Foundry United: Issue 5

UNITED

SUMMER 2018

ISSUE 5

TheOArt EstateE FOUNDRY Foundry UNIT E D United T H E A RT F RofE AReal L E STAT

Artwork

by I Hannah OR LAN D O N D U S TRChittum I A L TEA M

“The Art of Efficiency”

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Tabl Cont Nick McKinney explores the art behind real estate and how we are all artisits in different ways.

Justin Ruby shares that teamwork is key when it comes to being creative.

Contributors Foundry United is created 100% internally by our incredibly talented associates.

Interested in contributing? Contact: Hannah.Chittum@foundrycommercial.com

Want to know the secret behind keeping an efficient life? Scott Renaud gives some pointers.

Foundry Commercial celebrates a Services and Development & Investments milestone.

Mary Beth Paris shares a personal story about her family that affects everday of her life.

Olivia Griffin shares how design thinking is important for every project.

e of ents Here's the latest in Services news over the last six months.

Transport yourself back in time to witness the inspiring story of the Angulo family.

Joey Blakley with our Religious, Education and Not-For-Profit group talks about the charter school legislation changes and how that will affect the commercial real estate community.

Tim Blair walks us through the design and creation of the new Boca Raton office.

Jonathan Balthrop shares his disciplined day-in-thelife of being a husband, father and Partner.

Susan McGuire talks about the recent closing of Toys "R" Us and the future of retail.

Dive into the detailed breakdown of working through conflict in the workplace

by Kristina Colantonio.

Nick McKinney shares an incredible "the client comes first" story about Chris Bury and Charlie Howarth's day trip to Alaska.

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FOUNDRY UNITED THE ART OF REAL ESTATE

BAXTER AND THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC Two pictures: one is MY dog and I. The kids say it is their dog but they know it is MY dog. The second is my wife in the Dominican Republic at Mission Emmanuel, a place that is very special to our family.

It’s personal.

Baxter is 11 years old. He joined our family about the same time we started the company. For about five years after we got him, I would hit the door at our house and my two kids and Baxter would come rounding the corner in our hallway screaming my name and barking. Today, Baxter is the only one that rounds the corner but still has the same enthusiasm. When I travel he goes on a hunger strike until I return, woofing down his dinner once he realizes I am back and then proceeds to throw up. Maybe that is too personal, but it is the pattern. Dogs are the ultimate in loyalty and unconditional love.

We first visited the Dominican Republic when my son and I went on a mission trip during his 8th grade year. My wife and my daughter followed two years later.

Almost every year since, my wife and my daughter (or just my wife) return to this mission field. She is there now as I write this. Mission trips are incredibly personal experiences where you go to give back, to share the abundance that we have with others. But you come back having been given far more than you ever imagined.

You learn what real hospitality looks like from people that have so much less. You see gratitude on a scale that we can’t comprehend. You see actual joy, which is far different than temporary happiness as we chase the next thing in this country.

So, what do these two things have to do with Foundry? As I get older I realize that everything in my life that I deem worthwhile is personal, and has the full experience of all of our emotions: love, sadness, joy, struggles, and laughter define the fullness of life and, increasingly, I need to try to eliminate those things that are simply a waste of time. I have spent far too much time chasing after the wind, after things that are fleeting.

Foundry is intensely personal to me. Foundry is personal to many of us. I have experienced the full range of emotions here and I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity that we have. I hope that it is personal for you, and inside this issue I want to thank all of the associates for having the courage to put themselves out there and share their stories.

Foundry – it's personal.

Paul Ellis

PHOTOGRAPHY BY HAYDEN ELLIS

A LETTER FROM PAUL

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DID YOU KNOW? Nick McKinney in our Orlando Office has completed over 300 whiteboard sessions in his lifetime.

FOUNDRY UNITED THE ART OF REAL ESTATE

15%

ACCOUNTING

22%

BROKERAGE

21%

PROPERTY MGMT

5%

PROJECT MGMT

6%

MARKETING

2%

LEADERSHIP

20%

ENGINEERING

4%

D&I

5%

OTHER

$

STATISTICS 9

the art of real estate.

NICK MCKINNEY

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, ORLANDO

Everyone is an artist. Yes, it’s a bold statement, but one that I personally believe.

Some of us are more easily identified as artists because our talents fall within the generally accepted definition of art, while others push the boundaries of conventional art and excel in the areas of negotiation, conflict management and process design.

Here at Foundry, we have both types of extremely talented artists who have spent years working on their craft. If you think about it, commercial real estate is a wonderful blank canvas for many types of artists to hone their skills.

I have had the privilege of working alongside Scott Renaud, Eric Nadeau and Jonathan Balthrop. While “artist” may not be the first word you would use to describe them, they make masterpieces every day and their canvas is Excel. The ability for them to take millions of data points and have it all come together into a simple and digestible format is creative and powerful. I have also spent time with managers whose

art form is problem solving, day in and day out. I think we would all agree that problem solving is an art form in itself and that is what we do here at Foundry – solve problems for our customers, investors, partners and associates.

Other associates wake up and use their talents to thoughtfully and authentically have crucial conversations. To me, conflict resolution is an art form that can take years to master and it requires a certain type of care and attention that is incredibly delicate and necessary. In other parts of the organization we have associates that gracefully work transactions where you have to dance back and forth between both sides of a deal to ensure everyone reaches the finish line. Not to mention the graphic designers and marketing associates that help us tell our stories through digital and print, such as Foundry United. There are too many examples to cover but we all play our own instrument each and every day across our platform as we collectively grow and

build something special. When you step back and observe all of the parts working in harmony with each other it can be like listening to a symphony, which is a gift to everyone listening.

While I hold the belief that everyone is an artist, sharing your art with the world can be really scary. It might be one the most personal things we do as humans. When we create something through our unique perspective and share it with others there is a real fear of rejection because we open ourselves up to subjective criticism.

However, on the other side of fear is freedom to express yourself and your perspective as an extension of how you were designed. I am excited and grateful to showcase just a few of our talented artists within this issue and hope that you are encouraged and find increased confidence in your craft.

FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

PHOT OG R A P H Y B Y H A N NA H CHITTUM

T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E 11

E SELLING WRITTEN BY Hillary Stamas and Justin Ruby

You might find him in Foundry’s 8th floor ping-pong room getting trounced by fellow industrial broker James Baker (at time of publication, the 2018 running score is 16 to 51). Or, if you’re ambitious, you could catch him at his 6:00 AM hot yoga class. But if he’s not out on a tour or knocking on doors, you’ll likely find Justin Ruby in his office during the workday. Scattered around his desk are mementos of past marketing campaigns and creative events. A 12-foot metal post with a green directional street sign reading “Name Your Legacy” leans against a wall, and a single tennis shoe wrapped in plastic sits on a bookshelf next to a Tonka truck that has a succulent in its truck bed. Pinpointing unique selling propositions and creatively marketing them seems to be an art that Ruby is constantly refining.

Justin is known around the office as an outof-the-box marketer. When everyone else is zigging he’s zagging. Some elements of the traditional marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion) are immovable for brokers.

So, after a property is priced competitively and promoted in traditional channels like LoopNet and Costar, what differentiates one broker or firm from any other? And how do they communicate those advantages?

FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

Orlando Industrial Team Hillary Stamas, Justin Ruby, Susan Ruby and James Baker PH OT OG R A P H Y B Y B R I TTN EY WIM BER LY

C R E AT I V E S E L L I N G

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I BE L I EV E THE B ES T C R EATIVE ID E AS C O M E F R O M A GRE AT T EA M W I T H B AL AN C E D IN T ER EST S Princeton Oaks Broker Event

I DON ’ T L I K E N OR MA L.

I think being memorable is way more important than being good. My dad is an artist; he did abstract, wild stuff; my mother is a businesswoman, so both sides are in my DNA. I studied marketing at the University of Florida, not because I wanted to go into the field of marketing but because I wanted to understand the art of business.

Weaving creative emotion into my personal business is what I believe ultimately drives decision-making. Emotion fills the space between a selling feature and a benefit of the feature, and that’s where deals happen.

For example, a feature of a property might be that it has direct frontage to the Florida Turnpike. What we market is the benefit of that feature, which could be that over 67,000 people will see the clients brand on their Turnpike-front building every day. We’ll mock up a rendering of the building with their branding, and provide examples of other businesses that are successful from the same benefit. Creating the story behind a benefit is where the art of marketing starts. Our team recently took this approach to an extreme by producing a short video spoof of the movie

“Office Space” that we called “Warehouse Space”. The video poked fun at traffic issues in an Orlando submarket and drew attention to the fact that the property we are leasing had rare direct access to a primary thoroughfare. The goal was to create buzz around the property and specifically to increase email open rates and click rates. Industry average open and click rates are 20.8% and 1.91% respectively; this campaign saw a 37% open rate and 55% click-through rate… and generated lots of calls.

At an earlier point in my career I worked with second-home resort developments.

Even though the volume in commercial is larger, it lags behind residential in creativity. A lot of commercial marketing is so linear, it ignores what’s most important to the client. Marketing through story-telling builds value with urgency by defining a unique benefit and then demonstrating how that benefit directly fits a client’s need.

