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Realtors Fight To Repeal State Sales Tax On Leases

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The Miami Association of Realtors and Florida Realtors will be fighting to repeal sales tax on commercial leases at the upcoming legislative session in Tallahassee.

Florida imposes a 6% state sales tax on commercial rent and is one of the few, if not only, states to do so, said Danielle Blake, senior vice president of housing and government affairs for the Miami Association of Realtors. Ms. Blake said state sales tax for commercial rent generates about $ 1.5 billion annually.

Ideally, the association would like this tax repealed, Ms. Blake said, and if not, significantly lowered.

Commercial leases, she said, are subject to double taxation, with landlords separately invoicing a portion of ad valorem taxes, maintenance charges and insurance premiums to tenants. These charges are called pass-through expenses.

Ms. Blake said the association would like legislation to clarify that pass-through expenses are not taxable as rent.

Another issue the association is closely monitoring is the Department of Revenue’s drafted rules on taxing commercial leasehold improvements as rent. The department, according to the association, believes leasehold improvements are taxable as
rent unless the taxpayer can demonstrate:

•The improvements are needed to put the property in a condition for operation of tenants ‘ business.
•There is no requirement to spend a specific or minimum amount on improvements.
• No credit is given against rental payments.
•The improvements are not classified as rent, additional rent, rent in kind or in lieu of rent.
•There is no evidence that there was an attempt to reclassify rental payments to avoid tax.

“The issue that we have with that is the burden is on the taxpayer to prove these points,” she said. “We believe that it should be on the Department of Revenue to prove these points.”

Starting in March, the Tallahassee team will have 60 days for the legislation to be passed by both the House and the Senate and to reach the governor’s desk, she said.

 

Source:  Miami Today

C&W Names New Senior Managing Director For South Florida

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Paul WatersPaul A. Waters has joined Cushman & Wakefield as Senior Managing Director and Market Leader of the company’s South Florida operations.

Based in Miami, Waters will oversee the firm’s overall strategic business objectives and day-to-day activities for South Florida including the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach markets.

Prior to joining Cushman & Wakefield, Waters most recently served as an Executive Managing Director of Industrial Services with C III Realty’s NAI Global, where he led business development efforts for transaction management services in the Americas, focusing on client portfolio optimization and utilization.

From 2005 to 2008, he served as a senior managing director with CBRE. Prior to that, he was a senior managing director with the former Staubach Company, now Jones Lang LaSalle, from 2000 to 2005.

A Boston native and graduate of Boston College, Mr. Waters’ numerous professional affiliations include active membership and involvement in Counselors of Real Estate (CRE), Certified Commercial Investment Member, (CCIM), Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), Fellow/Royal Fellow/Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS), Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC), RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors), and SIOR’s Membership Standards Committee.

Waters replaces former Senior Managing Director, Shane Soefker.  Soefker was promoted to head up C&W’s newly launched Capital Markets Group called Commercial Advisors Capital Markets last October.

 

Source:  CityBiz

Procacci Purchases New Corporate Office

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95 S Federal New Elevations Following RenovationProcacci Development Corporation recently purchased 95 S Federal Highway in Boca Raton to house its new corporate office.

The property was purchased for $2.6 million.

The building is being converted from Class C to Class A through wholesale renovation and addition including:

  • new electrical service
  • new HVAC
  • new roof
  • new, expanded restrooms throughout with addition of handicap and ADA compliant fixtures and clearances
  • new generator
  • windows able to withstand 185mph winds of a Category 5 Hurricane
  • conversion of exterior second floor common areas to interior
  • new handicap ramp and stairway to the building
  • new exterior façade
  • new paving
  • complete new landscape

Completion is anticipated for the end of February.

Of the total 15,000 square feet, a 1,118 square foot corner suite is available for lease. Notable tenants include Shiner Law Group and The Gab Group.

North Palm Beach Office Building Trades For $5.2 Million

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Tom Burst, Director of Sales and Leasing with KRES Commercial, has completed a transaction for the purchase of a 50,000 SF office building, located at 701 US Highway One in North Palm Beach, for $5.2 million.

The purchaser, Document Storage Systems, Inc. (DSS, Inc.), represented by Burst, is a Health Information Technologies, software development and systems integration company.  DSS, Inc. will occupy a total of 30,000 square feet.

This transaction has made a significant impact on the North Palm Beach submarket, representing roughly 8% of the vacant space available. The overall vacancy rate in North Palm Beach will decrease from 30% to 22%, making it a real game-changer for this market.

This purchase is in addition to the 20,000 SF building DSS, Inc. already owns and utilizes as their headquarters in Juno Beach. Tom Burst also represented DSS, Inc. in the purchase of their Juno Beach headquarters 9 years ago.

Colliers’ Bonsignore & Moore Win Crown Center Leasing Assignment

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Colliers International South Florida’s Senior Commercial Associates Sal Bonsignore, CCIM and Peyton Moore, MBA have been appointed the exclusive leasing agents for the  +/- 470,000-square foot Crown Center office campus located at 1201-1475 W. Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Crown Center campus consists of six buildings, and is home to numerous large corporate tenants including Parkson Engineering, CBS Interactive, Sanford-Brown, Cruise One, and Brown & Brown Insurance. The property is attractive to both corporate offices and back office operations because of its strategic location, ample parking and diversity of space configurations.

“The owners are well capitalized and prepared to offer aggressive lease rates and turnkey build outs for qualified tenant,” says Moore. “Crown Center’s ownership and management team operate a first class office campus,” adds Bonsignore. “We are truly excited to be part of their team.”

Crown Center recently achieved LEED Silver certification for its 1451 building, the third building within the campus to be awarded LEED certification, making the office property the only “for profit” LEED Certified campus within the State of Florida.

Busekrus Leaves CBRE For HFF

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Marty Busekrus has joined HFF, one of the largest commercial real estate capital intermediaries in the country, as Director, where he will be focusing on institutional industrial investment sales throughout the Southeastern United States.

Since March, 2011, Marty served as Senior Associate of CBRE’s Private Client Group (PCG) team for South East Florida, encompassing Miami Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Treasure Coast Counties, along with J. Scott O’Donnell, Dominic F. Montazemi and Miguel Alcivar.

“With my experience coming from the Private Client Group of CBRE’s office and industrial team, it’s a perfect fit,” said Busekrus.

HFF has a history of performance spanning more than 30 years, offering the services of more than 500 experienced industry professionals who operate from offices in major and secondary markets throughout the country.

Prior to joining the Private Client Group, Marty held the position of Senior Sales Associate with NAI Rauch Weaver Norfleet Kurtz for six years beginning in July, 2005.