Retail Brokers Network (RBN) Names Chris Abadie 2018 President
The Retail Brokers Network (RBN), one of the nation’s largest retail real estate networking groups, has selected Chris Abadie, Stirling Properties’ Vice President & Manager of Commercial Brokerage, as its 2018 President. He assumed office on January 1, 2018 and will serve for a one-year term.
As President, Abadie will be responsible for helping grow the RBN brand, representing RBN at industry related events, recruiting new RBN brokerage offices, and facilitating education, networking, and sharing of brokerage “Best Practices” between the 65+ RBN member offices.
This year, RBN plans to expand the organization by adding affiliated members in major metropolitan markets, as well as in underserved markets across North America. Also, it plans to increase business for members through the coast to coast platform.
“I am honored to have been chosen to serve as RBN President for 2018 and to support our mission of growth for the organization,” said Abadie. “With the dynamic changes to retail real estate across the country, it is more important than ever to have trusted advisors who are the experts in their fields and the geography in which they operate. At RBN, we are fortunate to have a powerful network of independent brokerage companies to rely on. Through that network, our members can offer adept guidance on the real estate needs of clients locally, regionally, and nationally.”
Abadie manages Stirling Properties’ Commercial Brokerage Division and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of commercial operations throughout each of the company’s brokerage offices. His focus includes directing sales efforts, new business development, and recruitment and training of new agents.
Abadie is affiliated with ICSC (International Council of Shopping Centers) and holds the designations of Certified Retail Property Executive (CRX), Certified Leasing Specialist (CLS), and Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM). He is a member of the Louisiana CCIM Chapter, the Commercial Investment Division (CID) of the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors (NOMAR), and RBN.
He served as the 2017 President-Elect of RBN and as a member of the National Executive Committee, Tenant Council, Investment Sales Council, and Southeast Regional Council. Abadie also serves on the East St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, as well as the Workforce Development Board serving St. Tammany, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines Parishes.
President’s Message: A dog and a birthday celebration.
No, this is not the punchline for a corny joke. These two things have special significance in 2018. They are both symbolic of an exciting and momentous year to come for our company, our region, and our industry. Let me explain.
According to the Chinese Zodiac, 2018 is the Year of the Dog. The Chinese regard the dog as an auspicious animal, and even more encouraging is its characteristic word: Action! Being proactive is essential in keeping up with the change of today’s fast-paced landscape.
As for the birthday, the City of New Orleans is celebrating its Tricentennial Anniversary this year. In typical New Orleans style, there are many festivities planned throughout the year. (More to come.) However, the 300th Anniversary is more than just a party. It’s a celebration and reflection of the past, present, and future of New Orleans and our region as a whole. The Crescent City has quite a unique and colorful history and has undergone tremendous transformation to reestablish itself over the years. Recently, New Orleans has become one of the most remarkable comeback stories in our nation.
Stirling Properties is entering our 43rd year in business. (In dog years, that’s 301 years.) Much like the City of New Orleans, we too have transformed dramatically from where we started to where we are today. The speed of change—mostly resulting from technological advancements—is tremendously affecting not only our business but our entire lives. To me, the pace seems to be moving in dog years. It’s accelerating 7x over what we’ve witnessed in the past! We must learn to adapt to keep stride.
As evidence to our transformation and evolution as a company, last year, we celebrated many major achievements, including our expansion into the healthcare real estate sector, increasing our portfolio to more than 17.8 million square feet of property, and growing our footprint in the Gulf South region.
In 2017:
Stirling Properties acquired the shuttered Louisiana Heart Hospital in Lacombe, Louisiana, out of bankruptcy. We partnered with Ochsner, St. Tammany Parish Hospital, and Slidell Memorial Hospital to repurpose the 205,000-square-foot facility as a post-acute care hospital offering a variety of services including long-term acute care, skilled nursing, and inpatient & outpatient rehabilitation. Anticipated reopening date is in the 3rd quarter of 2018.
We are developing a new Ochsner medical facility at The Grove in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The $105 million project includes a new 5-story, 206,510-square-foot medical office building and ambulatory surgery center. Stirling Properties is also overseeing a $15 million off-site infrastructure package as part of the project. The clinic will be located along the 1-10 Bluebonnet/Siegen corridor and is expected to open in early 2019.
