Central Florida’s retail market has been so strong that even some commercial real estate representatives who deal outside of that sector are finding success in it.
That’s according to some of the top commercial executives, who gathered on June 6 at the Fairwinds Credit Union office in downtown for Orlando Business Journal’s 2016 Commercial Real Estate Industry Outlook. Participants said the real estate market is definitely stronger, top dollars are being spent to secure deals and the multifamily, retail and industrial sector appear to be driving the most activity so far this year, though the office and land markets also have been solid.
The leaders shared some of the key deals their firms had secured in the last 12 months, most of which are quite significant for the region in terms of generating job growth and economic impact:
John Artope, executive vice president/market leader, SRS Real Estate Partners: We’ve had a lot going on in the tourist market. We repurposed space in Pointe Orlando for entertainment, for a Dave & Busters-type user. It was 50,000 square feet, under the movie theater. Plus, we also did the TopGolf deal [near International Drive], and it took two-and-a-half years to get that done.