. Bam, it hits the Internet hard and fast. You see your property on social media. You have gone viral, and not in a good way. Videos of how to break in are being posted and vandals are brazenly photographing themselves inside your facility. Laughing, doing damage, and posting to social media their escapades for everyone to see (and worse, copy). Wait, where was security? You hired guards to prevent this from happening. Despite securing windows and doors, alerting local law enforcement about the vacancy of the building, and employing security guards, social media promoted vandalism was the norm.

CAP was contacted for help

Asked how we could help, Commercial Asset Preservation (CAP) dispatched a local locksmith and general maintenance contractor. Doors were reinforced with L brackets from top to bottom. The entire building was boarded. CAP consulted with local fire officials to make sure the security measures were within fire and safety codes. Often homeless individuals may take up residence in a vacant building. And, there are strict rules about removing vagrants and their personal property. Social services, along with local law enforcement may be needed to clear the grounds. Winter is a particularly challenging time for property owners dealing with the homeless as the desire to gain entrance, away from the elements, is heightened.

No trespass signs by themselves do not always have the teeth needed to dissuade such attacks. Speaking with CAP’s Maureen Fitisemanu, a Supervisor of Commercial Services, she indicated a stronger deterrent within the law is a no-trespass criminal affidavit paired with the threat of prosecution. This seldom-used section of the penal code is geographically specific and should be discussed with local officials.

Off to the races – on your property

Another property was attracting large crowds to a vacant store, featuring weekends filled with throngs of drag racing youth. To deter and prevent these activities, CAP installed cement barriers, chains, and bollards at entrances and coordinated with local law enforcement to place signs at strategic locations. That action put an end to the congregating youth. This tactic also works to deter overnight parking by long-haul truckers. Another problem that can be solved by blocking property access is the illegal dumping of trash, as well as construction and building materials, a shortcut unscrupulous contractors might take to save disposal fees. Maintaining awareness about the vacant facility is key. CAP contractors routinely visit properties, looking for changing conditions from the prior inspection.

Annoyance as a defense

One of CAP’s clients found themselves dealing with drug users violating the property, sleeping at the facility, and creating large amounts of hazardous trash. One solution used to deter the illegal occupiers is called a Mosquito Anti-Loitering Alarm. Per the website, “Using high-frequency sound, the Mosquito alarm helps to reduce anti-social behavior such as loitering, vandalism, graffiti and violence.” CAP uses specialized alarm vendors to install, operate, and manage these systems.

While the challenges of keeping and protecting your commercial assets are daunting, the tactics and services CAP provides will ensure well-managed, thoroughly documented, and safe properties for the community at large.

 

Whether you believe this is an ancient Chinese proverb or as some report, a phrase coined by politician Frederic R. Coudert in 1939, the message is clear. Times have changed, providing people and businesses alike with unforeseen challenges. It is how we respond that makes the difference.

We went to the front lines to speak with a few of Commercial Asset Preservation’s supervisors of Commercial Services for their reflections on just how interesting the past two years have been from their perspective. Brittany Jacobs and Maureen Fitisemanu are two of CAP’s supervisory staff that have worked to overcome the challenges of our times.

“CAP has adjusted and pushed forward through the trials and tribulations in the new ‘normal’ we all live in.  Times have changed and CAP has adjusted accordingly to continue to serve our clients and provide the best service possible,” comments Brittany Jacobs.

 What has CAP done to overcome labor, material, and technology hurdles?             

In 2022, CAP continues to serve its clients and provide the best service possible.  Here are a few of the many challenges since COVID first appeared and how we responded:

• Many property owners and operators have experienced an exodus of available contractors. CAP was not immune, seeing contractors shrink their coverage area due to a lack of manpower, illness, and even retirements. By means of an example, regional plumbing companies who had 4-5 licensed plumbers on staff pre-COVID, all of the sudden had 1-2 licensed plumbers available in 2021-22 as staff members were concerned for their health or chose not to return because they received more money from unemployment. Fortunately, CAP was able to maintain coverage, primarily through the deep network it developed over the past decade coupled with a stellar reputation for consistent payment, honesty, and technological efficiency. The overwhelming majority of independent contractors in CAP’s network are still in business as they regrouped, rehired people, and pushed forward.
• Internally, CAP has brought on more vendor management staff to help locate additional coverage and expand its independent vendor base. As work volume increases from our clients, CAP’s independent contractor pool is constantly broadening.
• Another challenge across all supply chains has been the rise in fuel, material, and labor costs; CAP has maintained an open line of communication with its clients notifying these business partners where a cost increase may be needed to handle a project or to travel to a more distant area.  As always, communication is a key factor for CAP in providing its clients with updates. In the early months of COVID when in-person meetings were a challenge, a CAP customer commented as follows in a situation where a contractor had to provide access for a property showing, “I wanted to thank you for always coming through for us. Today was no exception and appreciate the team approach that you always employ to solve problems and get the job done.”

 

What has separated CAP from the competition during COVID and beyond?

“Speaking personally from my own experience in the industry and from conversations that I’ve had with clients and vendors; the biggest things that set CAP apart from other facilities maintenance companies (during COVID and outside of COVID times) are communication and honesty,” states Ms. Jacobs.

“More times than I can count, clients praise the level of communication we have when providing them updates during the life of a service, even if they aren’t favorable updates.” The culture that Marc Insul, President and COO of CAP, instills has been the backbone of our company. CAP makes a point to express the use of NTE (Not To Exceed) amounts to its clients to get services done in one site visit.  With independent contractors, CAP is honest and clear when it comes to payment terms. One of the ways we have maintained status as the nation’s commercial service provider status is by doing everything possible to ensure there is never a skip in the beat when it comes to remitting payment for completed services.   A Ft. Worth based contractor commented, “please let your people know that y’all are the best in the industry. We work with over 20 management companies and there are at least another 20 more that we will not work with you guys are the absolute best. I want to give you those kudos so that y’all feel a little more pumped, it’s hard times right now.”

  

CAP’s predictions for 2023

Fortunately, it seems as though CAP employees, clients, and vendors alike have been moving forward, rebuilding, and continuing to get comfortable in the ‘new normal’. What we are hearing when speaking with our network of independent contractors and clients is that most people are eager to keep moving forward and collaborate to get things taken care of in the best possible way.   Collectively, our network of independent contractors is committed to constantly improving their turn times and increasing their staff to handle increased service opportunities sent their way.  While early 2023 may see a slowdown as clients/vendors come off their holiday schedules and increased illness from a potential winter-related COVID spike, as we emerge from the holiday months, the service count should pick up, and vendors would have had time to rehire more staff, allowing CAP to handle the surge.

“A few contractors I spoke with have committed to a better time in 2023. More work is coming through, from CAP and other resources and people are rebuilding,” says Maureen Fitisemanu. “The contractors that I speak with have told me (that) receiving services from CAP has made them stay on with what they do as they do not have that level of cooperation with other (service) companies they work with.  Comments such as these make me proud of CAP and I feel it is the empathy, honesty, experienced people, and support these contractors get when they receive assignments from CAP that makes all the difference.”

Do you have a repair or maintenance project to discuss? Contact: inquiries@commercialpreservation.com or (801) 461-8242.