Statewide Marketing Session for January 2016
Submitted by Louise Norwood
The January Statewide Marketing Session was held on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at the GMNBR headquarters/training center at 318 South River Road in Bedford. This month’s breakfast sponsor was Tom Champagne and Don St. Germain of St. Mary’s Bank. Founded in 1908, St. Mary’s Bank is the nation’s first credit union. Today, St. Mary’s Bank is a $870 million full service financial institution with approximately 90,000 members serving both consumers and businesses. St. Mary’s Bank business offerings are designed to help small to medium size businesses grow and prosper. St. Mary’s offers commercial mortgages, lines of credit, equipment loans, construction loans and SBA guaranteed loans – all done with local decision making. We are appreciative of the fine spread put on by our CIBOR affiliate St. Mary’s Bank.
Chris Foley of Turn Cycle Solutions and Purple Finch Realty joined us for the first time. He and his sister are in the real estate business together and make their business home in Nashua. Chris is here to absorb knowledge and network with other like-minded individuals. We welcome Chris and look forward to seeing him again as a regular.
Nick Auer of Avery Insurance gave us an overview of his company which has locations in both Wolfeboro and in Portsmouth. Avery is a family owned business with roots back to 1899. Nick stated that their firm handles all types of insurance including but not limited to home and auto; business; specialty programs; and claims. We welcome Nick as a newcomer to our group and hope to see him at future meetings.
Larry Hirsch of Hirsch and Co., Inc. is marketing a free standing warehouse property in Nashua comprised of 131,000 s.f. with rail at a modest rate of $3.25 psf nnn. This facility has ample loading capability with seven tailboard height loading doors and four drive-in doors. The subject property has been operated by the Law family as a warehouse facility for many years and can offer existing racking, forklifts and other equipment. Additionally Larry has a 13,000 s.f. industrial unit at 444 E. Industrial Park Drive in Manchester. These two combined units can also be leased on a separate basis each with a loading door at a rate of $6.25 psf nnn.
Leighton White of Leighton A. White Inc. deals in all types of ground excavation. Even though he has recently sold his business to his son, he keeps actively involved in procuring additional assignments for their family business. As they own a quarry in the Town of Milford, they can provide all size stone and gravel products supplementing their site excavation endeavors; erosion control and other related services. Check out their web site and see them on Facebook to view the jobs they are currently working on.
Tad Dziemian of Neighborhood Energy strives to attain lower energy rates for his customer/client base. There has been a decrease in the price of natural gas and crude oil. Tad stated that Kinder Morgan is almost up and running and should be officially on line by 2018. Tad welcomes giving consultation advice to customers in all realms including commercial applications, industrial and residence venues. As he has expertise in the field of energy he can provide customers with a high degree of savings to their energy bottom line.
Ben Baroody of Baroody Real Estate specializes in business brokerage in the commercial field primarily in the Southern New Hampshire tier and in Northern Massachusetts. He recently left Elm Grove Realty to team up with Alicia Kalil. Some of the projects he is currently working on is a 1.4 million dollar parcel of land in Brentwood zoned residential/industrial; marketing an auto auction business and another that deals in handicapped vans. Further Ben announced that he has been assigned to market a three story building directly on the Merrimack River on the Bow/Concord line. It was most recently utilized as a law office with two parking lots and has gorgeous views to the river from the glassed wall in the rear of the property. A most marketable price at $275,000.
Alicia Kalil of Allied Business Consulting is the exclusive marketing agent for Paul Mitchell. Her role is to find either existing salon space or ferret out new space in vacant retail locations. The company will take it to the next level of either improving an existing salon or fitting up a new facility. The aesthetic face lift expense for existing clients is underwritten by investors. With so many salons in the area and more coming on line, there is no shortage of business.
Jack Mannix of End Point, LLC deals with environmental issues. To that end he can work on an accelerated basis to quickly and effectively eliminate the environmental issues that crop up during a due diligence process. Jack explained that they are also capable of dealing with underground storage tanks. There are insurance programs to cover this expense; however, the work would need to be pre-approved.
Lynne Bagby of Asset Preservation deals with clientele in New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and Massachusetts. Her wealth of knowledge spills over to many fields as she explained the process of a family selling a business as well as related real estate in an LLC. It is important to note that the LLC would need to be disbanded prior to selling the property. It would be advisable to speak to a CPA to learn of the most current laws. Lynne cautioned that if someone has attained a property through a 1031 exchange, they would need to heed the rules of selling the property or refinancing to obtain ready cash. By doing so may negate the exchange so reassess long term cash plans.
George Naslas of Weston and Sampson deal in contaminated properties and are one of the five contractors who can tap into the MTB Fund to mitigate environmental issues. Established in 1899, they can provide services for lead paint issues and lend support services to property owner for all types of contamination. We welcome George to the meeting and hope that he will continue to attend in the future.
