Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Downtown Orlando, FL Church Restoration Project Recycles 92% of Demo Debris

  

Marisol Santiago Soderstrom

 ORLANDO, FL  – Renovation usually involves demolition. And, demolition almost always involves dumpsters overflowing with debris destined for the nearest landfill. But, that’s not the case with the restoration project underway at the future H2O Church building in downtown Orlando .

The $600,000 project – to renovate the former First United Methodist Church building and demolish two education buildings at 2113 E. South St. – takes recycling to a higher level by seeing the salvaging of a whopping 92 percent of the elements removed from the structure, according to Tony Baumert, principal and project manager of Construction Development Inc. (CDI) 

Tony Baumert

“Most demolition projects are considered excellent if they recycle 50% of the debris,” Baumert said. “This project is way above a normal good percentage with only 7.83% going to the landfill and more than 92 percent of the debris tonnage either recycled or salvaged.  It is groundbreaking!”

Baumert said a total of 7,655 tons of materials (6,966 tons of concrete, 648 tons of asphalt, 11 tons of metal, and 30 tons of trusses and plywood) were sold, recycled or salvaged, while only 600 tons went to a landfill.  

 In comparison,  a recent (2019) CDI project involving the gutting of an office building and the construction of the new Delaney Hotel and Tavern on So. Orange Avenue had 30% of the materials recycled.  

James Gamble Rogers

Javier Omana who heads the engineering team at CPH, the project’s civil engineers, said he was literally astonished by the care that was taken and the amount of materials preserved. 

 His firm has agreed that they will submit this project for a state conservation award to Florida Planning and Zoning Assn. and the Florida chapters of both American Planning Assn. and American Society of Landscape Architects. 

 “CDI did an impeccable job. We’ve been around a long time and have never seen recycling to this extent.” Omana said.

The reclaimed materials from the church property will either be used elsewhere by the church, by non-profits or a few church members, according to the Rev. Jim Poorman, H2O pastor.

 “More than 200  4- by 8-foot sheets of plywood were preserved,” Poorman said. “We are planning on incorporating a number of the demo items into the new design.”  CDI is planning to donate most of the plywood and trusses to local charities.

During the renovation, Baumert said the original architectural drawing of the church was found. The drawing was done in the 1950s by James Gamble Rogers; one of the area’s defining architects.

 He said his firm is having the rendering and blueprint restored and framed to present to the congregation to show how much of the original church has been preserved.

Built in the mid-1950s, the Spanish/Mediterranean-style structure on nearly an acre was deteriorating when purchased in 2019 by 2113 E. South Street, LLC headed by Marisol Santiago Soderstrom, Roger Soderstrom, Jr. and John KurtzCCIM as part of an almost five-acre parcel acquisition. The owners are selling a 3.87-acre section to Surrey Homes USA and gifted the remaining church and land to H2O Church.

 Roger Soderstrom, Jr.

Poorman said H2O church – which has rented space in Orlando for nearly 20 years – is proud to be able to use a lot of the demoed materials in their new church.

 Included are wooden roof planks refinished and installed on a wall and in the ceiling of the community meeting area, stained glass windows that were removed by a former owner restored and reinstalled, and the stump of an oak tree taken down on the property is being cut into slices to make tables for the church’s meeting center.

John Kurtz

The renovation –  which Poorman said should be completed in early 2021 – includes a new roof, painting, stuccoing the exterior, new acid stained floors, new interior lighting, a sound system and the addition of a lobby with a coffee shop that can double as a meeting place for the neighborhood.

“We’re shooting to have everything restored, installed and completed early in 2021 along with having much of it finished in preparation for our Christmas Eve service.”  

 CONTACTS:

 Rev. Jim Poorman, H2O Church, 407-489-3440 or jim@h2ochurch.org

Roger Soderstrom, Sr., Stirling International Real Estate, 407-250-1000 rsoderstrom@stirlingire.com

Tony Baumert, Principal / Project Manager, Construction Development, Inc. (CDI) 812-767-3613 Tony@CDI-Construction.com

Beth Payan, Larry Vershel Communications, 407-644-4142, 407-461-3781 or beth@larryvershel.com.

