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Written by Elizabeth Martin
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Thursday, 16 September 2010 10:57 |
We live in a “green” society in which we consciously conserve our resources and recycle everything from cans and bottles…, to old buildings, perhaps? In particular, old schools are being eyed by school districts across the U.S. for renovation rather than face the outlandish cost to construct new buildings. In a culture in which our carbon footprint is a concern, renovation is not only green– it’s economical as well.
 “With the evolution of ‘green’ design and development principles, our society is recycling more as conscientious consumers and as users of real estate. Historic renovation is a terrific example of recycling and saving our resources. It reduces land-fill waste by some estimates of 15-20% compared to new construction projects by preserving (or repairing) existing structures instead of demolition and constructing new,” said David Yeager, founder of Radnor Property Group LLC (RPG).
Founded in 1999, RPG is a real estate development and advisory company located in Wayne, Pa. Yeager and his team have a broad array of experience and skills in developing projects that require the recycling of older buildings as well as conventional ground-up development.
In 2003, however, Yeager took a temporary leave from RPG when he was appointed by Governor Edward G. Rendell to head the Governor’s Action Team. As its director, he led the administration’s efforts to recruit new business investment and real estate development to create jobs in Pennsylvania.
“As someone who spent a lot of time in corporate real estate, the governor believed it was important to have someone on his team who understood the dynamics of this industry, someone who was comfortable working with corporate businesses to encourage private sector job creation and investment in the Commonwealth,” Yeager said. “What I quickly realized was that sound economic development goes hand in hand with responsible community development.”
“Many of the communities in a rust belt state like Pennsylvania had wonderful, but aged assets,” he added. “Whether a vacant mill building or an old schoolhouse, we had terrific architectural bones, but not enough uses to retrofit them for reuse. Beginning with the passage of an unprecedented $2.3 billion economic stimulus package during his first term, the governor’s programs went a long way to turn the tide in Pennsylvania.”
In 2005, when Yeager returned to RPG to resume his real estate activities, he refocused the company on redevelopment projects that aligned with the overall strategy that the Commonwealth was pursuing.
“One thing that became very evident to me during my time in public service was that, although Pennsylvania is historically known for traditional industry and manufacturing sectors, we have very strong higher education and health care clusters throughout our smaller regions, towns, and cities,” Yeager said. “It was at this point that we decided to focus on private sector real estate development opportunities with colleges, universities, and hospitals.”
Currently, RPG’s business model is to partner with colleges, universities, and other institutions on development projects that utilize private and public capital. Through the company’s expertise in grant and low-interest loan programs and federal tax credit programs such as Historic Tax Credits, RPG is converting and redeveloping blighted properties in our communities. Recent notable examples include:
• The conversion of a vacant and historic tobacco warehouse building into a child care and adult day care facility in Lancaster.
• The redevelopment of a blighted urban block in downtown Wilkes-Barre, adjacent to King’s College, into a 94,000 square-foot, mixed-use, commercial and student housing complex.
• The redevelopment of a polluted 45-acre former Armstrong tile manufacturing plant into an extension of Franklin & Marshall College’s campus and Lancaster General Hospital’s facilities.
• The redevelopment of a historic former hardware store in downtown Lewisburg into a Barnes & Noble Bucknell University Bookstore.
• The redevelopment of an obsolete and historic post office in downtown Lewisburg into administrative office space for Bucknell University.
Yeager indicated that RPG is in the due diligence process for several other projects with institutions that serve as local and regional economic drives for their communities. He believes that this model is not relegated to only colleges and hospitals, but to other institutions that are well positioned in their communities.
“Community and economic revitalization projects are RPG’s focus. We get excited about working with existing assets that show promise. From a community perspective, recycling old buildings promotes civic pride, encourages others to invest in existing assets, and provides a better sense of place for our town centers and neighborhoods. From an economic development perspective, historic renovation provides jobs for architects and skilled craftsmen,” he concluded. |
