REAL ESTATE 26 n Capital Region Business Journal May 2008 BUILDINGS MATTER steve apps The transparency at the Zimbrick European dealership on South Rimrock Road allows sales representatives to see customers in the showroom and on the lot. Great expectations at Zimbrick European Stylish building helps accelerate sales of high-end performance cars W hen you sell Mercedes, Audi, and Porsche, everything has to be just right, including the building where people make these investments in style and quality. Aaron Perkins, Zimbrick European’s general manager, says expectations of carbuying are much higher today. “You can’t sell cars in 2008 sitting on cheap metal chairs next to the burnt-out coffee pot,” he said. A Beltline drive shows that Madison’s dealerships have radically improved in five years and Zimbrick’s 2006, 60,000-squarefoot project on South Rimrock Road in Madison is a great example. Each of their three car manufacturers has tight specifications for the dealership buildings, for everything from floor materials to wall colors to the sign details. “Audi is the most stringent, specifying even the angle of the lights in the show- room,” says Perkins. Zimbrick hired Kenneth F. Sullivan as the design/builder to blend the manufacturers’ specs into a functional building on a difficult site. Siting the building Zimbrick was in two nondescript buildings on the north side of the Beltline at Rimrock for years; retrofitting wasn’t feasible. But the new site wasn’t easy: Parts had to be raised 10 feet to be visible and functional. Customers can see all four sides of the building, which posed the challenge of making the service docks attractive. Getting the building “sited” right is a mark of good architecture. The extensive interior windows around the offices and workstations lets sales representatives see visitors both in the showroom and the lot. The transparency is both comforting and helpful. Derrick Van Mell is principal of Van Mell Associates, management consultants specializing in strategic facility decisions. Steve Steinhoff is executive director of the Neighborhood Design Center, helping communities become great places. Visibility of signs “You can’t have enough signs, and you can’t be without signs even for a day,” says Perkins. Local codes dic- tate the size and location of signs in each Service bays zoning district. At Zimbrick, you can see the There’s a 300-foot service corridor creative use of pylon signs (Mercedes) and through the middle of building with winbuilding signs (Porsche and Audi). dows from the customer areas and also into You can also see the reinforcing sign and the service bays. brand messages everywhere inside. Of “This is all part of being fully transparent course the best “signs” are the cars themselves. The author can report the mid-life Please see ZIMBRICK, Page 28 temptations were intense. REAL ESTATE 28 n Capital Region Business Journal May 2008 REAL ESTATE DIGEST Design changes, weather delay Hilldale project work A harsh winter and changes to the design of the project are forcing delays in the second phase of construction at Hilldale Shopping Center. Officials with Joseph Freed & Associates said the construction of a Whole Foods grocery store, an office and retail building and parking structure will not begin until July and that construction on the six story, 140-room Hotel Indigo would be delayed until September or October. The Chicago company, which in the fall began clearing the seven-acre site at Segoe Road and University Avenue, had originally planned to begin vertical construction earlier on land that had been home to the Hilldale Theater and Humana Insurance. The now $70 million project originally called for two condominium towers but those plans were scrapped last year due to a softening market. The proposed hotel moved from the west side of the mall to where the theater had been and one of the condominium towers was planned. Officials with Freed were scheduled to meet with city officials to discuss design changes to the hotel, which include moving the commons area more under the hotel. Construction on the hotel is expected to take about 16 months, meaning it would likely not open until early 2010. The other component to Phase 2, a 55,000-square-foot Whole Foods, 65,000-square-feet of retail, office and a health club, and a 670stall parking structure is scheduled to take about 12 months to build, meaning the store would likely open in the fall of 2009. Wingra Shores project delayed to 2009 Construction will be delayed until next year for the 45-unit Wingra Shores condominium project planned for the 2600 block of Monroe Street. The project, including 4,000 square feet of commercial space and 57 underground parking spaces, now will get started in July 2009, said developer Jim Corcoran. “We were working on just tweaking some things like getting more units towards the lake,” he said. “It just got to the point where I didn’t want to be rushed, and the market’s a little sluggish, too.” Corcoran said people have expressed interest in the project, but he wants to construct an office Send us your news to: Capital Region Business Journal, Box 8058, Madison, WI 53708 The Capital Region Business Journal welcomes news of staff additions, promotions and awards and honors. We also welcome your calendar items. To submit information, e-mail bizjournal-news@madison.com or mail Include the person’s name, job title, whether the person is new or promoted, and the company’s name and address. Also include a contact name and phone number. Foreclosures rose in February in Dane County and Wisconsin, according to a report issued by RealtyTrac, an online database for foreclosure properties. The county had 131 foreclosure