Marketing creatively is less about the stuff you give people or the specs of a building as much as it is about the language you use and quality of questions you ask with

respect to the client’s needs. In my resort real estate days when someone would ask, “do you allow dogs here?” they weren’t looking for a yes or no answer as much as they were wondering how it would affect them personally. Layering questions, and replying “do you have a dog?” allowed me to understand whether they were asking because they loved dogs or because they were terrified of dogs, and how to tell the property story with that knowledge in mind.

In my experience, there are two key instances where operating creatively leads to winning deals: the first is in grabbing

Crews Commerce Center Groundbreaking FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

attention, and the second is in consistent, thoughtful relationship-building. The attention-getting step is usually the flashiest, but it’s just a tool to attain a face-to-face meeting and it’s useless without genuine and creative follow-up. It’s the consistency of communication touches, not the one-time wow marketing piece that matters.

DON ’ T JOI N T HE H ERD.

One way that our team is constantly grabbing attention and fostering relationships is through unexpected gifts and personal notes. Thoughtful gifts usually have a high response rate because they’re unique and they’re typically sent at a time of year when no one else is sending marketing materials. Everybody bombards clients at holidays and a lot of those efforts become white noise. We try to send fun gifts and personal notes when the messages will be heard loudest. One unexpected gift that had a close to 100% response rate earlier this year was a Mardi Gras King Cake delivery from one of my favorite bakeries in New Orleans. Potential clients received a cake and Mardi Gras beads at their office with a personalized note about this special tradition in my family, and it wished them good fortune in their business pursuits for the year. Many sent me a picture of who in their office found “Baby Jesus” in their slice of cake. Hand delivering roses on Valentine’s Day was another huge win for

our team, connecting with clients face-toface for a quick but memorable visit. I’ve gone as far as mailing a single shrinkwrapped sneaker to someone I was trying to get a meeting with, and it worked. A friend of mine started a company called Complete the Pair that grabbed a prospect’s attention by merging the nonprofit and business worlds with a little creativity. The sneaker had a ransom note explaining that it could be donated to a charity that provides shoes to people in need. To donate and complete the pair of shoes, the prospect would have to meet with whoever had the other sneaker.

This campaign had a great response rate, and with a little creativity this idea could be reproduced through other mediums easily.

more. And you don’t have to do it alone, I believe the best creative ideas come from a great team with balanced interests. Part of the reason I chose Foundry was that there wasn’t a template for how to market. You have the freedom to create your story and you have a talented team to help build it.

Not everyone considers themselves to be creative, and making the initial move towards marketing creatively might seem a bit daunting. Start with a simple idea and brainstorm with a team. Drive people to their strengths. People often back away from creative ideas because they hit a wall and return to their default routine. Push a little

Princeton Oaks Groundbreaking C R E AT I V E S E L L I N G

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Efficient Life, Happy Family.

SCOTT RENAUD

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, ORLANDO

Maybe it has always been this way, but it seems like the world has become a busy place.

Everywhere I go, there is one constant theme: “We’re really busy!” It’s not just in commercial real estate–it’s everywhere. People are on the move, walking a little faster than they used to, tweeting a little faster than they used to and getting bogged down a little more than they used to. Life is a grind and it’s hard to manage.

My life is no different. My wife and I homeschool our three kids (science is a struggle). We try to keep our new puppies out of trouble and it’s not going well. All three kids are in sports with numerous practices and games all week. Have you seen a seven-year-old try to catch a baseball? Ugh! My wife and I try to have a date night here and there that we often call “fake date night” because it’s a beer and leftovers on our back patio while ignoring the kids. And, oh yeah, there’s work.

So, how do we become efficient in this busy world? The truth is, I don’t know. There you have it. Honesty. I can try and try, but it never seems to be totally under control. I can say, however, that I’ve learned a few tricks over the years that help me to do the best I can and can mostly keep me from losing my sanity.

Angela, Scott, Henry, William and Olivia Renaud

FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

Here it goes.

Make a List.

Yes, you’ve heard me yapping about Wunderlist! You can use post-it notes if that works for you, but somehow, make a list. The list shouldn’t run your life but it should allow you to stop occasionally, review the list and make a plan of attack.

Delegate.

No matter your position, you need to delegate. That doesn’t mean hand everything to the person standing next to you. But you can make sure the right person is doing the right job and that you’re following up. When emailing anything out that needs a response, use the flags in outlook to mark that email.

This will allow you to be articulate on what you need and then forget it. You can check your flagged sent emails at the beginning of each day to make sure your delegated items have been completed.

Avoid Interruptions.

Turn off email notifications on your computer and phone. Review your emails when you’re ready, not when they pop up on your screens while you’re focused on something else.

Inbox Zero.

Try to end each workday with no unread emails–the illusive “inbox zero.” Move them to a list, flag them, or do something other than leaving them in your inbox unread, silently screaming at you that you have unfinished business.

PH OT OG R A P H Y B Y B R I TTN EY WIM BER LY

Create Uninterrupted Time.

If you could see my outlook calendar, you will find blocks of time scheduled with things like “12.3 Tax Conversion Training” and “VAV Rebuild Training.” Nope, even I don’t know what those things are. They just lock down my time so I can focus on my priorities without interruption.

Make “Some” Progress.

You don’t have to solve the world’s problems in one day, but you can make some progress.

You can start. Sometimes your to-do list should include something like, “Make progress on xyz transaction.” Make some progress, check it off your list, and then make some more progress the next day.

Communicate.

Communicate your progress, no matter where you stand. Clients, coworkers, vendors and friends oftentimes just need to hear where the project stands.

Make Decisions.

Sometimes, we get in our own way and cause analysis paralysis. Make a decision, live with it, and move on.

Let it Burn.

Accept that you can’t do it all and not every fire needs to be put out immediately. I’ve tried–it doesn’t work. Sometimes, the small fires just need to burn while you attend to other things.

E F F I C I E N T L I F E , H A P PY FA M I LY

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The

Secret Sauce.

S T R AT E G I C I N V E S T M E N T S , Q U A L I T Y PA RT N E R S H I P S A N D PA S S I O N AT E A S S O C I AT E S How these characteristics led Foundry Commercial to reach $1 billion in assets under management in just four years.

PRYSE ELAM

CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, BOCA RATON

FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

Four years.

It was just four years ago that we launched our Development & Investments platform.

Though a relative drop in the bucket, within this time we were able to achieve so much our team should be proud of; specifically, hitting a landmark of $1 billion in assets under management that consists of seven industrial developments totalling more than $600 million and seven million square feet, along with nine existing asset acquisitions totaling more than $500 million and two million square feet across the Southeast and Texas.

But how did we accomplish this milestone? There were a few factors that contributed to Foundry reaching the $1 billion mark. First, in industrial development, there was and still is a significant need for modern industrial spaces in markets across the Southeast.

That demand is driven by the traditional growth associated with a healthy economy but is accelerated by the excess demand created by e-commerce.

E-commerce is changing the way retailers get their products into the hands of consumers, and much of that change is occurring in logistics. In fact, industry experts estimate that every $1 billion increase in e-commerce sales generates demand for an additional 100 million square feet of industrial space. To put this in perspective, Amazon’s sales are in excess of $50 billion per quarter, so it does not take much to move the needle.

PH OT OG R A P H Y B Y B R I TTN EY WIM BER LY

T H E S EC R E T S AU C E

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Foundry operates in the Southeast and Texas – most of the “growth markets” in the U.S. Population and jobs in these markets are increasing two-to-three times faster than the rest of the country,and our economies are growing 30 percent faster than other regions in the U.S. These are the markets people want to be in, and our industrial development growth reflects that.

While we have been busy building industrial space, that’s not all our D&I team has accomplished. Our investment teams have purchased nine different existing office and retail buildings valued at nearly $500 million over the same four-year timeframe. The same growth trends that have driven industrial demand in the Foundry markets have also driven demand for office and retail.

Foundry has been particularly focused on Dallas and the Carolinas, where we have purchased 1.7 million square feet of office space valued at more than $300 million. We have watched job growth in all of our markets drive up demand and absorb most of the office vacancy, making it fertile ground for new investment – and we see nothing in sight that would cause these trends to abate.

While the trends certainly support industrial growth, we may not have been privy to the ins-and-outs of each market if our ears weren’t to the ground where it mattered. As a standard for our D&I platform, we only invest in markets where our associates live and work, ensuring that we know these regions like we know our own backyards since they are, in fact, literally in our backyards. This kind of deep-rooted knowledge is precisely how we secure opportunities like developing Carrie Meek International Business Park, a 2.7 million square-foot industrial asset in Miami that will soon be home to a cutting-edge Amazon sorting facility, or acquiring West Park 85, a 100-acre industrial property in Charlotte’s Airport West submarket.

Of course, our knowledgeable team and a ripe marketplace aren’t the only reasons for our success. We owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to our esteemed investment partners that were essential to us reaching the $1 billion milestone, among them, PGIM Real Estate, Principal Real Estate Group, Clarion Partners, Long Wharf Real Estate Partners, American Realty Advisors and Intercontinental Real Estate. The growth of our platform has been supported by these partners and many others, and their belief in our service, our people, and our process. Without their support and belief, our growth is not nearly as dynamic. Additionally, our equity partner, HQ capital, believed in our original thesis and the opportunities we saw in the markets from the start. To them, we are truly grateful.

While we are certainly proud of and humbled by this growth in such a short period of time, we know there is much more to be done for our clients and partners. We look forward to furthering the growth of our D&I platform with the same passion, drive, and determination that led our investment team to reach $1 billion in assets under management. Here’s to the next four years and beyond.

