Contact:

Knoxville Office:

Colony Park
4713 Papermill Drive
Suite 300
Knoxville, TN 37909
t: (865) 531-6400
f: (865) 531-1698
get directions

Join our mailing list:

News

News items:

14 October 2009

Flory: Navy man makes best of shipwreck

Knoxvillebiz.com

By Josh FloryPosted October 14, 2009 at midnight

In a previous career, shipwrecks likely ranked among David Gothard’s worst nightmares. More recently, though, a maritime disaster is linked to one of the Sevierville broker’s professional highlights.

Gothard is principal broker and senior advisor for Knoxville real estate firm Sperry Van Ness/R.M. Moore. He joined R.M. Moore earlier this year, when it acquired the commercial division of Colonial Real Estate, which was based in Sevierville.

Gothard has been working in the real estate business since 1996, following a lengthy stint in the U.S. Navy. After graduating from the Naval Academy in 1975 — majoring in International Security Affairs — he stayed in the service for 20 years, eventually rising to the rank of commander.

That’s why Gothard’s role in one of Sevier County’s most-anticipated new attractions is more than a little ironic. As it turns out, the broker represented the seller on a deal for a handful of acres along the Parkway, in Pigeon Forge, where a new Titanic attraction is under construction.

Slated for an April opening, the museum is built to look like the front half of the famed ship, although it will be only half the size of the original. On Tuesday, the Scope drove by for a quick look-see, which confirmed that the two large smokestacks looming over the Parkway should provide a similar visual pop as the nearby Wonderworks attraction — aka the upside-down building.

Parkway land is among East Tennessee’s most valuable property, but for Gothard, the $4.2 million sale — for fewer than seven acres of land — is only one of several high-profile deals in his portfolio, which also includes the sale of the Louise Mandrell Theater. In an interview at his office, Gothard said he enjoys being involved in new developments that are getting ready to happen, and he said naval officers are analytical by nature — good preparation for a career where big deals like the Titanic property can involve lots of moving parts.

For R.M. Moore, meanwhile, the addition of Gothard is among the highlights of a growth spurt that has taken hold in the midst of a recession. Besides beefing up its Sevier County roster with the Colonial acquisition, R.M. Moore earlier this year merged with Knoxville-based Conversion Properties.

In an interview, firm president Roger Moore said his staff essentially doubled during 2009, and he indicated that because of the economic downturn, his firm has been able to target higher-caliber employees. Moore said the company recently hired someone to fill a position that had drawn more than 90 applicants in just a few days.

In years past, he said, “We’ve just hired folks because we felt like we couldn’t find anybody better. … But now we were just overwhelmed with the quality and quantity of folks who were interested.”

21 September 2009

Have you heard?We've merged! Sperry Van Ness/R.M. Moore, LLChas merged with Conversion Properties, another local powerhouse incommercial real estate. As a result, a unique combined company, unlike any other in East Tennessee has emerged. As the founders of our respective organizations, we share a commitment to customer-centric service at all levels, which is why the merger is such a perfect fit. Combined, wehaveour long-term regional dominance, Conversion’s expertise in the downtown Knoxville market, and the powerful national reach and depth of resources provided byour recent affiliation with national firm, Sperry Van Ness. As many of you know, R.M. Moore affiliated with the national real estate company, Sperry Van Ness last year, recognizing the advantages of being a part of a network of top commercial real estate firms across the country, while maintaining our original ownership structure and local control.We are managing the mergedcompany jointly, which is retaining the Sperry Van Ness/R.M. Moore name. And we are proud of the fact that all personnel in both firms have remained with ourorganization.

In addition to property sales, leasing and full brokerage services, our combined company has considerable expertise in property management and will continue to emphasize this important service. We look forward to hearing from you and serving your commercial real estate needs in the very near future! Sincerely, Roger M. Moore Joe PetrePrincipal BrokerSenior AdvisorSperry Van Ness, R.M. Moore Sperry Van Ness, R.M. Moore

10 September 2009

For the fifth year, BusinessTN tips its cap to the 101 most
influential people plying their wares in the commercial real
estate industry. Congratulations to Roger Moore for being in the Top 101.

2009 CRE 101

By Drew Ruble Sept/Oct 2009 Tags:

Despite difficult times in the sector, these 101 industry stalwarts stand out

Only one of the three proposed high-rise developments slated to forever alter Nashville's skyline is currently under construction. (See the story below on The Pinnacle at Symphony Place.)

Signature Tower, intended to become the tallest skyscraper in the South, and West End Summit, a twin-tower project intended to stretch Nashville's skyline to include Midtown, remain on the drawing board.
In Memphis, only eight of 38 previously announced hotel projects remain on track. Belz Enterprises announced a freeze on its planned Peabody Suites expansion in May, citing in part a difficult lending market.

Across Tennessee, the story is largely the same. But while the business of commercial real estate has been impacted by the down economy, the top players in the industry in the Volunteer State continue to do what they do in an effort to elevate the quality of place in the built and natural environments.

