About CoStar Group (CSGP)–Commercial Real Estate Intelligence Provider

About CoStar Group (CSGP)–Commercial Real Estate Intelligence Provider

Commercial Real Estate Glossary

A/C

Abbreviation for Air Conditioning - only used if buildings are completely air conditioned.

Abatement Zone

Used in conjunction with the Downtown Revitalization Act passed to assist in filling commercial buildings that were built prior to 1975. Tenants that lease space in these buildings are eligible for tax and energy expense discounts. Owners that convert their buildings to residential use are also eligible for tax incentives. Available in New York City only.

Absorption

Refers to the change in occupancy over a given time period. Lease renewals are not factored into absorption unless the renewal includes the occupancy of additional space. (In that case, the additional space would be counted in absorption.) Pre-leasing of space in non-existing buildings (e.g., Proposed, Under Construction, Under Renovation) is not counted in absorption until the actual move-in date.

See also: Positive Absorption, Negative Absorption, Gross Absorption, Net Absorption.

Adaptive Reuse

A building converted to a different use in order to meet contemporary demand. Examples would include a factory converted to a retail use or an office building converted to a school.

Air Lines

Compressed air lines for operating machinery, such as pneumatic tools. See also: Features

Alerts

A CoStar Property, Comps, and Tenant feature that highlights new properties, spaces, or tenants matching the criteria of a saved survey. Red exclamation marks serve as the notification symbol to highlight the new properties and new spaces.

Amenities

Special characteristics that can enhance a property's appeal. The list below identifies tracked Amenities. Items on the list with an asterisk have additional separate definitions found within this glossary.
24/7 Building Access
A/C*
Abatement Zone (NYC Only)
Atrium*
Auditorium
Balconies
Banking
Bio-Tech/Lab Space*
Bus Line
Card Key Access*
Commuter Rail
Concierge*
Conferencing Facility*
Convenience Store
Courtyard
Data Center/Telecom Hotel*
Day Care
Dry Cleaner
Empowerment Zone*
Enterprise Zone*
Exercise Facilities
Exterior Signage
Fenced Lot
Food Court
Food Service
Golf Course
High-Speed Internet*
Hotel
Jogging Trail
Landmark*
Mail Room
Marketing Suite*
MBTA Station (Boston only)
Medical*
Metro
Mixed-Use*
On-Site Management
Pond
Restaurant
Retail Shops
Rooftop Terrace
SCIF*
Security
Shallow Bay*
Shuttle to Train
Site Plan Approved*
Subway
Tenant Controlled HVAC
Tennis Courts
Trading Floor*
Travel Agency
Tunnel Access
Underground Space
Vending Area
Waterfront

See also: Features

Amps

The basic flow of electrons in a conductor is called current. The basic unit of electrical current is measured in Amperes, often referred to as Amps. Any service rated over 400 amps is typically commercial service although 200-400 amps are generally seen in flex buildings and 800+ for heavy industrial buildings. Amps fields allow a range from low to accommodate different sources of power.

Anchor Tenant

Tenants that are considered "credit worthy" and attract or generate traffic for a retail facility (e.g. a supermarket in a neighborhood shopping center, a major chain or department store in a regional mall).

Asking Rent

AKA Face Rent, this represents the dollar amount the lessor is asking for in order to lease their building/space/land. It is represented as an annual or monthly amount depending on the area where the property is located. Most markets reflect an annual amount while some western markets use a monthly amount.

Assessed Value

For commercial real estate it's a value assigned by the local tax assessor on land and/or structures for purposes of taxation only.

Asset Manager

The company or contact that handles all the financial transactions for the subject property insuring the loans, appraisals, and management requirements are in order and operating correctly. Asset Managers usually handle portfolios of properties, which the subject property may be one of.

Atrium

A lobby with a high, vaulted ceiling or a grand, central court that separates two halves of a large building. An atrium will decrease the amount of rentable area in a building but increase the amount of high value space by incorporating more windowed offices into the building design and adding aesthetic value. See also: Amenities

Attachment

In context of the My Surveys page, refers to a file that is associated with a saved survey and is uploaded for storage into a Client Folder. See also: Client Folder, Publish

Auditorium

A large room used to accommodate an audience for large meetings or performances.

Auto Dealership

Retail secondary type. New or used car dealership facility with substantial amount of building improvements that includes some or all of the following: showroom, offices, parts dept., auto repair/service dept., body shop.

Auto Mall

A group of retail stores clustered together involved in sales, service, repair, and/or parts for automobiles.

Auto Repair

Retail secondary type. Commercially zoned single and/or multi-tenant buildings featuring service/work bays for wide ranges of auto repair and auto care services.

Available Floors

The floors that are available, identified by the floor number or name such as "MEZZ" (Mezzanine),
"BSMT" (Basement), "CNCR" (Concierge).

Available Space

The total amount of space that is currently being marketed as available for lease or sale in a given time period. It includes any space that is available, regardless of whether the space is vacant, occupied, available for sublease, or available at a future date. CoStar includes only existing, under construction, and under renovation buildings in its statistical calculations of available space.

Average Rent

Average rent is the weighted average rent for a building or market. Rents are weighted based on the total square footage available at a rental rate. If the rental rate is zero, TBD (to be determined) or negotiable; it is not counted in the average rent. Average rent is calculated from suite-by-suite detail. However, average rent can be reconstituted by multiplying the listed average by the listed space available. See Weighted Average Rent

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