Farkas Network Establishes Much Needed New York Presence

Posted by on Nov 24, 2014

NAI Global, a commercial real-estate services network linked to Andrew Farkas, has agreed to a deal with EVO Real Estate Group based in New York. This network has 165 firms connected across 204 cities worldwide. Through this deal, EVO will become the New York office of the network.

C-III Capital Partners, under the direction of CEO Andrew Farkas, purchased NAI in 2012. NAI provides brokerage among other services to external clients as well as all of Farkas’ ever expanding collection of real-estate businesses. There has been one noticeable hole in the network in New York, which many consider to be the most important real-estate market in the world.

EVO will be instrumental in bridging this gap as they are native to the city and currently manage around 3.5 million square feet of commercial property. The president of NAI Global, Jay Olshonsky, remarked that they were thrilled to now have a strong presence in New York.

Mr. Farkas is well known for his acquisition of Edward S. Gordon Co. in 1996, which he sold in 2003 to CB Richard Ellis for $415 million. This is just one of many real-estate and brokerage empires that Farkas has built over the years.

Current trends in the brokerage industry have shown larger firms moving away from the network structure preferred by NAI, but instead are moving towards ownership of all of their individual member offices. When C-III initially acquired the NAI network, they owned the New York member office, but in a strategic move they decided to replace the newly acquired office within the network, along with a few other offices owned by NAI, with wholly owned companies independent of the network. The network is estimated to reach a combined revenue total of $1 billion in 2014.

Winoker Realty Co. was a well-known New York based real-estate firm who made headlines in 2012 when their president, David Winoker, died tragically in a sky-diving accident. In 2013 the firm was sold to two former employees, father and daughter duo Ira Fishman and Dana Moskowitz, by the deceased’s widow. The firm quickly rebranded as EVO Real Estate Group, with the name being chosen to reflect the desired evolution the firm would undertake.

This new deal between EVO and NAI Global will enable EVO to expand and develop due to the shared information between member firms, according to Mr. Fishman. An example of this might be if EVO had a client in New York, who was also looking to lease out another building in a different state, EVO could link up with the network member office in that state and the fees and commissions would be divided up between the two member firms. Mr. Fishman is said to be excited about the concept as he has never been part of a network like this before.

Mr. Farkas’ vast collection of businesses uses the NAI Global network for brokerage services among others. The president of NAI Global insists this is because the network is continually proving that they offer the best service, not because of the ties with Mr. Farkas. The reason they feel they stand out is because each of the individual firms in the network are experts in their respective regions. This means that firms in the network can refer clients to other member firms with the confidence that they will provide the same standard of care and expertise as each other. According to Mr. Olshonsky, firms within a network that are independently owned have more of an incentive to make sure that their clients, local or referred, are getting the best service.

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Chairman Lieber Energized for ULI Fall Meeting

Posted by on Oct 15, 2014

Robert Lieber, chairman of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), is preparing for the 2014 ULI Fall Meeting taking place later this month. Urban Land Institute of New York is a real estate organization dedicated towards responsible land use and sustainable growth. The Fall Meeting is a time to discuss what strategies are working towards improving sustainable development and ways real estate development can improve. This meeting is Lieber’s most high profile event since becoming chairman in July 2013.

Robert Lieber is heavily involved in real estate development. He is the executive managing director of Island Capital Group, a leading international real estate merchant bank founded by Andrew Farkas and he has been a member of ULI for more than 20 years.

As chairman of ULI, Lieber aspires to raise awareness about the organization and ULI’s mission to the constituencies in both the public and private sectors. Secondly, Lieber plans to continue to be responsive to the needs of the stakeholders in the communities ULI serves.

The ULI plays two major roles. The organization is a networking group that brings real estate professionals together to discuss key issues, but the ULI also operates on a more local level. For example, ULI was consulted about addressing the World Trade Center after 9/11 and how to get development moving 3 or 4 years after the attack.

Lieber is excited about the 2014 ULI Fall Meeting because it is putting the limelight on New York City. It has been ten years since the meeting was held in New York. Lieber sees the meeting as an opportunity to highlight the positive changes in the city, such as the development of parks and the improvements in the New York City transit system.

The ULI Fall Meeting is scheduled for October 21-23 at the Javits Center in New York City. As of now, ULI expects approximately 7,000 attendees.

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USRG moves into Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky

Posted by on Sep 10, 2014

U.S. Residential Group LLC (USRG), a multifamily management company for affordable apartments, has been handpicked by a Cleveland-based private real estate investment group to manage a portfolio of 10 conventional apartment communities throughout Illinois, Ohio and Kentucky.

U.S. Residential Group LLC is a subsidiary company of C-III Capital Partners LLC, led by Chairman Andrew Farkas. The group is comprised of real estate industry specialists that provide professional services, such as marketing, leasing and maintenance to owners of multi-family properties across the United States.

The Ohio real estate investor plans to outsource their management to USRG in order to focus on expanding their portfolio of multifamily properties, while utilizing USRG’s growing national platform. USRG President Al Fenstermacher is confident about the new alliance and the benefits this client will receive from outsourcing to USRG.

“This assignment complements our goal of broadening our operating area, and forming new relationships with quality developers and investors,” said Fenstermacher.  “Our clients benefit by outsourcing the day-to-day property management with the quality training and support provided by USRG while they focus on growing their apartment portfolios.”

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