Stirling Properties served as the landlord representative in the lease with DXC Technology for multiple floors of office space at the Freeport McMoRan Building in New Orleans, Louisiana. The company will initially occupy two floors of the building beginning in January, with future options to lease up to 10 floors representing a total of 178,000 square feet.
The Freeport McMoRan Building will be the permanent operations for DXC Technology’s new Digital Transformation Center in New Orleans, where the company will eventually employ 2,000 professionals. This is the largest economic development deal in the history of Louisiana, and #2 “Deal of the Year” nationally by Business Facilities magazine. The project has been in the works for more than 18 months and was heavily competed for, but New Orleans emerged as the front-runner beating out great cities across the country.
We completed the first phase of the Offices at River Chase in Covington, Louisiana. Located at the southwest corner of Brewster Road and Stirling Boulevard, Phase I includes a Class-A, two-story, 45,000-square-foot office building positioned on 3.5 acres. We also welcomed our first tenants to the space, including Duplantis Design Group and Liberty Mutual.
Just a few weeks ago, in a joint venture with Ochsner Clinic Foundation, we closed on the acquisition of a new rehabilitation hospital in Jefferson, Louisiana. The five-story, 129,875-square-foot medical building will house long-term acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, and a skilled nursing facility.
All of these ventures represent new milestones for Stirling Properties, which we were able to achieve because we altered our strategies and adapted to meet the demands of our industry. This allowed us to take advantage of innovative opportunities that presented themselves. We managed to translate our more than four decades of experience, combined with our talented team, to be successful.
In the same vein, the commercial real estate industry is currently undergoing a radical transformation. The bulk of this change can also be attributed to the fast-paced advancements in technology and digital platforms. Undoubtedly, as we move forward, technological innovation will continue to play a huge role in reshaping our business. Again, we must adapt to survive. As they say, old dogs need to learn new tricks!
2018 is going to be an exciting year. We’re eagerly anticipating the Tricentennial Celebration and the Year of Action (Dog). Stirling Properties is looking forward to new projects in the pipeline, and I’m confident that even more unforeseen prospects will arise that will require the same type of action and flexibility.
Happy New Year,
2017 Office Market Survey: Mobile CBD & West Mobile, AL
Stirling Properties is pleased to present the 2017 year-end Mobile Office Market Survey. This report, compiled by Jack Conger and Jill Meeks, Sales & Leasing Executives in our Mobile office, is intended to track average rental rates, occupancy rates, and average absorption rates for West Mobile and the downtown Central Business District (CBD) on office buildings greater than 20,000 square feet. It was created to be a resource for agents, as well as tenants, landlords, developers, lenders, fellow brokers and anyone else looking for information about the Mobile office market.
All information provided in this report would not be possible without the cooperation of our staff and colleagues and we would like to thank all of those who contributed.
Here’s an excerpt from the Mobile Office Market Survey:
The last two quarters of 2017 saw an increase in investment activity in the area with many notable transactions, redevelopments and sales.
In leasing news, Armbrecht Jackson, LLP has subleased a portion of the Regions Bank space at RSA Battle House Tower and will be vacating the top two floors of Riverview Plaza. The CBD occupancy rates had a slight increase from 68.3% to 70.2%, average rental rate of $17.28, and an absorption rate of .25%.
There were also many exciting economic announcements for Mobile, such as the partnership of Airbus and Bombardier that could bring a second aircraft assembly line to the market, and the decision of steelmaker SSAB Americas to move the headquarters of its American division from Chicago to Mobile. Rest assured, there are more to follow in the coming months and years!
Please click here to view and download the PDF of the Mobile Office Market Survey.
Stirling Properties Acquires $59.7M Rehab Hospital In Joint Venture With Ochsner
Stirling Properties, in a joint venture partnership with Ochsner Clinic Foundation, has closed on the acquisition of the new Ochsner rehabilitation hospital located at 2614 Jefferson Highway in Jefferson, Louisiana.
This new addition to Ochsner’s Main Campus West is a five-story, 129,875-square-foot medical building. It will house three separate high-demand healthcare components, including Long Term Acute Care, Inpatient Rehabilitation, and a Skilled Nursing Facility. Ochsner will be the primary operator in the new building, along with Select Medical and LHC Group.
