Tag Archive for: avison young

JLL Adds Trio Of Veteran Office Brokers To South Florida Team

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JLL announced that veteran office brokers Greg Martin and Justin Cope have joined the firm’s South Florida office brokerage team as Senior Managing Directors, along with Lisa Blumer as Senior Vice President. The established trio from Avison Young further strengthens JLL’s office agency leasing team across Broward and Palm Beach counties and reflects the firm’s continued investment in bolstering its brokerage team with deep local market knowledge and client relationships.

Martin, Cope and Blumer bring extensive experience advising institutional and private landlords throughout South Florida. Together, they have represented a diverse portfolio of office properties across Broward and Palm Beach counties, with experience spanning landlord representation, office leasing, tenant representation and building sales.

“South Florida is still one of the most active and competitive office markets in the country, especially across Broward and Palm Beach, where you’re seeing steady leasing activity and a real flight to quality,” said Dan McGowan, Executive Managing Director and South Florida Broker Lead at JLL. “Greg, Justin and Lisa have spent years in these markets, know the inventory inside and out, and just as importantly have built strong, lasting relationships with owners and tenants. Bringing in a team that already works so well together allows us to hit the ground running and continue delivering for our clients across the region.”

Martin brings 30 years of commercial real estate experience and has specialized in the leasing of Class A and B office properties throughout Broward and Palm Beach counties. Prior to joining JLL, he was a founding partner of Avison Young’s Florida operation and helped grow the firm’s presence across the state. Earlier in his career, he held roles with Cushman & Wakefield, CBRE and Flagler Real Estate Services. Martin has been recognized as South Florida NAIOP Broker of the Year and previously served as president of NAIOP’s South Florida chapter. Martin graduated from Westminster College with a Bachelor of Arts in Business.

Since 2006, Cope has worked in South Florida commercial real estate specializing in landlord representation and the leasing of Class A office properties. Prior to joining JLL, he served as a Principal at Avison Young. Earlier in his career, he was a Senior Leasing Representative with Duke Realty Corporation, where he was responsible for generating new leases and renewals across more than three million square feet of office, industrial and retail properties in South Florida. He also previously worked at Cushman & Wakefield. Cope graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor of Science in Logistics / Supply Chain Management and holds the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors Designation (SIOR) designation.

Blumer specializes in agency office leasing and provides strategic real estate advisory services to institutional and private landlords across Broward and Palm Beach counties. She began her commercial real estate career in 2015 in Tampa before relocating to South Florida. Blumer holds the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation and a Bachelor of Science in sociology from Florida State University.

189,000-SF Broward Office Building Back In Play

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A 189,000-square-foot office building in Sunrise is being offered to prospective tenants, adding another large block of available space to Broward County.

Chetu Inc., a global software development company headquartered in Sunrise, has retained Avison Young brokers Justin Cope, Greg Martin and Lisa Blumer to market the five-story building at 1500 Concord Terrace. The property sits within the 22-acre Sawgrass International Corporate Park, a location near Sawgrass Mills and the broader Sawgrass business district.

Chetu currently occupies one full floor totaling about 36,000 square feet. The remaining four floors have reportedly been vacant for several years, creating a rare opportunity for a tenant seeking a full-building presence or a large contiguous office footprint. The owner has indicated it would consider relocating if a user wanted to lease the entire property.

The space is being marketed at roughly $30 per square foot on a triple-net basis and is described as fully built out and immediately available. The property also includes a 7,500-square-foot data center on the first floor, which could appeal to users with technology, operations or infrastructure needs.

Chetu has said it is not leaving the market and remains in growth mode. A company spokesperson stated that the firm is expanding and hiring.

The building is owned by Bansi Properties, the real estate development company led by Chetu CEO Atal Bansal. Bansi Properties acquired the asset for $25 million in 2021, with plans at the time for Chetu to anchor the building while leasing the balance to outside tenants.

The Sunrise property followed Chetu’s earlier development of a 63,000-square-foot headquarters in Plantation, which opened in 2019. The company later said its growth required additional space. Bansi Properties also secured a long-term IRS lease at the Plantation building for the agency’s Broward County office.

The listing comes as Chetu continues to deal with legal fallout from customer disputes. In October, the company was ordered to pay more than $500,000, including punitive damages, in a fraud case involving a Washington state barbershop chain that alleged the company failed to deliver promised software while continuing to collect fees. Chetu appealed the decision in January.