Pryse Elam thanking our investors at the Strategic Planning & Milestone Celebration.

FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

Development & Investments TIMELINE

2013

2015

D & I P L AT F O R M LAUNCHED

2014

S AW G R A S S L A K E C E N T E R

$84.7M Invested

F U L LY C A P I TA L I Z E D I N V E S T M E N T P L AT F O R M A S F O U N D RY C O M M E R C I A L $67.2M Invested

2017

FIRST ASSET PURCHASED

2016

ACQUIRED & DEVELOPED SEVEN ASSETS N O RT H V I E W P L A Z A , C O N C O U R S E LAKESIDE, PRINCETON OAKS, CARRIE MEEK I N T E R N AT I O N A L B U S I N E S S PA R K , W E S T PA R K 8 5 , B RY T O N , M I A M I F R E E Z O N E

ACQUIRED & DEVELOPED FOUR ASSETS C A M P B E L L C R E E K , WA L N U T GLEN TOWER, 8080 NCX & STEELEPOINT

$205.8M Invested

$626.7M Invested

2018

REACHED $1B IN ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT $67.1M Invested to date T H E S EC R E T S AU C E

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It’s all relative.

MARY BETH PARIS CONTROLLER, ORLANDO

Mary Beth Paris serves as Controller for Foundry Commercial’s Client Reporting department, overseeing a team of 31 accountants. With over 20 years of both public and private accounting experience, Mary Beth helps manage the financial reporting, cash management, lease administration, accounts payable and accounts receivable functions for Foundry’s property management clients. If you have met Mary Beth, you will in an instant recognize her hard work along with spreading joy to everyone around her. She also is a mother to two sons and a daughter (All in their early 20’s). Mary Beth shares with us stories from her life of how she keeps the positive attitude while being able to balance work and life at the same time.

Frank and Mary Beth Paris

FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

W

e have all heard the common phrases, “such is life,” or “it’s all good,” or my personal favorite, “count your blessings.” When we hear these sorts of phrases we can either relate to them, have no connection to them, or get annoyed by them altogether. I would say the basis of your response depends on where you are in life and what you have experienced. Life is a journey full of moments. The emotions run the gamut, depending on where you are and what’s going on in your world.

When I was asked to share some thoughts on “work-life balance,” I had to really think about it. Honestly, I am constantly working to get it right, even now. I think I am more successful at balancing “life” than I used to, simply because I have had a lot of “life” to journey through. It is more about figuring out what matters most to you and doing your best at whatever it is that you are tasked with. When I thought about how to balance work and home life, my most pronounced thought was clear. It’s not that I am any better at balancing; it’s that it gets clearer to identify my priorities and frankly, easier to see the silos.

came from Tallahassee and stayed that entire hospital stay, and every hospital stay thereafter. Intensive chemo started that very day as well. The following day, he had surgery to place his mediport in his chest. Over the next 10 days, he had bone marrow aspirations, spinal taps, and chemo was administered intravenously as well as intrathecally (in the spine). It was a very dark time. We never expected to have to endure this as a family. Who does, right?

Our protocol called for (chemotherapy) treatment for two years and seven months, assuming everything went well.

Wilson continued with transfusions to boost his immune system for several months after his protocol was complete, as he still had a weak immune system.

Our treatment was over three years in all. The poor thing, in addition to cancer, had several dangerous bacterial infections; chicken pox three times, as well as shingles. However, the cancer went into remission, and that became our focus. What a blessing!

Those years were filled with just about everything. Pain and suffering for our precious little boy, I am sure fear and anger, too. We were just devastated, heart sick and at times, discouraged and downtrodden. Everything changed for us when our son got sick. We changed our focus, our desires, our priorities, our hearts and our lives.

What mattered before just simply didn’t matter anymore.

Spending those years living in the hospital on the pediatric cancer wing changes you. We mamas and daddies shared the most important thing in common – a terminally ill child that we loved, but could not fix. The things we didn’t have in common were overshadowed by the things we did. We helped each other any way we could, loved on each other’s children, listened to each other, grieved for each other, prayed for each other and were deeply and genuinely connected. We were part of a club that none of us chose to be in.

I certainly see things more clearly now than when I was a young whippersnapper, fresh out of Auburn, starting my career in Atlanta in public accounting, and newly married to boot.

I was very happy to have landed a great job, but was especially thankful that I had married a fabulous guy! As we started our life together, little did we know how our faith would be the bedrock of our lives and how it would weave us together to lead us through a tough season in our lives.

Several years into our marriage, we had our first big bump. I can so clearly recall that moment when the doctor called to tell me our young son had cancer and was gravely ill. Wilson was 19 months old and had been sick for a couple of weeks. We had been to the doctor multiple times, and each time, the doctor diagnosed him with a viral illness of one kind or another.

However, when she decided to run blood work on the sixth visit that gave us the underlying diagnosis, Wilson had acute lymphocytic leukemia. We were admitted that day and our world was turned upside down. My mama and daddy

Wilson, Mary Grace and Frankie Paris

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Each time we were discharged from the hospital, I would hold Wilson so tight, realizing how blessed we were to be leaving, having made it through another round of chemo, or having been healed from a bacterial or viral infection that we caught due to his compromised immune system. I was acutely aware that it was nothing short of God’s grace, why we were able to go home. I was immeasurably thankful every time, knowing what a gift we had been given.

During the first year of Wilson’s treatment, we encountered another bump. This one, however, was a good one. This bump was in my belly. We were pregnant! It was a shock to say the least, as we were not planning on another child, especially at that time. Frank and I did not think we had the capacity to add a single thing to our lives, as we felt that we were just barely surviving, and not giving nearly enough to our oldest son, Frankie, who was four when Wilson got sick.

So, how in the world could we care for another one? We would never have chosen to have a baby in the middle of chemo, but it was such an unimaginable blessing. To this day, Mary Grace continues to bless our family so richly. She is a delight and we can’t imagine life without her.

Soon after, Wilson completed his treatment and his cancer remained in remission, we noticed that our oldest son, Frankie, was exhibiting some odd behaviors. Something was wrong. We noticed his eating habits had changed. He was no longer eating some of his favorite foods, such as bacon or carrots, but was choosing to eat yogurt and drink smoothies instead. As strange as it sounds, that child was chewing his food way longer than normal, and then would say that he couldn’t swallow it, so he would walk over to the trash can and spit it out. Weird.

So, I took him to be checked out by the doctor, and she said just to be safe, she wanted to order some tests to rule out some things.

I am a better person having gone through these things. We are a stronger family, no doubt.

Through a series of scans and X-rays, she diagnosed Frankie with a very rare aortic anomaly, known as an aberrant right subclavian artery. To fix it, he would need to have his chest opened and his aorta reconstructed. The pediatric cardiac surgeon we were referred to worked us in, as he said it was an absolute miracle that Frankie had not choked, as his esophagus and trachea were both incredibly constricted.

The surgery went well and afterwards, the doctor shared that when he opened him up, he saw that our son’s artery was extremely enlarged (ballooned). He said that, had we not done the surgery when we did, his artery would have soon ruptured, and he would not have survived it. We are so blessed to have found it just in time, as it surely could have been so much worse.

Having these health issues with our children has shaped our family in more ways than we probably even realize. Each one of us was deeply

impacted and reshaped through these trials. You can’t help but come out of it different. This was such a hard season for our family, which caused us to draw on our faith and really challenge what we believe. It is one thing to say you believe something. It is something altogether different to walk in it, to draw on it, and to rest in the sorrow and in the sweetness.

I am a better person having gone through these things. We are a stronger family, no doubt. The things that I used to spend my time and energy on are not the things that are most important to me now. I am genuinely thankful for all my blessings and want to do my best as a mama, wife, daughter, and friend at work and wherever else I am placed to serve and to contribute.

I know that just as God provided people on my journey to help me and encouraged me when I so needed it, I am called to be that person for others. I know what a gift it is to love and to be loved.

FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

Don’t get me wrong, I am still a wretched mess, trust me. I pray a lot, laugh heartily and often, but I also I cuss too much, and drink too much red wine. However, God meets me right where I am and I know He loves me, my faults, gifts and all. Grace has been and continues to be extended to me, so I always strive to be cognizant, working to extend that grace to others.

I know my experiences have made me a more patient, compassionate and forgiving person, which certainly impacts me at the office, too.

Some things still drive me crazy, but I am quicker to shrug things off and move forward, rather than getting my panties in a wad over something that isn’t a game changer. We all have our own journey, and we are all grappling with something. It may be a family issue, a

sick child, spouse, friend, parent, an unhappy marriage, relationship, loneliness, depression, addiction, or financial issues. You know everyone has a story, you just may not know what it is. We all have our challenges. Count your blessings, extend grace to yourself and to others.

It really is all relative.

Wilson, Mary Grace, Mary Beth and Frankie Paris I T ’ S A L L R E L AT I V E

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THINK DIFFE

OLIVIA GRIFFIN

GRAPHIC DESIGNER, CHARLOTTE

F

oundry Commercial has been raising eyebrows since the beginning, setting ourselves apart as a firm that genuinely values the craft of good design. This type of strategy has created opportunities and opened doors that otherwise might not exist. Being design-led is a concept that large organizations have been throwing around in recent years but this is especially effective in an industry like commercial real estate. We are learning that the tried-and-true principles of design are now becoming a critical component of the overall approach to client interactions. The idea of “design thinking” is really about cross-functional expertise. It’s about bringing people into your team with different backgrounds and expertise, with the notion that it will lead to more innovative solutions.

