Real Estate Consulting

» Strategic Real Estate Planning
It is a given that transportation, facility expansion, and conveyance programs are land-based, covering wide swaths of geography. At TranSystems we recognize real estate as the strategic asset it is. It commits a company to a property for a period of time and carries implications for workflow, logistics flow, workforce, balance sheet, income statement, tax base, regulatory environment, government and public relations exposure. We examine the factors affecting the business as a whole, and work to project what that client’s business needs are likely to be in the near and medium term. We then use this to develop comprehensive real estate plans that are flexible and which can respond to the needs of a dynamic business. Our strategic real estate practice concentrates on providing direct services, consulting analyses, and trusted business counsel to entities across the public and private sector. We serve decision-makers at both the operational and executive level. The integration of our services across both the advisory and built environments provides thoroughness to our solutions, unmatched by competitors in either the infrastructure or the real estate or management consulting industries.

» Program/Project Management
TranSystems can develop and run program management efforts for a wide variety of property-related efforts. A program management office affords the client a single point of contact to manage the process throughout. This office coordinates (and performs in selected cases) the efforts of contractors and others as they work to meet the client’s goals. Managed activities can include planning, site selection, property due diligence, negotiation, acquisition, permitting, developer recommendation and selection, architecture and engineering and construction management tasks. TranSystems’ unique understanding of the intersection between real estate and development allows us to provide a turn-key solution for these tasks; it is our belief that the aforementioned expertise will result in significant short-term and long-term savings to the client. Furthermore, our relationships with, and knowledge of, real estate and transportation providers in multiple roles allows us to leverage skills across multiple boundaries– making sure that decisions are made within the context of your overall goals.

» Right-of-Way Services
Our services include the full range of right-of-way acquisition services, including program and project management, title research, negotiations, appraisals/value analysis, right-of-way cost estimating, relocation assistance, property management and document recording.

» Property Redevelopment and Repositioning
We help our clients to identify the space that they currently operate and proactively identify properties which may not meet future requirements, that are underutilized, or that may no longer be required. We work with both our private and government sector clients to identify these valuable hidden gems and turn them into real assets. We look at the site and location strengths and weaknesses and develop positioning plans that leverage our own knowledge of what companies are looking for. We also provide strategies for leveraging state and local programs to address infrastructure, remediation, marketing, or other improvement measures.

» Site Selection Services
While the real estate maxim of “location, location, location” oversimplifies the concept, choosing the right site for a manufacturing plant, warehouse, or intermodal yard involves much more than just finding the a piece of land or building at the cheapest price. Our multi-disciplinary team offers strategic location services that match your business needs to configurations and communities which will suit you long-term. Through our deep experience in management consulting, transportation, infrastructure and engineering, we have developed the expertise needed to evaluate how the company’s business needs translate to needs for real estate, labor, and other inputs and use these to determine community and site strengths and weakness, and in developing use strategies. We maintain deep relationships with state and local government and development agencies nationally and internationally. This allows to understand business, infrastructure, labor, and development trends as they develop and to provide a holistic, real-time view of what it means to do business across various locations. It also gives us insight into credit and grant programs that are available or which can be negotiated in each location. We plan for the total business needs of the client, not just the issue of real estate selection. We consider both the situation as it is now and how it may change going forward. Our goal is to help you find locations in which your company can find enduring success.

» Labor and Business Market Analysis
In addition to validating the built environment, we provide our clients with valuable insight and information on other key locationally-dependent inputs to their business. The availability, quality, and cost of key talent can either make or break a location, as can the overall business environment. In addition to collecting objective, published data on the overall metropolitan area, we perform detailed on-site community investigations to refine market information and identify other subtleties that simply cannot be represented in databases. We identify the story behind, driving, and hidden in the number to give our clients key insights on hiring trends, best practices, key local decision makers, and other business-critical dynamics.

» Fiscal Feasibility Analysis
As a component of our comprehensive real estate decision support approach, we work with our clients to develop comparative cost projections inclusive of capital and one-time costs for establishing operations, recurring occupancy and labor expenses, logistics costs, and contingency expenses. Our detailed knowledge of real estate, labor, construction, and supply chain inputs allows us to build a complete picture of the relative costs involved in each scenario or option. We also use this knowledge in discussions with state and local governments to back up and position our discussions for incentives, grants, and permitting assistance.

» Real Estate Deal Advisory
The best facility in the best location still does not provide the best value if the financial terms don’t match the company’s goals. Each deal can carry beneficial or detrimental effects for the company with regards to financial statements, tax treatment, and future flexibility. We closely examine the terms of any facility or site options presented to our clients to ensure that these match our clients’ needs for price, time, and terms. We assist our clients in analyzing, negotiating and structuring leases, purchases, easements, and options across property types.

» Supply Chain Analysis
TranSystems brings integrated consulting services to the manufacturer, retail, intermediary and distributor segments of the supply chain at both the strategic and facility level. This expertise is an integral part of our real estate consulting approach, allowing us to incorporate insight on preferred modes and vendors, logistics fault lines, choke points, and key efficiencies into overall real estate strategies and tactical plans. Our best-of-breed design, management, and consulting talent and decision-making tools give us an unmatched ability to identify and meet your needs for solutions across the entire set of strategic, design, technical, and operational issues facing your industry today.

» Incentives Negotiations
Location decisions carry implications that outlive the durations of most incentive packages. As a result, business basics need to drive any site selection decision. Nonetheless, economic incentives can help address specific site deficiencies or can help companies address one-time cost barriers to change. These important programs can include:
• Tax concessions or exemptions
• Loans and loan guarantees
• Employee tax credits
• Wage subsidies
• Land subsidies or grants
• Cash grants
• Employee training grants
• Property tax abatements
• Utility rate reductions
• Service fee reduction or exemptions
• Infrastructure grants
• Enterprise Zones
• Foreign Trade Zones (FTZ)
• Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
• Inventory tax reduction
• Expedited permitting and approvals TranSystems maintains strong relationships with state and local agencies across the nation and internationally. We assist our clients to negotiate and implement incentives packages that reflect their needs in making these crucial investments.

» Economic Development
Our deep experience in helping corporate clients to address their real estate and location needs gives us an extraordinary knowledge base from which to assist national, state, and local governments in their economic development and business attraction efforts. We provide competitiveness assessment, marketing assistance, property (re)positioning, and incentives program design services. As a result, we help communities from diagnosis to goal setting and on into program development and implementation.