American Entertainment: Taylor Swift wrote a song for the beginning

Chapter 165 Big Shot (Subscription Request)
"Stop her down there." Ryan put down the phone.

Then he composed himself as he had to receive a guest later.

"Teresa, pack up and bring the person up later." Ryan pressed the button on the internal phone again.

About twenty minutes later, Theresa, who had changed her clothes, pushed the door open, and two middle-aged men in suits came in, one of whom was wearing thick glasses.

"Peter, from the commercial real estate development department of the Kushner Group, this is John, a colleague from the licensing and compliance department." The man wearing thick glasses said, and the two shook hands with Ryan one after another.

"Please sit down, Theresa, and pour you two a cup of coffee." Ryan ordered Theresa.

When Theresa passed by the two men pouring coffee, they did not even look at her and reported to Ryan.

"Mr. Kushner sent two of us here to make initial contact. Since we haven't conducted any field surveys yet, we brought some information and pictures of similar cases. You can take a look at them first." Peter took out a thick stack of information from his briefcase.

"But there is one thing that requires special attention. After all, this is affiliated land of the church, so the situation may be more complicated. You..." Peter paused.

“Can you get a construction permit?”

This is directly related to the nature of the land. If it is church land, it certainly cannot be used commercially according to the Religious Land Use and Institutionalization Protection Act.

"This shouldn't be a big problem. Since the fire, the entire church has been abandoned and handed over to a local asset management company along with the surrounding land." Ryan hinted.

This kind of thing cannot be discussed in detail, as it is far beyond the scope of responsibility of the local patriarch. At the very least, it must be the bishop of the local diocese, who is the big shot behind the scenes.

Ryan knew very well that he was able to participate only because of the popularity brought by the nightclub, nothing more.

"In that case, I'll give you a form with all the legal procedures that need to be completed." John from the compliance department, commonly known as the "government affairs department," took out another piece of paper and handed it to Ryan.

Ryan took it and looked at it. It listed more than a dozen local departments.

First is the city planning department and local land planning department, then the local environmental department, then the building services department, the engineering and development office, the business licensing department, the Florida Department of Revenue, the planning board, the municipal council, the county or city building inspection office, the Florida Department of Occupational Regulation...

It’s a headache just looking at it. If Ryan were alone, he would never touch the “commercial real estate development”.

At the same time, a question arose in Ryan's mind.

The land is in their hands, so even if my nightclub brings in a lot of popularity, there is no need for them to cooperate with me.

"Since you have 'friends' in the area, we don't need to worry about that. Now we need to talk about the budget."

"I looked at some relevant cases and found that the total construction area of a commercial street is about 200 square feet. Last year, the Winter Park Village renovation project in the suburbs of Orlando had a total area of about 000 square feet. Including land costs, construction costs and other soft costs, the final total cost was about 180 million US dollars."

"Based on the land prices in the suburbs of Orlando, which are in the $10-$25 per square foot range, the land cost is about $2.15 million to $5.375 million, which can be deducted."

Ryan suddenly realized why the other party was willing to cooperate with him, because he had a fat wallet.

The overall environment is not good, and everyone has to tighten their belts. Perhaps it is precisely because of the problem with the nature of the land that bank loans cannot be obtained.

I just promised Taylor to buy a house some time ago, and now I have to spend some of the money...

"How much is the construction cost? We don't need a luxurious commercial street here. The residents around here don't have the purchasing power." Ryan asked.

"Mr. Ryan, this is already the simplest type of commercial street. If it is a high-end commercial street, the total cost will at least double, and the land price in Orlando is also taken into consideration. If it is in Miami, similar land will cost between $20 and $50 per square foot." Peter said.

In other words, there is no room for cost reduction.

"I see. How much is the Kushner Group going to invest in this project?" Ryan asked.

"This...Mr. Kushner didn't mention it. I'm afraid you have to discuss it with him in person." The other party continued.

·
"What's going on, Ryan? Have our people arrived?" It was Jared Kushner's voice on the phone.

"I've already arrived and talked to me a lot."