Creating a cross-disciplined team allows you to look at your client’s problem in unique ways and design and craft different solutions. In commercial real estate, we are more inclined to do rather than slow down and think. Design thinking is a loose association of methods and tools to help us think differently with our clients about the complex, non-linear, human-centered problems that blanket their tenant-driven world.

Design thinking and problem solving are two streams of thought that flow in the same direction. As a designer, by nature, I am a problem solver. Every project is a problem or challenge that involves helping clients or tenants

understand something. My goal is to see through all the fog and clutter to create a solution. In my creative process there are four key factors that inspire my problem-solving mindset.

First is to think about the audience,

which involves considerations that impact the design–from color to type to imagery. When thinking about the audience, there are a few key questions that I ask myself. How will this marketing collateral work? Do the color choices create the right mood?

What will the audience feel when interacting with the design?

The second factor is to visualize how the piece will function. I try to picture how the audience will interact with the final product, whether it is a brochure, booklet, or SMART board presentation. Many times, my first step is to create a mock-up version that mimics how the piece will work to gauge the effectiveness of the overall design concept.

Thirdly, I begin to immerse

myself in the project. For many large projects, such as pitches, this can be all-consuming, causing me to think about it all the time, even when I am not working. Many times, this process is the result of an “a-ha moment” where it all comes together. It can stem from an encounter or song lyric or conversation that results in the spark that helps bring the finishing touches to the project.

Lastly, at a certain point every

designer has to put the pencil down, stop tweaking, adjusting and just go.

I recently have had the opportunity to take my process beyond the screen in joining the brokerage team to pitch new business. We have been able to differentiate ourselves by providing creativity and a design-thinking approach to understand the client’s vision in order to make it a reality. As a Foundry team, we continue to move forward, creating a strategy based on good design and excellent business values that set us apart.

FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

DESIGN THINKING AND B U S I N E SS ST R AT E GY CO L L I D E TO F O R M S U CC E SS .

THINK OUT OF TH E BOX

Sources: AxiomZen,The Telegraph

ERENTLY

01 02 03

First impressions matter.

Design can tell a story.

Creativity is a differentiator.

You know what they say: you only have one chance to make a first impression.

Whether it’s a big pitch or a property flyer, potential clients will judge your idea in just a few seconds based on visual appeal alone. High-quality graphic design gives your team credibility—and that’s priceless. No matter how great the service, with poor design, it’s unlikely for anyone to want to stick around long enough to find out.

A story helps you understand, engage and remember. Bringing stories into real estate allows us to retain information more easily, to communicate concepts and make sense of things. In this way design and story telling are extremely effective in connecting our emotions and making it easy to relate and remember.

If there’s one thing all real estate firms have in common, it’s that they all face competition. And to set yourself apart, there are generally a handful of differentiators, whether those include pricing, quality, customer service, or something else entirely.

Creativity can help you stand out from the crowd.

It offers an alternative path to understanding the clients vision and making it a reality.

T H I N K D I F F E R E N T LY

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT See what you might have missed over the past six months here at Foundry Commercial.

1

PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM STAYING BUSY WITH WOODSPRING SUITES

Foundry Commercial was hired by Liberty Investment properties located in the Orlando, FL market. Liberty decided to outsource some brokerage and project management services to Foundry in order to expedite the delivery process.

The team was tasked with finding, rezoning and entitling five different parcels of land between Charlotte, NC and Tampa, FL in the last three years.

Three ground-up hotels were delivered in the Tampa market and the two sites in Charlotte were taken all the way through the permitting process and then sold back to the Corporate office as they wanted to control the Charlotte Market.

3

LAND TEAM EXPANDED IN NORTH CAROLINA Foundry has a thriving land business in Raleigh led by Karl Hudson and Matt Gilliam. Many of our broker lines in Charlotte are engaged with land in one form or another and combining these into a new opportunity for our clients was logical. Therefore, Tommy Trimble has formed a Carolinas Land Business partnered with Karl in Raleigh. Tommy has been fully integrated with land throughout his career whether it was directly selling or buying land for clients, or the natural interrelationship between land and retail. The team of Karl Hudson, Tommy Trimble and Matt Gilliam will be able to better serve as clients, locate strategic opportunities, and leverage off an extensive database to make the team successful.

5

NASHVILLE TEAM SIGNS “SPACES” LEASE AT MALLORY GREEN

2

OUR LEASING TEAM FINALIZED FIRST LEASE AT WESTPARK 85

Maintenance Supply Headquarters (MSH), a subsidiary of Lowe’s Companies, Inc., took 95,000 square feet in the first building at WestPark 85. They started operating in the space on July 23rd and couldn’t be happier with the way the space turned out. Jason Oriol and his team recently completed the upfit ahead of schedule and under budget.

MSH corporate was so impressed by his quality of work they are now talking about using him and his team in other markets for their buildouts.

They are also using the space as a showpiece for Lowe’s corporate given its proximity to their HQ in Mooresville, just north of Charlotte.

4

PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM AWARDED KINGDOM STROLLERS

Foundry’s project management team was awarded a 20,000-square-foot ground-up industrial and office buildto-suit for Kindgom Strollers located in Orlando, FL. This project was sourced through Justin Ruby and James Baker in our Industrial Brokerage side of the business. They originally found the land that the project management team is executing the build-to-suit project on. Kingdom Strollers started with a failed attempt to buy and sell refurbished strollers in the Orlando Market. The idea was born from the owner’s brother in Maryland that was making a profit performing this same tactic. Now the owner had 15 strollers that he didn’t know what to do with so he put them up for rent.

Kingdom Strollers now has agreements with most of the hotels at the major theme parks to drop off and pick up strollers for the parks’ patrons.

Customers order the rentals online for delivery to the hotel they are staying at while in Orlando. A true American dream story, from running a business out of an apartment living room, to renting 5,000 square feet, to building your own 20,000-square-foot facility.

The Nashville brokerage team recently signed Spaces to one of the newest developments in Cool Springs. Mallory Green will be a 170,000-squarefoot, Class A office building expected to be completed in early September.

Spaces signed a lease for 43,000 square feet.

“We are grateful to Spaces and their real estate brokers for their decision to come to Mallory Green. We feel that the building is an ideal fit for a company like Spaces as Mallory Green provides the best of efficiency, access and surrounding amenities combined with a first class modern office environment. We could not be happier with them as the first tenant to enter E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E the building that will open later thisFOUNDRY summer.” UNIT - Taylor Camp

7

6

FOUNDRY TAKES ON MANAGEMENT FOR SIX RETAIL ASSETS FOR APOLLO

525 N TRYON MANAGEMENT ASSIGNMENT NORTH was TRYON awarded 525 The Charlotte management525 team North Tryon a Class A, 18-story, 423,929-square-foot office tower, owned by New York Life, located in the heart of Uptown Charlotte, NC. The building features a new fitness center and retail/restaurant space on the ground floor, and is Energy Star Certified.

525 NORTH TRYON STREET, CHARLOTTE, NC 28202

RETAIL / RESTAURANT SPACE FOR LEASE

8

Foundry Commercial’s retail property management team won a six-asset portfolio owned by Apollo. The portfolio totals over 500,000 square feet and is located in Ohio, Florida and South Carolina.

UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI PURCHASED CHURCH PROPERTY SOLD BY RELIGIOUS, EDUCATION & NOT-FOR-PROFIT GROUP

KEY RECRUITS HIRED We would like to welcome five new brokers.

KEELY S. HINES Keely joins our retail brokerage team in Charlotte, NC as a Vice President/Broker.

C H A R L I E H O WA R T H Charlie joins our team as a Broker for the Religious, Education and Not-For-Profit group in California.

This sale was a former United Methodist Church located at 6500 Red Rd in Coral Gables, a community in southeast Miami and home to University of Miami. The property consisted of 35,641square feet of religious and educational buildings on 1.63 acres. The buildings were in a state of deterioration as the church was unable to afford the necessary repairs and maintenance for many years. The challenge was in 2009, the building was designated historic and unable to be developed. Based on Foundry’s market study, the property could fetch up to $17 million if the property did not have the historical designations, and with the designations, the team would be looking at a price in the $5 million range. Foundry advised the client to obtain a land use attorney familiar in dealing with the City’s historical board. The team learned that it was unlikely that they would be successful in having all historical designations removed and the process would take around two years to complete and cost a few hundred thousand dollars. With advise from the land use attorney and the market study, the team approached UM as the most likely buyer and were able to negotiate a deal at just under $9 million with a very short due diligence period and quick closing timeline. The team was able to overcome multiple challenges during due diligence including extensive asbestos in the buildings and a 40-year recertification violation that was more than five years delinquent.

9

10

ATLANTA TEAM WINS SATELLITE PLACE LEASING ASSIGNMENT

The Atlanta leasing team recently won the leasing assignment for Satellite Place, a Class A, 134,785-squarefoot building located in a suburban submarket located in Duluth, GA.

ANDY HEAD Andy joins our team as a Broker for the Atlanta Industrial team.

CLAIRE BENNETT Claire joins our brokerage team in Charlotte, NC as a Brokerage Services Associate.

E. COOPER JONES Cooper joins our brokerage team in Miami, FL. I N CAS E YO U M I SS E D I T

29

The Angulo family in Cuba, 1953.

