Insights Into Knoxville’s Commercial Real Estate Scene With Justin Cazana

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Welcome, everybody, to another

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episode of Connect the Not

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So Hostess with the Mostess.

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Julia Hurley connecting

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Knoxville to the nation.

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Today's guest is one of my

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all time favorite Knoxville

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commercial brokers, owners,

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developers, all around awesome guy.

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You're going to learn so much

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today about Knoxville, but you're

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going to learn so much you didn't

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even know you needed to know.

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Justin Cazana.

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Thank you so much for joining us today.

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Hey, Julia.

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Happy to be here.

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Thanks for the invitation.

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Of course.

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So, we are going to start the conversation

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off basically with how you are here.

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Like, what is it that you

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do in Knoxville exactly?

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I know, I know what you do, but let's

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just pretend like nobody's ever heard of

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you or your company or your businesses.

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Let's start there.

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How'd you get here?

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What do you do?

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Sure.

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So my company is Avison

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Young Commercial Real Estate.

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We've been open in Knoxville for 13 years.

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We are a full service commercial

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real estate company handling mainly

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brokerage, property management,

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project management, and uh, a little

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development and things like that.

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So we, we can provide, uh, You

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know, a, a, a litany of different

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business sides, uh, depending on

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what a particular client needs.

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So, uh, personally, I

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am, uh, an office broker.

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That is, I probably do 85, 90 percent

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of my work is focused on, uh, on

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the office buildings in Knoxville.

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And that's finding tenants,

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uh, for buildings or finding

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buildings for tenants.

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So, but we have a staff, uh,

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staff and brokers of more than 25.

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Uh, we do some of the biggest

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deals in Knoxville, including three

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Amazon deals the other year and

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all kinds of projects like that.

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So we do a, we do a variety of

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different things from, from land,

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selling apartment buildings, selling

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and leasing office buildings,

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selling and leasing, uh, retail,

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warehouse, a little bit of everything.

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And we cover basically everything

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from Crossville to East, including

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Chattanooga and Tri Cities.

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And we'll do every, everything in between.

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So I always tell people in residential,

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we cover Crossville to Cocke County,

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that's two time zones and two scenes.

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So we got you covered.

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Yes, indeed.

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Yes, indeed.

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So we're, we're about

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the same way, exactly.

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So before we even get started,

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let me tell you all a story

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because I always love to tell our

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listeners a little bit of a story.

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When I interview people in

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Knoxville that I may not know

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well, but most of the people I

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interview, I do know decently well.

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And in my phone for the longest

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time, I tell you, this was my

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very first commercial lease deal.

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I've been in the business two years.

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So eight years ago, I get this random

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company that calls me from the middle

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of nowhere, Texas, and they wanted

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to come here and do an oil company.

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They needed all this office space.

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They didn't need any of this office space,

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but they really wanted this office space.

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I had never done a

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commercial lease before.

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Obviously, I'm like, I can do this.

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I'm gonna figure this out.

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So for three weeks in a row before

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they got here, I did nothing but

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read commercial leasing contracts.

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I looked over other people's

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commercial leasing contracts.

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I was like, this is really extensive

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information, but it's good to know.

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And I'm glad I know it.

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The other person on that deal was you.

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And I remember, I mean, just, it took

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three or four weeks, which is very

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quick in commercial real estate people.

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I mean, just mind you,

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very quick deal, right?

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So when you're on the same side with

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somebody like Justin, and they know

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what you're doing, things get done.

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But for the longest time, I could

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never say your last name properly.

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So in my phone for three years,

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you were Justin Cas Costanza.

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Like the guy from Seinfeld.

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Until one day, no one ever

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corrects me, which is hilarious.

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I guess it's my energy level

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and just the fact that I'm so

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confident when I say things.

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I'm not even going to say the name

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because I know you know exactly.

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Let's just say we all run together.

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I'll say that.

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Anyway, I was like, I was like, Hey,

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remember that Justin Costanza guy?

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He was like, Julia, you've been

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saying that wrong for three years.

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No, no, you corrected me.

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You never corrected me.

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Anyway, totally corrected.

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Have it on lockdown.

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I had the unfortunate, uh, the

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unfortunate life of going to

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college during the Seinfeld era.

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So that is not the first

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time that I've heard that.

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I've heard it, I've heard

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it many, many times.

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I appreciate the leeway on that, but it

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made me laugh that nobody in Knoxville

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ever corrected me, ever once, until one

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of our mutual friends pulls me aside

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and is like, that is not his name.

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It's like, so, you know.

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You are one of the most,

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if not the outside of Roger

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Moore, the most knowledgeable

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commercial person in Knoxville.

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Guarantee it, I'd put my,

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I'd put my everything on it.

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You know more about what's happening

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in Knoxville and what's gonna happen

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in Knoxville than anybody I've met.

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You've really got your finger

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on the pulse, and you own

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businesses and contribute.

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Tell us a little bit about your first

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Experience, I guess you could say,

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from commercial when you started,

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and your experience is today,

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because I know that's a story.

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Let's see, well I've been in this

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role from in Knoxville doing this

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for almost 20 years, so if you make

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me think back to my first deals

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It's hard, really hard to fathom.

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Um, I will go back, you know,

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a little history when it comes

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to nepotism, commercial real

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estate is at the top of the list.

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There's a, you know, I've got a dad

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that was in the business and the

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grandfather that was in the business,

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a dad that is still in the business.

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I mean, he's 55 years in

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commercial real estate.

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So, you know, you do,

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you do grow up in it.

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You grow up with it at the dining

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room table and at Thanksgiving

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and on Saturday mornings.

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So, you know, I know that.

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You know, growing up, if we were driving

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from downtown back to home, we were

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going to stop at the gallery just on

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a Friday night to see how the gallery

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looks, because that was a property

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we owned, developed, and managed.

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That's just kind of the way we

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do things and it carried over.

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So it's certainly been in

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my blood for a long time.

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I mean, I've been doing this, like

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I said, for nearly two decades now.

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So, you know, we have seen it,

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you know, seen it from doing.

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Growing up doing the little small deals,

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the 1, 200 square foot office deals, and

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then how you just develop that repertoire

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and you learn every deal, no matter

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how small it is, learn something new or

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how to handle, how to handle clients,

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just the little bitty thing that really

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magnifies itself to where you can do

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deals that You know that I've got, you

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know, I did a 42, 000 square foot office

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lease earlier this year and um, we've

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got, you know, a quarter million square

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foot office building under contract and,

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you know, all these different things

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that are, that just kind of build on

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each other to get to a point uh, where

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we are now and, and certainly lucky for

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Knoxville or lucky for me and lucky to

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be in Knoxville because Knoxville, while,

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you know, I lived through, you know, Uh,

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work through the Great Recession, uh,

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work through COVID, obviously, and now the

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time we're in now is, you know, Knoxville

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has been a place of very steady work.

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We don't get the high highs like you

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get in Florida, but we don't get the

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low lows like you get in, in California.

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So we're very steady.

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We've always had that, That good base of

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University of Tennessee, which is great.

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The tourism that goes to the Smoky

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Mountains, Oak Ridge National Labs,

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which is a 40 billion annual federal

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program, and great things like TVA

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and Pilot and Clayton, Bush Beans

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and all those names, you know, that,

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you know, that have really, you know,

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solidified Knoxville over the years.

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So it's been fun to watch Knoxville grow.

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It's been fun to watch this industry go

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and how different Knoxville is from the

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rest of the, the rest of the United States

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when it comes to commercial real estate.

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What would you say has been

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your favorite project to date?

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You know, the one that I,

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that I take a lot of pride in

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was Standard Knitting Mill.

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400, 000 square foot mill that's

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right on, that was an eyesore

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right on, you know, 75 for decades.

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And we did that deal, sold

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it to a Charleston developer.

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Back in December of 2019.

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And now they're getting ready to

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start the whole renovation of it

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and turn it into a great mixed use

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project that hopefully it'll be

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up and running in about two years.

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That one was unlike anything

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I'd done before and just had

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an absolute ball doing it.

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You know, uh, I love working on deals

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and we occasionally end up doing deals

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outside of the market and did a deal in.

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Ironically, in Chicago, biggest at the

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time, biggest deal I've ever done, where,

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you know, it was my relationship and my

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contact, uh, that I've developed over the

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years in Knoxville, ended up up selling

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a 20 acre piece of property in, uh, in

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00:07:52,744 --> 00:07:55,555
suburban Chicago and moving an office.

274
00:07:55,835 --> 00:07:57,974
Uh, into nearly 60, 000 square

275
00:07:57,974 --> 00:07:59,515
feet of office space in Chicago.

276
00:07:59,555 --> 00:08:00,555
And there was a, it was

277
00:08:00,555 --> 00:08:01,565
a great deal at the time.

278
00:08:01,565 --> 00:08:02,914
And it was a combination of

279
00:08:03,215 --> 00:08:05,135
relationships here and relationships

280
00:08:05,174 --> 00:08:06,784
functional and putting people together.

