PALM BEACH GARDENS — The Kolter Group Co. is under contract to buy the prized Briger tract in Palm Beach Gardens, according to a Palm Beach County official and several real estate sources.

The deal, although not yet complete, is a big step forward in developing a prime tract set aside for a biotech research hub, an idea that first attracted the Scripps Research Institute to Florida.

The nearly 700-acre property is across the street from Scripps Florida on Donald Ross Road in the Abacoa development and is the largest piece of undeveloped land along Interstate 95 in Palm Beach County.

If Kolter closes on the deal, it is likely to get to work quickly on development, said Peter Reed, a principal with Commercial Florida Realty Services in Boca Raton. “This will help restart the market efforts of attracting other like-minded life science companies that want to cluster around there,” Reed said.

In 2010, the Briger tract was approved for 4 million square feet of biotech space.

“We think it’s great,” Shannon LaRocque, Palm Beach County assistant administrator said of the proposed Kolter purchase. “It’s critical to get a development partner and Kolter is a good one.“

A Kolter executive declined to comment. The Lester family, which owns the Briger tract, did not return a phone call seeking comment.

But several real estate sources said the deal is in the due diligence stage and a closing could come soon.

While no one knows the purchase price, estimates of $100 million — or more — seem likely, real estate pros say. One developer said the price could be as high as $125 million to $150 million.

Peter Reed said Kolter is a smart choice. “Kolter is a known developer who comes without any question on their ability to perform, so you want that type of horsepower,“ Reed said.

Kolter built One City Plaza and Two City Place condos in downtown West Palm Beach, has built Hyatt Place hotels in West Palm Beach and Delray Beach, and is building a luxury condominium in Gulfstream. It also is set to start building a luxury high-rise in North Palm Beach. Kolter has built several multifamily communities.

Real estate experts said the Kolter purchase would change the landscape of Palm Beach Gardens.

“Wow,“ said Rebel Cook of Rebel Cook Real Estate in Jupiter. “I think it’s an amazing piece and will just add more economic growth to the area,” added Cook, who also serves as president of the Economic Forum, a Palm Beach County business group.

Richard M. Rendina, chairman of The Rendina Cos. of Jupiter, agreed that the in-town land is very important.

“The Briger tract is a great piece of entitled dirt,“ Rendina said.

Before Scripps and the entitlements were in place at Briger, Rendina said his father, the late Bruce Rendina, tried to buy the property from the Lester family. Bruce Rendina was instrumental in bringing Scripps to Abacoa, which he helped develop.

Rendina said his company and Abacoa would be great neighbors. Additionally, if Kolter wanted a partner to develop the commercial, medical or biotech components, “we would be interested in joining forces,“ said Rendina, whose company builds medical office buildings nationwide.

Indeed, Cook said medical office space remains in demand. That will likely increase if an admistrative law judge recommends to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration that it approve a $120 million, 80-bed teaching and research medical center on the Scripps part of the Briger property.

LaRocque said the judge’s decision, which is not binding to the agency, appears imminent.

The agency previously approved the project, but nearby hospitals, such as Jupiter Medical Center, appealed the decision, saying a new hospital is not needed.

Palm Beach County purchased 40 acres on the Briger site to allow Scripps to expand, and the Lester family donated 30 acres, LaRocque said. These 70 acres sit inside the part of the Briger parcel allocated for biotech development.

LaRocque said the teaching facility, a joint venture between Scripps and hospital giant Tenet, is not a hospital in the classic sense, but is an academic medical center for teaching and drug discovery, in collaboration with Scripps and Florida Atlantic University. The hospital, now known as the Florida Regional Medical Center, would feature 80 beds and collaborate with FAU’s new medical school.

Plans are afoot to redo the old Home Depot Expo building in Boynton Beach.

Retail broker Dan Lynch, of Atlantic Retail Properties, said the property’s new buyer is considering subdividing the 90,000 square foot space into two or three spaces. The property was sold to Boynton Expo Investors LLC for $5.1 million by Home Depot last year.

Lynch said he’s talking to a number of “junior“ anchors that would be complementary to the Home Depot next door.

Making the space more attractive are plans to raise elevations on the back of the building so it is more visible from Interstate 95, Lynch said.

South Florida businesses looking for office space in 2013 will negotiate from a position of power as the commercial real estate market continues its slow recovery.

