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>> Which is unfortunate because architects work so much at a desk, they don’t have
a lot of time to comingle, and most developers never draw anything, and they’re just out
shaking hands and having lunch with people. That’s where you learn about deals.
Intro: This is The Business of Architecture.
Helping architects conquer the world. And here is your host Enoch Sears.
>> Hey, this is Enoch. Welcome back to The Business of Architecture. The show for solo
architects where each week I bring you an interview exploring how you can leverage your
skills as an architect to make more money so you can forget about paying the bills and
focus on creating great architecture.
>> If you're a residential architect I want to share something with you before we start
the show. I recently bought a great book by master marketer Jay Abraham. I'm holding it
right here in my hands. It's titled "Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got."
Basically, the book talks about how to get the most out of your existing business efforts
without reinventing the wheel, or in other words, if something works for other people,
it will work for you too. You don't have to figure out everything out on your own.
Now, I started thinking of this and how it relates to architects and their websites.
The web is great at connecting people, but most architects aren't getting viable leads
from their websites. But, here's the interesting part - some do. So, the question I asked myself
is: What is it about certain websites that makes them successful? I've spent the past
five years researching this question, and I'm ready to share the results. I found that
there's no silver bullet, but there is a consistent strategy that gets these kinds of results.
There are steps you can take to turn your website in to a lead generator. Now, I'm pretty
pumped about sharing this with you, so I'm hosting a free, private webinar on August
21st of this year, 2013. Space on the webinar is limited. So, if you're interested, head
on over to BusinessOfArchitecture.com/webinar. That's BusinessOfArchitecture.com/webinar
and I'll be outlining the steps so you can get the most out of your website. If you don't
have an existing website, I'll also show you how you can set one up that applies these
principles. Look forward to seeing you on the inside and here's our show.
Welcome, Rob, back to the Business of Architecture.
>> Hello.
>> Yup. Rob Paulus is the owner and Principal of Rob Paulus Architects. Last week, we talked
to him about some of his early projects that he was actually able to be a partner in developing
them. He practices architecture in Tucson, Arizona. Today, we’re going to continue
talking about more of his projects, including some of his most recent work, and get some
insights, and really dig in to the concept of “Architect as Developer.”
>> Great. Sounds good.
>> Yeah. So, we left off a little bit talking about how in the early days of your firm you
got the opportunity to get your hands dirty and build, help an owner build one of their
first projects. Then, you had a practice for about seven years until you had your first
development project walk in the door. Tell me a little about these seven years when
you were growing that practice. What was that experience like?
>> Once again, it was a very small firm. I think we got up to four people at one point.
But, it was all about creating the most detail within these tight budgets that we could really
create, you know, a clear concept.
A lot of it we talked about, and a lot of people say this too, is that the first idea,
typically, is the best idea. Then, you run through a whole gamut of other, kind of, approaches.
Ever since I started, I always come back to that first, initial, intuitive concept. Then,
we have to make it work, and then it gets in to costing.
That’s one thing I learned by building that first project, it’s the intimate relationship
with subcontractors. These guys have done it all their lives, some cases they’re multi-generations,
masons, framers. Rather than seeing that as an adversarial role, we really look at that
like, “Let’s use their experience to create a better project that we could even envision.”
>> How does that collaboration happen? Did you bring them in during the design stages
or are you making changes in the field? How do you get that feedback in the process?
>> I think it’s even like, kind of, a larger university projects that are taking this approach
where you have a concept, and then whether it’s to price it out… We’re currently
doing a really fun house for one of the electrical engineers we worked with, which is really
gratifying. There are a lot of architects in town that are quite skilled and haven’t
come to us, but we’re going to end up building it for him.
So, we tend to say, “Let’s meet with him upfront, and get pricing, and get their ideas
whether it’s excavation…” It’s really finding the local pool of talent that you
can work with, and the like-minded approach to quality. It really has been helpful to
test things out. Sometimes it only takes ten minutes, even a phone call, to figure out
if your idea is going to be in budget, or it’s too wacky, and it's not going to work.
So, we really big on having that happen.
>> Okay. When you talk to these subcontractors at the beginning, are they expecting to be
able to get the project? How does that dynamic work?
>> They did, but we treat them with respect. A lot of these guys, they don’t get calls,
so they’re more than willing to share their secrets and their knowledge, and they think
of it as – if they’re smart, they know that they’re creating this, kind of, colleague
approach to the project.