281
00:08:06,784 --> 00:08:08,315
And, and that's kind of the way I've,

282
00:08:08,344 --> 00:08:09,684
I've always positioned myself when

283
00:08:09,685 --> 00:08:10,884
it comes to commercial real estate,

284
00:08:10,885 --> 00:08:12,554
I'm a, I'm a connector there all,

285
00:08:12,585 --> 00:08:13,934
there's always someone who's going

286
00:08:13,934 --> 00:08:15,534
to be better at numbers or someone

287
00:08:15,534 --> 00:08:17,534
who's better at being the sales guy.

288
00:08:17,594 --> 00:08:18,974
But my, you know, my role is

289
00:08:18,974 --> 00:08:20,484
to put people together and to

290
00:08:20,484 --> 00:08:21,734
make sure that, you know, when.

291
00:08:22,025 --> 00:08:23,715
When we're trying to get a deal done,

292
00:08:23,725 --> 00:08:25,355
that I'm able to take, grab something

293
00:08:25,355 --> 00:08:26,645
from over here and put it into the

294
00:08:26,645 --> 00:08:29,135
deal to kind of, to kind of meld it all

295
00:08:29,135 --> 00:08:30,805
together and get us over the finish line.

296
00:08:30,815 --> 00:08:32,395
That's, that's always been my goal.

297
00:08:32,725 --> 00:08:34,654
What has been your, your

298
00:08:34,725 --> 00:08:36,375
favorite Knoxville transition?

299
00:08:36,375 --> 00:08:37,375
Not just something that you've

300
00:08:37,375 --> 00:08:38,314
been involved in maybe per

301
00:08:38,314 --> 00:08:39,434
se, but just in general.

302
00:08:39,434 --> 00:08:40,974
I will say that one of my favorite

303
00:08:40,975 --> 00:08:42,924
transitions was seeing downtown

304
00:08:42,934 --> 00:08:45,555
Knoxville go from Because I lived, I

305
00:08:45,555 --> 00:08:46,935
mean, I lived there for years, right?

306
00:08:46,935 --> 00:08:48,075
I lived there during two,

307
00:08:49,035 --> 00:08:50,885
two massive attempts.

308
00:08:50,885 --> 00:08:52,944
And I say two whole families attempting

309
00:08:52,944 --> 00:08:54,824
to move downtown Knoxville forward

310
00:08:55,145 --> 00:08:56,875
and failing miserably, not because

311
00:08:56,885 --> 00:08:58,505
they failed, because Knoxville itself

312
00:08:58,505 --> 00:09:00,034
just wasn't ready for that success.

313
00:09:00,305 --> 00:09:01,874
And now we see the success.

314
00:09:01,874 --> 00:09:03,934
It took two whole generations of people

315
00:09:04,134 --> 00:09:05,884
moving that out, moving that forward.

316
00:09:06,154 --> 00:09:07,944
And I remember living in downtown

317
00:09:07,944 --> 00:09:10,000
Knoxville and thinking, I don't know if

318
00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:11,620
anybody's ever going to see what we see.

319
00:09:11,930 --> 00:09:12,860
I hope they do.

320
00:09:13,020 --> 00:09:14,330
I don't know if anybody's going to

321
00:09:14,330 --> 00:09:17,660
see what we see and still being there.

322
00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:20,819
And I remember when John Clark came

323
00:09:20,819 --> 00:09:23,309
in and, and, and it was almost like a

324
00:09:23,390 --> 00:09:26,549
massive battle royale to get underground

325
00:09:26,559 --> 00:09:28,299
utilities into that downtown area.

326
00:09:28,309 --> 00:09:30,680
He had to fight tooth and nail to put

327
00:09:30,700 --> 00:09:32,430
underground utilities in, which you

328
00:09:32,430 --> 00:09:34,690
would think now looking At back at

329
00:09:34,690 --> 00:09:36,310
that should have just been so common

330
00:09:36,310 --> 00:09:38,630
sense and I remember thinking when he

331
00:09:38,660 --> 00:09:40,330
got it done when I started to see The

332
00:09:40,330 --> 00:09:42,189
project happen and the power pulse came

333
00:09:42,190 --> 00:09:44,350
down and you could really appreciate

334
00:09:44,755 --> 00:09:46,255
The architecture that downtown and

335
00:09:46,255 --> 00:09:47,505
Old City had to offer, I thought to

336
00:09:47,505 --> 00:09:48,925
myself, this is it, it's happening.

337
00:09:49,175 --> 00:09:51,185
It's really happening.

338
00:09:51,365 --> 00:09:53,695
People want to see Knoxville.

339
00:09:53,795 --> 00:09:55,714
And ever since my personal

340
00:09:55,714 --> 00:09:57,405
experience that moment, it has

341
00:09:57,424 --> 00:09:59,075
transformed Knoxville forward.

342
00:09:59,344 --> 00:10:01,185
What project do you feel like

343
00:10:01,204 --> 00:10:02,714
made that transformation?

344
00:10:04,244 --> 00:10:06,074
You know, it's, it's not one project.

345
00:10:06,165 --> 00:10:09,974
It's been 25 years of, of, you know,

346
00:10:10,015 --> 00:10:11,944
trying, trying, trying to build that up.

347
00:10:11,954 --> 00:10:14,245
I mean, it's, you know, 25 years ago, you

348
00:10:14,245 --> 00:10:15,974
know, I joke, everyone jokes, say they

349
00:10:15,974 --> 00:10:17,525
rolled up the sidewalks at five o'clock.

350
00:10:17,625 --> 00:10:18,924
It was a little more than 20 years ago.

351
00:10:18,924 --> 00:10:20,995
They put Mass General Store down and

352
00:10:20,995 --> 00:10:23,995
the fear, uh, and the, you know, in

353
00:10:24,015 --> 00:10:25,525
my first thought at that time was

354
00:10:25,525 --> 00:10:27,455
before I got back to Knoxville General

355
00:10:27,465 --> 00:10:28,955
Store, what is that going to do?

356
00:10:29,295 --> 00:10:30,694
And you look, go in there now,

357
00:10:30,734 --> 00:10:31,925
you go in there on a Saturday

358
00:10:31,954 --> 00:10:32,405
and they're going to be.

359
00:10:32,785 --> 00:10:34,675
70 people in there at any time shopping.

360
00:10:34,685 --> 00:10:35,875
And it's a huge draw.

361
00:10:35,935 --> 00:10:36,415
Love it.

362
00:10:36,765 --> 00:10:39,064
And the theater has helped grow

363
00:10:39,094 --> 00:10:40,425
the Tennessee theater and the BG

364
00:10:40,425 --> 00:10:41,485
theater and everything else that's

365
00:10:41,485 --> 00:10:42,754
gone, that's gone along with it.

366
00:10:42,795 --> 00:10:43,194
It's funny.

367
00:10:43,194 --> 00:10:44,564
You compare, you talk about the

368
00:10:44,564 --> 00:10:46,094
city catching up and the city will

369
00:10:46,094 --> 00:10:47,414
tell you some members of the city.

370
00:10:47,694 --> 00:10:49,844
You compare it to our big, our

371
00:10:49,875 --> 00:10:51,995
arch enemy, Grille, South Carolina,

372
00:10:52,035 --> 00:10:53,844
when it comes to what a downtown

373
00:10:53,844 --> 00:10:56,025
has done in downtown Greenville.

374
00:10:56,445 --> 00:10:58,045
They led with the infrastructure.

375
00:10:58,055 --> 00:10:59,605
The city said, we're going to do this

376
00:10:59,765 --> 00:11:01,835
and then let the developers catch up.

377
00:11:02,135 --> 00:11:04,225
In Knoxville, it was the exact opposite.

378
00:11:04,435 --> 00:11:06,225
It was the developers, you know, like,

379
00:11:06,225 --> 00:11:08,595
uh, like, uh, John Clark and David

380
00:11:08,595 --> 00:11:10,345
Dewhurst, Don Box, who was an investor

381
00:11:10,345 --> 00:11:12,254
and everybody who kind of ran down

382
00:11:12,254 --> 00:11:14,215
the line of, of we're going to build

383
00:11:14,215 --> 00:11:15,594
this building or we're going to, we're

384
00:11:15,594 --> 00:11:16,885
going to redevelop this building.

385
00:11:17,115 --> 00:11:18,365
We're going to redevelop this.

386
00:11:18,365 --> 00:11:20,375
And, you know, city, how can you help us?

387
00:11:20,375 --> 00:11:21,135
How can you help us?

388
00:11:21,405 --> 00:11:22,825
And it just took a longer time.

389
00:11:22,855 --> 00:11:23,945
Thankfully, I think we're.

390
00:11:24,875 --> 00:11:26,695
There are still some gaps in our downtown

391
00:11:26,695 --> 00:11:28,105
that I would love to see addressed.

