Evaluation paradigms and the value of landscape in commercial real estate

This thesis investigates, and makes a preliminary attempt, to evaluate empirically the value of landscape and architectural amenities within the commercial office building market. Two aspects of this question are addressed in this thesis. First, a hedonic price equation for office space in the Dallas central business district and Uptown/Turtle Creek areas is estimated to determine if the value of 'good' landscape architecture and architecture has been internalized by tenants or owners of commercial buildings. The regression results indicate that the coefficient for landscape amenities and architecture are positively related to rental income.; Based on the regression results, the marginal contribution of the independent variables was calculated. The regression results indicate a 15.8 percent premium for architecturally superior buildings in downtown Dallas. In the Uptown/Turtle Creek area, landscape amenities were shown to add 8.2 percent and building service amenities were shown to add 11.6 percent to annual rentals. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...