For the fifth year, BusinessTN tips its cap to the 101 most
influential people plying their wares in the commercial real
estate industry.

A-Z Index

27 May 2009

Conversion joins Sperry Van Ness/R.M. Moore

A pair of local real estate firms are moving forward on a merger that was 14 years in the making.

Sperry Van Ness/R.M. Moore Real Estate Co. is joining forces with Conversion Properties in a marriage that brings together a partner from the suburbs and one from downtown.

Founded in 1995 by Roger Moore, R.M. Moore has a strong presence in West Knoxville, and also has focused on establishing a foothold in Sevier County. Conversion, on the other hand, was created by Joe Petre in 2006, and has been largely focused on the burgeoning downtown real estate market.

In an interview on Tuesday, Moore said that when he established his firm, the two men had a conversation about teaming up. It didn't happen at the time, but around the beginning of this year they had lunch, and the idea came up again. "We both kind of felt like it was a good match," Moore said.

Conversion will retain its own identity - mainly to handle residential listings - but its commercial business will be merged into the Sperry Van Ness system, and the company will move into R.M. Moore's office space on Papermill Drive. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Moore will become principal broker of Conversion, while Petre will remain president of that firm and be senior investment adviser with R.M. Moore.

The merger is the second major change at R.M. Moore in the past two years. In January of 2008, the firm announced an affiliation agreement with California-based Sperry Van Ness, and both men cited the benefits of that affiliation, particularly when it comes to marketing and technology tools.

Petre said he was looking at spending a large amount of time developing his firm's brand and ramping up technology, and that he was attracted to the platform R.M. Moore had in place. In addition, he said the two companies seemed like a natural fit.

"The more our people are together, the more we find it really blends well," he said.

27 May 2009

R.M. Moore lands office management dealKNOXVILLE -- What better way to celebrate a merger than by picking up a big office portfolio?Sperry Van Ness/R.M. Moore — which this week announced a merger with Conversion Properties — has inked a deal to provide management and leasing for The Terraces and Crossroad Commons, office properties in West Knoxville.It will also provide management services for Pine Ridge Office Park, in Oak Ridge.According to a news release, The Terraces is just off Cedar Bluff Road and has eight buildings of Class A space, while Crossroad is also located at the Cedar Bluff exit and has four buildings.News Sentinel business reporter Josh Flory has more on the office deal and more on the merger of Sperry Van Ness/R.M. Moore and Conversion Properties on the Property Scope blog.

20 April 2009

Creating opportunities in distressed timesThe slumping economy is affecting commercial property, but that could be an opportunity for some local firms.As businesses continue to struggle in the a global recession, California-based Sperry Van Ness — which last year began an affiliation with local firm R.M. Moore Real Estate Co. — has geared up an “asset recovery team.” The idea is to offer a team with national reach to banks, investors and others who own distressed properties, with services ranging from brokerage to loan workouts to auctions.Roger Moore, president of Sperry Van Ness|R.M. Moore, said his office has handled troubled assets before, such as the Governor’s Crossing retail center in Sevierville.In that case, R.M. Moore helped find tenants for the property and stabilized it after a bankruptcy, a move that helped make the property more attractive in a sale.Moore cited a number of issues that could be troublesome for a commercial property — difficulty in refinancing a loan, a property conversion that got caught in a bad market or a tenant bankruptcy.“Knoxville historically has not peaked or bottomed out like other parts of the country,” he said, “and … even though it’s tough here I don’t think we’re nearly as bad as some of the other cities across the country. But it does have a domino effect, and I think we’re going to see more and more folks in our area having to deal with these kinds of issues.”While the slowdown in the residential market has been obvious, industry experts can also point to troubling data on the commercial side. Through the end of January, for example, the Moody’s/REAL Commercial Property Price Index was down 19.1 percent compared to the year before, and registered the largest one-month decline since the index began in 2000.Maribel Koella, principal with NAI Knoxville, predicted that retail properties will be the hardest hit locally, “because we were probably overbuilt in retail, and people quit buying.”Koella’s firm is affiliated with brokerage firm NAI Global, which is launching a series of auctions aimed partly at troubled assets. The first of the monthly auctions is slated for May and will include some $138 million in properties; Koella said she expects to have several Knoxville-area properties in future sales.She said the service represents a minimum cost for sellers — fees range from $5,000 for a property estimated at less than $1 million, up to $15,000 for a property worth more than $5 million — and each auction comes with a marketing budget between $500,000 to $1 million.Koella said she’s seen a big increase in troubled assets locally.“It’s (a) very, very sad time, and they’re companies that have been in the business 20 to 30 years in our area,” she said. “And some of them are companies that 18 months ago were in expansion modes.”From one local company’s perspective, the worst of times may be yet to come for the commercial segment.Rob Strickland, vice president/real estate for the Furrow Auction Co., predicted that when it comes to liquidating commercial properties through an auction, it won’t happen in earnest for a few more months.“Obviously that’s your last hope, is your business… I think (business owners are) holding on for dear life in hopes that some of this stimulus that the government’s doing is going to be of some benefit to them,” he said.