STATE OF MIND ZOEY ANGULO

PROJECT MANAGER, CORAL GABLES FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

W

hen asked what the single most important piece of real estate you own is, what comes to mind? Is it your home, your vacation estate, or the spec property you’re building in that hip new area? Or does some other definition or vision lay in front of you–an asset, when speaking in conventional terms, appears to be abstract but in reality is far more tangible and hopefully carries a higher price than any piece of real estate?

The separation anxiety those parents experienced is unimaginable to me.

When asked that question, I don’t think of my home. What does come to mind, ironically, is my mind. Yes, you read that correctly. I am relating my mind to real estate. Shouldn’t our minds be the single most important piece of “lived-in” real estate?

Can you imagine what it is like to finally possess the freedom to carve your own path and to travel down it with confidence? And then, I think of my Dad.

Whether you are at work, 30,000 feet up in the air, or lounging at home, the one place you are constantly living in is your mind.

Ponder that thought.

Shouldn’t our main focus in life be to use our minds as a tool to enhance our experiences and consistently strive for the scales of mental stability and well-being to be in our favor?

If you do think in those terms, then you need to turn your focus internally and give your mind some time-of-day. Ask yourself, when was the last time you focused on your state of mind? If my grandfather were alive today, he would have a great story to tell on the importance of remaining mentally grounded.

Rewind the film back to the early 1960s.

In a matter of two years, my grandfather, like many immigrants in the past fleeing from political regimes, went from owning a beautiful home that sheltered his six beautiful children, being a top attorney in Havana, Cuba, and being a member of the prestigious Havana Yacht Club, to having to leave all he created behind. My grandfather made the decision to send his children to orphanages in the United States with only a jammed-packed suitcase to their name in the hopes of living a life of freedom.

The top-secret operation which allowed my father and uncles to flee Cuba when Fidel Castro first came into power was known as Operation Pedro Pan. It was the largest recorded child refugee exodus in the Western Hemisphere and lasted from 1960 to1962. This partnership between Eisenhower Administration and Catholic Welfare Bureau entailed the mass exodus of over 14,000 unaccompanied minors to the United States, where they eventually were placed in orphanages and foster homes across the country in an effort to escape the communistic regime. The hope of the parents was to eventually be reunited with their children in the land of the free.

I think of my grandparents and how they risked it all for something larger than themselves: freedom. Freedom for their children to develop, to travel, to grow, to creatively express themselves, to think freely and openly and to experience the freedom to be and accomplish anything of their wit and will.

When I try to go back in time and be in my father’s mind, I cannot. I wonder what he must have been feeling, thinking. I wonder what parts of that experience he’s been able to let go of and what remains behind, carried deep down within. I can only try to imagine how I would feel if at age ten, while safely sitting at home in beautiful tropical paradise, surrounded by close family and friends, I was torn from it all and transplanted to an orphanage home in Wichita, Kansas, unable to speak the English language. My only possession, a jammed-packed suitcase and an oversized pea-coat over my shoulder hand selected by the Salvation Army…all taking place in a matter of a few days!

I am thinking, at this young age, my father didn’t see that far ahead or behind what he was currently experiencing in that very moment. Children in general have an uncanny ability to utilize their imagination.

Their innocence allows them to remain creative and playful, even without having

the physical toys to play with. They are afforded by innocence of youth to remain anchored in any experience, free of judgment or worry.

As time passed, my father began making friends and life began to normalize. His older brothers had been transplanted to St. Gregory’s High School/College in Shawnee, Oklahoma. They would hitchhike up to Wichita regularly to look after him and ensure he was doing all right. It was during one such trip that his brother, Carlos (also known as Futi), brought with him a “girl” named Gibson Les Paul. Gibson became his first love, but she wasn’t really a girl. She was actually a guitar. Playing music and creating funky sounds through the Gibson Les

Shouldn’t our minds be the single most important piece of “lived in” real estate?

The Angulo children playing in the Havana Yacht club circa 1950’s STAT E O F M I N D

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Paul became my father’s great escape and his form of meditation. It just so happened that this was the era that rock and roll reached new levels of popularity, sweeping the nation like one big groovy tsunami.

Dad’s parents arrived in the United States two years later, settling in Miami, Florida.

Being the youngest and most homesick sibling, dad was then taken out of the Pedro Pan program and enrolled at St. Peter & Paul Junior High, and later La Salle High School. As time progressed, my father and

some friends formed a neighborhood band called the “Queens Kids.” They played the high school parties and teen clubs, singing popular rock and roll cover songs.

Eventually, with continued practice, some additions and subtractions, a new band of Cuban transplants living in Miami called “Kracker” was formed.

Their band began writing original music and growing in popularity and in 1971 moved to Chicago and started playing concerts in midwest colleges. One night they were performing in Chicago, and someone by the name of Jimmy Miller

happened to be in the crowd. Jimmy took a liking to them – Jimmy’s “liking” turned out to be significant, because Jimmy also happened to be a famous musician and producer of the Rolling Stones and many other well known artists.

Miller became Kracker’s producer and recorded their first album “La Familia” distributed by ABC Dunhill Records.

And in early 1973, while Miller was recording The Rolling Stones “Goat’s Head Soup” LP in Jamaica, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards developed an interest in Kracker, resulting in a deal whereby the band’s second album was licensed for distribution outside of the U.S. by Rolling Stones Records, making Kracker the first band (other than the Stones) on that label.

The association with the Rolling Stones grew later that year when Kracker was asked to tour Europe as the opening act for The Rolling Stones. Kracker went on to record a third LP and shared the stage with other notable acts including the legendary Chuck Berry, Sly and the Family Stone and Lou Reed, among many others.

While reflecting on the twist and turns of my father and his family’s life, I find myself in a positive mind state. I imagine how amazing those experiences must have been, and I start to kind-heartedly laugh at how funny life can be. How certain periods in time and space may be viewed as the worst moments of your life, but upon reflection, become blessings from the universe.

After thinking more in-depth about what occurred along my father’s journey, I begin to think about my own experiences and the moments when I have felt at rock bottom.

It is now that I realize, in actuality, those moments were really sent down from the heavens as blessings in disguise. I think about the only piece of real estate I truly

FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

own, and that, my friends, is my mind. I think of how important it is to tend to and nourish my sacred headspace, and the importance of being mindfully present in each experience.

I am mindful of the importance of appreciating every moment but am also aware of the danger of remaining attached to any moment as it passes. I think of the importance of extracting value from each experience while remaining open to replacing that experience with each new experience.

Finding ways to utilize my mind as a tool to enhance each experience and learn how to make it work with me to maintain my ideal steady state is a priority.

Yoga, working out, meditation, dance, healthy eating, intermittentfasting, reading and writing are my tools to maintain this state of mind enhancement. I think of how I physically and mentally feel and about my level of consciousness when entering this mind state.

I think of the inspiration that surfaces and how in-tune I become with my surroundings. I think of the positive momentum I maintain and the uncanny ability to cultivate deep, heartfelt relationships; not only relationships with family members, friends, colleagues and people met passing by, but also the one I maintain with myself. Lastly, I empathetically think back to people like my father and his family, and how they stand as true testaments to the fact that if you work to develop and preserve your mind, you will be equipped with a robust tool capable of handling any twist and turn as you flow through life’s journey.

Namaste.

I am mindful of the importance of appreciating every moment but am also aware of the danger of remaining attached to any moment as it passes.

STAT E O F M I N D

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NEW FLORIDA CHARTER SCHOOL LEGISLATION CHANGING THE MARKETPLACE JOEY BLAKLEY

VICE PRESIDENT, ORLANDO

In Florida counties like Duval, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and others, there has been substantial growth in charter schools over the past five-to-six years. With new Florida charter school legislation (CS/HB 7069) passed by Governor Scott just last year, we only expect that trend to continue to grow in the Sunshine State. So, what exactly did this bill propose?

As vice president of the religious, education & not-for-profit group at Foundry Commercial, it is my responsibility to dig deep on legislation like this. What I discovered in my research might just surprise you, including increased charter school growth, positive new futures for failing public schools and the promising Schools of Hope program.

WHAT IS HB 7069?

The new legislation was widely known as a pro-charter school bill, which is not necessarily inaccurate, though I do think it can have a positive impact across entire school districts.

What it proposes is, if a traditional public school receives below a C grade for three consecutive years, the school district must choose one of the following options: 1. Reassign students to another school and monitor the progress of each reassigned student.

2. Close and reopen the school as one or more charter schools, each with a governing board that has a demonstrated record of effectiveness.

3. Contract with an outside entity that has a demonstrated record of effectiveness to operate the school, which may include a district-managed charter school in which all instructional personnel are

not employees of the school district, but are employees of an independent governing board composed of members who did not participate in the review or approval of the charter.

TAX MONEY AND ADDED GROWTH Additionally, this Florida charter school legislation mandates that counties start sharing facility funding that comes through tax revenue based on the amount of students in the county. This was decided in order to help charter schools get the funding they need, which was far more difficult in the previous private model that only allowed access to public funds after three years.

More specifically, under state law, school districts are permitted to levy up to $1.50 for every $1,000 in taxable property value to raise money for construction, maintenance and the purchase of equipment. School districts have not shared this in the past and actually filed a lawsuit against the State of Florida to block it. In January of this year, the judge denied the request from the school boards and ordered them to share these funds with charter schools.

