I might be on an emotional rollcoaster but ain't no stopping us now! Last I posted, I was in love with my construction manager...now they have me on an emotional rollercoaster. Keep in mind, we're talking about having this big grand celebration in 231 days- complete with fireworks, the most beautifully diverse crowd Tallahassee has ever seen in one place, Robin Thicke, liquor sponsors out the whazoo and the sexiest decor in Tallahassee (outside of the lobby at Springhill Suites on Apalachee Parkway). Let us also not forget that the startup costs for the project are just shy of $3M and I have accumulated the same amount of capital I had on T MINUS 365!
So why the emotional rollercoaster? Because in our efforts to address the parking issue, we decided to 'park' any efforts to pull together the figures I would need for my construction bid. Let us not forget that this the federal government that we are dealing with as a part of my capital campaign and I won't be able to address the parking issue EVER if I don't get the funding! Remember that whole discussion about needing 1 parking space for every 200 ground square feet? That's where we've been hung up.
The asking price for the property includes the 15,000 square foot building and the adjacent lot. This lot is about 5,000 square feet by itself and according to their calculations (350 square feet per parking space), I would need 19,000 square feet of space to build in those 56.25 spaces needed per the zoning requirement. I'm taking a hard look at that figure because 19,000 SF is bigger than the facility itself! Now, in my efforts to put the parking space requirements in perspective, their office looks like it has about 18 parking spaces and that lot looks like it's only about 1/3 of the space that comes with my property.
After a meeting last week, I was charged with the task of identifying opportunities to lease parking spaces from areas businesses and agencies. The main reason that parking has presented itself as a problem is because I have to make sure that they amenity is available- and mainly only for the constituents that will be making use of the conference center (as for the restaurant, there are 3 State buildings within a one-block radius of Concept so their cars already parked nearby and the cocktail lounge patrons won't have any trouble finding parking after hours because, trust me, State workers are already home by the time 5 oclock comes!).
Either way, like McFadden and Whitehead said so long ago, there won't be any stopping me now...surely, I haven't come this far to let something as simple as parking stop this rollercoaster but let's refocus our efforts and get me my construction bid so I get my SBA Loan so I can address the parking issue!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
T MINUS 240: The Silver Bullet
My construction manager is the best! I’ve always been a big fan of the company and now I get to see up close and personal what working with one of Tallahassee’s leaders in green construction is really all about. I retained the company at a rate of $2,500 about a month ago to get some real, practical numbers plugged into my financial projections. But before we did that, we had to ensure that the zoning and permitting for the proposed location would even allow Concept to exist there.
The Zoning Code prevents any establishment that serves or sells alcohol from being within 500 feet of any school, church or other establishment of similar nature. We took out a map and drew to scale a radius of 500 feet. They went on a field trip to scout out the area for establishments that would prevent Concept from being in that building and found a day care and a church. The Silver Bullet. It would have killed the project dead in the water. They called the City to get some clarification on that rule and as it turns out, we dodged The Silver Bullet. That 500 feet is 500 feet of walking distance and only includes ‘walkable’ spaces. Meaning, if there is an empty lot in the middle of the walking path that is not accessible to pedestrians, you subtract that space. The day care wasn’t included because it isn’t a school and their was something on the path to the church that made it more that 500 walking feet. So…we dodged The Silver Bullet.
The question that we come to now is parking. Even though Concept’s location falls outside of the Downtown Improvement Authority district, for all intents and purposes, Concept will be a part of Downtown Tallahassee activity…and parking downtown is always perceived as the most inconvenient thing about being downtown. The City of Tallahassee’s Growth Management and Planning Departments have minimum parking standards per zone. The zone that Concept will be in, the Capital Center Planning District, calls for 1 parking space for every 200 ground square feet; the structure that houses Concept is 15,000 total square feet. That means our parking requirement is 75 spaces.
