South Florida Office Vacancy Falls To 13.2%

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The South Florida Office market ended the fourth quarter 2013 with a vacancy rate of 13.2%.

The vacancy rate was down over the previous quarter, with net absorption totaling positive 737,966 square feet in the fourth quarter. That compares to positive 507,171 square feet in the third quarter 2013. Vacant sublease space decreased in the quarter, ending the quarter at 702,499 square feet.

Some of the most notable move-ins of 2013 include: Miami Herald Media Company moving into 158,266 square feet at 3511 NW 91st Ave; OneBlood, Inc. moving into 75,000 square feet at 3000 W Cypress Road; and Northern Trust moving into 64,820 square feet at 600 Brickell.

Rental rates ended the fourth quarter at $26.29, an increase over the previous quarter.

A total of two buildings delivered to the market in the quarter totaling 43,750 square feet, with 862,525 square feet still under construction at the end of the quarter.

This trend is compared to the U.S. National Office vacancy rate, which decreased to 11.5% from the previous quarter, with net absorption positive 25.62 million square feet in the fourth quarter. Average rental rates increased to $22.06, and 177 buildings delivered to the market totaling more than 11.7 million square feet.

 

Source:  CoStar

 

Brenner Real Estate Group Promotes Adam Starr

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Adam C. Starr has been promoted to the position of Senior Vice President – Commercial Brokerage for Brenner Real Estate Group.

Over the course of two tenures with Brenner, Mr. Starr has been with the firm 13 of the last 15 years, most recently serving as Vice President of Commercial Brokerage since August, 2005.  Prior to that, he served as a Senior Associate with Trammell Crow Company for two years.

Adam Starr has handled the marketing and leasing of over 4,500,000 square feet of office and industrial buildings within South Florida, and has grown his tenant representation practice, specializing in the representation of law and financial service firms.  Additionally, Starr manages purchase and sale transactions of office, retail and industrial buildings for both buyers and sellers. He has consistently been one of the top producers for the firm, earning multiple CoStar Power Broker awards during his 15 year career in commercial real estate.

Starr has previously served on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), and served as co-chair of the Annual NAIOP Broward County Bus Tour, and is an active member of the South Florida Office Brokers Association (SFOBA).

He is a resident of Boca Raton.

Madelayne Garcia Signs Media Company To 7-Year Deal

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Comcast Spotlight, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, will lease 14,218 square feet at Offices at Miramar Town Center located in Miramar, according to an announcement by Stiles Realty.

The media and technology services provider signed a 7.5-year lease bringing the center to 100 percent occupancy.

Stiles Realty director Madelayne Garcia represented the landlord, Rock-Kim Miramar, LLC, and Jones Lang LaSalle senior vice presidents Jonathan Kingsley and Stephen Rutchik represented Comcast Spotlight in the transaction.

Comcast Spotlight is one of two leases to help bring the property to full capacity. Garcia, who took over the listing in 2012 when 18,000 square feet remained available, recently signed another lease with attorneys Lopez and Morales, PA, for 3200 square feet. Another notable tenant at the Offices at Miramar include U.S. General Services Administration for about 15,000 square feet. The building is fully leased with the exception of a bank outparcel that remains available.

According to Garcia, Comcast Spotlight, who relocated from another building in Miramar, was attracted to the Offices at Miramar Town Center due to its high-end finishes, central location and accessibility. “This building is an excellent option for tenants seeking quality, flexible space and easy access to Florida’s major highways,” said Garcia. “The Offices at Miramar Town Center has an effective market niche and is drawing attention from large and midsize users. In the case of large-user Comcast Spotlight, the property’s fine finishes and area amenities were a major deciding factor.”

The 42,027 square foot property, built in 2008, is a part of a mixed-use development featuring retail, residential and municipal buildings, located at 11606 City Hall Promenade just off of Miramar Blvd and only one mile from I-75 and Florida’s Turnpike.

 

Small Gains Chip Away At Vacant Space Throughout Region

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According to Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s (“NGKF”) latest reports for South Florida, office sector fundamentals in the South Florida market continue to improve, albeit slowly, according to the latest reports on the South Florida office market from Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF).

