Case Study

Background:

A  Fortune Company owned an antiquated over-sized customer service center facility on a corner lot in a highly successful retail section of Wilmington, NC.  The Company wanted to remain on the site in a smaller building because of the proximity to customers.  This single building was an inefficient use of the valuable site.  The Company was exploring whether an alternative development plan could be implemented to reduce its operating costs and generate profit with the excess land position

• Investigate the highest and best use for the site, including the requirement to retain the Company’s use
• Prepare a master plan of the site reflecting the uses and perform a financial feasibility study  (profroma) of the development economics and benefits to be derived from its implementation
• Select a development partner with the proper chemistry and culture to underwrite and execute the plan without the Company’s financial participation (except land contribution) and with no assumption of development risk

• Master planned the site to include retail uses nearest the intersection with the Company building placed at the rear of the site
• Conducted a development competition and selected the partner that delivered the greatest value to the Company in terms of price, product quality, and process
• Utilized the proceeds from the “land sale” to defray the majority of the costs to construct the building for the Company
• The resulting mixed use development reduced operating costs for the Company, increased the tax base and tax revenues to the City due to the higher use facilities, and generated favorable profits for the developer