392
00:11:28,115 --> 00:11:29,365
That, unfortunately or

393
00:11:29,365 --> 00:11:31,095
not, the city can't do it.

394
00:11:31,095 --> 00:11:32,165
It's got to be, it's got to

395
00:11:32,165 --> 00:11:33,415
be a private developer, or at

396
00:11:33,415 --> 00:11:34,545
least in conjunction with it.

397
00:11:34,784 --> 00:11:36,984
Yeah, I think it's a lot of little things.

398
00:11:36,985 --> 00:11:38,375
And just like, just like the standard

399
00:11:38,375 --> 00:11:40,405
knitting mill will be a little thing, but

400
00:11:40,405 --> 00:11:42,354
the only reason that happened was because

401
00:11:42,354 --> 00:11:43,504
the baseball stadium was going to hot.

402
00:11:43,684 --> 00:11:45,124
And I'm glad the baseball

403
00:11:45,124 --> 00:11:45,564
stadium's closed.

404
00:11:45,879 --> 00:11:47,270
Finally happening.

405
00:11:47,449 --> 00:11:49,030
I mean, I joke that I was

406
00:11:49,030 --> 00:11:50,280
in Rome two years ago.

407
00:11:50,369 --> 00:11:51,689
We did a tour of the Coliseum because

408
00:11:51,689 --> 00:11:54,069
you have to, and it's stunning.

409
00:11:54,069 --> 00:11:55,769
And our tour guide says it took

410
00:11:55,799 --> 00:11:57,300
eight years to build the Coliseum.

411
00:11:57,849 --> 00:11:58,099
Eight?

412
00:11:58,109 --> 00:11:59,509
They did this in eight years?

413
00:11:59,749 --> 00:12:00,729
It's taking longer for us

414
00:12:00,729 --> 00:12:01,969
to build a baseball stadium.

415
00:12:02,600 --> 00:12:04,180
And they didn't have cranes, and they

416
00:12:04,180 --> 00:12:06,629
didn't have engineers like we have today.

417
00:12:06,629 --> 00:12:08,309
Of course, they also didn't have unions.

418
00:12:08,705 --> 00:12:10,555
And OSHA, which probably plays a part

419
00:12:10,555 --> 00:12:11,725
in why they can tell this so fast.

420
00:12:11,814 --> 00:12:13,855
So, you know, it's, it's kind of comical.

421
00:12:13,855 --> 00:12:15,185
I think the baseball stadium is going to

422
00:12:15,185 --> 00:12:18,004
be the catalyst for that side of downtown.

423
00:12:18,265 --> 00:12:20,295
And there's one missing piece

424
00:12:20,484 --> 00:12:21,734
in downtown Knoxville that

425
00:12:21,734 --> 00:12:23,864
could make Knoxville explode.

426
00:12:24,095 --> 00:12:25,324
But it's not something

427
00:12:25,324 --> 00:12:26,104
the government can do.

428
00:12:26,115 --> 00:12:27,234
It's a private developer

429
00:12:27,234 --> 00:12:28,094
that's going to have to do it.

430
00:12:28,155 --> 00:12:29,785
Until we, until we see that, I just

431
00:12:29,785 --> 00:12:30,585
don't know what it's going to be.

432
00:12:31,185 --> 00:12:34,955
It's the one vacant plot in downtown.

433
00:12:35,474 --> 00:12:36,705
And you'll see it when you go down there.

434
00:12:36,705 --> 00:12:38,125
And it's like, come on, guys.

435
00:12:38,454 --> 00:12:40,025
Do something with this and it's not,

436
00:12:40,085 --> 00:12:41,285
and it's an actual word, terrible.

437
00:12:41,704 --> 00:12:43,584
We all know that real estate is

438
00:12:43,584 --> 00:12:45,844
location, location, location.

439
00:12:46,055 --> 00:12:48,064
Our team at Just Homes Group

440
00:12:48,214 --> 00:12:50,264
Realty Executives has the true

441
00:12:50,354 --> 00:12:53,074
expertise pairing buyers and sellers

442
00:12:53,114 --> 00:12:54,694
with the right opportunities.

443
00:12:55,045 --> 00:12:56,684
Whether you're looking to buy or

444
00:12:56,684 --> 00:12:58,944
sell a home, right here in Knoxville.

445
00:12:59,694 --> 00:13:00,754
Lenoir City.

446
00:13:01,339 --> 00:13:03,400
Clinton or Farragut.

447
00:13:03,699 --> 00:13:05,260
We have the expertise throughout

448
00:13:05,430 --> 00:13:07,329
every Knoxville surrounding area.

449
00:13:07,670 --> 00:13:09,089
Call Just Homes Group

450
00:13:09,130 --> 00:13:10,699
Realty Executives today.

451
00:13:11,755 --> 00:13:13,064
The book tipping point

452
00:13:13,064 --> 00:13:13,965
comes to mind for me.

453
00:13:13,965 --> 00:13:15,265
And I remember reading that book.

454
00:13:15,265 --> 00:13:16,545
I read it several different times.

455
00:13:16,564 --> 00:13:18,395
Like these brands did this and it, they

456
00:13:18,395 --> 00:13:19,515
worked and they worked and they worked

457
00:13:19,515 --> 00:13:21,094
and they worked and then all of a sudden

458
00:13:21,095 --> 00:13:22,524
one thing happened in that tipped it.

459
00:13:22,524 --> 00:13:23,524
And I feel like for me, that

460
00:13:23,524 --> 00:13:24,574
was the underground utilities.

461
00:13:24,574 --> 00:13:25,274
That's just me.

462
00:13:25,415 --> 00:13:26,875
I prefer underground utilities.

463
00:13:26,894 --> 00:13:27,714
No billboards.

464
00:13:27,714 --> 00:13:29,165
I really like the way Asheville looks.

465
00:13:29,165 --> 00:13:30,015
It's very clean.

466
00:13:30,245 --> 00:13:32,015
I like a clean looking downtown.

467
00:13:32,045 --> 00:13:33,475
I can see where I'm going.

468
00:13:33,475 --> 00:13:34,205
I have a visual.

469
00:13:34,205 --> 00:13:35,145
Nothing's in my way.

470
00:13:35,415 --> 00:13:36,655
And I feel like when that happened.

471
00:13:37,450 --> 00:13:40,110
That everything else that has happened

472
00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:42,350
after brought in different people.

473
00:13:42,350 --> 00:13:43,390
And you mentioned David Dewhurst.

474
00:13:43,460 --> 00:13:45,370
Let me tell you, I've never met a

475
00:13:45,370 --> 00:13:47,259
visionary like David Dewhurst in my life.

476
00:13:47,300 --> 00:13:49,010
I mean, I would, I would pit Randy

477
00:13:49,010 --> 00:13:50,509
Boyd against that even for top,

478
00:13:50,509 --> 00:13:52,219
for maybe even try to top that.

479
00:13:52,219 --> 00:13:54,040
I mean, David Dewhurst saw Knoxville.

480
00:13:54,330 --> 00:13:56,800
When it was at, in my, in my lifetime,

481
00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:58,690
it's absolutely worst and still came

482
00:13:58,690 --> 00:14:00,510
here and thought my god, what a gem.

483
00:14:00,530 --> 00:14:02,200
I can't wait for this to be amazing

484
00:14:02,470 --> 00:14:03,940
and poured his whole life into it.

485
00:14:04,550 --> 00:14:06,670
Um, what a visionary, really

486
00:14:06,670 --> 00:14:08,300
truly what a visionary and your

487
00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:09,730
family is part of that vision.

488
00:14:09,730 --> 00:14:11,130
Tell us about your family's

489
00:14:11,229 --> 00:14:12,320
developments and things.

490
00:14:13,335 --> 00:14:14,375
So, I mean, it goes

491
00:14:14,395 --> 00:14:16,635
back three generations.

492
00:14:16,655 --> 00:14:18,925
My grandfather came here in the, uh,

493
00:14:18,955 --> 00:14:21,145
in the twenties and, you know, started

494
00:14:21,155 --> 00:14:22,915
doing some of the smaller things when

495
00:14:22,915 --> 00:14:24,575
it came, I mean, what was commercial

496
00:14:24,575 --> 00:14:25,695
real estate a hundred years ago.

497
00:14:25,695 --> 00:14:27,055
It's, it's very, very different.

498
00:14:27,344 --> 00:14:28,564
Um, and then started, you

499
00:14:28,565 --> 00:14:30,205
know, really in full force.

500
00:14:30,255 --> 00:14:31,335
My grandfather was very

501
00:14:31,335 --> 00:14:32,184
much an entrepreneur.

502
00:14:32,184 --> 00:14:33,304
My dad's an entrepreneur.

503
00:14:33,304 --> 00:14:34,310
Um, and then, you Um, and does it

504
00:14:34,310 --> 00:14:35,629
on the commercial real estate side.