Miami-Dade and Broward County both posted positive absorption for the quarter; however, Palm Beach County, where absorption was relatively flat, continued to struggle with vacancy over 20%. Strong demand for Class A office space throughout the region is driving overall improvement, which may fuel speculative construction in 2014.

“Across South Florida, over 7.3 million square feet of office leasing activity was tracked during 2013,” said Jon Bourbeau, vice chairman in NGKF’s Miami office. “The majority of deals continued to come from tenants already in the market in the form of expansions, renewals and relocations as companies took advantage of favorable market conditions to upgrade into higher-end buildings.

He continued, “While the markets may not see pure new requirements, many tenants are projecting revenue growth in 2014 which we expect to translate into significant organic growth via additional expansions. We may be at the starting point of the next development cycle.”

Broward County and Miami-Dade County ended the quarter with vacancy at 15.3% and 16.7%, respectively. Although Broward County still holds the lowest office vacancy rate in the region, Miami experienced the greatest year-over-year drop, which is consistent with NGKF’s earlier projections of moderate growth and improving conditions. Additional market highlights include:

MIAMI

  • Class A product led market improvements as a flight to quality dominated during 2013.
  • Investment sales remained level compared to 2012 with strong interest in downtown Class A buildings.

FORT LAUDERDALE – BROWARD COUNTY

  • The vacancy rate is forecasted to dip below 15% during 2014, bringing it to its lowest level since year-end 2008 when the recession began to take hold.
  • Office moves and space upgrades from submarket to submarket are projected to continue in 2014.

PALM BEACH COUNTY

  • Maintaining the highest vacancy in South Florida since the recession began, the market has posted a rate above 20% every quarter for five consecutive years.
  • UTC Fire & Safety’s move out gave back 98,000 square feet to the market in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Download the reports in their entirety by clicking on the links below:

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s 4Q13 Fort Lauderdale Office Market Report

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s 4Q13 Palm Beach Office Market Report

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s 4Q13 Miami Office Market Report

 

 

It’s Time For Musical Chairs!

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Round and round they go, where they’ll stop, well…we think WE know.

Seems to be the season for the first round of the year of Broker Musical Chairs, and we have quite a list of players.

Jonathan Guffey

Jonathan Guffey

Jonathan Guffey has been named Director of Leasing at Liberty Property Trust , effective January 1st.  Guffey previously served as Commercial Sales Associate at Jones Lang LaSalle, assisting Alice Lucia and Peter Sheridan since September, 2011.

Bill Kahn

Bill Kahn

In addition to Jonathan’s new role, it looks like NAI Merin Hunter Codman will be filling another seat.  Bill Kahn has parted ways with Butters and is now serving as Director of Leasing with MHC.  Kahn has been serving the South Florida commercial real estate market for over two decades. He held the position of Senior Vice President for Butters Realty and Management where his focus included tenant representation. Prior to joining Butters, Mr. Kahn held executive level positions dealing with distressed assets/dispositions and national tenant representation, for such prestigious firms as MassMutual and Equis.

Steve O'Hara

Steve O’Hara

The seat at NAI Merin Hunter Codman was vacated by Steve O’Hara, who is now affiliated with Mohr Partners, Inc.  According to its website, Mohr Partners, Inc. is one of the largest, exclusive tenant-only real estate advisory firms in the U.S. providing corporate services globally. Steve served as a managing director with NAI Merin Hunter Codman since April, 2010 after 10 years as first vice president with CBRE.  At MHC, Steve spearheaded the continuing expansion of the company’s efforts in regards to office and industrial landlord services.

Investor Wants To Spend $200M In South Florida

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Veteran South Florida real estate investor Yoram Izhak has multiple acquisitions in the works as part of a goal to spend $200 million in 2014.

North Miami-based Izhak has a contract to purchase more than 181,000 square feet of industrial space in Oakland Park. Tenants at the 1201 Northeast 38th Street facility include the Funky Buddha Brewery. The acquisition should close in the next six weeks.

Izhak also is close to picking up a 150,000-square-foot retail center in Sunrise. The investor already spent $375 million on South Florida real estate purchases over the last 42 months.

An Izhak-managed company freed up some cash in last month’s $5.5 million sale of Sample Plaza in Pompano Beach.

 

Source:  The Real Deal