Skyline Views

Cranes of Buckhead Likely Staying Put

ATLANTA (Nov. 25, 2009) - When Ben Carter Properties initially announced plans for the ultra-high retail development now known as The Streets of Buckhead, the opening date was some time this month (just in time for Black Friday 2009).

But, as we all know, the economy tanked in large part due to the crash in the bundled-mortgage-security industry that fueled much of the growth in real estate market. As a result, some Streets of Buckhead tenants backed out, filed for bankruptcy or asked for delayed opening dates.

The latest information has construction starting again "as late as early next year," or in a couple months. Because restart dates have been announced and extended, it'll be no surprise if the restart date is pushed back again. 

That had led to questions about all the cranes at The Streets of Buckhead - especially why they're still standing if there's no solid estimate about when they might be needed again.

The answer likely lies in the cost of disassembling and transporting the cranes back to from wherever them came. Moreover, demand for cranes is not too high right now, with most commercial construction on the shelf. 

Here's some good information about the costs of cranes from an article at Howstuffworks.com by Marshall Brain:

The typical fee for installation and disassembly runs around $60,000. This price includes shipping the crane to the site, renting the mobile crane used to assemble the tower crane, the cost of the crew that handles the assembly, etc. A typical monthly fee for a 150-foot-tall tower crane is approximately $15,000, with an additional charge to rent the climbing frame and extra mast sections.

The information above likely explains why the cranes at The Streets of Buckhead are staying put for now. Let's hope they're back at work on the retain center soon.

Atlanta Firm Tries to Salvage $2 Billion in Distressed Real Estate

ATLANTA (Nov. 23, 2009) - The monumental condo crash has been good for Atlanta's Norman J. Radow and his Radco Development Solutions. 

Radco, you see, specializes in breathing new life into zombie buildings and condo towers across the country. And today, there's a lot of these buildings. The success of Radow, whose signature turnaround project in his hometown is The Grand (now Four Seasons) condo and hotel tower in Midtown, has caught the attention of The New York Times.

In Sunday's edition, a story about Radow dominated the Sunday Business section under the headline, "Go Ahead and Yell. He's Everyone's Punching Bag." And he doesn't mind being hit, because it's making him a lot of money. 

In the article, Radow estimates that Radco "is trying to salvage $2 billion worth of distressed property around the country. One of his biggest clients is Lehman Brothers, which is liquidating its huge real estate portfolio to satisfy creditors after declaring bankruptcy last year." In other words, Radco is collecting a lot of fees.

Good for Norman Radow. His entrepreneurial spirit and know-how are paying off handsomely.

Now Cancer Free, Dewberry Ready to Run

By Tony Wilbert

ATLANTA (Nov. 22, 2009) - With the big Georgia v. Georgia Tech foot ball game days away, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a follow-up profile on John Dewberry. Dewberry played quarterback at both schools and committed the cardinal sin of transferring from Georgia to Georgia Tech then beating the Dogs in Athens and being photographed with a twig from Athens' famous hedges.

Dewberry made big news late last year when he shared with WSB-TV in Atlanta that he is fighting prostate cancer. That cancer now is in remission, according to today's article, written by former AJC sports and business reporter Mike Tierney.

In the article, Dewberry responds to critics who lambasted him for not yet developing the prime corner he controls at 10th and Peachtree streets. It'll happen in due time, Dewberry tells Tierney. "Atlanta is not ready for 'Rockefeller Center South,' and that's what I intend to do."

The link to the article isn't up yet at ajc.com, so I've pasted the text below, as a service to Skyline Views readers. Let me know know what you think.

Sports

The ex-Bulldog who stung Georgia: Win 25 years ago prepared him for a more personal battle. The real story behind the piece of the hedge.

Mike Tierney

For the AJC

22 November 2009

The Atlanta Journal - Constitution

Copyright (c) 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, All Rights Reserved

Dec. 1, 1984: A day suitable for John Dewberry's scrapbook in a life filled with them, particularly from the past two years.

