DBIA panel of leaders shares lessons learned

The final session of the Regional DBIA Virtual Conference Week wrapped up last week, featuring a panel of local leaders who shared lessons learned over their careers.

Panelists included Maria Maffry, principal with BNIM; Andy Heitmann, vice president & operations manager with Turner Construction; Robert D. Regnier, executive chairman and CEO of Bank of Blue Valley; Dave Harrison, president of VanTrust Real Estate; and Mike Orth, executive vice president with Black & Veatch.

Here are the key take-ways from the panel discussion:

1.    Forge Your Own Path

Your career consumes more than 40+ hours of your week. Find something you enjoy. Don’t be afraid to forge your own path.

Robert Reigner talked about the opportunity to work for his dad developing Johnson County, but instead he chose to take a job in banking. His boss mentored him to find out what made him happy.

“Look for people and companies you respect. Promoting from within is important. When you find that, apply yourself and show them what you can do. I started my career as a safe deposit box clerk and left an executive officer," Reigner said.

“Working hard can be a head scratcher when people become billionaires by creating an app, but don’t underestimate hard work. Work hard, work smart and take risks early," Dave Harrison said.

2.    Find Opportunities from Within

Learn and understand your company’s why. From there, your personal skills and creativity can help you provide value to your organization in a unique way.

Maria Maffry joined BNIM in its infancy and was fortunate to know B, N, I and M. This early involvement gave her a special connection with the company’s purpose and culture.

“Thirty years ago, (a) chief business development officer did not exist. Let alone a non-architect leading in that way. The company allowed me to grow and explore. I was able to find opportunities in my organization and craft my role around that. As the firm grew, I was able to grow,” Maffry said.

“COVID has really challenged company culture. We’re all getting really good at Zoom calls, but it takes a toll on culture and collaboration," Harrison said.

The more we empower people to bring their unique skills to the table the more growth we can expect. Those people looking for opportunities to grow within the organization are people we can groom as our replacements.

3.    Failure Is Part Of Innovation

People don’t like to talk about failure. As an industry, we’re usually conservative when it comes to risk, but failure is natural and important.

“I had a boss move on to start another office. As a result, I was thrown into a project. It was probably too early, but I had a great safety net. I learned a valuable lesson to surround myself with a strong team. Lean in to discomfort and always be learning,” Mike Orth said. 

“Early on it’s easy to be a sponge. There is a point in your career where you think you know everything. That’s where adversity finds you. But that is a learning opportunity – it humbles you. How you react to it tells you a lot about yourself," said Andy Heitmann.

It’s important as leaders to be humble and vulnerable. We all have something to learn.

In closing, the panel was asked to address the importance of civic involvement in their careers. Each panelist noted how it contributed to their professional and personal growth and helped them see the needs in their community.

“Do your best to the leave the world better than you found it," said Reigner.

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The next KC-DBIA event is the Annual Golf Tourney on Sept. 16, 2020 at Shoal Creek Golf Course in Kansas City, Mo.

This week’s MWM Broker Spotlight shines a light on Monica Enloe with Clemons Real Estate

RT (Rachel Treanor):  What was your lightbulb moment to get into commercial real estate?

ME (Monica Enloe): Prior to entering real estate, I spent almost 15 years doing philanthropic fundraising. My light bulb moment was looking around the board room one day and realizing that the people who consistently showed up with both time and money were in Commercial Real Estate. After digging in a bit, I realized that the flexibility and earning potential were worth the risk of leaving a stable career to pursue a new path. 

RT: Who is your mentor and why?

ME: I'm fortunate to have landed with Clemons Real Estate and work with Audrey Navarro. Not only is she incredibly knowledgeable about real estate, the collaborative and flexible approach to structuring deals has taught me a lot. I've also been fortunate to meet several fabulous collaborators and mentors through WIRED (Women in Real Estate Development) such as Sheryl Vickers, Joanna Shaver and Holly Mills —all of whom have helped me talk through challenges and brainstormed solutions. 

RT: Who do you mentor?

ME: I mentor small businesses on the leasing process. Many of them are not familiar with the difference between a residential and commercial lease in terms of their responsibility as a tenant. It is so important to share this information up front so expectations are managed and there is no confusion and unexpected costs later.

RT: What gets you excited to get to work every day?

ME: There are no days that are the same. Ultimately, I love that I feel like I am helping people make their dreams come to life. Whether it’s achieving wealth through passive income, buying a building for a growing business, or opening a retail store they’ve dreamed of for years—it’s exciting to be part of the process.

RT: What keeps you up at night about commercial real estate?

MT: From a micro-perspective, there are so many details that need to be overseen and taken care of to ensure the transaction goes smoothly with no surprises (which there always are!). On the macro level, our uncertain times causes stress around how the market will shift and how I can be nimble and flexible enough to shift with it and have consistent income for my family.

RT: Tell us about your current projects.

MT: My favorite projects right now are directly related to creating more walkable districts in the urban core. Union Hill is one of my favorite neighborhoods in KC and it has been exciting to add tenants like Oh! Café and Mayweather Fitness to the mix with more coming soon. I am also working on several projects on Troost and can’t wait to see them come to life. It’s a fabulous corridor with plans to hosts a mix of nonprofits, museums, restaurants, offices, and apartments. Main Street is another passion project with the street car expansion coming soon. I have several available spaces for lease that would be ideal for hair/nail salons, retail, dry cleaners, arts, and fitness users- -the possibilities are endless with the diversity of spaces available including in the newly renovated Monarch and Netherlands buildings at 39th and Main.