505
00:14:35,819 --> 00:14:37,540
Uh, he's been doing it for 55 years.

506
00:14:37,540 --> 00:14:40,149
He's developed, gosh, nearly every office

507
00:14:40,149 --> 00:14:41,869
building on Weisgarber, nearly every

508
00:14:41,869 --> 00:14:44,089
office building on, uh, Lowness Road,

509
00:14:44,119 --> 00:14:46,719
probably totaling a little more than a

510
00:14:46,719 --> 00:14:48,819
million, million, two square feet of total

511
00:14:48,819 --> 00:14:51,079
space up and down the, you know, West

512
00:14:51,079 --> 00:14:53,179
Knoxville, whether it's office buildings

513
00:14:53,269 --> 00:14:54,680
at Century Park, out of the Pellissippi

514
00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:56,619
Parkway, the gallery shopping center right

515
00:14:56,619 --> 00:14:58,810
there on Kingston Pike, we, uh, dabbled

516
00:14:58,810 --> 00:15:01,680
in hotels for a decade, redoing what's

517
00:15:01,689 --> 00:15:03,279
now the Tennessee and then the Marriott.

518
00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:05,329
Downtown, heart of downtown, which

519
00:15:05,329 --> 00:15:07,030
was, you know, the culmination of

520
00:15:07,030 --> 00:15:09,189
his, of his career as far as the, you

521
00:15:09,189 --> 00:15:10,930
know, everything tying together to

522
00:15:10,930 --> 00:15:13,479
develop, you know, to, to come to the

523
00:15:13,479 --> 00:15:15,209
forefront in that particular, uh, that

524
00:15:15,209 --> 00:15:16,719
particular space, which has been great.

525
00:15:17,130 --> 00:15:18,609
I have a brother that works in the

526
00:15:18,609 --> 00:15:20,530
business in Nashville, and then

527
00:15:20,530 --> 00:15:21,699
I've got, you know, we're running it

528
00:15:21,699 --> 00:15:23,599
here and my dad's 82 years old and

529
00:15:23,599 --> 00:15:24,819
still works every day and loves it.

530
00:15:25,270 --> 00:15:27,360
So it's a, uh, uh, we love

531
00:15:27,370 --> 00:15:28,400
being part of Knoxville.

532
00:15:28,530 --> 00:15:30,300
We love growing Knoxville and looking

533
00:15:30,300 --> 00:15:32,000
at the points in Knoxville that are,

534
00:15:32,200 --> 00:15:34,200
you know, that are important to, you

535
00:15:34,200 --> 00:15:36,780
know, seeing, seeing the growth of the

536
00:15:36,780 --> 00:15:38,400
town and, and where it's going to grow.

537
00:15:38,769 --> 00:15:40,010
One of the biggest things that we talk

538
00:15:40,019 --> 00:15:42,130
about, you know, my television show is.

539
00:15:42,365 --> 00:15:43,555
focused on Knoxville.

540
00:15:43,855 --> 00:15:46,095
The, the podcast is focused on Knoxville

541
00:15:46,095 --> 00:15:47,775
and it's not just Knoxville based.

542
00:15:47,775 --> 00:15:49,485
We have 17, 000 listeners a month

543
00:15:49,485 --> 00:15:50,965
on the podcast, about 3 million

544
00:15:50,965 --> 00:15:52,355
views a month on the TV show.

545
00:15:52,694 --> 00:15:55,135
And I like to pride on locality, right?

546
00:15:55,395 --> 00:15:57,154
It's, it's really and truly, I don't

547
00:15:57,154 --> 00:15:59,214
think people understand the level of

548
00:15:59,225 --> 00:16:00,954
effort that it takes from generations

549
00:16:00,954 --> 00:16:02,615
of people understanding and knowing

550
00:16:02,615 --> 00:16:07,015
how to maneuver conceptualism.

551
00:16:07,045 --> 00:16:08,295
When the Tennessean came

552
00:16:08,295 --> 00:16:09,765
into Knoxville, I will say.

553
00:16:10,199 --> 00:16:12,829
That, that concept itself is everywhere.

554
00:16:13,130 --> 00:16:15,250
The concept of what you all did here in

555
00:16:15,250 --> 00:16:17,170
Knoxville is something that you go to

556
00:16:17,170 --> 00:16:19,540
a larger city like Chicago or Miami and

557
00:16:19,540 --> 00:16:21,000
it's like, wow, I've got a five star

558
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,760
hotel with five star experiences, got some

559
00:16:23,760 --> 00:16:25,600
condos up here we can take advantage of,

560
00:16:25,820 --> 00:16:28,289
we have really like special ballrooms,

561
00:16:28,650 --> 00:16:31,129
like your, your space is so special

562
00:16:31,689 --> 00:16:34,755
and it's not Special in other places.

563
00:16:34,755 --> 00:16:37,084
It's completely, it's the norm.

564
00:16:37,214 --> 00:16:38,005
It's the absolute norm.

565
00:16:38,015 --> 00:16:39,125
You have set the standard.

566
00:16:39,125 --> 00:16:40,055
When the Tennessean, when y'all

567
00:16:40,105 --> 00:16:41,904
finish that, you set the standard

568
00:16:42,225 --> 00:16:44,464
for what the new conversation to be.

569
00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:47,670
A resident slash visitor in the,

570
00:16:47,670 --> 00:16:49,020
in the Knoxville market would be.

571
00:16:49,290 --> 00:16:51,020
You're overlooking one of the most

572
00:16:51,020 --> 00:16:52,840
rare sites that we've seen, a World's

573
00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:54,659
Fair site, which not a lot of places

574
00:16:54,660 --> 00:16:55,970
have, you know, Seattle's got one,

575
00:16:55,970 --> 00:16:58,170
but very rare opportunities there.

576
00:16:58,550 --> 00:17:00,580
You have the opportunity to own

577
00:17:00,610 --> 00:17:02,760
and live in a luxury location.

578
00:17:03,355 --> 00:17:05,415
And also stay in a luxury location.

579
00:17:05,415 --> 00:17:06,565
It's a five star experience.

580
00:17:06,915 --> 00:17:08,005
And now we're starting to see

581
00:17:08,015 --> 00:17:10,025
more of those pop up in Knoxville,

582
00:17:10,025 --> 00:17:11,405
but they're all over the country.

583
00:17:11,415 --> 00:17:13,044
Your family set that standard.

584
00:17:13,375 --> 00:17:15,984
What brought that to mind as of, Hey,

585
00:17:15,984 --> 00:17:17,274
listen, we want to bring something

586
00:17:17,295 --> 00:17:19,414
absolutely new, test the boundaries

587
00:17:19,414 --> 00:17:20,955
of what Knoxville can handle, right?

588
00:17:20,964 --> 00:17:22,535
Cause at that point it was, and I

589
00:17:22,535 --> 00:17:23,615
don't remember the name of the hotel.

590
00:17:23,625 --> 00:17:24,925
It's next to the Oliver Royale.

591
00:17:24,935 --> 00:17:26,495
That was pretty much the only boutique.

592
00:17:26,775 --> 00:17:27,405
The Oliver.

593
00:17:27,535 --> 00:17:28,214
It was The Oliver.

594
00:17:28,345 --> 00:17:29,265
The Oliver, thank you.

595
00:17:29,595 --> 00:17:30,485
And that was it.

596
00:17:30,555 --> 00:17:32,345
As far as boutique and, and

597
00:17:32,625 --> 00:17:34,405
different experience goes, and your

598
00:17:34,495 --> 00:17:35,665
family was like, you know what?

599
00:17:36,015 --> 00:17:36,745
We're gonna do this.

600
00:17:37,325 --> 00:17:38,085
And you did.

601
00:17:38,095 --> 00:17:39,025
And now you've set the new

602
00:17:39,025 --> 00:17:40,595
standard for luxury boutique.

603
00:17:40,624 --> 00:17:41,784
Like, tell us about that

604
00:17:41,784 --> 00:17:43,765
idea, that conceptualization.

605
00:17:44,135 --> 00:17:45,635
And the process of that, because it could

606
00:17:45,635 --> 00:17:47,565
not have been easy, but you did it anyway.

607
00:17:48,205 --> 00:17:48,485
Yeah.

608
00:17:48,485 --> 00:17:50,655
You know, and it was, uh, literally

609
00:17:51,255 --> 00:17:53,374
decades in the making, uh, my dad

610
00:17:53,375 --> 00:17:54,475
gets all the credit for that, but

611
00:17:54,485 --> 00:17:56,005
he wanted, you know, and, and this

612
00:17:56,015 --> 00:17:57,974
kind of goes back to Knoxville being

613
00:17:58,034 --> 00:17:59,844
important to him and the growth of the,

614
00:17:59,895 --> 00:18:01,384
and the growth of the market, because,

615
00:18:01,384 --> 00:18:02,535
you know, originally it started with

616
00:18:02,545 --> 00:18:04,655
the Holiday Inn and the Holiday Inn.

