Shopping Centers Today -> June 2002
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CBL EMPLOYING WEB-ENABLED DOCUMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
The expanding portfolio of CBL & Associates Properties, Chattanooga,
Tenn., — now at 158 properties, including 51 regional malls
— has required the company to devise more-sophisticated ways
of coordinating and organizing its increasingly complex operations.
To that end, it has adopted a Web-enabled document management software
to administer all correspondence, memos and tenant contracts.
The system, Fortis PowerWeb, developed by Westbrook Technologies, Branford,
Conn., enables CBL to capture, index, retrieve, edit, annotate and
distribute all documents it uses in the day-to-day administration
of its portfolio. This includes all correspondence between leasing
centers and its Chattanooga headquarters. Stores that lease space
at the CBL property locations can use the technology to view documents
and send correspondence instantly to the landlord. Overall, CBL
manages more than 100,000 leasing contracts through the system.
WEB SITE LINKS DEVELOPERS, RETAILERS
Insight Datalink, Carnegie, Pa., produces an interactive Web site
where developers, leasing agents and retailers can search for available
retail space throughout the United States. Landlords can post properties
and addresses to the site, along with demographics, floor plans
and construction drawings. Retailers can search the database and
get contact information for the properties. The page also has information
for architects, engineers and other construction professionals.
The site can be reached at www.insightdatalink.com.
REALOGIC LAUNCHES NEW VERSION
Realogic Software, a provider of software applications for the commercial
real estate industry, has launched Ellipsis 3.0, a lease management
program. Lease information is entered into the system once and can
be used throughout the life of the asset. Ellipsis standardizes
the lease-abstracting process. The data are compatible with other
software systems, but Ellipsis can also generate reports itself.
INTERNET SITE ENABLES CUSTOMERS TO PURCHASE BUILDINGS ONLINE
SteelBuildingSupplier.com, Colorado Springs, Colo., has launched
a new Web site that lets users customize and order buildings over
the Internet. The site adjusts parts and pricing according to the
environmental loads and building codes for counties throughout the
continental United States. Customers can save multiple building
configurations and order those that best suit their needs. Extensive
information about steel building construction is also provided to
help clients plan their building projects.
SITE ANALYTICS PROVIDES SEARCH TOOL FOR INDUSTRY WEB SITES
Site Analytics Co., New York City, offers SiteMining, a tool that
can help developers make their Web sites easier to use. When visiting
a SiteMining-enhanced site, retailers can directly enter their construction
requirements into a search tool. The Web site will then show them
which specific properties in the developer’s portfolio fit
those specifications. The tool enables categorization by demographics,
site specifications, co-tenants and competitors. For retailers,
SiteMining provides an analysis of existing stores. Further information
about the tool is available at www.sitemining.com.
REDEVELOPED SHOPS AT TANFORAN TO FEATURE ‘SMART’ DIRECTORIES
One of the features at the revamped Shops at Tanforan, San Bruno,
Calif., will be interactive store directories with animated maps
providing different orientations depending on where the user is
standing. The directory at the former Tanforan Park Shopping Center,
which is being redeveloped by Wattson Breevast, Newport Beach, Calif.,
will enable shoppers to search by product, and return a listing
of all stores that match that request. When a specific store is
picked, an animated map will appear showing the customer how to
reach it. The 1 million-square-foot center is the first to deploy
the system. The renovation is scheduled to be completed in the fall
of next year.
FINARD & CO.’S MARKET ANALYSIS SOFTWARE HAS RETAIL APPLICATIONS
Finard & Co., a Burlington, Mass., commercial real
estate services firm, is using home-bred software to help it analyze
market data when providing information to developers, property managers
and brokers. Finard has developed what it calls the Geographic Research
& Integrated Information Database (GRIID), which tracks more
than 200 million square feet of retail space in eastern Massachusetts,
the Hartford, Conn., area and southern New Hampshire. The database
compares retailer categories represented in the market to broader
regional averages on a per capita basis and identifies potential
leasing opportunities. GRIID also provides information useful to
retailers, such as shopping patterns, redundancies and available
space in a particular market.
POWERGATE CAN CUT ENERGY COSTS
Fort Myers, Fla.-based Ultrawatt has launched a new software system
aimed at reducing energy costs through better management of a building’s
lighting. The PowerGate system cuts energy costs by regulating and
managing electrical power from the incoming line without affecting
a facility’s internal wiring. The two components of the system
— a circuit control unit that reduces the amount of power going
into lighting, and software that measures a facility’s energy
consumption — combine to reduce energy usage by as much as
50 percent.
ACTION SYSTEMS, GIVEX TEAM UP ON GIFT CARD PROGRAM
Action Systems, Naperville, Ill., and Givex Corp., Chicago, have
integrated their technologies to provide a gift card management
system for use by restaurants. Action Systems, which produces the
Restaurant Manager software system; and Givex, which makes a gift
card and loyalty management product, have integrated their offerings.
Now restaurant operators can use Givex gift cards with the Action
Systems point-of-sale software rather than through a separate module.