Source: Bisnow

Fort Lauderdale’s Office Sector Sees Pick Up In Spec Suites

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Spec suites are gaining traction in South Florida’s commercial real estate market.

Fort Lauderdale, in particular, is emerging as a key player in this trend, offering 52 spec suites across 16 properties, totaling more than 61,000 square feet, according to a recent report from Avison Young. This represents a notable increase in activity, with 17 transactions completed so far this year, compared to just 12 in 2023.

The Downtown Fort Lauderdale submarket is leading the way, providing 26 suites spanning over 61,000 square feet. In comparison, Southwest Broward offers 13 suites with a combined 38,000 square feet of space. Smaller spec suite offerings can also be found in areas like Pompano Beach and Hollywood, each providing just over 10,000 square feet.

At present, Fort Lauderdale’s office market includes 29 vacant, built-out spaces, with 23 more still under construction or in the planning stages.

“As more companies look to establish offices in South Florida, spec suites offer a quick and convenient solution, reducing the time and effort required for planning and construction,” said Greg Martin, Managing Director of Avison Young’s Fort Lauderdale office. “Moreover, the increasing demand from tenants seeking to adjust their office space for better productivity is further driving the need for ‘move-in ready’ spaces. The time, cost, and energy savings benefit both landlords and tenants.”

Most importantly, the office sector is recovering from the pandemic’s effects. South Florida is leading the nation in office space recovery, with nearly 90% of employees back to in-office work, according to the Fort Lauderdale Downtown Development Authority.

“Although remote work remains a part of the equation, Downtown Fort Lauderdale has largely remained unaffected by the decline in office worker foot traffic,” the authority noted.

Many industry experts, including those at Goldman Sachs, believe the office market has already hit its lowest point.

 

Source: GlobeSt.

Cigna Renews 48,000 SF Office Lease

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Cigna Health & Life Insurance Company has renewed its 47,879-square-foot office lease at Sawgrass Corporate Centre II, located at 1571 Sawgrass Corporate Parkway in Sunrise.

The 64-month renewal comprises two full floors, keeping the 4-story building 98 percent occupied.

Avison Young represented landlords Vanderbilt Office Properties and Barron Colliers in the lease deal.

 

Source:  Commercial Observer

Some South Florida Suburban Offices Will Be Redeveloped

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South Florida’s office market will continue outperform most parts of the nation, but some buildings will fail or be redeveloped, a commercial real estate advisor said.

David Duckworth, a principal of Avison Young‘s Fort Lauderdale office, said while there are predictions of nationwide commercial mortgage backed security defaults in the office sector, quality office buildings in South Florida continue to attract companies. At least for now.

“The news is worse than the reality at the moment,” Duckworth said. “People are … anticipating that things will get pretty bad, but down here it is not that bad yet. Vacancies are in the mid-teens in the tri-county area. That’s not great. But it’s not run-for-your life terrible either.”

Duckworth said new-to-market and local businesses are still seeking office space with amenities that will encourage employees to return to work. This “flight to quality,” Duckworth said, will create a two-pronged office market.

On one side are the Class A office buildings, particularly in urban centers and downtown areas, which “will be just fine.”

On the other are suburban Class B and Class C offices that were often used as operation call centers. “Those places will be in a lot of trouble,” Duckworth said.

Lenders, though, are reluctant to back any sort of office product of any class or of any locations. “They’re lumping all office into one bad bucket,” he said.

“There are still buyers of office product, but debt is very expensive and challenging,” Duckworth said. “People who have purchased or refinanced … are having a hard time when debt comes due, and their debt will be 100 or 200 basis points higher than when they received the debt. They might have to add additional capital to refinance.”

Nationally, office transactions plummeted 58.6% in the first quarter of 2023. According to recent market reports from Avison Young, investors are buying less office product in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

In Broward, office sales volume fell 56.6% year-over-year to $107.8 million. The price per square foot also fell 6.63% from last year to $205.05 per square foot.

In Palm Beach County, office transactions totaled $100 million in the first quarter, a decline of 25.7% from the last quarter and a drop of 78.5% from last year. Price per square foot for office product fell 17.55% from last year to $230.88 per square foot.

