real estate expertise
De-risk, Design, and Develop your real estate strategy.
Advisor
Surface Area assists owners, businesses, and tenants with their real estate needs to maximize returns and solve challenges. Unlock value, create better projects, and ultimately build better places.
owner representative
Your boots-on-the-ground in western North Carolina. Located in Hendersonville, NC, Surface Area represents your development project and acts on your behalf with local municipalities, designers, consultants, and contractors.
Surface Area is your in-person, local expert for commercial & residential real estate development.
Developer & Investor
As principal developer, Surface Area pursues business and real estate development opportunities that align with our values and track record.
In select cases, Surface Area will make capital investments into our client’s initiatives.
practice areas
strategic real estate analysis
Have land to develop? Want to update your commercial space? Test an idea?
Or understand investment options and paths forward?
Turn your complicated real estate development into successful projects. Surface Area’s approach is to:
Understand your goals and vision
Create a customized plan and roadmap
Estimate your project’s time, money, risks, and effort
Identify and understand financing, JV structures, entitlement hurdles, and
Plan for marketing and community scrutiny
In addition, Surface Area trusts an extensive network of experts in the real estate community to keep up with the changing construction landscape and capital markets. If you need a single referral or a comprehensive team, Surface Area can connect you.
feasibility
Not Now? Or not ever?
Not every real estate project is viable. Determine the decision points, evaluate the data, and understand its feasibility.
risk assessments
Without a crystal ball, risks are inherent. Let’s build in resiliency to reduce their impact.
design reviews
See beyond the pretty graphics and fancy renderings. Analyze drawings and plans to enhance operational efficiencies, customer experience, and construction efficiency.
Pre-development management
The Pre-Development AKA Pre-Construction phase includes all of the project work leading up to acquisition, construction start, and financial closing.
Surface Area identifies all moving parts of the real estate development process while providing feasibility analyses, site inspections, risk assessments, design reviews, due diligence research, code interpretation, and more.
Take your development idea from nothing to something with support for:
acquisition/rehab
value-add investment
new construction
repositioning
master planning and phasing
Visually tell your real estate story with custom graphics and presentations
Entitlements and permits
Throughout the permitting and zoning processes, Surface Area specializes in translating your development’s vision into language that stakeholders comprehend. This entails providing consistent communication, delivering impactful visuals, and participating in collaborative problem-solving.
Understanding the ramifications of zoning and land use restrictions on your property is crucial, as it may influence your proposal significantly.
Whether your vision aligns with allowed-by-right uses or necessitates a complete rezoning, the entitlement roadmap affects your project directly.
PRE-APP Meetings
Start your projects on the right foot by meeting with city staff and reviewers. By building open communication and trust, you can avoid potential pitfalls and clarify the entitlement process.
zoning and site plan approvals
Allow an expert to guide you through the entire rezoning process, negotiate solutions, and respond to municipality feedback.
BUILDING PERMITS AND INSPECTIONS
You are supported throughout the entire process: permit approvals, monitoring construction progress, and ensuring a seamless issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy (C.O.).
COmmunity engagement
The public, your neighbors, and everyone else will care about your project. Their opinions will influence politicians, marketability, and your reputation.
Surface Area is your local guide to overcoming the NIMBYs and BANANAs. “Not in my backyard” and “Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything” are two forces that can bring your project to a halt. By getting out in front of the community, you diminish the chatter and reduce the potential opposition to your project.
Surface Area supports your project by planning and strategizing proactive outreach, design charettes, public meetings, and marketing materials to direct your project’s narrative.
WORK WITH Us
Hourly
The ideal choice if you need advice on specific tasks. Maybe your project is stuck and we can help get it moving forward again.
By the Project
Best for projects that are in early phases of design development and need long-term support to plan, manage, and execute your vision.
on retainer
Your reliable partner to support your team and free up resources.