Tom Champagne of St. Mary’s Bank provided us with a delicious breakfast which we are most appreciative of. St. Mary’s offers a range of lending products and are capable of lending from $250,000 up to five to six million dollars with their sweet spot being in the two million dollar range. Tom expounded on the many services that they offer including multi-tenant, office and industrial lending. They can easily get the process completed in short order.
Don St. Germain of St. Mary’s Bank inspires consumer confidence as they have been in business since 1908 and are a hallmark in the City of Manchester. Not only did Tom and Don provide us with a delicious breakfast but brought a variety of hand out goodies followed by a contest with the winner being the closest to guessing what year was the inception of St. Mary’s. Thank you again, for your generosity.
Dan Barufaldi of Dover Economic Development announced that he would be attending a meeting that evening to seek approval from the City for a new business park. Dan provided us with a Manager’s Report with an overview of the economic temperature for the City of Dover and with regional overtones having a generous helping of meat and potatoes. He is working on attracting a machinery company to the ER zone in Dover. Dan commented that he retired some ten years ago but after a short hiatus returned to work as the Economic Development Director of Dover. Dover is now the fastest growing city in the State of New Hampshire. Congratulations to Dan.
Gary Chabot of the State of New Hampshire (DRED) announced that he is retiring in the next few weeks; however, he wanted to remind everyone of the tax credit incentive within designated areas of certain cities and towns in the state. For each new job that is filled in these incentivized areas a tax credit will be awarded the business owner. It is critical for those contemplating applying for same that it be done so by February 10 which is the deadline for this year. For those having interest, please log on to nheconomy.com for a list of ERZ locations in the state.
Robert Cruess of TF Moran announced that there was much going in the retail/lifestyle marketplace. He went on to say that he recently attended the ICSC and that it was overflowing with retail representatives with bigger crowds than ever. TF Moran is currently working on the redevelopment project at the former Macy’s; the new pub restaurant, soon to be opened Murphy’s Tavern which will be located at the former Weathervane site in Bedford; the Whole Foods/Provident Bank project and three other redevelopment engineering projects in the South River Road area.
Erik Crisman of Brookstone Builders is a general contractor with one of their specialties being in the field of historic renovation. Their latest endeavor was contract work for the ship yard in Kittery. Erik is open to hearing from any of the CIBOR members and affiliates needing bids for construction projects.
Michael Turcotte of Turn Cycle Solutions deals in the land of equity and represents a chain of Pop Eyes. His other employment endeavor is energy coding that is accomplished prior to a homeowner receiving their Certificate of Occupancy. Some of the tests that they perform are air testing for blower doors; diagnosing duct systems to find gas and air leaks as well as providing thermal energy cameras to detect any problems.
Marie Bodi of CP Management operates a third party property management company with their home office headquartered in Exeter. They manage properties from New Hampshire down to Rhode Island and every place in between. Marie is continuously seeking all types of properties to add to their management portfolio and are open and responsive to taking care of your clients’ facilities, condos, etc. 24/7.
Adam Johnston of Optima Bank and Trust here in Bedford explained their wide assortment of lending services. Adam wishes to build long lasting relationships with his clientele and to that end is desirous of building a business platform with clients in this southern tier. Their new location is on South River Road between Starbucks and Chipotle. Optima Bank and Trust in Bedford is one of the newest branches to their ever growing reach in the southern New Hampshire banking community.
Tony Fallon of Tony Fallon Architecture is a well-known architect in the seacoast region though he travels throughout the state and into the state of Maine. He is seeking work assignments and with an outstanding reputation would be a great asset to any construction project team. Projects to his credit are the Yankee Magazine project in Dublin; assignments in the Lakes Region; a Playhouse in Maine in which he designed a Carriage House; tenant fit-up for a church in Pembroke and various architectural work at Pease and for Thermo Fisher on Heritage Avenue in Portsmouth. Great to see Tony here as he is the scribe in Portsmouth.
Donna Ehrler of Northway Bank explained that they have several locations including Manchester, Gorham, Laconia, Meredith, North Conway, Plymouth and Portsmouth. Donna stated that the bank serves the financial needs of the consumer, small business and commercial customers. She has had a thirty year career in the banking industry so is most insightful in providing advice and expertise in the lending world.
Fran Mueller also of Northway Bank has had much experience in the hospitality lending field; commercial construction; fit up requirements and business equipment. As Northway has much longevity, they would welcome the opportunity to further their lending business to the clients of CIBOR members.
Brian Hansen of Team Engineering deals in engineering studies for both structural and electrical. In addition Team is versed in solar panel implementation. Brian went on to say that if you should need some documentation stamped quickly, they can turn a study around in short order. No project too big or too small for Team to handle.
Joe Friedman of Brooks Properties concentrates the management and marketing of their product exclusively from 1,300 s.f. to 50,000 s.f. Much of their office space is located in Salem namely 6 Manor Parkway; 19 and 23 Keewaydin Drive; 9, 11 and 13 Red Roof Lane and 8 Industrial Way all in Salem with buildings of various size suites in Derry, NH. As for Massachusetts, they have a heavy presence is Methuen. Joe announced that his group is hosting a Club Night at Brookstone showcasing the NEW “Fountain Room” celebrating Valentine’s Day. The gala will be held on Saturday, February 13th from 7:00 to midnight with heavy hors d’oeuvres and cash bar. For more details or to make reservations, please call the Brookstone people direct at (603) 328-9255 or log on to Brookstone-Park.com. A great way to network and enjoy a pleasant evening.
