Pitching an idea to a Commercial Real Estate Development company
I hope that a few professionals and knowledgeable types can help me out.  

I'm currently the president of a local non-profit.  We've been eyeing a historic building that used to be a vaudeville theater and would love to own and renovate the building to do live theater, movies, music, etc., but cost is a concern at $2 million total (purchase of building and renovation)

We have a commercial real estate development company in town that has taken on some major projects valued anywhere from $500K to $70 million.  We are considering going to them with the following:

They buy the building and contribute an additional $500K to our non-profit ($1 million), and we match them with $1 million in grants and donations.  

Their purchase of the building and the $500K they contribute is then tax deductible for them.  So they should see 60% or more of their donation returned. 

Benefits for them:

1. naming rights on the building
2. free access to the theater for corporate events
3. They have residential property near the theater, so it will be a draw for their tennants and future tennants
4. They've constructed a parking facility near the theater, so they will benefit from the theater using metered parking
5. The CEO of the development company is on a local college's Board of Trustees, and he's looking to make a greater impact downtown by bring college students in...and a entertainment venue is a good way to do it.

What possibly would stop them from wanting to help us?  Can anyone think if any additional ideas that would sweeten the deal for them to sign on and help us out? 
[{"id": "eh36jb3", "text": "\"Their purchase of the building and the $500K they contribute is then tax deductible for them. So they should see 60% or more of their donation returned.\"\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nThis would stop them from helping you, at the end of the day they are running a business. Unless your ROI figures show exponential growth in the region the cost heavily outweighs the benefits.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "eh37cnt", "text": "They may not need the tax credits or discount their value.\n\nValue of the property plus cost of renovations? \n\nAre you going to lease the building back from them?  For what term?  Would they be restricted from selling the building in a few years if its value increased?  Who pays to maintain the building?\n\nIt sounds like you are asking them to donate $500K to $ 1 million in exchange for some Goodwill and intangibles.  That's real money.\n\nWhat about the use of leverage? Can you NP sign a lease at market rate for the space?  If NP's credit were good enough, the developer could finance the project with very little equity.  Perhaps the project could support itself without an outright cash gift.", "replies": [{"id": "eh3hv9z", "text": "NP = Non-Profit? Thanks!\n\n ", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "eh3zhf2", "text": "No idea what size city we are talking about....Are there available sites around the building? \n\nThe way I usually see this work is you get the city involved and bring a 2-3 site project. They agree to buy/renovate, as you outlined, in return for greater density/height/FAR/use on the other sites. \n\nIf the owner is a very active philanthropist, just pitch him on a personal capacity rather than a business deal. ", "replies": [{"id": "eh4wn91", "text": "They own commercial property all around the theater building.  They have hotels nearby as well.  It\u2019s a total win for them and supports all of their properties. \n\nTown is 20,000+.  60,000 are in try county.  We have a 10-plex movie theater as our only competition. ", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "eh44x0m", "text": "The thing you can do for them is commit to a long-term lease.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "el33bhp", "text": "A good agent doesn\u2019t need many support tools for a high-quality presentation.\u00a0 What they say and how they say it will have a major impact on the outcomes with prospects and clients.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]