MIAMI-Retail services firm SRS Real Estate Partners is making moves in Miami. The firm just hired Lenny Eterno as a senior associate in the South Florida office.

Eterno brings more than 18 years of commercial real estate industry experience to the SRS table. He joins SRS from Cypress AutoGroup, LLC, an SRS affiliate, where he inked deals across the Southeast.

“Lenny will be a perfect addition to our South Florida team with his broad industry experience, offering virtually all service lines to our clients,” Greg Roth, senior vice president and market leader for the South Florida office, said in a statement. Eterno will focus on the Miami Beach and Downtown Miami trade areas.

The exclusive focus on retail and the boutique style service are two attractions Eterno listed to SRS. SRS represents about 500 clients nationally and offers a diverse service platform. That fits with Eterno’s experience. He has been involved in real estate transactions as broker and principal in all aspects of tenant representation, landlord representation, acquisition and disposition, investment and property management services. Eterno also has experience as a loan officer.

“The South Florida real estate market has tremendous opportunities," Eterno tells GlobeSt.com. "Despite the issues created in the 2008 downturn, we did not have overbuilding, so fundamentals like vacancies and rental rates have been able to stabilize quicker."

Eterno called South Florida an international gateway that continues to see demand from retailers and companies all over the world. What’s more, Downtown Miami could outperform the market over the near term, according to Marcus & Millichap. More than 80% of the 23,000 condos constructed here recently are now occupied, the firm reports, and retailers will accelerate efforts in the coming quarters to open locations to serve new residents.

“Challenges are the same all of us in the shopping industry face—large retailers are opening smaller and fewer stores and there are fewer concepts being unveiled. Also, e-commerce, while still a small percentage of overall retail sales, is growing at a rapid pace each year,” Eterno tells GlobeSt.com. “But South Florida should, on a relative basis, be one of the better retail markets in the country.”