We obviously have our favorites and we like working with people who realize design is
a dynamic process, and it’s ever changing. We really love guys that can improvise and,
kind of, get it, and make mistakes. Every project has mistakes or issues. For instance,
we didn’t fully think out that… I think, the goal of a good architect is to be able
to improvise and use what you have. Sometimes mistakes are better than what you originally
designed, to be honest.
>> Absolutely. Very cool. So, did you guys act as builders for any of your projects?
>> You see, we’ve been actually building for the last four years, some are smaller
projects. And it’s all based on… If the design is pretty unusual, or materials used,
that it’s actually easier and I think even cost-competitive, if not, less expensive for
our clients if we run it as a construction manager. So, we’re not contractors. Typically,
it involves a client who’s paying cash, or they’ve got enough cash in the deal,
they don’t have a bank, kind of, climbing over their back saying you need to get a bonded
contractor.
It’s really worked out well. We learned more, we were able to adapt, and give the
client a better product. So far the development price we’ve got haven’t been larger to
where we couldn’t do that. >> Okay.
>> Honestly, something I want to do is be able to build even some of the larger projects
myself. With that said, one way is you just team with a contractor. Once again, you’ve
got a relationship where it’s not… What I’m talking about is you’ve got this bag
of money, and architects, I think we have the best skill set to know where to place
it.
So, you know, working back and forth, we want to make sure that we’re not overspending
on any one thing. We want to make sure whether, in our case, if we’re going to put something
in, it has to have some sustainability metric, as well as look good, as well as perform well,
and just create a great space. So, really just kind of this feedback loop of how to
spend that money, which I think architects need to be more involved in. It’s great
to see other architects that are doing that.
>> Interesting. Now, when you guys get involved in the building side of the project, Rob,
how does that affect your liability insurance? Could you tell us a little bit about the behind
the scenes?
>> Well, it’s a construction management contract – a standard AIA contract. So,
the owner is actually the general contractor. He’s signing all the checks, and all of
the subcontractor agreements are signed by them.
>> Okay.
>> I’ve talked to [Inaudible] my insurance agent. At the end of the year, just every
year, you have to renew that, E&O thing. I give them more information. I really want
to just to make sure that they know what we’re doing. It is a concern, but you have to really
make sure that you’re not writing checks with things, then you do become the general
contractor if you’re in that construction management kind of position.
>> Okay.
>> Just really do the research to learn what you can and can’t do.
>> Okay. You do that research through your insurance broker you worked with?
>> Yeah. Just, kind of, reading books out there. But, we always say, if you look at
what a contractor does and then you don’t do that, but you’re just managing. I realized
the AIA contract pretty much spells it out.
>> Okay. Now, being a developer, are there any insurance implications to being a partner
in the development?
>> It’s interesting, and it’s always a thin line because as architects we carry the
E&O insurance. But as a developer, it’s different, whether if it’s a for lease product,
which is quite a lot easier to structure in terms of insurance, or if it’s a for sale
product, specially for residential because it’s all just based on the amount of litigation.
That increases what’s called a Wrap policy. We haven’t looked in to it, but we spent
a ton of money on the Ice House to create this Wrap policy, which is only for a certain
length of time. It’s really a shame because that money could have been used in the project.
So, it’s frustrating, but we live in a litigious society.
>> So, it doesn’t affect your personal insurance, I guess, of your firm, but you just wrap it
in on a project per project basis? Is that how it works?
>> Yeah, you can do it in a lot of different ways. Like this current project we’re looking
at will be a for lease project. So, it’s so much easier to structure that in to that.
But, it’s really getting with the right people, getting with the right insurance agent,
and just putting together a package and the expense.
>> Alright. Thanks for sharing that, Rob. Appreciate that. Sometimes it’s the nitty-gritty
legal stuff is what hangs us up sometimes. We go talk to one insurance agent, they tell
us, “Oh, that can’t be done.” So, we throw up our hands and say, “Well, I guess
it can’t be done.”
>> It’s true, yeah. It’s unfortunate. That’s one downfall with our profession
is that there’s not a lot of sharing. You can buy books on different architects that
are published that have that, but to kind of get the, as you say, the nitty-gritty,
it can be a choice of whether you’d do a project or not. [Inaudible] avenue is available.
