Statewide Marketing Session for March 2018
Submitted by Louise Norwood
The March Statewide Marketing Session was held on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at our new location at the Matheson Education Suite at 166 South River Road in Bedford. It was by far the largest group we have had to date in Bedford with some new faces and some very timely information. Our sponsor this month was Joe Friedman and Christie Bellany of Brooks Properties. Based in Salem, New Hampshire and operating in that business environment for some 35 years, the company has committed to maintaining the ideals and ethics that Harold J. Brooks brought to the company with its founding. They seek to build and maintain quality commercial and industrial buildings that will benefit the Merrimack Valley and the surrounding region for decades to come. Their properties include a group of high quality commercial and industrial facilities that is made up of 35 buildings and 1.3 million square feet of space in New Hampshire and neighboring Massachusetts. Many thanks to you both for hosting today’s Statewide.
Jonathan Smith of Harvest SBF deals in small business lending. They are labeled as a non-bank lender with the specific goal of serving small business borrowers who have traditionally been ignored by large, regional, and community banks. The increased regulatory burden placed on banks has created a standardized approach to Commercial Real Estate lending. Formed in 2015, Harvest is headquartered in Laguna Hills, California, specializing in SBA 7(a) loans up to $5 million to small businesses. Much discussion was had on the new rage of stand up desks – Jonathan claimed that you can burn 100 calories per hour in a standing work position vs. being seated!
Aron Brown of NAI Norwood Group, Inc. is marketing a church facility in Amherst comprised of 5,148 s.f. that has great visibility along Route 101-A and is priced at $549,000. In addition Aron also has two other spaces on West Street in Keene for lease one of which is 1,200 s.f. or 3,600 s.f. or combined for 4,800 s.f. offered at $16.00 psf NNN. Aron is also working on leasing a 10,000 s.f. industrial warehouse building having two docks and one drive in with a 16’ ceiling height priced right at $6.50 psf NNN.
Laura Nesmith of Colliers International announced a new listing at 288 Route 101 in Bedford with great visibility offered for either lease at $10.00 psf NNN or for sale at $1,400,000. This 14,000 s.f. office facility has vacant space available in increments of 2,000 up to 7,000 s.f. Laura also is marketing a well located 3,735 s.f. double unit office condominium at Pine Tree Place in Bedford for sale at $355,000. The existing owner is willing to lease back a portion of the space or move out completely.
Marilyn Charbonneau of NBT Bank explained that their lending institution can lend up to $6,000,000 in house as the decisions will be made locally. NBT is also offering great rates on CD’s at this time so contact Marilyn or log in to their site at nbtbank.com/CD-NH. The inception of NBT was some 160 years ago and has steadily grown resulting with a presence in the State of New Hampshire.
Kent Buschle of Heartland explained that their company is a credit card processing enterprise including payroll. Their strong suit is in providing services to restaurants and as a result have become a great resource for the buying and selling of existing eateries. With more than 300,000 Heartland customers across the U.S., there is a sales professional in your area. They offer a wide range of services including competitive pricing with a three-year price lock, secure 24/7/365 access to payroll data, employee information, federal, state and local tax filing and payments as well as a dedicated customer service team. As Kent is well connected with the movers and shakers in the restaurant industry, he is an excellent resource if you are researching either properties, businesses or alike.
Nick Shea of Shea Commercial primarily focuses his practice in the greater Salem area. Nick is working with an investor who has a fund of $10,000,000 to invest in property along the I-93 corridor. As others at the meeting commented, CIBOR is one of the best networking platforms in the state. Members work diligently back and forth to assist each other in their search needs. Case in point Chris Norwood and Nick were emailing just this past Sunday for a requirement. Lastly, Nick is seeking 5-20 acres of land for a group of investors with the preferable towns being Derry, Londonderry and Windham.
Joe Robinson of NAI Norwood Group who is the newest recruit was attending his first Statewide Marketing Sessions. Joe is working on a 16,000 s.f. industrial space for lease at 34 Locke Road in Concord. With four drive in doors and ease of access to I-93 at a lease rate of $7.00 psf NNN, this space should lease quickly. Joe is also looking for a 2-3,000 s.f. restaurant space in Manchester. He will be attending on a regular basis. Welcome Joe.
Steve Scheiner of St. Mary’s Bank is the first credit union in the State of New Hampshire starting with loan increments from $100,000 on up. They cover a wide scope of borrowing opportunities from ground up construction to existing buildings and everything in between. St. Mary’s Bank is conveniently located at 200 McGregor Street in Manchester which was formerly called The People’s Bank or in historic terms “La Caisse Populaire, Ste-Marie”.
