1451 Crown Center was recently awarded LEED Silver Certification.
The 91,756-square-foot building is located at 1451 Cypress Creek Road in uptown Ft. Lauderdale.
Crown Center is the only office campus in the State of Florida to boast three LEED Certified Buildings. 1401 Crown Center is LEED Silver New Construction; 1475 is LEED EBOM and 1451 is now LEED EBOM Silver. Midgard successfully completed the gut renovation of 1401 Crown Center to a LEED registered silver building. Additionally, 1475 Crown Center was recognized in 2011 as a LEED EBOM (Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance) building, making it one of Florida’s first buildings to achieve this designation.
The property consists of six low-rise office buildings and is a mix of two and three story buildings, strategically located on 24 acres fronting Cypress Creek Road and is home to numerous large corporate tenants.
The only other campuses to have multiple LEED Certified buildings are government-owned or educational campuses.
Miami-based Pointe Group Advisors has been selected to exclusively manage Doral Costa Office Park, a premier ‘Class A’ office park centrally located in Miami. The new assignment adds 280,000 square feet to the firm’s third-party management portfolio of 3 million square feet.
Comprised of three, multi-story buildings, Doral Costa Office Park — 100 percent leased — is located at 9800 and 9850 Doral Blvd. and 4090 NW 97th Avenue, adjacent to Doral Resort & Spa. World Fuel, a leader in global fuel logistics, is among the office park’s top-tier tenants.
“We are thrilled to be overseeing the property management needs of Doral Costa Office Park, not only ensuring that goals are met, but that expectations are exceeded,” said William Holly, President of Pointe Group Advisors. “This park is an outstanding addition to our firm’s growing portfolio of property management assignments and is an excellent location for businesses desiring the convenience of a central location in the City of Doral.”
Pointe Group Advisors Senior Property Manager Duanne Jordan will oversee operations at the office park, which will include integrating and streamlining management, engineering and accounting in an effort to maximize asset values and sustain the park’s long-term growth.
00SFOBA STAFFhttps://dev.sfoba.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/SFOBA-logo-sharpened-transparent.pngSFOBA STAFF2012-11-29 02:52:142012-11-29 02:52:14Pointe Group Advisors Awarded 280,000 SF Assignment
Scott Brenner, Esq., CCIM, SIOR, RPA, CAM President/CEO of Brenner Real Estate Group, has announced that Thomas M. Altman has joined the firm as Executive Vice President.
In this capacity, Altman will focus on transactions, sourcing listings, and seeking equity and other strategic relationships for the firm.
Says Scott Brenner, “Tom has a long list of successful accomplishments in the financial world. His fund management experience and negotiating skills are tools that can support the Brenner Real Estate Group business plan. I’ve known Tom for over 30 years and am extremely pleased to have him actively involved in our growth.”
Most recently, Thomas Altman has served as principal of Altman Financial, LLC, a financial business consulting firm active in tax preparation, business brokerage and mergers and acquisitions consulting. Previously he was founder of The Altman Group, an independent consulting, investment and merchant banking advisory firm. Prior to forming his own companies, Altman served as Executive Vice President of National Bancard Corporation (NaBanco) where he was directly involved in growing the 30 person firm into a billion dollar electronic clearinghouse for merchant credit card transactions. Altman also worked in Fort Lauderdale as an audit partner, managing partner and ultimately, Southeastern Regional Managing Partner of Grant Thornton, a large national CPA firm. Altman spent 15 years in public accounting practice in Florida where he was actively involved in securities underwriting, corporate mergers, acquisitions and restructurings.
Altman is a graduate of The University of Florida in Gainesville and holds a BSBA degree in accounting. A native of Bartow, Florida, he is currently a resident of The Villages, Florida.
https://sfoba.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/thomas-altman.jpg270275SFOBA STAFFhttps://dev.sfoba.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/SFOBA-logo-sharpened-transparent.pngSFOBA STAFF2012-11-28 03:50:452012-11-28 03:50:45Brenner Names Executive Vice President
Commercial real estate veterans Michael W. Rauch, Tom Robertson, and Jack Lupo have joined forces to launch CRE Florida Partners, LLC, a commercial real estate company providing Brokerage Services, Investment Services, Private Equity & Trust Services, Corporate Representation, Property & Asset Management, and Valuation & Advisory Services throughout the State of Florida.