 

Real Estate Capital Institute Finds Most Lenders Flush With Cash, Looking for Ripe Deals


John Oharenko

Chicago, IL – The last month of the year shows that lenders remain conservative.  Given the crippling effects of the pandemic, funding sources heavily focus on borrower experience and financial resources, in addition to asset quality.  

 That said, most lenders are flush with cash, actively desiring to place funds today and into the foreseeable future.

 

On the other hand, property owners and premisists find interest rates very appealing.  Shorter-term loans of five years or less start in the mid-2%-or-higher range.  



Ten-year debt is typically priced a quarter to half percent higher, with most loans falling well below four percent for desirable properties – namely apartments, credit, and industrial assets.

 

While ample funds exist at desirable rates, lenders still require robust underwriting tests.  Cash flow projections usually assume no income growth, and heavy discounting occurs on specialized space (e.g., retail and lodging).  

 

Given the low interest-rate environment, debt service coverage ratios of 1.5X to 2X are the norm.  Debt leverage of 50% to 70% is typical. 




The Real Estate Capital Institute's director, John Oharenko, suggests, "The effects of the pandemic dramatically change the face of real estate capital markets.  However, unlike the Great Recession, funds remain available but based on very selective criteria. "

 

The Real Estate Capital Institute® is a volunteer-based research organization that tracks realty rates data for debt and equity yields.  The Institute posts daily and historical benchmark rates, including treasuries, bank prime, and LIBOR.  

 

CONTACT:


 John Oharenko 

 Executive Director

john.oharenko@reci.com

director@reci.com / www.reci.com


 

The   Real Estate Capital Institute®

Chicago, Illinois USA 60622

 

 

Suburban office/life sciences assets get boost from Middle Eastern investments

Hani Baothman
  

PHILADELPHIA, PA, Dec. 2, 2020 – JLL Capital Markets announced today that it has closed the $225 million recapitalization of Arborcrest Corporate Campus to Saudi Arabia-based Sidra Capital (Sidra).

The sale of the five-building, 855,600-square-foot suburban office campus with a significant life sciences and biotech tenancy in the suburban Philadelphia community of Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, demonstrates a growing trend of Middle Eastern investors taking a harder look at life sciences assets.

 JLL arranged the transaction between Spear Street Capital and Sidra, which acquired a 90-percent stake in the campus. Spear Street Capital has retained a 10-percent ownership stake in the asset.

 Completed in two phases in 2015 and 2019, Arborcrest’s healthcare, life sciences and biotech tenancy, which was crucial to Sidra’s interest, includes Signant Health, a leader in clinical trials; Pharmaceutical Research Association, a clinical research organization; and Abington Memorial, an outpatient healthcare facility; along with several tenants that support healthcare administration functions.

Audrey Symes

 According to Hani Baothman, Chairman of Sidra, demographic changes and the limited capacity for working remotely led Sidra to aggressively pursue life sciences assets, as COVID-19 has brought this sector into renewed focus, and these longer-term trends are driving and will continue to drive growth.

 Sidra’s investment strategy is to identify recession-resistant assets, and the firm generally remains sector agnostic, focusing more on recognizing and then investing into long-term trends. To diversify, they are looking at the life science industry, which was growing rapidly before the pandemic.

 “It is a sector we identified due to its defensive nature especially when space is being used by pharmaceutical and biotech companies for research development and even manufacturing,” Baothman said.

“Our overall strategy is to invest in defensive and cyclical commercial real estate and real estate tenants, regardless of where we are in the market cycle.

 The healthcare and life sciences industry has been front and center throughout the year, as the pharmaceutical and biomedical industry is focused on creating effective COVID-19 vaccine and therapeutics to treat the virus.

Claudio Sgobba 

With a spotlight on this industry, commercial real estate investors are showing a growing interest in assets with strong life sciences and biotech tenancy, given the industry’s stability throughout the pandemic and strong outlook into 2021.

