Heat

The Creamery Building in Glenwood South
Downtown Raleigh

Challenge

Glenwood South offers something for everyone—from jazz clubs and dance clubs to sidewalk cafes and cigar bars and everything in between.  Even after years of establishment, Glenwood South remains a hot property for both private residents and commercial tenants.  The downtown district's mixed land use attracts quality stores and ensures plenty of local and nearby pedestrian traffic.

Shane Bull and HEAT owner, Robin Fitzgerald, spent a year canvassing the area for the ideal location for the new non-membership based training studio.  Robin found potential space at The Creamery and wanted Shane to provide professional reassurance that the location would fit her business needs and to assist with the negotiations with the landlord.  Additionally, the 5,582 square-foot space was more than she needed.

Strategic Action

Once Robin decided on a final location for her new fitness club, Shane began the process of negotiating the lease terms with the landlord.  A few rounds of counter offers were necessary to ensure that The Creamery would indeed satisfy Robin’s business needs and expectations. 

The only other challenge that remained was the excess space that Robin didn’t need for her fitness club.  However, it was discovered current Glenwood South tenant, Doro Taylor of Citygate Real Estate, wanted to expand her space, which was next door to the proposed HEAT space.  Doro took 1,410 square feet from HEAT and left Robin with a 4,172 square-foot space that met her needs perfectly.   

Results

HEAT officially opened its doors on October 15th, 2010 with additional fanfare provided by The Downtown Raleigh Alliance.  Because Shane is a member of the Economic Development Committee of The Downtown Raleigh Alliance, he was able to arrange a free ribbon cutting ceremony for HEAT, thus adding more media exposure and public attention for Robin and her new business.  With their desirable location and added marketing outreach, HEAT is certainly heating up downtown Raleigh and is anticipating much success.