Many tenants with expiring leases are pushing for better deals in their existing locations as landlords dangle free rent and other concessions as incentives to move, brokers say.

“It's still a tenant's market," said Kevin McCarthy, a vice president with Jones Lang LaSalle in Palm Beach County. "Building owners are going after quality, credit tenants very aggressively.“

Rental rates and occupancy levels have remained steady, leading some brokers to believe the worst of the downturn is over. “I think we're bouncing along the bottom,“ said Peter Reed of Commercial Florida Realty Services in Boca Raton.

Office construction likely will be limited in the new year because of a lack of pent-up demand, said Tom Capocefalo, corporate managing director with the Studley real estate firm in Fort Lauderdale.

Still, Capocefalo expects some new distribution and office warehouse buildings, especially in Sunrise, Coral Springs and other parts of western Broward County.

“We're a prime gateway to South and Central America,“ he said. “More companies are doing distribution and logistical services, and in the past two or three years, the available inventory has been leased up or sold.“

Retail leasing is expected to increase in 2013 due to a lack of construction over the past few years coupled with improving consumer confidence. Brokers predict higher rents and occupancies this year.

Restaurants and discount retailers are opening new stores, although at a slower pace, said Robert Vreeland, director of leasing for the Sterling Organization, a Palm Beach-based owner of shopping centers.

"Overall, the health of the retail real estate market in South Florida is improving, and I expect that trend to continue for the next several years," Vreeland said in an email.

Some businesses that have remained on the sidelines recently are beginning to look to expand again. For example, Duffy's Sports Grill opened the last of its 24 restaurants in North Miami Beach in June 2011 and then curtailed growth until the economic climate brightened.

Although conditions still could be better, President Paul Emmett said Wednesday the Lake Worth-based chain has resumed expansion plans and is considering additional sites, particularly in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

"We'd open two, three, four locations now if we could find the right ones," he said. "Life is risk. We would be remiss if we didn't go out and pursue new opportunities. I'm afraid if we didn't, we'd miss the train."

Boca Raton based Commercial Florida Realty Services has leased 73,146 square feet of office space at the 116,000 square foot Hillsboro Center, located at 600 West Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach.

The leases include a new lease with Pylon Manufacturing Corp (10,229 SF), expansion of The Ticktin Law Group (13,712 SF), expansion of Old Republic Tile Insurance Co. (9,441 SF) and the expansion of Dart Container Company (39,764 SF)

“What’s most encouraging is the majority of the Hillsboro Center leasing has come organically, which is a good indicator that the overall economy may well be on the upturn,“ stated Peter D. Reed, Managing Principal at Commercial Florida Realty Services, Hillsboro Center’s exclusive leasing firm.

Hillsboro Center is owned by Parkway Properties, Inc., a publically-traded real estate investment trust (NYSE symbol: PKY).

SOUTH FLORIDA'S OFFICE MARKET IS BEGINNING TO SEE A TURNAROUND
South Florida Business Journal
9/21/12

Although South Florida’s office market was one of the sectors hardest hit by the downturn – with lease rates crushed and some buildings left vacant or reclaimed by banks – the turnaround has begun.

The Miami-Dade County office market is healing, but not at the pace originally anticipated, according to CBRE’s second quarter report.

“Absorption remained positive, with some new-to-market tenants moving into the area and existing companies expanding, resulting in the overall vacancy for the market declining to 19.2 percent,“ according to the report.

Brightstar’s extension on more than 61,000 square feet in Flagler Station in the Airport West ...

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE

KEN SILBERLING REJOINS COMMERCIAL FLORIDA
Palm Beach, Florida
9/15/12

The Palm Beach County office market continues is struggle toward recovery, according to a report out by Commercial Florida Realty Services of Boca Raton.

On the leasing side, office vacancy edged up slightly to 22.95 percent during the first half of 2012, from 22.22 percent during the same time last year. The brokerage expects the market to remain flat for the balance of 2012.

What does this mean? Tenants still are in a good position to strike deals, said Peter Reed, who, along with George Sacks, are principals of Commercial Florida. But the tenants’ bargaining power won’t last forever, and tenants are starting to realize this. “There are more decisions being made on the office side, and we’re seeing commitments of more than 12 to 24 months, which leads us to believe the end user is seeing more optimism in their business,“ Reed said.

