You’re My Boy Blue!

By Wes Vaughan

Look at his face…sheer and utter joy. Bag of cotton candy. Being up past his bed time. Grave Digger. Monster Truck Jam 2013. Times like this with my boys are what I cherish. I like to think that a healthy portion of his excitement seen in this picture is simply because he is on a special trip with his Dad. A boy looks up to his Dad for guidance, direction, a model to live by. I pray continually for guidance on how to do a worthy job of this because I know I only have a limited time to make a good impression.

Here is what I try to achieve every day with my two boys:

1. Show them that I love my wife. I want them to see that their Mom is my top priority. I believe that seeing that will not only give them a sense of security now and in the future, but will also convey to them how important their wives need to be when they are older, married and with children. “If Momma ain’t happy, nobody’s happy.” (Short side note: Every time my boys see my wife and I hugging, they come to wherever we are hugging and giddily sit themselves in betweeen us…they LOVE it.)

2. “I love you.” Can’t tell them enough.

3. “I’m proud of you.” Every man yearns to hear this, from the first day of his life ’til the last day, especially from his Dad. We want to know we’ve done good and I try to tell (or show) my boys this as much as possible when I see them succeeding in their lives – giving, sharing, being kind, achieving a goal, whatever. Their faces light up when they hear this…it’s awesome.

4. “You’re good at ________.” Drawing, coloring, organizing, building Legos, hitting a baseball, kicking a soccer ball, climbing a tree, running, whatever. If they excel in something, I tell them because I want them to have a strong sense of confidence in themselves when they face the world. 

5. Pray. Whether it’s saying a blessing at dinner time or saying our prayers at bedtime, I want my boys to know that the world is bigger than them…and they need help getting through it. Be thankful and trust that God has your back.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” -Proverbs 22:6

Atlanta Tech Village: A Bright Idea for Startups

Posted on Cresa Atlanta Blog’s website:

http://blogs.cresa.com/atlanta/2013/02/atlanta-tech-village-a-bright-idea-for-start-ups/

My Valentine

By Wes Vaughan

I am married to an amazing woman. I hesitated picking such an overused word for her but when I read how Urban Dictionary defines “amazing,” I decided to keep it: “Something that is so wonderful, it is hard to find the words to match. Something that makes your heart beat faster or your heart melt. Something that tops everything else, and always crosses your mind.”

That about hits the nail on the head. My wife is beautiful, talented, devoted, strong, funny as all get-out and she likes to cook (very well), which is a huge bonus…even if my waist line disagrees. I want to do as much as I can for my wife, as often as I can. The happiest moments of my days are when she is happy; alternatively, knowing that she is unhappy completely eliminates any chance of me performing at 100% that day. As we all know, the skilled act of balancing life comes into play daily – marriage, work, kids, work, friends, work, social events, work, exhaustion, work, bedtime. Where does one find time to focus on their marriage? Even weekends are usually spent deciding what the next activity is for the kids. As much as I love my marriage, it is hard work and in constant need of attention and upkeep to avoid slipping into a rut. But oh so worth the diligence…

In January of 2013, I created multiple calendar alerts for my marriage (if I do it for work, why shouldn’t I do it for something more important?):

1. Every day at 10am, I get an alert to “Compliment Liz.” I typically give her a call, a text, an email, letting her know what I love about her, complimenting her appearance that morning, thanking her for being my wife, an amazing mother, her laughter, her love. On the occassional day when we are in a disagreement, this can be challenging, but another positive to this daily ritual is that it reminds me to be thankful of how incredible she is, which in turn helps me forget why I’m upset with her…and hopefully why she’s upset with me!
2. On the first of every month, I get an alert to schedule a date night with Liz. I know this might sound ridiculous to those without kids and free to plan a date spontaneously, but you’ll probably get here one day too. And, man, do I love date nights with my wife! Just sitting with her and talking, particularly over a good meal at one of Atlanta’s many new (or established) restaurants, is easily the best two to three hours of my month. Private, focused one-on-one time with my wife can be a rarity and setting aside this kind of time is crucial for us, and it always rekindles the early, exciting days of our relationship. We’re usually a sucker for a matinee movie beforehand, too (particularly during Oscar season).
3. Vacation (sigh). Just saying the word relaxes me. It’s happening in 2013. Me and the missus. White sand, ocean, sleeping in, talking, reading, just the two of us. One of my favorite things to do is travel with Liz and it’s been forever since we’ve done it. Making it happen.

With these reminders comes the mindset of doing “extras” for my bride – taking the kids to school, picking the kids up, making dinner that night, washing the dishes, folding the laundry, leaving her love notes scattered around the house for her to find at random, mailing her a thank you letter, buying her a gift when there is no occassion or holiday in sight…you get the idea. Seeing her smile and knowing that she is pleased brings joy to my life, which brings joy to my marriage, which brings joy to my kids, which brings joy to my day.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Slow down. Stop. Listen.

