When I was told eight months ago that my new position within The Coral Company was going to be based out of downtown Cleveland, I must admit I was intimidated. I've actually never had much experience downtown other than the occasional dinner here and there.
April 2008 Archives
When I was told eight months ago that my new position within The Coral Company was going to be based out of downtown Cleveland, I must admit I was intimidated. Well, if we're going to be completely honest with each other, I was pretty much scared to death. Other than the occasional dinner or drink here and there, I hadn't had much of a downtown experience one way or the other. So, not only was I embarking on a new chapter in my life with a new management company, but I was also tackling downtown Cleveland, where I imagined my days would be filled with horrible traffic, unsociable people who were too busy to look your way and just an overall unpleasant experience. I have no idea where my fear came from or how I justified it in my mind.
Eight months later, I am pleased to admit I was wrong. Dead wrong. I don't know what I was thinking. Managing Statler Arms Apartments in downtown has been one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in my career. There is such a camaraderie with these residents that I've never seen before. They've opened my eyes to the Theater District, (which is just a few blocks away), Tower City (which, believe it or not, I've never been to), all the great restaurants, all the great entertainment and most impressive is the history behind all these tall buildings and landmarks.
I encourage you to not be mislead as I was. Come downtown - have a nice dinner, see a show, meet some friends - new and old. Sure there is some construction and traffic from time to time, but if you look past all that and are open to something new, you'll really enjoy yourself. But beware, you may enjoy yourself so much that you won't want to leave. You may even decide to relocate downtown permanently.
If that's the case, come see me at Statler Arms. I guarantee we'll find you the perfect home to compliment your perfect evenings.
Being the Director of Estimating and Purchasing for The Coral Company, I have recently noticed a large interest in "
To make it simple, the Three R's summarizes everything - Recycle, Reuse, and Reduce:
· Recycle consists of using building products that are made from recycled products. Composite decking, Cellulose Insulation, and Recycled Carpet are all examples.
· Reuse can be a variety of things. One example is making an irrigation system that is connected to your gutters and downspouts to collect rain water to irrigate your yard and landscaping. I also found an example of where you could collect the rain water and use it for all toilets being flushed in your home. These are some of the items HGTV used on their "Green Home". For information on that go to: www.hgtv.com.
· The last one is Reduce. When I think of reduce I think of everything I can do to reduce my energy consumption. Using energy star appliances helps reduce energy usage. Having windows with Low-E to minimize heat escaping your home which decreases the amount of heat your furnace has to put out to keep your house warm and suitable.
If you are interested in more information on "
if we were to examine the economy of northeast ohio from the points of view of an economist and a marketing guru, we might attempt to identify the "value proposition" that makes our economy unique, attractive to business, & capable of growth. for most of it's history, cleveland and the region have stood on two economic pillars. first, the steel industry. and second, arts & culture.
for most of the last 100 years, the industries critical to our region were those based on the production of steel & products of steel. during the same time period, cleveland developed an arts & culture community unmatched by similar cities. the orchestra, art museum, playhouse square, cleveland playhouse, blossom, beck center, community theatre, galleries, and on and on.
cleveland remains distinguished by a strong arts community. what has changed for our region is the industry that leads our growth potential. today, cleveland boasts a world class health care industry. along with health care spin-off industries that have the potential to land & thrive in cleveland.
as a region, we ought to invest in those resources that will enhance the two aspects of our economy that are world class and distinguish us [back to the value proposition] from other mature cities in the midwest: health care and arts & culture.
As CFO of The Coral Company, I have the opportunity to touch many components of our business from day-to-day operational issues to high-level strategic decisions. Perhaps the two job functions that I enjoy the most are compiling our financial projections (I don't know what I would do without Excel!) and our capital structuring (figuring out the right mix of debt and equity for a project and securing those sources of financing). The capital structuring portion of my job has certainly become more challenging in the current capital markets environment. For the most part, only those high quality projects characterized by strong locations, experienced sponsorship and proven tenant demand are able to raise capital. Further, lenders (who generally comprise the majority of any real estate project's capital structure) are requiring more stringent underwriting (higher debt service coverage, wider spreads, immediate principal amortization) that often translate into lower loan amounts and more equity. This means that, all else being equal, equity returns will be lower.
Notwithstanding the above, we believe that real estate investing remains an attractive opportunity for long-term wealth creation and that the short-term credit conditions should not distract from this. Real estate is a cyclical business and we are in the midst of one of those cycles. Opportunities exist in the market for both development and acquisition and good projects can still raise the capital they require. I believe that several of the projects in our development pipeline satisfy the requirements of quality real estate assets (great locations, our sponsorship, tenant demand) and to bring them to fruition we need to remain disciplined to our business practices of hard work, creativity and integrity.
