First Evergreen Properties, LLC (First Evergreen) is a real estate investment and advisory firm that provides equity investment and a broad range of advisory services targeted to the real estate industry. This service includes asset management, land entitlement and rezoning, project development, and project financing for commercial and residential real estate. Lee Goldmeier and Daniel Cohen are the principals of First Evergreen, whom along with its support staff, that includes senior property and construction managers, development directors, and investment analyst, possess the hands on experience, track record, industry relationships and creativity to successfully enhance the values of assets under ownership and management. First Evergreen currently maintains offices in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida.

Since 1996, First Evergreen has sponsored investments in properties located in New York City, greater suburban Philadelphia, New Jersey, southern Connecticut, south Florida and the Caribbean markets. Twenty-four properties (primarily office buildings, shopping centers, and hotels) totaling over 2.5 million square feet with a market value of over $350,000,000 were acquired. After a focused repositioning, 15 of these properties were sold for an average internal rate of return of 25%. The existing properties in the portfolio continue to provide strong yields to investors while management activities have kept occupancies at high levels, thus supporting increased values of these assets.

Currently, First Evergreen is completing a multi-year upgrade and re-merchandising of a south Florida shopping center, re-tenanting two office parks and developing a medical building in Newtown, PA, which is planned to commence construction in 2010. Also in Newtown, First Evergreen has completed a conversion and upgrade of a mixed use office/lab property to a class-A office building. A new fund has been created for the purpose of investing in properties to be held and promoted for future development, with four fully entitled properties slated to be transferred into the fund.

Advisory Services

First Evergreen periodically provides real estate advisory services to property owners and major real estate companies on a contract basis. As part of these services, First Evergreen has provided input on modifying a property’s use, advising on improvements and renovations required, representing ownership on lease negotiations, consulting and owner liaison on debt and equity financing and recommendations and implementation of processes to improve the timeliness and accuracy of rent billings. Some representative projects include:

• Renovated, re-tenanted and financed a 450,000 square foot office park. A tax deferred sale of the property to a REIT was negotiated and consummated.
• Appointed asset manager on a 15 building portfolio of class-A office buildings that required a major leasing and repositioning effort. Through our efforts, the portfolio was successfully sold at the end of the assignment.
• In two separate transactions, retained by the building tenant to provide analysis on cash flows, verification of operating costs and negotiated the purchase price and financing of their buildings.
• Oversaw the development of the purchase and conversion of an inner city factory building to residential condominiums. After working with the developer on the plans and costs estimates, we determined through independent pricing that the preliminary budget was materially understated for the work required and the project clearly exceeded the developer’s expertise level. We recommended that the equity partners not start the project. In follow up, the developer attempted the project with a different group that did not complete the project as a result of cost over-runs and construction violations.
• Presently acting as purchasing partner and advisor to an international corporation with regard to their real estate acquisitions, holdings and sales. One current holding is the Colgate-Palmolive facility located in Clarksville, IN, directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, KY. This facility consists of over 971,600 square feet of industrial and office space and is situated on over 52 acres of land. The property was recently vacated by Colgate-Palmolive and is being positioned as a redevelopment site to be parceled out and sold to local developers. Since purchasing the facility on March 31, 2009, First Evergreen has been overseeing the transition to market while maintaining the property.