Even with the Wrap policy we knew it wasn’t going to be worth much, but we had to do it
because otherwise we wouldn’t get financing.
Development is like that. It’s like I wish there were more concrete ways to say, “Here’s
how you do it,” but it’s so dependent on… Even on banks, we’ve seen these, you
could work with the same bank but two individuals give out loans. One guy might be on your side
and the other guy says, “No.” So, it’s a lot of back and forth maneuvering, always
trying something new even within a financial aspect, which we really learned in the Ice
House. The building was so out of the paradigm of what’s done here locally, whether it
was finding the contractor, the bank. It took a lot of effort.
>> What’s the biggest, the one or two, biggest challenges of that particular project, Rob,
looking back?
>> You know what? Probably. Which we took head on. But, just convincing everyone, whether
it was the city, that we had to rezone it, it wasn’t one or two things, it was just
like everyday saying and having the conviction to know that this is going to work and telling
ourselves that too. You’ve got to push, push, push to make these things happen sometimes.
>> Just stick to it.
>> Yeah. One thing that did happen with the Ice House, our demo crew lit the building
on fire while they were taking it apart. I can laugh at that too now, it wasn’t much
damage. We put a protocol in place, and then literally, a couple of months later, it was
lit on fire again, except it was very serious this time – the fire got up in to the wood
framing. Being an ice and cold storage building they used to use cork. So, instead of rigid
insulation in the top roof, it was actually two layers of two inch, dried out cork with
some asphalt mixture in it.
>> Nice and crispy.
>> Oh, my God. So, it’s on all the news, local news. So, everyone’s there to witness
the burning down of the Ice House. To this day, we see the fire chief is now retired,
but we thank him every time we see him. They were able to control the fire and put it out,
but we lost the decking, but because they were so on it, we didn’t lose any of the
[Inaudible] steel trusses.
I would say that, even just having your own firm as an architect the highs are higher,
the lows are lower, but being a developer, it’s even magnified.
>> Wow. Rob, do you have any personal techniques to deal with stuff like that? Because when
you got that news, I can just only imagine. I would be thinking, “It’s over. I’m
doomed.” All these negative thoughts in the head. How do you deal with that?
>> Actually, who came to our rescue is my wife, Randi, who is really good in front of
a camera. She was eight months pregnant with our daughter. Once we knew that the firemen,
kind of, had it under control… It’s amazing because the next day, someone came in to our
sales office and bought a unit. Everything was, “Man, that thing was on fire and it
didn’t even burn down. It’s got to be a great place.” You know, any good publicity
is good.
>> Yeah, sure. She’s found it and turned it in to a positive, “Look, it’s still
standing.”
>> Yeah.
>> It’s still solid.
>> It worked out. I was not quite thinking that at the time. It’s such an unusual thing.
I mentioned it earlier, but to take on this bigger project as a first development thing,
it was really… Once again, it was all based on a really cool, old building, great bones,
and we bought it for $15 per sq ft.
>> Yeah. The pro forma needed work then.
>> Yeah. After that, it was all just hard work, just keep pushing.
>> Okay. Well, bring us in to the present, a little bit more in the present. I guess
talk a little bit about the Indigo Modern project, how that came about. Just take us
from there and tell us about what you’re doing today.
>> Indigo was, kind of, we were riding high after doing so well with the Ice House, so
we started that project in ’04. We are in the ground in ’06, which meant we were on
a, kind of, downfall. By the time we were selling units, we got out of it. It was a
great project, it won some awards, but it wasn’t nearly as financially successful
as the first two – just from timing.
>> What’s the program of that project?
>> That was eleven free-standing units on a single lot. So, we re-subdivided it.
>> Is it a similar thing with a commercial lot where you got residential? How did you
get that zoned?
>> It required some variance as well as, kind of, an overlay thing. It really was looking
at what the zoning is and how you can maximize it to your best potential. They are actually
fee simples, so we were able to divide the lot in to eleven lots. The twelfth was actually
the pool area in the back.
What was interesting is instead of having cars that drive up in to the units, we created
a shared parking area. So, that was rather unusual, but it worked out really well because
it gave more room for outside areas, and didn’t comingle the car with the units. So, that
went really well.
So, that was, kind of, the last residential project we did. And then, five years ago we
started the cool space you see here. We started five and half years ago, which was across
the street from our Ice House.
