Construction Services: Case Studies
Willowbrook Apartments
248 Unit Multifamily Renovation and Capital Improvements
Jeffersonville, PA
GMH Capital Partners acquired Willowbrook Apartments, a 248-unit, garden-style apartment community, in February 2007. Located in Jeffersonville, Pa., Willowbrook Apartments is a 62-building, garden-style complex consisting of 248 apartments.
Willowbrook enjoys a great location and was 92% occupied at the time of sale, however, the property was outdated and in need of significant improvements. GMH Capital Partners invested $3.5 million over 12 months to enhance the property with upgrades throughout the apartment community. Exterior renovations include: a new maintenance building, new retaining walls, gutters, and down spouts, new siding, lighting enhancements and signage upgrades. Unit upgrades include new windows and sliders, new utility room doors and select replacement of washers and dryers.
Residents now have ample and upgraded space for community events with the addition of a new BBQ/picnic area and upgrades to the pool area that include new landscaping, and outdoor furniture. The new fitness /business center has been completely transformed into a state-of-the-art facility complete with new exercise equipment, computers, and Wi Fi for the pool goers.
The one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments include fully equipped kitchens; ceramic tile bathrooms; private, covered entrances; patios or balconies; oversized windows; plush, wall-to-wall carpeting, and high-speed Internet.
In just 12 months, GMH Capital Partners was able to transform an outdated property into one that offers not only a great location, but a fresh, modern place to call home. Residents enjoy updated facilities and a management team that is dedicated to meeting resident needs and creating a comfortable, close-knit community.
Woodgate Apartments
212 Unit Multifamily Renovation and Capital Improvements
Reading, PA
GMH Capital Partners specializes in adding value to multifamily communities. One of the finest examples of GMH Capital Partners’ ability to add value not only to a multifamily complex, but to the community as a whole, is Woodgate Apartments. The combination of GMH’s attention to detail, excellent customer service, and the amenities Woodgate now offers improves the quality of life for residents.
In July 2008, GMH Capital Partners completed renovations at Woodgate Apartments, a 212-unit apartment community in Reading, Pa. GMH Capital Partners acquired Woodgate Apartments in February 2007, and invested nearly $3 million to enhance the property with interior and exterior upgrades and renovations. With renovations now complete, Woodgate has become one of the premiere apartment communities in the area.
Renovations to Woodgate Apartments include a completely revamped exterior, with new vinyl siding, windows, sliders, lighting, and painting. New roofing was installed with aluminum fascias and soffits, and new gutters and downspouts. Balconies were outfitted with vinyl rails and new deck surfaces. GMH also developed a new fitness center with state-of-the-art equipment, and added new fencing and furniture to the pool area. Select retaining walls, interior railings and doors, and HVAC units were replaced, and improvements were made to the leasing center and landscaping.
GMH Capital Partners successfully transformed an outdated, garden-style apartment complex into a vibrant, sought after multifamily community that residents are proud to call home.
Meadow Lake Apartments
376 Unit Multifamily Renovation and Capital Improvements
Downingtown, PA
Tucked away on 43 acres, within the prestigious Chester County, the apartment community of Meadow Lake Apartments consists of 228 one-bedroom, 112 two-bedroom and 36 three-bedroom units in 23 two-story buildings.
GMH embarked on a $3.1 million renovation plan that consisted of installing new roofs, gutters, vinyl siding, exterior lighting, mechanical doors, deck surfaces & railings, HVAC units, enhanced fireproofing, landscaping, drainage, paving, walkways and signage.
To conclude the transformation, GMH will be demolishing the existing leasing and maintenance office and constructing a 3,500 SF luxury clubhouse, business center and fitness facility. This new clubhouse will overlook a resort style swimming pool that was completely restored. A new maintenance facility will also be constructed.
Bella Vista at Hilltop
1,008 Unit Multifamily Renovation and Capital Improvements
Richmond, CA
Bella Vista at Hilltop is a 42 building complex consisting of 1,008 units in the heart of East Bay and just minutes from San Francisco, CA.
GMH completed a $7 million capital improvement renovation which included: lighting system, drainage systems, roof systems, window and slider door replacement as well as a new clubhouse and maintenance facility.
Conservation conscious, GMH installed nearly 2,300 fluorescent lamps and rewired more than 6,000 Energy Star™ hardwire fixtures for indoor and outdoor lighting. GMH received rebates from PG&E for the installation of the lights as well as high-performance dual-pane windows and upgraded clothes washers and water heaters in some units with more energy efficient models. It is estimated that the annual savings in energy costs will be about $120,000 for electric and $6,000 in gas bills for tenants and GMH.
GMH Corporate Headquarters
45,000 SF Corporate Office Build to Suit
Newtown Square, PA
GMH constructed its 45,000 square foot corporate headquarters in the Philadelphia, PA suburb of Newtown Square.
The land was purchased from a local developer and constructed a high tech, Class A office building with GMH Construction acting as its general contractor. GMH was able to consolidate space and the building allowed us to move all GMH related companies under one roof.
