McDonald's rep speaks to IU Real Estate Club

IU does not yet have a replacement for the Read Center McDonald's, Bob , a real estate manager for the hamburger giant, said Monday night.\nThe University would like to become a McDonald's franchise owner, but the company usually only allows individuals to run a franchise, according to an Oct. 13, 2005, Indiana Daily Student article. \nMcDonald's sent a "request for proposal" to IU several months ago, but that was not accepted, Lach said. \n"IU's conclusion was that it would not award based on a (request for proposal)," he said. "What that means is McDonald's is trying to figure it out. It means they will either renew McDonald's lease, which is what we're hoping, or they could run something themselves."\nLach, who graduated from IU-Purdue University Indianapolis in 1993 with a degree in general studies and was a SPEA student at Bloomington before that, came to campus Monday night to discuss the real estate aspects of McDonald's with the IU Real Estate Club.\nHe advised students to take a wide variety of classes and let employers know they possess a diverse array of skills. He also told the several dozen members of the club in attendance that mentoring is a good way to learn more about the real estate market.\n"There are always people in my field or plenty of other people always willing to tell people what it's like," he said.\nLach, who started working for McDonald's in 2004, said the company is a little different from others since people view the restaurant chain as a convenience rather than a destination. \n"People are driving along, and they see McDonald's and say, 'OK, I want to eat there,'" he said.\nThe company's strategy for success is to purchase property in developing areas that have the potential for long-term growth, he said. \nThis poses something of a problem because the restaurants are not always located on corner lots, which pharmacies and banks are willing to pay a premium for.\n"We can't buy prime corner property because we can't raise the price of hamburgers," Lach said. "We're not going to sell more hamburgers because of our location."\nAnother challenge facing the real estate side of the company is that many towns have passed ordinances requiring certain styles of architecture or landscaping, which has forced McDonald's to build several different types of restaurants.\nFreshman Andrew Braun, who is majoring in accounting finance said the presentation was useful.\n"Just analyzing how to acquire each site was interesting," he said. "It was more real-life than classroom work."\nSenior Dan Hum, president of the club, said corporate real estate is an important part of the market for students to consider.\n"Most people don't think of McDonald's as a real estate company, but they're the second largest in the country behind the (Catholic) Church," he said. "Companies like McDonald's offer an excellent opportunity to learn about real estate"