‘Not a move of desperation,’ says listing agent—’can help maximize return’
One of the listing agents leading the sale of a dozen Greensboro properties owned by the nonprofit organization HERO says an auction may be in store for the real estate portfolio.
Beau Box Commercial Realty, which is based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, announced in late July that it was listing the 12 properties, which include a significant number of historic commercial buildings in downtown Greensboro. Many of them are currently home to some of Greensboro’s newest small businesses.
Bill Ogburn, the listing agent with Beau Box, said his firm has viewed the listing as a full portfolio of buildings that should all be sold together. He spoke to the Watchman by phone about the project last week.
Ogburn said there had been “a lot of interest” from buyers interested in purchasing individual properties. That demand, he said, was “mostly local.” A number of current HERO tenants have told the Watchman they had reached out to attempt to buy the buildings they lease when they learned they were for sale.
Ogburn said HERO had contracted with his firm because, “We’re the best.” Beau Box, in addition to its Baton Rouge headquarters, also has offices in Lafayette, Louisiana, New Orleans, and Pensacola. Ogburn, he said he was a Birmingham native, is the manager of the firm’s Pensacola office.
The firm has advertised the portfolio on “some huge advertising platforms” that are geared toward commercial real estate investors. “We’ve been getting lots of inquiries that way,” he said.
Despite the interest from local buyers, Ogburn said the firm hoped to sell the entire portfolio as a whole. He said that was HERO’s wish, as well.
One way to do that, he said, would be to offer the entire portfolio at an auction.
“That is not a move of desperation,” he was quick to clarify. “It can maximize your return.” He pointed out that an item like the Hope Diamond, for instance, would only be sold at an auction. It is an example of an item so unique that there are simply not comparable examples on the market on which to base an asking price. The HERO portfolio is unique in a similar way, Ogburn said.
“All these buildings are unique,” he said. “They’ll bring top dollar.”
He said an auction would be held in Greensboro, with two to three days of an advance open house for bidders to examine the properties on offer.
“It’s usually a very upbeat, entertaining event,” he said. “Sometimes they’ll have food catered, a band, an open bar.”
Ogburn said it was clear when HERO came to his firm that the nonprofit needed help. He characterized the portfolio’s eventual buyer as interested in helping, as well.
“You’re gonna find somebody that wants to help—that’s the whole thing,” he said. “Our mission is to help these folks, and that’s what we’re going to do.” He said potential buyers for the property would be “people that want to infuse some capital, and make it something people can all be proud of.”
The buildings’ current condition only hinted at their potential, Ogburn said.
“Most have not been used to their full use potential,” he said.
He said the decision on whether to proceed with an auction will be made “within a few months.”
“The sooner the better,” he said.
HERO owns other properties in Greensboro that are not part of this current portfolio on offer. Ogburn said he couldn’t say what the future held for those properties at this point.
“About the best way I can answer that is, ‘We’ll see.’” he said.
