SOLD – 226 Hyatt St, Gaffney, SC

Lyons Industrial Properties Announces a 33,241 SF Industrial Sale…16 YEARS In The Making!

A Case Study in Persistence

In early 2008, Bobby Lyons, CCIM, SIOR found out that South Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation (SCVRD), in affiliation with Daimler/Freightliner in Gaffney, was looking for a new facility. At that time, the owner of the building located at 226 Hyatt Street in Gaffney, SC had shut down their operations and the building they operated in was coming vacant. Bobby successfully negotiated a deal between the two parties which was finally signed in November of 2008. As you can imagine, dealing with government agencies can be challenging…this deal was no exception. Because of a cancellation clause in the lease that the State is required to have in their legal agreements, a lump sum leasing fee was out of the question. Bobby negotiated with the landlord and agreed to smaller, quarterly leasing fees over the next 3 years for his work on the project.

In late 2011, the lease was expiring, and negotiations again ensued between the owner and SCVRD. Improvements to the property were necessary to secure this new lease with the State. These negotiations were successful and another 3 year lease was struck between the parties. For the next 3 years, again, smaller quarterly commission checks were earned by Bobby and his company.

Wash, rinse, and repeat and SCVRD ended up staying in the building for a total of 11 years.

Bobby, after over a decade of forming a solid relationship with the landlord, represented them in putting the property on the market in late 2018 for lease. At this time, the owners did not want to sell the property. With Bobby’s assistance, the owners underwent extensive renovations to the interior and exterior of the building in order to have a better chance at securing a tenant. Bobby’s marketing efforts were successful in landing Hess Lighting as the new tenant. Hess Lighting is a German based manufacturer of outdoor lighting fixtures and already had a facility on Hyatt Street in Gaffney. They needed a warehouse and 226 Hyatt St. worked perfectly for them. Hess signed a 3 year lease and then renewed the lease for another 3 years in 2022.

In 2023, the owners decided it was time to sell the property. They ultimately hired Lyons Industrial Properties/Lyons Auction Group to market and sell the property utilizing the accelerated sale method…a real estate auction. Bobby brought on Luke Lyons and Danny Butters – Industrial Advisor to assist with the extensive marketing campaign of bringing this property to auction which is no small task.

With the fact that we only had about 2 years left on the lease with Hess, a key to the success of the auction was having a new 5 year lease in place. This was a necessity to get interest from the investment market in our building. So negotiations began with Hess on trading a combination of tenant improvement money and free rent in exchange for a new 5 year lease. Success! A new 5 year lease was now in place which was the key to the success of the auction.

Extensive auction marketing ensued which ultimately secured 4 sealed bid offers on the property. The top bid was accepted and a Purchase and Sale Agreement was executed. Due to some previous environmental issue with the property, a Non-Responsible Party Voluntary Cleanup Contract (NRP-VCC) with South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) was needed prior to closing. This gives the new buyer full protection against any liability of past environmental conditions. This was needed in order for any buyer to purchase this property. This SCDHEC contract took about 75 days to get put in place and, upon acquiring this, the buyer closed on the property on May 17th, 2024.

Bobby’s Lessons:

– Client trust and loyalty does not happen overnight. Many times it takes years, sometimes decades, of building a solid relationship with your client where trust is earned.

-Projects can be a lot of work with smaller commissions at first. But the dedication to a client’s needs and doing what is best for them can lead to big commissions down the road when the property finally sells. Stay in it for the long haul and be the trusted advisor!

-Bring on partners to enhance a project. Luke Lyons and Danny Butters were amazing partners. They brought new thoughts, ideas, and insights to the auction campaign which ultimately enhanced the value to our client.

Congratulations to Bobby Lyons, Luke Lyons, and Danny Butters on this incredible sale…16 Years in the Making!!

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