Tag Archive for: molly mcdonough

Butters Office Team Closes 171,000 Square Feet of Sales, Leases Since Pandemic Onset

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Since the first case of COVID-19 struck Florida on March 1, the Butters Realty & Management office brokerage team of Darcie Lunsford, Caroline Fleischer, Molly McDonough and Sky Butters have executed more than 170,000 square feet of office transactions. In all, the Butters team generated $32.4 million in aggregate transaction value for internal and third-party assets and clients since the pandemic’s onset.

The transactions span nearly two dozen leases to representation of medical financier Bankers Healthcare Group in its acquisition of a 130,000-square-foot corporate headquarters at 3700 Lakeside Drive in Miramar in an off-market deal.

“As soon as the shelter-in-place order was lifted, our team was back in the office that day,” said Lunsford, director of office leasing at Butters. “We saw a wave of up pent-up demand coming out of the shutdown as leases expired and smaller entrepreneurial companies emerged looking to seize potential deals in the market.”

While many large corporate occupiers have remained reticent to make real estate decisions, firms of less than 5,000 square feet have still been active, Lunsford noted.

“Generally, we are seeing companies with counter-cyclical models, insurance, law, technology or financial service providers and other essential administrative hubs that have not been as drastically impacted by the pandemic-induced recession,” Lunsford said.

“In a tough economic situation like this, you can’t wait for the market to come to you, you have to go to the market,” said Fleischer, director of occupier services for Butters. “There are tenants out there that have a need and a want, but you have to be dogged.”

During the pandemic, Butters also increased occupancy several percentage points to 97 percent within its own four-building Boca Raton office portfolio.

“I think the key factor to our effectiveness in closing a high volume of transactions in the face of this unprecedented crisis is that we are highly focused,” said Malcolm Butters, president of Butters. “We have very strong local relationships and we are able to execute.”

Among the more notable office lease transactions:
• Bohler Engineering leased 4,910 square feet at 1900 NW Corporate Boulevard in Boca Raton
• Medigap Life leased 3,577 square feet at 1900 NW Corporate Boulevard in Boca Raton
• Trust Hills Co. leases 3,680 square feet at 851 Broken Sound Parkway in Boca Raton

Bankers Healthcare Group Buys 130K Office Building For HQ Expansion

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Record-breaking growth is driving Bankers Healthcare Group, a leading provider of financial solutions for licensed healthcare practitioners and other highly skilled professionals, to expand to a new corporate headquarters in Miramar and hire new staff.

A BHG company purchased an existing 130,000-square-foot, six-floor building at 3700 Lakeside Dr. in Miramar. Terms of the sale were not disclosed. Butters Realty & Management represented BHG in the off-market purchase.

The company will soon begin remodeling the building, with plans to move in October 2020. BHG’s 260 employees will occupy the first, second, and third floors; the three other existing tenants will remain on floors four through six. BHG will retain its current location in Davie and make it available for commercial lease after the relocation.

“We founded our company’s corporate headquarters in South Florida nearly 20 years ago, and we’re thrilled to continue our growth here,” said Eric Castro, Co-Founder of Bankers Healthcare Group.

“We’ve outgrown our current space and our new building can better accommodate our steadily increasing business and staff numbers.”

BHG’s new headquarters will be equipped to encourage health and wellness. Amenities will include:

  • Gym with personal trainers
  • Café with an on-site chef
  • Yoga/meditation room
  • Massage room

The space will also include a coffee shop and parking to accommodate 700 vehicles. Its central location near the Dade/Broward county line is less than 30 miles to both the Miami International Airport and Ft. Lauderdale International Airport.

BHG has plans to hire an additional 129 employees by next year, as market demand for BHG’s suite of financial solutions continues to increase.

“Miramar is excited to welcome Bankers Healthcare Group to our vibrant city. Miramar is a place where companies like BHG can employ exceptional talent. We’re pleased that this dynamic company will help to further diversify our corporate base,” said Miramar City Manager Vernon E. Hargray.

The purchase was the culmination of an extensive site selection process and complex negotiation process with the seller.

“BHG examined numerous opportunities,” said Molly McDonough, senior vice president of Butters, who worked with BHG in its search along with Butters Executive Vice President Darcie Lunsford. “We had to find a location close to BHG’s existing Davie facility with high-quality corporate infrastructure that could be renovated and occupied quickly enough to meet the company’s brisk growth trajectory. Nothing on the market worked, so we identified and pursued this asset off-market because it fit our needs.”

BHG selected G. Alvarez Studio as the architect.

“From all of us at G. Alvarez Studio, Inc., we would love to say a big congratulations to the entire BHG family! We are so excited to have been awarded this fantastic project, and working with a talented and progressive institution,” said Christian Vidal, AIA, Vice President at G. Alvarez Studio. “Since we met the team, we were quickly drawn to their enthusiasm, internal dynamics and overall workplace atmosphere. We look forward to creating a new space that further reflects and supports BHG’s unique culture, and future growth for years to come.”

 

Pharmaceutical Firm Relocates, Inks 56,000 SF Lease Deal

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NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, Inc. announced that it completed one of the largest office lease transactions in Palm Beach County this year with TherapeuticsMD, Inc., which signed a 56,212-square-foot lease at 951 Yamato.

Jay M. Grossman, President and Director, and Richard W. Brockney of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman represented the Landlord, 951 Yamato Acquisition Company LLC, an affiliate of Brookwood Financial Partners, LLC.

Molly McDonough, Senior Vice-President of Butters Realty & Management, represented the tenant in the transaction.

The long-time Boca Raton-based pharmaceutical firm received three FDA product approvals since May and has outgrown its 32,000-square-foot location at 6800 Broken Sound Parkway NW, also in Boca Raton.