Nevertheless, Commercial Florida is preparing for more business in the coming months. The company just hired Ken Silberling, formerly of Boca Raton’s Danburg Management, as a principal focusing on office leasing and investment sales. Silberling rejoins Sacks and Reed, where he had worked at the original Commercial Florida in the late 1990s before it was sold to Grubb and Ellis in 1999. The company re-formed in 2005.

HILLSBORO CENTER RECOVERING AFTER BANKING MELTDOWN
Deerfield Beach, Florida
11/3/11

A building that saw major fallout from the banking industry crisis is slowing recovering its tenant base. ITT Technical Institute just leased 20,000 square feet of space at Hillsboro Center.

Peter Reed, principal of Commercial Florida Realty Services, represented Parkway Properties, the landlord of Hillsboro Center. Steve O’Hara and Jason Sundook of Merin Hunter Codman represented ITT Tech in the transaction.

“First NLC Mortgage had occupied about 70,000 square feet of Hillsboro Center,” Reed tells GlobeSt.com. “When they went bankrupt they rejected and defaulted on the lease at Hillsboro Center and T-Rex.“

The occupancy rate on the building was about 55% before ITT came on board. Now, the occupancy has climbed to about 75%. The building offers 99,851 square feet across two floors located at 700 W. Hillsboro Blvd. Commercial Florida Realty Services has rebuilt occupancy over the past couple of years by focusing on local and regional professional services and support firms.

”The Deerfield Beach submarket is somewhat challenged as it’s a tweener market between Boca and Cypress Creek, both with significant vacancies,” Reed says. “Hillsboro Center is the bright spot in the submarket. Some of the other buildings on Fairway Drive are not fearing as well.”

Reed called the lease a ”shot in the arm” for Deerfield Beach and Hillsboro Center. ITT Tech will add about 40 jobs to the local economy, as well as an impact from the potential 300 students the facilities will serve.

$2 BILLION IN ASSETS ARE BEING AUCTIONED ONLINE - Premium content from South Florida Business Journal by Oscar Pedro Musibay, Reporter
South Florida Business Journal
10/7/11

Companies, including LNR Property Corp. affiliate Archetype Advisors, are auctioning online $2 billion in distressed assets in the Southeast – including some in South Florida – at what appears to be a significant discount.

South Florida has 40 assets being sold through Auction.com, including 14 office assets and six retail assets with a total unpaid balance of more than $240 million, according to the Auction.com brochure.

Multifamily, one of the hottest sectors of the real estate market, has two notes in the auction.

As for the potential for discounts, the starting bid on $17 million owed on the Coral Springs Financial Plaza, at 3300 N. University Drive, is $3 million.

The bulk of the assets were financed through commercial mortgage-backed securities, where cash flows pay off bondholders and a special servicer, like LNR, is appointed to manage the debt relationship with the borrower when a loan goes bad. If necessary, the asset is sold to satisfy the debt.

The assets might not be performing for various reasons. Like many commercial properties today, the property might be generating enough revenue to make the mortgage payment, but a recent appraisal has valued the property lower than when the debt was issued. That would require the owner to put in more equity, find partners or potentially face foreclosure, said Peter Reed, principal with Commercial Florida Realty Services.

Some of the bank-owned properties probably reverted to the banks as a result of friendly foreclosure, with the mortgagee turning the property back, in some cases as a strategic business decision.

The auction is an attempt by special servicers like LNR and others, responsible for managing distressed investments held by trusts, to work out some of the wrinkles in existing debt that surfaced in the last few years, particularly after the financial meltdown of 2008. Lenders and investors have had to come to terms with the fact that some assets have to be discounted if they want sales to gain traction in the current market.

These types of auctions are becoming more common as banks and other lenders work their way through some assets that might be more difficult to package for sale. But the process is causing a stir in the investment community, which is raising questions about whether LNR using an affiliate to liquidate assets is the best way to manage the process for investors, said Paul Jones, president of Pyramid Realty Group in Coral Gables, which underwrote CMBS loans for LNR Partners, a division of LNR Property Corp.

“The auction is the methodology LNR and CII [another special servicer] has selected to dispose of assets,” Jones said. “They are using a captive brokerage arm, rather than a third-party real estate or loan broker, much to the dismay of the brokerage community and raising some red flags among institutional investors who are concerned about potential conflicts of interest resulting from the use of a captive brokerage firm.”

