M3 PA

Potential Adaptive Reuse Properties for a Dentistry Clinic Christina Mesh ID: C17003765 September 30, 2017 Through extensive research of vacant, abandoned commercial property within the Lake Charles area, I have found three potential candidates for your future dentistry clinic. I know of your intention to practice adaptive reuse of a building in the area. Elrod and Fortenberry (2017) define adaptive reuse as “the practice of identifying, acquiring, renovating, and placing back into service a building or similar structure for a purpose different than that for which it was originally designed” (p. 5). This practice is a well-grounded approach to “addressing the spatial expansion needs of healthcare establishments in a unique and mutually beneficial manner” (Elrod and Fortenberry, 2017, p. 5). There are many societal benefits to be aware of with adaptively reusing buildings within a community. Abandoned and vacant buildings and lots decrease property values, creates a sense of economic declined and hopelessness, and invites crime (Thaler, 2002). “Reusing this building stock maintains the character of our cities and bolsters our civic pride” (Thaler, 2002). With the assistance of Rhonda Babin, the assistant of Amanda Cox with Era Moffett Realty/Latter & Blum, Inc. in Lake Charles, we found three potential properties you may be interested in. She has been very helpful throughout the extent of my research offering any and all information and resources that will assist you in choosing a property. We were able to narrow the choices down to three properties, with all three needing different amounts of work to adapt to your needs. Each of these properties listed are ideal for adaptive reuse into a dentist clinic. They also have very different prices depending on the amount you are willing to spend. I have arranged these properties from highest potential to lowest potential. Candidate 1 is located at 1827 Ryan Street in Lake Charles. This is another high profile location on the Mardi Gras route as well. This building was used as an office building, more specifically a lawyer’s office. This building is located in downtown Lake Charles in the historic district. It is located in between 10th and 11th Streets on Ryan Street. It is on a 0.270-acre lot. The actual lot size is 66 feet by 180 feet. It has a total of two thousand eight hundred thirty three square foot of office space. This is a two-story wood sided building. This location has ample parking in front and back of the building. The parking lot is partially concrete and gravel. The parking area for the customers in the front of the building is fully concrete with the extra parking in the back being gravel. There is a reception area, 3 offices, a kitchen, and a bathroom downstairs and over four offices upstairs with another bathroom. This property also has a large storage building in the back with a roll up door for extra storage. The building is handicap accessible with a wheelchair ramp and a handicap accessible bathroom. The back of the building also features covered parking and a deck, which is where the handicap accessible ramp is located. There is alley access in the rear of the building, which allows a sense of privacy and ease of exiting the building. This property can be found online at the following link that was provided to me: http://swlar.mlsmatrix.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=67163241#1. The current price of this property is $319,000 (R. Babin, personal communication, September 26, 2017). Candidate 2 is located at 401 West 18th Street in Lake Charles. It is a one-story brick and stucco building within the city limits of Lake Charles on a half an acre lot. The actual size of the lot is 152.4 feet by 150 feet. It is near Ryan and Lake Street, which are very high traffic areas. These are two main streets of Lake Charles. It was previously used as an office space. It is located in a commercial neighborhood. The surrounding neighborhood is somewhat older, but it is still a good neighborhood. It contains two thousand three hundred eighty six square feet of office space. This location is easily accessible. It is already handicap accessible; therefore nothing will have to be done in that area. It has an ample amount of parking for customers and employees. This building has two separated sides. This would allow the dentistry practice to occupy one side and rent the other side out or occupy both sides. It has a lot of potential for any business industry. The possibilities for this property are endless. The inside of the building is already subdivided with several rooms, also containing a main lobby and small kitchen and bathroom on each side. Of course this could be easily rebuilt to accommodate the needs of your dentistry practice. According to the realtor, the building is divided by a fireproof wall, which is easily demolished to make the building a single dwelling rather than a duplex. This would make each exam room much larger and more accommodating to the patients. The price on this property has just been reduced per the realtor. This property can be further viewed at the following link that was provided to me: http://swlar.mlsmatrix.