Assignment Option #1: Green Dee Company – Confidential facts
You work for Green Dee Company, which is a real estate development company, dedicated to environmentally-friendly building design and sustainable living. Green Dee Company is financially solid, reputable, and a darling of the media because of its strong commitment to the environment. Your primary job is to identify real estate transactions that will benefit your employer.
Green Dee Company has indicated to you that this new project will be the epitome of all of its projects, a veritable showcase of green-design possibilities. Urban Architect, which is a highly-regarded magazine, has already contacted Green Dee Company to do a cover story on the new development once it’s constructed. This media exposure will launch Green Dee Company into the upper echelons of sustainable building developers.
You have identified a lot in Big City that would be perfect for Green Dee Company’s newest project, which will be a 25-story high rise mixed use building. This project will be the embodiment of all of the latest in green building design technology. Your employer is very pleased with the lot that you have identified, and it has asked you to contact the owner of the lot to begin negotiations for the purchase of the lot. Green Dee Company is not interested in obtaining non-ownership interests. (In other words, it doesn’t want to lease the land.) Your employer is willing to pay $2 million to acquire the lot, but it would very much like to acquire the lot for substantially less than that amount. From public records, you are aware that Willie Bixby, the current owner of the lot, paid $1 million for the lot five years ago. You are also aware that a lien for $40,000 exists on the property for the benefit of a business called Rain-Tight Roofs, Inc. You are also aware that the lot has appraised for $2 million.
During your investigation of this lot, you discovered that many of Big City’s residents used this lot as a de facto park, since it was the only green space for several blocks. You informed your employer of the lot’s current use, but Green Dee Company is not interested in keeping the lot for green space. It wants the lot for its new project.
Green Dee Company received a letter from Big City Life, Inc., which is a social advocacy non-profit group that seeks to improve the lives of all of Big City’s residents. It represents many groups and many diverse interests. In the letter, Big City Life, Inc. asked Green Dee Company to refrain from purchasing the lot in Big City. Alternatively, Big City Life, Inc. asked Green Dee Company to donate the land to Big City, for the city to keep in perpetuity as a park, if Green Dee Company decides to purchase the lot. The letter explained that the lot is the only green space for use by the city’s residents. Big City Life, Inc. is a highly reputable and well-established organization. If Green Dee Company refrains from buying this particular lot, there will be no where else to locate its showcase project. There is no other “perfect” lot available in any city.
Green Dee Company’s management said, “We don’t want that kind of liability!” concerning the possibility of leaving the lot as a de facto park for the residents of Big City. The management also said, “Do they think we are a charity? No way! We are going to become rich and famous from this development!”
Because Green Dee Company has developed other projects in Big City, you have been invited to Big City’s Ball, which is an annual extravaganza. Its ostensible purpose is to reward important community businesses for their commitment to Big City and to reward high-ranking municipal government employees for their continued service. Green Dee Company’s management has hinted to you that it might be prudent to “make friends” with the City Council members, who might be able to waive the troublesome ordinance that restricts building height. You are pretty sure that management was just joking around when they said that, but you aren’t really sure. Green Dee Company purchased a tailor-made $1,500 tuxedo for you to attend the Big City Ball.
Assignment: Write a memo to the management of Green Dee Company. The memo should reflect a thorough understanding of your employer’s wishes. This memo should explain any legal issues associated with the potential acquisition of the lot from Willie Bixby. Specifically, it should examine the potential legal liability associated with the acquisition of Willie Bixby’s lot, and it should examine the legal and ethical implications of closing the lot to the public’s use. The memo should also contemplate Green Dee Company’s ethical and/or legal relationships to Big City Life, Inc. and Big City’s City Council. The memo should describe potential ownership interests that Green Dee Company might acquire in the land. In the memo, as you identify and analyze legal issues, be sure an use the IRAC method (see my instructions).