RT: What deal do you wish for in your future portfolio?

ME: I’d love to bring a new grocery store to midtown and have several properties that would be perfect for it!

RT: What leads do you look for?

ME: There are two categories of leads I focus on. First are building owners who want to reposition their buildings either to sell or to find new and fresh tenants. I love old buildings and watching them come back to life with historically relevant renovations is exciting. Second, are buyers and tenants with creative vision. Having clients that share my love for historic buildings but are more creative than me is entertaining and fuels my motivation to get the deal done.

RT: How can prospects contact you for more information?

ME: Connect with me on LinkedIn—I consistently post about local real estate topics and love to connect with others in the industry. Or reach out via email to set up a coffee: monica@clemonsrealestate.com

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Staying true to MetroWire Media’s focus on all things commercial real estate, we have added this as a new, feature column - MWM's BROKER SPOTLIGHT. The goal is to provide our readers with direct insight to Kansas City’s brightest, up-and-coming CRE brokers. Discover the true brains behind the build - including their professional focus, career paths, future plans, goals and more.

Know a broker worthy of the Broker Spotlight? Send details to kcnews@metrowiremedia.com.

Lee's Summit Medical Center expands campus, services

Cushman & Wakefield’s Andrew Greene and Leonard Popplewell hosted a broker tour of the newly constructed 52,000-SF medical office building this week, located on the campus of the Lee’s Summit Medical Center in Lee's Summit, Mo.

Developed and owned by Healthpeak Properties, Inc. of Franklin Tenn., HCA-Lee’s Summit Medical Center’s physicians’ groups will occupy the first and third floors and begin seeing patients in September 2020.

Kansas City medical office brokers toured the building's second floor, which includes 17,000 SF available for lease, a 1,500-SF spec suite and 5,000 SF for lease on the third floor.

“This multimillion dollar expansion represents an investment in the high-quality, comprehensive specialty care that we are committed to providing our community. It will allow Lee’s Summit Medical Center to expand the services we offer to the area we serve. It is yet another milestone in our continued growth within the community by bringing in more medical specialties while allowing us to provide space for existing specialties to grow," said John McDonald, Lee’s Summit Medical Center’s president.

Owner/developer Healthpeak Properties also owns medical office buildings on the campuses of Centerpoint Medical Center in Indeoendence, Mo. and Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park, Kan.

What's in store for Hunt Midwest's StorTropolis?

Hunt Midwest continues to expand StorTropolis, its brand of state-of-the-art, climate controlled self-storage facilities throughout the Kansas City metro.

The developer has opened a 138,000-SF facility at 3140 Northwest Jefferson Street in Blue Springs, Mo. and begun construction on its fifth area StorTropolis location on a five-acre site near K-10 and Woodland Road in Lenexa, Kan.

Hunt Midwest entered the self-storage development industry in 2018 and, in partnership with Strickland Construction, has successfully built and opened three additional StorTropolis facilities – StorTropolis Brighton and StorTropolis Tiffany Springs in Kansas City, Mo; and StorTropolis Shawnee in Shawnee, Kan.

“Increasing demand for high-quality self-storage units fueled by a demographically diverse customer base presented the ideal opportunity for Hunt Midwest to invest in the resilient and fast-growing self-storage industry,” said Doug Coleman, vice president of acquisitions and investments for Hunt Midwest.

Each three-story StorTropolis building ranges in size from 104,000 - 138,000 SF and offers 580 - 760 climate-controlled storage units.

StorTropolis also offers various sized units, from five-feet by five-feet to ten-feet by thirty-feet, in addition to enclosed parking units large enough to accommodate RV storage. They feature a clean, secured environment with drive-through access to fully enclosed, indoor loading and unloading areas; elevators; and gated storage entry accessible 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

The latest technology is used to monitor temperature and humidity levels of storage buildings and provides 24-hour video surveillance throughout the property.

StorTropolis emerged as an industry leader in 2018 when it became the first facility in the metro to offer contactless unit rental. Its interactive website allows customers to view available units, compare pricing, and complete the leasing process with the click of a button.

All locations include an onsite leasing office open six days a week for customers to lease units via phone or in-person. For added convenience, a customer service call center is also available 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

StorTropolis is operated by Storage Asset Management (SAM), a privately owned, third party management company that specializes in self-storage.

“We’re thrilled to provide leasing and property management services for StorTropolis locations throughout the metro,” said Melissa Stiles, vice president of marketing and sales for SAM.

“These high-quality facilities feature a variety of self-storage solutions and modern amenities in a climate controlled atmosphere that customers are looking for. Our knowledgeable onsite property managers are committed to providing StorTropolis patrons the highest level of customer service and are dedicated to getting involved and giving back to the local community,” Stiles said.

In addition to the opening of StorTropolis Blue Springs, StorTropolis Lenexa is anticipated to open summer 2021. The 111,000-SF facility will offer 760 storage units, including 15 enclosed parking units for RV storage.