Statewide Marketing Session for October 26, 2016
Submitted by Louise Norwood
The October Statewide Marketing Session was held on Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at the GMNBR headquarters/training center at 318 South River Road in Bedford. This month’s breakfast sponsor was Andre Tremblay of Franklin Savings Bank right here in Bedford. Franklin Savings Bank has been serving real estate investors for almost 150 years, offering development, acquisition, and refinance commercial mortgage loans. They finance retail, office, industrial, warehouse, self-storage and residential developments throughout New England. Their Bedford office recently moved from 116 South River Road to their new location at Bedford Commons right off South River Road. Andre and Deb went way overboard with a host of breakfast treats and delectable Dunkin’ Donuts specials. Thank you for your kind and gracious sponsorship.
Debra Thum of Franklin Savings Bank announced that she can offer great rates for your investor client portfolios. She also has much experience in the area of housing parks having transacted several of these loan packages over the past three years. Deb is seeking to place municipal loans and would appreciate anything you know that may be coming down the pike.
Robert Cruess of TF Moran stated that their team can conduct forensic work into the structural engineering and design of any project. They have been ultra-busy with a variety of properties including but not limited to industrial/manufacturing; municipal, educational, institutional, retail, residential and historic preservation as well as a 300 unit dorm facility for UMass Lowell. They are at the top of their game in the arena of structural engineering projects. Robert urged any affiliates or brokers to submit their retail sites to him prior to November 5th as he will be attending the long established ICSC in New York on November 5 and 6th. He will make sure that your project gets into the right hands. And on a side note Robert makes every effort to accommodate developers and brokers by providing concepts for the highest and best use of land parcels and in most cases provides their talent on a gratis basis. All of us appreciate his input and generosity in getting a project off the ground.
Kimberly Matson of RH Thackston and Company Realtors services the Southwestern part of New Hampshire, Vermont and a portion of Massachusetts. Kim is marketing MacDougall’s Pub in Keene, NH on a lease basis. This turnkey watering hole is a popular sports bar with excellent financials. Please contact Kim to sign the prerequisite confidentiality agreement for this special turnkey bar & grill. In addition she is currently marketing a great retail/business property in Swanzey, NH. An excellent opportunity to invest in small business property with much potential.
Frank Donlan of Merrimack Valley Credit Union practices commercial lending for New Hampshire and Massachusetts. They have available at their disposal 60 million dollars for lending. They have been transacting several land development deals in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. They are headquartered in Seabrook and will soon be opening another office in Londonderry. Their credit union is considered the #1 or #2 sba 504 underwriter for the last twelve years.
Matthew Bacon of NAI Norwood Group, Inc. has two cash buyers interested in either land or buildings as low as two million dollars up to six million dollars. He is also working with an investor who is seeking multi-family properties with a minimum of twelve units upwards. Matt also pitched an attractive office building for lease in Amherst having two separate units or a total of 3,778 s.f at a lease rate of $14.00 psf modified gross on major Route 101-A. This office space is a winner. Lastly, Matt has a fully occupied five unit multi family in Hollis nicely priced at $150,000.
Chuck Goss of NAI Norwood Group, Inc. pitched a well-placed 2.7 acre piece of dirt at Exit 4 off of Route 101 in Raymond. The site is well suited for a gas/convenience store with a recent rendering showing nine gas pumps and a 20,000 s.f. retail store. Nice investment at $400,000. Chuck is actively looking for hospitality users and/or developers for an 18 acre piece he has listed in Epping at Exit 9. Lastly, Chuck is in the throes of working on a conservation project at his family home in Madbury/Durham. His initial plan was to construct 60 to 70 units but has now switched horses working with the conservation people advocating for land protection.
Jeff Lessard of NAI Norwood Group, Inc. has a cash buyer seeking one to three sites in the Windham/Pelham quadrant of the state (Exit 3) having water and sewer. Jeff is also marketing a 6,000 s.f. standalone building on 22 Eastman Avenue in Bedford that recently underwent major capital improvements. The owner is willing to stay on in the building for at least three years to help a smaller user buyer in order to complete a sale. Lastly, Jeff announced that he has secured an LOI for one of the units at Faltin Drive and is actively marketing the balance of the former Sylvania property just off South Willow Street in Manchester.