SCHOOLS OF HOPE Known as the Schools of Hope program, this set up new rules and a $140 million fund to encourage charter schools to move into areas where the nearest traditional public schools have persistent low grades. Schools of Hope Charter schools are essentially guaranteed charter approval to open either in the attendance zone of, or within five miles of, a local traditional public school that has earned lower than a C grade from the state

C H A N G I N G T H E MA R K E T P L AC E

I B E L I E VE IT L A R GE LY ACTS TO C RE ATE M ORE OPTIONS F O R S CHO OL D I S T RI CTS TH AT N E E D A CH ANG E . for three consecutive years. As a form of oversight, Schools of Hope operators must be approved by the state. The legislation also lifted the one-per-year cap for a high performing charter school to replicate (guaranteed charter approval) if they replicate in a persistently low-achieving area.

The new legislation will act as a way to backfill the spaces created by poorperforming schools and provide more options for parents looking to provide their children with a quality education.

WHAT THIS LEGISLATION COULD MEAN FOR THE COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE MARKET Though only time will tell how this will impact our marketplace, specifically in the religious and education commercial real estate market, I have some educated guesses as to what the future holds: Smaller operators will be empowered to build or expand their charter schools thanks to additional facility funding from the county.

Yep, that is how the conversation began a little over three years ago when my family thought it would be a good idea to raise chickens in our backyard and add a little more chaos to an already chaotic household. At that time, my kids were ages 7,8 and 9 and we were already long on animals with dogs, Guinea pigs, a chameleon and rabbits; which did not end so well for the rabbits….early life lesson for the kids.

My initial response was “Sounds great, let me know how the yard birds work out”, thinking somehow I could skirt the issue until it went away. Little did I know we would spend the next month or so building a chicken coop in our backyard. Funny thing was I thought I could knock that project out in a couple hours by MacGyvering an old swing set play house with plenty of wire, nails and duct tape. It would have looked great next a dog house in the middle of the front yard with a worn path around it with the dog sleeping on top.

Nope, my wife had grander plans for this coop. I am thankful she is the brains and kept us on task and did not allow me to cut corners; or as some would say, value engineer. All I could think about was spending $800 in lumber plus time to build and when would be the break-even on this deal in terms of egg production?

Farmers Market has a nice product if that is what you are looking for. Fast forward three years and it has been a blessing and a lot of fun.

From taking the kids down to the hardware store to pick up the chicks in a five-gallon bucket, seeing how they take care of them (or not!), and to watching the dog chase them around the yard, thankfully unsuccessfully, we have learned the real story behind the term “pecking order” and that chickens “always come home to roost”. We have six chickens of three species: Ameraucana, Barred Plymouth Rock, and Buff Orpington. Their names: Katherine, Gloria, Black Liquorish (“Blackie”), Gracie, Caroline and Siesta who produce about five eggs a day in total. Although there is no shortage of a hardy breakfast; like most things in life worth doing, the process has been as enjoyable as the outcome.

The market will grow in currently struggling areas, allowing new charter schools to take the place of failing or near-failing schools.

We may see a growth in charter high schools as existing K-8 charter schools mature and additional facility funds are introduced to help bridge the gap of increased facility development costs incurred in high school campuses.

CeCe, Penn and Ella Craver

Though there has been skepticism about this legislation’s intent, I believe it largely acts to create more options for school districts that need a change. Some children flourish in different learning environments than what is provided in traditional public schools. Instead of allowing consistently underperforming schools to underserve their communities, this legislation provides a second chance for kids to achieve scholarly success–a pursuit I think we can all get behind.

FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

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BEH I N D T H E D ESI G N BOCA RATON Tim Blair, a previous architect now turned project manager, designed the new Boca Raton office from start to finish with the help of Pryse Elam and Yanique Virgo. Below you will read an article by Tim Blair on the project management experience.

J U S T M OVE D IN TO O U R NE W MILL EN N I A L F R I EN D LY, RE A L LY C OOL , HIP S T E R OFFICE .

Embarking on an Adventure in Design and Teamwork We assist our clients every day as they navigate through the process of expanding, contracting, consolidating and optimizing their real estate assets. Through visioning sessions, clients can articulate their programmatic requirements, goals, aspirations, culture and brand for their new space. We also facilitate the design process and execute the construction on their behalf.

But as Foundry Commercial expanded, we had the unique opportunity to design our own new office in Boca Raton, FL. I had the incredible opportunity to collaborate directly with Pryse Elam on this endeavor. We considered multiple locations in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, but ultimately decided to stay at Mizner Tower and build out the space adjacent to our existing office. The space had been gutted, so we had a clean palette with lots of windows and exposed structure. As we all know, Pryse is very pragmatic. So, I was a little hesitant as I embarked on the creative design process with him. In our first site visit, we agreed that the Deal Hub should be placed in the area with extensive daylight.

I reluctantly offered that we should keep the exposed structure for the ceiling and Pryse liked the idea. We were off to a great start.

As we worked through the programmatic requirements, I quickly learned that Pryse embraced the concepts of openness with adequate privacy, collaboration, balancing formal and informal spaces, flexibility, ergonomic workstations, and not creating a stagnant corporate environment with unnecessary hierarchy. It was the essence of workplace strategies that our clients strive for in their projects. Also, we were able to overlay elements of our culture and brand into the design with feedback from Nick McKinney. Ankoor Jivan was an excellent resource, as he asked the “what if� questions that challenged us to refine the design, and Yanique Virgo was integral to the design and execution process.

Realizing the Vision The entry sequence and circulation spines are defined with porcelain tile in a running bond pattern. Rather than a formal lobby area, we created a living room with an open galley break room and coffee / dining bar.

We staggered three accent walls within the entry zone to mimic the Foundry logo. The collaboration room is our version of the da Vinci room in Orlando. The two conference rooms are separated from the open environment to provide acoustical privacy.

FOUNDRY UNIT E D, T HE A RT O F RE A L E S TAT E

The Deal Hub takes full advantage of the extensive daylight; exposed concrete structure; perimeter soffits including adjustable Punkah diffusers; v-shaped pendant light fixtures; and lots of writable wall surfaces framed and lit by continuous LED slots. We provided two Huddle Rooms for privacy and as an alternate workspace.

The Deal Hub includes three touchdown stations for visiting associates.

Pryse does not like the rigidity and formality of standard workstations, which tend to create hierarchies and reduce collaboration.

Our solution was two staggered islands that serve as the side tables for each associate.

We utilized motorized adjustable desks that allow everybody to customize their workspace for sitting or standing. The desks are staggered as well and we can add two more workstations in the future. And I almost forgot about the putting hole in the Deal Hub. As we were completing the construction of the new office, Pryse advised that he wanted to expand into the space between our old and new offices. The challenge was that it had one small window and extensive main ductwork that fed the floor.

Pryse sent us an image of Olivia Pope’s conference room from Scandal and that became the inspiration for the light wall that both brightens the space and serves to connect it to the rest of the office. A large flat-screen TV surrounded by eight backlit boxes centers the light wall. The perforated metal acoustical ceiling frames the light wall and we utilized multiple ceiling heights to create interest and to define zones within the space. A larger Huddle Room provides another alternative for informal meetings.

Again, we incorporated ample writable wall surfaces. The expansion space includes a dartboard and we can add a virtual reality/ gaming area in the future.

Work Worth the Reward In the eloquent words of Pryse and Nick, we took the worst space in the building that sat unleased for years. We negotiated a great deal with the landlord with an adequate TI allowance to encourage us to take on the challenge. The “Art of Real Estate” was in the design process, balancing limited resources to achieve the collective vision and transforming the blank canvas into an efficient, flexible and cool space for Foundry Commercial.

An added community benefit was that we were able to donate the majority of our existing furniture to the Carrie Meek Foundation for their new headquarters at the Carrie Meek International Business Park. I believe that the end result is an inviting and collaborative environment that speaks to the growth of Foundry Commercial and reflects our culture and brand. On Sunday, February 5, 2018, Pryse sent one of his early morning emails that stated: “Just moved into our new millennial-friendly, really cool, hipster office.” It was an extremely rewarding experience for me and I think that we ended up with a happy “client.”

BEHIND THE DESIGN

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THE ART OF DISCIPLINE

AN INTERVIEW WITH JONATHAN BALTHROP, ORLANDO

What is your definition of discipline? To me, discipline is about having a routine or system that prepares and positions you for success – and then sticking with that system.

Would you consider yourself a disciplined person? If so, what are the benefits and what are the disadvantages if any. I’d consider myself to be reasonably disciplined. I have a solid routine that seems to work well for me. As it relates to the benefits, I find that being disciplined is clarifying – it helps narrow the field and focus on priorities.

The perceived disadvantage would be that being disciplined is boring, but I don’t think one necessitates the other. You can still have a lot of fun and be disciplined.

Were you born as a disciplined person or was it something you learned? Growing up, I watched my Mom work tirelessly balancing her career and raising me, which was a handful in its own right. I think that established the work ethic from a pretty young age, and I’ve carried that with me over the years.

What is your daily routine? Up by 5:00 A.M. Send a few emails and think through the day ahead. To the gym by 5:30 A.M. and work out for about an hour. Wake my one-year old daughter up at 7:00 A.M. – the highlight of my day – and head to work. Part of what I love about what I do with the Development and Investments team is that the substance of each work day is so varied.