Part of the driver behind the concerns is that a special servicer like LNR gets paid to manage the asset/loan once it goes bad, and has created a company like Archetype Advisors that generates higher fees for selling it, which incentivizes the special servicer to resort to a sale, instead of a workout, Jones said. As a result, some CMBS sales going forward are incorporating these concerns into contracts.

Archetype did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Morgan Stanley Capital I Trust 2011-C3, a CMBS fund, prohibits special servicers from earning extra commissions or fees for selling or working out loans gone bad. A similar prohibition was incorporated into another CMBS deal in August, according to Orest Mandzy of Commercial Real Estate Direct.

In a recent article, Mandzy wrote that Midland Loan Services, special servicer for both transactions, will receive an annual fee of 25 basis points of the balance of any loan it actively manages and get the lesser of a 1 percent workout/liquidation fee or $1 million on a loan it resolves. But no more brokerage fees from the sale of the loans would be available, a departure from earlier transactions.

Mandzy said these kinds of prohibitions are not yet instituted across the board.

COMMERCIAL FLORIDA CHARGED WITH FILLING BOCA OFFICE FAST
Boca Raton, Florida
10/4/11

One Park Place just handed the leasing keys to Commercial Florida Realty Services. The owner is hoping principals Peter Reed and George Sacks can fill up the Boca building.

Located at 621 NW 53rd St. in Boca Raton’s Arvida Park of Commerce, One Park Place offers 237,331 square feet of class A office space. The building was recently renovated, yet still sits at 79% occupancy. The building’s owner, Ofer Drucker, Canpro Investments, hired the firm to push occupancy levels into the 90s.

Reed tells GlobeSt.com the lease up strategy gets back to basics with direct mailer postcards and incentive to new tenants. The duo also plans to canvas the local market and work with economic development agencies to raise the profile of One Park Place.  

“Canpro will be very creative,” Reed says. “Rental abatement and moving allowances are being offered to the prospective tenants, as well as commission bonuses of one dollar per square foot for leases longer than three years and 50-cents per square foot for lease three years or less.”

Commercial Florida will target corporate users, along with government and state agencies, that are actively looking for space in the South Palm Beach County market. The biggest challenge, Reed admits, is overcoming the economic environment and corporation indecision on hiring or relocating because of the costs. “However,” he concludes, “we have seen some thawing in 2011 and we feel that trend should continue in 2012.”

The key advantage that Palm Beach County has to offer is that local government agencies are collectively working to provide incentives and assistance to local and non-local businesses in an effort to grow, expand and create new jobs, according to a September report from CBRE. The activity in the office market continues to illustrate signs of improvement, but vacancies are still higher than desired for landlords.

TIGER WOODS LEASING OFFICE SPACE IN JUPITER
By Alexandra Clough - Palm Beach Post
8/23/11

Tiger Woods has leased a Jupiter office building and plans to move his business empire here from Orlando.

A notice to contractors was filed Aug. 19 in the Palm Beach County clerk's office and lists ETW Corp., Wood's company, as the tenant. Chris Hubman, Wood's top executive, signed the notice.

Sources say ETW is expected to be up and running by October in the Jupiter space, located at 501 N. A1A., just north of Indiantown Road.

Commercial Florida Realty's Peter Reed, who handles the property's leasing, confirmed the space has been rented but declined further comment.

A spokesman for Woods did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The move signals Woods' growing presence in northern Palm Beach County.

He owns a palatial oceanfront mansion in nearby Jupiter Island. Increasingly, he has been spotted in and around town at area restaurants, including Cabo Flats at the Downtown at the Gardens shopping center in Palm Beach Gardens.

In addition, his top executives have been putting down roots in the exclusive Frenchman's Reserve community. Two months ago, Kathryn Battaglia, an ETW vice president, paid $827,000 for a property in the Palm Beach Gardens enclave. She joins ETW's Hubman, who paid $2.14 million last year for a home in the same community.

Woods' new business command center is a 10,000-square foot, two-story, Mediterranean-influenced office building. The building features a large corner office with balcony, private restroom and shower, according to marketing materials. Interior features include French doors, a wood-paneled executive office and hallways ringed by imposing white columns.

The property was being offered for rent at $24.50 a square foot, including insurance and taxes, according to a marketing brochure.

