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Lee & Associates South Florida Adds Joseph Jarkesy, CCIM as Senior Vice President of Office Leasing Growing Broward Market Share

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Lee & Associates announced the addition of Joseph Jarkesy, CCIM, as Senior Vice President specializing in Office landlord agency and tenant representation throughout South Florida with a keen discipline in the growing Broward Office market.

Mr. Jarkesy has over 16 years industry experience in commercial real estate in South Florida, and in the past 5 years alone has brokered over $40 million in commercial real estate transactions.  He is adept at guiding real estate owners through the leasing of their properties, as well as acquisition, holding, and disposition of their real estate assets, and ensuring their buildings perform. As a South Florida native, Mr. Jarkesy has developed the in-depth, local market knowledge to strategically advise his clients on commercial real estate trends and forecasts. His expertise, experience and hard work ethic makes him a key partner toward maximizing the performance of his client’s real estate assets.

With the effects of COVID rippling through the south Florida office market, Joseph has been quick to come to the aide of his clients. “COVID-19 has changed the office leasing landscape over the past 9 months.  The same old status quo that some of my competitors got away with during a hotter economy is now showing its flaws; our clients recognize my market knowledge, experience, and direct approach has been highly successful at absorbing their vacancy and shielding them from the negative effects other buildings are experiencing in this market. Every building in this market has different qualities, advantages, and disadvantages. Understanding these differences allows me to guide tenants to the right buildings and identify the right tenants to fill vacancies quickly and smoothly.”

“There will be winners and losers going forward over the next 12 months as the search for a vaccine continues,” Joseph also notes, as we barrel through Q4 and enter an unprecedented market in 2021. “Landlord’s that recognize the value I bring to the table as a true office specialist will find their buildings performing better with higher occupancies and greater rents.”

Immediately upon joining Lee & Associates, Joseph has already hit the ground running gaining the confidence of Landlord’s with over 100,000 SF of new Office Leasing assignments in Fort Lauderdale Beach, Las Olas, and Pompano Beach neighborhoods.

“I liked that Lee is a pure brokerage company,” says Joseph when asked about joining the growing South Florida Lee & Associates office. “We have a local team of experienced and veteran brokers many of whom are CCIM and SIOR’s, and we are backed by a unified national platform that consistently delivers strong tenants into our marketplace from areas like New York, New Jersey and other high tax states. The fact I can earn higher splits from the office while still receiving the full resources and support I need to service my clients, means I am more incentivized than my competition to work that much harder for each and every deal.”

Prior to joining Lee & Associates South Florida, Joseph served as Vice President with Stiles where he focused on tenant and landlord representation for office and retail space in Broward County. Prior to that, he spent over a decade handling acquisition, holding and disposition with the Fitzgerald Group. Joseph Jarkesy is a graduate from Florida State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Real Estate and Finance, and actively participates in the South Florida Office Brokers Association (SFOBA). Joseph has been awarded the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation by the CCIM institute in 2019. The CCIM designation is awarded to commercial real estate professionals upon successful completion of a graduate-level education curriculum and presentation of a portfolio of qualifying experience.

 

NAI/Merin Hunter Codman Tapped To Lease Iconic West Palm Beach Office Building

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NAI/Merin Hunter Codman announced it has been retained to oversee all leasing for the iconic 20-story, 256,000 square-foot, Esperante Corporate Center located in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach at 222 Lakeview Avenue.

RedSky Capital, which purchased the premier trophy property in 2016 and recently completed over $8 million in property renovations, awarded the leasing assignment to Managing Directors Lesley Sheinberg and Barbara LeBrun, SIOR who will be supported by Commercial Associate Alexandra Bazo with the retail portion of the property being handled by NAI/Merin Hunter Codman’s long-time Retail Service Group Managing Director Bruce Corn.

“Esperante Corporate Center has been an iconic part of the West Palm Beach skyline since 1989. NAI/Merin Hunter Codman has been a force in the Palm Beach County commercial real estate marketplace just as long, if not longer. Their long-term local market leadership, local and global connections, and proven track record made them a perfect fit to represent Esperante,” cited Ben Stokes, Principal of RedSky Capital.