617
00:18:04,925 --> 00:18:07,885
Was an absolute eyesore.

618
00:18:08,025 --> 00:18:10,045
It was built in 1982 for the World's Fair.

619
00:18:10,275 --> 00:18:11,525
Uh, the gentleman who owned

620
00:18:11,525 --> 00:18:13,055
it didn't put a dime into it.

621
00:18:13,104 --> 00:18:14,805
And it was, you know, we, I remember

622
00:18:14,805 --> 00:18:16,834
after we acquired the property, we

623
00:18:16,835 --> 00:18:18,835
met with a marketing team, with a

624
00:18:18,835 --> 00:18:20,194
marketing team to help improve it.

625
00:18:20,205 --> 00:18:21,525
And, and the question was.

626
00:18:21,940 --> 00:18:22,620
What do people think

627
00:18:22,630 --> 00:18:23,590
about the Holiday Inn?

628
00:18:23,650 --> 00:18:24,490
I said, well, they don't

629
00:18:24,500 --> 00:18:25,410
think about the Holiday Inn.

630
00:18:25,450 --> 00:18:27,290
It's a building on the wrong side of

631
00:18:27,300 --> 00:18:29,430
Henley Street that no one wants to go to.

632
00:18:29,510 --> 00:18:31,300
And so it was developed from there

633
00:18:31,300 --> 00:18:33,280
and renovating the entire Holiday Inn

634
00:18:33,590 --> 00:18:35,570
from top to bottom while continuing

635
00:18:35,570 --> 00:18:37,019
to try and operate as a hotel.

636
00:18:37,350 --> 00:18:38,739
Uh, you know, we did it two floors

637
00:18:38,740 --> 00:18:40,919
at a time to give it as great a

638
00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:42,729
feel as it, as it possibly could.

639
00:18:43,010 --> 00:18:45,010
Knowing that it's still a Holiday

640
00:18:45,020 --> 00:18:46,990
Inn, which has a connotation.

641
00:18:47,180 --> 00:18:47,760
It just does.

642
00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:49,910
And, uh, the building next door,

643
00:18:49,910 --> 00:18:51,849
where the Tennessean is, uh, was

644
00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:53,619
the administrative office building

645
00:18:53,619 --> 00:18:55,600
for the World's Fair, built in 1982.

646
00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:57,329
It had been a state office building

647
00:18:57,329 --> 00:18:58,900
for the better part of 30 years.

648
00:18:59,369 --> 00:19:00,020
Nothing there.

649
00:19:00,020 --> 00:19:02,070
No one really knew what it was.

650
00:19:02,070 --> 00:19:02,930
No one ever went into it,

651
00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:03,930
because there was no reason to.

652
00:19:04,020 --> 00:19:06,655
But, you know, the idea was, You

653
00:19:06,655 --> 00:19:08,475
have the Holiday Inn, you've got a

654
00:19:08,475 --> 00:19:10,264
lot of infrastructure that's there

655
00:19:10,264 --> 00:19:12,875
that could be shared from a laundry,

656
00:19:13,084 --> 00:19:15,014
bar, restaurant, kitchen, kitchen

657
00:19:15,014 --> 00:19:16,604
facilities, banquet hall facilities.

658
00:19:17,164 --> 00:19:18,775
Let's get this office building, which

659
00:19:18,775 --> 00:19:20,465
we had to acquire from the state and

660
00:19:20,465 --> 00:19:22,495
renovate that and turn it into a hotel,

661
00:19:22,495 --> 00:19:23,944
which no one had ever done in Knoxville.

662
00:19:23,965 --> 00:19:27,515
And it was a multi year process, not only

663
00:19:27,515 --> 00:19:29,815
to acquire it, but then to, we are going

664
00:19:29,815 --> 00:19:31,305
to turn this into something special.

665
00:19:31,595 --> 00:19:34,190
With valets, With the service that,

666
00:19:34,610 --> 00:19:36,530
you know, when, when Julia Hurley

667
00:19:36,570 --> 00:19:39,110
reserves a room and then she shows up

668
00:19:39,110 --> 00:19:40,400
and she gets out of the, gets out of

669
00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:42,359
her car, that the valet says, hi, Ms.

670
00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:44,359
Hurley, welcome back or welcome

671
00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:45,809
to the Tennessee Inn and knowing

672
00:19:45,809 --> 00:19:47,649
what kind of pillow you like and

673
00:19:47,659 --> 00:19:48,850
everything that goes into it.

674
00:19:48,909 --> 00:19:50,610
And it was hard because, you know, we had

675
00:19:50,610 --> 00:19:52,809
a, uh, we are traditionally office people.

676
00:19:53,010 --> 00:19:55,090
Which means we build a building, we

677
00:19:55,090 --> 00:19:57,440
build the core, the lobby, the hallways,

678
00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,129
the bathrooms, and then you can do

679
00:19:59,129 --> 00:20:00,000
whatever you want with your office

680
00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:01,129
space, and we'll help you with it.

681
00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:03,430
Uh, you build a hotel, you're

682
00:20:03,430 --> 00:20:05,009
building every single room, picking

683
00:20:05,010 --> 00:20:06,210
the carpet, picking the bedspread,

684
00:20:06,229 --> 00:20:07,330
picking the silverware, picking

685
00:20:07,330 --> 00:20:09,380
the towels and the soap, and it's

686
00:20:09,380 --> 00:20:10,950
like, oh my gosh, it's never ending.

687
00:20:11,099 --> 00:20:12,610
It's shocking how much it is.

688
00:20:12,610 --> 00:20:15,010
It was a lot of fun, glad it's over.

689
00:20:15,305 --> 00:20:16,355
Uh, we're, we're out

690
00:20:16,355 --> 00:20:17,285
of the hotel industry.

691
00:20:17,285 --> 00:20:19,055
We got out there, got out the right time.

692
00:20:19,095 --> 00:20:20,165
It's a great industry.

693
00:20:20,415 --> 00:20:22,255
It's a hard industry and it's,

694
00:20:22,275 --> 00:20:23,674
you know, I, I joke with office

695
00:20:23,674 --> 00:20:26,115
buildings, every month you get your

696
00:20:26,115 --> 00:20:28,185
financials, you know, we see our PNL.

697
00:20:28,214 --> 00:20:29,895
We see, you know, where the rent was

698
00:20:29,905 --> 00:20:31,084
and where operating expenses are.

699
00:20:31,084 --> 00:20:32,784
And we review that every month you

700
00:20:32,784 --> 00:20:34,855
do that hotel every day at 4 a.

701
00:20:34,865 --> 00:20:35,055
m.

702
00:20:35,565 --> 00:20:36,645
That's when you get your report.

703
00:20:37,145 --> 00:20:38,595
Every single day.

704
00:20:38,855 --> 00:20:40,585
Because it's like a Waffle House.

705
00:20:40,775 --> 00:20:42,265
They open it up and then they throw

706
00:20:42,265 --> 00:20:43,485
away the keys to the front door

707
00:20:43,525 --> 00:20:44,835
because it never, it never closes.

708
00:20:45,025 --> 00:20:46,564
It's different but it's great and it's

709
00:20:46,575 --> 00:20:48,215
something that was important to Knoxville.

710
00:20:48,245 --> 00:20:49,535
Because you're right, at the time,

711
00:20:49,575 --> 00:20:50,985
Knoxville did not have anything

712
00:20:50,985 --> 00:20:52,275
that would be considered, you know,

713
00:20:52,284 --> 00:20:55,175
elite, elite status for a hotel.

714
00:20:55,215 --> 00:20:56,715
We had, we actually sat down with

715
00:20:56,715 --> 00:20:59,355
a lot of CFOs of Knoxville's bigger

716
00:20:59,355 --> 00:21:01,585
companies and talked about price points.

717
00:21:01,830 --> 00:21:03,610
You know, at what point when your

718
00:21:03,610 --> 00:21:05,240
salesman, when your staff goes on

719
00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:07,649
the road and, you know, you get their

720
00:21:07,679 --> 00:21:09,020
cost, what they, what they spent,

721
00:21:09,090 --> 00:21:10,770
their expenses for that trip, at what

722
00:21:10,770 --> 00:21:11,759
point do you look at the hotel and

723
00:21:11,759 --> 00:21:14,060
go, Ooh, that, that's a lot of money.

724
00:21:14,409 --> 00:21:16,019
And they said 200.

725
00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:18,789
And at the time, 200 was like,

726
00:21:18,850 --> 00:21:20,099
Oh yeah, that's a big number.

727
00:21:20,199 --> 00:21:21,909
And now 200 is the super eight

728
00:21:21,919 --> 00:21:23,409
next to the Nashville airport.

729
00:21:24,050 --> 00:21:24,990
Uh, so, you know, things

730
00:21:24,990 --> 00:21:26,310
have really gone up.

731
00:21:26,330 --> 00:21:27,670
Things have really changed.

