| |
As seen in
February 6, 2002
PLYMOUTH PARTNERS RELEASES YEAR-END
2001 MAHATTAN OFFICE MARKET REPORT
After Nine Consecutive Years of Positive
Net Absorption, All the Gains in the Past Five of Those Years
Are Wiped Out - Most Occupancy Losses Took Place Before Sept.
11 Attacks
BY RICHARD
EDMONDS
James S. Meiskin is not a man to be
daunted by a little extra work. There is a 30-inch-high stack
of papers on his desk and he wipes his eyes more than once in
order to stave off fatigue, but a break is out of the question.
Meiskin checks his email, listens to messages, and arranges
an afternoon meeting, all while trying to find the right words
to explain why his business is so unique.
"You can't be a jack of all trades," he offers. "I decided to
specialize in tenant representation because I felt that you
can't be all things to all people, there are inherent conflicts
involved in representing both tenants and landlords. If your
bread is buttered by the owner community, it would be difficult
to represent tenants objectively."
Meiskin's firm, Plymouth Partners, Ltd., is a seven-year-old,
20 person tenant representation firm, which has completed leasing
deals on behalf of Godiva Chocolatier, BBC International Ltd.,
New York City Fire Department, and the Manhattan Borough Development
Corporation. Meiskin himself is a tall, thin man in his mid-40s,
with a confident voice and a distracted gaze.
Right now, he admits, the times are hectic as the slowdown in
the market has not taken its full effect. The tenants expect
better deals, while the landlords still hope to get last year's
prices, or at least something in the same range.
"It's our market," Meiskin proclaims enthusiastically. "But
it's still taking a long time in terms of getting things done.
I think the owners lost sight of reality as a result of the
recent real estate explosion. The bubble has burst, but it's
taking time for them to really reflect upon what has occurred."
Meiskin, who claims that he learned from the best teacher in
the business, Kenneth D. Laub, seems to have enough fire to
take on any leasing assignment in the city.
"I've surrounded myself with highly educated, highly skilled
colleagues," he boasts. "As opposed to the typical brokers,
most of whom don't really have the skills to deal with complex
transactions. We are going to change the way real estate business
is done in New York City."
Meiskin himself has a degree in finance from the University
of Miami, where he started his career. During the school year
he would work part-time selling multi-family properties along
South Beach and in the summer he would come to New York to sell
apartment houses for Hank Sopher, of J.I. Sopher Inc.
"I experienced a great deal of success with Mr. Sopher, as well
as with his uncle Victor Posner, the famous industrialist, "
Meiskin recalls. "So when I graduated I decided to enter the
real estate industry full-time."
For a brief period, he worked in the Miami market, completing
two of the largest transactions in the City at the Miami Center.
But being a native New Yorker, he knew where the gold pot really
was.
"Although I was pleased with the success, I was not completely
satisfied with my experience in Miami because I felt that there
was much for me to do, to accomplish. So the answer for me was
in New York City, which is where I am from anyway."
It was at this point that Meiskin joined Kenneth Laub &
Company, whose president made a profound impression on him.
"He was credited with having grandfathered the tenant representation
approach," Meiskin explains. "The company earned about $20 -
$30 million in fees per year."
Meiskin also spent some time at Grubb & Ellis, where he
headed a team of top earning brokers for three years. During
that period he completed deals for the Hearst Corporation, the
American Retail Group, and Campbell's Soup. But the experience
left him unsatisfied.
"I felt that there was really nothing else for me to do at Grubb
& Ellis, he explains. "It was time to go out on my own and
specialize, as I always did in tenant representation. But I
wanted a firm that unlike Grubb & Ellis, would specialize
in tenant representation alone."
In general, Meiskin seems to dislike the idea of real estate
giants, like Cushman & Wakefield and Insignia/ESG.
"Most brokerage companies claim that their tenant and landlord
representation groups are entirely separate divisions," he points
out, "and that neither division affects the activities of the
other. This is sales talk. Landlords hire a brokerage firm,
not an individual broker. That firm is legally obligated to
represent the interest of the landlord. Even if a broker would
like to fight for the tenant's interests, he cannot legally
compromise the obligations to the landlord."
So how would Meiskin change the business, as he hopes to do?
"I think that corporations will eventually realize that the
typical broker has nowhere near the skill sets required to assist
with major corporate relocation and restructuring," he says.
"All non-exclusive brokers, both legally and practically, are
sub-agents of the landlord. Adequate service can only be provided
by a tenant representation specialist who is accountable solely
to the company he represents. By sticking with our core philosophy,
I think we are going to become one of the most active commercial
real estate organizations in the City."
|
|
|