We have our current portfolio of assets and are actively making new acquisition and development investments across our markets, so there is always something new and exciting going on. After handling whatever the day holds, I wrap up at the office and head home for dinner with the family.

Send a few more emails and start winding it down around 9:00 P.M. to rest up and do it again.

I FIND THAT BEING DISCIPLINED IS CLARIFYING – IT HELPS NARROW THE FIELD AND FOCUS ON PRIORITIES.

What is your max bench press? It’s been a long time since I maxed out. These days, it’s more interval training and some cardio – and a round of golf where I can fit it in.

With such a busy work and home life how do you remain flexible yet disciplined in your daily routine? Every day is going to have unexpected twists and turns, so you have to be able to adjust quickly and keep moving forward. Being disciplined helps me focus on the highest priorities even when things get a little hectic. Travel probably poses the biggest challenge to a good routine. I try to stay at hotels with decent fitness facilities or a gym nearby to maintain consistency when I’m on the road.

What are your three top tips for others who are trying to become more disciplined? Find a system that works for you and stick with it. From there, I think it’s about having a relentless work ethic and attention to detail. Mistakes happen, but I believe the overwhelming majority can be avoided if you’re simply paying attention.

Is being super disciplined boring or too predictable? I don’t think so. Being disciplined actually prepares you to make the most out of the unpredictable.

How long have you had your pre-existing haircut? I’ve kept my hair short hair for a long time. I had hair down to my chin when I was in the 7th grade but have kept in pretty clean since then.

Would you say discipline creates more freedom? Yes, being disciplined helps you deal with whatever life dishes out and positions you to capitalize on opportunities as they’re presented.

There’s freedom in that.

What is a piece of advice that you have learned from being disciplined that you would pass onto your children? I hope I’m able to demonstrate that there is no substitute for hard work.

Does being disciplined automatically make you organized? I don’t know that it’s automatic, but I definitely think it helps. When it comes to organization, I like the analogy, you need a clean cockpit to fly straight.

Would you use the metaphor “Preparing for a marathon” to becoming an experienced and successful professional? Absolutely.

Are you disciplined in every aspect of your life? I definitely like to have a good time, enjoy life and eat good food. I think you can still do all of those things if you incorporate them into a balanced lifestyle – balance is important.

FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

Jonathan, Avery and Kristin Balthrop

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BY: SUSAN MCGUIRE | CHARLOTTE, NC

M

any generations grew up knowing Geoffrey the Giraffe quite well.

The cartoon giraffe was not from a Saturday morning cartoon nor sugary cereal commercial but the mascot for Toys “R” Us, an American-based toy store where, for decades, children would beg their parents to take them. But with the announcement that this once mighty retail space will be shuttering its doors for good, many are worried that this is yet another brick-and-mortar domino to fall thanks to the prodding finger of online retail.

After all, online retail more than doubled in mindshare from 7% in 2011 to 15% in 2016, a trend we’ve only seen continue to grow.

The truth, however, is much more nuanced than you may think.

Why Did Toys “R” Us Fail?

Though Amazon is the easy scapegoat for the recent failure of Toys “R” Us, I personally believe the toy store giant’s problems started before Amazon was ever a factor. One report from Fung Global Retail & Technology seems to substantiate my claim, showing that 87.8% of parents have experience purchasing children’s toys online but 59% of parents purchase less than half of their children’s toys online. The salient factor in the downfall of Toys “R” Us was actually the slow but steady sea change that most parents who raised children in the 1990s and early 2000s saw firsthand -- kids simply began playing differently. With the invent and proliferation of video game consoles, portable gaming, iPads, and smartphones, a toy chest in many homes was largely replaced by one or two touchpad-based devices.

Without delving into the debate on the social negative or positive effects of this trend, it is logical that the action figures, board games, and hula hoops of old may have drawn less demand with playtime going digital. Note that Toys “R” Us did evolve with the times, selling both video games and video game consoles.

However, when a parent can instantly

purchase and download a game on their iPad or gaming console, it simply wasn’t enough.

Add to this the fact that toys are a commodity that simply do not need to be purchased at a category-specific big box. When a parent could simply go to a one-stop mega discount chain and pick up groceries, clothing, pharmaceuticals and their kid’s new action figure, why bother making an extra stop at a toy store?

Secret to Success Though there’s no single formula for success for brick-and-mortar retail businesses, there are some common traits we see in the companies that continue to thrive in this modern age of same-day deliveries.

• Flexible and Adaptable: It is the tree that bends in the wind that survives the hurricane. If a business is not willing to be flexible and adapt with the changing times, it is doomed to the fate of Toys “R” Us. • Focused on Customer Experience: With online shopping such a simple solution, brick-and-mortar retail has to be deeply focused on ensuring their customer experience is worth logging off for. If a customer receives lackluster service or finds the retail space lacking, chances are, they will move on to an online alternative next time.

• Creating and Maintaining a Brand Personality: Brick-and-mortar retail branding should create a cohesive vision of exactly what their brand is and what it values. Doing so establishes an identifiable personality and sets customer expectations before they ever enter a store.

• Loyalty: Brick-and-mortar businesses should be focused on instilling loyalty through competitive pricing, high quality and an eclectic selection.

Though Toys “R” Us was the most recent failure in the ever-changing market, there

F OUND RY UNITED THE A RT OF REAL ESTAT E

are a few other stores I would urge to follow the above advice, namely bookstores, furniture and office supply stores, general merchandise, and bigbox retailers that focus primarily on fashion sales.

The Marketplace After Toys “R” Us Though it may be the end for Toys “R” Us, their loss is an opportunity for other retailers to move in. From entertainment to multifamily housing, to multi-use developments, fitness centers, offices and more, where these toy stores once stood could live on as a multitude of commercial real estate opportunities.

Remember, many of these stores were located in strong submarkets within dense retail areas, which is a real bonus for the incoming businesses.

Despite the arguably justifiable fear from many brick-and-mortar retailers, online shopping will likely never fully replace in-store experiences. As human beings, we are social creatures who enjoy shared experiences, and shopping with others is still something we like to do .

Finally, landlords need to ensure they are creating additional reasons to frequent shopping centers by incorporating amenities like dining, entertainment and fitness into the experience. In the future, we may see them even begin to incorporate amphitheaters, parks and education to create diverse marketplace center.

Though it may be difficult for some of us to say goodbye to Geoffrey the Giraffe, Toys “R” Us is far from the end of brick-and-mortar retail. In fact, it may be the beginning of new and exciting opportunities to come.

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Hidden Language of the Soul Susan McGuire started dancing at the age of five and began competitively dancing at eight. Not long after, she was choreographing performances at age 13 and continued through college. “Dance has taught me many things, but three important skills that developed from dancing are self discipline, resiliency and keeping your attitude positive and optimistic,” said Susan.

Presently, she still loves to dance and even takes classes as time allows.

She will always love to sway with the rhythm of the beat and looks at dance as the ultimate expression of her feelings. As Martha Graham said “Dance is the hidden language of the soul of the body.”

Photography by Katie Kidd FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

THE NOM NOM NOMINEES FOR BEST CHEFS THROUGHOUT THE PLATFORM Here at Foundry Commercial we like to enjoy some delicious food and also cook them as well. Below are some amazing chefs and bakers throughout the platform that we thought you should know about.

TOSSED KALE

ALL THE CAKES

Charlotte, NC

Charlotte, NC

Created by: Brett Cranmer 1 can chick peas, drained. Toss in a pan with butter, salt, pepper, fresh garlic and a little honey. 1 package bacon cooked.

Chop 3/4 into larger pieces and 1/4 into fine pieces. Dice 2 to 3 medium tomatoes or several cherry tomatoes. 4 boiled eggs chopped coarse, and salted and peppered. 1/2 bag kale salad (remove any coarse stalks). Baby kale is more tender. Add some carrot strings.1 avocado, large diced (use lime juice to keep it from browning).

Made by: Charlotte Sallis

Charlotte Sallis in the Charlotte Office is the go-to baker for all birthdays in their office. Rumor has it, they are delicious!

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COLD SMOKING Charlotte, NC

Made by: Larry Stinar I enjoy “Cold Smoking”. I cold smoke a variety of cheeses and recently also smoked some chocolate as well. When cold smoking I try to keep the temperature below 80 degrees. Depending on the outdoor air temperature I may need to add ice to my smoker to avoid melting the cheese.

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JALAPEÑO PIMENTO JALAPEÑO PIMENTO CHESSE CHEESE Raleigh, NC INGREDIENTS

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1 cup each - shredded extra-sharp cheddar, Colby jack and white cheddar cheese

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1/2 cup mayonnaise

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1 tablespoon of finely diced onion

Made by: Sara Bullard

1 cup each - shredded extra-sharp cheddar, • 1 jalapeno pepper seeded and finely diced • 1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimentos, drained colby jack and white cheddar cheese, 1/2 • Salt and pepper, to taste cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of finely diced onion, 1 jalapeño pepper seeded and 1. Place all ingredients in a large bowl. Stir finely diced, 1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimentos, gently until combined. drained, salt and pepper.

INSTRUCTIONS

ITALIAN GRAVY Charlotte, NC

Made by: Jason Oriol This is what many Italian Americans call “gravy”. I grew up on the stuff. This tomatobased sauce is the basis of many dishes such as baked ziti, chicken parm, lasagna, etc. that are meant to be shared with friends and family.