"You can handle the local department, right?" Jared confirmed personally.

"It shouldn't be a big problem." "Church power?" Jared asked again.

Jared's father is a financial sponsor of the Donkey Party, while the conservative forces are closer to the Elephant Party. In the United States, the church is the representative of conservative forces. Among American adults, 43% are Protestants, 20% are Catholics, and only 26% of adults are not religious.

Of course, we cannot say that the church was the only decisive factor, as it was Aon who won in 08.

"Almost." Ryan said vaguely.

Jared on the other end of the phone was a little surprised when he heard Ryan's response. After all, Ryan had only been in Florida for a short time, and he didn't expect that he would be associated with local conservative forces so quickly.

"If you have time, you can come to some parties and I will introduce some friends to you." Jared said with a smile.

Seeing that the cooperation in the nightclub could not go forward, he also had the idea of making friends with Ryan.

"Of course, the premise is that you have time. After all, you are a big star."

"Of course there's time." Ryan laughed.

"But then again, how much is Kushner prepared to invest this time?" Ryan asked.

"Investment? Ryan, you know, the aftermath of the subprime mortgage crisis is still there. Last year, Kushner just spent 1.8 billion to buy a building. I'm still worried about the funds and am contacting people to transfer part of the property rights." Jared began to cry poor.

The amount of funds mobilized for investing in nightclubs and investing in commercial real estate is indeed not at the same level.

To be frank, Ryan has to figure out a way to get the money himself.

Strictly speaking, Ryan still has the money to start the work, but he is worried that his working capital will run out by then.

And Ryan still felt a little painful after investing all the money he earned with great difficulty last year.

Most businessmen earn one cent, lend three cents, and invest four cents. Ryan can't be called a businessman now. He still has the mindset of a "self-employed person", earning two cents and spending one cent.

No, if you want to develop it, you want me to invest all my assets in it. That doesn’t make sense. Otherwise, let’s not talk about it.

Ryan thought about it and made up his mind to visit the patriarch the next day, firstly to discuss the development progress and secondly to see if the other party could think of a solution in terms of funding. Coincidentally, the other party also invited him to speak in the church.

·
The next morning, it was still the reception room at the back of the church.

"Taking action so soon? Ryan, even though you are so young, you have strong execution ability." The Patriarch flattered Ryan. As for the similar case materials that Ryan handed to him, he carefully kept them.

Obviously, it was to be shown to other people.

"However, before we can start the formal exploration and measurement, we have two issues to resolve. The first is the compliance issue."

"Someone will take care of this. To be more precise, it is already being taken care of. You have arranged for someone to make preparations before the official construction."

"This is the second problem, the funding issue. The final cost will be 40 to 50 million. I'm just a nightclub owner and I can't afford so much money." Ryan acted helpless and deliberately exaggerated the cost. In fact, the final cost was probably only half of that.

"It's not easy. You are a high-quality customer with a stable cash flow. If you are willing, banks will line up to find you. All those songs and equipment can be pledged. In addition, the Federal Reserve has already lowered interest rates twice and is preparing to continue lowering them. This is a good opportunity to get a loan."

This statement was not unexpected to Ryan. In fact, the Patriarch was right. The tide had already arrived, and banks were eagerly waiting to lend money. Unfortunately, all industries were in a recession, and Ryan, who was counter-cyclical and had sufficient cash flow, must have been a "hot commodity" in the eyes of banks.

Ryan didn't dwell on the issue.

"There is a third problem. Since we want to cooperate, you have to let me know who we are cooperating with. When the time comes to break ground, someone has to come forward." Ryan continued.

This question is the most critical.

"Haha, you will know when the time is right. As for now, there will be someone to cooperate with you. Someone will contact you in the near future and serve as your deputy to help you coordinate affairs." The patriarch said with a smile.

He is both a deputy and in a sense also there to supervise Ryan.

"Okay, it's almost time, you should go to the main hall of the church to speak!" The Patriarch nodded. As a "part of" the community, Ryan naturally had to show up in the church to reflect the "sacredness" of the local church.

(End of this chapter)