Buildings

Real Estate | Valuation | Market | Renaissance | Boundaries

Downtown Campbellsville is Main Street, USA.

A typical building in Downtown Campbellsville is a century old structure that is 2-stories.  It’s made of old fired brick, lime based mortar, and massive 2×12 oak timers up to 22 feet long.   It’s common to find the original oak flooring in great shape.

Building sizes range from 3,ooo to 8,000 sq. ft.  Although, the two biggest buildings are 22,000 and 17,000 sq ft.

The building facades are mostly Italianate architecture.  Merchant Tower is Romensque.  There are a variety of facades that have decorative iron work, stone, or leaded glass transom windows.

Downtown Campbellsville 1949

Looking forward, Downtown Campbellsville is ideal multi-use space for retail, restaurant, office, and residential in a commercial historic district.

Valuation

These building are valuable because of their design, materials, craftsmanship, and age.

Let’s look at a valuation example.

Before renovation, Downtown Campbellsville buildings sell for around $20 per sq. ft.    That’s $80K for 4,000 sq ft.

Adding a $75K ($18.75/sq ft) renovation for windows, roofing, bathrooms, utilities, paint and finish work is common.   That brings the cost basis to $38.75 / sq ft or $155K for the entire project.  The building is worth at least that even on a cold winter day.

But, in general, a commercial building is valued based on the lease/tenant.  In these buildings, a lease ranges from $.50 to $1.00 per sq ft / monthly.    So, 4,000 sq ft leases for around $2,000/mth.  This should be enough to positive cash flow an investment of $155K.

In some instances, an investor can apply for a tax credit to further reduce the cost basis.

Market

Several buildings are for sale/lease.  Contact us so we can put you in touch with our preferred agent.

Or, check out properties on www.Zillow.com

The Campbellsville Commercial Historic District

Collectively, a several block area of Downtown Campbellsville is registered on the National Historic Register.   This designation recognizes the historical importance of antique commercial buildings.

Downtown Renaissance

The City of Campbellsville authorizes a committee to oversee the preservation of the downtown buildings.   One of the main responsibilities of the Downtown Renaissance Committee is to approve plans for renovations which affect a building’s outward appearance.  Window/Door replacement, paint color changes, and signage are the usual sticky spots.

Modern Renaissance

Many new commercial construction projects in the US are going retro and borrowing the architectural traits of these buildings and their small town setting.  One such development is the Southlake Town Square in Texas.  Another is Santana Row in San Jose, CA. And yet another is The Woodlands.  In general, the concept of a centralized area for retail, restaurant, office, and residential is a popular “new” concept that has already existed in Downtown Campbellsville for a century.

Genuine America

There are a limited number of genuine century old historic downtowns in America.  Investors have caught on and learned that investing in a downtown renaissance can pay off.