Why is it important to have Buyer/Tenant Representation?
Your business is growing, and you need more space. Maybe you’re planning to expand into a new market. Perhaps you’re an investor looking to build your portfolio. Regardless of the scenario, if you’re considering buying or leasing commercial real estate, you will be faced with the same challenges: Finding the right location, negotiating a fair deal, and creating opportunity for future growth.
A listing or landlord broker has a fiduciary duty to their client (landlord/seller). Their job is filling available space as quickly and as profitably as possible. Due to that relationship, the buyer/tenant may not be fairly represented without their own broker, someone whose focus is on getting them the best deal and the best property for their needs. This three-part series will explain why it is in the best interest of a buyer/tenant to hire a broker to represent them in a transaction.
The best part is that the buyer/tenant can get fair representation with little to no cost!
Part 1: Buyer/Tenant Representation Broker
Real estate is a complicated business with many industry-specific terms, legal details and marketing intricacies, making it difficult for someone not actively involved with it to know where to begin. Hiring a tenant representation broker will give you the best opportunity to find the perfect space with fair lease terms.
1. The Call
You call the number on the “For Lease or Sale” sign, but you never get a callback. Landlords and sellers are busy people and often hire a listing broker. Both are more accustomed to working with other brokers.
Hiring a buyer/tenant rep can help solve this problem in two ways:
- A buyer/tenant rep has the backing and reputation of the brokerage firm they work for, which gives them more authority when making calls.
- The buyer/tenant rep likely has a professional relationship with the listing broker.
2. Not all properties are listed in one place
Looking through listings online can be difficult if the information is outdated or incomplete. A tenant rep has numerous resources to solve these issues and find the best option for you.
Commercial real estate brokers have access to the most accurate listing databases for the market. With the professional relationship tenant reps have with other brokers, it allows them to easily get updated information on available properties. Tenant reps also know of opportunities that are not yet on the market but will be available soon.
3. Finding the ideal space or investment
It is imperative to assess your needs when beginning the selection process. Buyer/tenant reps will ask you the necessary questions to analyze and determine your exact needs. Tenant reps can provide valuable insight into what your space requirements are and what amenities would benefit your business the most.
Questions to consider for tenants:
- Is your company growing? What is your projected growth?
- How does your office utilize space? Private offices, open floor plan, collaborative space?
A few questions for investors:
- In what product type do you want to invest in?
- Are you looking for a value-add opportunity or a stabilized asset?
- What type of return do you anticipate?
For tenants, deciding where your business should be located is one of the most crucial decisions you will make during the search process. A tenant rep has the experience and market knowledge to help answer questions you may have about different locations and market areas.
A few factors with location needs:
- Can the office be found easily? Is it easily accessible from major thoroughfares?
- What is the commute time for employees?
4. The Negotiation
The landlord or seller can quote you any rate or terms, and you have no way of knowing if that is the market standard beforehand. The buyer/tenant rep adds value to the negotiation process by knowing what economic and non-economic factors are common in the market. They will also walk you through the process and explain various items to you.
5. Should you even lease?
Sometimes leasing space may not be the best option for you. Purchasing a building may pay off in the long run, or coworking space can give you the flexibility of not being in a long-term lease. Depending on the market conditions and your company needs, purchasing real estate can be more cost-effective than leasing it. A tenant rep can help you define your needs and decide if purchasing or leasing is the best option for you.
Often, tenant reps uncover needs that business owners didn’t even realize, helping to ensure that a property is truly a perfect fit for the client.
Most importantly, your focus needs to be on running your business. A tenant representation broker takes the weight of the real estate process off your shoulders. Time is money; hiring a tenant rep broker can help you spend that time focusing on your business.
Look for Part 2: Why Signing a Buyer/Tenant Representation Agreement is Important
For questions about your commercial real estate or brokerage representation, contact Foster Murphy at fmurphy@stirlingprop.com or (225) 329-0282.
