Publications Database

Welcome to the new Schulich Peer-Reviewed Publication Database!

The database is currently in beta-testing and will be updated with more features as time goes on. In the meantime, stakeholders are free to explore our faculty’s numerous works. The left-hand panel affords the ability to search by the following:

  • Faculty Member’s Name;
  • Area of Expertise;
  • Whether the Publication is Open-Access (free for public download);
  • Journal Name; and
  • Date Range.

At present, the database covers publications from 2012 to 2020, but will extend further back in the future. In addition to listing publications, the database includes two types of impact metrics: Altmetrics and Plum. The database will be updated annually with most recent publications from our faculty.

If you have any questions or input, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

 

Search Results

Ernesto Aldana, Simon Büchler, Lyndsey Rolheiser (2024). "The Past and Future of Non-Residential-to-Residential Conversions in New York City", Cities, 152, 105157.

Open Access Download

Abstract Concerns over rising office vacancy rates and falling office building property values in many urban areas have increased the pressure on cities and developers to consider converting underused office space to residential use. To aid in current and future conversations surrounding the feasibility of conversion, we look to the recent past. In doing so, we provide an account of conversion and redevelopment activity in New York City over the past decade to uncover associated structural and locational characteristics. We find that office-to-residential conversions contributed the greatest share of residential rental units of all non-residential conversions from 2010 to 2020, with nearly 5900 units created. However, there is suggestive evidence that more recent obsolete office buildings generate significantly fewer units as compared to office conversions of the 1990s. We additionally model the probability of conversion and redevelopment. We find that hotels have the highest conversion probability, followed by loft, retail, industrial, and office. In general, relatively taller, narrower, older buildings with diminished value are more likely to be converted.

Avis Devine, Nils Kok and Chongyu Wang (2023). "Sustainability Disclosure and Financial Performance: The Case of Private and Public Real Estate", The Journal of Portfolio Management, Real Estate, 49(10), 119 – 133.

View Paper

Abstract The built environment carries an outsized environmental footprint, and aspects like energy consumption impact the bottom line of commercial real estate (CRE) investors. A large portion of commercial real estate assets are owned and operated by both private equity real estate (PERE) funds and listed property companies (REITs). Therefore, the extent to which these public and private entities integrate sustainability considerations into their investment and operating decisions may impact both the environmental and financial performance for the organizations as well as the environmental performance of the broader market. We provide a comprehensive analysis comparing the sustainability performance of REITs and PERE firms/funds, as well as an analysis of the relationship between sustainability and the financial performance of REITs. Results indicate that private and public CRE entities now seem on par in their integration of sustainability into firm management and policies. However, the performance aspect of sustainability is stronger for REITs. Examining REIT financial performance, results indicate that higher levels of sustainability disclosure are associated with enhanced operating performance and firm valuation, as well as a higher propensity for holding environmentally-certified buildings.

Clayton, J., Devine, A. (2021). "Beyond Environmental Building Certification: The Impact of Environmental Interventions on Commercial Real Estate Operations", Energy Economics, 93, 105039.

View Paper

Abstract

We extend the commonly-studied definition of investment in sustainable and energy efficient real estate beyond environmental building certification to include three additional types of environmentally-focused building interventions: environmentally-focused capital expenditure (capex); monitoring; and, tenant engagement. Appealing to behavioral economics and finance theory, we test for a connection between changes in tenant and property management behavior and electricity consumption. Through a partnership with a global institutional investment manager, this study examines ten years of asset-level operating statement and electricity consumption data in Canadian and U.S. office buildings, measuring both the initial impact of such interventions as well as any adjustments observed over time. Analysis of the proprietary intervention data allows us to better understand the impact of varied environmental interventions on the electricity consumption of commercial real estate. We find that all four intervention categories, including building certification, are associated with decreased electricity consumption, with tenant engagement providing an immediate decrease that is maintained over time. Environmentally-focused capex is also associated with decreased electricity consumption in both Canada and the U.S. Taken together the results indicate that utility consumption and its associated costs are only minimized when multiple environmental interventions are implemented.