Rauch, formerly with NAI Global and currently Managing Partner with Rauch, Hartman, Sherer & Co., PA, Robertson, most recently Senior Vice President with Jones Lang LaSalle (“JLL”) in Boca Raton and earlier, a principal with Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, and Lupo, formally of Jack Lupo Realty Co., bring over 70 years of family history and relationships in Florida commercial real estate to the table.
“I am excited to be working with such exceptionally talented, honest, and hard-working professionals,” said Rauch.
Lupo noted that all of the partners have worked together for many years on a variety of developments and projects and enjoyed the success those partnerships brought.
“What really makes this venture unique is the synergy of different abilities and strengths,” Lupo continued. “It was time we formalized our successful business relationships.”
Today, clients are seeking rooted and innovative partners who understand their needs and objectives, and who share their passion for and commitment to ensuring the success of their business.
“We provide clients with a seasoned team of professionals, connecting local market knowledge with business insight, forming long-term business relationships with property owners, investors and users that go far beyond a single project or transaction,” commented Robertson.
The firm is off to an aggressive start, with offices in 6 counties, including Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River and Brevard Counties.
The move was announced to peers late Friday.
“The long-term business relationships and market expertise that Mike, Tom and Jack have developed during their careers in the corporate and brokerage communities will be great assets to their clients and the firm’s success,” said Steven Aberman, Director of Real Estate with WBS Properties.
WBS is a 3.5 million SF privately owned portfolio consisting of 42 retail, office and industrial properties in six states.
CRE Florida Partners’ goal is to complement its already expanding business presence throughout the state of Florida by establishing additional brokerage and management offices in all major Florida MSA’s, including but not limited to Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Myers and Jacksonville.
“The idea is to have small offices in the backyards of our clients, in order to be more efficient, nimble and responsive,” said Rauch.
The firm is currently seeking additional brokers and/or operations through acquisition, merger or partnership in the Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Fort Myers, and Jacksonville MSA’s and currently has openings for experienced commercial brokers in its Boca Raton and Pompano Beach offices.
https://sfoba.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/cre-florida-partners.png270274SFOBA STAFFhttps://dev.sfoba.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/SFOBA-logo-sharpened-transparent.pngSFOBA STAFF2012-11-22 14:56:422012-11-22 14:56:42Industry Veterans Launch New CRE Firm
The office market along the heart of uptown Fort Lauderdale’s Commercial Boulevard offers easy access to Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike and good bargains for businesses seeking breaks on rent.
The mostly older buildings are losing their appeal as tenants leave the stretch for newer and more upscale complexes across Broward County and South Florida.
Real estate brokers say they’re having to forgo traditional office tenants along Commercial and instead are targeting more medical businesses and schools.
“We’re chasing the deals, just like everybody else in that market,” said Peter Reed, a broker at Commercial Florida Realty Services in Boca Raton.
Another broker was even more blunt.
“It’s like hand-to-hand combat retaining and attracting tenants there,” said Jonathan Kingsley, senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle in Miami.
As businesses recover from the recession, the region’s most prestigious office buildings are almost fully leased. But second-tier properties continue to struggle. Tenants often prefer newer buildings to them because they offer more efficient layouts and high-speed Internet connections.
Between I-95 and the turnpike, there are 17 buildings in the Commercial Boulevard market consisting of 1.1 million square feet. The vacancy rate is 27.5 percent, well above the 16.5 percent vacancy for all of Broward, according to Commercial Florida Realty.
A 167,270-square-foot building at 2050 Spectrum Boulevard is almost a third vacant, as is a building at 2101 W. Commercial Blvd. Some of the smaller buildings are half-empty.
BellSouth, Orlove Pharmaceuticals, Northwestern Mutual and the Katzman Garfinkel & Berger law firm are among the tenants to leave the Commercial Boulevard market in recent years.
Katzman Garfinkel leased 18,000 square feet at 1501 NW 49th Street for about three years but left in 2011 when it bought a larger building in Margate.
Along Commercial, the firm often found its parking spaces filled by students from a local college, said Donna Berger, managing partner of Katzman Garfinkel. What’s more, the layout of the building was inconvenient, she said.
“When you’re running a business, you’re looking for a big space, parking, and for it to be easy for clients and customers to find you — and you want them to be comfortable when they get there,” Berger said. We had a happy home there for years, but at the end of the day, we just outgrew it.”
