Summers' time

The Northeastern Economic Developers Assn. will hold its 53rd annual conference Sept. 20 to 22 at the Hyatt Regency at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia. Deadline for entries for the literature and promotion awards is July 17. Two top awards, Best of Show and the President's Award, will be presented at the conference. Judges may recognize achievement at four levels within each of 14 categories: Best in Class, Superior, Excellent and Merit. Questions about entry or rules should be directed to John Butera, 207-680-7300 or jbutera@centralmaine.org. Confirmed speakers include Matthew Chase, executive director, National Assn. of Development Organizations; Bryan Dodge, noted author, business consultant and radio host; and John Vickerman, president, Vickerman Assoc. internationally recognized expert on global movement of goods and products. Leasing pros are projecting over $15 billion in new kiosk leases for 2010 and independent diet companies are high on their radar as possible tenants. The CEO of Dr. Siegal's Cookie Diet (fastest growing diet kiosk business in the U.S.) says he gets 10 calls a day from mall leasing agents. The D.C. and Miami based company announced retail expansion in 2010 as it projected $20 million in revenue for 2009. The cookies suppress your appetite and promise immediate weight loss, a good deal for the 100 million Americans who are obese. Over one million people are on the diet and since they need constant replenishment of the diet cookies, it became a draw for the mall. A study of the four major commercial market sectors in Greater Boston shows moderate price declines in transactions occurring in late 2008, vs. the commercial market price peak of 2005-07. According to the Reenstierna Assoc. Report, apartments declined from 5% (in high rent locations) to 65% (in older, low rent satellite city locations); for office, from 10% to 30%, with modern and well located buildings showing little decline and older or poorly located buildings in greater difficulty; and for industrials, from 10% to 30%, again with variation depending on quality and location. REIS reports a 17% drop in the average price per s/f for apartment buildings through Dec. 2008. The volume of sales of retail buildings, ordinarily about a third the volume of sales of apartments, is down 60% in the last quarter of 2008, in comparison to the volume in the same quarter three years before. It takes a lot of thought and effort and downright determination to be agreeable. Ray Everson