Gene Kansas With Gene Kansas | Commercial Real Estate

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studio in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio, brought to you by Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA program, the accelerated degree program for working professionals looking to advance their career and enhance their leadership skills. And now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, CSU’s executive MBA program. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Atlanta Business Radio, we have Gene, Kansas, and he is the founder and CEO of Gene Kansas Commercial Real Estate. Welcome.

Gene Kansas: Thank you Lee. It’s always good to be with you.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m so excited to chat with you to get caught up. You’re doing some really important work. But for folks who aren’t familiar, can you talk a little bit about your work?

Gene Kansas: Absolutely. I’ve been in Atlanta 29 years. I’m from New Orleans. I believe who we are as kids is who we are as adults. I’ve always been a writer. I’ve always been an entrepreneur. Today, the primary medium for sharing stories and connecting is the built environment. So real estate and do that with a cultural focus. I also have a book coming out called Civil Site, which is about the people and places who came together to make history in Sweet Auburn, which is birthplace of the civil rights movement right here in Atlanta. Have a civic and socially based shared workspace in Sweet Auburn as well called constellations, and really focused on trying to make a positive difference in the world through people and places and programing.

Lee Kantor: Now, could you educate us a little bit for folks who aren’t familiar with the sweet Auburn area and why it’s so important for Atlanta and the region?

Gene Kansas: Absolutely. Well, I mean, the historical consequence of sweet Auburn cannot be emphasized enough. This is, you know, literally the the birthplace of the civil rights movement. So if you think about the the rights that are promised by the Constitution that weren’t being, you know, fully delivered, then you think about millions of people around the world and leadership right here in downtown Atlanta, Martin Luther King, you know, John Wesley Dobbs preceding him, Ella Baker, Congressman John Lewis, Bayard Rustin, Septima Clark, Rosalind Pope, so many others that came together to make the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 possible. That happened here. And the thing that’s both fascinating and also tragic is that since 1976, when the Sweet Auburn Historic District was designated a historic landmark, since then, 47% of the buildings have been lost. Part of what we do with my company is historic preservation. So to understand that not only are we losing historical fabric, but we’re also losing the ability to have a conspicuous cue for a conversation about the importance of place. And in this place, we’re talking about the lessons that can be imparted from the civil rights movement.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, I’ve been able to travel to a variety of different cities around the country, and some cities do a good job of incorporating kind of historical buildings and landmarks within the fabric of their downtowns or in certain areas. Why do you think that some communities embrace this, while other communities just want to tear it down and, you know, put up parking lots and parking garages and brand new shiny buildings?

Gene Kansas: Well, it’s a great question. And and it’s also a complicated one to answer because there’s so many different factors out there in the world. I mean, as one example, you know, you could have a city interested in growth and that’s not necessarily bad. Um, Atlanta has been, you know, a city on the rise for a long, long time. It’s part of our DNA is progress, um, and moving forward. Um, but in some cases that can lead to consequences that aren’t. Necessarily beneficial. And it’s not just the preservation of buildings. It could be, you know, let’s say, um, green, green space, our tree canopy. But with downtown Atlanta and I think a lot of other cities around this country, you had, um, you know, let’s say a negative consequence of white flight. Um, this was especially in the segregated South. So, you know, you you have places that were thriving business centers like downtown Atlanta, um, thriving commercial and cultural centers as well. But when people move out and they’re no longer a population to go to the restaurant or support the hotel or occupy the office space, then you have an economic issue, and if something is not creating value, then it’s not really motivating for others. And when it comes to the case of cities and neighborhoods, that can lead toward, um, basically, you know, issues with value and, and people trying to figure out what can be possible. And sometimes that leads to demolition. Sometimes it leads to what’s called demolition via neglect. And that’s a big part of what’s happened in Sweet Auburn is by building sitting vacant, um, they end up crumbling. Um, so that is just one answer out of many.

Lee Kantor: Now, when there’s an a companies like yours that come in and see kind of the value that’s there and maybe isn’t obvious to other people, how do you go about preserving some of the history, but still make it viable for business to be done.

Gene Kansas: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, there have been a lot of other people, um, and companies that have been involved in this effort and locally, um, there are preservation organizations such as the Atlanta Preservation Center, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation. There’s also the Atlanta Urban Design Commission, which is interested in historic preservation and acts as an oversight body through city government for this. Nationally, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, plus a lot of stakeholders in sweet Auburn from, you know, uh, the the churches here, um, from the King Center. Um, other historic places. Now, as someone who is an entrepreneur and a historic preservationist, who also is a writer. I’m very interested in the story, and the stories that come from Sweet Auburn are magnificent. They’re inspiring and and frankly, they’re incredible. And so if those can be shared and connect with people just like you do on your show, that that creates some form of value that’s motivating motivation that can result in action. And so the action might be for people to to come and use the space or rent space. Longer term constellations, which are mentioned earlier, is a great example of this.

