Colliers International South Florida launches the Urban Core division with the addition of commercial real estate brokers Marika ‘Mika’ Mattingly and Gerard Yetming. The team will focus on South Florida’s urban cores.
“Mika and Gerard are a great asset to Colliers,” said Ken Krasnow, Executive Managing Director & Market Leader of Colliers International in South Florida. “Bringing them on board shows our strategic growth to provide market solutions to trends arising from the evolution and sophistication of the South Florida real estate market.”
The rapid shift toward urbanization has attracted new residents, hotels, restaurants, retail and entertainment options to South Florida’s urban cores. The creation of 24/7 environments in high-density, mixed-use settings will continue to drive extremely strong demand for investment opportunities and development sites. Within this urban core niche, Colliers International’s growth in South Florida reflects the firm’s flexibility to quickly adapt to the ever-changing demands of the region’s real estate market.
Industry veteran Yetming brings to Colliers the depth and knowledge needed to navigate through the complexities that often arise in the acquisition and disposition of properties in the urban core. Yetming’s experience comes from brokering landmark deals such as the $125 million sale of Epic East, the largest land sale in the history of downtown Miami and the sale of the prime 2.78-acre Capital at Brickell development site in the Brickell Financial District. The sale of the Capital to a subsidiary of Beijing’s China City Construction Co. was the largest direct Chinese investment in Miami’s urban core. Yetming has a proven track record for executing capital market transactions, having been involved in $7 billion of assignments mostly in South Florida. His recent focus on urban land sales in the region has resulted in $1 billion of transactions since 2012.
“The Urban Core division will be entirely neighborhoods-driven, as opposed to having a focus on specific product types,” Yetming said. “In the urban core, it is critically important to know every detail on every building on every block, whether they are multifamily, retail, office, mixed-use and so on. Each property has a history and a story and we need to know it. In addition to leveraging our relationships, we will have access to key information by building the DNA of our team around newly developed technology.”
Mattingly brings to Colliers a solid understanding of the challenges buyers need to overcome to assemble properties in the urban core. Part of her experience comes from being involved in over 67 percent of the deals closed in the last two years in the heart of downtown Miami. She has brokered 53 transactions worth $306 million targeting commercial properties on East Flagler Street and surrounding areas since 2014. Mattingly was an instrumental player in major assemblages, including being the lead broker on behalf of investor Moishe Mana, who has acquired a major presence in downtown Miami.
“Colliers’ national and international platform will help us access a larger pool of investors, pioneers and visionaries who are eager to tap into the potential of South Florida’s urban cores,” Mattingly said. “South Florida is on everybody’s radar when it comes to investing for the long haul.”
Colliers International’s expansion into the urban core sector comes as domestic and foreign direct investment is fueling the urbanization of South Florida. Case in point: The Greater Downtown Miami’s population grew from 40,466 to 80,750, or 99.6 percent, between 2000 and 2014, according to the Downtown Development Authority. Overall, South Florida’s metro areas recently became the eighth-most populous region in the U.S., surpassing 6 million residents, according to the U.S. Census.
Across the region, the long-time neglected central business districts are emerging as live, work and play destinations. That trend is expected to gain speed with the introduction of All Aboard Florida’s Brightline, a passenger rail set to connect downtown Miami to Orlando with stops in downtown Fort Lauderdale and downtown West Palm Beach.
About Colliers International Group
Colliers International Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CIGI; TSX: CIG is an industry leading global real estate services company with more than 16,000 skilled professionals operating in 66 countries. With an enterprising culture and significant employee ownership, Colliers professionals provide a full range of services to real estate occupiers, owners and investors worldwide. Services include strategic advice and execution for property sales, leasing and finance; global corporate solutions; property, facility and project management; workplace solutions; appraisal, valuation and tax consulting; customized research; and thought leadership consulting.
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