Jay Lee of NAI Norwood is working on two 1031 exchanges in the 2 to 3 million dollar range for single tenant leases primarily for an industrial venue either in Manchester or Londonderry. Jay announced that he has a one acre lot at 1289 Hooksett Road in Hooksett for sale at $850,000. Great site next door to Rite Aid in a very busy retail sector. The piece has 400’ road frontage with municipal utilities. Lastly, Jay is marketing a 3,000 s.f. retail property on 5.6 acres of land at 1795 Dover Road in Epsom for $210,000.
Deana Theriault of NAI Norwood is marketing a small office suite at 75 Gilcreast Road in Londonderry. This immaculate office is serviced by an elevator and is priced at $10.50 psf modified gross. Deana also has a great business for sale in the town of Pembroke. This 40 seat restaurant with an Italian influence is a turnkey business sale inclusive of business and furnishings, equipment, recipes and related inventory all in at $75,000.
Rick Mulvee of Tower Realty has a cash buyer interested in the purchase of smaller apartment complexes of in the neighborhood of ten to twelve units. The investor’s goal is to accumulate 200 units in Manchester in 2016. He is financially backed by an insurance group. Rick is also marketing a great downtown Manchester retail location at an end cap space ideal for a salon purpose. Rick also continues to represent a group of investors who have high interest in adding large, older buildings to their portfolio. Their goal is to hold the asset for a number of years so they are patient in their investing process. Please contact Rick if you have anything out of the norm for sale such as timberland, mineral rights or coal mines for his group. They are willing to consider all types of investments.
John Jackman of Jackman Commercial Real Estate is marketing several pieces of land one of which is in the Town of Mont Vernon. This approved subdivision is comprised of 81 acres with 19 approved residential house lots with an asking price of $649,900. John also advised us that he has office space galore to lease in multiple communities including Nashua, Amherst and Bedford so check out the spaces he has listed on nhcpe.com.
Bill Jean of Fulcrum Associates Inc. explained to the group that theirs is a company who feels that becoming involved in the early stage of the building/planning process is most important for financial planning purposes. They deal in multiple construction venues but primarily concentrate on ground up to finish and everything in between. Their most recent projects are a 210 residential complex in Salisbury; a 20 condominium residential complex in Hampton and two medical projects in Nashua. Feel free to contact Bill to price out your client’s building project. By adhering to an early development strategy and achieving an accurate performa, a better and more economical plan can be realized.
Steve Jones of Building Envelope Specialists out of Portland, Maine focuses on the exterior skin of commercial buildings. They like to engage a client and commence with the process of investigating the building, come up with a clear design and recommendation that best fits their needs. They can diagnose the issues with any building especially where the penetration of moisture is originating from. Once they have pinpointed the trouble spot, they will devise a cure and create a solution. Many problems derive from incorrect application of insulation and nine times out of ten moisture is the culprit resolving in mold and condensation. They have received awards in the Preservation so have much expertise in this field.
Rick Rostoff of Linear Retail of Burlington, Massachusetts arrived on two wheels and gave us an eloquent presentation of their New Hampshire acquisitions. He announced to the group that they now have 83 retail properties with their newest purchase being the Barnes & Noble on D.W. Highway/Spit Brook Road in Nashua comprised of 30,000 s.f. with a purchase price of 12 million dollars. They now have $110,000,000 worth of property in their portfolio and plan on acquiring another $100,000,000. They are cash buyers, typically only need thirty days for their due diligence and only purchase retail venues. In addition to existing retail, they will buy land in high retail markets but will even consider industrial buildings for conversion. A tremendous resource for those in the retail marketing world.
Louise Norwood of NAI Norwood announced that their company is marketing for lease several properties at 75, 85 and 95 Faltin Drive with the balance of the property being repositioned for retail purposes. The remaining three buildings on site are industrial in nature from 18,805 s.f., 16,037 s.f. and 17,662 s.f. We are pleased to market this former 300,000 s.f. Osram facility on behalf of Brady Sullivan and Dick Anagnost. Lastly, we have just been assigned to market the former Martin’s House of Cloth at 19 Kilton Road in Bedford comprised of 5,050 retail/medical s.f. at a lease rate of $17.50 psf on a single net basis.
To assist in being more accurate with the above summaries, please bring any marketing materials you may have in order that we get the correct information. As our meetings grow in volume, it is imperative that all information is as precise as possible. Thank you for helping out.
Also, I want to thank the folks at St. Mary’s Bank namely Tom Champagne and Don St. Germain for a great breakfast. In addition, I hope all that attended found the meeting to be informative along with some good contacts to further your book of business. Hope to see you in February and DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!