Ray Sirois of Service Master Disaster located in Rochester handles issues in southern Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Each of their specialists has earned certification from the IICRC, ServiceMaster Clean Quality Assured program, and Indoor Quality Associations. They use advanced restoration techniques and state-of-the-art equipment to completely restore your property and its contents.
Dylan Cruess of TF Moran, Inc. explained that their company is a recognized Land Planning firm specializing in Civil Engineering, Structural Engineering, Traffic Engineering, Transportation Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture and Environmental Studies. Dylan announced that Trader Joe’s has formally broken ground at Market and Main at the former Macy’s site. TF Moran has been instrumental in providing the brokerage community conceptuals to implement construction site planning for many years and is happy to assist in your brokerage/construction projects. Dylan explained that one of their most recent projects is underway that being a nearly 1,700 parking space area in a six-story parking facility located at the corner of South Commercial Street and Line Drive in Manchester. The parking lot will provide parking for Southern New Hampshire University’s online program and admin offices housed in the adjacent Langer Place Mill. Lastly, Dylan reminded everyone to add to their calendar the CIBOR barbeque hosted by TF Moran on June 13th.
Rick Mulvee of Tower Realty is actively working with an investor who has a war chest of 5 to $20,000,000 to invest in properties that they can add value with a hold term of five to ten years out. Their sweet spot is office and multi tenanted facilities. Rick just finished reading Robert Cruess’ book, Time is All We Have, and offered to lend it out. A good read! Lastly, Rick has a hotel investor looking for hotels with approximately (75) units anywhere in New England or perhaps some off market property that has not surfaced to the public as yet.
Fred Richards of Masiello Commercial hails from their office in Concord. Fred is in the market for a 15,000 s.f. retail/showroom with a bit of warehousing if possible. In addition, he is interested in locating small restaurants for both ice cream and/or pizza purveyors in the Rockingham County area. Please send anything you may have in your listing inventory off to Fred.
Tim Wege of New Star Properties located in Londonderry specializes in turnkey property management solutions for condominium associations and multifamily and commercial investors. Tim is also looking for a commercial client to take over a proposed 20-30 unit high end town housing project in Windham. Tim announced that he was involved in a 1.7 million condominium renovation that Scott Kingley from Primary was involved with. Gave him a thumbs up!
Andrew Robbins of Colliers International is seeking 1,000 to 1,500 s.f. of first class retail space in the Windham/Salem area. He is also seeking 2,000 s.f. of Class A retail in Manchester with a requirement of (15) parking spaces.
Aaron Gill of Northway Bank deals in commercial lending. Organized in 2005 Northway is an independent community bank located right here in Manchester at 29 Cilley Road. They offer financing for income properties and pride themselves on keeping their loan agreements as simplistic as possible for the consumer. Aaron is your go to person for commercial lending services.
Mark Lacoy of Allobar Strategies offers comprehensive property tax management services for property owners hoping to monitor, verify and stay current with property taxes. Find out if you are a candidate to abate your tax burden by contacting Mark and also learn how Allobar can enhance real estate values by reducing property tax costs. While Allobar focuses on property tax abatements, there are other methods of reducing property taxes for qualifying properties, like property tax exemptions, credits and benefits. Lastly, Mark offered up the fact that Allobar pays referral fees to CIBOR members up to 20% so keep that in mind for the benefit of your clients.
Chelsea Rogers of Creative Office Pavilion is a design consultant for various office environments be it straight office, medical or warehouse office application. They can assist you and your client with space renderings to lay out a comprehensive office space plan along with furnishings that are suitable, ergonomic and in a variety of price point categories. Chelsea explained that one of the newest and most popular innovations are height adjustable desks which are becoming a favored venue for long term health. Sitting at a desk for the duration of the work day has become the new smoking.
Brian Hansen of Team Engineering explained that their force are engineering consultants dealing with home and commercial inspections on all fronts including but not limited to structural. Their service is also valuable to insurance companies, attorneys, Realtors and lenders who need to identify the cause of any sort of structural problem. In addition Team can provide a capital reserves matrix in the case of a condominium association or standalone building which will predict what capital improvements will be necessary in the foreseeable future. This valuable information is what Brian calls “horsepower”. They excel in representing owners and provide the necessary paperwork whether during a construction project or interceding during a commercial and/or home transaction.
