Property Advisors leads catalytic, sustainable development and redevelopment. Our approach ensures that the strategies and tactics put in place are executable, sustainable and drive alignment between both the public and private sectors. In each phase, we use our insights and market understanding to create public and private sector partnerships to create "places that matter."

Stage One - Envision the Possibilities

• Phase One – It Starts with People
  Development decisions are only as good as the informing data. Understand the people.
• Phase Two - Marketplace Housing Assessment
  Understand the residential market. This is key to commercial success.
• Phase Three - Commercial Impact Analysis
  Understand the possibilities. Meet the needs.
• Phase Four - Strategic Action Planning
  Identify the Gateways of Change to enable catalytic development.

Stage Two – Bring the Vision to Life

• Phase One - Financial Planning
  Develop the executable financial structure that balances public interests with private sector needs.
• Phase Two - Development Advisory
  Define responsibilities required between public and private sector to ensure the development does not recreate what already exists.
• Phase Three - Advancement Team Assemblage
  Combine the right people.
• Phase Four - Marketing and Sales
  Unveil and invite to a place that matters.

Stage One – Envision the Possibilities

Phase One – It Starts with People

At Property Advisors, we begin with a careful study of household demographics within the most appropriate market area(s). Each household represents a small cell of American consumerism tied to an address that matters to their lifestyle; this is our local economy at the granular level. The householders live in the community for a reason. Updated demographics reveal their buying power and penchant to engage other commercial real estate uses, schools, roadways and other public amenities.

We then overlay a more sophisticated market segmentation, or psychographic analysis, of these same households that reveals the “clustering” of similar buying and lifestyle profiles. Whether the target product is housing, retail or entertainment venues, this more refined analysis speaks to a capacity beyond incomes, ages or household occupants.

At Property Advisors, we are uniquely positioned to pursue the best emerging data and methodologies available, be they metric or communicative. As a great example, we have a long-standing partnership with Social Compact which allows us access to DrillDown™ market metrics in select cities, offering an understanding on a transactional level of the true number of constituents in that subject urban market and the informal economy embedded within. As stated by Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve, “Good data supports community growth and development by helping to identify previously unrecognized market opportunities.”  The DrillDown™ methodology does just this. 

As any urban market experiences a surge among certain demographic groups -- Baby Boomers, young professionals or foreign born residents -- and as the Census today is fully conducted only every 10 years, there tends to be a significant undercount of these key groups. The Census may track birth and death rates of the population, but does not track an incoming Fortune 500 company or the full potential of the local economy. Because of this, the DrillDown™ was created by Social Compact and sponsored by America’s largest financial and research groups to better understand the granular economy in the urban core.

Through a unique analysis of property tax assessments, water consumption, utility usage and method of payment, school enrollment, crime mapping and more, Property Advisors and Social Compact are able to determine the actual household population for each segment of an urban community and the relative consumption or buying power of that household. 

Once a DrillDown™ is complete, a side by side comparison of census data and DrillDown data is provided for each Census block group within selected neighborhoods. This allows the local and community leadership to selectively target the most deserving neighborhoods for redevelopment. Early results have ranges from a significant bank investment of $200 MM in urban branches to social identification of targeted redevelopment areas for investment.

Phase Two - MarketPlace Housing Assessment

For all of us, our home is more than the structure, windows and bedroom count. A great deal of its intrinsic value as our largest and most emotional of purchases is found in the address. Our home, rented or owned, temporary or long-term, represents a base that is close to most everything important in our lives: our workplace, our friends, our children or our church. By studying the households alongside the housing market activity in new and resale homes, we can map the depth and growth of the local economy at the granular level. To attract the right mix of commercial activity, any community should first understand their rooftops and the makeup, thought processes and the buying power of the people who call that community home. 

The Property Advisors’ Marketplace Housing Assessment identifies and measures the vibrancy of the residential market in a community. The analysis normally reveals specific housing product or performance trends and unserved housing needs that would frame development or redevelopment opportunities. The Study normally reveals pricing and closing performance, product niches and market direction, including metrics on housing rental impact and foreclosures.

