Tag Archive for: avison young

Avison Young Acquires Colliers International South Florida

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Gotta love those rumors!

Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Miami, Florida-based commercial real estate brokerage and property management firm Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group, LLC (doing business as Colliers International South Florida).

Subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to close within 30 days.

The purchase will further expand Avison Young’s business-line coverage in South Florida and throughout the state. The change in ownership is expected to add 70 employees from Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group’s Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach offices to Avison Young’s operations in South Florida. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Upon closing of the transaction, Michael Fay and Donna Abood will become Principals of Avison Young and Managing Directors of Avison Young’s Miami office. They will focus on overseeing the growth and development of Avison Young’s presence in the Miami region, servicing new and existing clients, and managing the day-to-day operations of the office. They are both 30-year commercial real estate veterans and Chairs and founding partners of Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group. John Crotty, Executive Vice-President of Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group, will also serve as a Principal of Avison Young.

As a result of the acquisition, Avison Young will assume a significant leasing and investment sales portfolio, bringing Avison Young’s total square feet of leasing and investment sales property under representation to 20 million square feet (msf) throughout Florida. In addition, Avison Young will assume Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group’s property management portfolio, bringing Avison Young’s total square feet of properties under management to 11 msf in Florida and more than 70 msf across Canada and the U.S.

“We look forward to welcoming Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group to Avison Young,” comments Rose. “This strategic acquisition will give Avison Young an even broader client-service platform in the Florida market as we continue to expand our capabilities throughout the U.S. and overseas.”

Rose continues: “Donna has a reputation as one of the most trusted and highly recognized names in South Florida real estate, and Michael is known as a business development rainmaker on a national level. Their company’s culture of collaboration, excellence and focus on strategy will merge well with Avison Young’s similar culture, and allow us to attract additional high-quality professionals throughout Florida and the U.S. Southeast. This team will be a tremendous addition to our company.”

Abood and Fay simultaneously began their respective firms in 1989. Before becoming Colliers International South Florida, the firm known as Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group was formed when two local, well-established firms – Abood & Associates, Inc. and Wood-Fay Realty Group, Inc. – merged. Abood & Associates, Inc. was a full-service real estate firm providing leasing, sales, property management and construction services in South Florida. Wood-Fay Realty Group, Inc. was a highly specialized commercial real estate brokerage firm providing commercial and investment property sales and advisory services for clients. The merger was a logical progression as the principals of the firms realized the synergies possible if the companies combined as one. In 2005, Abood Wood-Fay took the next step in its commitment to servicing clients by joining the Colliers International team and becoming Colliers Abood Wood-Fay. In 2010, the firm participated in a global rebranding and officially became Colliers International South Florida.

“Avison Young has had a focus on building our business throughout Florida for several years, and until now, we hadn’t found the right fit for us in the critically important Miami market,” states Earl Webb, Avison Young’s President, U.S. Operations. “The Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group team members, with their extensive base of experience, broad client relationships and excellent market presence, provide us with the perfect platform to add to our burgeoning Florida business. Donna, Michael and John will combine their experience with Pike Rowley and our other Florida principals to give our clients even more experienced resources to help with the complex execution of their real estate requirements and strategy.”

Avison Young opened its first Florida offices in October 2012 in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Miami with Rowley joining as a Principal and Managing Director. In May 2013, Avison Young acquired WG Compass Realty Cos. and opened a West Palm Beach office. In September 2013, Avison Young acquired Lane Witherspoon & Carswell Commercial Real Estate Advisors and opened a new office in Tampa.

“Avison Young has been seeking to expand in the Miami-Dade market in a big way since opening our first office in Florida 24 months ago,” notes Rowley. “We have been patient in wanting the best-of-class service providers in this region who are home-grown, take a leadership role, and are deeply rooted in the community. We have found just that team with Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group.”

He continues: “I have known and transacted business with Donna and Michael for more than 25 years and could not be more excited to team up with them as we grow Avison Young into one of the strongest service providers in the state. With the addition of this team, we will have a total of 170 dedicated professionals statewide and a strong presence in every major city in Florida. As a result, we will be able to better serve clients in the office, industrial, retail and multi-family sectors.”

Over the past five-and-a-half years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 60 offices and from 300 to more than 1,600 real estate professionals in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

Today’s announcement comes on the heels of Avison Young opening an office in Cleveland, Ohio on September 23, 2014 and the firm acquiring New Jersey-based asset management firm Kwartler Associates on September 18, 2014.

 

Will Colliers International South Florida Soon Be Going By A New Name?

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Well, dang!  It’s been far too long since we’ve had a good rumor to chew on!
Well, your wait is over…

Rumor has it that Avison Young is acquiring Colliers International South Florida.
There… it’s out. (We were told, however, that it’s not the best-kept secret.)

Sources stated that an announcement was expected to be made last Thursday afternoon, but no official word as of yet has been released.

AY acquired Flagler Real Estate Services in October 2012 and acquired Florida-based WG Compass Realty Companies and opened a new office in West Palm Beach last June.

Stay tuned…

Avison Young Wins Leasing Assignment For The North 40

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Avison Young was awarded the exclusive leasing assignment of “North 40,” a 350,616-square-foot two-building complex recently acquired by Mainstreet Capital Partners Inc. and Carval Investors in the largest investment sale transaction to date in Palm Beach County in 2014.