I lived at the Ice House, so we took an old auto repair shop. At first, I was going to
try to take the whole space. But, then I went from ten people down to three. So, I took
half of the 4,000 sq ft, and then we leased out the other half to a contractor, which
is a really been a synergistic thing. We do some projects together with him as well. So,
that was, kind of, the last development thing. The last four years or so, we’ve thrown
a lot of things up on the wall, but none of them could really stick.
>> Okay. Well, the project you’re doing right now, Rob, is the 990 Project, that’s
the address, right?
>> Yes.
>> Just to let you know, some people listen to these interviews via podcast and others
watch them on video. So, I encourage those who are watching or even those who are on
the podcast to come on and watch the video because we’re going to have some amazing
images of Rob Paulus’ projects including the one he’s in now.
A very interesting ceiling detail, Rob, since we’re looking at it now, could you just,
and I apologize ahead of time to those consuming this audio-only, but tell us about what you
did with the ceiling in this space.
>> So, I play music, I play violin and bass. Initially we came in and thought we’d just
do some angled piece just to create some interest. But, we then realized we could take this,
you know, curve the ceiling in two directions. It was a very enlightening day when I realized
we could just take plywood and overlap it to where you basically create a sheet of plywood
as long as you want, and it’s all glued together. So, it’s two layers of half inch
to create this ribs that hold this thing up.
So, there’s a keel down the middle. We call it our upside-down leaky boat. Then, every
two feet, there is another rib that was figured out on the computer. We could plot it out,
and then just give it to our contractor, and he cuts it out with a skill saw.
So, he numbered all the pieces, and within a week and a half, we had this whole ceiling
done. It’s also in the adjacent space too. So, part of it is just being a developer,
specially the older buildings where you take material out. Like at the Ice House, we had
tons and tons of material whether it was old 2 X 6s, this old box car lap siding that we
used for fencing. But, as always, how can we take, in this case, a ¼ in plywood and
turn it in to something. So, we had a lot of fun with it.
Some of that effect we didn’t realize is it makes the space feel bigger with this compound
curve. The other thing is it cuts down on noise, since the radius is so large there’s
never any sound deflecting back. So, it’s just a fun detail. Actually, because we develop,
we can think more on our toes how to use these materials on an interesting light.
>> Okay. So, if we could take away the laminated strips, we would see a grid of plywood ribs,
basically? Is that what it looks like?
>> Yeah.
>> [2 ft on 00:52:24] center.
>> It’s held up with a standard cabling that we use for a lay-in ceiling.
>> Okay. I gotcha. Okay. And you know what? I also encourage everyone, Rob, to go look
at those pictures the before and after of the 990 project. When I saw them, I was blown
away. Because you have on your website the before picture, okay, this is metal, buildings,
auto repair shop, it has this funky, sort of, overhang on the top with the metal siding.
And then, you turn it in to just this gorgeous sculpture. It’s still a box, but you put
some details in there.
>> I appreciate that. We jumped around. It went from grease monkeys to [cat 00:53:02]
monkeys. Yeah.
>> The project is, to me, when I looked at that as a young designer, I say, “Okay,
here is someone that went the extra mile with the design and tried to take just not the
easy solution, but how can we add, how can we take the money and our budget and create
something beautiful out of that.” Do you have any tips for getting that mindset of
looking at the details and taking it to the next level?
>> We actually do. Even if it’s just in our heads – how do we take a material and,
once again, even by touching it, we figured out… We thought we’d just put angles up,
then we realized I got a piece of wood and…
>> When you said angles did you mean metal angles or…?
>> We’d probably just do like planes of plywood, and kind of assemble some curvy thing
or angular thing.
>> Okay.
>> Literally, it was having something in my hand that I could bend and manipulate, and
really become a kid again. That’s what reinforced the idea of, “Wow, we could actually curve
this.” Then we started – I still draw a lot by hand. I love to water color and pencils
drawing, and pens it was, kind of, doodling, and realize, “Wow, this curve could happen.”
Then it was, “How can you make it happen?” which is really exciting just when you realize
you can do something a little bit different.
So, in our office, that was a cool thing to do. We could draw by hand, figure it out on
the computer, and plot it out. But, then, the other trick is, which is really fun to
do on a project where you get a contractor, you kind of challenge them. In some cases,
we had to actually get up there and, kind of, do a couple of things like start the first
couple of ribs, but then, once they become emotionally attached, then they become the
artists too.
