Downtown Dance Studio

Case Study: Downtown Dance Studio

Team: Elevation 77 (www.elevation77.com)

Location: Confidential location, Northern California

Size / Existing Land Use: Former Dry Cleaners located in rapidly growing downtown commercial-retail district.

Project Type: Structural Rehabilitation and industrial-to-commercial conversion

Project Duration: 2001 to 2003

Community Attributes: Community has grown approximately 3-5 percent per year for previous 15 years. Area has undergoing transformation from predominantly agricultural economy (wine grapes and cattle) to mixed agricultural / recreational-leisure / professional services based economy. Household income ratcheted well above $100k per year. Historic downtown commercial corridor restoration lagging behind Single-family housing and higher density mixed use developments in the area. A burgeoning need for additional commercial and retail space has emerged.

Development Challenge:The existing structure required seismic retrofitting, asbestos abatement, and lead based paint abatement. Additionally, incidental subsurface soil contamination required mitigation and consent from authorities in order to put facility back to productive use.

Elevation 77 Solution: The environmental remedy was negotiated with the regulatory authorities and a simple, quick-turn building rehabilitation was undertaken to bring it up to standards necessary for occupancy. Several end uses were evaluated and ultimately a large studio was created for its tenant.

Project metrics of interest include a >100 percent ROI per annum for investors with a rapid-turnaround approach to site restoration/mitigation. Virtually zero residual liability.