NEWARK-Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, was a quadruple winner at the recent NAIOP “Deal of the Year” awards gala. David Simson, vice chairman and COO of the firm’s New Jersey operations, explains a little about what it took to bring home the laurels.
GlobeSt.com: Your company had a piece of three of the biggest deals of the year, in addition to the NAIOP chairman’s award for founding principal Seena Stein. What has been the key ingredient to success?
Simson: Our approach has always been to take each transaction, no matter how big or how small, carefully through every step, from inception to conclusion, ultimately for the benefit of our clients involved. I think the key is to start with a strong advisory relationship. We conduct in-depth studies to understand the clients’ philosophical makeup, and the business image they are trying to create prior to even getting into brokerage.
GlobeSt.com: Can you explain how that approach played out in the two Creative Office Deals of the Year that your firm was involved in – which tied for the award?
Simson: We represented the property owners, the Hampshire Companies, in the deal bringing Realogy Corp. to Madison. They are relocating to new LEED-silver headquarters in a 20-year-old building that is being completely transformed into a 2012 corporate headquarters. That deal was in the making for 8 months. We targeted approximately 50 companies, and the marriage was made with Realogy. With Novo Nordisk, Steve Tolkach, represented the company in leasing new LEED space in the old Bristol Myers building in Princeton. He’s had a relationship with them for over a decade.
GlobeSt.com: The Economic Impact Award for the Panasonic relocation to downtown Newark also involves construction of a LEED building – that one “Platinum.” Is this a crucial element?
Simson: LEED certification is paramount in all of our efforts. Our team led by Tim Greiner represented Panasonic, and served as advisor/consultant to the company for many years, as the plan was developed to create a unique new headquarters, with cutting-edge design and energy and space efficiencies to better reflect the corporation’s image.
GlobeSt.com: What other factors go into making a building “cutting edge?”
Simson: Headquarters today usually mean more efficient spacing. Tenants can take 20 to 60 percent less space with the same number of employees, and right-sizing of their companies. Also, all amenities are in the building, so employees become comfortable putting hours into the workplace: cafes, workout clubs, areas where people can spend quiet time
GlobeSt.Com: Most of the biggest recent deals are being done in urban locales, triggered by Urban Transit Hub tax credits. Do you think the new Grow NJ tax-credit program will redirect companies to the suburbs?
Simson: The credits and inducements in New Jersey have made deals like Panasonic (and Goya Foods’ new facility in Jersey City, which tied for an Economic Impact award) economically feasible. The programs work. The suburban-oriented program is only $200 million, though, and it is already oversubscribed.
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