The building is located in both an Enterprise Zone and the Frenchtown/Southside Community Redevelopment Area; the project gets 18.75 redevelopment credits bringing the net required parking spaces required to 56.25, or 56. The asking price for the building actually includes an adjacent lot that is approximately 43 x 130 square feet, or 5,590 square feet. It will take about 350 square feet for one parking space, meaning I would over 19,000 square feet just to build in the required number of parking spaces. I can always appeal to the Parking Standards Committee to reduce the requirement for the project but I have to be careful about that.
Let’s say my appeal to Parking Standards is approved and I can get away with the 30 parking spaces that are ‘included’ in the property that I will acquire. One of the revenue drivers for the Group is the conference center and meeting space. It won’t make much sense to have a conference center that meets the needs of my constituents and customers if they have nowhere to park- that’s like not having a conference center at all. We talked about the next step as engaging an architect but before that money is spent, it would behoove me to understand my options for parking. Are all the lots adjacent to the building, not just the one immediately adjacent, available for sale? If so, what would the asking price be for that? If not, what other options do I have to make easy access to parking a true amenity for the property? More than that, what did the previous tenants do for parking when it was occupied 5 years ago? What businesses or spaces in close proximity might allow me to make some parking lease arrangements to use their space for my customers’ parking options?
My line sister owns a car wash about 3 blocks from where Concept will be. It’s an open space that has 3 tented areas so the employees can carry out their service duties; I would say about 15 cars could park their easily. She is open to allowing me to lease the space from her for the purposes of the project. I would need to provide a shuttle service from her business to Concept to account for the distance but that allows for further opportunity for my employees to build relationships with our customers. Or, I could form a partnership with one of the transportation companies in town that would extend a business opportunity to them to enhance their clientele and form their own relationships.
The Zoning Code prevents any establishment that serves or sells alcohol from being within 500 feet of any school, church or other establishment of similar nature. We took out a map and drew to scale a radius of 500 feet. They went on a field trip to scout out the area for establishments that would prevent Concept from being in that building and found a day care and a church. The Silver Bullet. It would have killed the project dead in the water. They called the City to get some clarification on that rule and as it turns out, we dodged The Silver Bullet. That 500 feet is 500 feet of walking distance and only includes ‘walkable’ spaces. Meaning, if there is an empty lot in the middle of the walking path that is not accessible to pedestrians, you subtract that space. The day care wasn’t included because it isn’t a school and their was something on the path to the church that made it more that 500 walking feet. So…we dodged The Silver Bullet.
The question that we come to now is parking. Even though Concept’s location falls outside of the Downtown Improvement Authority district, for all intents and purposes, Concept will be a part of Downtown Tallahassee activity…and parking downtown is always perceived as the most inconvenient thing about being downtown. The City of Tallahassee’s Growth Management and Planning Departments have minimum parking standards per zone. The zone that Concept will be in, the Capital Center Planning District, calls for 1 parking space for every 200 ground square feet; the structure that houses Concept is 15,000 total square feet. That means our parking requirement is 75 spaces.
The building is located in both an Enterprise Zone and the Frenchtown/Southside Community Redevelopment Area; the project gets 18.75 redevelopment credits bringing the net required parking spaces required to 56.25, or 56. The asking price for the building actually includes an adjacent lot that is approximately 43 x 130 square feet, or 5,590 square feet. It will take about 350 square feet for one parking space, meaning I would over 19,000 square feet just to build in the required number of parking spaces. I can always appeal to the Parking Standards Committee to reduce the requirement for the project but I have to be careful about that.
Let’s say my appeal to Parking Standards is approved and I can get away with the 30 parking spaces that are ‘included’ in the property that I will acquire. One of the revenue drivers for the Group is the conference center and meeting space. It won’t make much sense to have a conference center that meets the needs of my constituents and customers if they have nowhere to park- that’s like not having a conference center at all. We talked about the next step as engaging an architect but before that money is spent, it would behoove me to understand my options for parking. Are all the lots adjacent to the building, not just the one immediately adjacent, available for sale? If so, what would the asking price be for that? If not, what other options do I have to make easy access to parking a true amenity for the property? More than that, what did the previous tenants do for parking when it was occupied 5 years ago? What businesses or spaces in close proximity might allow me to make some parking lease arrangements to use their space for my customers’ parking options?
