Highest & Best Use Analyses

Overview of HBU and Land Value Optimization Services

Land owners often face decisions about how best to exploit the value of their property. Alta assists clients in developing strategies to realize the highest potential from land assets — a process called land value optimization. In this discipline — traditionally referred to as “highest and best use analysis” — four analytical tests are key to a decision:

• Legally Permissible
• Physically Possible
• Financially Feasible
• Optimally Productive

Site Selection

Alta provides site selection, location analysis, market screen and related services to its clients involved in development and retailing activities throughout the U.S. These studies evaluate many critical factors including market support available for the planned project, the physical and regulatory constraints to the project, and site characteristics such as visibility and accessibility.

Feasibility Studies

The firm offers comprehensive feasibility evaluations and pre-development/ redevelopment services in situations where informed judgments about potential market and economic conditions are required. Assignments undertaken by the firm are diverse, and include office buildings, subdivision and multifamily properties, resort developments, industrial and retail projects, as well as housing for seniors.

Strategic Planning

• Evaluation of the Economics of a Relocation/Expansion and/or Consolidation.
• Identification of the Right New Location(s).
• Assistance in Real Estate Broker Selection and Monitoring.
• Assistance in Real Estate Facilities Management and Planning.
• Evaluation of Competitiveness of Lease Terms.

Broker and Property Management Support

• Transaction Facilitation.
• Assistance in Preparing Offering Packages
• Assistance in Re-Positioning Existing Properties
• Landlord/Tenant Dispute Resolution

Takeover Planning

One area often overlooked during an acquisition is proper consideration of the actual takeover or possession. For a complex property, or geographically-dispersed portfolio, takeover planning is a major consideration.

The takeover is equivalent to a pre-opening program for a newly-built property. For many takeovers following an acquisition, the difficulty is the lack of any operating history with which to confirm certain direction to on-site property personnel. The level of detail ranges from what move-in package to provide new apartment tenants, to whenever the property tax assessments should challenged for a current year.

In some cases, a property takeover will be a high-profile undertaking with a local community. Proper conduct of a takeover, especially with local governmental and media relations, can be a key factor in stabilizing a property for a successful long-term hold.

Workout Services

The Alta Partners can provide aggressive and hands-on assistance in workouts of distressed properties. As real estate consultants, this can take the form of a "hands on" asset management assignment or specific technical studies and support of a client's in-house efforts.

The scope and emphasis of the work product will vary based on the results of Alta’s initial Property Diagnostic Audit, or client-approved Asset or Portfolio Business Plan. As real estate consultants on behalf of ownership, some of the items that may be included in a particular asset workout plan include:

Property Inspection

• Deferred maintenance needs
• Capital improvements
• Entitlement audit
• Marketability assessment
• Physical improvement plan

Competitive Market Survey

• Occupancy studies
• Competitive property review
• Market supply / demand

Business Plan Review

• Plan documentation review
• Plan viability

Property Operations

• Property management reviews
• Operations reporting
• Marketing audit
• Revised marketing plan
• Construction audits
• Expense pass-through audits
• Lease reviews - Operational redirection

Deal Restructuring

• Management agreements
• Debt restructuring potential
• Loan modification plans
• Equity infusions / restructuring

Alternatives Review / Property Re-Use

• Land use, zoning modifications
• Disposition alternatives
• Build-out, development alternatives

Property Management

The Alta Partners provides comprehensive project management services, from the point of initial concept, through development and/or fabrication, to the point that operations or asset management begins. As project management consultants we are experienced with many types of real estate product, as well as specialized management of creative conceptions, licensing, and other specialized programs.

Our project management capabilities include both oversight and review services specifically structured to support the owners of commercial, retail, institutional recreational and industrial properties. The Alta Partners can direct every step of the project from selecting a site and preparing a budget to hiring contractors, vendors and consultants.

Comprehensive project management is essential in today's complex business environment. For many companies, retaining (or outsourcing) a project to a specialized project management consultant is a form of risk management and a means to ensure the success of a capital investment project. Project management is not only about managing process - it is about making decisions as well. Having an independent consultant on board to assist an owner with process, mitigating risks, and decision-making, is a practical means to implementing projects today.

Our approach as project management consultants to each client project is straight-forward – “Your Success is our Success” with the owner. We take responsibility at every stage.

As project managers, we have the technical skills, practical experience and commercial awareness to ensure that each project receives the careful person attention it requires. We have worked in connection with a varied array of built places - from land development and residential construction, to hotel, retail-entertainment, recreation, and themed attractions.

Project management demands a free flow of communication with and among project team members, and internal and external project stakeholders. The project team needs frequent information from each of its team members to complete and improve the project and to understand the needs and expectations of the project's customers. Project communication management involves project communication planning, information distribution, reporting performance and formal project close-out.

