The Challenge
In 2016, AQUILA took on the listing for 4719 South Congress Avenue, a 1.14-acre site on South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas. The site had an existing 20,342-square-foot building, and the owners were interested in selling the site. As a potential sale, the site presented a few unique challenges:
First, it was located in the quickly gentrifying South Congress neighborhood, but it was on the southern fringe of the activity – just outside the established “heart” of SoCo.
Next, it wasn’t clear exactly what the highest and best use for the site would be. It was possible that a retail or office user would buy the site, but it was also intriguing as a multi-family redevelopment or a land play for a commercial real estate investor. Since we didn’t know who the buyer might be, it made it difficult to nail down a price for what the land was worth.
The Solution
Based on AQUILA’s market knowledge and the wide variety of potential buyers, our team crafted a range of estimated values for the owner. We created financial models to show the feasibility of the site as a redevelopment play versus a user purchase by an owner-occupant. Once we understood all the scenarios, our team then set to work creating marketing collateral that positioned the site so it might appeal to users, developers, and commercial real estate investors alike.
Additionally, AQUILA’s marketing team created amenities maps that helped position the site less on the fringe and more in the heart of the action.
Lastly, using our extensive network of local and national relationships, AQUILA took the site to market, getting an audience with all our target categories of potential buyers.
The Results
AQUILA ultimately procured two user-buyers who were interested in purchasing the site. By creating a competitive bidding situation AQUILA was able to achieve a sale price of over $100,000 more than the highest estimated price we had given the owners.
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