By Drew Mitchell, VP-Development (Portage, IN)

If you’ve ever peeked in Holladay CFO Jim Laskowski’s office, you may have seen him crouching in a corner rubbing a magic lamp. Typically, he’s mumbling something about a large watermelon, though every once in a while, there’s mention of “cotton” and a “monkey.” What is he doing, you ask?

Well, if you read last week’s blog entry by Jim (most notably, see the portion about sub 4% loans), you’ll get a hint: he’s wishing for something.

“I wish Cotton was a Monkey”

This phrase comes from a more renowned Little Rascals episode, where the Rascals are rubbing a magic lamp and wishing various things; including a large watermelon. A street vendor hears Stymie wishing for the melon and rolls one down the sidewalk — VOILLA!  The lamp works!

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Later, Spank is rubbing the lamp wishing to turn Stymie’s brother Cotton into a monkey. Well, a monkey has escaped from the circus and through a series of events it appears that Spank actually turns Cotton into a Monkey.  Sometimes we all wish we had a magic lamp at our disposal.

Often, our jobs (and lives) require us to produce a watermelon out of thin air, to turn Cotton into a monkey, or as it is more commonly described today, to turn lemons into lemonade.

I had a unique experience of making lemonade recently.

A local developer approached Holladay with a land position that had sat vacant for several years. He sought ideas for development, and even a sale to Holladay. Months later, the end result was a unique joint venture partnership, led by Holladay that has since created a new standard in student housing near Notre Dame, called Darby Row.

We at Holladay are experts at making Lemonade. Our customers tell us that we are skilled at pulling watermelons out of thin air, and a few even know the story of Cotton and the Monkey.

We at Holladay help businesses and organizations rub the magic lamp, as it relates to real estate. We are experts at navigating environmental, financial, municipal, and other complicated issues related to real estate. We are adept at assisting companies in identifying the best location for their business, the best possible incentive package available, and delivering a high quality product at the lowest possible cost. We help our customers succeed by creating real estate solutions that allow their businesses to operate more effectively and efficiently, ultimately enabling them to grow. This is the reason why we’ve been around since 1952, and the reason why we’ll be around in 2052.

So please think of us next time you eat a watermelon, or have a real estate need. I’m certain we can help — or Jim will wish me into a monkey.