Norman used to lease the property for his Great White Shark Enterprises but he moved his business to offices at the Vista Center in West Palm Beach.

Wood's new office is owned by CTM Realty LLC, which purchased the building in 2010 for $1.38 million, down substantially from the 2008 sales price of $2.65 million.

By all accounts, Woods appears to be following in Norman's footsteps, and not just when it comes to his choice of office space.

Woods recently built a $54.5 million estate on 12 acres on Jupiter Island, where Norman is a longtime resident. Woods' former caddy, Steve Williams, also formerly worked for Norman.

In addition to leasing the office where Norman once plotted his business ventures, Woods also now strolls a golf course designed by the Australian-born golf champ. The Greg Norman Medalist Club in nearby Hobe Sound now is Wood's home course.

COMMERCIAL FLORIDA HELPS GROWING FIRM PUT ROOTS IN JUPITER, FL
Jupiter, Florida
05/20/11

A Palm City company known for its healthy pet foods has purchased land in Jupiter and plans to build a new headquarters and distribution facility. Life's Abundance has bought a 1-acre parcel just outside the Jupiter Park of Commerce on Capital Street. Plans are to build a 21,000-square-foot facility. The project is valued at $3.1 million, which includes $600,000 paid for the land, said Lester Thornhill, the company's president and chief executive. The seller was Capital Street Holdings. Rick Reikenis, a Capital Street official, said he and his partners bought the land in 2008 to build a building for their North Palm Beach engineering firm, East Bay Group, but the recession killed their plans. Their setback, however, proved fortuitous for Life's Abundance, which now will be able to expand its business. The company has about 32 employees and is looking to hire. It expects to grow to at least 50 once it makes the move to Palm Beach County by February. The company has an immediate need for a marketing and communications specialist. "We need a larger labor pool," Thornhill said. Indeed, the company is poised for continued growth with the popularity of its all-natural cat and dog food. Thornhill would not disclose profits at the privately held company, but he said that revenues exceed $15 million annually. And sales continue to grow: Last year the company grew more than 7 percent, and this year "we're up more than last year," he said. Peter Reed, a Commercial Florida Realty Services principal and the broker on the deal, called the move "a real shot in the arm" for the economy. "It brings needed jobs to Jupiter," Reed said, and will create some construction jobs, too. Thornhill said the company needed a bigger building and decided to build its own facility after realizing that prices for property and construction were only going to go up. "We realized if there was any time it made sense to build a building, that time would be now," he said. The building also will be the company's headquarters and the location of its southeast distribution facility. In addition to Florida, Life's Abundance has distribution facilities in California and Illinois.

GEORGE SACKS AND PETER D. REED, PRINCIPALS OF COMMERCIAL FLORIDA REALTY SERVICES, ANNOUNCE THE SALE OF 22,000 SQ. FT. OF OFFICE-CONDOS WITH DOLLAR VALUE OVER $3,000,000
Boca Raton, Florida
02/15/11

Commercial Florida Realty Services recently completed the sale of four office condominiums totaling 21,612 square feet at the Sanctuary Centre – 4800 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida. The sales included 7,570 square feet to CNA Realty, for Cable Networks Associates – US Headquarters, Smart Travel, Inc.  – 6,244 square feet for their Smart Cruiser division, LMY, Inc. 5,754 square feet for their first Florida office of PT2 Physical Therapy and the Law Office of Thomas Walser, PA purchased 2,044 square feet.  “we’ve definitely seen a pickup in sale velocity in the last 90 days” noted Peter D. Reed, Co-Founder and Principal of Commercial Florida Realty Services.  In addition to the recent sales at Sanctuary Centre, there are also three other units totaling 12,921 square feet under contract, pending closing in the next 90 days.  “if this keeps up we’ll be sell off the balance of the inventory by year’s end”  George Sacks, Principal of Commercial Florida Realty Services added.