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FOUNDRY UNIT E D T H E A RT O F R E A L E STAT E

Resolving Conflict When a conflict comes across our desk in Human Capital, chances are that it has already escalated. Our goal at this point is to provide tools and skills to our employees, and have them solve the conflict themselves.

The first step in conflict resolution is listening.

Being an active listener to both sides of an argument is critical. Even if you disagree with someone, listening is a powerful tool and a respectful way to approach a disagreement. Hearing why someone feels the way they do is very important to being able to resolve an issue.

Take a break and step back from the issue.

Take a moment to calm down, try to take the emotion out of it, see the issue from the other’s point of view.

PH OT OG R A P H Y B Y B R I TTN EY WIM BER LY M OD E L: D A N I E L L E P O W EL L

Address the conflict. Do not let it fester.

Resolving the conflict may help with your growth and development.

Listening: People want to feel heard; they want to feel like they are adding value and their opinions matter, because they do. That does not mean all opinions will be the same, but by listening to the other person, you can understand where their point of view comes from. It is also important to listen even when you disagree. Your opinion matters, and so does theirs.

Take a break: If you find yourself in a situation where you have built up anger or aggression, step away! This is advice I would give you in your personal and professional life. Take a moment, go for a walk, get some air, and calm down. If you are willing to try to take the emotion out of the conversation it will put you in a better state of mind to resolve the conflict.

[1] Wikipedia

When you think about conflict, it is not uncommon for it to have a strong negative connotation. In reality; it’s not such a bad thing.

There is such a thing as positive conflict. It can push us to be better, think outside the box and appreciate differences, which, in turn, can strengthen our company. What really becomes important is how you handle that conflict.

You cannot and should not ignore when that happens, because then it becomes a much harder problem to solve. If you ignore conflict, you waste a lot of time, increase negative relationships, and create an environment that can become a drain on the organization.

[2] “Why Are Work Relationships Important?” Ignite! October 2010

Conflict resolution is conceptualized as the methods and processes involved in facilitating the peaceful ending of conflict and retribution. [1]

Address the conflict: If there is an issue, deal with it in a timely manner. As mentioned, it is OK if you need a break before you handle the situation. If you need to talk to someone about making sure you are handling the situation correctly, work with your direct manager or your Human Capital department.

If you let it fester for too long, the conflict may become larger and the relationship tends to breakdown further.

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[3]“The Art Of Conflict Resolution Among Leadership”Forbes.com, John Drumgoole Jr.

KRISTINA COLANTONIO

HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGER, CHARLOTTE

Enhancing your development by working through the issue: Working through tough situations allows you to step out of your comfort zone and push yourself to have what can be difficult conversations. A lot of times, through conflict resolution, you can make stronger connections. If done effectively, you may even start to appreciate those differences.

Resolving conflicts can be difficult. From my experience, it’s easy to see that most conflicts in the workplace come from a strained relationship and lack of connection. Strong relationships also improve your internal organization. Recent studies have shown that strengthening relationships at work improves morale, increases engagement and leads to greater satisfaction at work. [2] Employees are more likely to be positive, have healthy conflict and be open to feedback when that relationship is strong.

It’s All About the Relationship At Foundry, we understand that everything we do, our work internally and externally, is personal. That said, when things are personal, there tends to be a lot at stake when it comes to dealing with a conflict. Human Capital will work with the employees in order to implement best practices that create and foster positive relationships.

Your company should strive for: Open communication environment Weekly meetings with associates and mangers Quarterly development check ins Team-building activities Understand that we are not going to all have the same communication style

Communication is Key. Be Aware of Your Tone.

10% of conflicts are due to difference in opinion. 90% are due to wrong tone of voice.

Your tone of voice could impact how people respond to you. Tone is most important when delivering a message and is sometimes even more important than the message you are trying to convey. This is the main reason we ask employees to take a step back from a conflict, calm down and give themselves time to cool off.

Tone can also come across wrong in an email.

This tends to happen when there is a lack of relationship to begin with. It’s always better to have an actual conversation, especially when resolving a conflict. It’s easier to control the message with your tone of voice than with an email. It’s simple, really, and may be a lesson your parents taught you when you were young: treat people how you want to be treated.

Culture If you have a strong relationship, nine times out of 10, you will have constructive dialogue that will not turn into negative conflict. This is not only true in our internal community but also with the clients we serve every day. Our goal here at Foundry is to foster a culture and environment where conflicts can add value and employees can work together to reach better decisions based on input from others. So, go ahead, disagree, challenge each other, and listen to one another. That is how we will continue to grow individually and as a company.

There are times that we’ll find we don’t have to choose between this or that, and we can often enjoy a solid mixture of great modeling and great culture. We’re all knit together, and the best moments happen when we successfully navigate our differences to pursue the possibilities of amazing outcomes.[3]

CO N F L I CT R E S O L U T I O N

Reserve the right to be different, to be an original expression of your destined form; an expression of your connection with this very moment. Know that this moment is everything. Know that YOU are not merely experiencing this moment, but rather exist as this moment, that you are everything and nothing and the experiencer is no different from the experience in entirety. Reserve the right to express yourself in this moment, and every moment hereafter, free of judgment, construct, and form.

It is time to shed the mask you’ve been wearing, the mask you’ve created, been given, but was never

truly yours to begin with. As you shed your skin and begin to open your mind and heart, allow this mind-state which you once feared to flow within and around you as your new armor. Feel the new you from the inside out; see the new you only as a reflection in the eyes of others while you look deeply and listen attentively to their thoughts, stories, feelings and lessons. Feel the power of living in this moment and traveling a path with heart. Feel the power emanating from a sensible, enlightened, empathetic object of the universe; know that this object has always been you.

Written By Zoey Angulo, Coral Gables

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Raleigh

Artwork by Laura Beth Bucci

Your life is your greatest work of art.

The Eagle Has Landed A N I N S P I R I N G S T O RY A B O U T H O W FA R O U R TEAM IS WILLING TO GO FOR OUR CLIENTS

HAPPY FRONT PORCH FRIDAY, WRITTEN BY NICK MCKINNEY

I caught up with Chris Bury and Charlie Howarth this week on what has become an epic brokerage story; like, next level kind of stuff.

Chris and Charlie lead our religious, education and not-for-profit group out on the West Coast. California is a huge hub for our clients and has become a critical part of our not-for-profit business.

So much so that Chris, Charlie and John were invited to co-office with our largest not-for-profit client, Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF). LCEF has been a client for more than 20 years and selected Foundry Commercial to be their outsourced real estate team, which handles everything from REO, brokerage, property management, asset management and strategic consulting.

LCEF is the internal bank for the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and just like all lenders in the country, they have been strategically working with churches and organizations that have struggled to perform on their loans. Loan losses can have a large impact on the profitability of lenders and this year was no different. Their fiscal year ends on June 30 and their profitability for the year was hinging on one large sale that HAD to close by that day. If the property was not sold and it slipped to the next year, the associates of LCEF would be impacted financially.

IT WAS ON! Chris had been working on this deal for months but just like most real estate transactions, he hit a few bumps in the road in the home stretch. Primarily, the Buyer was having difficulty obtaining financing in time to close before June 30th. However, the team was able to brainstorm and create a strategy, along with LCEF, that solved that problem. As the Foundry team was approaching the final week of closing, it came to their attention that the Buyer was going to be on an Alaskan cruise and unable to sign and return the closing documents!

To have put all the work into getting the deal to the one-yard line and then not succeed because of this one detail was bonkers!

But sometimes genius sparks when the pressure is on. After learning the Buyer was not going to be available to sign and deliver the documents, Chris and Charlie went into superhuman mode. Chris quickly researched when the Buyer was going to be at port in Alaska.

He then researched where the closest notary was, so, if the stars aligned the Buyer could hop in a cab, go to the notary, sign the papers and overnight them back to California – everyone wins! Not so fast!

Everyone Chris spoke to could not guarantee that the documents would arrive back to California in time for them to be delivered to the title company and recorded by June 30th. With defeat starting to settle in, Charlie quickly searched for flights to Alaska. Yep, sometimes you have to take things into your own hands.

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Chris Bury and Charlie Howarth, “The Eagle has Landed!”

After finding affordable red eye tickets from LAX to Alaska, they were out the door within 30 minutes and the journey to save LCEF’s year was afoot. So many things could go wrong. The flights could get delayed, the Buyer could not end up being able to sign the documents, etc. However, after they arrived in Alaska and quickly set out to locate the small shop where the Buyer was supposed to have signed the documents. With little sleep, and hours to think about whether this was going to be really cool or an absolute failure, they walked into the office and, lo and behold, there was a nice, older woman with a package in her hand who said, with a huge smile on her face, “You fellas must be the ones looking for these documents.” You can imagine the joy that swept over Chris and Charlie as they took possession of the documents. We have all experienced that feeling in some form or fashion. It’s an unexplainable high.

C H A R L I E H O WA RT H & C H R I S B U RY R E L I G I O U S , E D U C AT I O N & N O T- F O R - P R O F I T R E A L E S TAT E T E A M O F F I C E D I N C A L I F O R N I A

They were on the ground for five hours and made it back to California in time for the deal to close and be recorded. When you think about the dedication and passion around this it really makes you smile. Chris and Charlie (and the Foundry platform) love serving clients. The level of how we serve is what really sets us apart. This story is a living example of how that plays out week to week.

Above is a picture that Charlie texted me captioned, “The eagle has landed.”

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LAUNCH Have a great idea? Prepare for launch.