Chris Pascucci of Masiello Group Commercial Associates has recently transferred from KW to Masiello as the Vice President of Commercial Sales in NH and Vermont. Congratulations Chris. Chris pitched his 35,000 s.f. listing at 2456 Brown Avenue in Manchester which can be subdivided down to 20,000 s.f. or 25,000 s.f. of office/production. The property has two docks, propane fired back up generator along with eight restrooms. In addition Chris has a multifamily investor interested in purchasing a minimum of 7-9 units up to 15-16 units anywhere around the state excluding Manchester.
Murray Beaulieu of Boosted Profits provides several tax saving plans through the implementation of property tax mitigation, R&D tax credit and cost segregation. They have procured more than $300 million in federal, state and local tax incentives for their clients. Murray went on to say that they can provide an in-depth analysis of specialized incentives for commercial property owners which benefits owners with increased cash flow, minimize taxes, catch up benefit and free up money for investments. A no risk interview can easily be arranged which is free of charge unless a plan is implemented. Murray went on to say that by hiring veterans more tax savings can be realized. The savings in any one of these venues are by no means trivial.
Matt Lefebvre of Elm Grove Realty has cash buyers in the realm of one half million dollars up to five million dollars interested in turn key properties/projects from Concord south. Elm Grove now has small suites available for lease from 200 to 400 s.f. at realistic rates on a gross basis at 26 Pleasant Street in Concord. Other properties in their portfolio for lease include a 2,500 s.f. retail space in Concord at $20 psf modified gross along with an office building at 66 Prospect in Manchester offered for sale for $317,000 with (12) parking spaces. Lastly, Matt is looking for a 5-7,000 s.f. property to purchase in and around Exit 5.
Philip Rentz of Service Credit Union has the resources of lending up to $35,000,000. Local decision making can be done in house at their Colby Court location; however, larger sums will need to be processed in their Portsmouth facility. Commercial mortgages are offered for fifteen years with a fixed rate amortized over 20 to 25 years. At Service Credit Union, the mission is to consistently execute their members’ service and convenience expectations. Service Credit Union has been nationally recognized in the top 10% of lending credit unions.
Kimberly Matson of RH Thackston & Company hails from Bellows Falls yet travels the distance to attend our meetings as she feels it provides her much exposure. Kim covers Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts with one of her specialties being the ski areas in and around Bennington, Vermont. She announced that an open house will be held on Wednesday, April 18 from 9:00 to noon at her commercial property listing at 199 Main Street in Troy. Her goal is to sell this fine 7,000 s.f. property which she describes as an ideal location for a restaurant user/storefront or retail which abounds with much character.
Kathleen Lambert of Masiello is transitioning from a residential practice over to commercial. She hopes to glean much insight by attending our networking meetings and getting acquainted with the various members and affiliates of the CIBOR community.
Lynne Bartlett Merrill of The Merrill Bartlett Group of Kingston has five land parcels in the Plaistow environs and additionally she is currently working on an off market listing of a 145,000 s.f. facility. Lynne is seeking out a property to accommodate a safety glasses and fire retardant clothing manufacturer for municipal fire departments; looking anywhere from Windham to Wilmington wishing to purchase a 15,000 to 20,000 s.f. facility with a small retail component. They work in tandem with the municipalities and are well financed. Lynne also spoke at length regarding the New Hampshire legislature considering eliminating or decreasing occupational licensing requirements in the state. It is most important that all CIBOR members send a message to your Representatives and Senator to tell them that you are opposed to this effort. NHAR will be testifying in opposition to the bills currently on the table.
Lindsey Goodrich of Berkshire Hathaway Verani is getting her feet wet in the commercial world of real estate and hopes that by attending these meetings and getting to know the players that she can eventually immerse herself in the business. We welcome having Lindsey and getting acquainted.
Stephani Croteau of Allen & Major Associates, Inc. began their business in 1973. Their mission is to provide comprehensive, timely and cost effective engineering and surveying services to their clients as well as safe and environmentally sensitive designs to the public and to the community. She was pleased to announce that they are working on a streetscape improvement project in Newburyport, Massachusetts including pedestrian connectivity, utility connections and storm water management. This construction is set to begin in April of this year.
Dave Fenstermacher of VHB explained that they are civil engineers who cover a wide spectrum of engineering services one of which is a program geared for site constraint analysis; phase I and environmental mitigation. David went on to say that they work in tandem with several high profile national retail types like Taco Bell, Jiffy Lube, CVS and many regional users such as the Merrimack Premium Outlets, I-93 service area redevelopment in Hooksett and Bow as well as Market and Main at the former Macy’s site. Lastly, Dave touched on travel landscape engineering which is of utmost importance in the planning stages of any development site.
