Commercial Real Estate and Creativity
As a business economics major, I appreciate how decisions in commercial real estate are based on logics, numbers and the current global, national, and local economy.
Although most decisions in commercial real estate are made on a financial calculator, there is a creative, dynamic, and fun side to this business that isn’t discussed as often.
Commercial and Creativity Collide
Across all industries, our jobs, in one form or another, have one purpose: to create value.
We all strive to be value creators.
Give any property enough time, and it will eventually conform to its highest and best use. That just naturally occurs in open markets.
In commercial real estate, the person who creates value not only evaluates a deal from a numbers perspective. A value creator can see an opportunity or property in a way that no one else has thought of or implemented
These are the people who bring a property to its highest and best use.
Creativity
In commercial real estate brokerage, we:
Meet and talk to new people every day,
Help clients realize their real estate goals,
And create some really meaningful relationships in the process.
In addition, we get to witness creativity at its highest level.
There are several ways that brokers and agents are able to be creative in commercial real estate:
Identifying value add opportunities in properties,
Playing “match maker” between buyers needs and properties for sale,
Structuring deals for optimal financial benefits,
Suggesting creative financing options,
And the list goes on.
But the best part of creativity in commercial real estate is when someone else brings a creative, innovative, and interesting concept to the forefront and we get to be a part of bringing it to reality.
Creativity in Commercial- A Real World Example
ParkView Greer Apartments
Downtown Greer, South Carolina has become a little gem situated between Greenville and Spartanburg.
The downtown area has grown, improved, and changed significantly in the past several years.
Greer is now one of South Carolina’s fastest growing cities.
Overlooking Greer City Park resides a beautiful, under construction mixed use development: ParkView Greer.
The developer for the project has an eye for identifying premiere sites in unique growing markets.
ParkView Greer will bring additional multifamily housing along with office and retail space to the downtown area so people in the Upstate can work, shop, experience, and live in Greer’s downtown.
After a three year process of planning, assimilation of properties, and construction, Parkview Greer is scheduled to be completed Q2 of 2023.
Bringing in a Bodega
Office and Retail spaces will reside under this 245 unit apartment complex
The developer’s vision is the retail will reflect and compliment the unique businesses, experiences, and lifestyle downtown Greer has to offer.
The concept for the 3500 sq ft retail space that is available for lease is a bodega style gathering place (think specialty grocery, wine, charcuterie, take away meals).
This establishment will provide an upscale food and drinks option for residents without them having to leave the apartment complex.
McDaniel and Company is fortunate to be collaborating commercial real estate leasing with this creative vision to identify the ideal tenant for this Bodega style concept.
Conclusion
The value creator in real estate is the person who sees a property in a new light: a person who either has an idea, concept, or use for a property that no one else has thought of or taken initiative to implement.
Being the value creator requires an understanding of financial decisions but also a creative mind and deep understanding of the needs of the local market and economy.
If you or a client has an existing Bodega concept to expand or has experience in the food/service industry and is interested in a new opportunity, let’s connect.
Emma McDaniel
864-576-4669
emma@mcdanielandco.com