 “The past several months have demonstrated how critical the life sciences industry is to our economy,” says Audrey Symes, Research Director, JLL Healthcare and Life Sciences.

“There is a significant increase in general overseas interest in life sciences investment, especially because the U.S. is the clear leader in the industry.”

 According to JLL Research’s 2020 Life Sciences Real Estate Outlook, life sciences real estate capital markets are well positioned for relative outperformance in 2020.

Transactions are occurring at pre-COVID pricing in many of the top clusters. The sector is increasingly attractive to Middle Eastern-based investors who have invested $389.2 million in the sector year-to-date, which includes the Arborcrest transaction, following two years of low activity, including zero investment dollars into life sciences properties in 2018.

According to JLL, the Arborcrest sale is the largest suburban Philadelphia life science trade during COVID. It also ranks as the sixth-largest suburban sale in a primary or secondary U.S. market.

 JLL’s Capital Markets team leading the transaction included Managing Director Claudio Sgobba and Senior Managing Director Doug Rodio.

Doug Rodio

 “Arborcrest fits Sidra’s unique and targeted investment strategy,” Sgobba said. “It is our pleasure to serve the Sidra and Spear Street teams. Understanding a client’s strategy allows us to present the best investment opportunities specifically for their requirements.”

 “Sidra’s commitment to placing capital in Greater Philadelphia with a proven partner like Spear Street further cements JLL’s thesis that the Philadelphia region is near the top of the target list of geography for many of the most discerning cross border investors today,” Rodio added.

 For more news, videos and research resources on JLL, please visit our newsroom.

  

 CONTACT:

Kimberly Steele,

 JLL Senior Associate

Public Relations

Phone: +1 713 852 3420

Email:  Kimberly.Steele@am.jll.com

 

The Castell Project, Inc. Appoints Tracy L. Prigmore to Board of Directors

 

Tracy L. Prigmore

ATLANTA, GA — Officials of Castell Project, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the careers of women professionals in the hospitality industry, announced that Tracy L. Prigmore has been appointed to the  organization’s Board of Directors. 

“From her work founding TLTsolutions, the real estate and development firm that focuses on building new, generational wealth, to launching ‘She Has a Deal,’ a program for creating new, female hoteliers, Tracy’s work advancing gender and minority representation within the hospitality industry already is well known,” said Peggy Berg, chair, Castell Project, Inc. 

 “With her strategic expertise and additional insights into some of the issues affecting minority women, she is an ideal addition to our Board as we work to expand gender equality throughout the industry.” 

Peggy Berg


Prigmore expanded TLTsolutions in 2014 to create opportunities for individuals, families and entities to obtain passive income by investing in residential, multifamily and hospitality projects. 

The firm has a multi-million-dollar portfolio of real estate assets under management in four states.  She also began the “She Has A Deal” platform in 2019. 

The competition is designed to create new pathways to hotel ownership and development for women by providing education, networking and investing opportunities. 

 Its renowned pitch challenge creates a pipeline of women hotel owners and developers by exposing early career women to hotel ownership and development. 

Prior to entering real estate development, Prigmore spent 25 years as a healthcare executive and held senior leadership roles in strategic planning, business development and operations for three of the nation’s largest healthcare systems.

“Having long advocated for the advancement of gender and racial equality within the workplace, I look forward to working with this talented Board of Directors to further promote these causes,” Prigmore noted. 

 “I passionately believe that equality is a foundational component for a successful business in virtually all industries, but especially so within hospitality, where women make up 58.7percent of the workforce, but only 7.1 of the executive team. 

 "It is challenging to break through the status quo, and I’m always up for a good challenge.”

 

 CONTACT:

CHRIS DALY

PRESIDENT

DG Public Relations, LLC

42806 Oatyer Court

Broadlands, Va. 20148

Main: 703-435-6293

Mobile: 703-864-5553

 

chris@dalygray.com | www.dalygray.com