When asked why TherapeuticsMD chose 951 Yamato, Josie Weitzel, Director of Corporate Operations, stated “After two long years of researching facility options in the Palm Beach County area, we finally found a space that will offer an open space floor plan, which will allow for a more cohesive and collaborative environment to meet the needs our current and future staff.”

Grossman added, “951 Yamato was well suited for the tenant’s need with its large floor plates. In addition, the ability to find large blocks of office space to accommodate headquarter-sized tenants in Boca Raton is diminishing. The few that can be found are priced at the top of the market, located in less convenient areas, and many lack modern, Class-A features and amenities. 951 Yamato recently completed a million-dollar, environmentally friendly property improvement program to ensure that it remained a first-choice for large office space users. With the signing of the TherapeuticsMD lease and other recent leases, the building is now 89% leased.”

Current plans are to build-out two additional spec suites to be delivered in the first quarter of 2019, and a 2,000-square-foot conference center for the use of all 951 Yamato tenants.

Butters, Bristol Group Buy Landmark Coral Springs Office Building

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A co-development by veteran South Florida developer Butters Construction & Development and San Francisco-based Bristol Group has acquired one of Northwest Broward County’s largest and most prominent office buildings.

In an all-cash transaction, the partnership purchased the 205,000-square-foot building at 3111 N. University Drive with plans to reposition the 10-story building as Broward County’s premier suburban corporate center.  The tower, which anchors Coral Springs’ main business district on University Drive just south of Sample Road, has been renamed University Place at City Center.

The name change is the first step in Butters’ and Bristol’s multi-prong strategy to reposition the property as a best-in-class office center.  A multi-million dollar renovation and capital improvement project is being rolled out with renovations starting as early as March on upgrades and modernization of the building’s lobby atrium and new main entry.  The newly rebranded University Place at City Center will also undergo full refurbishment of its front retail façade, which has immense street presence spanning nearly a half block along University Drive.   A full upgrade of the building’s passenger elevator system, which includes two all-glass cabs that offer riders dramatic views of the lobby atrium, will be completed in February.

“This building was 90 percent leased five years ago, and was always regarded as one of the best office buildings in west Broward,” said Malcolm Butters, president of Butters. “We are confident that within a few years this building will regain its stature.”

Prior to the Butters and Bristol acquisition, the 10-story building, formerly known as Preferred Exchange Tower, had been controlled by a commercial mortgaged-back securities trust, which foreclosed on its previous ownership in 2012.

A servicer for the CMBS trust put the property on the market late last year with the Butters and Bristol team emerging as the winning party following a competitive bidding process.

“We saw an opportunity to acquire an irreplaceable asset in the Coral Springs market at a very competitive price,” said Rob Banovac, project manager with Bristol. “We knew this would give us a competitive advantage in the marketplace and allow us to quickly turn it around with well-capitalized, institutional ownership and an experienced leasing team.”

Adam Vaisman, director of acquisitions for Butters, worked with Bristol to craft the economic structure of the deal to capture the winning bid.

Darcie Lunsford and Molly McDonough, both senior vice presidents at Butters, will oversee leasing.

University Place at Center Center’s current tenant roster includes Scarborough Research, Community Bank of Broward and IPS Worldwide.

 

Molly McDonough Joins Butters

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Molly McDonough has joined Butters Realty & Management as a senior vice president.

McDonough comes to Butters with more than a decade of commercial real estate experience, having represented an office portfolio of 1.5 million square feet in South Florida and negotiating more than $100 million in transactions for these landlords.

McDonough also specializes in tenant representation and in 2010 she competed more than 165,000 square feet in leases, valued at $13.5 million.  As a tenant representative, she brokered one of the largest lease deals in Palm Beach County in recent years and was nominated for a NAIOP Deal of the Year.

McDonough was previously a vice president Flagler Real Estate Services. In her new position, McDonough will focus on building Butters’ tenant representation platform.

Based in Coconut Creek, Butters Realty & Management is a division of the Butters Group, a fully integrated development, construction, realty and management firm founded in 1990.

“Having essentially spent my career in real estate working for a renowned local developer, construction and brokerage firm, it was natural for me to look at the opportunities at another well- known South Florida developer that was looking to expand its presence in the third-party brokerage side in both landlord and tenant representation,” McDonough said.  “I will be concentrating solely on building Butters Group’s tenant representation practice and look forward to working with Malcolm Butters and the great team he is building.”

Butters Group President Malcolm Butters said the addition compliments the company’s strong third-party landlord services platform, which currently handles leasing and property management for several million square feet for a bevy of local, national and institutional owners.

“We are excited about Molly becoming part of the team and her hiring launches our tenant representation platform,” Butters said.

McDonough is well known in South Florida real estate circles and is an active leader in the South Florida chapter of NAIOP (National Association of Industrial office Properties) currently serving on the programming committee and as chair of the annual NAIOP charity Golf Tournament, which has raised more than a $100,000 for local charities. She also sits on the board of the Coral Springs Economic Development Foundation and is a graduate of Class 30 of the Leadership Broward program. McDonough mentors high school students with Women of Tomorrow.

 

 

 

Big Changes At The Arbors Office Park

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Commercial investor RexxHall Realty has expanded its South Florida holdings beyond apartments to include office space with the $12.75 million purchase of the The Arbors Office Park in Delray Beach.

And with the new owner comes new leasing representation…at least that’s the word on the street.  Rumor has it that Deborah Fink and Jeff Kelly of CBRE have been awarded the leasing assignment.  The office park was being represented by Molly McDonough and Greg Martin of Flagler Real Estate Services.

The three buildings that make up the office park, located at 1615, 1625 at 1690 S. Congress Ave., were built in 1981 and total 244,247 rentable square feet. It is 45 percent occupied.