Arden Karson launches real estate firm during Covid

Arden Karson is launching her own firm after leaving CBRE’s South Florida office.

Her new company, Karson & Co, will focus on working with investors in multifamily and hospitality, as well as other asset classes, Karson said. She joined CBRE in early 2017 as senior managing director after working for The Related Group for about five years. In all, she has more than 25 years of industry experience, including working for Lennar and LNR.

Now, she’s looking to consult and partner with investors and developers “in the face of the challenges and opportunities related to Covid-19,” according to a release. Karson said it’s a great time for her to play a role in the revival and reinvention of South Florida, drawing parallels to her grandparents, who developed hotels and restaurants and helped the city recover from the 1926 Miami hurricane.

She’ll focus on finding opportunities and raising capital throughout South Florida, concentrating on the Miami market.

“I really missed being involved in transactions, and Covid accelerated my timetable [for leaving CBRE],” Karson said, noting that she left CBRE “in a really good place” and that she expects to do business with the brokerage in the future.

At CBRE, she oversaw the company’s four offices and about 200 employees. While at Related, Karson led the development and sellout of Brickell Heights, a two-tower, 690-unit mixed-use condo project.

Karson is also on the board of directors of the Friends of the Underline, which is developing a linear park underneath the Metrorail tracks.

During the pandemic in April, Karson founded the South Florida chapter of Frontline Foods to support local restaurants while feeding workers on the frontline.