Phase Three – Commercial Impact Analysis

Often, we are approached to help “fix” the commercial market - a once vibrant shopping corridor has turned into discount stores and empty office buildings. The underlying demand for commercial real estate needs to be reestablished through strategies that build attractive places that matter. It is difficult, if not impossible, for a community to revitalize retail corridors with nothing more than a retail strategy. 

Challenging our clients to look at the commercial market from a different perspective, we first look at the underlying market strength – the residents, patrons and employees – and then begin to analyze product types. Utilizing the results of the Marketplace Housing Assessment, our clients are able to understand the buying power that exists with those who are already aligned with the commercial corridor in terms of proximity and buying habits. This often challenges conventional development, but also creates new opportunities for building walkable neighborhoods.  

We then help our clients understand what blend of commercial products will best serve the community, maintaining relevancy and sustainability. Working with all product types – mixed-use, retail, office, industrial, hospitality and multi and single family residential, we are able to help project future demand. We conduct feasibility studies of each commercial property type and incorporate the impact of additional residential development and surrounding communities. In addition, we evaluate and define financing options (TIF, TID, RIDD, etc.) available to promote the type of development desired by the community. Our years of private sector and financial advisory experience enables us to understand what financial structures are needed to support both public and private sector needs.

Phase Four – Strategic Action Planning – Identifying Gateways of Change

Armed with accurate data analysis and experience, Property Advisors works with our clients to define the future. Together, we identify the Gateways of Change – what will make the

greatest impact on the community? What will help revitalize the neighborhood, catalyzing a trajectory of growth? We have found that benchmarking against similarly situated communities throughout the country helps our clients to qualify what is important to them, and we incorporate these desired traits into the community’s long-range plan. We identify initial redevelopment options, including land usage and assemblage, finance options, new housing and other mixed-use applications, and begin to prioritize gateways of change.

Stage Two – Bring the Vision to Life

Phase One – Financial Planning

After completing Stage One and identifying the appropriate development/redevelopment opportunities, we execute.   We collect the preliminary land assemblage options and begin to program the development that fits the needs of the community. We construct a financial pro-forma at the project level for our clients and partners. This pro-forma is informed by the market and capacity discerned from the work and results of Stage One. The outcome of this analysis is a financial pro-forma that balances public interests with private sector needs for returns on their capital.

Phase 2 – Development Advisory

As a result of our extensive consulting in both the public and private development sectors, we understand that alignment between sectors promotes optimal projects and investments. Although success is often defined with different metrics, all parties succeed when they reach common goals borne from an over-arching vision.

Catalytic development begins with responsible imagination. With larger scale and ambitions, traditional design, zoning entitlements, finance and marketing must be adjusted to better promote the development. Using solid analyses and thought leadership, the launch of a great project needs a sturdy bridge between the public and private sectors.

Taken further, we believe in the power of bold, mixed-use development that lowers the importance of the automobile and emphasizes walkable, livable neighborhoods or districts. This is the most relevant, sustainable brand of development and "making place matter."

Phase Three – Advancement Teams Assemblage

Once we have a strategy in place and an executable financial structure, the right mix of public and private partners need to be assembled to bring the vision to reality. Our history of serving both public sector and private sector clients provides us with the unique ability to understand each team member’s frame of reference.  As such, we are able to keep the best interests of both the public and the private sectors in mind. Through data and analysis, Property Advisors brings the science to the development and through our unique relationships, we bring the art. We are confident that this combination enables us - time and time again – to help “Make Place Matter.”

We help to assemble the development teams and lead the ongoing process every step of the way. Below are just some of the key players to our development teams: 

• Public leadership - elected and appointed officials, economic development teams
• Community outreach
• Consultants and advisors
• Architects and Planners
• Engineers
• Attorneys
• Capital
• Master Developers
• POD Developers