(Carl Cronan is editor of Real EstateFlorida.)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL-Marcus Partners Inc. is expanding its local office to seek out commercial real estate investment opportunities with a focus on Florida's Gulf Coast. The Boston-based company currently owns 300,000 sf along the state's southwest shore and has set a goal of two million sf.
"We are actively looking to expand our portfolio through acquisition and development," Mark Stroud, president of Marcus Partners, tells GlobeSt.com. Stroud, a 25-year veteran of commercial real estate throughout the Tampa Bay market, joined the company last fall and is in charge of its Florida office in Downtown St. Petersburg.
Joining Stroud in the Florida office is Patrick "PJ" Penrose, who serves as the firm's development director. Penrose previously served as project manager and operations coordinator for BVG Inc. and has five years of commercial real estate experience.
Marcus Partners, formerly called Davis Marcus Partners, has an additional office in Norwalk, CT, and has holdings throughout New England. It expanded to Florida over the past year and a half, acquiring Collier Health Park, Collier Place in Naples and Waldemere Medical Plaza in Sarasota.
The firm will continue its Florida focus on office, medical, industrial and retail properties, particularly those priced at or below replacement cost, says CEO Paul Marcus. "We see this area of Florida as opportunistic given the current economic situation," he says.
One challenge to growing Marcus Partners' portfolio, Stroud says, is availability of properties. Some sellers either have unrealistic expectations of how much buyers are willing to pay in the current real estate market, or are trying to settle debt and need to reach a price that makes sense for both parties, he says.
"There is a bit of a gap between bid and ask in some areas," Stroud says. "We think that kind of gap is going to shrink over the next six to 12 months."
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