But in Miami-Dade County, the $147.2 million in office transactions in Q1 2023 was 10.5% higher than the end of last year, Avison Young stated. Office product also sold at an average of $365.03 per square foot, a 16.34% increase from last year. However, in the second and third quarters of 2022, office product traded at rates above $270 per square foot, according to graphs from Avison Young. In short, Miami-Dade saw the first drop in price since the Federal Reserve started raising interest rates.

Still, many of the office products acquired will be repurposed for other uses, Duckworth said.

In other cases, developers will add residential and retail to an office product to make it more valuable. For example, WRC Properties plan to add up to 800 apartment units to the 250-acre Waterford Business Park in western Miami-Dade. And Pebb Enterprises and BH Group want to add residential to the 29-acre Office Depot (Nasdaq: ODP) they recently acquired for $104 million.

“It is a trend we will see more and more of, office buildings excess parking areas for other uses,” Duckworth said.

Suburban areas, such as Cypress Creek in Fort Lauderdale, also will see office product demolished and replaced with residential uses, he added.

As time goes on, Duckworth said there will be “some foreclosures” of office buildings by landlords unable to finance or sell their products. But it won’t be anywhere near as rough as it was in the economic downturn of 2008 and 2009.

“I don’t see that much doom and gloom, but six months from now that may look different, but that doesn’t feel that way right now,” he said.

 

Source:  SFBJ

 

Avison Young Arranges For FAU Startup Incubator To Take Space At Boynton Beach City Hall

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Avison Young announced that, following a Boynton Beach City Commission 4-0 vote on July 20, FAU Tech Runway has been approved to lease the 1,850-square-foot, ground-floor innovation and collaborative office space at City Hall at Boynton Beach Town Square.

As part of the agreement, Boynton Beach’s Department of Economic Development and Strategy will provide a one-time $50,0000 grant for programming within the space.

“FAU Tech Runway is excited to open a satellite office in Boynton Beach and be part of the City’s effort to help entrepreneurs,” said Joshua D. Glanzer, Associate Vice President of Media Relations and Public Affairs at Florida Atlantic University. “We look forward to the next steps with the City and its partners while we finalize the necessary paperwork.”

Located at 100 E. Ocean Ave., Town Square represents a public-private partnership between the City of Boynton Beach, the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, and E2L Real Estate Solutions, master developer of the 16.5-acre complex anchoring the heart of downtown Boynton Beach.

“Having first-hand experience with the Research Park at FAU in Boca Raton and the success of hosting Tech Runway graduates in the Park, it was clear that FAU would be the ideal growth accelerator and value creator for Town Square,” said Keith O’Donnell, Principal with Avison Young. “Together, the unique opportunity for FAU Tech Runway to expand its offerings and brand in Palm Beach County at Town Square, the County’s first City Hall public-private partnership.”

O’Donnell has worked alongside the public-private partnership and spearheaded the Boynton Beach Town Square assignment for the past five years. Additionally, he handled the relocation of the entire City Municipal Services off-site for two years while the project was developed.

“As the five-year master developer on the Town Square project, we’re looking to the future and believe welcoming FAU Tech Runway for the space to provide programming for new businesses and entrepreneurs marks an important milestone,” said Mark Hefferin, President of E2L Real Estate Solutions, LLC. “It has been wonderful to witness the City of Boynton Beach creating forward-thinking opportunities for its citizens, and we’re pleased that Avison Young brought FAU to the table to be a part of what the city is building.”

The Town Square project includes the $118 million renovation of the historic Boynton Beach High School into an Arts and Cultural Center, a Children’s Schoolhouse Museum, fire station, residential, retail and hospitality space, amphitheater, hotel, parking garages, library, a new City Hall and creates a positive community and economic impact.

“We are excited that FAU Tech Runway will operate the space at Town Square, which offers on-campus resources unavailable anywhere else in Palm Beach County,” said Lori LaVerriere, Boynton Beach City Manager. “Having a tech and business incubator at City Hall not only facilitates a pipeline of startups in the city, but it also plays a significant role in establishing the future of downtown.”

The City of Boynton Beach is undergoing a renaissance and regeneration. Current and future planned development underscore the City’s growth and investment opportunities. Planned projects such as 115 North Federal Hwy., the CRA’s East Boynton Beach Boulevard (BBB) Corridor project, and Riverwalk complement the redevelopment of Downtown Boynton Beach as a destination for residents, visitors, and businesses.