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| Dan Gorman is the new owner of the properties at 20 Grand. |
We recently shared the story of Fort Thomas resident Dan Gorman, and his work in creating affordable housing in Africa. Already the
owner of several Fort Thomas properties, including the Hiland Building, Gorman
has big plans for our city as well.
Investing in real estate requires vision as well as
adaptability. Gorman says in many ways it’s like playing a game of chess. Each
move is dependent on the moves that happened before with several possibilities in mind of
what’s going to happen next. Enter 20 Grand, one of Gorman’s more recent
purchases.
“20 Grand is one of those properties that I think is an
iconic property in Fort Thomas,” he says. “You drive by it all the time and it’s
a very prominent property. Being a real estate investor, I thought it would be
really interesting to own that someday if it was ever available.”
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| Barre3 Ft. Thomas. Located at Fort Thomas Plaza. |
Gorman reached out to Ed Jacobs, whose family developed the
20 Grand properties – a series of business condos along with a three-story
building – in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Jacobs also owned 1136 S. Fort Thomas
Ave., home to several businesses including Jami Anna Insurance Services and
Brothers Electric Co., across the street from Southside Deli. And this property
was for sale.
Gorman thought he had a tenant for 1136 S. Fort Thomas Ave.,
but that fell through. “And so when that didn’t work out I said, you know? I
might consider buying 1136 if you would be interested in selling 20 Grand with
it because I would love 20 Grand,” Gorman said. “I like 1136 but I love 20 Grand.”
The timing was right. The Jacobs family was interested in
selling in order to pursue travel and other activities. The deal was made.
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| At least 50 percent of 20 Grand is currently vacant. |
Gorman says 20 Grand, which offers 17,000 square feet of
business space, is at least 50 percent vacant. The
three-story property at 20 Grand currently has its entire second floor open,
with more than 4,000 square feet for offices, and part of the first floor is open, which has space for
a large board room. The property also offers ample parking, which is at a premium, especially at offices with a lot of employees.
Gorman’s dream? To shift around the businesses in the
central business district, bringing at least one to 20 Grand, which would then up more
opportunities in the central business district for growth.
And if folks in the central business district don’t want to
move? Like any good chess player, Gorman has a Plan B.
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| 859-781-2662. |
“I’ve always wanted to have an entrepreneurial co-working
space,” he says. And 20 Grand would give him a large chunk of space to do just
that. “What was popular for a while was just to have a big, open space and
everybody would just walk around and share everyone’s tables and stuff like
that,” he says. “What I think everyone is really settling down to is people
want to have little offices around the edge, maybe like a 10 x 10, enough to
have privacy for your conversations and a computer, and then a bunch of stuff
in the middle that’s shared, like a conference room, couches, a coffee bar and
things like that.”
Much of Gorman’s vision comes from experience and really
wanting to see Fort Thomas succeed. In addition to his dreams for 20 Grand, he
has many ideas for the future of Fort Thomas, which we’ll detail more next week.
Gorman and his family moved to Fort Thomas about 20 years
ago. He grew up in the Air Force, and moved a lot. Eventually his family
settled in Madeira, Ohio. “The longest I’ve ever lived before I moved to
Madeira was a year and a half,” he says. And now, Fort Thomas has long been
home. “I love being in one place, planting roots and getting invested in this
community. I like being involved with the schools and I’m on the Planning
Commission and things like that so it’s nice to have some type of effect on
things that are happening.”
And while many might find the game of real estate investing
too stressful, Gorman loves it.
“I think it’s just exciting,” he says. “I enjoy figuring out
all the pieces of a complicated deal. Something that most people would think
would be very difficult or challenging to get done, I really like the
challenge. And I also like the challenge of repositioning something that needs
some help.”