filings in February, including default notices, auction sales and repossessions, or one for every 1,545 households. The number was up about 3 percent from 127 filings in January and about 134 percent higher than the 56 filings in February 2007. Wisconsin’s 2,393 foreclosure filings in February, one for every 1,044 households, were up 13.8 percent from January and 145.7 percent higher than a year ago. New ‘accelerator’ building is planned University Research Park will construct a 60,000-square-foot “accelerator” building for companies that have outgrown the MGE Innovation Center and moved on to the next level. The three-story building, designed by the Strang architectural firm, will sit south of the Innovation Center along Research Park Boulevard. Research Park director Mark Bugher said it’s too soon to tell how many companies the building will house, and there are no commitments from tenants yet. “We’re employing the ‘field of dreams’ strategy: If we build it, they will come,” he said. Dispute resolution clause can save time and money S ome commercial leases will contain a “relocation” clause that gives the landlord the right to relocate the tenant to another space under certain conditions and circumstances. Landlords include such clauses so they can accommodate tenants who might want to expand into a contiguous, but occupied, space. The theory behind the clause is that it will allow a landlord to accommodate one tenant and avoid losing another in the process. At first this clause might seem like a negative for a potential tenant because if the landlord uses it, the tenant is faced with moving costs, changing phone and Internet service, changing business cards and stationery, not to mention the probable business interruption losses. However, potential tenants don’t have to be wary of this provision. In fact, it can be used as leverage in lease rate negotiations. A landlord might be more willing to lower the rate in exchange for leaving the provision in. Just be sure before signing that About six acres of a 10-acre property owned by Madison Turners on South Stoughton Road are being sold for development of a commercial building, Turners chief executive officer Alice Soule said. Architect Jerry Bourquin and developer Tim Neitzel applied to Madison’s Urban Design Commission for review of a proposed building that will be built south of the existing Madison Turners building at 3001 S. Stoughton Road. It will be designed with front offices and rear storage areas for multiple tenants, Bourquin wrote the commission. County, state foreclosure numbers have increased LEASING TIPS By Ralph Kamps Building proposed for South Stoughton Road and sales building near the site this year that will be used to help market the units. the lease states that you will be fully compensated for any economic impacts of relocating and specifically spells out the terms of the compensation. If you do this, and the provision is never exercised, then you end up with a lower rate. If it is exercised, the monetary impact of moving should be negligible because of the compensation. It’s a win-win situation for the tenant and landlord. n Ralph Kamps is publisher of commercial real estate listing service Cirex/Property Drive. BRIEFLY Bunbury and Associates of Madison has opened a full service real estate office in the remodeled Meigs community retail/service complex at 1527 Highway 14 in Construction of the $6 million to Black Earth. Meigs provides de$8 million building is expected to sign-build services for agricultural begin in late spring or early sum- and residential building projects. mer with occupancy by the sumSiegel-Gallagher, a Milwaukee mer of 2009, Bugher said. Univercommercial real estate firm with sity Research Park owns 18 of the a Madison office at 301 N. Broom 35 buildings in the park. St., has become a corporate member of the U.S. Green Building Mansion Hill Inn sold to Council. Trek Hospitality Trek Hospitality, a subsidiary of the Trek Bicycle Corp. of Waterloo, has purchased the historic Mansion Hill Inn, 424 N. Pinckney St. The company, which bought the 11-suite inn from the Alexander Co. of Madison, will renovate it, said Trek spokesman Mark Joslyn. Zimbrick White Cap Real Estate of Madison and Appleton, which specializes in real estate exchanges and investor ownership of large developments, has arranged to use Empire Securities of Universal City, Calif., as managing broker-dealer for the firm’s syndicated offerings. n for our customers,” says Perkins. Zimbrick invested in an automated parts dispenser that allows the parts inventory to be on a mezzanine, invisible to customers and to provide speedy and clean service. showcase. n Enterprise has a counter in the service area (not for rentals, but to help them manage the loaner fleet). n A high quality “clinker” tile paves the service lane floor for strength and maintainability. n The staff-only locker and break rooms are nicely detailed, so all 65 employees are inspired to quality daily. Detail in building Lessons learned The luxury cars shine because of their attention to detail and that’s also apparent in the building: n The office doors have fingerprint-recognition locks. n Waste oil is reused for heating. n There’s a play area with a windowed work station for busy parents. n Starbucks coffee is served near the branded merchandise Perkins reports that the new facility has had a “substantial” effect on sales success. “I wouldn’t change a thing.” Every business sells something and the customer visit is essential to sales success. Zimbrick European is a sophisticated, global example of the importance of a building’s transparency, brand messaging, cleanliness, and attention to detail. n Continued from Page 26