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When Michigan developer Paul Glantz decided to open a "party palace" in downtown Royal Oak, he and his staff had a pretty good idea what would appeal to city residents. After all, Emagine Entertainment, the company he founded and helms, has enjoyed the distinction of being named "Best Movie Theatre" for several years running by the The Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News, and WDIV What Glantz didn't know was how he would raise all $19 million required to bring his boutique bowling center and movie theatre to fruition - he'd been able to raise most of it, but there was still a deal-killing gap - particularly at a time when financing was hard to come by.
Given that the project was slated to be built in the socalled City of Trees, the answer, when it came, was satisfyingly fitting. Glantz, with the help of some clever lenders, added a green element to the deal - renewable energy generation - which allowed him to secure support from the U.S. Small Business Administration. "With the SBA component of the capital structure funds, the senior lender will only be exposed at 50 percent loan to cost," says Glantz. "The movie theatre component of the project, which is what we know best, will easily cover debt service on the senior debt." This option was discovered in a joint effort between Len Dillon of Woodward/Birmingham Financial and Susan Leithauser of Charter One Bank.
Emagine Royal Oak/Star Lanes will open in May. The project, which wouldn't exist if it weren't for the "green" funding, is a win for the developer, his lenders, and the state, which will collect $360,000 in annual property taxes in addition to enjoying the creation of over 100 full-time-equivalent jobs, plus the hundreds that were created during the construction phase (and the hundreds more during the pre-construction phase that went to the legal community, jokes Glantz.) In another bonus for the city, Glantz says he plans to showcase work from established area artisans and students from the College for Creative Studies, and he'll raise $250,000 for local charities in connection with the grand opening preview celebrations this spring.
Green Deals on the Rise
Emagine's environmentally savvy approach comes as no surprise to Mike Kulka, P.E.,...