By Wes Vaughan

“The president’s favorite chair is in the exact center of the room. He sits down and opens the Bible, not because it is Good Friday but because starting the day with Scripture is a lifelong custom. Glasses balanced on the end of his prominent nose, he reads a verse, then another, before setting the Good Book on a side table. He leans back in the chair to meditate, enjoying the only quiet and solitary moments he will know this day.”         -Killing Lincoln, Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard

There is good reason why Abraham Lincoln is so revered today and deservedly so. During his second term, and towards the end of his life, our great former President had the following to think about every waking moment towards the end of his life: ending a Civil War, the abolishment of slavery when such a suggestion was thought to be absurd, putting a country back together if the war ever ended, the constant threat of being assassinated, losing a son too early in life and having to come home to a crazy wife every day (allegedly). Certainly puts my “troubles” in perspective. And yet before he set out to face all the noise of his typical day as President, he started each and every day the same way – reading the Bible.

As I discussed in my last blog post, earlier this month I was introduced to a new idea: W.I.N. – What’s Important Now? And as I mentioned, the most important element in my life is My Faith. I believe that everything, good and bad, that has happened, is happening, and will happen in my life is for a reason and God is in control of those reasons. That’s His job and I humbly thank Him for it. My job is to seek His wisdom and guidance, give thanks for my many blessings, serve others and put my utmost trust in Him. Piece of cake, right? Yeah, I’m working on it too.

So in this fantastic year of 2013, I plan to take a page out of Mr. Lincoln’s book: read the Bible every day and have a moment of prayer. Just me and God time. So far, so good after one month! Reading the Bible and praying gives me a sense of balance and perspective throughout the rest of my day, and for life in general. It provides an abundance of wisdom that I am contantly praying for the ability to remember and put into better practice when needed in my daily life. Most importantly, it gives me a sense of peace that I am never alone and Someone always loves me, cares for me and is watching out for my best interests. And therefore, it makes me want to share the same love for others, starting with my wife and kids.

Until next week…God bless.

W.I.N. in 2013

By Wes Vaughan

A colleague, mentor and friend of mine at Cresa recently told me a story about the legendary coach, Lou Holtz. He heard Holtz speak once and one of the nuggets he took away from Coach’s many wisdoms was W.I.N.

What’s Important Now?

As we all know, January brings about an inner desire for us to improve something about our lives in the New Year: lose weight, exercise more, quit smoking/drinking, get out of debt, be a better husband/father/friend/son/brother/person…and the resolutions go on and on. It’s right about now, mid to late January, when the stronghold resolutions made on January 1st start petering out (already). Life gets back to its frenetic pace and old ways rear their ugly head, slowly devouring our plans to change our lives for the better. After 34 years of living, if I’ve learned anything about setting new goals for myself, I’ve learned that I have to set tangible outcomes with some sort of deadline or appointment that will hold me accountable. Yes, I’m aware that many wiser folks figured this out way before age 34…but I’ve always been a patient learner.

I’ll give you an example. Many of my friends and acquaintances have run 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons, marathons, 100-milers (insanity) and they always talk about their experience with such commitment, passion and pride. Last January, if you had told me that I would run a half marathon in 2012, I would have told you that you ate some funky brownies. Lo and behold, last November I ran the Thanksgiving Day half marathon in Atlanta…and I finished (barely). How? Thanks to an itch I felt the need to scratch and some motivation and support from friends, acquaintances and strangers, I spontaneously Googled “half marathons in Atlanta” and up popped the one on Thanksgiving Day. I immediately signed up for it, payed my registration fee, printed out a daily training program and I spent the next four months running around the city of Atlanta, building up my mileage week by week. Disclaimer: I had never run more than 3 miles at one time in my life…and last time I did that was in high school. The thought of running 13.1 miles was almost paralyzing to me. But I did it and I plan to do it again in 2013. I committed to it and I knew what I had to do to achieve that goal.

So how do I want to W.I.N. in 2013? Well, What’s Important Now to me? My top two priorities in life are: My Faith and My Family. If those two realms in my life are happy and healthy, then I feel like the rest of my life will fall appropriately into place and perspective. I am also aware that I spend most of my waking hours at work, specifically in the commercial real estate industry. I am not paid a salary nor do I receive a benefits package. I am strictly commission only. Eat what I kill. If deals don’t close, I don’t get paid. Not a complaint, just a reality. And a harsh one that consumes most of my daily thoughts. But I chose this life and I want to make the most of it. By default, My Business is my #3 priority…and I want to do it better, mainly by helping others and working with people that I enJOY helping, thus making it more enJOYable.