President’s Message: My Not So Perfect (20/20) Vision
The new year is underway, and we’ve all heard by now 2020 referred to as the year of perfect vision. Wouldn’t it be great if things were crystal clear for us in the commercial real estate industry—if all the unknowns in our business suddenly came into perfect clarity this year? If only it were that simple.
Having 20/20 vision does not necessarily mean you have perfect vision. 20/20 vision only indicates the sharpness or clarity of sight from a specific distance (20 feet). In our business, the real trick is not seeing what’s right in front of you, but further down the road. Author Jonathan Swift (most famously known for his work of Gulliver’s Travels) once said, “Vision is the art of seeing what’s invisible to others.”
It’s not about having 20/20 vision; it’s more about having insight, foresight, an intuitive understanding of what’s yet to come. Perfect vision is seeing what’s not there yet. And, that innate ability allows you to proactively adapt or change course before reality arrives.
That’s been our strategy here at Stirling Properties over the past year and will continue to be going into the new year. Of course, we can’t predict the future or foresee precisely what’s going to happen, but we can continually adapt and move toward a shared vision that maybe others can’t see yet.
For Stirling Properties, 2019 was another year of significant change and new ventures that we have never experienced before, including the expansion of our team, our portfolio, diversity of services and product offerings.
In 2019:
- We celebrated another record year in commercial brokerage, with nearly half a billion dollars in commercial volume (30% increase from last year) and almost 800 transactions.
- Earlier this year, we acquired the former SVN | Graham, Langlois & Legendre commercial real estate firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and expanded our brokerage team in the Gulf South market by 30%. We subsequently merged and relocated our Baton Rouge offices to a new, larger space in United Plaza Office Park.
- We made our first acquisition in the state of Florida with Santa Rosa Commons, a 138,850-square-foot Publix-anchored shopping center in Pace, Florida.
- We completed the development of our first ground-up industrial project, Dana Inc. Service & Assembly Center, located in Fremaux Park in Slidell, Louisiana. We also celebrated tremendous growth of the surrounding Fremaux Town Center with the additions of Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar, Old Navy, Springhill Suites by Marriott, Waypoint multifamily community and Home 2 Suites.
- We demolished the former Sears and Rite Aid buildings at Hammond Square shopping center to make way for a new multi-tenant retail redevelopment project in Hammond, Louisiana. Michaels, HomeGoods, Five Below, PetSmart, Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar and Five Guys will occupy the space and are expected to open this summer.
- We celebrated the grand re-opening of Cornerview Plaza in Gonzales, Louisiana. Stirling Properties redeveloped and retenanted the 124,000-square-foot retail center, welcoming Marshalls, ULTA Beauty, Ross Dress for Less and Five Below to the tenant roster.
- We were part of an impressive team selected for the high-profile redevelopment of Southtown, an 18-acre mixed-use project in Birmingham, Alabama. Stirling Properties will handle the retail component of the development.
- We continued to grow our healthcare real estate services significantly. Last year, we partnered with Ochsner and LSU Health Shreveport on the renovation of St. Mary Medical Center, the former 860,000-square-foot former Christus Schumpert hospital in Shreveport, Louisiana, to include state-of-the-art patient care through multiple clinics, operating rooms, laboratory and diagnostic imaging services.
We celebrated many accomplishments in 2019—some things that were different from anything we have ever done before—but all these seeds were planted well before we could see them happening.
I would like to explicitly note the ‘WE’ starting each of those sentences. None of this would be possible without our remarkable, talented team. Our team is changing as well—last year, we added more than 40 people! Over half of our team has joined within the previous five years! This allows us a multitude of diversity, expert insight and adaptability.
Hindsight is 20/20, but foresight is best. Before we completely close the book on the past year, let’s take a moment to reflect on where we’ve been and how far we’ve come. Our vision for the future is to see past what’s right in front of us and focus our sights on what’s yet to come.
So Happy New Year, and here’s to hoping for semi-clear 2020 vision. May we have sight of what’s invisible to others and clarity of what’s around the corner, over the horizon, beyond the fog…you get the idea.