Competition from the Cypress Creek market and other complexes in southwestern Broward will make it difficult for Commercial to make a comeback, brokers say.
“There really is no great hope for that corridor,” Kingsley said. “We project that it will always be a secondary market.”
Colliers International South Florida is pleased to announce that Ronald A. Schagrin, SIOR and Elias Porras, CCIM, SIOR have joined the firm as Senior Vice Presidents.
Schagrin and Porras have both been in the business for over 25 years and have worked as a team representing industrial and office landlords and tenants throughout Broward and Palm Beach counties.
“Ron and Elias are game changers for Colliers South Florida,” says Stephen Nostrand, CEO. “Their experience and track record of memorable client service and expertise in the field of both industrial and office leasing is a perfect fit with our existing team.”
Prior to joining Colliers, Schagrin was a co-founding partner along with Porras of Commercial Property Realty Advisors, a full service real estate firm that operated for nine years, which later became Commercial Property Realty Group. He served as Senior Vice President at Prudential CRES Commercial Real Estate South Florida. His commercial real estate career began at Colliers International South Florida where when he left in 2001 he served as Senior Director. He is a founding Board Member of Gilda’s Club South Florida and has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Currently Schagrin serves as President for the Georgina Dieter Dennis Foundation which provides scholarships to vocal majors attending Florida universities and colleges.
“With the menu of services Colliers is able to provide, combined with my experience of understanding market trends, our clients and our prospects will receive world class commercial real estate options,” says Schagrin.
Porras partnered with Schagrin in the operation of Commercial Property Realty Advisors, LLC (CPRA). He also acted as Vice President/Broker with Prudential CRES Commercial Real Estate South Florida. He began his brokerage career back in the 1980s with Colliers International. Porras is on the National Recruitment Committee with SIOR. He is a member of the South Florida Office Broker’s Association, the Society of Commercial Realtors, National Association of Realtors and Industrial Brokers of South Florida.
“Having vast experience in real estate market trends, relocation services, stabilization and disposition of distressed or underperforming properties, Colliers International’s global offerings will provide my clients with an array of solutions, as well as the ability to tap in to the strength of over 12,300 professionals around the world,” says Porras.
00SFOBA STAFFhttps://dev.sfoba.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/SFOBA-logo-sharpened-transparent.pngSFOBA STAFF2012-11-13 20:56:142012-11-13 20:56:14Colliers Brings On Two Veteran Brokers
Ft. Lauderdale Office Campus Receives 3rd LEED Certification
/in News/by SFOBA STAFF1451 Crown Center was recently awarded LEED Silver Certification.
The 91,756-square-foot building is located at 1451 Cypress Creek Road in uptown Ft. Lauderdale.
Crown Center is the only office campus in the State of Florida to boast three LEED Certified Buildings. 1401 Crown Center is LEED Silver New Construction; 1475 is LEED EBOM and 1451 is now LEED EBOM Silver. Midgard successfully completed the gut renovation of 1401 Crown Center to a LEED registered silver building. Additionally, 1475 Crown Center was recognized in 2011 as a LEED EBOM (Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance) building, making it one of Florida’s first buildings to achieve this designation.
The property consists of six low-rise office buildings and is a mix of two and three story buildings, strategically located on 24 acres fronting Cypress Creek Road and is home to numerous large corporate tenants.
The only other campuses to have multiple LEED Certified buildings are government-owned or educational campuses.
Pointe Group Advisors Awarded 280,000 SF Assignment
/in News/by SFOBA STAFFMiami-based Pointe Group Advisors has been selected to exclusively manage Doral Costa Office Park, a premier ‘Class A’ office park centrally located in Miami. The new assignment adds 280,000 square feet to the firm’s third-party management portfolio of 3 million square feet.
Comprised of three, multi-story buildings, Doral Costa Office Park — 100 percent leased — is located at 9800 and 9850 Doral Blvd. and 4090 NW 97th Avenue, adjacent to Doral Resort & Spa. World Fuel, a leader in global fuel logistics, is among the office park’s top-tier tenants.
“We are thrilled to be overseeing the property management needs of Doral Costa Office Park, not only ensuring that goals are met, but that expectations are exceeded,” said William Holly, President of Pointe Group Advisors. “This park is an outstanding addition to our firm’s growing portfolio of property management assignments and is an excellent location for businesses desiring the convenience of a central location in the City of Doral.”
