Congratulations to the WRAR Building Task Force for the successful completion of their assignment!  Our long-range goal for our new Association office is getting closer. I take this opportunity to thank all the members and staff for the hard work to finalize WRAR’s next home. I think we all agree that we have long since outgrown our current building.
 
Our long-range plan since 2003 has been to provide quality space and services for our membership. We have had many members contribute to this process. It has been a long and tedious journey to finalize our new location and building plan. For those of you who may not remember, as well as new members, I would like to remind you of how we arrived here:

• 2003 – Building Task force was formed to look for building sites. Eighty six percent of our membership now lives or works within seven miles of the Eastwood Road and Military Cutoff intersection.
• 2005 – Membership voted to purchase land at the end of Sir Tyler Drive (across from Mayfaire).
• 2007 - Closed on the land after completion of all due diligence (permits, site and soil evaluations, etc.). We do not have any debt on this property.
• 2008 – A second building task force began work to maximize the site for our new building. The task force has worked long hours including working with caterers, party planners, and others to determine the best building for our area. The task force selected an architect and together they have finalized a preliminary building plan.
• 2009 – Task force has submitted preliminary plans to contractors for estimates. This is the final step necessary before you vote on this project.

Please remember these facts about the long-range plan for our new building:

• Current building was built in 1991, basically to house staff. Member functions have never been held in this building due to size restraints. Your corporations paid almost $67,000 for meeting facilities to house member functions from 2007 through 2008.
• The current building value is in excess of $700,000. This building will be sold and all of the monies applied to the new home.
• Associations throughout the state have successfully developed a model to provide space for member functions, while providing a revenue stream to offset membership costs. Examples would be the Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS® as well as the Greensboro and Durham Associations. Each of these associations has developed additional business to provide association income. No longer do they rely upon their members for all income. I encourage you to look at the website for these associations.
• Lastly, as REALTORS® we all understand the value of ownership. We have waited for many years in order to make the right commitment. We feel that our timing is good in this economy as it will actually favor lower building cost.

Your Board of Directors encourages you to email us your questions by clicking here. Thank you to those of you who have already done so. As promised, we have created a New Building FAQ page on WRAR.com to answer your questions. You can access this page by clicking here.

We are all excited to take this last step and to ask our membership for a vote of approval. We will vote at our Annual Meeting on September 17th to proceed and finalize our goal. To register for this meeting now, please Click Here.
 
Again, my sincere thanks to all of the members and staff, who have worked so hard to make this dream a reality.