The Alta Partners’ primary focus is providing the experience and technical expertise to lead and manage your project team in fulfillment of the financial, schedule and program goals for your project. As your project manager with a depth of experience and broad expertise, we proactively identify and control the risks and liabilities inherent in the planning, design and construction of real estate projects including land development, new construction, historic rehabilitation, adaptive re-use, renovation and expansion.

Development Management

The Alta Partners is experienced as a development manager for client projects, spanning land development, recreation facilities, commercial properties, and master planned communities.

Renovation Programs

For some renovation programs, having a program manager or "Owner's Rep" is a useful device for owners. An Owner's Rep can facilitate value-engineering and alternative approaches that may be outside the straight-forward agendas and expertise of general contractors and other vendors.

Systems Analysis

The Alta Partners works with municipalities, and private or voluntary agencies to compare the inputs and outputs of their various components to derive measures of effectiveness, point out relative efficiencies and effectiveness, and propose adjustments.

Systems Analysis was developed by the RAND Corporation to organize the analysis of rates and volumes of information and materials in various processes of a business, institution, or other entity. It was derived from the “flow analysis” used in developing computer programs connecting programs in various parts of an institution.

Proposed Analysis

The Alta Partners can help entities to review their planning, programming, and budgeting systems in terms of final and interdependent goals. Alta helps its clients by providing an essential evaluation of functions related to their core services. Keeping to the very essentials of how and why programs are formed, a systems analysis can uncover the relative effectiveness of programs in meeting objectives and propose ways to improve their effectiveness. An outside “overlook” is necessary to see things in a new light, but internal management is necessary to set objectives and guide the development of alternative strategies and processes.

Economic Development

The Alta Partners works with municipalities, regional/economic development agencies, and other government and voluntary development agencies to evaluate and propose changes. Alta can bring greater effectiveness to these groups in better structures, more jobs, meeting particular needs, and, providing economic and cultural trends.

Economic development can be generally defined for a municipality as improving the economic flows of people, materials, information, and other resources to aid the “economic equilibrium system” of a given region. This systems approach to economic development of a region provides a format or structure with which to analyze problems and synthesize improvements.

A systemic analysis allows a municipality to deal with the many dynamic factors that interact with each other in trying to improve economic development. For instance, if a municipality provides too many tax incentives to attract a new business to the area, it could cause serious revenue problems in the future. As another example, building too much municipal infrastructure before there is enough tax revenue to maintain needed social services could cause serious unbalances in the budget package. In short, economic development must consider not only interactions among programs, but also the impact on people and the economic future of the municipality.

Organizational Studies

The Alta Partners helps organizations to review and adjust goals, processes, strategies, and measures related to internal and external environments. Organizational studies are usually done after a general systems analysis or when an organization only wants help in doing a limited analysis of just one department or in reviewing several departments in just one way.

Organizational studies address the efficiencies and/or effectiveness’s of organizations programs or groups of programs. Alta can work with private/public companies and municipal entities in improving operations and results. Alta also has access to expert associates on every aspect of operational affairs.

Alta uses the latest management techniques in proposing organizational improvements. Besides fully understanding the concepts of reengineering, ethics, human resource structuring, cost-effectiveness, and value-based and results-oriented analysis, Alta has a lawyer, land engineer, planner/developers, an environmental specialist, finance experts, systems analyst, a former city manager, a vice mayor, several seasoned realtors and developers, among its staff and associates.

Municipal Consulting

Alta provides full service solutions related to municipal-based real estate projects. The Alta team provides a high level of expertise to assist municipalities in complex transactions.

• Strategic Planning
• Highest & Best Use Analyses
• Site Selection
• Broker and Property Management Support
• Feasibility Studies
• Property Management
• Takeover Planning
• Land Use Consulting
• Workout Services

Alta has developed a seasoned real estate team that will work with municipalities in every facet of brokerage services and real estate project management.

Investment Fund

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Land Use Consulting

Please use this form to contact us for more information on our Land Use Consulting Services

Transportation Planning

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Right-of-Way-Services

• Right of Way Acquisition and Negotiating
• Right of Way Planning & Strategy
• Route & Site Selection
• Feasibility Studies
• Cost Estimating/Economic Forecasting
• Due Diligence
• Title/Abstract Research & Analysis
• Survey Permission & Notification
• Non-Environmental Permitting
• Landowner /Stakeholder Meetings
• Residential & Commercial Relocation Planning and Assistance
• Land Records Management
• Turnkey Project Management
• Fee Land Management
• Data Management
• Document Imaging and Conversion of Land and Right of Way Records
• Pipeline Integrity Services
• Right of Way Mapping
• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
• Damage Claims & Settlements
• Expert Witness & Litigation Support Services