Since its construction in 1991, 670 S. Old Woodward has been home to Azar’s Oriental Rugs, a highly successful local business. After 30 years of serving Birmingham, the owners were ready to retire and close the store. Long-time clients of ours, they asked that we bring a fresh, new retailer to this prime location, but one with the patience to wait while they carefully liquidated the business. It wasn’t an easy assignment and it took nearly two years, but in the end we achieved that goal, and to everyone’s advantage.
When we began, the retail rental market in Birmingham was sluggish. Rental rates were very low and vacancy high. As we continued to promote the property, the Birmingham market began to bounce back. We saw first-hand a dramatic change in interest and seized the opportunity, mounting an aggressive marketing campaign to retailers, local businesses, and the entire brokerage community. We entertained more offers in four months than we had in the preceding eighteen.
With dedicated effort, we attracted three very strong candidates for the space: an international motorcycle dealership, a sports medicine facility, and an urban Danish-design furniture store. We identified two of these as the top contenders and used their competing deals to bring the owners an optimal rental rate for the facility. The Danish-design furniture store BoConcept will open in mid-2013 (http://www.boconcept.com/).
The key to our success came from an understanding of our clients’ needs, knowledge of the market and its changing activity levels, and the patience and perseverance to wait until all the factors aligned perfectly.
To learn more about this transaction and how we can assist in marketing your property, please contact: Kevin Jappaya (kjappaya@thomasduke.com) or Dan Blugerman, CCIM (dblugerman@thomasduke.com) at 248-476-3700.
