When Abraham Lincoln was asked what he
would do if given six hours to cut down a
tree, he said, “I would spend the first four
hours sharpening my axe.” As an SIOR
instructor I am very proud to help each
student who passes through our designation
courses, “sharpen their axe.”
As the current chairman of the SIOR Faculty
Committee, I have an awesome honor and
responsibility with my fellow instructors
to share our experiences and expertise with
the hundreds of students who attend our
designation courses around the country each
year. It is truly gratifying to extol the same
core principles, ethics, and professionalism
upon each of the aspiring SIOR designees
that we, as SIOR members, hold so dearly.
For the past seven years I have been
privileged enough to teach the construction
course that once belonged to our dear friend
David Houston. When David made the
decision to retire from the SIOR faculty, I
was approached to step in — mighty shoes
to fill! My degree in architecture from the
University of Oregon (GO DUCKS) gave
me a foundation to build upon the technical
structure that David so eloquently presented.
My goal was to add to David’s
presentation and provide the students
with an understanding of the build-to-suit transaction, the construction, and the
development process from site selection to
move-in, and explain what brokers could do
to add value for their clients (and get paid!).
So often when approached by a client to
help them with a land search for a new
building, we as brokers stop at the closing
of the land sale and leave our clients to fend
CONSTRUCTION &
DEVELOPMENTS
By Don Ossey, SIOR
for themselves. My course is set up
to provide a template for brokers to
engage our clients, add value through
our strategic relationships, orchestrate
the selection of a solid design-build
team, and help our clients navigate
through the entire process of new
construction.
Speaking of strategic relationships,
one of the most important aspects
of our role in the development and
construction process is our ability to
be a “connector.” Simply put, we do
not need to know everything about
development and construction to
provide a valuable service to our clients,
but we do need to know somebody
who does have the knowledge and
technical expertise to analyze issues
and offer advice on viable solutions.
The project team chart offers a list of
some of the most common strategic
relationships we may need in a new
construction project.
One of the key elements of the course
is an in-depth discussion of the site
selection process. The basis for helping
our clients make solid decisions begins
with a detailed needs analysis. I stress
the fact that SIOR brokers do not
behave like “puppy dogs” that simply
chase the ball and show up with a list
of solutions. We need to spend quality
time with our customer in order to
truly understand their business, space
needs, and projections for growth.
By engaging the client in the process,
making them really think, and then
adding our market knowledge, we can
then influence their decision to design
for current needs while maintaining a
vision on the future functionality of the
new building. We maintain a “macro”
viewpoint in the early stages and keep
our eye on the “exit strategy,” avoiding
functional and economic obsolescence.
The class offers a strategy to take
the site selection process to another
level. In most of our markets Class A
(or Tier 1) sites are taken and already
developed. With that in mind, it is
critical for a broker to understand the
constraints of available land. When