That’s very, very intriguing when that happens, because when they… So, we started it, then
they started figuring out how they could do it, and then did a much better job than we
could ever do, and to the point where their friends were coming over taking pictures on
their cell phones. Really it was a pretty unusual thing to have this ceiling shape.
It’s just really gratifying to get that emotional buy in from these guys.
>> That’s awesome. Awesome, Rob. Let’s move now in to the next four years, you said,
where you had tried to pencil out some development projects, but none of them ever stuck. What
was not working over the past few years from the development side of things?
>> Well, just, you know, the economy, there wasn’t a lot of product out there in terms
of size that made sense. Like for instance, one of them was an old woodshop, it was in
a former metal shop that we could get about twenty-one units and we worked with these
guys. They were slowing down and they wanted to sell. What happened is, we had a concept
ready to go, but then they got busy again, so they want to retain their shop.
A couple of buildings we chased, we were just, kind of, late to the game. One was industrial
building, about 30,000 sq ft, which would have been a really awesome… We could have
gotten double-height units in to it. We’re just late to the game and weren’t there
to purchase it.
What is interesting is two years ago, there was a local church, Presbyterian church put
out an RFP for developers of how they got some parking areas, NS some older buildings
that they no longer use, that aren’t historically significant, that can be torn down. They put
this RFP out, and we saw it, fortunately, and put a package together, once again, under
“Creating a project rather than a deal,” and they picked us to be the developer.
So, we’re currently working with them. We finally have a scheme that we think will work
where it’ll be a hundred and forty living units with some structured parking, and also
14,000 sq ft of commercial. So, it’s a very exciting project that integrates with a 1920’s
church.
Another intriguing aspect is the church will be part of the development team as far as
an equity partner, which is very intriguing, which we thought will help the design because
then there, you know, not just emotionally but financially attached to how this project
performs. I think it’s highly unusual to give them this type of project, and it certainly
hasn’t been without its mini hoops. We’ve been working on it two years, but we’re
finally at the point where we think we can make it happen.
>> Wow.
>> The next step, obviously, is getting tighter numbers, and working with the neighborhood.
That is what you’re looking for here. This is one of the very tough neighborhoods that
we want to, kind of…
>> When you say “tough” you mean underprivileged, or maybe some poverty?
>> Yeah. Thanks for asking. No, it’s actually a most intact kind of neighborhood in Tucson
with a lot of really cool bungalow houses, and some commercial buildings, but has a really
nice, kind of, fabric that runs through the neighborhood. There’s been a number of projects
that gone up recently, primarily student housing that didn’t really contribute to that fabric
of the neighborhood. So, we’re really looking forward to both with ourselves as well as
working with them to show that we can create something unique.
>> Yeah. What do you think it was about your proposal, Rob, that made you guys stand out
from the crowd and land that project?
>> I think that we went in to a lot more depth than some of the other developers. We heard
that some of the other guys were just talking about being in student housing. Right from
the get go we knew that there was enough student housing being built, which I think is happening
all over the U.S. So, we immediately knew it had to be multigenerational and basically
speak to what we feel is important to put in a community, which is what the church thought
is what they needed. Even the initial conversation with the neighborhood – it was on the same
page there. So, that’s good.
>> What did your presentation look like? Did you have a more fully fleshed out design,
and maybe the other teams…
>> I worked in diagram form. So, we’re quickly able to do a unit count, put it in to SketchUP,
and know that we can achieve certain densities. You know, we could get so many parking spaces
on the site.
So, yeah, it was on 3D right from day one. Lately, we’ve been using, which is very
quick to do, but for these multi-family projects where you’ve got stacking of units, is we
do a stacking model. So, literally, it’s a floor plan drawing that’s put on a piece
of museum board that’s cut out, it could be laser cut, whatever, and then you can stack
these on to a simple model, and everybody gets it. It helps everyone know where each
of the different unit types are, and density. It only takes, in some cases, fifteen to twenty
minutes to put a model like this together.
>> Interesting. Was any of that part of your original proposal to this Presbyterian church?
>> Actually it was all graphics, but we did SketchUP. So, we showed density, we showed
environmental strategies that we could employ. For instance, solar, which show that for this
amount of roof area, we could create this many kilowatts of power. We showed your average
rainfall, what we could achieve with water harvesting. It’s very simple diagrams on
a plate over the SketchUP. So, we’re always looking for, how do we convey that with the
least amount of time because we’re going to burn a lot of time doing elaborate graphics.
