Community Revitalization Desktop Guide

Michael O’Neill, Preferred Real Estate Investments Michael O’Neill is the CEO and Founder of Preferred Real Estate Investments, Inc., based in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania about 10 miles outside of Philadelphia. Preferred is one of the largest private real estate investment and commercial property developers on the East Coast, having done projects in 10 states and the District of Columbia, valued at more than $1.5 billion. When ﬁrst starting out, O’Neill was forced to consider properties that other developers ignored – old manufacturing sites and obsolete factories that required extensive renovation. He successfully transformed these structures into modern ofﬁce spaces and created a niche business. Today, he has built a reputation as a developer who engages with communities to transform older manufacturing spaces into cutting edge commercial, industrial and mixed-use developments. O’Neill’s ﬁrst property was the Lee Tire Factory in Conshohocken, PA, which was renamed the Spring Mill Corporate Center in 2002. Other signature properties include The Wharf at Rivertown, the former site of a circa 1916 Philadelphia Electric Company power plant in Chester, PA, and the Budd Commerce Center, the site of the former Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company in Philadelphia. Each of these properties was a complex site with environmental challenges, existing infrastructure, direct access to major transportation arteries, and proximity to major urban centers. Typically, we are interested in large tracts of land with 100 acres or more. These tend to be vacant industrial brownﬁelds. While we develop in New York, Maryland or Massachusetts, we would much rather develop land close to home and be able to drive home at night and sleep in our own beds. To develop, the first thing that we need is land. It seems obvious, but the most important thing a community can provide a developer with is site control of land. While they do not have to own it, it must be available. Half of the communities that contact us have a troubled site with no site control. Recently a Pennsylvania county asked us to look at a site. We really thought we could build something good there but the owner wasn’t interested in selling it. A development opportunity means that the land is available. Next, reach a consensus as to how you want the site redeveloped. Once we identify available land, we try to determine whether the community has reached consensus around redevelopment of the site. If political, civic and business leaders are all in favor of redevelopment and want to see mixed use, ofﬁce, industrial or retail on the site, then we know we have a much greater chance of success redeveloping the site. Of course, there are times when a town reaches consensus that they want what I call a “Disney World Carnival Plan” for the site and we know that such big plans require so much infrastructure to support them that they tend to collapse under their own weight. Knowing what you want is a strong selling point. If a town is confused about what it wants, we move on and ﬁnd a different town. A clear, compelling asset inventory helps us to understand the potential of your site. The goal of our ﬁrst visit is to see whether there is land and consensus around future use and to complete an asset inventory to decide whether the site will appeal to our end users. We need to understand a site and determine if our customers would locate there. The community that can help us perform that asset inventory has an extraordinary leg up. Recently we were in Albany, New York looking at a large brownﬁeld site and we got a call from the economic development team in nearby Schenectady. They had an 80-acre site that they wanted us to look at. Now at ﬁrst I didn’t think I had any interest in Schenectady. But they were persistent and explained it would take us only an hour and it would truly be worth our time. We sent out a lower- level employee and they showered him with such enthusiasm and information that he recommended that we visit and we did. We ended up agreeing to redevelop the site that ﬁrst day we walked into town. Why? Because city and county ofﬁcials were on their game from the moment we entered that town. They welcomed us as investors and they put together a presentation that persuaded us that this was an extraordinary opportunity. With renderings of projects the Redevelopment Authority has spearheaded covering every inch of wall space, they provided a detailed presentation that showed: 1. Strong regional economy within 15 minutes of site 2. Excellent transportation access to site 3. Millions of dollars of recent investment in downtown 4. Successful smaller redevelopment projects on site and in area 5. University campuses with plans to expand to downtown 6. State and federal ﬁnancial tax credits, abatements and other incentives as well as the possibility of a local TIF to help make the numbers work 7. Community support for redevelopment of site and desire for mixed use 8. State, county and municipality assurances that they see no roadblocks to redevelopment Their presentation is available at newPA.com/revitalize. Welcome us as investors in your community. Remove burdens where you can to create a proﬁtable environment. The easier you make the process for business, the easier it will be to get the redevelopment of key sites done. When we come in, our goal is to be a good citizen and contribute to increasing the job base of your community. If you truly want development, then make an effort not to hold things up. Sometimes neighboring owners assume that we have a hidden pot of gold and they seek to hold the project up until they can get their hands in the pot. What they need to understand is that it is harder to make the numbers work to redevelop brownﬁelds. They are neat projects, but with greater risks for the developer and for the customer, the homeowner or the business that will ultimately move in. If you truly want economic development, then help facilitate the development. Almost all of the properties we have mentioned began 51 INTERVIEWS WITH DEVELOPERS WHO HAVE INVESTED IN PA CITIES AND TOWNS http://www.newPA.com/revitalize

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Community Revitalization Desktop Guide

PA Community Revitalization Desktop Guide Table of Contents How To Attract High Impact Investment to Core Communities Goal One: Choose One Asset-Rich Redevelopment Area Interviews with Pennsylvania Mayors Goal Two: Prepare Redevelopment Area for Market Interviews with Developers who Have Invested in Pennsylvania Cities and Towns Goal Three: Welcome Investment Interviews with Developers who Have Invested in Pennsylvania Cities and Towns Goal Four: Apply Strategies That Work Conclusion

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