732
00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:29,150
You cannot get a hotel room

733
00:21:29,150 --> 00:21:30,070
at the Tennessee Inn for 200.

734
00:21:30,670 --> 00:21:31,970
But that's kind of where we started.

735
00:21:31,980 --> 00:21:33,150
Knoxville needed more than that.

736
00:21:33,150 --> 00:21:34,250
And that's what we were able to,

737
00:21:34,459 --> 00:21:35,470
that's what we were able to do.

738
00:21:35,730 --> 00:21:37,010
That was one of the best projects.

739
00:21:37,039 --> 00:21:39,230
I, I can't express to people enough.

740
00:21:39,725 --> 00:21:41,555
I mean, I relocate people all day long.

741
00:21:41,565 --> 00:21:42,485
That's my passion.

742
00:21:42,715 --> 00:21:43,515
I do tours.

743
00:21:43,515 --> 00:21:44,545
We do relocation tours.

744
00:21:44,575 --> 00:21:45,845
A lot of physicians will call

745
00:21:45,845 --> 00:21:47,465
me specifically for a relocation

746
00:21:47,525 --> 00:21:49,415
tour, and I'll put them in the car.

747
00:21:49,634 --> 00:21:50,824
I'll take them for two hours.

748
00:21:50,835 --> 00:21:52,134
A lot of the time, they may

749
00:21:52,134 --> 00:21:53,054
choose a different hospital.

750
00:21:53,054 --> 00:21:55,645
They may choose not to come here, and

751
00:21:55,645 --> 00:21:57,584
that's just a risk that I take on that

752
00:21:57,584 --> 00:21:59,245
tour, but I always make the relationship,

753
00:21:59,455 --> 00:22:01,125
put them in the car, two hours.

754
00:22:01,175 --> 00:22:02,645
You get the entire tour.

755
00:22:02,645 --> 00:22:03,405
I'm going to take you all

756
00:22:03,405 --> 00:22:04,425
the way from Hardin Valley.

757
00:22:04,425 --> 00:22:05,085
We're going to talk about

758
00:22:05,085 --> 00:22:05,467
the school districts.

759
00:22:05,467 --> 00:22:06,484
We're going to go down to Maryville.

760
00:22:06,485 --> 00:22:07,665
We're going to talk about the colleges.

761
00:22:07,925 --> 00:22:08,985
We're going to talk about all the

762
00:22:08,985 --> 00:22:10,225
opportunities we're going to go through

763
00:22:10,225 --> 00:22:12,135
in Knoxville, all the neighborhoods

764
00:22:12,135 --> 00:22:13,455
in Knoxville, and the history of it.

765
00:22:13,665 --> 00:22:14,614
Where do you want to be?

766
00:22:15,034 --> 00:22:16,934
And all of these conversations.

767
00:22:17,294 --> 00:22:19,854
Um, it's a, it's a full on experience

768
00:22:19,854 --> 00:22:22,235
per, per serious relocation because

769
00:22:22,245 --> 00:22:25,294
knowing that history is so relevant and

770
00:22:25,294 --> 00:22:26,824
knowing it from somebody who's from here.

771
00:22:26,825 --> 00:22:30,230
So, Knowing that I can introduce them

772
00:22:30,230 --> 00:22:31,560
to people like you, again, you said

773
00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:33,240
you're a Connector, I love Connections,

774
00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:34,610
why I called it Connect the Knocks.

775
00:22:34,750 --> 00:22:36,350
It is so relevant to me to know

776
00:22:36,350 --> 00:22:37,960
that I have people I can rely on

777
00:22:38,119 --> 00:22:40,310
who say, I really need to know this

778
00:22:40,310 --> 00:22:42,579
person, I've always got that person.

779
00:22:43,070 --> 00:22:45,189
And knowing the history of things

780
00:22:45,209 --> 00:22:46,860
and the dedication that it takes.

781
00:22:47,830 --> 00:22:48,879
You didn't just come in here

782
00:22:48,879 --> 00:22:49,920
and pop up a shop, you've

783
00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:51,510
been here for a hundred years.

784
00:22:51,990 --> 00:22:54,830
It's, it's a lot of local.

785
00:22:55,050 --> 00:22:56,649
It takes local to get it done.

786
00:22:57,180 --> 00:22:58,270
It takes local to get it done.

787
00:22:58,270 --> 00:22:59,560
So I, we've talked about

788
00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:00,889
one building for 25 minutes.

789
00:23:02,089 --> 00:23:03,910
This is my, I could talk to you for

790
00:23:03,910 --> 00:23:05,759
days about commercial real estate.

791
00:23:05,909 --> 00:23:07,290
Now, we know that you can't give us,

792
00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:08,970
give away the, give away the farm.

793
00:23:09,660 --> 00:23:11,110
Can you give us any hints on what

794
00:23:11,110 --> 00:23:12,830
you're working on that we would

795
00:23:12,830 --> 00:23:14,860
know about, or could possibly

796
00:23:14,860 --> 00:23:15,770
know about that's coming up?

797
00:23:16,110 --> 00:23:17,620
You know, a couple things.

798
00:23:17,620 --> 00:23:19,020
One, you know, we're building

799
00:23:19,030 --> 00:23:20,130
the only office building that's

800
00:23:20,130 --> 00:23:21,779
happening in Knoxville right now.

801
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:23,740
Uh, it's a 60, 000 square foot office

802
00:23:23,740 --> 00:23:25,770
building out at Pellissippi Parkway

803
00:23:25,770 --> 00:23:27,159
at a development called Century Park.

804
00:23:27,199 --> 00:23:28,440
80 acre development that's got

805
00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:29,440
about a quarter million square

806
00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:30,600
feet of office space on it.

807
00:23:30,890 --> 00:23:33,070
The only office building in the

808
00:23:33,070 --> 00:23:34,580
market that's being built right now.

809
00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:37,090
And that kind of ties into, okay.

810
00:23:37,379 --> 00:23:38,990
Where is, you know, I thought

811
00:23:38,990 --> 00:23:40,310
office was dead and that's the

812
00:23:40,310 --> 00:23:41,379
farthest thing from the truth.

813
00:23:41,730 --> 00:23:43,980
Um, especially in Knoxville while it

814
00:23:43,980 --> 00:23:45,740
is struggling in certain areas of the

815
00:23:45,740 --> 00:23:47,590
country, Knoxville has not been the case.

816
00:23:47,600 --> 00:23:49,610
According to CoStar, we're at 95 percent

817
00:23:49,610 --> 00:23:51,839
occupancy, which is, it's too high.

818
00:23:51,850 --> 00:23:53,000
It's, it's not 95.

819
00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,310
It's probably 91 or 92%, but that is,

820
00:23:56,470 --> 00:23:57,910
that is record high for the market.

821
00:23:57,930 --> 00:23:59,540
We did more office deals in the

822
00:23:59,540 --> 00:24:01,260
last two years than we did in the

823
00:24:01,260 --> 00:24:02,900
four years combined before that.

824
00:24:02,940 --> 00:24:04,840
You know, part of it is because Knoxville

825
00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:06,740
has become the place people relocate to.

826
00:24:07,085 --> 00:24:09,395
Part of it is because a lot of office

827
00:24:09,395 --> 00:24:11,885
building, a lot of office users are

828
00:24:11,885 --> 00:24:14,675
moving out of, uh, what I call class C

829
00:24:14,675 --> 00:24:17,405
and B space and upgrading their space.

830
00:24:17,525 --> 00:24:18,395
Uh, 'cause they want people

831
00:24:18,395 --> 00:24:19,535
to be in the office of all

832
00:24:19,535 --> 00:24:20,945
the properties that we manage.

833
00:24:21,245 --> 00:24:23,375
The only tenants that aren't back

834
00:24:23,380 --> 00:24:24,995
in the office at least 80% of

835
00:24:24,995 --> 00:24:27,250
the time, are your Fortune 500

836
00:24:27,530 --> 00:24:28,595
companies that can work remote.

837
00:24:28,625 --> 00:24:29,915
They can send their, their, their

838
00:24:29,915 --> 00:24:31,085
workers home, they can manage 'em

839
00:24:31,085 --> 00:24:33,515
remotely and think it works for them.

840
00:24:33,725 --> 00:24:36,065
But the example I use is, if you have an.

841
00:24:37,060 --> 00:24:39,070
Insurance firm and it has 50 employees

842
00:24:39,310 --> 00:24:41,710
and you spend 100, 000 a year on rent.

843
00:24:41,920 --> 00:24:43,530
You've got three years left on your lease.

844
00:24:43,590 --> 00:24:46,409
Do you have the bandwidth to go out

845
00:24:46,429 --> 00:24:49,560
in the and the financial bandwidth to

846
00:24:49,570 --> 00:24:51,440
hire someone to manage people remotely

847
00:24:51,470 --> 00:24:53,289
to bring in the equipment to manage to

848
00:24:53,290 --> 00:24:55,059
manage people remotely and let people

849
00:24:55,069 --> 00:24:58,385
work remotely and Know that you're,

850
00:24:58,435 --> 00:25:01,155
you're eating 100, 000 a year in rent.

