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Bruce Corn earns his 9th Broker of the Year award from top South Floridacommercial real estate firm, NAI/Merin Hunter Codman
West Palm Beach, FL – NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, Inc., one of South Florida’s leading commercial real estate firms, is pleased to announce the firm’s 2020 Broker of the Year winner, Bruce Corn.
This marks the 9th Broker of the Year win for Managing Director, Mr. Corn, who has led NAI/Merin Hunter Codman’s Retail Services Group since 1993. Despite the uncertainties the start of the COVID-19 pandemic played on the commercial real estate market, especially in retail, Mr. Corn was able to successfully complete sales and leasing transactions for his retail clients throughout 2020.
“The economic challenges the COVID-19 pandemic brought to the global commercial real estate market and economy are unprecedented. Bruce Corn who has navigated positive and negative market cycles for nearly 30 years, leaned on his veteran experience and was able to steer his clients through this uncertain time with his thoughtful approach and decisive recommendations. It’s an honor to award Bruce Corn, as he is a true asset to both his clients and NAI/Merin Hunter Codman. We look forward to continued success for Bruce and his clients, as we anticipate a strong rebound for South Florida in 2021,” said Jordan Paul, Chief Executive Officer of NAI/Merin Hunter Codman.
The following is an excerpt of the article originally posted by the South Florida Business Journal by Brian Bandell. View Full Article: PDF | Link
There were many frightening months in the South Florida real estate sector in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, but experts expect the market to bounce back.
Just how quickly that recovery occurs depends on the type of real estate.
Single-family homes and industrial properties are already thriving. Office and retail space have a cloudy outlook, depending on how much the trends of remote work and e-commerce, respectively, impact business. The fate of hotels depends on the type of visitor they serve, and how quickly they’re likely to resume traveling.
Those were some of the takeaways from the Business Journal’s seventh annual Market Review panel, held virtually and broadcast online Dec. 15
Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs and First Horizon Bank sponsored the discussion, which was moderated by Senior Reporter Brian Bandell.
Some of South Florida’s top players in the areas of retail, industrial, office and residential real estate recently gathered for the Business Journal’s seventh annual Market Review panel, a virtual affair where the experts reviewed some of the current – and future – trends impacting the tri-county region.
The spirited conversation highlighted how the Covid-19 pandemic is fueling certain real estate sectors while hurting others, and what the region’s top industry could experience in 2021.
MEET THE PANEL:
Art Lieberman, Director of tax services, Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs
Neil E. Merin, SIOR, CCIM, Chairman, NAI/Merin Hunter Codman
Dev Motwani, President and CEO, Merrimac Ventures
Peggy Olin, CEO, OneWorld Properties
Stephanie Rodriguez, Senior VP, Florida region, Duke Realty
Andrew Zidar, VP of development and acquisition, RK Centers
QUOTABLLES
What South Florida real estate sectors will have a really bright outlook for 2021?
Neil Merin, NAI/Merin Hunter Codman: “The brightest outlook is single-family housing. Housing sales right now are running 125% ahead of the same time last year.”
Peggy Olin, OneWorld Properties: “Single-family homes. Everyone had the dream of being in South Florida and this [Covid-19] has really accelerated that decision. The level of prices we are seeing trading on the single-family home side and some of the high-end condos, as well, are amazing to see, and I think we will continue to see it.”
Stephanie Rodriguez, Duke Realty: “On the industrial side, institutional developers put a pause on spec development [in the first quarter]. But there was a shift in our business and an acceleration in demand, and we are pulling off that band-aid and going full throttle.”
Dev Motwani, Merrimac Ventures: “With Elliot [Management], and Blackstone and Goldman [Sachs] announcing moves here, the rest will follow because they realize this is a great place to do business. That will benefit the residential market. That will benefit the office market. That’s going to benefit retail, and certainly industrial.”
Art Lieberman, Berkowitz Pollack Brant Advisors + CPAs: “You are seeing a lot of opportunity zone projects starting to come online. Leasing to businesses looking for opportunity zone tax benefits will start to trend.”
What sectors of real estate are probably going to struggle in 2021?
Neil Merin, NAI/Merin Hunter Codman: “Hospitality and retail. There will be a permanent impairment to hospitality in the business travel sector. Retail is a reimagining.”
Andrew Zidar, RK Centers: “It’s survival of the fittest on the retail side. There will continue to be fallout over the next year or two. There will be names in retail we have known for a long time that cease to exist.”
Dev Motwani, Merrimac Ventures: “We’ve always been a great hospitality and cruise market, and those markets are going to take a little longer to rebound in 2021 as people get comfortable traveling again.”