Kevin Keane of Creative Office Pavilion outlined his involvement and expertise as it relates to demountable walls that not only are cost saving but offer fast solutions to a problematic office configuration. The benefits are numerous and allow an office owner/lessee to accomplish a quick fix and a flexible resolution to space issues. He can provide your client with 3-D renderings that can better assist in envisioning the end result. Keep in mind this type of tool can be utilized in any industry setting.
Larry Pelletier is Managing Director of SVN/Real Estate Solutions located at 3 Executive Park Drive in Bedford. Larry oversees a national practice, based in New Hampshire, which assists office investors and developers in identifying opportunities and procuring targeted asset classes as well as owners and operators seeking to optimize investment returns on existing assets through repositioning and/or disposition. Larry is currently working on a 50,000 s.f. building that has a five year term remaining on their triple net lease. In addition, he has a ground lease in Concord being offered at $435,000. Lastly, Larry is working with an investor who is interested in purchasing single family homes for rental purposes.
Matt Bacon of NAI Norwood Group has several cash buyers one of which is in the $5,000,000 office category looking for stabilized office income. Another investor client has $15 to $30,000,000 in funding for industrial property and/or Class A office. Matt is also marketing 88 acres at 161 Lowell Road in Hudson with municipal water and sewer and can be accessed through the Sagamore Park access road. Call Matt for more information on this unique development opportunity. Lastly, Matt is working on leasing up the last of the retail spaces at 185 Elm Street in Milford better known as Granite Town Plaza. Several retail units still available at an economic lease rate of $5-$10 psf NNN as well as a pad site. As Matt is on the membership committee he would welcome questions from anyone considering becoming a member of CIBOR.
Bill Jean of Fulcrum Associates expounded on their capabilities of doing anything from tenant improvement all the way up to ground up development. Bill put information out there that he has a line on 100 preapproved units ready to go. Please contact Bill for details for your residential developer. As a long time board member of CIBOR, Bill reiterated that CIBOR is a core group of professionals that reap great rewards for anyone putting much face time at these networking events and participating on the various committees.
Romeo Danais is a developer/cash buyer. Currently he is trying to release his 24,000 s.f. cross dock terminal in Hooksett. This unique facility has 40 doors with five acres of land which can easily handle 100 semis at any given time. It was the former distribution center for Sam’s Club which has since closed down 72 locations. Romeo has several other properties both for sale and/or lease. It would be highly recommended to contact Romeo who develops, owns and manages industrial properties in the Greater Manchester area. As he is a private investor you may not find his properties listed under the nhcpe banner so please feel free to contact him with your property offerings or to get additional information on some of his existing for lease/for sale properties. Lastly, Romeo commented that he has been utilizing cost segregation to depreciate the various components of his properties and has found it to be an excellent tool to save tax dollars.
Marie Degulis of Secondwind Water Systems handles all facets of water quality both for residential and industrial and institutional. Marie went on to say that in the processing of coffee as well as the beer brewing industry, it is imperative to have quality assurance of the water supply. Secondwind works hand in hand with Realtors, home inspectors, builders, property managers, architects, engineers and so forth in implementing a system that insures the best quality water in all circumstances. An evaluation can be conducted free of charge to assess your particular needs.
Erik Crisman of Brookstone Builders deals in construction management; design/build projects and general contracting. In addition they are committed to pursuing all opportunities for green or sustainable standards, which can have a significant effect on our communities by improving air, thermal and acoustic environments for quality of life. Some of their more recent projects have been at Pease Development Authority, Cannon Mountain, Malden Mills, Milton CAT and Citizens Bank to name but a few of their contract portfolio of accomplishments.
Christie Bellany of Brooks Properties who was kind of enough to set the table for our breakfast sponsorship providing us with breakfast goods from their Brookstone Event Center, handles the co-ordination of social and professional events at Brookstone Park. Brookstone Park is your one stop shopping in planning your golf events, weddings, family reunions and any group need for your family or business. In planning your outing, please consider their newest promotional with breakfast, golf and lunch. Having a 25,000 s.f. facility with an 18 hole golf course as well as mini golf for the children with pizza and ice cream, Brookstone Park at 14 Route 111 in Derry (North Salem) can take the guesswork out of your next event. Thank you Christie for sharing equal billing with Joe Friedman for a great breakfast.
