Finding Hidden Opportunities in the Southeast

“The growth isn’t stopping, and we intend to help owners and landlords build upon it.”

ORLANDO—Are there hidden opportunities in the Southeast? Yes, according to John Crossman , president of Crossman & Company . In the third part of our exclusive interview, we asked him about those markets, how the Southeast compares to the rest of the nation and where we go from here. You can still read parts one and two: Taking The Southeast’s CRE Temperature and Know When To Hold ‘Em And When To Fold ‘Em . GlobeSt.com: Are there hidden, or less known, opportunities in the Southeast? Crossman: There are some markets, like the Panhandle, that have had growth, that have beautiful beaches. They appeal to tourists; they appeal to locals. They’re not going to have that explosive growth you see in markets like Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta or Dallas, but they foster steady growth creating a lot of reasons why they are going to be pretty successful. And then the other one I would say are college towns. When you look at any one of our universities or colleges in the Southeast they don’t have explosive growth but they have consistency. I think there is something to be said for that. GlobeSt.com: How does the Southeast compare to the rest of the nation? Crossman: I would say it is probably in the best. Other regions, like some parts in the Midwest, are seeing a drain of people leaving the market. That becomes very challenging for retail . You still have the Baby Boomers, but everyday many are hitting 65. And so a lot of them are going get out of the snow. And so we have a weather benefactor that is less significant in other areas, but very attractive in our markets. In the Southeast we have gateway communities. Miami is a gateway to the Americas. We have great cities like Atlanta and Charlotte, Tampa and Dallas, so we have identified markets that have real opportunities and a generate a positive difference. Whether you’re on the West Coast or in the Northeast or Northwest, you just don’t have that breadth and depth that the Southeast has to offer. So I think that’s a challenge. GlobeSt.com: Where does the Southeast go from here? More boom, or impending bust? Crossman: My hope for the Southeast is continued steady growth. It would be nice to continue on that path. If that happens there could be a long term of success. That being said, there’s always the pending shadow of any potential major issues. And if things grow too fast, there are going be projects or opportunities being pulled back. One would hope that we learned enough in the last recession to keep it moving forward. It feels that way, but we live in interesting times. It’s an election year. It’s an Olympic year, and a leap year. There’s lots of reasons to think that in this business we need to be evaluating and pondering things all the time.