Say “Yes” to the Move

Marilyn renovated an historic house to open the Central Avenue Bistro. Renovating the old hospital for the county government makes just as much sense. Photo by Steve Young

We all support the renovation and move. Photo by Steve Young

No medical provider is interested in using the old hospital. In fact, given its legal history, it would be very difficult, if not impossible, to get the campus relicensed as a hospital. Redeveloping the buildings for the county government is the best use of this property.

This post originally appeared on the Hermit Haus Redevelopment blog on 2020-03-20.

You’re gonna ease my mind, put me there on time

And keep rollin’ on

— Hank Snow

The other day, a group of business leaders and government officials gathered at the Central Avenue Bistro to support Judge Steve Young’s project to move the county government out of several buildings in downtown Cameron and into the old hospital after it’s renovated.

This move will be good for Cameron and Milam County for a number of reasons.

It saves the old hospital, giving it new life. Since there are currently no other redevelopment plans for the old hospital in place, the banks that own the property were going to tear it down. There are no other plans on the table. The county can renovate and move into the facility, or the banks will tear it down. I tried to find investors to repurpose the building for other purposes. Nobody was interested.

Renovating the old hospital gives the county a fresh new set of offices at a fraction of the price of new construction. It also gives us the opportunity to redevelop the downtown buildings the county currently occupies. Finding investors and capital to redevelop individual buildings is much easier than finding investors who are willing to watch millions of dollars sit idly for at least a year or two—or more—while we redevelop and repurpose the old hospital for other use. The risk to each investor is lower because the individual projects are more manageable, both financially and logistically.

Finally, getting the county out of downtown gives the city the opportunity to plan how to redevelop the area. We’ve all seen the results of unplanned growth. It’s usually ugly and often unsustainable. The county’s dominance of downtown real estate has actually stifled Cameron’s development. By removing that impediment and enabling the city to decide how we want Cameron to grow, we can gently nudge investment in the way that provides the most benefit to the community.

I urge everyone to support Judge Young in moving Milam County and Cameron forward with this project. It will be good for everyone.

See, I was there with my Moving Milam Forward pin on my hat, even if I didn’t get the plaid memo. Photo by Steve Young

To that point, I want to address a misconception I have heard raised to this project. Some people in other parts of the county have asked why they should pay to improve Cameron. Although tax money will be used to renovate the old hospital for the county’s use and Cameron will benefit from that renovation, so will all parts of the county. From the numbers I’ve seen, the hospital renovation is much less expensive that the cost of bringing all the buildings the county currently occupies into compliance with state codes. Part of that saving arises from the fact that it is always less expensive to renovate an empty building than an occupied one.

And the funds to renovate the buildings downtown will come from individual investors, not from tax funds. That means county money is only going to county use, just as it would if the county offices stayed where they are. We are just spending less money for better, healthier facilities. Please say yes to helping Judge Young move Milam County forward.

A Joint Venture in San Antonio?

Yes, there are two dumpsters in front of the house. The GC for this project actually filled and hauled off three dumpsters before she could safely start work.

A successful joint venture is a win-win.

This post originally appeared on the Hermit Haus Redevelopment website on 2016-05-17.

Yes, we work anywhere we can find the right deal. Even as far away as San Antonio—where the newest deal brought to us by our friend and joint venturer Larry is located.

St. John’s house isn’t really a hoarder house. It’s just been very neglected for a very long time. It may be the dirtiest house we’ve attempted to redevelop to date. I’m glad Larry is taking the lead on this one.

I should have more pictures later this week when I go to see it first hand for the first time.

This house is in an area that is undergoing substantial gentrification. Several houses with a few blocks and on the same street have been bulldozed to make room for McMansions. We won’t go that far with this house, but the house won’t be recognizably the same when we’re done.

So What Is a Joint Venture Any Way?

Simply put, a joint venture is a contractual arrangement between two or more entities (people, corporations, or some combination) to undertake a specific project through a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA). The JVA specifies how much each entity is responsible for the project in terms of money, time, or effort. In real estate redevelopment or construction, joint ventures often enable the venturers to pursue more or different deals than they could on their own.

In this case, the joint venture is between Hermit Haus Redevelopment, LLC and Andress & Three, LLC.

When Hermit Haus enters into a joint venture with another company, we always spell out who is responsible for managing the project and who is responsible for managing the money. Since there is considerable overlap between these two responsibilities, we end up with some level of checks and balances.

We split the costs and rewards evenly between the venturers. The JVA states that the money manager has to publish state of the venture reports at least once a month. That way the venturers all have an opportunity to see where the money is going and with more eyes, the project, hopefully, has a better chance of success.

Is joint venturing with other investors the way to go for you? Maybe. There are a lot of considerations, and only you can decide for you. And as with any legally binding contract, have your own lawyer look over the contracts before signing.

Raising the Roof

That gap shows how much the house was raised.

That’s one of the big old beams poking out!

Foundation in process

This post originally appeared on the Hermit Haus Redevelopment website on 2015-12-15. This is Sue Ann’s post. I’m including it here because it talks about one of our personal projects, and I wish I had written it.

Between (among?) all of us, we’ve done a fair number of remodels and rehabs. However, the one we are currently working on, Villa Park, has to be unique. We are literally having to raise the roof on this house!

We knew all about the drainage issues (see our post on November 25), so we knew we’d have to do something. Turns out we have had to completely remove the foundation, which was crumbling, and put in a nice, new up-to-code one. And for that to happen, the house had to be 8 inches taller! Take that, poor drainage!

This required some engineering consultation and careful planning. They literally had to cut the house horizontally and prop it up, then reinforce it so that it will be stable (and meet code, cause we’re in Austin and they care! We also don’t want it falling down on people.) The gap in the photo at left shows how much higher the house is now. The one at right shows the beam, and what has to be repaired on the exterior for it to look like a real dwelling again.

Once the house was all stable and the right height, a great deal of work was done to create a new, stable foundation. All the pipes for the plumbing were put in first. Road base and other material was placed at the bottom, plus lots of rebar. The third photo shows that in progress. The vapor barrier has been placed over half of the foundation. Now it’s all covered.

I hear the concrete was poured already, or is being poured as we speak.

The foundation is poured. This is a step.

EDIT: Yes we have a foundation. I’ll put that picture at the end. FINALLY we can turn the shell of a building into a really nice 3 bedroom, two bath dwelling! This is definitely not a rehab that is quick and easy! But, it will last and last, and most importantly cash flow!

PS: Lee or one of the contractors would have a lot more technical detail to add to this. Also, thanks to Tony G. for the photos.