MCCALLA RAYMER OPENS IN FORT LAUDERDALE
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
02/08/11

The sliver lining to the real estate meltdown may be that it is spurring some law firms to open and expand in South Florida. McCalla Raymer, a law firm that specializes in real estate, foreclosure, litigation, REO and eviction services, has inked a lease for 15,298 square feet at 110 Tower in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The deal marks the Atlanta-based firm's entrance into the South Florida market. It recently opened offices in Orlando and Panama City, as well. And while it's benefiting from business now being spun off from the real estate and foreclosure crisis, Managing Partner Marty Stone said McCalla Raymer is committed to building a long-lasting practice in the state, even after the foreclosure work subsides. "We do real estate, soup to nuts," he said of the firm's broad spectrum of real estate services, which includes closings and commercial real estate. The firm is now hiring lawyers and support staff for its Fort Lauderdale office. And, yes, Stone says he has hired some lawyers who previously work for so-called "foreclosure king" David J Stern. "The most important thing to me is not to paint everyone with too wide a brush," he said. "The fact that they have David Stern or any other law firm on their resume shouldn't be the only thing you look at." Stern's Plantation law firm is under investigation by the Florida Attorney General's Office for so-called robo-signing. McCalla Raymer will service Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties from its new Fort Lauderdale office, Stone said. George Sacks and Peter D. Reed, principals of Commercial Florida Realty Services, represented the firm in its space search. "We identified over 10 potential locations, but ultimately chose the 110 Tower for two major reasons: the proximity to courthouse and the ability to expand," Sacks said. Formerly home to AutoNation, the 391,473-square-foot building at 110 S.E. Sixth St. has undergone $24 million in renovations and green upgrades that have it seeking gold LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The renovations include a new lobby, common areas and a seventh-floor restaurant. Due to its close proximity to the Broward County Courthouse, the landlord, Dallas-Capital Genesis Capital Partners, repositioned the building to service firms doing court-related business after losing AutoNation to Stiles Corp.'s new 17-story building at 200 Las Olas Circle, also in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The strategy has proven prudent, according to Laurel Oswald, VP of Transwestern, which handles leasing and marketing of the building. Transwestern has signed about 192,000 square feet of leases since AutoNation's departure, she said. The building is now about 70 percent leased.

THREE YEAR-END COMMERCIAL DEALS IN
PALM BEACH COUNTY TOTAL ALMOST $33M
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
01/03/11

The record-breaking commercial real estate market of a few years ago remains a distant memory, but three year-end deals totaling nearly $33 million closed in late December in Palm Beach County. In the largest of the three deals, Healthcare Trust of America paid $12.8 million for a 48,000-square-foot medical building in Wellington. The property is occupied by Wellington Regional Medical Center. The sale is part of a five-building, $84 million transaction between Healthcare Trust, a real estate investment trust in Arizona, and Rendina Cos. of Jupiter. The deal included four other buildings in other parts of the country. In another sale, TA Associates Realty of Boston paid Kolter Group of West Palm Beach $11 million for a 35,000-square-foot office building at 3507 Kyoto Gardens Drive in Palm Beach Gardens, according to property records.Tenants include Key Bank and Merrill Lynch, and that deal shows that there's demand for newer buildings with little vacancy, said Jason Sundook, an NAI/Merin Hunter Codman broker who handled leasing at the building. However, older buildings with empty space are languishing. "For the quality properties, there's still a bidding war, but there's a huge gap into the next level of product," Sundook said. In another deal, the 11,576-square-foot office building at 231 Royal Palm Way in Palm Beach sold for $8.9 million. PNC Wealth Management leases the space on the island's Banker's Row. The buyer was 231 Royal Palm Way LLC of Miami. Commercial real estate brokers see the sales as a sign of life for the hard-hit property market. "We're not seeing the type of velocity we saw a few years ago, but it's nice to see some things moving," said Peter Reed of Commercial Florida Realty in Boca Raton. The credit freeze has begun to thaw a bit, said Michael Falk of Michael Falk & Co. in West Palm Beach. "With the unemployment rate where it's at, people are still a little reserved," Falk said. "But people are starting to realize there are value opportunities in the market."

