Colliers' John Crotty
The Capri Apartment at 800-801 Capri Street in Coral Cables has been sold for $3.4 million in an all-cash deal. The buyer was Capri Gables, a limited liability company. Colliers International South Florida’s John Crotty represented the seller, 800 and 801 Capri Street LLC. The property had been built in 1969 on two separate lots, one of which was on a ground lease, something that posed several obstacles. [more]
Rob Warstler
Colliers International South Florida has hired Rob Warstler as the firm’s Director of Retail Services, the company announced today. Warstler was previously the CEO of Colliers International’s Indiana office. He will lead tri-county retail services from Colliers South Florida’s Miami headquarters. “I’m looking forward to joining the South Florida office and working towards our goal of becoming the market leader in the retail services sector,” he said. Warstler’s resume includes the acquisition and development of more than 15 shopping centers. — Alexander Britell
The 103,250-square-foot U.S. Postal Service building at 7499 NW 31st Street in Miami has been sold for $6.05 million. John Crotty, senior vice president at Colliers International South Florida, and senior commercial associate Kristopher Wagner represented seller TIC Properties in the deal. The property, which is located near the Airport Cargo area of Miami International Airport, will be used by buyer Passion Growers as a coolered warehouse and distribution center. “They were attracted to the property based on its location and the lot space available for trailer storage and additional parking, which the flower business requires for peak seasonal requirements,” Wagner said. — Alexander Britell [more]
The Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management has re-upped its lease at Coral Gables’ 95 Merrick Way, nearly doubling its office space at the building. The Evanston, Ill.-based school debuted its executive MBA program in Coral Gables six years ago. Last fall, the program enrolled 93 students. The deal extends Northwestern’s lease by 10 years and adds 10,800 square feet. Donna Abood, CEO of Colliers International South Florida, represented the tenant in the deal. (Note: correction appended) [SFBJ] [more]
Colliers Abood Wood-Fay, along with North Miami-based AmeriBid, will auction off two commercial properties March 16 at the Marriott Marquis. The FDIC Insured Bank Foreclosure Auction will put two properties on the block: the 14,000-square-foot former ‘Art Temple’ at 7141 Indian Creek Drive in Miami Beach,and a vacant land parcel at 435 SW 12th Avenue, near Little Havana. The minimum bid is $900,000 for the Miami Beach property and $350,000 for the Miami property. Colliers announced it would combine operations with FirstService in January. Colliers is set to become Colliers International April 21. TRD
With his transition to CEO of Colliers International, a commercial real estate services firm, set for April 21, Mark Jaccom told the New York Times that Colliers is “in expansion mode.” Although his company manages around 20 million square feet currently, Jaccom said Colliers wants to double that within the next five years, a goal he recognizes is a “tall order.” But Jaccom said he’s adept at nabbing new tenants. “Anybody can lower the rent and throw more concessions,” Jaccom said. “You have to be flexible enough to give a tenant the right to give back space if necessary… we educated our landlords early enough.” Additionally, Jaccom told The Real Deal in the New York March magazine issue that now may be the time for broker poaching.
Cassidy Turley, the new St. Louis-based real estate corporation created by four former Colliers International affiliates, has officially launched its new brand, Web site and a national advertising campaign. Cassidy Turley filed with the Missouri Secretary of State to incorporate in May 2009, and announced its formation in January, after Colliers International announced its merger with FirstService Real Estate Advisors. Meanwhile, Colliers ABR split from the group to join Cassidy Turley. Mark Boisi, Colliers ABR chairman, told The Real Deal at the time that, “while we are the largest component of Colliers USA, we believe we have outgrown it.” TRD
Sales of South Florida warehouses and other types of industrial
property have been small in size and scarce in number in 2009, and the
market will remain weak well into next year if industrial vacancy rates
keep rising. Successful bidders for South Florida industrial properties often are
companies that intend to occupy the space. Investors hoping to profit
from an eventual upturn are having a harder time financing industrial
property, sources said. “About the only purchaser who can get a loan on a building is a user.
If you’re an investor, forget it,” said real estate investor David
Paladino, president of National Land Company in Lake Worth. One of National Land Company’s biggest property disposals in the last
12 months was the $4.95 million sale of a self-storage building in
Riviera Beach. The new owner is the occupant and operator of the
77,800-square-foot building, which had leased the property before
deciding to exercise an option to purchase it. Paladino said many bankers doubt the prospects of investors who want to
buy and lease industrial buildings because “if General Motors can go
broke, anybody can.” [more]
PricewaterhouseCoopers released a pessimistic report this week on the state of the national commercial real estate market, suggesting that a recovery for the embattled industry may be a long way off. Robert Sammons, research director with Colliers ABR, sat down with Bloomberg to share his more optimistic viewpoint. He argued that the Pricewaterhouse report was too simplistic and that different regions will see commercial real estate recoveries sooner than others.