Located at 901 Yamato Road and 5201 Congress Avenue in Boca Raton, North 40 is comprised of two class B buildings with a total of 350,616 square feet that have direct access to Interstate 95. The property will undergo a $2 million destination rebranding, positioning its buildings as unique, campus-like offerings in the market. Emphasizing its expansive floor plate design and open atrium amenities, renovations will include the implementation of collaborative spaces, natural light, soft seating, and Wi-Fi.

“Our team was selected to represent ownership in the marketing and leasing initiatives due to our in-depth knowledge and proactive approach within the market as well as our deal creativity, which has resulted in some of the largest transactions completed in South Florida,” said Keith O’Donnell, Principal with Avison Young’s Boca Raton office.

O’Donnell, along with his team Gary Gottlieb, Principal, and Jonathan Senn, Associate, will initiate a North Boca-centric leasing and marketing strategy.

According to second quarter 2014 office market reports, the financial services, healthcare and technology sectors are leading office demand and lease transactions in Palm Beach County, contributing to steadily decreasing vacancy rates.

“Taking advantage of the new mixed-use environment that is fueling the resurgence of the Arvida Park of Commerce (APOC) area, the area’s office market is thriving with a number of companies expanding and total vacancy seeing a decrease,” according to Gottlieb. “North 40 is one of the only office campuses which offers quality blocks of office space currently available for lease for large-scale tenants seeking efficient and collaborative spaces.”

Bringing valuable expertise in these industries to the North 40 leasing project, O’Donnell is an established “placemaker” in Boca Raton and co-founder of MedUTech, a community-led initiative to showcase success, innovation and growth in healthcare, education and technology in the area. In addition, he co-authored the groundbreaking Planned Mobility overlay district for the northwest sector along with Jamie Danburg of Danburg Management.

“The activity level we are seeing at North 40 is validated by over 220,000 square feet of absorption in the first half of this year,” continued O’Donnell.

CRE Broker Uses F-Word To Describe Palm Beach County’s Biotech Dreams

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Visions of drug plants, wet labs and incubator space once danced in the heads of Palm Beach County’s commercial real estate brokers and developers. But a decade after former Gov. Jeb Bush recruited the Scripps Research Institute to Florida, those dreams remain just a dream.

Perhaps patience is wearing thin among the commercial real estate types who once embraced the fantasy of a thriving biotech sector. Consider this exchange  during Thursday night’s NAIOP South Florida event in West Palm Beach.

“I don’t even really know what to ask,” said Todd Everett, a broker at Marcus & Millichap and moderator of a panel discussion. “Is this our legacy, or is this a flop?”

“It’s slow in maturing,” said Jonathan Satter, a broker at Avison Young. “There’s a long way to go.”

Despite Florida’s $1.5 billion bet on biotech, private-sector spin-offs are nearly non-existent.

Bush, who worked in commercial real estate for a time before he was elected governor, insisted that northern Palm Beach County would need 8 million square feet of space for biotech companies. But Scripps spinoffs take little more than a few thousand square feet of space in Jupiter.

 

Source:  Palm Beach Post

Office Building Finds New Owner After Less Than 30 Days On The Market

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Avison Young completed the $2.1 million sale of Plantation Tech I, a 37,357-square-foot office building located at 6600 NW 16th Street within, Plantation Technology Park.

David Duckworth, Vice President of Investment Sales with Avison Young, represented the seller, Matecumbe Rand Plantation I, LLC, in this transaction.

“Upon initial evaluation of the asset, we recommended that upcoming expiring leases be extended to add value and marketability of the building,” said Duckworth. “Once completed, we listed the building on the market and had a deal principally agreed upon within 30 days.”

Plantation Tech I is a fully occupied, single-story office building; it was highly sought after because it offers solid in-place cash flow along with value add potential. This submarket is attractive to tenants because of the ability to lease space at rental rates below County averages and it offers flexible zoning, which allows for a myriad of end-users.

Recent market reports indicate that the availability of attractive financing and overall improving market conditions positively impacted the volume of investment sales in the first quarter.

Plantation Technology Park was established in 1948 as the first industrial park in Broward County. The Park is comprised of approximately 160 acres located in the northeastern section of the City of Plantation. The area is home to Motorola Mobility Inc.’s 1 million-square-foot headquarters facility.

AY’s Martin & Moore Awarded Pinnacle Corporate Park Leasing Assignment

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Avison Young has been awarded the exclusive leasing assignment for Pinnacle Corporate Park, a 260,000 square foot two-building office campus located at 500 and 550 West Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale.

Currently 84 percent occupied, the Park is one of the most highly sought after office locations in the Cypress Creek submarket, and brings Avison Young’s total square footage of Florida leasing assignments retained over the past 12 months to more than 425,000 square feet.

Principal Greg Martin and Senior Associate Peyton Moore with Avison Young’s Fort Lauderdale office will oversee the leasing activities for Pinnacle Corporate Park on behalf of the new ownership investment group led by Miami-based Banyan Street Capital and New York-based DRA Advisors.

The acquisition, which took place in November, is the second notable office building sale to close in the area recently, representing an uptick in investor activity within the steadily recovering Cypress Creek submarket.

“The exclusive leasing assignment of Pinnacle Corporate Park is a direct result of our effective approach to marketing the unique attributes of properties to retain and attract tenants,” said Martin. “Working with ownership, we plan to maintain the current success of the Park by identifying potential tenants positioned for the long-term.”

“With Broward County’s increase in employment, declining vacancy rates, and office building construction at a stand-still due to the lack of available land, the search for quality office space is prevalent among growing companies,” added Martin. “Pinnacle Corporate Park’s premier location and value in the market will allow us to secure gold-standard tenants within the buildings.”