New Tenant Announced for Shoppes at University Town Plaza in Pensacola, Florida
Bubba’s 33 to join line-up in new BJ’s Wholesale Club-anchored retail redevelopment.
Stirling Properties and Seritage Growth Properties are pleased to announce that Bubba’s 33, a new-to-market restaurant concept, is coming to the Shoppes at University Town Plaza in Pensacola, Florida. It will join the tenant line-up in the new BJ’s Wholesale Club-anchored retail redevelopment located at 7171 Davis Highway.
Developed by Seritage Growth Properties, the 123,000-square-foot Shoppes at University Town Plaza is positioned at the corner of N. Davis Highway and Creighton Road, previously the site of Sears and Sears Auto.
Bubba’s 33 is a family-oriented sports restaurant and bar by the founder of Texas Roadhouse, featuring stone-baked pizzas, fresh-ground burgers, salads and sandwiches. The restaurant will occupy approximately 7,000 square feet of space on the corner lot of the redevelopment. This marks the first Bubba’s 33 in the Gulf South region. The original Bubba’s 33, which opened in 2013 in Fayetteville, NC, was recognized locally as the Best New Restaurant and Best Sports Restaurant.
Anchor-tenant BJ’s Wholesale Club will occupy roughly 100,000 square feet of retail space. Construction commenced this summer, and the store is expected to open in the first quarter of 2020. The membership warehouse club will feature an extensive selection of fresh foods, a full-service deli and household essentials like paper products, cleaning products, diapers, pet supplies and more. This is the first location for BJ’s Wholesale Club in the Florida Panhandle, and it is expected to bring about 140 jobs to the market.
The Shoppes at University Town Plaza will include 16,200 square feet of additional retail shop space positioned along Davis Highway. Stirling Properties’ commercial advisors Kyle Knight and Darryl Bonner are serving as the project’s listing brokers and are working to fill the remaining space with a great mix of local favorites and new-to-market retailers.
“The Shoppes at University Town Plaza is an exciting new Class A retail project located within a major growth node in Pensacola. We are targeting restaurant users, as well as soft goods and service providers for the residual space that will not only be great additions to the market but strongly complement the successful contiguous retail development,” said Knight. “This project is indicative of Pensacola’s dynamic economic development—from Downtown to the Northwestern areas—and illustrates its potential for sustained growth and evolution.”
Stirling Properties is located at 220 W. Garden St., Suite 802, in Pensacola at the SCI Building. For sales and leasing information, contact Darryl Bonner at 770-335-2828/ dbonner@stirlingprop.com or Kyle Knight at 251-769-8487/ kknight@stirlingprop.com.
Stirling Properties Relocates Baton Rouge Office in United Plaza Office Park
New, expanded office footprint will combine two existing Baton Rouge locations.
Stirling Properties is pleased to announce the merger and relocation of its Baton Rouge offices to United Plaza II located in United Plaza Office Park at 8550 United Plaza Boulevard, Suite 101, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The new, expanded office footprint will combine the company’s two existing Baton Rouge locations into one central office.
The company has moved from its former locations at 8550 United Plaza Boulevard, Suite 303, and 6160 Perkins Road, Suite 200, to combined more than 30 employees, commercial brokers, and building management staff under one roof.
Stirling Properties now occupies more than 9,000 square feet of office space on the 1st floor of United Plaza II. The new office space features a collaborative, open floor concept with a mix of both private and shared office suites, as well as upgraded amenities. The company moved into the new office space in late November and will hold its official grand opening celebration on Thursday, December 5th.
Earlier this year, Stirling Properties and Baton Rouge-based SVN | Graham, Langlois & Legendre (SVN | GLL) announced a strategic merger to combine commercial real estate services in the Gulf South region and expand their presence in the burgeoning Greater Baton Rouge market. Joining forces enabled the companies to compete more efficiently and effectively in the local commercial real estate market and significantly increased market share through an expanded portfolio, service offering and team capacity.