Joe Friedman of Brooks Properties works exclusively for the owner marketing a host of office suites and flex properties off the I-93 corridor in the Salem area from 20,000 to 80,000 s.f. Their Brookstone flagship property is a 50,000 s.f. four story building being offered at $19.00 psf NNN. They are also marketing a 30,000 s.f. free standing, two story building as a single user property. Additionally, Brooks Properties has office suites available at 3 and 13 Red Roof Lane in Salem respectively all with new upgrades. Joe announced that their headquarters may move up to their Brookstone address making this their new headquarters.
Dave Fenstermacher of VHB offers integrated services for land development projects across New England with a number of engineering disciplines whether it be civil survey, environmental or site assessment. To add to their menu of services they are able to assist with landscape architecture as well as entitlements, zoning and permitting in any specific town as the case may be. Their offices are conveniently located at Bedford Farms on Kilton Road in Bedford.
Sherrie Trefry, CSS is the director of environmental and energy services focusing in on permitting and compliance with local, state and federal environmental regulations. Other representative services that Sherrie specializes in are Phase 1 environmental site assessments; wetland delineation and mitigation; rare/endangered species mitigation; water resources management and air quality and noise assessment management as well as buffer zones and aerial overlays. Her laundry list of skills are indeed noteworthy as Sherrie is a certified solar specialist and is versed in soil surveys and analysis.
Vincent Chestnut of Alpha Locksmith operates his locksmith business via a mobile van for both business and residential applications. He recently completed a project for a police station where secure demised rooms are a necessity such as the evidence and record keeping rooms but the officers were very concerned that their snack café be equally secured as the others. He also related one of his locksmith experiences that involved an attorney wishing to have his private office securitized without a key system. Vince cured that situation by installing a key pad lock on the attorney’s door for complete confidentiality.
Chris Pascucci of KW Commercial is marketing a two story historic building at 950 Elm Street in Manchester. The main level comprised of 2,550 s.f. was most recently occupied by a consignment establishment which also offers a 2,000 s.f. lower level currently being offered at $2,700 per month modified gross. Chris announced that he will be hosting an open house at 80 Canal Street in Manchester on Wednesday, November 2 from 8:00 to 9:30 a.m. This first class space located in the mill district has been newly renovated and is serviced by municipal water, sewer and natural gas along with plentiful on-site parking. Contact Chris with your rsvp.
Stuart Arnett of ADG (Arnett Development Group) concentrates on assisting towns with their community based projects that add value to their infrastructure. He has recently been involved with the towns of Hooksett and Stratham. In addition he announced that a guide book has been implemented spelling out the statues for residential inhabitants covering home accessory buildings whether attached or not. Families can now stay under one roof throughout the lifetime of a property which is labeled as “permitted or allowable by right”. This law does not require the owner to actually live in the home. Stuart focuses on assisting disadvantaged communities raise funds to pay for the cost of engineering and related contractors.
Brenda Litchfield of Concord Commercial Real Estate has a cash buyer in tow interested in purchasing a small office investment package up to $750,000. Brenda announced that she sold the octagon historic property on Hanover Street in Manchester. She is anticipating a new listing comprised of an eight unit multi family in Hopkinton which she claims is very beautiful and better yet fully occupied. A price has not yet been established. She went on to say how much she enjoys working with all of the CIBOR members whether those in the brokerage community or the various affiliates.
Chris Ratte of SK Lawyers, PLLC assists clients in commercial investments and practices real estate documentation whether it be drafting commercial leases, Purchase and Sales or any of the myriad of real estate contracts as it relates to real estate. Chris advised the group that as of August 2016 an updated condominium statue went into effect mandating that all condominium associations update their by-laws.
Scott Kinsley of Primary Bank services Northern Massachusetts and the Southern tier of New Hampshire. They cover various loan applications whether it be in the SBA realm, business funding and construction loan products. Scott considers their lending institution to be problem solvers and as Scott has over twenty years of experience in the banking industry, he has established great relationships.
Jeff Boufford of Boyd & Boufford Insurance Agency is in the practice of general liability and has the ability to cover properties in the Class A realm to vacant buildings. Jeff’s company is affiliated with a program whose primary focus is covering vacant buildings as well as a building project going through a renovation procedure whether it be a three month, six month or a year at a time. In wrapping up Jeff’s comments, he announced that as a volunteer on the membership committee for CIBOR he has seen the organization grow by leaps and bounds becoming the reputable and greatly sought after group we know today. Please send Jeff any names of individuals that you feel would be interested in joining and he will reach out to them.
