Tag Archive for: avison young

Avison Young To Lease 750,000 SF Of Office Space At Proposed Mixed-Use Project In Sunrise

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Avison Young has been tapped by GL Commercial as the exclusive marketing and leasing agency for the three-building suburban office component of the Radius at Sawgrass in Sunrise.

Spanning 31 acres just off of the Sawgrass Expressway with excellent frontage along Sunrise Boulevard, the proposed mixed-use project consists of 750,000 square feet of office, 50,000 square feet of retail, and 750 residential units.

Avison Young’s Greg Martin, Principal and Managing Director of the firm’s Fort Lauderdale operations; Justin Cope, Principal; and Lisa Blumer, Senior Associate, will lead leasing efforts on behalf of Sunrise-based GL Commercial.

“Corporate relocations continue to ramp up in South Florida as several global brands and businesses currently seek space in the market,” said Martin. “We look forward to engaging the international resources our firm has developed through our integrated consulting and data analytics platform to help secure the right corporate users.”

According to Avison Young’s market analysis, 205 companies moved from multiple regions to Florida since 2018. Post-Covid office users are particularly attracted to lifestyle campuses where employees can live, work, and play. Radius is positioned to draw tenants that desire to be proximate to current major employers in the area, such as Ultimate Software, American Express, Ford Motor Company, HCA Parallon, AT&T, T-Mobile, DHL, and GL Homes.

“With its central location and complementary retail and multifamily components, Radius at Sawgrass offices are ideal for companies interested in a Southeastern footprint,” added Martin. “As a global firm, our team members collaborate across markets and partner with economic redevelopment agencies to identify corporations interested in relocating headquarters or staking new flags in South Florida.”

 

Weston Office Building Changes Hands

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Avison Young’s Florida Capital Markets Group closed the $8.3 million sale of the 33,720-rentable-square-foot landmark office building, Weston Commerce Center, at 1625 N Commerce Parkway in Weston.

The asset was the second of the seller’s 100% occupied, two-building portfolio to sell within three months, both sales totaling $17.2 million.

The seller, HRE/SEFIRA Weston Office, LLC, a joint venture between Highline Real Estate Capital and Sefira Capital, acquired the portfolio in 2017 for $13 million. Fox Ridge Capital, LLC was the buyer in the transaction.

On behalf of the seller, the Weston Commerce Center sale was completed by Avison Young Principals David Duckworth; John K. Crotty, CCIM; Michael T. Fay, who is also Managing Director of the firm’s Miami operations; Vice President Brian C. de la Fé; and Associates Emily Brais and Berkley Bloodworth. The team also facilitated the sale of the portfolio’s other building, a J.P. Morgan Chase Bank-anchored building at 1040 Weston Road, for $8.9 million in December 2020.

“Weston Commerce Center maintained its 100% occupancy rate during the pandemic, which is a testament to the strength of the asset and the market and what attracted strong investor interest,” said Duckworth. “Our client, with the support of the Avison Young leasing team, worked diligently to increase the portfolio’s value and led to a notable return on investment following the sales.”

At the time of the HRE/SEFIRA acquisition in 2017, the properties were 82% occupied. Over the course of three years, the ownership partners increased occupancy to 100% and grew the portfolio’s net operating income by nearly 45%.

“When we acquired the portfolio, we recognized the strength of the Weston submarket and saw the opportunity to drive occupancy and rental rates through the completion of aesthetic improvements and proactive asset management,” said David Moret, President of Highline Real Estate Capital. With the assistance of Avison Young’s leasing team including Principal Greg Martin and Senior Associate Lisa Blumer, the buildings reached full occupancy well ahead of schedule, and we were able to substantially increase rental rates, which ultimately led to two successful sales during a pandemic after a hold period of less than four years.”

 

Class A Office Portfolio In Fort Lauderdale Hits The Market

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Avison Young’s Florida Capital Markets Group has been exclusively tapped on behalf of a fund managed by DRA Advisors LLC to sell Pinnacle Corporate Park, a two-building, class A office portfolio at 500 and 550 W. Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale.

The asset totals 259,458 square feet on 14.31 acres in Broward County’s Cypress Creek submarket.

Avison Young Principals John K. Crotty, CCIM; David Duckworth; Michael T. Fay, who is also Managing Director of the firm’s Miami operations; Greg Martin, and George Vail will lead the sale. The transaction team also includes Avison Young Vice President Brian C. de la Fé and Associates Berkley Bloodworth and Emily Brais.

Over the past 24 months, the Avison Young leasing team led by Martin completed 17 lease transactions totaling 91,000 square feet

“Pinnacle Corporate Park is the most desirable property in the Cypress Creek submarket due to its strong occupancy, rental rate growth, and immediate potential for lease-up,” said Crotty. “In addition to the existing value, the offering provides the opportunity to maximize land on the site in the coming years through residential development.”

Pinnacle Corporate Park coming to market represents the trend of large funds and institutional owners’ confidence to sell large office assets again, as sales declined immediately following the pandemic. The deal would be similar to the recent $78.42 million Plantation Crossroads three-building portfolio sale.