NEW LEASING ASSIGNMENT
Boca Raton, Florida
09/17/10

Peter D. Reed and George Sacks, Principals of Boca Raton based Commercial Florida Realty Services, are pleased to announce that Commercial Florida Realty Services has been engaged to lease the Millennium Building.  Located at 6501 N. Congress Avenue in Boca Raton’s Arvida Park of Commerce, the Millennium Building contains 60,000 square feet of Class-A office space.  The Millennium Building was awarded the NAIOP Spec Building of the year in 2001.  The Millennium Building is home to Careers USA and is currently 90% occupied.  George Ounjian, Principal in Millennium Two, LLC felt they needed leasing expertise to back-fill upcoming vacancy at the building.  “Who else but Peter and George, they did a great job leasing our building when we developed it ten years ago” said Ounjian. “We know we’ll have similar success. It’s the best building in town…”

COMMERICAL FLORIDA SELLS 20,000 SF
OFFICE BUILDING
Boynton Beach, FL
08/09/10

Boynton Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida: Peter D. Reed and George Sacks, Principals of Boca Raton based Commercial Florida Realty Services, are pleased to announce the sale of Chase Bank Building, located at 555 N. Congress Avenue, Boynton Beach, Florida. The 19,791 square foot, three-story is situated on a 2.2-acre outparcel at the northwest corner of Congress Avenue and the east entrance road to the Boynton Beach Mall. The professional office complex sold for $1,700,000. Commercial Florida represented the seller, JPMorgan Chase Bank National Association, (NYSE symbol: JPM) in the transaction. The buyer was Congress Avenue Financial Associates, LLC, an affiliate of Harbor Group International of Norfolk, Virginia. Chase will remain in the bank branch portion of the building. Other tenants in the building include: Joseph C. Gretzula, DO, FAAD, PA; Kenneth M. Kaleel, PA and Nicholas G. Kaleel, DMD, PA.

12,441 SQUARE FEET OF OFFICE TRANSACTIONS
COMPLETED AT THE EXCHANGE
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
07/01/10

George Sacks and Peter D. Reed, Principals of Commercial Florida Realty Services, announced the completion of two office transactions totaling 12,441 square feet, at The Exchange office complex in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The Elephant Group, Inc. (d/b/a Savology.com) leased 9,255 square feet in the two-story 3323 Building. In addition, Brett Burks (d/b/a Primerica) leased 3,186 square feet in the one-story 3343 Building at The Exchange. Primerica was represented by Les Byron, with Sperry Van Ness Commercial Real Estate Advisors.

OFFICE VACANCIES IN SOUTH FLORIDA RISE
AS COMPANIES DOWNSIZE
Boca Raton, Florida
04/07/10

South Florida office vacancies are rising to their highest levels in years as tenants bargain for less space in a still weak economy. Palm Beach County's vacancy in the first quarter of the year was 24.5 percent, up from 22.1 percent during the same period a year ago, according to Cushman & Wakefield. Broward's vacancy was 19.4 percent, compared with 16.1 percent a year earlier. The dot-com bust in the early 2000s and the savings-and-loan crisis of the early 1990s were the only other times in recent memory that vacancies were so high, said Greg Martin, a senior director at Cushman & Wakefield in Fort Lauderdale. "In general, most tenants are cutting occupancy costs to help with the bottom line," Martin said. Many companies trying to downsize are using a strategy known as "blend and extend." They take less space while agreeing to add years to their leases, typically at a lower rent per square foot. Job losses at title companies and law firms have exacerbated office vacancies, said Peter Reed, a broker for Commercial Florida Realty Services in Boca Raton. "The white-collar jobs I don't see coming back," he said. "How are we going to decrease the vacancy? It's going to have to be some kind of new sector." To draw business, landlords drop rental rates and offer concessions such as free rent, said commercial real estate brokers. "It's a difficult environment for [building owners]," said Tom Capocefalo, managing director of the Studley real estate firm in Fort Lauderdale. "We're not going to see any realized increase in occupancy for the next 18 months." While tenants are postponing moves, some are taking advantage of market conditions to boost their visibility. A medical staffing company recently moved from a modest office building to a more prestigious Hollywood complex and is paying only a slightly higher rental rate, said Jonathan Kingsley, managing director of Grubb & Ellis Co. in Miami and Boca Raton. The highest first-quarter office vacancies in Broward were in Deerfield Beach, Tamarac and Margate, all hitting 32 percent, according to Cushman & Wakefield. In Palm Beach County, Delray Beach's vacancy ballooned to 42.6 percent, while Jupiter/Tequesta was at 32 percent.
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

PETER D. REED NEGOTIATES
16,163 SQUARE FEET OF LEASES
Boca Raton, Florida
02/15/10

Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida: Commercial Florida Realty Services is pleased to announce the completion of two lease transactions totaling 16,163 square feet. Peter D. Reed, Principal of Commercial Florida Realty Services represented Stratis Business Systems, Inc. in its 7,326 square foot lease at Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association (TIAA) new building in Boca Raton; 1800 Boca Center. Stratis will be relocating from its current office at the FAU Research Park once the office build-out is completed. The landlord was represented by, Mike Erickson at CB Richard Ellis. In addition, Reed also represented Signature Consultants, LLC in the recasting and renewing of its 8,837 square foot lease at 2101 Commercial Building in Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida. Greg Martin with Cushman & Wakefield of Florida, Inc. represented the Landlord, Mainstreet Capital Partners.