Jason LaCombe of SMP Architecture handles all types of property from churches, libraries, academic buildings to corporate headquarters, athletic complexes to private homes. Jason often works with TF Moran and their team to make sure that the land in question can support a facility that a party envisions. Their collaborative planning means cost savings on your finished building. Where SMP brings the greatest value is to work hand in hand with you to clarify your needs and make recommendations to both solve a functional problem and create a workable budget.
Thomas Howard of John Turner Consulting deals in all types of environmental; geotechnical engineering; HMA pavement management and materials testing. They have a diverse customer base including but not limited to Cumberland Farms; Dollar General; Williams College and the University of Vermont. JTC has complete laboratory facilities for the testing and evaluation of concrete, asphalt, masonry, soils, fireproofing and steel, as well as miscellaneous materials such as wood and a variety of other building components.
Eric Chabot of Turn Cycle Solutions offers methods of lowering your operating costs. Eric works on several fronts including swapping out bulbs; finding ways to control drafty areas for heat preservation; replacing shower and faucet heads; weather stripping and a host of cost saving processes. He generally works in assisting condo associations; residential homes and a variety of existing commercial properties. One of Eric’s most recent clients is a feed/tack shop owner seeking 4,000 s.f. of warehouse/retail in the Allenstown area which their company will refurbish.
Mike Turcotte of Turn Cycle Solutions focuses in on increasing the energy efficiency of your properties offering a no-cost energy assessment that identifies energy-efficiency opportunities, expected costs and projected savings. In addition they guide an owner to take advantage of financial incentives and rebates that often cover half of the project costs. Some upgrades may be offered at no cost. They will also work on a design build working under a single contract basis to handle the project from concept to completion. No task is too small for Turn Cycle. Please contact either Mike or Eric to sign up for a luncheon seminar they will be hosting April 12th on multi family rebates.
Marie Bodi of CP Management who is our New Member Orientation Chair handed out member packages to six new affiliate/Realtor members. Marie’s firm is a third party management company specializing in all types of commercial properties but also inclusive of apartments and residential condominiums. They are headquartered in Exeter with satellite offices in Portsmouth and Manchester. Their broad business reach spans several states down to the Providence market. As a longtime member of CIBOR, Marie touted the advantages of belonging to CIBOR which offers great networking events, courses and many opportunities to expand your business realm.
Ray Dugdale of Colliers International comes from a commercial banking background. Though he retired this past June he soon became intrigued by joining the financial services of Colliers and aligning himself with Dave Eaton in assisting borrowers and investors. Ray helps clients find the soundest source of capital by bidding out to a variety of banks and credit unions to get the job done with good term sheets and providing the methodology to promote superior loan terms. Ray has extensive knowledge to add value saving much time in securing the right source of capital and with the least amount of risk.
Scott Kingsley of Primary Bank services loans in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. His experience spans several decades offering a wealth of knowledge and expertise in transacting business loans. Scott recently took on the chairmanship of Special Events and was pleased to say that nine members have come forward to help him out for planning and implementation. We look forward to a great year of networking and enjoyable times with our fellow CIBOR members. Thank you, Scott.
Joe Friedman of Brooks Properties who graciously sponsored this month’s Statewide Marketing Session is on the hunt for office and industrial properties along the I-93 corridor up to Manchester for the Brooks family who typically invest in 20,000 up to 80,000 s.f. facilities. Joe is offering a wide range of properties from as small as 1,300 to 36,000 s.f. for lease. Joe announced a price reduction of a Brooks in-house property located in Hudson which is comprised of 50,000 s.f. for $4,500,000 now down to $4,000,000. This standalone building has an excellent parking ration with 5 spaces per 1,000 s.f. Joe continues to seek properties for these term asset owners to add good product to their already fine investment portfolio.
Louise Norwood of NAI Norwood Group is working with a specialty coffee roaster seeking a quasi retail/roasting facility either in Manchester or Bedford seeking 4-5,000 s.f. to purchase or lease. One of the most recent offerings at Coldstream Park which is a three condominium package for sale can now be bought on an individual basis or in one 5,997 s.f. office investment for $750,000. Beautifully situated on the campus of NAI Norwood Group overlooking the water course. Lastly, to close the books on a recent office complex sale, Louise asked that anyone with small office users consider 10 Chestnut Drive as it has been rehabbed and has a most professional appearance.
Thank you, Christie and Joe, for a delicious breakfast. We are most appreciative. It was great to see so many members and would-be members join us for our monthly session. The group has grown with many diverse businesses being represented all of which should find much value with timely information discussed, growing their existing business and making some new acquaintances and hopefully long time friendships.
Happy Spring and see you this next month on Wednesday, April 25th.