“We are seeing an uptick in demand for investors looking to deploy capital in well-located South Florida office assets,” said Duckworth. “Pinnacle Corporate Park is ideally situated near major expressways, transit, and amenities, and provides the perfect opportunity.”

Pinnacle Corporate Park is positioned in the heart of Fort Lauderdale’s Uptown Urban Village, a master plan that supports the development of a thriving, transit-supportive, mixed-use neighborhood. Its offices are less than a mile from Interstate 95 and directly accessible from the Cypress Creek Tri-Rail station.

 

Paul Marko Discusses State Of South Florida CRE

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Today, you hear everywhere that “data is key.”

Amenity offerings are evolving rapidly, and new challenges are reshaping the real estate market. A real estate expert that can navigate this data-driven and tenant-oriented environment is essential. Paul Marko was recently appointed as principal of the South Florida Avison Young team, and he applied his 30 years of experience in office tenant representation, buyer broker services and portfolio administration to answer some of our questions about the South Florida and national commercial real estate markets.

Q: What are your thoughts on the national CRE market, in terms of trends and challenges during the current pandemic?

The multifamily, retail, and office commercial real estate sectors have been most affected by the pandemic and have had to pause and closely examine and re-evaluate the “what ifs” and “if, thens.” Industrial remains a market leader and has grown exponentially due to e-commerce and cold storage demand.

From an office standpoint, the unknown future impact of the pandemic has created an inflection point for the needs of tenants and end-users. Due to the pandemic, most companies and industries are uniquely facing impacts on workforce, workspace, culture, office schedules, and technology, all while navigating racial equality and political concerns in an election year. Therefore, commercial real estate professionals and landlords will have to place an emphasis on tenants shifting needs and respond with a customized approach.

It is important to note that remote working and full return to the office are not mutually exclusive. The current environment is affecting various businesses in vastly different ways. A partial return to the workplace with modified schedules, shift working, or agile workspaces is also being implemented. The safety and comfort of employees is paramount while allowing proximity for idea sharing and innovation to flourish.

Q: What would you say stands out about the South Florida office market?

South Florida is attractive to businesses for many reasons, including no state income tax and a low barrier to entry. Large developable tracts of land for new office development are scarce, but the region is ripe for redevelopment. This market is appealing to businesses looking to relocate and/or expand from out of state.

With the exception of Miami, which is a global city, the balance of South Florida is considered a secondary market. Our office market has been impacted, but not in the same way as primary markets like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. South Florida has shown resiliency.

With regards to the office market, I am seeing few new leases, and most office tenants, upon receiving notice of lease expiration, are requesting 12 to 18 month extensions. The landlord does not want the vacancy, and the tenant is not sure about a longer-term renewal. As long as the landlord can get lender approval, this extension seems like a good compromise and collaborative solution to the unknowns of the pandemic impacts currently on our South Florida business climate. As it relates to the office tenants, leases expire every day, leaving a tenant with three choices: renew, move, or buy.

Q: Where do you see it going in the future? Are there any safety measures and policies that you think might or should be adopted into best practices for commercial real estate going forward, beyond this pandemic?

Ongoing safety measures will include touchless entry points, more thorough sanitization processes, cleaner air filtration, and continued social distancing. The pandemic has forced us to be mindful of germ transfer, which is a positive. The question is whether our vigilance will lessen once there is a vaccine or with the simple passage of time.

I have represented a national law firm for 25 years. Like most firms, the objective was to have the attorneys in individual offices. Once the pandemic hit, and everyone was forced to work from home, the firm realized that the attorneys could in fact be productive.  There was now a good argument for flexible schedules and shared offices. Further, with appropriate surface sanitization service, and collaborative scheduling, they could have multiple attorneys share one office. For this firm, this has reduced the overall required office space by 50-60%.

Currently, we are seeing a reduction in office densities, but we believe it is temporary. A trend that may last for the long-term is tenants adopting agile and flexible workspaces and technology enhanced furniture that can be moved and used in different ways.

Q: In your experience, how has the evolution of online marketing affected the commercial real estate industry?

The printed format for marketing purposes is obsolete. Dynamic, real-time, interactive materials with data-driven insights to help clients achieve better outcomes are what the future holds.

Q: Could you provide us some background on what attracted you to a career in commercial real estate?

I started my commercial real estate career as an appraiser in the late 1980s. I was a MAI candidate and Florida State Certified General Licensed Appraiser. I loved interpreting the data and formulating an opinion of market value. It was advisory and consultative, which fits my personality well. My appraisal experience is a unique credential in the commercial real estate industry which contributes to my value proposition. After about five years in appraisal, I had an opportunity to move into office leasing and brokerage. I was the broker for an existing 500,000 SF office development that IBM vacated in Boca Raton, Florida. I interacted with South Florida’s top tenant representative brokers and realized office tenant representation was what I wanted to do. Over the years, I have been fortunate to be one of South Florida’s most successful office tenant representatives, office buyer broker representatives, and small-mid cap corporate portfolio account representatives. My career took me from Miami-based Codina Realty ONCOR International, CBRE, Stiles Corporation, and now Avison Young.