851
00:25:01,485 --> 00:25:02,334
And the answer is no.

852
00:25:02,455 --> 00:25:03,784
The answer is they're

853
00:25:03,784 --> 00:25:04,975
coming back to the office.

854
00:25:05,034 --> 00:25:07,514
You know, it's been, uh, you know,

855
00:25:07,524 --> 00:25:09,375
really across the board in Knoxville.

856
00:25:09,584 --> 00:25:10,854
People are in the office

857
00:25:11,024 --> 00:25:12,245
nearly every day of the week.

858
00:25:12,624 --> 00:25:13,994
Fridays are a little questionable.

859
00:25:14,054 --> 00:25:15,235
But I think that, you know, that's

860
00:25:15,235 --> 00:25:16,304
what we're seeing around the country.

861
00:25:16,304 --> 00:25:18,445
So we have, we've seen people expanding.

862
00:25:18,465 --> 00:25:19,395
We've seen people.

863
00:25:19,594 --> 00:25:21,115
Obviously upgrading their space.

864
00:25:21,165 --> 00:25:22,824
It'll continue to twist over

865
00:25:22,824 --> 00:25:23,925
the next couple of years as

866
00:25:23,935 --> 00:25:25,344
some, as some leases come up.

867
00:25:25,365 --> 00:25:26,104
But you know, I'll give you an

868
00:25:26,104 --> 00:25:28,264
example, uh, a building we manage,

869
00:25:28,314 --> 00:25:30,074
uh, or we do, that we lease in

870
00:25:30,135 --> 00:25:31,514
Bearden, Landmark Center, the two

871
00:25:31,514 --> 00:25:33,135
towers right there on the interstate.

872
00:25:33,175 --> 00:25:34,905
We have nine letters of intent.

873
00:25:35,150 --> 00:25:36,320
For that, for vacant

874
00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:37,250
space in that building.

875
00:25:37,580 --> 00:25:39,430
So people would say offices,

876
00:25:39,460 --> 00:25:40,690
you know, is teetering.

877
00:25:40,970 --> 00:25:42,450
It's not happening in Knoxville.

878
00:25:42,670 --> 00:25:43,690
And I think it happens

879
00:25:43,690 --> 00:25:44,650
for a variety of reasons.

880
00:25:44,650 --> 00:25:47,369
And I think one is people are social.

881
00:25:47,700 --> 00:25:49,299
They're, it doesn't matter how big

882
00:25:49,299 --> 00:25:51,319
of a, of an introvert you are, which

883
00:25:51,319 --> 00:25:53,280
obviously Julia and I are not introverts.

884
00:25:53,510 --> 00:25:55,400
Uh, but we, uh, you know, you.

885
00:25:55,590 --> 00:25:57,250
You do have to have some social

886
00:25:57,250 --> 00:25:59,560
input, and while you can work from

887
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:00,840
home and be successful doing it,

888
00:26:00,870 --> 00:26:02,950
absolutely, it's much more tactical.

889
00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:04,750
It's not strategic thinking.

890
00:26:04,760 --> 00:26:05,610
If you could, if you just have

891
00:26:05,610 --> 00:26:07,340
to check boxes, you can do that.

892
00:26:07,610 --> 00:26:09,060
But if you've got to be, you

893
00:26:09,060 --> 00:26:10,210
know, if you need to work with

894
00:26:10,210 --> 00:26:11,850
a team, if you want to innovate,

895
00:26:12,189 --> 00:26:14,610
innovation doesn't happen, Over Zoom.

896
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:16,350
Innovation happens at the coffee pot.

897
00:26:16,420 --> 00:26:18,390
Innovation happens when you overhear

898
00:26:18,470 --> 00:26:20,230
a colleague talking about a project

899
00:26:20,230 --> 00:26:21,420
and you can add something to it.

900
00:26:21,730 --> 00:26:22,970
Uh, and that's what we're seeing

901
00:26:22,970 --> 00:26:24,049
on the office side and I think

902
00:26:24,049 --> 00:26:24,940
that's what we're going to see.

903
00:26:24,940 --> 00:26:26,759
That's why I'm, you know, I'm bullish

904
00:26:26,759 --> 00:26:28,849
on office, uh, especially at Knoxville.

905
00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:30,630
So question for people.

906
00:26:30,769 --> 00:26:33,593
So I know a few of my friends that

907
00:26:33,593 --> 00:26:35,479
you, they're, you probably know them.

908
00:26:35,519 --> 00:26:36,339
We'll talk about that later.

909
00:26:36,649 --> 00:26:38,839
They have their own investment

910
00:26:38,839 --> 00:26:40,839
deals inside of their own companies.

911
00:26:41,450 --> 00:26:42,370
Where they allow like a

912
00:26:42,370 --> 00:26:43,440
REIT, but it's not a REIT.

913
00:26:43,750 --> 00:26:45,000
Do you all offer something like

914
00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:45,980
that for people in Knoxville to

915
00:26:45,980 --> 00:26:47,370
try to get involved in commercial?

916
00:26:47,790 --> 00:26:51,130
We Work with developers or investors

917
00:26:51,139 --> 00:26:53,370
that sometimes well that often need

918
00:26:53,370 --> 00:26:55,459
partners I won't call it a REIT because

919
00:26:55,460 --> 00:26:56,909
we structure it in different ways

920
00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:58,669
But it's it's more of a it's more

921
00:26:58,669 --> 00:27:00,210
of a partnership than anything else.

922
00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:02,360
We we can put people together We have

923
00:27:02,390 --> 00:27:03,715
you know, they're you know You know,

924
00:27:03,725 --> 00:27:04,895
any number of projects where we have

925
00:27:04,915 --> 00:27:07,515
people that want to invest in, in office,

926
00:27:07,515 --> 00:27:09,855
industrial, retail, anywhere in between,

927
00:27:10,135 --> 00:27:11,675
we try and connect those individuals.

928
00:27:11,945 --> 00:27:15,705
Now you have to, it takes, when you have a

929
00:27:15,705 --> 00:27:18,344
REIT, it's much more, I don't want to call

930
00:27:18,355 --> 00:27:20,905
it sophisticated, I'll call it specific.

931
00:27:21,275 --> 00:27:22,855
And complicated, but it also

932
00:27:22,855 --> 00:27:24,545
gives very, very good guidelines.

933
00:27:24,555 --> 00:27:26,235
But sometimes the returns

934
00:27:26,235 --> 00:27:27,305
are, aren't what's there.

935
00:27:27,305 --> 00:27:28,965
So, uh, we try and put together

936
00:27:28,965 --> 00:27:31,405
like Mike, like minded individuals.

937
00:27:31,825 --> 00:27:33,325
Some people don't want the risk, which

938
00:27:33,325 --> 00:27:34,624
reads are great for, and we can put

939
00:27:34,625 --> 00:27:36,114
them in positions where, you know,

940
00:27:36,114 --> 00:27:37,635
someone else is really taking the risk.

941
00:27:37,635 --> 00:27:38,785
And the only thing that they're

942
00:27:39,055 --> 00:27:41,105
risking, um, is the cash

943
00:27:41,105 --> 00:27:41,975
that they're putting into it.

944
00:27:41,995 --> 00:27:43,255
They're not necessarily on the

945
00:27:43,255 --> 00:27:44,745
note and the bank's not going

946
00:27:44,745 --> 00:27:45,695
to come after their house.

947
00:27:45,695 --> 00:27:46,985
That's Something goes south.

948
00:27:47,004 --> 00:27:49,235
So yeah, we, we, we will put

949
00:27:49,235 --> 00:27:50,825
people together depending on the

950
00:27:50,855 --> 00:27:52,625
situation and depending on the need.

951
00:27:52,955 --> 00:27:53,915
I think that a lot of people,

952
00:27:54,124 --> 00:27:55,284
especially in this market today,

953
00:27:55,284 --> 00:27:56,514
are looking for different ways to

954
00:27:56,514 --> 00:27:58,754
earn, earn an income, especially in

955
00:27:58,754 --> 00:28:00,094
industries they don't understand.

956
00:28:00,475 --> 00:28:01,594
And I think that we're starting

957
00:28:01,595 --> 00:28:02,884
to see seven levels and people

958
00:28:02,884 --> 00:28:03,774
are really excited about it.

959
00:28:03,775 --> 00:28:05,185
I get asked about it constantly.

960
00:28:05,214 --> 00:28:06,445
So I'm always throwing it out there.

961
00:28:06,455 --> 00:28:07,755
Hey, if you want to invest in commercial

962
00:28:07,765 --> 00:28:09,245
real estate, Here's who you call.