Christine Burke of Burke Emergency Restoration handles emergency restoration on a 24/7 basis throughout New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts. They can take care of a host of problems be it mold, water, soot and weather related issues we here in the northeast are plagued with. As recently as last Friday evening there was flash flooding in the area of Elliot’s Riversedge – the construction site nearby transported mud into the facility. Their people were able to facilitate the clean up of the affected area, sanitize, and run moisture meters all within twenty hours from the time the storm had passed. Christine pointed out that once a spore has been destroyed they cannot return – that is the why it is so important to have the spore testing conducted. They can provide you with free estimates. With the forecast written up in this winter’s Farmer’s Almanac, there should be many burst pipes and ice backups which interprets into good news for their firm.
Dan Barufaldi who represents the Dover Economic Development arm was proud to announce that the City of Dover is the fastest growing city in the state and with the youngest work force. He went on to say that the state agency of DRED now has new data analytic software for individual communities assisting in learning the trending economic overviews. Dan went on to explain that one of the main reasons Dover has done so well in attracting business into the city is that their technical review process involves all of the departments (police, fire, DPW and the town fathers) sitting down at the table two weeks prior to the scheduled planning board meeting. The plan is formulated based on their findings and these various groups advocate for the business owner during their application process. Dan also reiterated as many of the others did at this gathering that he makes an effort to drive from Dover to our meetings every month as he values the relationships he has established with his CIBOR partners.
Don Marshall of Marshall Associates practices general business brokerage. In considering any business listing he performs a complete pricing analysis allowing the seller to understand what the realistic expectations may be going forward. Don announced that there is an educational session being held Thursday, October 27 at the Brookstone Event Center in Salem. The name of the course is “Community Best Practices” with five local towns partaking in the event. All are invited to bring a representative of your township. Don is currently marketing a pizza restaurant business in Manchester which would make an ideal second career for an individual. With a price tag of $300,000 and annual earnings of $200,000, this would make someone a tidy enterprise to involve themselves in.
Bill Jean of Fulcrum Associates covers territories in Southern Maine, New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts from ground up to a finished construction project. Bill and his firm pride themselves in providing the most up to date cost information and by tabulating an early performa budget, the end result will have no surprises. Bill explained that they had bid on the Murphy’s Tavern project on Route 101 in Bedford and because of their honest assessment lost out on the job. They are most reputable and are known for their upfront diligence and professionalism.
Andre Tremblay of Franklin Savings Bank has the capability of financing all types of real estate over a 20 to 25 year fully amortized loan. Andre also echoed Dan’s overview of the City of Dover saying that Franklin Savings has done much work in developing financing for various projects in the construction venue able to quote a permanent rate early on. Andre is stepping down from the membership committee but underscored that new contacts are Jeff Boufford and Matt Bacon. Thank you Andre for your generous hospitality in providing the group with a delicious and plentiful spread. We are most appreciative.
Louise Norwood of NAI Norwood Group, Inc. announced that the former Grenon Trading Company building at 276 Route 101 in Bedford has had a major price reduction from $1,600,000 to $1,295,000. Please contact Judy Niles-Simmons or Chris Norwood for additional details. There has been several leases signed at 9 Cedarwood Drive in Bedford with only two units remaining. Beautifully landscaped, this brick complex has come into its own. Property owner maintains the property with meticulous oversight. Lastly, 10 Chestnut Drive in Bedford has had a flurry activity with a lease being signed as we speak. Only four units available at reasonable lease rates with the entire complex for sale at a modest price of $895,000.
A great breakfast and as usual some good take away from all who attended. We are most appreciative of Franklin Savings Bank providing a delectable meal and a big thank you to Andrew Tremblay, Deb Thum and Scott Kingsley for squiring the food, coffee and related products between two buildings. They are real troopers. As a reminder, our next meeting will be held at the offices of NAI Norwood Group, Inc., 116 South River Road in Bedford on Tuesday, November 22nd, 2016 at 9:00 a.m. Allison will be sending out several reminders during the month of November. The statewide marketing session will not be held in December resuming our usual fourth Wednesday in January.
Don’t forget to turn the clocks back this week-end and enjoy the last vestiges of Fall.