Developer Florida East Coast Realty and Hotwire Business Solutions, part of Hotwire Communications, have joined in a partnership to convert the real estate company’s South Florida office buildings into “smart buildings” with advanced, fiber-based technology.

The company estimates that the new technology could reduce the overall cost of telecommunications by up to 20% for office tenants.

The properties include 1101 Brickell Avenue in downtown Miami, a 3.2 acre site with office towers of 11 and 19 stories, and 2020 Ponce de Leon Boulevard in Coral Gables, a 14-story, Class-A building.

The upgrades will provide office tenants with better access to high bandwidth, video conferencing, and remote electronic storage of critical records. Low-cost telephone service, switchless phone systems and video surveillance systems are also options that the companies intend to offer.

“We understand that access to the latest technology and information is critical to our tenants’ success and that the tools used to store, retrieve, manipulate, and communicate data are invaluable assets,” said Wayne Hollo, principal of Principal of Florida East Coast Realty, in a statement.

The improvements will allow the company to provide occupants and tenants with state-of-the-art services, he said.

Hotwire plans to install security systems that permit monitoring of public areas from a central location or via remote cell phone. Tenants can also have systems installed to monitor their offices remotely.

Hotwire Communications, a privately owned communications company based in Hollywood, Fla., has built over 1,000 miles of fiber optic network in South Florida over the last five years.

Real Estate Investment Securities Association Creates Online Career Center

The Real Estate Investment Securities Association (REISA) has started an online job board, the REISA Career Center. It provides the real estate investment securities industry with a new resource for employment connections.

“We know how critical it is for employers to attract first-rate talent with a minimum expenditure of time and resources,” said Katherine M. Finley, Executive Director.

Both members and nonmembers of the association can use the REISA Career Center to reach job candidates. Employers can post jobs online, search for qualified candidates based on specific job criteria and create an online resume agent to e-mail qualified candidates daily, according to the association.

REISA developed the career center in partnership with Boxwood Technology Inc., a provider of career services for the association industry.

Job seekers can post their resumes and browse jobs based on certain criteria. Job hunters also can create a search agent to obtain notices of jobs that fit their criteria.

The career center Web site can be found at www.reisa.org.

Formerly called the Tenant-In-Common Association, REISA is a national trade association for professionals who offer and distribute securitized real estate investments.

Apartment Leaders to Converge on NMHC Technology Conference

A constellation of apartment stars will be traveling to Phoenix in November for the National Multi-Housing Council’s Apartment Technology Conference & Exposition.

The conference, scheduled Nov. 8-10, will be held at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort in Phoenix.

The lengthy attendance list includes such key players as Archstone, AIMCO, AvalonBay Communities and Behringer Harvard.

Among the scheduled topics are revenue management and automated payments, as well as the nuts and bolts of voice and video infrastructure.

Such hot topics as outsourcing to manage revenue and resident and employee privacy will also be discussed. New laws could force businesses to change the way they protect private information.