963
00:28:09,255 --> 00:28:10,955
I don't know any specifics after

964
00:28:10,965 --> 00:28:12,015
that, but I'll send them your way.

965
00:28:12,245 --> 00:28:13,475
Because I do get asked that a lot.

966
00:28:13,475 --> 00:28:14,775
Like, where can I invest this money?

967
00:28:14,915 --> 00:28:15,745
Out of rental properties.

968
00:28:15,745 --> 00:28:16,755
I'm a commercial estate.

969
00:28:16,884 --> 00:28:17,545
It's not going anywhere

970
00:28:17,545 --> 00:28:18,315
in Knoxville, but up.

971
00:28:18,424 --> 00:28:19,824
So get it while you can get it.

972
00:28:20,274 --> 00:28:20,645
All right.

973
00:28:21,205 --> 00:28:22,494
If somebody were to visit

974
00:28:22,495 --> 00:28:23,695
you, we're going personal now.

975
00:28:23,714 --> 00:28:25,134
If somebody were to visit you that's

976
00:28:25,174 --> 00:28:26,494
never been to Knoxville before,

977
00:28:26,494 --> 00:28:27,725
where's the first place you take them?

978
00:28:28,005 --> 00:28:28,284
I don't know.

979
00:28:28,285 --> 00:28:29,155
What time of year is it?

980
00:28:30,165 --> 00:28:31,024
So many people have

981
00:28:31,024 --> 00:28:31,955
different answers to this.

982
00:28:31,955 --> 00:28:33,095
So let me give you some examples.

983
00:28:33,105 --> 00:28:34,465
Glenn Jacobs said, uh,

984
00:28:34,504 --> 00:28:35,155
take him to Alibaba.

985
00:28:36,295 --> 00:28:38,065
I believe Tim Burchett said he would

986
00:28:38,065 --> 00:28:39,665
have taken the right cafeteria.

987
00:28:39,965 --> 00:28:41,205
All right, so here's, here's

988
00:28:41,205 --> 00:28:42,554
what I would do, and partially

989
00:28:42,685 --> 00:28:43,905
this is me being selfish.

990
00:28:44,014 --> 00:28:46,415
First we'd go to the mountains, the towns

991
00:28:46,415 --> 00:28:48,634
inside of the mountain, show them, show

992
00:28:48,645 --> 00:28:50,095
them what, how beautiful that place is.

993
00:28:50,115 --> 00:28:51,124
We'd come back into town,

994
00:28:51,134 --> 00:28:52,744
we'd stop at Aroma Cafe.

995
00:28:52,905 --> 00:28:54,504
in Maryville and pick up some Cuban

996
00:28:54,514 --> 00:28:56,965
food, uh, and then we'd, we'd eat there.

997
00:28:56,965 --> 00:28:58,685
And then I'd, we'd go down to the river.

998
00:28:58,735 --> 00:28:59,865
Maybe we'll do some paddle boarding

999
00:28:59,865 --> 00:29:01,264
right there at Volunteer Landing,

1000
00:29:01,264 --> 00:29:03,115
and then finish off on Gay Street

1001
00:29:03,365 --> 00:29:05,794
with a cruise ice cream and maybe

1002
00:29:05,794 --> 00:29:07,284
a show at the Tennessee theater or

1003
00:29:07,285 --> 00:29:08,774
Market Square, depending on the day.

1004
00:29:08,915 --> 00:29:10,634
Is there anything that you want to share

1005
00:29:10,645 --> 00:29:12,434
with anybody listening that's never been

1006
00:29:12,475 --> 00:29:14,385
in Knoxville that tunes into this podcast?

1007
00:29:14,445 --> 00:29:15,205
I share it out with a lot

1008
00:29:15,205 --> 00:29:16,445
of our relocation companies

1009
00:29:16,445 --> 00:29:17,315
that we do a lot with.

1010
00:29:17,905 --> 00:29:19,035
What information can you

1011
00:29:19,035 --> 00:29:20,745
share with them that maybe.

1012
00:29:21,179 --> 00:29:22,570
We, we take for granted or

1013
00:29:22,570 --> 00:29:23,820
people assume they know about

1014
00:29:23,820 --> 00:29:25,019
Knoxville, they really don't know.

1015
00:29:25,279 --> 00:29:27,019
I think if you came to Knoxville,

1016
00:29:27,039 --> 00:29:28,529
people would say, Oh my gosh,

1017
00:29:28,529 --> 00:29:29,549
the traffic is terrible.

1018
00:29:29,860 --> 00:29:31,190
But if you're from Los Angeles,

1019
00:29:31,190 --> 00:29:32,639
Atlanta, Chicago, New York,

1020
00:29:33,029 --> 00:29:35,059
Dallas, the traffic is nothing.

1021
00:29:35,139 --> 00:29:37,190
That being said You know, there's,

1022
00:29:37,210 --> 00:29:38,430
there's a limit to how many,

1023
00:29:38,450 --> 00:29:39,850
how much our roads can handle.

1024
00:29:39,870 --> 00:29:40,800
I mean, I know TDOT and the

1025
00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:41,930
city are working on that.

1026
00:29:42,130 --> 00:29:43,610
Fixing, uh, infrastructure when it

1027
00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:45,800
comes to interstates is not a quick fix.

1028
00:29:45,849 --> 00:29:47,759
So it's going to be, it'll be interesting,

1029
00:29:47,759 --> 00:29:50,019
but it's, you know, Knoxville, it

1030
00:29:50,019 --> 00:29:52,330
continues to be America's largest small

1031
00:29:52,330 --> 00:29:54,439
town, which I, which I really like.

1032
00:29:54,749 --> 00:29:56,850
And, uh, and, and certainly the

1033
00:29:56,850 --> 00:29:58,500
friendliest place you'll find in America.

1034
00:29:58,530 --> 00:30:00,170
So it's a, it's a special place.

1035
00:30:00,580 --> 00:30:02,190
Justin, how can people find you?

1036
00:30:02,400 --> 00:30:03,920
You can find me on LinkedIn,

1037
00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:05,440
Facebook, avisinyoung.

1038
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:07,200
com slash Knoxville, you

1039
00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:08,310
know, any number of places.

1040
00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:09,780
I'm pretty easy to find.

1041
00:30:10,100 --> 00:30:11,720
If you Google Justin Kazan on

1042
00:30:11,730 --> 00:30:13,549
Knoxville, there's only one

1043
00:30:13,550 --> 00:30:14,740
Justin Kazan in the world.

1044
00:30:15,859 --> 00:30:17,470
It's not like, you know, Jill Smith.

1045
00:30:17,519 --> 00:30:18,399
There's only one.

1046
00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:19,870
I'm pretty easy to find

1047
00:30:19,870 --> 00:30:21,060
with the Google machine.

1048
00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:21,810
I love it.

1049
00:30:21,870 --> 00:30:24,725
Listen, I've taken And I'd

1050
00:30:24,725 --> 00:30:25,665
love to talk to you for hours

1051
00:30:25,665 --> 00:30:26,555
about commercial real estate.

1052
00:30:26,555 --> 00:30:27,565
I'll come by your entire

1053
00:30:27,565 --> 00:30:28,555
office lunch one day.

1054
00:30:28,565 --> 00:30:30,065
We'll do, we'll do a whole lunch

1055
00:30:30,065 --> 00:30:31,205
and learn so you can teach our

1056
00:30:31,205 --> 00:30:32,655
brokerage about your brokerage.

1057
00:30:32,665 --> 00:30:33,895
And I know that my new agents

1058
00:30:33,895 --> 00:30:34,955
would love to learn all about

1059
00:30:34,955 --> 00:30:35,695
the commercial real estate.

1060
00:30:35,695 --> 00:30:36,905
So we'll set that up.

1061
00:30:37,305 --> 00:30:39,385
Thank you so much for being with us today.

1062
00:30:40,155 --> 00:30:41,674
Everybody in the nation.

1063
00:30:41,674 --> 00:30:43,304
Thank you so much for tuning into

1064
00:30:43,305 --> 00:30:45,794
another episode of Connect the Knox.

1065
00:30:45,794 --> 00:30:47,714
I'm Julia Hurley, connecting

1066
00:30:47,714 --> 00:30:49,354
Knoxville to the nation.

1067
00:30:49,364 --> 00:30:51,430
Until next time, Thanks for visiting.

1068
00:30:51,710 --> 00:30:53,470
Thank you for tuning into the show.

1069
00:30:53,750 --> 00:30:55,850
Make sure to like and subscribe,

1070
00:30:55,930 --> 00:30:57,550
leave a five star review on your

1071
00:30:57,550 --> 00:30:59,799
podcast player of choice, and if you

1072
00:30:59,799 --> 00:31:01,410
would like information on moving to

1073
00:31:01,410 --> 00:31:03,870
Knoxville, send me a private message.

1074
00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:05,909
As always, this is Julia Hurley

1075
00:31:05,910 --> 00:31:08,180
connecting Knoxville to the nation.