Construction started on the development in early 2017, and building and site work is now complete. The facility plans to open by the 2nd quarter of 2018.
The total project cost was $59,775,000. IBERIABANK provided the debt financing.
This acquisition further solidifies Stirling Properties’ commitment to growth in the Gulf South region and our diversification into the healthcare real estate sector. We have recently partnered with some of our region’s top medical providers on a diverse range of projects.
Our company’s ability to provide a full continuum of services, including development & redevelopment, commercial brokerage, acquisition & investment, and asset management services uniquely positions us in the rapidly expanding healthcare industry. We will continue to grow our portfolio and garner a wealth of experience with a wide array of healthcare properties, designs, and uses.
To learn more about Stirling Properties’ Healthcare Real Estate Portfolio, click here or visit stirlingprop.com.
Shreveport-Bossier City Retail Market Survey Mid-Year 2017
Stirling Properties is pleased to present the Shreveport-Bossier City Retail Market Survey for the Mid-Year of 2017.
This report, compiled by Stacy Odom and Karen McElroy, Broker Associates of our Shreveport office, is intended to give the reader a broad understanding of the market as well as specific information about the available square footage, occupancy and rental rates of each retail center greater than twenty thousand (20,000) square feet. It was created to be a resource for agents as well as tenants, landlords, developers, lenders, fellow brokers and anyone else looking for information about the Shreveport-Bossier City retail market.
Retail Market Assessment
Recent years have brought a new level of grocery competition with the opening of two (2) Kroger Marketplaces, Whole Foods, and a number of Walmart Neighborhood Markets to the Shreveport-Bossier City area. Also notable for 2017 has been the addition of two (2), new home goods retailers, At Home and HomeGoods. The location of these two (2) additional soft goods stores continues to solidify the importance of Youree Drive, Shreveport’s major retail corridor. Also, T.J.Maxx has opened its second location in the MSA along Bossier City’s major retail corridor, Airline Drive. There continues to be an influx of new food concepts entering the Shreveport–Bossier City MSA. So far this year, our market has seen new openings of Chicken Salad Chick, la Madeleine, First Watch, The Halal Guys, Pita Pit and Larry’s Pizza. FD’s Grillhouse, Pizza Rev, and CC’s Coffee House stores are under construction. Additionally, the openings of locally run restaurants are on the rise and occupying available, second generation spaces.
Team Stirling Properties Spreads Holiday Cheer!
In the spirit of the Holiday Season, Stirling Properties participated in the Volunteers of America Christmas Wish “Angel” Project. For the 6th consecutive year, our company donated Christmas gifts, food baskets and other essential items to local families in need across our Gulf South region.
The annual Christmas Wish Project helps bring joy and holiday cheer to families and individuals who might not have a Christmas this year. Through Volunteers of America, participating families submit “wish list” gift items for each individual. The wishes are noted on angels and hung on the company Christmas tree where Stirling Properties and employees can select and grant them. This year, we were able to fulfill every single wish! In all, 18 families and more than 46 children, adults and seniors received Christmas gifts. Additionally, 10 families on the Northshore received food baskets with tasty treats and supplies for the holiday season.
Stirling Properties’ Stewardship Committee organized the company-wide event by partnering with Volunteers of America in Greater New Orleans, Greater Baton Rouge and the Southeast to serve the New Orleans Northshore and Southshore, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Mobile and Shreveport communities.
In addition to donating to the Christmas Wish Project, Stirling Properties hosted its third annual Northpark Christmas Bazaar, Bake Sale & Raffle on Friday, November 17th. Local vendors, as well as employees of the Northpark office complex sold crafts, jewelry, ornaments, artwork, beauty products and many other great gift items.
The Christmas Bazaar raised $2,500, which was also donated in full to Volunteers of America to assist more families in our area with emergency holiday needs.
The Holiday Season is a time for gratitude, generosity and giving back to our region. Stirling Properties is committed to supporting the communities where we live and work, and we will continue to support local nonprofits, community groups and charitable organizations throughout the year and beyond.
Thank you to all of the vendors, donors and shoppers who made this project a huge success. On behalf or Stirling Properties, we wish you and yours a joyous Holiday Season and a Happy New Year!
For more information about Stirling’s Stewardship Committee, please visit stirlingprop.com/about/community-involvement or contact us by email at stewardship@stirlingprop.com.