Sheinberg added, “Esperante is a premier commercial property, offering an array of first-class amenities and services. The stunning renovations combined with the exciting retail aspect of the property makes it a highly competitive prospect for out-of-state firms coming to South Florida to take advantage of our favorable and tax-friendly business climate along with our incomparable lifestyle. We are seeing more and more businesses leaving large metropolitan areas and relocating to West Palm Beach in response to the challenges posed by the coronavirus.  Esperante’s owners and our team welcome the opportunity to introduce this one-of-a-kind downtown West Palm Beach jewel to office and retail users across the country.”

Esperante Corporate Center offers a variety of floor plans to suit multiple needs, including build-to-suit and move-in ready options for boutique and corporate headquarter users alike. The building is currently offering ±600-35,000 square feet of office space with full floor opportunities and retail space from ±600-2,400 square feet, including high-visibility café opportunities.

 

Levy Realty Advisors’ Silberling Inks 3 Lease Deals At Cypress Creek Office Building

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Levy Realty Advisors and South Florida Innovative Office, LLC (SFIO) are pleased to announce three new leases totaling 9,471 square feet at Prisma at Cypress Creek, located at 1000 NW 65th Street in Fort Lauderdale.

Ken Silberling, Sr. Vice President, Brokerage & Tenant Representation with Levy Realty Advisors, represented both Landlord and Tenant on the following leases of 2,928 square feet to Universal Healthcare Advisors, LLC and 3,609 square feet to QOL investments LLC, while SFIO handled the expansion of Alternative Funding Group Corp. to 2,934 square feet. The property is currently 95 percent leased.

Prisma at Cypress Creek-1000 NW 65th Street

“The activity is the result of responsive hands-on leasing and management,” said Silberling. “While my clients acquired the building in March at the outset of the COVID Crisis, we decided to move forward with an aggressive program to renovate and market the property. The result is a completely updated boutique building in the heart of Fort Lauderdale’s Cypress Creek market. Prisma’s modern design and floor to ceiling glass appeal to the technology, healthcare and financial firms in the market.  By responding to tenant needs and assembling a great team of leasing, management and onsite concierge services, we are achieving positive results in these challenging times.”

“We still have space to fill,” added Silberling.  “But I am optimistic that our team approach will continue to win over prospective tenants.”

Prisma can currently accommodate tenants from 1,831 to 5,319 square feet.

Silberling was named exclusive leasing agent for the renamed Prisma at Cypress Creek in May 2020.

The 39,235-square-foot, three-story office building was purchased in March by South Florida Innovative Office, LLC, a division of Maynada Real Estate Advisors.

 

$41 Billion Investment Firm Relocating To South Florida

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A prominent New York investment firm that manages approximately $41 billion in assets has plans to move its headquarters to South Florida.

Elliott Management is relocating from midtown Manhattan to West Palm Beach, according to the Palm Beach County Business Development Board — making it the latest in a growing line of financial firms to move their headquarters from the Northeast or add offices to the South Florida region.

The firm is overseen by billionaire Paul E. Singer, one of the wealthiest people in the United States. According to the New York Times, he recently disclosed the headquarters move to Florida — a decision apparently triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and the volatility of the commercial real estate market in Manhattan.

“They made a commitment to have a corporate headquarters in West Palm Beach,” Kelly Smallridge, the board’s president and CEO, said by telephone Friday. “They’ve been very tight-lipped on their selection of real estate.”

Smallridge said she has no information on how many jobs the firm might bring to the area.

The anticipated move was first reported by Bloomberg News.

Founded in 1977, Elliott Management Corp. manages billions in assets and employs a staff of 466 people, according to its website. The roster includes 161 investment professionals in its New York headquarters and elsewhere in the U.S., London, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

On behalf of clients, the firm invests in various companies, and buys and sells distressed and real estate-related securities, as well as commodities and debt.

Singer isn’t expected to move to Florida and will keep some employees and offices in New York, the New York Times reported.

The migration of some financial firms is largely the byproduct of higher taxes in Northeast states and the federal tax reform law that limited residents’ ability to deduct state and local taxes from their federal returns.

Smallridge said that within the last 18 months, between 15 and 18 financial firms sought information about locations in the county, and ended up leasing office space from Boca Raton to Jupiter.

She said the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced many upper-income executives to take up second homes in Florida and work remotely, as Griffin’s operation did.

“Many of the executives decided not to go back home to the Northeast or they left the Northeast to come to Palm Beach County because they believed it was a safe place for their families,” she said.

 

Source:  SunSentinel

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