Do Over Deal.

Thirty years in the commercial real estate business and I had never before had a “do over” deal. Sure I had plenty of lease negotiations fall apart but I never had a client move in and within days be asked to move out. I needed another item on my checklist.

In February I was contacted by a marketing company in need of a small office. The company was opening a number of small offices around the country to service two large customers. They had outgrown an executive suite space in Rockville and needed office space ASAP. Their wish list was pretty simple. Two executive offices, a reception area and a large conference room. The conference room had to accommodate two dozen salespeople that met twice a day.

Experience warned there would be three potential issues. The first issue was the need for more parking than a small office generally is allotted. Second issue would be office noise that could impact neighboring tenants. Third, there would be a limited amount of spaces that fit their needs that didn't need more than fresh paint and carpet.

The Property Expedition was short and yielded a clear winner. The property had plenty of on-site and street parking. The suite had recently been finished for a building owner that never moved in. The space had two offices and a short section of wall and a door could provide a third. During our meeting with the building owner, his broker and contractor we verified that my plan for the possible wall did not conflict with the vents, lights or sprinkler layouts. We also addressed the twice a day traffic that the space would experience during the sales meetings. The tenant liked that the large conference room did not share any walls with neighboring tenants. The landlord was impressed that the tenant assigned two salespeople to make sure the restrooms were neat and tidy after each meeting. The lease was executed on a Friday and management made an extra effort for the tenant to have access that Saturday.

A week later I get the call from the building’s broker saying that the tenant had to go. Why the short honeymoon? The answer – “smoking”. No, the tenant was not smoking in the building. The salespeople that did smoke would congregate by the Safety Butt Can outside the front door.

                        Now you know what that thing is called.

Their non-smoking friends would go outside to join them. At break time, the building appeared to be having a fire drill. The building was designed before the indoor smoking ban and the only place for the Safety Butt Can was outside the front door. The larger tenants complained about the crowds blocking the entrance and the landlord complained to his broker. The broker called me and pleaded to help them find another home. All rent and deposits would be returned. They begged for a “Do over."

Two months later my client moved into their new home. I found another space that met the program if a wall was removed and another added. The building had a previous tenant with a large sales team so the owner added a small covered smoking court behind the elevator lobby.

I have now added an item labeled “Safety Butt Can Location” to my Tenant Wish List. It can be found right after the item “Baby Changing Station also in Men’s Room.”

Playing around with Picasa for building virtual tours. The music is sample music that came with Windows XP. The only other choice was Beethoven's Symphony No. 9

The Board says LEASE...no.... BUY...wait... LEASE....ok..now BUY!

I was referred by a residential agent to help the local non-profit Progressive Life Center (PLC) negotiate a lease in a building they had already identified. At first I thought they needed an attorney not a broker but after meeting with PLC's board of directors I found they had not resolved the basic lease terms. The buiding was a concrete bunker they intended to use as office and classroom space. After schematic designs for the space and preliminary construction estimates, we negotiated a lease with the owner. The day of the lease signing, the President of PLC told the owner that his board required that they also include some type of first right of refusal to purchase the property. The owner refused, saying that he intended to keep the building in his family forever, and would not encumber the lease with such a clause. We left the meeting with an unsigned lease. In the parking lot I was tasked with finding PLC a building to purchase.

Half a mile away I identified an opportunity at 1933 Montana Avenue, a warehouse owned and partially occupied by W.S. Jenks and Son Company. W. S. Jenks has been a Washington hardware supplier since 1866. I worked with Jenks to convert the 40,000 square foot building to multi-tenant lease space. A contract was ratified, full architectual plans were prepared, and construction bids procured. A board meeting to finalize the sale resulted in a decision that PLC should lease instead of purchase.

The Blueprint For Success - Wish List Converter was called into action. With PLC and Jenks help, we were able to change the transaction to a 10 year lease with an option to purchase. PLC leased the property and exercised their option to purchase 5 years into their 10 year lease. The fully leased property greatly subsidized PLC's occupancy cost and netted the seller $2.7 million for use in a tax deferred 1031 exchange.

All's well that ends well. It is over, isn't it?

Real estate, like a family, has its chronology.

In 1936 Holman J. Poist of Poist Gas fame bought the property at 308 Compton Avenue in Laurel, MD. Thirty years later a carwash building was constructed on the property. Ten years after that in January of 1977, Mr. Poist leased the land to George Whetzel. George converted the carwash into a store for his bicycle business. Sometime after that George’s wife Dianna decided to open a daycare business. George reduced his store size to make room for her daycare. Overtime the daycare grew and George relocated his bicycle business. Sadly, George and his wife were later divorced, thereby losing both his wife and tenant.


In 1999, I was hired to list the building for lease. Prince Cable leased the entire building to service a three year contract. So in January of 2002, I was again tasked with finding a tenant for the building. Within a month or two a lease was signed for the entire building with the Milestone Enrichment Center, a daycare business. They are the tenant to this day.

During the course of the Milestone lease George had fallen in love and married Pamela. In 2005 George assigned the ground lease to himself and his wife. Five years later, in 2010, George and Pamela were ready to retire and travel the world. This time I was hired to sell the 33 year old ground lease. The lease is a 99 year, renewable, assignable, and redeemable ground lease – sometimes referred to as a “Baltimore type ground lease” and was very marketable. The daycare tenant we had found eight years earlier was eager to renew their lease. The Blueprint for Success – Experience Foundation supported both tenant and seller.

In March of 2010 the ground lease was purchased by the Kim family. The Kim’s own a nearby business and commercial properties. Interesting enough, way back when, the Kim’s had bought a bicycle helmet from George for their oldest child and more recently a younger child had attended the daycare. I look forward to being involved in the ongoing story of this piece of real estate's history.

Revels Now in Ye Olde Village of Silver Spring

The Washington Revels are dedicated to reviving and celebrating cultural traditions -- music, dance, storytelling, drama and ritual -- that have bound communities together over the ages and across the globe.

An established cultural institution in the greater Washington area for over 25 years, The Washington Revels now have a new home just off Colesville Road on Dale Drive in Silver Spring. It seems so fitting that what was once the village pharmacy and then florist is now the head quarters for the Revels.

The "Before" photo shows the existing street facade and retail pylon sign. The building also has a full lower level with drive-in door access.

.... a peak behind the curtain shows the transformation the building was to go through during the winter....

...and then the curtain rises...

Without a doubt the Blueprint for Success's ARCHITECTS TOOL KIT came in handy for this transformation.

Clients Are Good For Your Blood Pressure.

Martin Kibbe was selected by Lifeclinic to relocate their
headquarters from Rockville to Burtonsville, Maryland.

Lifeclinic manufactures the free self-testing blood pressure monitors you see locally at Giant, Bloom and CVS stores. Their stations are in most major groceries and pharmacies.

The Property Expedition was one of the most interesting parts of the Blueprint Process. The office needed to be convenient to the two main principals homes. One principal lived in Potomac and the other in Hunt Valley north of Baltimore. The Office-Search focused on an area from Olney to Maple Lawn.

You could say we took the "pulse" of a large market area.

Marty