This project represents GMH’s ability and commitment to providing high quality real estate solutions.
Devon West Building
61,100 SF Office Renovation
Devon, PA
Through a joint venture, GMH acquired this 61,100 square foot building and completely renovated the property turning it into Class A space in a most coveted location for any corporation.
GMH identified this site in the Philadelphia Main Line submarket that had virtually no availability at the time and very little opportunity for development. GMH’s site selection expertise and ability to turn this building into a Class A office, provided our client with the exact location and specifications that they were looking for in relocating their corporate office and allowed us to sell this property for a substantial profit.
Windsor Corporate Park
700,000 SF Conversion of Industrial to Class A Office
East Windsor, NJ
The vision was developing Class A Office Space out of the 1,000,000 square foot Lockheed Martin satellite manufacturing facility in East Windsor, NJ. Located in the Princeton South Office market, the benefits of a superior location midway between New York and Philadelphia were exceptional for a new redevelopment project.
Demolition commenced which included the removal of 400,000 square foot high bay industrial and one story obsolete office space. In addition, 240,000 square feet of interiors were demolished to remove asbestos and to pave the way for the development.
The 300,000 square foot Class A Office space includes new atriums and lobbies, mechanical and electrical, and new interior finishes throughout. Suitable land remains to support a 700,000 square foot master planned office park.
GE Financial Assurance (GEFA)
550,000 SF Office Redevelopment
Fort Washington, PA
GE Financial Assurance (GEFA) acquired this property by way of a combination land purchase and synthetic lease scenario through Deutsche Bank. GMH Capital Partners, acting as GEFA’s developer, acquired the property, assisted with the financing and redeveloped the project. This suburban redevelopment was the largest in the Philadelphia Metropolitan area during construction.
The project consisted of converting a 550,000 square foot industrial building into a 365,000 square foot office building plus covered parking for approximately 250 cars. Working with the local township, we were able to institute a two-phase occupancy to accommodate GEFA’s time constraints. While Phase I construction was underway, land development approvals from the township were being procured for Phase II and the site improvements. Final occupancy was granted just eleven months after closing. This fast track schedule included design, land development approvals, site work and interior construction.
Utilizing the facility as a call center, GEFA had sophisticated data and electrical requirements. GMH provided dual power supply (loop) from the local utility company along with UPS systems and a generator. These measures were taken to maintain operations even during natural disasters.
GECC ITS Distribution Facility
208,000 SF Industrial/Office Build to Suit
Frederick, MD
GMH was able to provide its client with a customized building with the ability to expand at market rents.
GMH acquired 13.5 acres of vacant ground in Frederick, MD and developed a 208,000 square foot industrial/office building for a client with a specific requirement. Due to sufficient remaining land, there is the ability to expand the building to 50,000 square feet.
Our client, one of the largest distributors of personal computers in the U.S. required this customized state-of-the-art building with 40 foot ceilings, truck-loading doors and high tech racking and handling equipment to serve as their Mid-Atlantic distribution facility. GMH designed this building to meet all of the client’s needs.
Kings Mill Office Building
160,000 SF Conversion from Retail to Office
Cincinnati, OH
Our client had been looking for an office location in the suburban Cincinnati market for a lengthy period of time with no success. Immediately following our client’s request, GMH identified and acquired this defunct, enclosed single-story outlet shopping center while the property was in bankruptcy.
Within three months, GMH renovated this 160,000 square foot retail center into a corporate office building. The conversion of this property into office significantly increased its value and created a demand enabling GMH to sell the property within 18 months at a substantial profit.
King’s Mill is a project that allowed the tenant to lease corporate office space at rates below market with the flexibility to have expansion rights to meet their business needs. Coupled with the vision necessary to identify this opportunity, GMH had the expertise to locate, renovate and profitably dispose of this property.
The Carrier Building
50,000 SF Conversion and Addition
Jacksonville, FL
GMH was able to identify and acquire The Carrier Building and additional adjacent land for a client with a 50,000 square foot office requirement. The industrial building was converted and expanded.
The existing industrial building had many of the finishes attributable to this property type, including high bay areas and a lack of windows. GMH designed and constructed an office environment that included natural light and high quality interior improvements.
The property was purchased at an industrial price. Market value was significantly increased by the conversion to office space.
The Forum
Three Building, 300,000 SF Office Renovation
West Palm Beach, FL
GMH completed a multi-phase renovation that resulted in a complete rehabilitation of the outdated office buildings into a modernized project.
The renovation began with the replacement of deteriorated equipment and a complete remodeling of the common areas and exterior of the buildings. The plan was to update the “backbone” of the project, while proceeding with a complete upgrade of the tenant occupied areas through lease renewals and attrition.
GMH repositioned this property in the marketplace and created tremendous added value to this property without having thrown “good money” into a bad real estate deal.
Large rehabilitation projects like The Forum stand little chance of being successful without a knowledgeable, experienced organization overseeing the planning and working that goes into this type of project.
