Did I happen to mention that I love Real Estate Developers? It’s not like I love my wife or kids, or even my dog, but Real Estate Developer is definitely one of my favorite people.
Think about it.
Real Estate Developer like God. [Well, miniature gods, at least.] They create most of the physical world we inhabit. The house and condo where we live. Grocery store and pharmacy just down the road. Resorts and casinos and golf courses we enjoy relaxing. Restaurant. Shopping center. Office building. Cinema. Truck terminal. Medical and surgical center. Spa. Factory. Warehouse. Auditorium. Parking garage. Hotel.
Just say it; if it’s “man-made”, sticks in the dirt, and we can get into it, Real Estate Developers might get involved.
Real Estate Developers are visionaries. They have the vision to recognize trends and the need for change. They recognize the imbalance between what is and what is needed. They see neighborhoods and cities and regions in flux as opportunities for renewal and improvement. Real Estate Developers don’t just see opportunities, they take them. They envision change and commit to it. Then work with it; massage it; that shape; blackmail it; stir it; shake; mix; conjure it up; and make it happen.
How could anyone not like it?
Real Estate Developers are visionaries with a purpose. Visionaries who know how to turn their vision into reality. They are optimistic. They are dreamers and doers wrapped into one. And for me, they are fun. Not funny, of course, but fun to be around. Fun to work with. It’s fun to dream together.
I remember back in 1992 when John L. Marks of Mark IV Realty Group walked into my office and said he wanted to buy and rebuild the Marina City Commercial Complex in downtown Chicago. At that time, the Marina City Commercial Complex was a mouse hole. Mostly empty. In foreclosure. languishing in bankruptcy. Saddled with nearly $10,000,000 in unpaid real estate taxes and in arrears. It rots physically and costs tens of millions of dollars to repair. The owner of the residential condo that occupies the top 40 floors of the infamous two corncob-shaped towers is understandably hostile and uncooperative – having been burned in the past by broken promises from previous owners.
However, in all this chaos, John saw an opportunity. He had a vision that this dilapidated and eyesore behemoth could be turned into an economically viable and thriving gem.
We spent most of the next four years working on that project. The transformation was amazing. We had fun making it happen.
Today, the Marina City Commercial Complex is home to the House of Blues, House of Blues Hotel, Smith and Wollensky Steak House, Bin 36 Wine Café, Crunch Fitness, 10 Pin Bowling Lounge, Marina Management, Skipper Bud’s Marina and many others. growing business. The cookie-cut condos that started above the 20-story parking garage in each residential tower have increased in value substantially and offer some of Chicago’s most dramatic skyline views. The entire Marina City complex has been redeveloped as a thriving entertainment and multi-purpose mecca in the heart of Chicago.
Why? Because Chicago Real Estate Developer John L. Marks has the vision and commitment to make it happen.
Did I mention I love Real Estate Developers?
Recently, in the spring of 2005, I got a call to join the development team of Madkatstep Entertainment LLC.
Madkatstep Entertainment is a joint venture of Sears, Roebuck and Co., the retail giant, and Ryan Companies US, Inc., a highly creative and entrepreneurial Real Estate Developer based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. [Yes, I love Ryan Companies too.]
It starts with an idea.
Ryan Companies had the idea of building and owning a sports and entertainment venue in an affluent community that needed convenient and unique entertainment options.
Sears had moved its corporate headquarters to Hoffman Estates, Illinois in the early 1990s. As part of the move, Sears has acquired a large plot of adjacent land ready and available for development.
Hoffman Estates is a forward-looking community in a thriving and affluent area of northwest Chicago seeking quality-of-life amenities for its residents.
It was a match made in heaven.
By the time I was called in as lead development advisor, Sears and Ryan had negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding with the Village of Hoffman Estates setting out the basic framework for the new Sears Center Arena, including general terms for city financing.
The main tenants of the new Sears Center Arena are professional hockey teams. The main development goal was to have the 11,000 capacity, 240,000 square foot arena built and ready to be occupied in time for the 2006 Fall hockey season. It was already April 2005, just 18 months from the target opening date. Even the fastest construction schedule takes a minimum of 14 months from groundbreaking to opening. Time is running out.
In the rush of the next 100 days, the entire development team entered the zone and worked most of the time with the Village of Hoffman Estates.
Real Estate Developer Ryan Companies US, Inc., works closely with the real estate department at Sears, Roebuck and Co., negotiates deals, tackles issues and overcomes barriers to formal building approvals, completes municipal financing, formalizes naming rights agreements and ownership agreements , and accommodate project dissidents who threaten litigation to delay or stop arena construction.
Ultimately, it was creativity, perseverance, and intense focus that led to the groundbreaking of the Sears Center Arena on July 21, 2005. It is a unique sports and entertainment facility that will serve the Village of Hoffman Estates and neighboring towns for decades to come. It is already functioning as an economic engine for complementary development that will provide new jobs, new opportunities and an expanded tax base.
These two examples of creative development by visionary Real Estate Developers are not unique. Between these two important examples, and beyond, the scenario repeats itself in large and small development projects every day.
Renewal of outdated or functionally declining shopping malls, warehouses and other structures into a modern and thriving enterprise.
The revival of decaying and decaying areas of cities and towns into homes and condominiums with retail and service businesses to support the new environment.
Recycling contaminated cocoa fields into a safe and productive environment for consumers and businesses.
Greenfield development to provide new opportunities, new jobs and new services for new communities and families.
Real Estate Developers see a need, step up to the challenge and improve the world in which we live.
I’ve been blessed to work with some amazingly creative and dedicated Real Estate Developers, both big and small, who make a difference – and profit – while having fun in the process.
Did I say fun? Maybe not all the time when facing every challenge, but in general Real Estate Developers are people who really enjoy what they do. As a commercial real estate attorney, working with Real Estate Developers has always been, to me, a pleasure.
Why do I like Real Estate Developers? Ask yourself: How many times have you had the opportunity to work with people who make your job “fun”? What’s not to like about it?
So next time you meet a Real Estate Developer, please, hold the developer’s hand, look him in the eye and say with the deepest gratitude and sincerity:
“Thank you! My friend Kymn Harp thinks you are the most extraordinary person in the world. He loves you and thinks you are brilliant.” [Then slip him my business card and ask him to call me.]
Thank you for listening.
R. Kymn Harpa
PS For those of you with “normal” names – or at least conventional name spellings, you may appreciate this help:
My name “Kymn” is a surname and is pronounced “Kim”. Think of “Kymn” as “church hymn”, with a “K” instead of an “H”. To remember this, associate my last name “Harp” with “Angel”. Then, if that helps, think of me as “Kymn Harp, Real Estate Developer dirt angel” (with a law degree).
Thanks again,
Kymn