So over the next few weeks, I plan to re-ignite this blog (another 2013 resolution) and discuss my three goals to W.I.N. in 2013…for those that care to listen. Hope it helps some of you…

Introducing: Sweetwater Design District

By Wes Vaughan

Cool, loft-style office space in Atlanta is in high demand these days, particularly for the “creative-type” firms like technology companies. As the demand has risen over the past five years, this type of space has become hard to find for some tenants.

The West Midtown area of Atlanta has flourished in this niche market for a number of years now, with properties such as White Provisions, King Plow Arts Center, Brickworks and Lumberyards attracting many a hip tenant. The West Midtown vacancies are few and far between these days and tenants have been forced to look elsewhere in Atlanta, particularly on the East side of the city - Southern Dairies, Float Away, Stove Works, Studioplex, none of which are particularly hurting for occupancy either. Jamestown has been so successful with their White Provisions development that they bought the old City Hall East property, all 2 million square feet of it, which they are currently renovating and plan to deliver as Ponce City Market in early 2014.

Parkside Partners, a local Atlanta commercial real estate development firm led by Kyle Jenks and Gary Matthews, has focused on creating this type of environment in their properties around the city as well - Inman Alley (home of Rathbun Steak…yum), 5256 Peachtree in Chamblee, Glassworks, to name a few. Parkside’s latest venture is 225 Ottley Drive, about a nine iron from the newly renovated Sweetwater Brewery in what used to be known as the Armour Industrial area. On a side note, if you have never been to a happy hour or tour of Sweetwater, you need to check it off the bucket list; it’s quite the scenic experience…sometimes just to get in the door. Back to business, Parkside just purchased a 53K square foot warehouse facility, which they plan to redevelop into 42K square feet of loft office. They also have an adjacent pad site that can accommodate a 16K SF user right next to it. Parkside is banking on this area, newly dubbed the Sweetwater Design District, to be a success and why shouldn’t they? The property is right on the Beltline Overlay District, neighboring businesses include Mason Murer Fine Art, Pineapple House, Planters, Bottega Stone and, of course, the makers of those delicious craft beers at Sweetwater. When 500 thirsty people line up on Ottley Drive every Wednesday through Friday for tours and happy hour, you know something sweet is in the air…pardon the pun.

Atlanta Capital Markets – A New Season

By Wes Vaughan

In 2006, NFL running back LaDainian Tomlinson, then with the San Diego Chargers, was undoubtedly the best player in the game. LT had an unbelievable MVP season in 2006, rushing for 1,818 yards, scoring 31 touchdowns and setting numerous other records along the way, while helping his team to a franchise-best 14-2 record. It was the peak of Tomlinson’s career. Similarly, the Capital Markets sector of the Atlanta commercial real estate world had an MVP-like season in 2006 as well, with equally unheard-of numbers.  Deals were being made left and right and the deals were doozies. The starry skies of 2006 are a distant sweet memory for the Atlanta Capital Markets sector (for Tomlinson as well), and although we may not see the likes of that activity level for quite some time, if ever again, the next two years should prove to produce the most activity Atlanta has seen since those glory days.

In the Spring of 2011, Atlanta finally started to see some capital market transactions again, and if you’ve been reading the papers recently, many of the office buildings in the core submarkets of Atlanta are trading hands again (Promenade II in Midtown, 201 17th Street in Atlantic Station, Ten Peachtree Place just this week) and many more have a For Sale sign on them today (in Buckhead alone: Tower Place 200, Prominence and Two Alliance Center). Granted this activity is not necessarily an entirely positive change for our industry, as many of these trades are due to poor investments, loan maturities, or the seller’s desperate need for liquidity, which shows in the drastically reduced sales price. And there is concern over more distressed assets coming back on the market at distressed prices, which will reset the bar even lower (see Resurgens Plaza foreclosure in Buckhead at the end of 2011). However, the increase in activity is generally a good thing and we should see plenty more of it for a couple years, including some positive momentum. For example, the 96% leased Prominence is reportedly close to selling to Crocker Partners out of Florida, which is expected to give onlooking investors a new market standard on the high end. The market during the next few years holds many loan maturities due to the huge amount of sales activity in 2006-2007, combined with the multiple loan restructures in 2009-2010 and the fact that roughly 70% of the CMBS market will expire in 2015-2017 from deals done in the heyday of 2006-2007. Again, Atlanta will have various deals to be done.

Atlanta is not a “Gateway Market” (see Tier 1 cities like NYC, LA, Bay Area), nor will it ever be. However, the fundamentals of the Atlanta market are improving, and there is no new construction on the horizon…yet. There is a lot of foreign capital looking at Atlanta, particularly Isreali companies, and there are capital sources from the Northeast U.S. that are getting priced out of the Gateway cities so they continue to take a good, long look at Atlanta opportunities as well. There are value-plays in our city and hopefully the gradual recovery of the global economy and the creation of new jobs will continue to push the Capital Markets sector of Atlanta back up the hill along with it.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…