A 40,000 sq. ft. all-inclusive production playground for the creative mind. RCV will include multiple production studios for film, music and photography. It will also include a screening theater, editing suites, meeting/lecture spaces, a cafe and a creative co-working space, all spread across a 4+ acre campus.

RYSECreativeVillage.com

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

Content is King! I saw this project as the ultimate opportunity to build and operate the facilities that are needed to create content in a city that is making its mark in the content industry and that is geared towards the demographic that wields the most influence in content, and is yet underserved.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Our team found this former Atlanta Public School for sale and negotiated with the school board for two years to acquire the campus for $485,000. Our plans to turn the property into a campus dedicated to housing and incubating content creators won emphatic support from the board and our ability to close ultimately secured the title to the property for our team.

How did you finance this deal?

We financed the acquisition with cash equity and private lenders. For the redevelopment, we have received an allocation of New Market Tax Credits totaling $7.5m.

How did you add value to the deal?

We are redeveloping the property into a content production studio and multi family housing.

What was the outcome?

In progress, stay posted for updates.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Some notes from our journey so far:

NMTC market is constantly changing, one day the credits are worth $2m and the next it’s “only” $1.5m. It’s still free money in the long run so we’re forever grateful.

Zoning takes a lot longer and costs more than you budgeted for. Double check and add for good measure the time and money devoted to zoning in your plan.

Getting people to invest in Black Developers is an art form. I don’t know how to paint, and I can’t tell when it’s dry.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes! Ryan is our tax consultant. Working with Urban Development Fund on the NMTCs, Thompson Hine is our law firm, Urban Oasis Development provides development strategy, Studio H is our architect, Stream is our landlord broker.