Gene Kansas: This is a building at 135 Auburn Avenue. Um, it was built in 1910 as a book warehouse. It’s called, um, the Southern Book Building. And, um, this is a place that has a period of significance in the 1960s when in 1963, the the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, um, had their offices there. And to be able to to be a part of the history now through historic preservation and new contemporary programing at the Southern School book building. Um, we’ve got people who come in for, let’s say, a day. We’ve had over 80 weddings here. We have people who, um, rent space long term. One of the groups is called Music and common. Um, music and common does, um, racial reconciliation through songs. So they bring together communities and conflict. They write songs together, they perform songs together, they communicate. And there’s a healing there. The reason they’re here is because they have, you know, an interest in in a meaningful connection and presence to the sweet Auburn Historic District as a leader in civil and human rights. Um, but this is just one example.

Lee Kantor: Now, in your upcoming book, Civil Rights, um, you mentioned the importance of storytelling throughout this conversation, but is there a story within that book that you can share that kind of illustrates your interest in the area, and also maybe makes this come alive for the listener?

Gene Kansas: Absolutely. So there’s a building called the Daily World Building, and this building is a historic site in journalism. Um, it it is also a place that has a, a rich history even before the modern day civil rights movement so built in 1912. In 1918 it was home to the Virgil Coffee Company. Starting in, I think, the the 20s and then into the 30s, um, it was sad. Sat on the dividing line of black and white Atlanta. There were apartments there. They were integrated apartments. Um, then the 1940s and specifically 1944, the Ponciana club opened. Now the Ponciana club was a jazz joint that featured folks that you, your listeners will know, such as Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday, Benny Goodman, Little Richard. So there’s this jazz history. And then, um, there was a group in 1944 that moved in as well, called the district five Girl Scouts. This is Atlanta’s first black Girl Scout troop. These young Scouts who became women are an exceptional example of leadership. And one of those scouts is a woman or a young girl named Rosalind Pope. When she was a senior at Spelman, she became the principal author of An Appeal for Human Rights, which was a civil rights manifesto that was published in 1963 that sparked the Atlanta Student Movement, which helped spark the national movement, which really made success in the civil rights movement possible. No one knows who she is because, frankly, women have been excluded from history and especially, um, women of color. And so in I guess around this time last year, um, I got a call from the city of Atlanta Cultural Affairs saying that the Girl Scouts wanted to do a mural in downtown Atlanta to help celebrate the history of district five.

Gene Kansas: And did I know of any walls that could be used? Because I was in a fortunate position with our company to lead the historic preservation of the Daily World building, which had been hit by a tornado in 2008. Um, I bought the building with a partner of mine named Ben Dupuy, uh, led a preservation effort, and because of the historic preservation of the building itself, we had a wall. We were able to work with the Girl Scouts to have the mural honoring district five, featuring Rosalind Pope on the side of this building. And so we’re getting to talk more about a story now, but let’s just say that someone didn’t have the ability to to listen to this show or know much about the building if they see a 50 by 30 foot mural, public Art for Public good. And they’re interested in it today. You know, with mobile technology, they can quickly, you know, look up what is the story here? And when they do, they’re going to find something, um, of a caliber of inspiration that’s really hard to get in everyday life. So what might that mean for a Georgia State student? You know, walking by, there’s 37,000, uh, people at Georgia State University on the downtown campus. Um, what might that mean for a young scout of today who goes with their troop and sees what they think is just a work of art, but really an ideal and an example, a shining example of what’s possible. These are the types of things that are possible through historic preservation of the building. I would argue, though, maybe even more importantly, is a more ethereal or artistic preservation, in this case the preservation of women’s rights.

Lee Kantor: So what do you need more of? And how can we help you?

Gene Kansas: Well, if anyone is interested in learning about the people and places that came together to make history and sweet Auburn through civil rights, please, you know, go online. Um, this is forthcoming from UGA press and co-published with Georgia Humanities, will be out in February of 2025. The website is civil sites, dot com and sites are spelled s I g h t s civil sites com. Um. Learn more. Preorder the book. Um come down to sweet Auburn. Um, you know, do some cultural tourism and um and just if so inspired share it with others.

Lee Kantor: And then can you share the kind of coordinates for constellations if they’re interested in your shared workspace?

Gene Kansas: Absolutely. Thanks for asking. It’s constellations dot community. We have space for lease long term. We also host meetings and events. So think holiday party, think book club, milestone events, um, reunions, uh, any type of um meeting or event if you want to be in a place that’s beautiful and also has a rich history, um, please visit us.

Lee Kantor: Well, Gene, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Gene Kansas: Thank you so much for having me.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.