Challenge

As a global company that revolutionized the plumbing industry with smart home products, Reliance Worldwide Corporation (RWC) initially wanted a space near Georgia Tech to house an engineering innovation lab. “We make a product that uses water, and landlords tend to frown on having a water-based lab on the 18th floor of a high-rise,” says RWC President and CEO Sean McClenaghan.  

After exploring options with Scotland Wright Associates (SWA), Sean and RWC CFO Andrew Johnson saw the benefit in a space large enough to keep their entire HQ under one roof. They wanted to house everyone in a place that better fit their culture and would attract and retain talent as the company continued growing. “We didn’t feel like a typical Class-A office structure was conducive to who we are as a company,” Andrew says. RWC leadership was sure the perfect space existed that could handle all their needs, but they didn’t know if consolidating everything made sense financially. 

Process

Before answering the real-estate question, SWA asked was best for RWC long term. SWA CEO Michael Tucker says, “Our team challenged RWC’s mindset and got them to think about the benefit of having one office versus two.” Through workplace strategy analysis, SWA helped RWC determine that it made the most sense for everyone to be under one roof.  

With one space, RWC wouldn’t duplicate efforts and facilities with their employees separated. “They would have more square feet than they needed with two spaces,” Michael says, “and we identified this issue and helped them understand how much they really needed.” SWA also helped RWC understand they would actually save money by consolidating into one space. “Soon they saw that this solution made the most sense.” 

Sean says, “Initially, we were just looking for something around 25,000 square feet as a second expansion location. But SWA showed us an 80,000 sq. foot space that could act as one comprehensive HQ. That was when Andrew and I started thinking it might be interesting if we could keep everything together.” Andrew says SWA made the discovery process extremely efficient and easy. “They communicated well and understood what we were looking for.” 

RWC still had almost five years left on their lease, which complicated the consolidation plans. In response, SWA utilized its extensive market knowledge and helped RWC understand the value of their current space. They knew a healthcare company in the same building was looking for more space, and SWA pursued a deal to sublease while also moving forward with the new space. “SWA’s biggest challenge with this deal was keeping the planets and stars aligned long enough for the deal to come together,” Sean says. “But they stayed on top of it, stayed focused.” The SWA team was able to successfully convince the healthcare company to take RWC’s previous space. This incredible financial recovery for RWC came about because of SWA’s thorough process and Atlanta-market knowledge. 

Solution

All the pieces clicked with an 80,000 square foot space in the Midtown/West Atlanta area called Defoor Hills. With 18-foot ceilings, exposed brick and cinder blocks, and large, oversized windows, the building allows lots of natural light and an open-office style — characteristics that better fit RWC’s image and culture. Andrew says, “SWA did a great job listening to the type of structure we wanted, what we were looking for and areas we were interested in.” The space is in the exact part of town RWC wanted to relocate to, and with everyone under one roof, one of the biggest benefits of the move will be the company’s acquisition and retention of employees. 

Through an established relationship with the Defoor Hills building developer, SWA was able to very quickly negotiate the best financial option. Though multiple other brokers were bidding for the same space at the same time, SWA’s relationship with the landlord positioned them to lead and helped carry the deal through the end. All this occurred while SWA simultaneously managed the subleasing process of RWC’s previous space to save them money and time.

Result

The move sets up RWC for enormous future success, and the company feels very fortunate in how the deal worked out. “Our new space is a big part of supporting the growth of our business,” Andrew says, “and there’s no doubt we wouldn’t have this new space without SWA’s help. They really gave great guidance.” Sean says SWA is a very knowledgeable, well-connected and experienced team who looks out for your interests. “They know the market extremely well, they deliver on what they promise, they’re your advocate and adviser, and they have your best interests at heart.”