TOO MANY CAR WASHES? MAY I RANT?

Earlier this month a developer came to the City of Crystal Lake Zoning Board to propose a concept plan for a car wash next to the Casey’s gas station at Rt 14 and Sands Road. Aside from the fact that the location for this is about as perfect as you can get, this attitude that we are already saturated with car washes has no place in the discussion of the merits of this proposed use. For some reason 11 is an acceptable number of car washes; 12 is not. I am always on the lookout for government overreach and willing to call it out when I see it (or SMELL it, because sometimes there is some real “stinkin’ thinkin’” happening from these commissions).

We live in an economic environment where CAPITALISM is our underlying system. Capitalism relies on market forces to determine if there is a demand or need for a particular product or service. The premise of capitalism is if you have too many car washes in a given market, the weak ones will fold and the strong ones will survive. No government intervention is required to control the number of car washes that exist. The same would be true for bars, banks, grocers or dry cleaners. The City of Crystal Lake and all communities need to let the market work its magic and stop interfering and say “YES” to developers with good, modern, sensible projects.

Full disclosure…I have no dog in this fight as I don’t represent the seller or the buyer. Also, no vote was taken at this Zoning meeting. It was an unofficial rejection of the concept plan. So, there is still hope.

 Bruce Kaplan, Senior Broker, Premier Commercial Realty

Featured Listings ▀ ▀ ▀

650 Spring Hill Ring Rd.

West Dundee

OFFICE OR RETAIL



1,360 sq ft with 4 private offices, conference room, waiting room and kitchenette, Minutes from I-90 and Rt 31 Interchange. $22 per sq ft modified gross.

380 Terra Cotta Rd. Suite A

Crystal Lake

MEDICAL OFFICE - PRICE SLASHED



3,600 sq ft end unit condo for lease. Contains 9 exam rooms, 5 offices, 2 baths, kitchenette, nurses station, business office and waiting room. Price now $15.99 psf gross.

1615 S. Schroeder Ln.

McHenry

RARE FLEX SPACE

1,826 sq ft with 930 sq ft warehouse down and 896 sq ft mezzanine office up. 18’ ceiling. 9x16 drive in door. $2054.25/month gross.

12407 Main St.

Huntley

LIVE/WORK OPPORTUNITY



1905 built updated updated farm house with buildings on nearly 5 acres zoned B-2 offering potential for many commercial uses. $995,000.

1375 S. Eastwood Dr.

Woodstock

FREESTANDING OFFICE / RETAIL / SHOWROOM / WAREHOUSE

9,238 sq ft fully air conditioned freestanding building on 1.2 AC w/ ample parking, large office/showroom, warehouse, and one 10'x10' DID. $825,000 (sale) or $11 per sq ft NNN.

108 N. Walkup Ave.

Crystal Lake

DOWNTOWN OFFICE BUILDING NEAR TRAIN

Two story vintage office building on .5 acre for sale or lease. Located close to commuter station . Offices, conference rooms and baths on each floor. 2 car garage with loft. $499,000 (sale) or $15 per sq ft gross (lease).

Sold, Leased, & Under Contract ▀ ▀ ▀

Featured Article ▀ ▀ ▀

MAKE SURE YOUR BROKER HAS A MARKETING PLAN

At the risk of giving away trade secrets or otherwise proprietary information, I want to devote this article to marketing plans for getting commercial properties sold or leased.

Some brokers promise you the world and tell you what you want to hear in order to secure an exclusive listing for your property. Most professional brokers will create a customized marketing plan tailored to your specific property showing all the activities that broker plans to do to expose it to the marketplace. Without such a plan, coupled with effective implementation, the sale or lease of your property is left to the whims of the universe.

What is a marketing plan? Each parcel of real estate is somewhat unique. A good broker has a skill set that will enable him or her to create a written description of the attributes, features and benefits of any given property. That information can then be packaged into custom formats (brochures, flyers, offering memorandums) and shared with the world in a multitude of ways. A marketing plan, then, is a written outline of exactly how that broker intends to expose that property to the market.

Here are eight key elements of a highly effective commercial real estate marketing plan:

1. Signage
   20-30% of all calls into a brokerage come from signs. If you don’t allow one, you are hurting your exposure.
   
2. Electronic data bases
   The bulk of prospective buyers/tenants start by searching the Internet for their information. Specific data bases cater to commercial properties and are the “go-to” sites for data. CoStar, Loopnet and CREXI are the kings. There are others. Brokers pay huge sums to be able to put their listings in these services and to be able to search these golden resources for active and sold properties. Some data bases are exclusively geared to brokers and others are aimed at the general public.
   
3. Company website
   Most companies have a website where prospects can log on and do a property search. Visits to the website are driven by a well-conceived marketing strategy and search engine optimization plan. You should be able to find your property on the website of the company that has your listing.
   
4. Direct Mail
   Some firms have company newsletters, which are sent out via snail mail or electronically. We call ours “Solutions” and it goes out 6 times a year. Certain properties might warrant buying a targeted mailing list and doing a direct call or post card mailing campaign to likely prospects.
   
5. Advertising
   Our advertising consists of selective trade publications when warranted (Food Industry News is a good one for restaurants). Beyond that, we use weekly eblasts to proprietary email lists that are compiled and constantly kept updated. Many of these lists are aimed at brokers who specialize in the property type being marketed. For example, if we are selling an investment property, we eblast that to a sizable list of investors and investment brokers we have compiled over the years.
   
6. Trade Associations
   Commercial real estate has numerous trade organizations. Mailing to and networking with the members of these organizations is an integral part of a complete marketing plan.
   
7. Public Agencies
   Each property lies in a governmental jurisdiction (city, town or county). Most communities have economic or community development personnel that monitor and actively promote commercial properties. Various chambers of commerce keep data bases on available properties for sale and lease. Making sure properties are exposed to the correct personnel can make the difference in a broker’s success rate.
   
8. Publicity
   Sometimes referred to as “free advertising”, many publications accept press releases about properties of interest being marketed by brokers. Large or unique properties tend to get the most attention.

Holding your broker accountable to implement a written marketing plan is key to increasing the odds of a property selling or leasing. No plan can guarantee that even a well orchestrated effort will be 100% effective. Overall demand and proper pricing have considerable bearing on whether a marketing plan can be effective. But without a plan, and a committed broker willing to implement it, you are casting your fate to the wind.

By Bruce Kaplan, Senior Broker at Premier Commercial Realty, brucek@premiercommercialrealty.com

Meet The Premier Team ▀ ▀ ▀

9225 S. IL Route 31

Lake in the Hills, IL 60156

 847-854-2300 

www.PremierCommercialRealty.com