It dawned at breakfast in Athens when someone tossed a newspaper column onto Dewberry's plate, stirring his competitive juices to a froth. It wound down with an arrest for drunk driving by what he maintains was an avenging, Dawg-loving cop.

In between, he squired his football team, Georgia Tech, to a seismic 35-18 victory against his former team, Georgia. The game defined Dewberry as a quarterback and reserved his place in the pantheon of Yellow Jackets sports.

Twenty-five years ago . . .

"Hard to believe," the cancer-fighting jet-setter said recently in the Midtown offices of Dewberry Capital, a real estate development firm he founded and runs. "There were great lessons learned that day --- right into the night."

One lesson being, Father knows best. Dewberry ignored dad's counsel, not for the first time.

He had signed with UGA in 1981 out of Milton High, resisting Gary Dewberry's subtle steering toward Tech. Once in Athens, he heard this parental advice: "You need to see the writing on the wall. You're not going to play quarterback for coach [Vince] Dooley."

A typical smart (but not as smart as he thought) teen, Dewberry dismissed dad's wisdom until a sense of depression set in.

"My confidence was crippled," he said. "I was lower than the curb."

Dewberry did not pass on Tech again, transferring there after one season --- one of only two players in the modern era to make such a move, according to school record-keepers. Academically, he considered it an upgrade, though he says laudably of UGA, "It was not like it is there today."

A friend questioned his sanity. "What in the world have you done?" future socialite Marla Maples told him. "You better make this work."

A cherished moment

A broken collarbone suffered at Tech was a hidden blessing. "They couldn't see how bad I'd been throwing" when fit, he says.

Upon healing, Dewberry would haul a sack of footballs to the campus' track oval at sun up and throw, by his count, 400 times daily. Coach Billy Curry named him starter in '83, a losing season that closed with an encouraging defeat to Georgia 27-24.

The following year, Tech road-tripped to Athens having lost six of the latest seven there. The newspaper's sports column atop Dewberry's eggs and grits foresaw a dominant Bulldogs defense. The steam teammates saw was not pouring out of coffee pots, but from Dewberry's ears. "The game was over right then," he said.

Flanked by a strong support group that featured running back Robert Lavette and tight end Ken Whisenhunt, plus a push-back defense, Tech stormed ahead 35-6. Early in the fourth quarter, clock running to the Jackets' liking, Dewberry called timeout, much to the consternation of Curry and the befuddlement of huddlemates.

He urged the senior players to cherish the moment, for all of them to acknowledge friends and family in Sanford Stadium. Then he observed, "Notice how all the people in red are leaving."

A few Jackets fretted that Dewberry was prematurely popping the cork. "They can't throw the football," he shot back. "I know. I used to run their offense."

The main photograph in the Sunday papers depicted Dewberry clutching a twig from the stadium's sacred hedge, further vilifying him in the college town.

Dewberry pleads innocent. Here's his story and he's sticking to it:

Spotting two teammates defiling the shrubbery, he told them, "Guys, quit that. It's sacrilegious."

One of them thrust a piece into Dewberry hands, with profane instructions on what he could do with it. When Curry embraced him, twig still in his grasp, the cameras clicked away.

The next morning, Dewberry had more pressing concerns than a photo. Disregarding dad's advice, he skipped the team bus ride to stay in Athens with his brother Doug --- former Georgia linebacker, current executive with Dewberry Capital --- and girlfriend for "a few cocktails."

On the late drive back to Atlanta, he had stopped his car in a parking lot when a police officer asked to see a license. Dewberry says the cop was returning it when he did a double-take at the name.

"Wait a minute," the officer said, according to the perp. "You're the fool that ran us all over the field today. You're coming with me."

His blood-alcohol content exceeded the legal limit. Gleeful Georgia fans began spelling his surname DUI-berry.

"I was devastated by that," said Dewberry, admitting failure as a role model.