“Stirling Properties is committed to the Baton Rouge area and business community, and we are expanding our presence and service offerings in the market and across the entire Gulf South region. Baton Rouge continues to be one of our most important areas for commercial real estate brokerage, management, development and investment sales,” said Marty Mayer, President & CEO with Stirling Properties. “We are combining offices and expanding into a larger space that will enable us to leverage all the resources of Stirling Properties to help our clients achieve their real estate goals.”
United Plaza Office Park is a 75-acre development encompassing twelve buildings that are home to a mix of national, regional and local companies. Stirling Properties owns, manages, and leases United Plaza I, United Plaza II, United Plaza VIII and United Plaza XII, totaling over 500,000 square feet of office space.
For commercial real estate needs and information in the Greater Baton Rouge area, contact Stirling Properties at (225) 926-4481.
Stirling Properties Adds Two Advisors to Commercial Real Estate Team
Rankin Bihm recently joined the Stirling Properties team as an Advisor, working dually from the company’s Lafayette and Lake Charles offices. He is primarily focused on the sales and leasing of retail properties, with representation of both tenants and landlords. His specific geographical expertise is on the Southwest Louisiana market area.
Prior to joining Stirling Properties, Bihm served as a Multimedia Consultant, where he advised business clients on digital marketing and promotional strategies. He has a strong understanding of market research and analyzing competitor data, which translates to the real estate market, where he helps his clients to effectively locate and market properties. He also has extensive experience in the hospitality and service industry, where he honed superior customer service and relationship-building skills.
Bihm is a graduate of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and was a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success. He is currently enrolled in the University of Louisiana-Lafayette MBA program.
Rankin is a volunteer with St. Joseph Parish Vacation Bible School and Keep Lafayette Clean. He is an avid reader and enjoys listening to podcasts—and all things sports.
Blaise Brown also joins the Stirling Properties’ commercial real estate team as an Advisor, working from the company’s New Orleans office. With a geographic focus on New Orleans East and St. Bernard Parish, he specializes in the sales and leasing of retail and industrial properties and raw land.
Brown is a member of the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors (NOMAR), the Commercial Investment Division of NOMAR (CID), International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), and Retail Brokers Network (RBN).
Born and raised in NOLA, Blaise is a graduate of St. Augustine High School and currently resides in New Orleans East. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Justice and Peace Studies from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he played football and was named the Team Captain his Senior year.
While in Washington, Blaise served as a Sursum Corda educational tutor, helping to implicate new techniques of reading for children in the poverty-stricken neighborhoods. He helped to create opportunities and practices of learning between tutors and tutees while acting as a mediator between Georgetown students and Sursum Corda children.
Stirling Properties Promotes Mac Bauer to Development Director
Stirling Properties commercial real estate company is pleased to announce that Mac Bauer has been promoted to Development Director.
Bauer has been a member of Stirling Properties’ development team for more than eight years, assisting with identifying, evaluating, and implementing new development and redevelopment opportunities for the company.
In his previous role as Development Associate, Mac played an instrumental part in several notable company projects, including the recent acquisition of Northshore Medical Complex (former Louisiana Heart Hospital), financing of Ochsner Rehabilitation Hospital in Jefferson, development of Hammond Square Self Storage in Hammond and Academy Sports+Outdoors in Lake Charles, as well as the ground-up construction of Ochsner’s Emergency Department and Imaging Clinic in Laplace.
“We are proud to promote Mac Bauer to Development Director. This new title is well-deserved and more consistent with his role and how it has evolved over the last few years. He has been an integral part of our development team, and we’re confident he will serve an essential role in our company’s future growth plans,” said Townsend Underhill, President of Development with Stirling Properties.
As Development Director, Bauer will continue to work on Stirling Properties’ day-to-day healthcare-related real estate services. In addition, he will take on more of an advisory role, assisting the company’s clients in strategizing and plotting short- and long-term objectives. He will also be responsible for managing client relationships, sourcing new business, and managing development projects.
Mac Bauer works from Stirling Properties’ New Orleans, Louisiana, office. He can be reached at mbauer@stirlingprop.com or (504) 620-8131.
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