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=67161803#1. The current price on this property is $189,999 (R. Babin, personal communication, September 26, 2017). Candidate 3 is located at 2111 Ryan Street in Lake Charles. It is a one-story brick building within the city limits near downtown. It is in a very high profile commercial area of Lake Charles. This building was previously a bank, but it has been vacant for several years. It is near both major interstates in town, in between Interstate 10 and Interstate 210. It is on a on a little over one and a half acres of land. The actual lot size is 160 feet by 465 feet. The office space consists of fifteen hundred square feet. The parking area is completely concrete. There is a large awning attached to the building it self that was used as the bank drive through, this can easily be demolished to accommodate increased parking space. This location would be on a main parade route pertaining to Mardi Gras. This is of high importance for consideration due to the fact this road becomes inaccessible during this time. Although it is inaccessible, it is very good for business in a sense many businesses on this road profit from advertising itself, especially during this time. This location brings along self-promotion just from being in such a high profile area of the city. The interior of the building would have to be tweaked to be more accommodating to the needs of a dentistry practice. The following link was provided o me for this property: http://swlar.mlsmatrix.com/Matrix/Public/Portal.aspx?ID=67162760#1. This property has a current price of $1,775,000 (R. Babin, personal communication, September 26, 2017). Although the price is much higher, this property has a high potential for success due to its high-profile location. “Repurposing older buildings means increased incubator spaces for small businesses to grow and thrive, creating new ecosystems of jobs and place-based vibrant communities, which creates more equity and opportunity for all” (Lanning, 2016, p. 39). Adaptive reuse of buildings is very beneficial to the community in several different aspects. Adaptive reuse, according to Kirby and Kent (2010), “protect[s] and enhance[s] the architectural and historic heritage of centres, provide[s] a sense of place and a focus for the community and for civic activity and ensure[s] that town centres provide an attractive, accessible and safe environment for businesses, shoppers and residents” (p. 81). Each of these properties has the potential to be a great asset for your clinic. I believe candidate one is the best candidate. The price is considerably low for the location. This location would advertise itself just from being at such a high profile location. This location would still have to be adapted, but not much compared to the other properties. It has ample parking provided for associates and patients. There are ample offices that can be converted into exam rooms and executive offices. The building is already handicap accessible with covered parking for the handicap. The potential for this historic building is endless. The second candidate is less expensive and requires more work. This location is not as easy to access from the main roads and it will be set further off the main road causing the clinic to be required to advertise to gain a patient base. This in itself can be costly alongside of the required renovations to adapt it into a dentist office. The building is currently a duplex and will require extensive renovations. It does provide ample parking and space once fully adapted, making the building a single dwelling. The third candidate, although it has been vacant for many years and is an eyesore, it is still much more expensive and will require the most renovating. I believe this is a good location, but candidate one is close by and much more budget friendly. In all, with the expertise of Ms. Babin in the realty field and my experience in the health care field, we have concluded per your specs, candidate one is the best candidate for your purpose. Ms. Babin stated viewings of any of these properties is available any time upon request. References Elrod, J. K., & Fortenberry, J. L. (2017). Adaptive reuse in the healthcare industry: Repurposing abandoned buildings to serve medical missions. BMC Health Services Research, 17, 5-14. doi: 10.1186/s12913-017-2339-4 Kent, T., & Kirby, A. (2010). The local icon: Reuse of buildings in place marketing. Journal of Town & City Management, 1(1), 80-91. Retrieved from http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=7&sid=ca588181-102c-4fab-b156-1e1a58348975%40sessionmgr4009&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=87712332&db=bth Lanning, K. (2016). Vacant spaces to happening places. Economic Development Journal, 15(3), 34-39. Retrieved from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.lsus.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=8&sid=762a12fc-4ff1-4444-96fe-5f2734d554e0@sessionmgr103 Thaler, M. (2002, October 20). Adaptive reuse of historic buildings makes economic sense. Retrieved from https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2002/10/21/focus4.html?page‰=‰all