A family inherited this property from their father who leased it to an auto parts store. The property was in the City of Redwood City’s downtown core designation, but was a story typical of the area: great location with an older, under-utilized building with a use not reflective of the changing landscape. The owners had no previous commercial real estate experience, but were dealt a property that had serious deferred maintenance issues. Since our team handled the leasing on the adjacent remodeled project a few years back, we guided the ownership in dealing with a building that had a historical designation for their single story building. Based on our discussions with the City and with the ownership, it was decided to add a 2nd floor to the structure to create more income for the property and to diversify the building uses.
Adding to the complexity of the process that would need to be overcome: the property was in the downtown precise plan, which at the time had a cap on new office development. Based on our trusted relationship with city officials, we received approval to move forward with the creation of an office space on a new 2nd floor. This was significant as the underlying zoning code only allowed for retail uses for the property. This expanded square footage and new use would be valuable to the owners as they would have a larger building and they could charge higher rent for the office use. In addition to assisting the owner throughout the entitlement process, we also were instrumental in obtaining construction and permanent financing for the project.
