LDG Consulting Celebrates Ten Years: Honoree No. 10 is Big Bethel AME Church

In honor of Ten Years in Business, LDG Consulting is highlighting twelve of our top clients from this past decade. We are delighted to announce Honoree Number Ten: Big Bethel A.M.E. Church – the greater Atlanta area’s oldest and most historic predominantly African-American congregation, founded in 1847. The church is the founder of historic Sweet Auburn District’s Bethel Towers, Inc. – an affordable apartment complex created to be a relief to greater Atlanta’s low-income citizens.

After the Civil war, the congregation became associated with the A. M. E. Church, the first independent denomination in the country, and rapidly grew to become a center of the community as well as a focal point for social action. In 1879, the Gate City Colored School, the first public school for African Americans in the city, was founded in the basement of Big Bethel. It later moved to a building on Houston Street. In 1881, Morris Brown College, the only college in Georgia started solely by African Americans, held classes in the basement of Big Bethel before moving to its first campus. For years, the church was used for community gatherings because it was the largest meeting space in the African American community. Big Bethel was known as “Sweet Auburn’s City Hall” and Nelson Mandela even spoke there in 1990.

Dr. John Foster, pastor of Big Bethel AME Church and Cincinnati native, has a distinguished career, both as a clergy in the AME Church and as an educator at several colleges and universities. Dr. Foster’s higher education tenure includes being a faculty in electrical engineering and/or computer science at Tuskegee University, North Carolina A&T State University, Prairie View A&M University, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, University of South Carolina and the University of Phoenix. In addition to a faculty member, Dr. Foster also held administrative positions of Vice Provost, Dean and Department Head at these institutions.

Dr. Foster has served on the boards of the National Science Foundation, the Army Science Board, the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina, the Allen Hills Board of Directors, the Sweet Auburn Board of Directors, and the Bethel Towers Board of Directors. He holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Tuskegee University and a Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center.  He received a Master of Science and his Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

LDG AND BIG BETHEL AME

Tres Dye was the attorney representing Big Bethel and a friend of LDG Consulting’s owner. As such, he recommended LDG to Bethel Towers because of the complexity of the low-income housing tax credit program. He wanted to make sure the church had somebody on their side that could read through the specific documents that spoke to the transaction. After a brief interview process, LDG was hired to work on their behalf.

BETHEL TOWERS

LDG served as a representative for Bethel Towers Inc. – the 1970s affordable apartments complex on the Big Bethel AME campus. The task was to execute a major renovation for the 16-story building’s 180 units. In this role, LDG became an advocate for Bethel Towers (an affiliate of Big Bethel A.M.E. Church), ensuring their interests were protected during final negotiations. LDG services included the review of the original business terms, recommendations during final negotiations, confirmation of correct legal drafting, analyzing the developer proforma and providing internal projections related to fees, owner debt pay-offs, future cash flow streams, etc. The result of our involvement provided a smooth closing transaction, increased fees to client, and peace of mind.

Drone shot of Bethel Towers.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

• Project Type: 180 affordable apartment units
• Location: Downtown Atlanta in the Sweet Auburn District
• Development Cost: $32.9MM
• Task: Reposition 280.5K SF of existing loft office
• Amenities: Health and wellness facility, various event venues, path linking uses, green space activation
• Client/Owner: Bethel Towers, Inc.
• LDG’s Role: Development Advisor
• Period: 2017-2018
• Status: Construction nearing completion

Tres Dye, the man responsible for connecting LDG with Big Bethel, is a real estate and business lawyer with more than 20 years of transactional experience. As a partner on Taylor English’s Real Estate Department, Tres focuses his practice on commercial real estate transactions. He’s represented private sector developers, borrowers and lenders in the acquisition, development, financing, leasing and disposition of commercial real estate, including retail, office and industrial assets. Tres also has extensive experience representing local government entities and Georgia land bank authorities. His transactional experience includes assisting with corporate M&A and finance transactions where real estate is the primary collateral.

Prior to joining Taylor English, Tres was a member of a large, regional law firm and a large, international law firm. He also co-founded his own firm in Atlanta which focused on complex litigation and commercial real estate transactions and has served as Vice Chairman of the Historic District Development Corporation, Board Member of the City of Atlanta Zoning Review Board and Fulton County Recreation Authority as well as Vice Chairman and Chairman for the City of Atlanta.

In 2019, LDG was recommended by Tres Dye again to help Atlanta First United Methodist Church who needed help evaluating proposals for responses to an RFP for a development partner. The report produced by LDG recommended that the church’s foundation should pursue detailed negotiations with the respondent to determine if a mutually agreed upon deal structure could be approved. That additional detailed work has been completed and we hope to see a development agreement signed soon.

LDG is currently working on another project won due to our experience with Bethel Towers. We hope to be considered by Bethel Towers again for future phases.

View more info on Big Bethel AME and Bethel Towers:

• Big Bethel AME Website
• Bethel Towers Property Management Company: Dorchester Management
• Tres Dye’s Bio of Taylor English
• “Affordable Atlanta Community Secures $15M Loan” – Multi-Housing News. 2 Oct 2018. Dutton, Holy.
• “Developer wants Invest Atlanta’s help with Big Bethel Tower redevelopment” – Curbed Atlanta. 16 May 2018. Keenan, Sean Richard.

Stay tuned this year to find out about our three remaining honorees!

ABOUT BIG BETHEL AME: Founded in 1847, Big Bethel AME Church is the oldest African-American congregation in the metropolitan Atlanta area. Situated in the Sweet Auburn district of Atlanta, Georgia, Big Bethel is known as the mother church of AME in North Georgia. It is located at 220 Auburn Avenue NE. | bigbethelame.org

ABOUT LDG CONSULTING: LDG Consulting is a boutique advisory and implementation firm. We advise visionary developers and owners on how best to realize their commercial real estate goals and we help them profitably execute their vision. Our diverse backgrounds provide a full-breadth of services – we not only understand the problems in the field but we also explain the impacts on the project proforma; we easily transition between the rugged project site and the corporate board room. As a result, we are as comfortable in our construction boots as we are in our corporate suits.™ | ldgconsulting.com