Pointe Group Advisors Senior Property Manager Duanne Jordan will oversee operations at the office park, which will include integrating and streamlining management, engineering and accounting in an effort to maximize asset values and sustain the park’s long-term growth.
Brenner Names Executive Vice President
/in News/by SFOBA STAFFScott Brenner, Esq., CCIM, SIOR, RPA, CAM President/CEO of Brenner Real Estate Group, has announced that Thomas M. Altman has joined the firm as Executive Vice President.
In this capacity, Altman will focus on transactions, sourcing listings, and seeking equity and other strategic relationships for the firm.
Says Scott Brenner, “Tom has a long list of successful accomplishments in the financial world. His fund management experience and negotiating skills are tools that can support the Brenner Real Estate Group business plan. I’ve known Tom for over 30 years and am extremely pleased to have him actively involved in our growth.”
Most recently, Thomas Altman has served as principal of Altman Financial, LLC, a financial business consulting firm active in tax preparation, business brokerage and mergers and acquisitions consulting. Previously he was founder of The Altman Group, an independent consulting, investment and merchant banking advisory firm. Prior to forming his own companies, Altman served as Executive Vice President of National Bancard Corporation (NaBanco) where he was directly involved in growing the 30 person firm into a billion dollar electronic clearinghouse for merchant credit card transactions. Altman also worked in Fort Lauderdale as an audit partner, managing partner and ultimately, Southeastern Regional Managing Partner of Grant Thornton, a large national CPA firm. Altman spent 15 years in public accounting practice in Florida where he was actively involved in securities underwriting, corporate mergers, acquisitions and restructurings.
Altman is a graduate of The University of Florida in Gainesville and holds a BSBA degree in accounting. A native of Bartow, Florida, he is currently a resident of The Villages, Florida.
Industry Veterans Launch New CRE Firm
/in News/by SFOBA STAFFCommercial real estate veterans Michael W. Rauch, Tom Robertson, and Jack Lupo have joined forces to launch CRE Florida Partners, LLC, a commercial real estate company providing Brokerage Services, Investment Services, Private Equity & Trust Services, Corporate Representation, Property & Asset Management, and Valuation & Advisory Services throughout the State of Florida.
Rauch, formerly with NAI Global and currently Managing Partner with Rauch, Hartman, Sherer & Co., PA, Robertson, most recently Senior Vice President with Jones Lang LaSalle (“JLL”) in Boca Raton and earlier, a principal with Coldwell Banker Commercial NRT, and Lupo, formally of Jack Lupo Realty Co., bring over 70 years of family history and relationships in Florida commercial real estate to the table.
“I am excited to be working with such exceptionally talented, honest, and hard-working professionals,” said Rauch.
Lupo noted that all of the partners have worked together for many years on a variety of developments and projects and enjoyed the success those partnerships brought.
“What really makes this venture unique is the synergy of different abilities and strengths,” Lupo continued. “It was time we formalized our successful business relationships.”
Today, clients are seeking rooted and innovative partners who understand their needs and objectives, and who share their passion for and commitment to ensuring the success of their business.
“We provide clients with a seasoned team of professionals, connecting local market knowledge with business insight, forming long-term business relationships with property owners, investors and users that go far beyond a single project or transaction,” commented Robertson.
The move was announced to peers late Friday.
“The long-term business relationships and market expertise that Mike, Tom and Jack have developed during their careers in the corporate and brokerage communities will be great assets to their clients and the firm’s success,” said Steven Aberman, Director of Real Estate with WBS Properties.
WBS is a 3.5 million SF privately owned portfolio consisting of 42 retail, office and industrial properties in six states.
CRE Florida Partners’ goal is to complement its already expanding business presence throughout the state of Florida by establishing additional brokerage and management offices in all major Florida MSA’s, including but not limited to Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Myers and Jacksonville.
“The idea is to have small offices in the backyards of our clients, in order to be more efficient, nimble and responsive,” said Rauch.
The firm is currently seeking additional brokers and/or operations through acquisition, merger or partnership in the Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Fort Myers, and Jacksonville MSA’s and currently has openings for experienced commercial brokers in its Boca Raton and Pompano Beach offices.
