Sean Dreznin, Commercial Investment Real Estate Agent

LANDMARK RESCUED Tony Troppe renovating historic Kaiser

Building for use as cafe, offices across from Canal Park

By Betty Lin-Fisher Beacon Journal staff writer

Photo credits (Ed Suba Jr./Akron Beacon Journal)

A downtown Akron building whose last owner lost it to foreclosure after a failed attempt to sell it on eBay is getting new life under the eye of historic building renovator Tony Troppe. Plans call for the Kaiser Building, across from Canal Park on South Main Street, to have a cafe or store in two slots on the first floor, offices on the second floor and a mix of offices and loft apartments on the third floor.

''I did not like that vacancy across the street from the ballpark,'' said Troppe, who has renovated several historical buildings in downtown Akron. ''I felt for some time that a building of that stature should be brought back.'' Troppe said he wants to create ''a positive node of knowledge workers,'' referring to downtown workers and students who soon will be living at the 22 Exchange Place project a few hundred feet away. He believes they will be looking for places to hang out, eat and work.

The building, believed to have been built in 1877, formerly housed a German-American Family Club and had a grand ballroom on the third floor with 18-foot-high ceilings.

Troppe envisions a world-cafe type of eatery on part of the main floor, with coffee, beer, food and live music. He also wants to create an outdoor eating area on a brick patio to the side or possibly a drive-through window. Troppe said he is in discussions with potential tenants and might run the cafe on his own, similar to Mocha Maiden on Maiden Lane off East Market Street.

Troppe, with private investors under the name Kaiser Hall Revival Group, bought the building from the mortgage lender after a sheriff's sale for $365,000, according to public records. They have financed the project through Portage Community Bank.

The building's previous owner, Jeremy Caudill and his company, JJC Investors Inc., had purchased it in 2005 for $650,000. But Caudill was unable to renovate the building or sell it, including an unsuccessful listing on eBay, before losing it to foreclosure for delinquent taxes and back payments to the lender.

The building, at 323 and 325 S. Main St., needed a lot of internal demolition, Troppe said. Crews began in March, and Troppe hopes to have the first floor done and open for business by fall. FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE, CLICK HERE <-----

#1-Chrysler plans to close 14 dealerships in Cleveland-Akron market

Northeast Ohio stands to lose 14 Chrysler dealerships from Elyria to Wadsworth, according to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing this morning by Chrysler LLC.

Dealerships targeted for closing include five Spitzer dealerships in Akron, Lakewood, Mayfield Heights, Parma and Sheffield Lake; three Ganley dealerships in Cleveland, Middleburg Heights and Wickliffe; and two Axelrod dealerships — Axelrod Chrysler in Parma and Axelrod-Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep Inc. in Wadsworth.

Also on the closing list are Abraham-Chrysler-Jeep in Elyria, Crestmont Chrysler Jeep in Beachwood, Great Northern Dodge in North Olmsted and Medina World Cars in Medina.

As the automaker’s bankruptcy unfolds, expect dealers to combat the closings.

Alan Spitzer, chairman and CEO of Spitzer Management Inc., could not be reached this morning and did not return a call. Nick Abraham, owner of Abraham-Chrysler-Jeep, also did not return a call.

#2-Forest City Enterprises reveals big job cuts in posting fourth-quarter loss

Forest City Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: FCEA, FCEB) has reported sizable net losses for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Jan. 31, while also revealing that it reduced its nationwide work force by nearly 500 full-time positions during the fiscal year as part of a cost-cutting drive to increase its liquidity.

The real estate giant said its net loss in the latest fourth quarter totaled $45.1 million, or 44 cents a share, and compares to a year-earlier profit of $12.6 million, or 12 cents a share. Revenue in the quarter fell 20%, to $323 million from $404.4 million.

#3-Shiloh Industries to close Medina County plant, eliminating 111 jobs

Shiloh Industries Inc. will shutter permanently its Liverpool Manufacturing Plant this summer, putting 111 employees at the Medina County operation out of work, according to a company filing with the state of Ohio.

Valley City-based Shiloh on Monday notified the state, via a required Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act filing, that it will close the plant. The company in March told the state that it was laying off 83 workers from its Medina Blanking Division, although those layoffs were termed “temporary.”

Shiloh, which primarily supplies U.S. domestic automakers and their vendors, has been hit hard by declining auto sales.

For full articles and more Angels & Demons type news, click here to visit Crains Business <----

Articles above written by Stan Bullard, Dan Shingler

Report finds 24.8 percent of Summit, Portage owners have negative equity

Published on Thursday, May 07, 2009

This article from http://Ohio.com is a bit of a micro-view segue from the previous blog article. Zillow has plenty of research and commentary to show how Akron Residential is slowly rotting from the inside, despite all the wonderful efforts of local business people. The local government needs to hopefully read this blog and many of the available resources out there screaming about the area needing help... anyhow... I digress... enjoy the articles' worth content.

Nearly a quarter of all homeowners in Summit and Portage counties owe more on their mortgage than their home is currently worth as values fell from a year ago, according to the latest research by the online real estate firm Zillow.

Home values in the Akron metropolitan statistical area — defined as Summit and Portage counties — fell 7 percent in the first three months this year compared to a year ago, according to the Zillow Home Value Index. The Zillow Real Estate Market Reports look at 161 metropolitan areas and cover the value changes in all homes, not just homes that have recently sold.

The average home price in the greater Akron area for the first quarter this year was $115,682, down 14.9 percent since the Akron market peaked in 2006, Zillow announced in a release Wednesday. The results for Summit and Portage counties showed:

• 24.8 percent of all Akron-area homeowners now have negative equity, meaning they owe more on their mortgage than their home is currently worth. The local area still fared better than the nation overall, according to Zillow.

• Homes in the Akron area lost $815.3 million in value during the first quarter of 2009, and have lost $3.2 billion in the past 12 months.

• 28.8 percent of transactions in the past 12 months were foreclosures.

• 8 percent of homes sold were ''short sales,'' meaning the proceeds fell short of the balance owed on the mortgage.

Nationally, home values fell in the first quarter, declining 14.2 percent from the first three months of 2008 to an average of $182,378. Declining home values left 28.9 percent of all American homeowners with negative equity by the end of the first quarter, Zillow said.

''Slowing declines in select markets are a bright spot or, at least, what passes for one given current market conditions,'' Stan Humphries, Zillow vice president of data and analytics, said in a prepared statement. ''Unfortunately, given the magnitude of the current rates of decline, we're still many months away from a bottom even as depreciation slows.''

Investment Real Estate Improvement Considerations

When considering a project for an Investment property, the first question you need to ask yourself, is simply, "Is this necessary, now?"

If the project is not considered dire and the consequences are minimal to nil, then logically in this market, it would seem to make fiscal sense to postpone the project (e.g. - Window replacements, asphalt replacement vs. repair)

Secondly, the next aspect to consider is how to recoup the cost of the improvements? Rent Increase? Reduction in amenities? Does the current market or your current rents allow for upside movement? Do you offer things like curbside trash removal whereas there is trash service offerred by the municipality, can you change light bulbs to be more cost effective, insulate water heaters, provide new air filters for tenants to improve efficiency and reduce costs...

Finally, Is there a clear advantage gained by making the improvements and abosrbing the immediate outlay of expense? Rental Increase with improvement... (New windows equals a $25 p/unit increase)

Scenario

$6,000 for new windows and insulation

$25 increase per unit (we'll say 4 units)

$1,200 per year gained in rent

5 years to recoup the cost of window replacement

Can you handle the approximate costs and term for reimbursement for this improvement?