Industrial Isn’t That Bad … Yet

A veteran industrial broker has a few things to say about Susan Ruby’s recent column for GlobeSt.com observing whether the industrial sector has bottomed out in Florida. Ted Bywater, chairman of Orlando-based Bywater Co., has a deeper perspective on the sector dating back to the mid-1970s downturn.

“In those days, there was almost no business. No one was moving into town and no one was expanding,” Bywater recalls. Even after an Orlando economic development group placed ads in the Wall Street Journal offering warehouse space for sale as low as $7 per square foot, there were still no takers, he says.

Rubbing a Genie Lamp

The so-called “great recession” may be over by now, but the recovery process will still take some time, says a University of Central Florida economist. Sean Snaith, director of the UCF Institute for Economic Competitiveness in Orlando, likens the recovery to a “genie lamp” rather than a “gravy boat,” reflecting the longer recovery period that will likely last into 2011.

“We are now in the recovery/rehabilitation phase after the economy’s treatment for the credit infarction,” Snaith writes in the center’s most recent US forecast. “The economy is not out of the intensive care unit, but still in serious condition. The quadruple policy bypass performed by the Federal Reserve Bank and the federal government did indeed save the economy from a much more dire fate, but the recovery from this trauma will be slower than many had hoped it would be.”

Magazine Seeks Women, and Other Notes

As we plow our way into an uncertain fourth quarter, here are some notes and news you can use:

• Real Estate Florida magazine is now accepting nominations for its Women of Influence feature, to be included in the November/December issue. Click here for the nomination form.

Women have come a long way in commercial real estate over the last few decades, and even though they are still in the minority they are often achieving more than their male peers in the industry. Many throughout the state are among the most knowledgeable, accomplished and respected professionals in the industry.

Getting Closer to the Bottom

Even as the Florida housing market is starting to improve, many are concerned that commercial real estate will drag behind for a while. Jeff Sweeney sees things differently.

The president of Orlando-based Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida believes the CRE market will fully improve in the second half of 2010, though there are already positive signs of a recovery. A lot depends on the willingness of banks to get back to lending on commercial projects, he says.

RealShare South Florida Highlights

Here are a few more notes and quotes from last week’s RealShare South Florida conference in Miami, which was attended by 275 people and deemed a solid success. In case you missed it, or even if you were there, you can read more about it here and here, but here are some other highlights:

• The region’s current oversupply of residential condominium units could be absorbed over the next four years, according to panelists of a discussion on the multifamily sector. There is still plenty of interest in both individual and bulk unit acquisitions, particularly from private-capital investors and foreign buyers from Canada and Israel.

Can Celebs Help Sell Miami Condos?

Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez are creating a buzz yet again, buying a condominium at Related Group’s Icon Brickell project. This report from the Daily Business Review, a fellow ALM publication, has all the details.

The singing/acting couple signed a contract on a unit this week, but an actual sale has yet to be recorded in Miami-Dade County records. Anthony, who took a tour of Icon Brickell with Related Group chief Jorge Perez, tells People magazine: “When we are through decorating the condo, it will be one of the sexiest places in town.”

Cameron’s Crepes and Other Stuff

Here’s a six-pack for those of you who didn’t get enough during the opening weekend of the NFL:

• This sounds like something from a news parody site, but it’s legitimate scoop straight from the Orlando Sentinel: Cameron Kuhn, the former high-flying real estate developer, has established a crepe cart business with his wife, Traci Sihle.

Seriously, this is a guy who was once credited with redeveloping Downtown Orlando, and now he’s going to be selling crepes on the street. Well, he won’t actually serve them, but Sihle gives him credit for conjuring the idea.

Ready for RealShare, And More

A few notes and thoughts after clearing out the inbox from a long Labor Day weekend:

• You can now register online for our fourth-annual RealShare South Florida conference, set for Sept. 30 at the Hyatt Regency Miami. We will cover a broad range of topics in a single afternoon, from distressed assets and excess condos to the new wave of office space coming soon to the market.

Featured speakers will include Gene Berman of Marcus & Millichap, Tere Blanca of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, Michael Fay of Colliers Abood Wood-Fay, Keith Jennings of Westmount Realty Capital, Jose Juncadella of Fairchild Partners, Jonathan Kingsley of Grubb & Ellis, David Lynd of the Lynd Co., Jay Massirman of Rivergate Residential, Jack McCabe of McCabe Research and Eric Swanson of Flagler.

NAIOP Completes UCF Endowment

Good news for prospective real estate students: NAIOP Central Florida has fulfilled its $600,000 capital commitment to the University of Central Florida’s Phillips School of Real Estate. A check for $25,500 was presented to the school earlier this summer as the final installment of an effort that has been under way since February 2005.

The money will endow the Jim Heistand-NAIOP Eminent Scholar Chair in Real Estate, named in honor of the majority owner of Orlando-based Eola Capital. A matching grant from the state puts the endowment at over $1 million.

Late Summer Odds and Ends

There’s a lot to talk about in Florida commercial real estate as summer winds down, so let’s take a few moments to get some of it out:
• Several former staffers of GVA Advantis appear to have landed softly at other firms after getting dumped by their former employer. Mark Cooney, Randy Mills and Michele Whalen have moved their Land Sharks operation over to the Duncan Cos. in Tampa, which you read about here. Meanwhile, Paula Buffa has joined Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida in Tampa as senior vice president of its office group, along with associate Maria Camarinos Hall. And Lisa Bailey, senior director of the Orlando office, has joined Morrison Commercial Real Estate as vice president.