HISTORY & ACCOMPLISHMENTS
I was first licensed in real estate brokerage in the State of New York in 1979. As my experience has grown, I eventually liberated myself from any single market area or type of commercial real estate. Becoming “client-centric”, my experience has been varied, as varied as the range of results desired by the clients with whom I have worked.
Some of my areas of concentration …
I have brokered a wide range of industrial real estate transactions, ranging from a 2,500 square foot single story building in Long Island City, Queens, NY to an over 500,000 square foot loft warehouse in Chicago, IL.
In Manhattan, I have brokered various forms of investment property; owned and flipped residential buildings, managed residential buildings located throughout the City, including the Upper Eastside and Harlem; and been a General Partner in residential conversion projects.
I was accountable for the disposition of all industrial real estate east of the Mississippi that was owned by national corporations that were deemed surplus by the Courts while reorganizing under Chapter 11.
Since arriving in Florida in 1990, I have been actively involved in the brokerage of all types of commercial real estate, including “Main Street” Retail, Shopping and Strip Centers, Office, Industrial, Marinas and Development Sites, representing Investors, Users, Buyers, Sellers, Tenants and Landlords.
Overall, I have worked with individual investors and investor groups, with users including law firms, marina owners and developers, electronic manufacturers, import and export firms, jewelry manufacturers, trucking firms, retailers from “Mom & Pop’s” seeking their first store to national retailers such as Chico’s, Crazy Shirts, Fresh Produce, Perfumania and Sunglass Hut, with national corporations such as Walgreens, Ripley's Believe It or Not, Avis, Spiegel, First Union Bank and Bank of America and with international corporations including GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, Lucky Goldstar Corporation (known as LG, headquartered in Seoul, Korea) and Salvatore Ferragamo.
Specific examples of the variety of transactions I have been involved in …
I have turned a potential lease transaction into a sale that when closed resulted in one of the highest prices paid per square foot for a free standing retail property in the State of Florida (over $2,500 per square foot).
I located and then closed the sale of a historic property for Walgreens on Duval Street, Key West, when there was “absolutely nothing” on the market.
I brokered a long term lease of a three-story mixed use building, within a block of Bloomingdale’s on the Eastside of Manhattan for full commercial use by a high-end wholesale rug merchant who required proximity to the Decoration & Design Building on Third Avenue.
As a principal, I secured contracts for the purchase of five and six story “old law walk-up” apartment buildings in the East Village of Manhattan for a dollar cost in the high teens to low twenties per square foot and then flipped the contracts usually within a month at a price ranging from the low to middle thirties per square foot.
Here’s an example of how I work …
After actively pursuing a property for over three years that was owned by The Thomson Corporation (where they had previously published a newspaper), I and only two other interested parties unexpectedly received a call late one Friday afternoon in late November that the Corporation wanted to sell the property all cash, with no contingencies, with a closing within one month by the end of the year. I immediately contacted my buyer/client, and then traveled to Miami to stay in a hotel near my client to strategize. Then first thing on Monday morning I initiated intensive negotiations for the following 28 hours with the Seller’s Corporate Counsel in Stamford, Connecticut, which resulted in a sale option agreement with exclusivity, thus securing the property for 3 days until the end of the week on Friday. During those three days I spearheaded the accomplishment of what would typically be at least a months worth of due diligence, secured a financing commitment and that Friday had a fully executed contract. The property successfully closed between Christmas and New Year Eve.
What you can count on me for …
At this point in my career, my highest and best use is that of a Deal Maker. I possess the experience, capacity, skill sets and passion for negotiating the business and legal terms of any transaction, to producing an executed agreement that’s closeable, and then remaining accountable for managing all aspects and all parties to the successful conclusion of the transaction.
In conclusion …
I am a licensed Broker in the State of Florida and State of New York. Steven Smith, Inc. was incorporated in 1997 and has offices in Boca Raton and Key West, Florida. I am currently a candidate for CCIM designation (Certified Commercial Investment Member).
I live in Boca Raton, Florida with my son, Jake.