My line sister owns a car wash about 3 blocks from where Concept will be. It’s an open space that has 3 tented areas so the employees can carry out their service duties; I would say about 15 cars could park their easily. She is open to allowing me to lease the space from her for the purposes of the project. I would need to provide a shuttle service from her business to Concept to account for the distance but that allows for further opportunity for my employees to build relationships with our customers. Or, I could form a partnership with one of the transportation companies in town that would extend a business opportunity to them to enhance their clientele and form their own relationships.
Monday, May 4, 2009
T MINUS 241: Last Call
Last Call: Two words that bartenders sometimes reeeaaallllyyy look forward to. Not the case at the event last night- ‘last call’ came about an hour earlier than we had anticipated. Celebrating the graduates of Florida A&M, Florida State and TCC, the event was held at a private venue in Tallahassee, an art gallery. Drink tickets were available at the registration table for the attendees and there were some VIPs that drank on the house. One of those VIPs was an employee at the venue; we were told that he didn’t need a ticket to drink so we made sure to take care of him. I think he took advantage of that offer from the event organizers- he was ‘buying’ drinks for a couple of his friends and came back about 3 times in hour. There was another guy came up to the bar and said “I work here.” Okay, and?
I confirmed that the “I work here” guy was to receive a complimentary drink and it was A complimentary drink, not a comped out drink tab. Because 71 Proof had been entrusted to ensure a successful bar operation (and because people need to know that Concept is a for-profit establishment), I felt it was my duty to inform the event organizers of the possibility of the employees of the venue usurping the ‘power’ of their positions. I suggested that they get their tickets comped out but bring them to the bar just like everyone else. I guess the employees didn’t like my suggestion. That’s fine but don’t try to take advantage of my bar. Try to get over somewhere else.
Now this could be me being supersensitive, but I’m pretty sure that the earlier than scheduled ‘last call’ could have come about because of their bruised egos. If that’s the case, SFM, please accept my apologies.
So what’s last call all about anyway? Why do the bars all close at 2 am? Last call is a city ordinance that mandates that no alcoholic beverages be sold or served after 2 am, at least that’s the case in Tallahassee. The bars close at 2 am because they aren’t going to generate any further revenue even though they are still generating expenses. Utilities and labor costs, while they may be incremental, are typically the argument used to justify herding all the patrons out the door like sheep when the clock strikes 2.
Because we will be serving breakfast on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, there won’t be a need to herd people out at Concept. I don’t think we’ll have to find a way to engage our patrons after 2 am on any other night because they’ll be needing to get to work in the next day- they are professionals you know.
I confirmed that the “I work here” guy was to receive a complimentary drink and it was A complimentary drink, not a comped out drink tab. Because 71 Proof had been entrusted to ensure a successful bar operation (and because people need to know that Concept is a for-profit establishment), I felt it was my duty to inform the event organizers of the possibility of the employees of the venue usurping the ‘power’ of their positions. I suggested that they get their tickets comped out but bring them to the bar just like everyone else. I guess the employees didn’t like my suggestion. That’s fine but don’t try to take advantage of my bar. Try to get over somewhere else.
Now this could be me being supersensitive, but I’m pretty sure that the earlier than scheduled ‘last call’ could have come about because of their bruised egos. If that’s the case, SFM, please accept my apologies.
So what’s last call all about anyway? Why do the bars all close at 2 am? Last call is a city ordinance that mandates that no alcoholic beverages be sold or served after 2 am, at least that’s the case in Tallahassee. The bars close at 2 am because they aren’t going to generate any further revenue even though they are still generating expenses. Utilities and labor costs, while they may be incremental, are typically the argument used to justify herding all the patrons out the door like sheep when the clock strikes 2.
Because we will be serving breakfast on Friday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, there won’t be a need to herd people out at Concept. I don’t think we’ll have to find a way to engage our patrons after 2 am on any other night because they’ll be needing to get to work in the next day- they are professionals you know.
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