The lifelong bachelor has enjoyed a charmed existence since, except for a blip last year. His company --- seeded mainly 20 years ago with a $5,000 bonus from the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League --- claims $600 million in assets under his management, including two hotel properties that he hopes evolves into a national chain.

One sits on 4 prime acres at 10th and Peachtree streets owned by Dewberry, who has absorbed potshots from peers and others eager to see the property developed.

Don't rush me, says the ex-quarterback, who envisions high-end shops and residences springing up once the economy rebounds.

"Atlanta is not ready for 'Rockefeller Center South,' and that's what I intend to do," he said.

Bargains that bubble up in the recession energize him. Employing a sports metaphor, he said, "This is where I like to play."

His biggest fight

Dewberry's play days appeared over in the summer of '08. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

"It was life threatening," said his physician, Dr. Bob Cowles, who operates the Cowles Clinic in Greensboro, near Lake Oconee. "Very serious."

In the standard PSA test, Dewberry registered a sky-high 320. His normal figure: two. Cancer was discovered in the lymph nodes and bones.

"Dr. Cowles told me, 'If you do not respond to this treatment, you have no more than two years,' " Dewberry recalled.

Cowles described the regimen, involving radiation and hormones, as ultra-aggressive. "John has fought it with as much vigor and gusto as any patient I've ever seen," he said.

To cover every base, Dewberry consulted regularly with a hands-on "healer" in Ireland, where he often visits.

"John, he goes out there on the edge," said Cowles, who neither endorses nor discourages such "way-out crazy things."

Dewberry later swore off hormone treatments, the most common counterattack for prostate cancer. However it happened, his PSA count returned to normal in January. "Which," Cowles said, "is, frankly, miraculous."

He declared Dewberry cancer-free in April, though noted that a recurrence is possible. His patient gulps down two dozen pills daily and has quarterly check-ups.

Dewberry has moved into a rental house and walks in the morning darkness to work with Georgia, a German short-haired pointer. He'll stop to enjoy the breeze on his face and the smells of nature, sensory experiences that he took for granted pre-cancer. "It's been a mixed blessing," he declared.

Much like the memorable day in Athens 25 years ago.

Georgia at Georgia Tech

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

TV; radio: ABC; 750, 790, 106.7

Companies can combat green fatigue with authenticity and storytelling

By Dana Hartline

ATLANTA (April 8, 2009) As the conversation around the environment, sustainability and green has evolved - from interest to infatuation to perhaps green fatigue, it's leaving many in the real estate world wondering how to talk about green building efforts without appearing like a johnny-come-lately jumping on the latest bandwagon or without turning of their intended audiences who may be so overwhelmed with green information that they don't know what to believe or do.

This green fatigue or green paralysis isn't confined to the real estate industry, of course. Almost a year ago, Advertising Age noted, "The recent Cone/Boston College survey showed that more than half of American consumers are 'overwhelmed' by the tsunami of environment-related messaging. Less than half trust companies to tell them the truth about sustainable practices and products. Even fewer consumers believe companies are accurately communicating their environmental impact."

It's no different for business-to-business audiences either.  Green building capabilities and a focus on sustainability are increasingly "givens," thresholds for entry, but how do you cut through the clutter of information to let prospective clients, building owners, buyers, tenants, et al know about your capabilities and how you differ from your competitors?

It's something my colleague Tony Wilbert and I discussed along with Jim Hackler (The Urbane Environmentalist) during a session at Greenprints a couple of weeks ago. To put it simply:

