Three veterans join forces to bring an innovative approach to servicing Florida’s commercial real estate industry. CLICK ON THE HEADLINE FOR MORE
Real estate brokers say they’re having to forgo traditional office tenants along the once-popular corridor. CLICK ON THE HEADLINE FOR MORE
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.
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.”
Industry Veterans Launch New CRE Firm
/in News/by SFOBA STAFFThree veterans join forces to bring an innovative approach to servicing Florida’s commercial real estate industry. CLICK ON THE HEADLINE FOR MORE
Commercial Boulevard Office Vacancies Soaring
/in News/by SFOBA STAFFReal estate brokers say they’re having to forgo traditional office tenants along the once-popular corridor. CLICK ON THE HEADLINE FOR MORE