After leaving his eponymous firm last month, Holly Real Estate, Miami real estate power broker William Holly returned to Cushman & Wakefield — after a 12-year absence — as an executive director. Holly Real Estate was a general real estate services company, including development and brokerage, and had a particular focus on green development. The full-service company developed several environmentally-friendly buildings across Miami, highlighted by Miami Green at the edge of Coral Gables. Holly talked to The Real Deal about his first two weeks on the job, what he learned in his 12-year hiatus from Cushman and the strength of the Airport West office market.
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A recent foreclosure lawsuit against Holly Real Estate’s headquarters marks another stage in the company’s downward spiral, a collapse precipitated by massive litigation against CEO William Holly. Branch Banking & Trust filed a $3.3 million foreclosure lawsuit against Holly, his real estate company, Minnie Minorca, and business partner Robert McCammon earlier this month over the company’s 10,760-square-foot building at 370 Minorca Avenue in Coral Gables. The property was purchased in 2006 for $3.5 million. Several recent projects have been caught in the credit crunch and market collapse, triggering at least 13 lawsuits against the top executive and 2007 recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. [SFBJ]

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