42 S. 15TH ST, Philadelphia
DEVELOPERS
Alterra Property Group, Scully Co. and Spring Creek Investment Management
SCOPE OF PROJECT
Avenir is the conversion of what had been know as Chestnut Place, a 17 story, 141,000-square-foot office building into 180 apartments, 60 of which are micro units. It has 8, 887 square feet of retail space. The project was refinanced with a $45 million fixed-rate first mortgage arranged by HFF.
HONOREE
Leo Addimando
MANAGING PARTNER,
ALTERRA PROPERTY GROUP
Article by
Philadelphia Buisness Journal
What makes a good real estate deal? A good real estate deal is one where you as the investor/developer have a sound business plan on why you’re making the purchase, an understanding of why the pricing works for you, a rationale and sustainable capitalization plan, and an idea of if/when how you plan on disposing of the asset later. The deal metrics are very specific to the investor/developer and as long as you are honest about the investment rationale and properly capitalized, then it should end up being a good deal for you.
Who do you most admire in the industry and why? My best decision was to partner up with Doug Jordan and Jeff Pustizzi and form Alterra almost five years ago.
What advice would you give someone starting out the real estate business? Real estate is a very entrepreneurial business and the quintessential long game. If you want to get into the business, be prepared for it to take a decade or more to get really established and it will require perseverance. Also be aware of deals that seem too good to be true and are seemingly without risk. Those are the land mines to be avoided. Many years ago I read that in business, particularly the real estate business, you make more money avoiding bad deals than you do in closing on good deals.
What has been your worst decision? Trying to buy a shuttered hospital and thinking that it would be easy to redevelop into medical offices.