>> Yeah. So, it didn’t necessarily have a, sort of, design language, but it was more
in the conceptual level of massing diagrams.
>> It was. You need, kind of, one dude that shows people and threes. So we did a simple
line drawing. I’ve been doing this technique where you can approximate watercolor using
markers on just buffed paper. So, you can blend colors. It’s typically a small drawing
that then gets blown up, so even the texture of the paper starts to register.
>> Interesting.
>> So, it’s a really unique…
>> Do you have any samples of artwork that you can send to me?
>> I will.
>> That we can splice in to this interview.
>> I’ll give you one of this project in particular.
>> Perfect.
>> Yeah.
>> Then, I guess, just to finish up, Rob, tell us where this project is going, tell
us about the development deal, and what’s in the future.
>> Even with this development we’ve teamed with a local developer who’s done a ton
of commercial work and has access to, kind of, a mezzanine financing and other ways to
finance a project. I mean, he’s just a brilliant guy too.
>> When you say “mezzanine,” I’m just going to interject and help me understand
– some people might not know what that is.
>> Mezzanine financing is creating a way where you don’t fund everything on the project,
in some cases any of the project. It’s a way to have an outside investment group or
company come in, and it’s kind of tiered, that’s why they call it mezzanine. So, you’re
creating word that there’s this tiered financial that enables the project to happen. You still
go out for bank financing, but it’s basically the initial investors, and they have a certain
take. It can get quite complicated, but it’s basically just a secondary source of income
for the project.
>> Is that similar to a bridge loan at all?
>> Somewhat. I mean, that’s the beauty of working with a partnership. I don’t have
all those answers.
>> Sure.
>> But, in this particular one, our partner, that’s his thing. His done big deals, multi-million
dollar projects, and we’re using his… because we’ve never done that. We’ve actually
financed everything from ourselves, primarily just purchasing the building or lot, and that
was our equity position. Although with my office here, we were able to convince the
bank that our time was worth something, and that was given in to the deal too.
>> Okay.
>> That’s definitely something that needs to be pointed out, specially the entitlement.
I mean, banks look at if something’s entitled, it is worth so much more if it’s just an
idea. So, we as architects have that skill set to add to the deal, which could be a way
for someone who doesn’t have their own money to go out and plunk down. They could seek
out developers and say, “We can do this for you, and it’s worth this much, and we
want to be part of the deal.”
>> Sure. And what you’re proposing there, would that be, maybe identifying projects/potential
projects, figuring out how to entitle them and presenting them to a developer and saying,
“Hey, look, I’m looking at this property…” Is that what you’re talking about? How did
that conversation go?
>> Yeah. It’s so different between each city too. Usually there are a couple of individuals
that that are trying to work within a certain area, and it’s just identifying who’s
developing, and do you want to, you know, potentially partner with them. So, a lot of
it is just, quite honestly, is – which is unfortunate because architects work so much
at a desk, they don’t have a lot of time to comingle, and most developers never draw
anything, and they’re just out shaking hands and having lunch with people. That’s where
you learn about deals.
So, some of it is just locking in with real estate agents. We know most of the guys that
deal with industrial properties, they’d, literally, call us when a deal comes up, so
we know if we want to chase it or not. Those relationships are so huge to, you know: who
has access to properties, and then who are the developers that are going after these
properties.
>> Have you found any, sort of – I guess what I’m looking for – are organizations
or ways to connect with those type of people, like you said, most of the real estate agents
that are in that industrial building niche? How would someone go about connecting with
those kinds of people? Is it like a one by one, taking each person out for lunch and
meeting them individually, or how do those relationships get formed?
>> You could. I mean, literally, if there’s a sign up or you can figure out who owns the
property.
You can join ULI and, typically, a lot of the real estate people go to those meetings.
Actually the current President of the local chapter, the AIA, we do a lot of different
events. It’s really, kind of, getting it out there, which is not what most architects
want to do, but once you do it, actually, it’s a fun thing. I’m really big on drawing
and detailing, but it’s also fun to go talk about projects too, and try to get in the
mix. I think a lot of it is just knowing what’s going on, who’s successful, who’s doing
what project- it’s just kind of being part of your community.
