Dealing With NIMBYs

Wouldn't it be convenient if someone had clear, intelligent answers to most of your CRE-related questions? Problem solved. Meet Ms. Real Estate.

Have a question for Ms. Real Estate? Click here, and it may appear in a future column.

Dear Ms. Real Estate:

We have waterfront property in a major and growing city. The zoning permits a midrise multifamily residential project with ground floor retail. However, the neighbors are petitioning our city council to not permit the development of our project, because it will block views and increase vehicle traffic. What actions should I be considering?

—Dealing With NIMBYs

Dear Dealing With NIMBYs,

Let me begin with the good news! I hope you have an option, rather than owning the site fee simple, and are able to obtain entitlement for a waterfront mid-rise residential and ground floor retail. If yes, success is a high probability.

But don't make the mistake so many developers before you have made, and that is give too little thought to the residential product's amenity package once you receive the entitlement and financing. Ms. Real Estate recommends that you conduct market research to identify your most likely target demographic renter or buyer. Will your primary market be higher-income empty nesters, Echo Boomers, or both? Will there be a dominant ethnic or cultural demographic? Once you have answered the above, finding the most appropriate ground-floor retail will be relatively easy. Food services are almost always the first category to investigate—a grocery with fresh produce and takeout, a restaurant or coffee café, perhaps an ice cream or yogurt shop.

Now for the bad news!

Obtaining entitlement in many of our coastal cities is time consuming, expensive and highly problematic. Your first line of research, should you not have had direct experience working in the city, is to identify the architects, planners, attorneys and PR firms that have had the greatest track record obtaining entitlement in the past. You will then use this team to work with the neighborhood representatives to see if you can identify meeting one or more of their want list in order to obtain their support. And of course, I don't have to advise you, Mr. Developer, that it's always advantageous to contribute to the politicians.

When all is said and done, the decision as to whether you should execute your option is dependent upon in which city the waterfront site is located. If San Francisco, forget about it!