• Be transparent and trustworthy.  That's the core of every relationship, right?  And real estate is indeed an industry built upon relationships as we all know. Edelman's most recent Trust Barometer survey found that trust in business declined by 20% in the U.S. since our last survey a year ago.  Given all that's going on with the financial collapse of once revered companies, that decline in trust is understandable.  However, with trust in business at its lowest point in the 11 years Edelman's been conducting its annual survey, there are critical implications for companies - requiring business to operate and communicate with an even greater emphasis on transparency.  
• Be authentic. Tell your story.  And I do mean story. Stories are memorable. Interface's Ray Anderson and Jacoby Development's Jim Jacoby (for whom Edelman has worked in the past) each had different personal and professional reasons to pursue green.  Those nuances make for compelling stories.  How did you come to focus on sustainability?  What's your point of view?  What within your company dynamics and culture makes sustainability a focus? One of the most geniune speeches that I've heard recently came from Governor Sonny Perdue when he spoke at an event for an Edelman client to kick off Keeping Forests in Forests^SM - a carbon offset program that helps conserve Georgia's forests. With other speakers addressing carbon emissions, a likely cap and trade system in the U.S., etc., I'm sure plenty of attendees were wondering how Georgia's Republican governor would approach the topic. He confidently stepped up to the podium, put his prepared remarks to the side and spoke from the heart about the value of Georgia's forests.  Carrying a conservationist point of view, he understandably sidestepped the politically sensitive topic of cap and trade and focused on something dear to his heart - telling his story and making it authentic.  It wasn't stuffy or political-speak; it was geniune and not lost on anyone in the crowd. 
• Engage with your audiences.  The concept of town hall meetings, one-on-one information sessions and the like are nothing new for any developer, architect or planner that's been through a rezoning process, but as the communication landscape shifts, the need for engagement increases.  It's not just for zoning proceedings anymore.  Your target audiences (whether consumers, retailers or partners) want to be engaged in dialogue.  They want a voice, and they are turning to both traditional and non-traditional ways for doing so. Online communities, forums and other information sources (from journalists and everyday folk) are on the rise.  A couple of years ago, Edelman's research found that on average, two in ten blog readers have taken some sort of action as a result of reading a blog, and the readership and influence of blogs and other social networking forums only continue to grow. Such online forums also present opportunities for you to engage with those who are trusted voices in subject matters related to your business and create avenues for you to share your point of view and insights directly. Once again, it's about building relationships rather than top-down, one-way communication.

The GM Building Sale: Timing is Everything

The PR, finance and Legal departments at Boston Properties faced an interesting communications conundrum over Memorial Day weekend. They had to decide when to release news of the REIT’s agreement to purchase the GM Building and three others in Manhattan from the Harry Macklowe for $3.95 billion.

The Macklowe family’s need to sell the buildings has been well documents in the nation’s largest newspapers, with reporters covering every incremental development. Reporters likely were calling SVP of Finance Michael Walsh and other designated contacts at Boston Properties headquarters daily for updates.

The transaction closed around 2 a.m. May 24 (Saturday), according to The New York Times, and Boston Properties issued a press release about eight hours later. (Because Boston Properties is a publicly traded company, it had to follow certain guidelines when releasing the news to comply with Regulation FD (Fair Disclosure)).

The timing of the press release meant the story of the largest price paid ever for an office building in this country was relegated to the back pages of the A section in Sunday’s Times, which estimated that Boston Properties' $3.95 billion purchase price included $2.9 billion for the GM Building.

The Wall Street Journal, whose reporter Jennifer Forsyth covered the Macklowe empire’s decline as closely as anyone, found itself even more handcuffed by the timing. The WSJ does not publish Sunday and did not publish Monday because of the holiday. So, the earliest the GM Building sale story could appear in print is Tuesday morning. Of course, the WSJ did publish a story online (although not until Monday morning), but the amount of online readers on Sunday can’t possibly match the more than 2 million readers who subscribe to the print edition.

Not to be outdone though, the Journal does have some good scoop in Tuesday morning’s edition about son William “Billy” Macklowe being poised to push the company patriarch aside now that the company has staved off extinction with the sale of the New York skyscrapers to Boston Properties.

So, while Corporate Communications departments at public companies often joke that 8 p.m. Friday – especially a Friday before a long holiday weekend – is the best time to announce bad news, they now have to contemplate what to do when good news breaks over the long holiday weekend.