NOTE: A few guidelines for The Development: Part I:
- Length: Maximum 1,000 words
- Follow APA for citations and include a reference page at the end of the memo
- Document should be a memo; do not create a title page or abstract, as required by APA
Solution
Green Dee Company
Memo
To: The Management of Green Dee Company
From: Concerned Employee
Date: February 22, 2016
Subject: Legal Liability and Ethical Implications of Acquiring Willie Bixby’s Lot
Background
In the recent years, the Green Dee Company has recorded
significant success in the development of environmentally-friendly and
sustainable building designs. The Company’s focus on developing such buildings will
play a key role in the development of the real estate sector. As the management
continues to explore new opportunities for development, the success is imminent
and so is the impact of socio-economic life in the society. The designs will
continue to improve the quality of life and promote environmental and
sustainable development. Additionally, the quest for continued development of environmentally-friendly
designs will increase awareness of the need for developers to adopt the
strategy and promote sustainable and greener development. The past projects undertaken
by the Company have had a significant impact on the Green Dee, the environment
and the society. As such, there is a need for continued identification of opportunities
for development. The current project offers an opportunity for increased
development of the Company and the real estate sector. However, there is a need
for the consideration of the various legal liability and the ethical implications
of acquiring the land for the development of the project.
Legal and Ethical Implications of Bixby’s Lot Acquisition
The construction of the 25-story high-rise green design will have a high impact on the real estate industry and communities in the Big City. The purchase of the Bixby’s lot and the development of the building will occupy the only green space for use by the city residents. The neighboring low-rise buildings allow the residents access and view of the Beautiful Bay. However, the proposed green design will influence the real estate sector significantly. The development of the building will set a new standard for green high-risebuildings in the City. Its influence on the sector will trigger the development of green buildings, whether high-rise or low-rise, of high sustainability and lesser negative influence on the environment. It will pave a way for sustainable development as other developers in the industry adopt the practices used in the design. However, as the management, the consideration of the legal liability will be important before the purchase and development of the land.
Purchasing Willie Bixby’s lot and the development of the proposed design will come with a significant legal liability. The Company has already received concerns from a big and reputable social advocacy non-profit group, Big City Life, Inc., which focuses on improving the lives and wellbeing of the city’s residents. The group demands that the Company refrains from the purchase of the lot other purchase and donate it to the Big City for its development as a park. Additionally, the Green Dee Company has a reputation to protect and thus must consider aspects that may influence it negatively upon purchasing the lot. Also, the lien for $40 000 and the appraised value of $2 million will pose a legal challenge in the process of purchasing the lot. Upon purchasing the lot, the Company will face a challenge in the development of the property if the Big City Life, Inc., seeks to petition against the development of the land. Also, the lien will pose a great challenge in purchasing the land with $2 million or less (Jennings, 2013).
The development of the lot, which is currently the only space available for public use by the residents of the Big City, will pose numerous ethical implications. The residents of the city depend on the space as an access point to the Beautiful Bay and use it for recreational activities and as a playground for children. The development of the building will deny the residents the chance for an enjoyment of the natural beauty of the area, the opportunity to promote their health via contact with nature, and an opportunity of social development through interaction and integration (Squires & Heurkens, 2014). The private development of the lot will be regarded unethical by different social and civil rights bodies and agencies. The concern of the Big City Life, Inc., shows the possible concern by different advocates of improved social life in the society.
Another
ethical concern is the involvement of the Big City Council members in the hope
of influencing them to allow the development of the lot. The City Council
passed an ordinance prohibiting the construction of building with more than
four floors above the street level for all building within three blocks of the Beautiful
Bay. However, it has allowed the development of such buildings despite the height
restriction. The lot where the proposed design will be developed is located in
the vicinity of the park and will disallow the residents to view the Beautiful
Bay. Forging friendships with the City Council members to allow the
construction of the building will be an unethical move (Maniscalco,
2015).
Such a move may give the advocate groups such as the Big City Life, Inc., a
chance to fight the Company and tarnish its reputation. As such, it is prudent
for the management to consider the legal and ethical issues of concern before
pushing for the purchase and development of the lot.
References
Jennings, M. M. (2013). Real Estate Law (10th Edition ed.). Cambridge: Cengage Learning.
Maniscalco, A. (2015). Public spaces, marketplaces, and the constitution. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Squires, G., & Heurkens, E. (2014). International Approaches to Real Estate Development. New York: Routledge.