>> Very cool. Well, thanks for taking us down that road. I stirred you away, I apologize,
when you were talking about the current project with the Presbyterian church. You mentioned
that you have this partner who has the mezzanine financing.
>> Yeah. We don’t know how it’s going to be financed yet. It’s interesting because
what we want to develop is actually more parking than we need at the site to support the city
coming in. It’s one of those chicken-egg questions because right now this portion of
land doesn’t have a ton of stuff around it, but it will with this modern street car
going in.
So, we’re trying to envision a scenario where our local city entity comes in and builds
a parking structure. Then, we either buy or lease the space as we need. That way, we don’t
have to be encumbered by that part of it.
We’ve actually come up with an interesting scheme. We were looking at a podium type building
where we have units on top. But, the latest scheme is interesting. I think it goes to
a lot of what Jonathan talks about in his developments. Sometimes you can reduce the
density of a project and then make more money, it becomes more viable.
That’s what we’re doing. We’re looking at a parking structure that has no housing
above it, that kind of tucks in the middle of the project. It’s very much a background
building. Then, we’re building ground up, which is so much easier to do, you know, much
less cost, and infrastructure, utilities. So, that’s the goal. Quite honestly, by
looking at what guys like Jonathan Segal have done, it’s very inspiring to take these…
I’ve been to his seminar – and great job and you did a great job.
It’s really about what works on that site. So, that’s been very intriguing to finally
come up with a scheme where we don’t have to swap land with a neighbor, we’re keeping
an electrical transformer where it needs to be, and we avoid that $100,000 to move it
– all the pieces are finally coming together. Even the timing is much better. Even if we
had the scheme two years ago we wouldn’t be moving forward with it. Now, we’re ready
to take it to the next step. So, it’s fun to finally have something that we can be proud
of and want to spend the time on to develop.
>> When you say “timing,” what is that? What’s good about the timing right now?
>> The economy here in Tucson is getting better. There are modern street cars going in and
they’re going to be finished with it in another year. We just feel there is, kind
of, a pent up demand for urban living. The whole demographic of younger kids don’t
really want to drive anymore, and there is a student population that we think we can
serve. There is even an older population that wants to downsize, being near a cultural center,
and be able to walk or ride their bike to go to a great restaurant or go see a play.
This area, in particular is so potent with this, kind of, cultural basis. So, blocks
away from neighbors [Inaudible] great entertainment, both music, dance, performance, it’s right
near the modern street car is going to link up to the Symphony Hall. It’s interesting
to think about what this would do, and the potential for development.
>> Excellent. Well, thanks, Rob. I think that’s a good place to wind down our interview and
talking about that project. Does that project have a name yet?
>> It’s called Trinity, which is the name of the church.
>> Very appropriate.
>> Yeah.
>> It is very appropriate. Rob, it has just been a pleasure to talk to you and have you
on here today. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences. You know, I was thinking
that a memoir of your life could be very interesting because if we put that fire in the Ice House
in to a story, that would be entertaining to read. So, have you ever thought about doing
>> Rob, do you have any other closing words for other architects who want to start developing
and getting more involved in the local communities? Any last words of advice?
>> Yeah. I think, honestly, the biggest thing – I haven’t really thought about his – but
it’s all about knowing who your community is, who’s in your community, and who’s
doing what, and start talking to those people. It’s amazing what can happen just with the
[Inaudible] conversation we’ve had projects that come about, even with just our architecture
projects or teaming with another architect.
A lot of people, kind of, disregard organizations like the AIA, or the ULI, but it’s all about
making connections with other humans that share the same ideals and want to do different
projects. Sometimes it can be completely different personalities that somehow work when they
get together, opposites attract, or someone that’s on the same page and just want to
approach something in a similar way as long as something’s aligned, whether it’s the
economics, or what’s happening around a location. But, with skill and thought, you
can typically get something going if it’s in that right period of time.
>> Awesome, Well, Rob Paulus AIA, thank you for trailblazing, setting an example, sharing,
and being open about what you’re doing. Appreciate it.
>> Great, thank you.
>> Okay, talk to you later.
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[Outro Music]
>> The views expressed on this show by my guests do not represent those of the host,
and I make no representation, guarantee, promise, agreement, affirmation, pledge, warranty,
contract, bond, commitment except to help architects conquer the world. Bump music credit
to Ben Folds Five - Do It Anyway.