Please enjoy the following post, contributed by our Property Manager, Joan Garrick in appreciation of donations contributed by the MHC REAL Leaders Team towards a local Thanksgiving outreach community program.
Giving makes life wonderful. It is in giving that the lives of others are enriched and as such we enrich our own lives.
This note is sent to you today to say thank you.
Thank you for giving of your hard-earned financial resources, time, and energy.
Thank you for partnering with me to share our blessings.
Thank you for giving up time and resources which you could have used for other things.
More importantly, thank you for partnering with me in sharing in my passion to reach out to the needy. The members of my family as well as members of Victory Tabernacle Apostolic International at Avon Park came together, prepared, and distributed 257 packages of cooked meals and care packages to the needy on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 26, 2020.
You were all part of the emotional, tear-filled eyes of elderly men and women, some confined to wheel chairs; and other individuals as they said thank you for even being bothered to care about on Thanksgiving Day 2020.
To all of you on behalf of these elderly persons, children, and parents. Thank You for Caring and Sharing.
Joan Garrick
We’re honored to have been a part of bringing hope to our community and wish for everyone to have a healthy and happy holiday season.
Click here to view the original article posted by Juniper Square.
Juniper Square’s Strategic Account Directors, Carrie Frugé and Jennifer Sutherland, recently spoke to three leading commercial real estate investors in Florida: Matt Adler, Founder and Managing Principal at Adler Partners; Daryl Shevin, CFO and Principal at 13th Floor Investments; and Neil Merin, Chairman at NAI/Merin Hunter Codman.
Proceeding with caution in uncertain times
Although the panel agreed that the Florida market has a bright future despite unknowns, they were also aware of the current realities.
Merin stated, “The buyers and 90% of the capital that’s out there are looking to see how cheap they can buy things. And that’s freaking sellers out. So sellers aren’t putting properties on the market.”
Buyers feel this is a huge bargain moment. “The way I see it, sellers think it’s January and buyers think it’s July,” said Shevin.
Getting through the current market environment
Merin said the “new normal” requires viewing tenant evaluations through a different lens. “Unless your tenant’s in the PPE supply business, they may not be your tenant next week. Underwriting is going to be a little different now, during this pandemic period. As we consider properties, we’re not just going to look at their financial statement. We want to understand—is this a business that holds up? In retail, six months ago, we used to look for Amazon-proof properties. Now we have to look for COVID-proof tenants.”
Another important tactic mentioned for getting through the downturn is frequent, detailed communication with investors to keep them informed and gauge their needs.
For Merin and his team, technology enables this. “Our primary tool of communication with our investors is Juniper Square. We bring everything into the portal. This allows us to pay monthly to our investors, and report monthly along with the return.”
Being proactive is the key, according to Adler. “You don’t want to be an event communicator. Regularly reporting makes you focused on being very transparent on what the facts are, and not just on waiting for something to happen. That’s a very dangerous game, if you’re waiting for that lease to be signed or that deal to close.”
Looking forward to what lies ahead
As America continues adjusting to life and business during the pandemic, Merin, Adler, and Shevin are rethinking how they approach building management. In addition to protocols such as social distancing, masks, and having ample supplies of hand sanitizer available, Merin cautioned to keep things in perspective.
“At some point, the pandemic will become a distant memory and we won’t have the same fears we do now. In the meantime, you have to observe the fear of the people who work for you, and the people you’re serving as your tenants. You need to be responsive.”
Shevin offered examples of how his business is shifting its residential staging model. “We converted one of our model homes so that the den had a home office. It’s very easy to tell someone, ‘You can make that area a home office.’ But when they walk in and they see the home office, and they see it all set up, it tells a different story.”
Many people love working from home, which is driving relocation from cities like New York to Florida. Merin expects this to continue as workers escape long and crowded commutes, high costs of living, and cold weather.
Merin also predicted that interest rates will continue to stay low, it’ll be easier to borrow money, and the trillions of dollars the government has pumped into the industry will ensure liquidity for the foreseeable future.
As Adler stated, “In 2008 real estate and banks were the catalyst of the financial crisis. This time, banks are part of the solution.”
On Monday, December 9th1 East Broward and NAI/Merin Hunter Codman were proud to host the 4th Quarter Riverwalk Power Mixer. The mixers are held four times per year and are exclusively for Trustee members and corporate partners of Riverwalk. These high-end networking events are held at businesses in and around the Downtown and attract some of Fort Lauderdale’s most influential community leaders.
Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale is a charitable nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization responsible for the planning, programming, beautification and promotion of Fort Lauderdale’s Riverwalk Park. They are responsible for the oversight of all public land including 10 parks in the Downtown corridor. Their mission is “to be the catalyst in building and nurturing Riverwalk as a vibrant community connected by the New River.” Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale partners with many groups, including the City of Fort Lauderdale, Downtown Development Authority, Broward County and local area associations and business that are integral in the success of Downtown Fort Lauderdale.