Boca Raton, Palm Beach County, Florida: George Sacks and Peter D. Reed, Principals of Commercial Florida Realty Services are pleased to announce the completion of eight transactions totaling 26,183 square feet of sales and/or leases lease at Sanctuary Centre. The sale transactions included: the sale to Euro International Mortgage of 6,342 square feet, Smart for Life - 5,921 square feet, Law Office of Eric Klein, PA - 2,996 square feet, Turtle Island Associates – 1,597 square feet and Pro-Tech Personnel – 1,290 square feet. ‘The sales program and transaction process at Sanctuary Centre is one of the best and smoothest I’ve been involved of late’ said Barry Brizel, President of Raintree Properties, who represented both The Law Office of Eric Klein and Turtle Island Associates in the purchase of their units at Sanctuary Centre. In addition, lease transactions with: Venture Partners for 3,398 square feet, Smart Travel – 2,628 square feet and Partners Community for 2,010 square feet were completed at Sanctuary Centre.

GEORGE SACKS REMARKS FOR
NAIOP ECONOMIC FORECAST
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
01/28/10

My son Christopher called me from Dallas last week, he is a junior in the undergraduate business program at SMU. Chris often recommends books to me that he is reading in his courses and I often read them, and then we talk about them; it connects me to what he is doing and thinking. He recommended a short list of business books and I was off to Barnes & Noble last weekend to check them out. I ended up buying all of the books, probably several months of reading material. Read More >>

COMMERCIAL FLORIDA LEASES OVER 31,000 SF IN Q4 AT HILLBORO CENTER
Deerfield Beach, Florida
01/15/10

In its first 90 days as Parkway Properties, Inc. (NYSE symbol: PKY) recently retained third-party leasing advisor; Boca Raton based Commercial Florida Realty Services has leased 31,278 square feet of office space at the 215,000 square foot five building Hillsboro Center Office Park located 600-700 West Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach, Florida. The new leases included: GHS Solutions (6,327 SF), FLORA Research (3,579 SF), MSE Power Solutions (2,004 SF) and Seven D Wholesale (1,135 SF). Leasing efforts also included lease expansions and extensions with The Ticktin Law Group (9,898 SF), Intercontinental Warranty Services (7,146 SF) and Dr. Mitchell Hantman, DDS (1,189 SF). “We couldn’t be more pleased with the result’s we’ve had in the fourth quarter of 2009. Commercial Florida jumped in and really energized our leasing efforts at Hillsboro Center”; said Lisa Smith, Senior Vice President with Parkway Properties, Inc. “It’s been a real team effort…added Peter D. Reed, Principal at Commercial Florida Realty Services…when you’re given the tools you need to accomplish the tasks at hand the job is certainly much more feasible and that is exactly what Parkway has done here with it’s leasing program at Hillsboro Center.”

Parkway Properties, Inc. (NYSE:PKY) recently hired Commercial Florida Realty Services, LLC as its exclusive real estate broker to lease the 215,000 square foot Hillsboro Center project. Hillsboro Center is located at 600 Hillsboro Boulevard, which is located at the southeast corner of Hillsboro Boulevard and I-95. The project features a Class-A six-story office building and four two-story, suburban-style office buildings in a campus-style setting. The project is currently 72% leased. “We selected Commercial Florida, because they are a boutique real estate firm that really understands the Deerfield Beach office submarket. We also felt that they would represent the aggressive and creative leasing style Parkway has established within our other properties across the country,” said Lisa L. Smith, Senior Vice President of Parkway Properties. “Hillsboro Center has always been a great economical alternative to the Boca Raton office market. In today’s market, companies are continuously looking to reduce their occupancy costs and Hillsboro Center offers an excellent opportunity to do that. In essence, you are in Boca for a great value,” added Peter D. Reed, Principal at Commercial Florida. Read More >>