Commercial Boulevard Office Vacancies Soaring
/in News/by SFOBA STAFFThe office market along the heart of uptown Fort Lauderdale’s Commercial Boulevard offers easy access to Interstate 95 and Florida’s Turnpike and good bargains for businesses seeking breaks on rent.
The mostly older buildings are losing their appeal as tenants leave the stretch for newer and more upscale complexes across Broward County and South Florida.
Real estate brokers say they’re having to forgo traditional office tenants along Commercial and instead are targeting more medical businesses and schools.
“We’re chasing the deals, just like everybody else in that market,” said Peter Reed, a broker at Commercial Florida Realty Services in Boca Raton.
Another broker was even more blunt.
“It’s like hand-to-hand combat retaining and attracting tenants there,” said Jonathan Kingsley, senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle in Miami.
As businesses recover from the recession, the region’s most prestigious office buildings are almost fully leased. But second-tier properties continue to struggle. Tenants often prefer newer buildings to them because they offer more efficient layouts and high-speed Internet connections.
Between I-95 and the turnpike, there are 17 buildings in the Commercial Boulevard market consisting of 1.1 million square feet. The vacancy rate is 27.5 percent, well above the 16.5 percent vacancy for all of Broward, according to Commercial Florida Realty.
A 167,270-square-foot building at 2050 Spectrum Boulevard is almost a third vacant, as is a building at 2101 W. Commercial Blvd. Some of the smaller buildings are half-empty.
BellSouth, Orlove Pharmaceuticals, Northwestern Mutual and the Katzman Garfinkel & Berger law firm are among the tenants to leave the Commercial Boulevard market in recent years.
Katzman Garfinkel leased 18,000 square feet at 1501 NW 49th Street for about three years but left in 2011 when it bought a larger building in Margate.
Along Commercial, the firm often found its parking spaces filled by students from a local college, said Donna Berger, managing partner of Katzman Garfinkel. What’s more, the layout of the building was inconvenient, she said.
“When you’re running a business, you’re looking for a big space, parking, and for it to be easy for clients and customers to find you — and you want them to be comfortable when they get there,” Berger said. We had a happy home there for years, but at the end of the day, we just outgrew it.”
Competition from the Cypress Creek market and other complexes in southwestern Broward will make it difficult for Commercial to make a comeback, brokers say.
“There really is no great hope for that corridor,” Kingsley said. “We project that it will always be a secondary market.”
Sources: Sun-Sentinel
Colliers Brings On Two Veteran Brokers
/in News/by SFOBA STAFFColliers International South Florida is pleased to announce that Ronald A. Schagrin, SIOR and Elias Porras, CCIM, SIOR have joined the firm as Senior Vice Presidents.
Schagrin and Porras have both been in the business for over 25 years and have worked as a team representing industrial and office landlords and tenants throughout Broward and Palm Beach counties.
“Ron and Elias are game changers for Colliers South Florida,” says Stephen Nostrand, CEO. “Their experience and track record of memorable client service and expertise in the field of both industrial and office leasing is a perfect fit with our existing team.”
Prior to joining Colliers, Schagrin was a co-founding partner along with Porras of Commercial Property Realty Advisors, a full service real estate firm that operated for nine years, which later became Commercial Property Realty Group. He served as Senior Vice President at Prudential CRES Commercial Real Estate South Florida. His commercial real estate career began at Colliers International South Florida where when he left in 2001 he served as Senior Director. He is a founding Board Member of Gilda’s Club South Florida and has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors. Currently Schagrin serves as President for the Georgina Dieter Dennis Foundation which provides scholarships to vocal majors attending Florida universities and colleges.
“With the menu of services Colliers is able to provide, combined with my experience of understanding market trends, our clients and our prospects will receive world class commercial real estate options,” says Schagrin.
Porras partnered with Schagrin in the operation of Commercial Property Realty Advisors, LLC (CPRA). He also acted as Vice President/Broker with Prudential CRES Commercial Real Estate South Florida. He began his brokerage career back in the 1980s with Colliers International. Porras is on the National Recruitment Committee with SIOR. He is a member of the South Florida Office Broker’s Association, the Society of Commercial Realtors, National Association of Realtors and Industrial Brokers of South Florida.
“Having vast experience in real estate market trends, relocation services, stabilization and disposition of distressed or underperforming properties, Colliers International’s global offerings will provide my clients with an array of solutions, as well as the ability to tap in to the strength of over 12,300 professionals around the world,” says Porras.