1 East Broward was the perfect location for this mixer. The building truly is the #1 choice for businesses seeking first-class, downtown office space for lease in Fort Lauderdale’s Central Business District. The 19-story, Class-A office building comprises 350,000 square feet at the northeast corner of Broward Boulevard and Andrews Avenue. This premier location is within walking distance to several local attractions including Flagler Village’s Arts and Technology village (FATVillage), Music & Arts South of Sunrise District (MASS), and renowned Las Olas Boulevard.
Tenants enjoy unparalleled amenities including a luxurious grand lobby with soaring floor-to-ceiling glass and high-end marble finishes, impressive panoramic views, an exclusive state-of-the-art fitness center, complimentary shuttle services, manned 24/7 security and a variety of on-site services including: restaurant, café/sundry shop, dry cleaning, car detailing, banking/ATM and property management. Tenants also enjoy plentiful parking in the garage, connected by an air-conditioned, newly renovated sky-walk.
1 East Broward offers the best in convenience and walkability with fantastic access to I-95, I-595 and the Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale International Airport. It’s also the closest office building to the new Fort Lauderdale Brightline station.
Please enjoy photos from the event below. Thank you to our fantastic staff who pulled this together and made us look good!
How can we help you? NAI/Merin Hunter Codman is one of South Florida’s leading commercial real estate firms and the largest in Palm Beach County. We have over three decades of experience advising clients on strategic acquisitions and dispositions and providing landlord representation, tenant representation, property management, and construction management services. The firm has expertise in all commercial property sectors including office, retail, industrial, multifamily, hotels, and land. To learn more about our services click here.
Thank you to all of our clients, partners, and attendees for joining us at this year’s game. We look forward to seeing everyone again at our 2020 pre-game tailgate!
We want to wish a hearty thank you to all sponsors, moderators, panelists, and guests that attended our 2019 NAI Florida & Caribbean Forum – making it one of our most well attended Forums to date!
Around 500 commercial real estate professionals gathered on November 15th at the Intercontinental Miami for a full morning of all things CRE -focusing on current commercial real estate conditions and economic trends at a national level and within the Florida region.
We want to wish a hearty congratulations to our Chairman, Neil E. Merin, SIOR, CCIM for his recent big wins!
CCIM’s Biggest Deals of 2019
A big “Thank You” to Neil and the rest of the team that worked on our 1 East Broward acquisition, which made it as a CCIM 2019 Biggest Deal! View the interview of all finalists at these links: View Link | View PDF | FL CCIM Link
Key highlights of Neil’s interview include the notions “Approach each opportunity as a partnership,” and “Knowledge: know your market and product better than anybody else. Expertise: become an expert at whatever segment you deal in. Credibility: make sure you have a reputation for honesty, integrity, expertise, and knowledge.”
SFBJ’s 2019 Structures Awards
1 E Broward was a finalist in the Terry Stiles Deal of the Year Award, but the big win of the night was Neil Merin’s acceptance of the Dealmaker of the Year Award. View the SFBJ’s fantastic write-up about the awards here: View Photos | View Article | PDF Article | View Acceptance Video
Neil said, “I’m not the young hotshot in the business when I started. Building teams and helping people launch their careers is really what I enjoy, more than just doing the deal. I just love what I do. I live, eat and breathe this business.”
94% of teachers pay an average of $500-$1,000/year out of pocket on classroom and student supplies – The New York Times
At NAI/Merin Hunter
Codman, Inc. we take pride in supporting the communities that we live and
do business in. We’re writing today to ask for YOU to be a part of our
next community service project.
NAI/Merin Hunter Codman, Inc. and Tricera Capital had the honor of hosting the BDB‘s Commercial & Industrial Real Estate Round Table at the former Palm Beach Post building, now being rebranded as “The Press”. While there will be a retail/industrial component, Scott Sherman (Principal of Tricera) shared renovation plans for the office portion which will be called “Workplaces at The Press”. He detailed how the common areas will focus on fresh, innovative design that encourages community like flexible work and meeting spaces, pods/phone booths, and a lounge/event room. NAI/Merin Hunter Codman is excited to handle the property management and leasing assignment for this exciting new concept.
Rendering of proposed lobby renovation at “The Press”
The BDB shared their 2018-2019 fiscal and marketing goals, which includes creating new jobs, attracting capital investments and bringing more than 1 million square feet of newly leased/constructed space to the County. An exciting note mentioned was biotech company Beacon Pharmaceutical, which is planning to build a state-of-the-art life science/healthcare complex in Jupiter.