Avison Young is a great match for my skill set; its recent expansion of consulting across the Americas and investment in technology and innovation will enhance my ability to use data and analytics to fuel insights for the companies and industries I serve. The firm’s culture of collaboration, integrated services, and a client-centric approach are consistent with my business approach.

Q: Do you have any personal experience advice that you would impart as an absolute must for those looking to get into the CRE industry?

The absolute “must haves” for this industry are passion and patience. Commercial real estate is fluid and the ever-changing needs of the participants keeps me engaged. Years of experience helped me realize my passion is based in curiosity. I feel blessed to have found that. Many people never find their career passion. Curiosity made me a good appraiser and it is critical for my role as an office tenant representative and buyer broker. I am always looking for a value-add solution for my clients.

Q: Any other insights that you would like to share?

While I see technology and digitization of services shaping the future of commercial real estate, I also see a real need to return to community and customized strategy. We must intentionally seek ways for both to meet.

 

Source:  Commercial Cafe

Colliers International Florida Continues Expansion With Addition Of Seasoned Investment Sales Broker

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Colliers International Florida announced that Mark M. Rubin has joined the firm as Executive Managing Director based in South Florida. In this role, Rubin will focus on office, industrial, and land investment sales based from the firm’s Boca Raton office.

“As Colliers continues to grow throughout South Florida, Mark is a welcome addition to our capital markets investment sales team,” said Ryan Kratz, President of Colliers International South Florida’s Southeast Region.

Rubin has participated in over $2.5 billion of transactions across all asset classes over the course of his 28-year career. His impressive roster of clients includes institutional investors, high net worth private clients, developers, special servicers, financial institutions and offshore investors in South Florida and beyond. He has earned numerous industry awards and recognitions, including being named a “Heavy Hitter in Commercial Real Estate” by the South Florida Business Journal, NAIOP Broker of the Year finalist and a “Power Broker” by CoStar.

Rubin is an active member of NAIOP, the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County and Leadership Palm Beach County and serves on the advisory board of the Florida Atlantic University Hockey Club.

“I am excited to join Colliers International’s dynamic team of real estate professionals,” said Rubin. “Colliers’ extensive national and international platform will greatly benefit my clients, and I look forward to contributing to the overall success and growth of the company.”

Prior to joining Colliers, Rubin served as a Principal of Avison Young and member of its Florida Capital Markets team. He previously held senior leadership positions with Newmark Knight Frank, Amerivest Group, Savills Studley and JLL.

Rubin earned a Bachelor of Commerce in Administrative Management degree from Concordia University in Montreal and obtained a Master of Science in Real Estate Development and Investment from the Shack Institute at New York University.

Office Leasing Veterans Join New Firms

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Pike Rowley, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the firm’s operations in Florida, announced the appointment of Paul Marko as Avison Young Principal.

Marko will be focused on serving and advising office occupiers in South Florida.

“Office occupiers are facing major decisions about their office needs and workforce,” said Rowley. “With exceptional industry expertise and market knowledge, Paul is positioned to provide clients with data-driven insights and solutions that meet their business needs.”

This year, the South Florida office market has seen overall rent growth begin to decelerate due to an increasing supply pipeline, and a record amount of office space under construction with significant deliveries expected by year end. At the same time, companies are taking an active holistic and strategic view of office footprints in a post-pandemic world to meet the expectations of their workforce and business needs.

“Avison Young is a great match for my skill set; its recent expansion of consulting across the Americas and investment in technology and innovation will help drive my ability to use data and analytics to fuel insights for the companies and industries I serve,” said Marko. “The firm’s culture of collaboration, integrated services and client-centric approach are consistent with my own business approach, helping to provide solutions to clients for the issues of today and tomorrow.”

Marko has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate across office tenant representation, buyer broker services, lease/portfolio administration, project management and consulting. He joins Avison Young after eight years at Stiles Realty, where he served as President overseeing the leasing and sales division. Prior to Stiles, Marko served as First Vice President at CBRE in Ft. Lauderdale in the firm’s global corporate services and office tenant advisory services groups. He is a graduate of Florida Atlantic University.

CBRE announced that industry veteran Madelayne Garcia has joined the firm as senior vice president of Advisory and Transaction Services, specializing in office landlord representation across South Florida. Ms. Garcia joins CBRE with more than 25 years of commercial real estate experience.

“We are thrilled to welcome Madelayne to our South Florida team,” said David Bateman, Managing Director at CBRE. “She brings a wealth of experience, and we are confident that her contributions will continue strengthening and expanding our capabilities in landlord representation in our region.”

Ms. Garcia joins CBRE from Stiles Realty, where she was since 2001. Prior to Stiles, Ms. Garcia was the Director of Leasing at The Hogan Group. During her tenure at The Hogan Group, she represented Royal Palm at SouthPointe, a joint venture between The Hogan Group and Credit Suisse First Boston.

Ms. Garcia has won several awards throughout her career, including CoStar Power Broker Award from 2006 to 2019, the Florida Real Estate Journal’s Top Woman in Commercial Real Estate Award, Daily Business Review’s “Top Dealmaker of the Year – Leasing”, among others.