Dallas-based real estate firm SRS Real Estate Partners is starting the new year with a renewed focus on San Antonio – including a new assignment and a couple of new brokers.
B. Keith McRee and Ty West, formerly of NAI REOC San Antonio, have joined SRS as vice presidents.
Their role is to build on SRS’ growing book of retail business in the Alamo City by being the team on the ground in the city.
Previously, it was the Austin office that oversaw the firm’s retail assignments in San Antonio, notes Todd Wallace, senior vice president and market leader for the SRS Austin/San Antonio division.
The addition of West and McRee, however, marks a new strategy by the national firm to stake a larger claim in one of the country’s most vibrant retail markets.
“There is great opportunity for growth in San Antonio; retailers are excited about San Antonio,” says Robert O’Farrell, senior vice president in the SRS Austin/San Antonio office.
McRee and West have hit the ground running – overseeing the leasing of Blanco Market on the city’s far North Side.
Late last month, the retail center changed ownership. SRS represented the buyer in that deal – and now leases the 26,000 square-foot retail center for the new owner.
Blanco Market represents what SRS sees as a prime opportunity for the firm – to garner more assignments representing the owners of local shopping centers.
McRee and West, two brokers who “live and breathe” the San Antonio retail market, will be key to building up that business, O’Farrell says.
The two brokers, for example, have represented a lot of tenants in the local retail sector, Wallace says. Those relationships could go a long way toward ensuring the success of the owners who have invested in the local retail market, he adds.
“We are actively pursuing more landlord representation opportunities,” O’Farrell adds.
Mutual benefit
McRee and West say that they also benefit from the move to the national real estate firm.
“SRS is a premiere national player in the retail market,” McRee says.
“And now we have that name behind us,” adds West, who points out that a national brand like SRS can pave the way for him and McRee to represent more national players that are making their way or expanding their brands in the local retail market.
“This is an opportunity for us to take our careers to the next step,” McRee says.
Todd Gold, president and managing partner of NAI REOC San Antonio, agrees.
“(McRee and West) have some of the best instincts for commercial real estate. They were very productive brokers,” he says. “It’s a natural progression for them to want to do more. This is an opportunity for them to really grow. I wish them very well.”
SRS was founded by former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach and Chris Maguire in 1986, as Staubach Retail Services. In 2009, the firm took on its current brand SRS.
SRS currently represents retail names such as Build-A-Bear, Five Guys Burgers and Fries, JCPenney and Toys “R” Us – all chains with a presence in San Antonio.
The local retail market has felt the pain of the larger, lackluster national economy. But compared to many other cities, San Antonio remains one of the bright spots on the retail horizon.
And that is why the list of retailers making their way to San Antonio continues to grow.
This past year alone saw the debut of national names such as Sur La Table, Z Gallerie, Franco’s & Naples Italian Restaurant & Lounge, and Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille.
In the past, the San Antonio retail sector accounted for roughly 35 percent of the work coming out of SRS’ Austin/SanAntonio office, Wallace says. With McRee and West taking over local duties, he expects that at least 50 percent of SRS’ work will come by way of the Alamo City.
“We’ve done a tremendous amount of business out of the Austin office,” Wallace adds.
“West and McRee are going to help us build on that business.”