President’s Message: Lessons Learned
As midnight approached on December 31st and the end of the year was in sight, there were all sorts of GIFs, memes and messages circulating, illustrating how anxious we were to finally close the door on 2020. The whole world was exhausted and eager to move on.
But I believe before we slam that door on 2020 and block it from our memories, we should take a moment to look back and reflect on the valuable lessons it taught us—both good and bad—and take them forward with us.
I, too, have pandemic fatigue and am beyond ready to move on. However, my exhaustion stems not just from COVID but also from the constant animosity, anger and vitriol on so many issues that only seemed to escalate to a boiling point in 2020. I am disappointed and disheartened by the numerous topics that have become divisive between families, friends, neighbors and coworkers. And I am disgusted that our children and grandchildren are watching adults behave in ways that we (should) teach them not to. We must do better.
So, what are some of the lessons of 2020 that I think are worth taking into the new year?
- Spend more time listening than speaking (or tweeting). Who knows, you may learn something new. You may understand someone else’s point of view. You may even gain a new perspective.
- Have more empathy for others. We don’t know what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes. But maybe if we do more of the first thing I mentioned (listening), we might just learn something about them and see things differently. We can’t judge someone else looking only through the lens of our own life experiences.
- We are better together. No matter what we are trying to accomplish—whether it be in sports, in battle, in our community, in our workplace—we are more successful when we work together, not separately. We saw that firsthand in our region post-Katrina when we finally decided to work collaboratively rather than parochially, and we are all much better for it.
- Treat others the way you wish to be treated. No matter what religion you may believe in, they all espouse some version of this basic humanistic value. How quickly and often we seem to forget this most fundamental teaching.
- Help others in need. During this challenging time, so many people and businesses are struggling, more so now than ever. Pay it forward and do something to proactively help someone else. My favorite quote (by John Wooden) says, “You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”
These all seem so simple and yet sometimes so elusive. So, as we turn the page to 2021, move on from an exhausting year, and set our New Year’s resolutions of healthier goals, business accomplishments and plans, I hope those resolutions include looking outward and aren’t solely focused inward. A new year presents a perfect opportunity to make changes—right wrongs, try a little harder, be more open-minded.
This year, let’s all resolve to learn from the past, take the important lessons to heart, and set a better example for those that follow.
I wish you all a very Happy New Year…and a better 2021!
Marty
What’s Happening at Hammond Square?
Stirling Properties announces updates on redevelopment project in Hammond, Louisiana
Stirling Properties announces new updates to the ongoing redevelopment project at Hammond Square shopping center in Hammond, Louisiana.
- Five Guys restaurant is celebrating its grand opening today, November 16. The 2,450-square-foot fast-food chain featuring made-to-order burgers, fries and hot dogs is located on Hammond Square Drive next to Chipotle, near the entrance to the shopping center. Chipotle celebrated its grand opening in August of this year.
- Firestone Complete Auto Care has finished construction on its 6,000-square-foot retail space, located on 1.15 acres on West Minnesota Park Drive, near Academy Sports + Outdoors. The automotive company plans to celebrate its grand opening on Friday, November 20.
- Becky Blount Photography is back at Hammond Square this holiday season, offering Santa portraits for customers while closely following mandated safety guidelines. Portrait sessions are by appointment only beginning November 28. Please visit Becky Blount Photography on Facebook for more details.
- Enterprise Rent-A-Car will be opening its new location on December 14. The car rental and leasing company will be located at Palace Centre East, across the street from Hammond Square, next to Walgreens.
- Le Saigon Asian restaurant will also be relocating to the shopping center in a newly developed space. Construction has begun on the 2,375-square-foot building located off CM Fagan Drive, next to IHOP. It is expected to open in the spring of 2021.
- HomeGoods and Michaels are now expected to open in February of 2021. Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux is also expected to join the tenant lineup with projected opening dates to be announced.
Stirling Properties commercial real estate company is nearing completion on the $15 million multi-tenant redevelopment project at Hammond Square. Demolition of the former Sears and Rite Aid buildings was completed last year to make way for the new retailers.
Rhonda Sharkawy, Senior Retail Leasing & Development Advisor with Stirling Properties, handled the lease transactions on behalf of the landlord.
Hammond Square is Tangipahoa Parish’s premier shopping destination, located on approximately 100 acres at the northwest corner of Interstate 12 and US Highway 51 Business (SW Railroad Avenue) in Hammond, Louisiana. It is the 2nd largest open-air center in Louisiana, encompassing over 852,000-square-feet of more than 40 national and local retailers, shops and restaurants, including Dillard’s, Target, The Home Depot, JCPenney, Academy Sports+Outdoors, Best Buy, T.J.Maxx, ULTA Beauty, Books-A-Million and AMC Theatres. Stirling Properties redeveloped Hammond Square and currently manages and leases the center.
For more information on Hammond Square, visit www.hammondsquare.com or facebook.com/hammondsquare. For leasing and sales information, contact Rhonda Sharkawy at (504) 620-8145 or rsharkawy@stirlingprop.com.
Adapting to Change
Stirling Properties celebrates first-ever virtual annual honors event!
Stirling Properties celebrated its 22nd Annual Stirling Honors last Friday in a first-ever company-wide virtual format. The event recognized and distinguished the successes of Team Stirling and the company over the past year, despite recent challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stirling Properties’ President & CEO, Marty Mayer, served as the emcee for the presentation and discussed how today’s challenging landscape requires adaptability in our company and the commercial real estate industry. Mayer said, “Companies that can adapt and meet the changing environment will survive and find opportunities for success—this has always been one of our strong points. It’s one of our core values, a characteristic of our company, See Beyond the Present: We adapt and evolve for long-term sustainable success.”
He and Stirling Properties’ partners thanked Team Stirling for their hard work and dedication. Lynn Blanchard and Krystal Atkins were acknowledged as recipients of Stirling Properties’ most prestigious honor, the 2019 Exceeding Excellence Award, presented for extraordinary employee actions that exemplify the values necessary to further the success of the company. Brokerage Division Award recipients received recognition for Bronze, Silver, Platinum, Diamond, and Ruby production levels based on individual adjusted gross commissions from 2019. Special acknowledgment was also given to Rhonda Sharkawy, Senior Retail Leasing and Development Advisor in New Orleans, for achieving the Top Commercial Producer Award —this is the 5th consecutive year she has earned this accolade, producing over $1 million dollars in commissions.
BROKERAGE AWARDS
Ruby
Rhonda Sharkawy (Top Producer), New Orleans
Chad Rigby, Baton Rouge
Emerald
Ryan Pecot, Lafayette
Diamond
Ryan Murphy, Covington
Joe Gardner, New Orleans
Scott Macdonald, Baton Rouge
Jeff Barnes, Mobile
Jason Scott, Pensacola
Platinum
Saban Sellers, New Orleans
Nathan Handmacher, Mobile
Justin Langlois, Baton Rouge
Gold Award
Thomas Bryan, New Orleans
Bradley Cook, Covington
Angie McArthur, Mobile
Carly Plotkin, New Orleans
Seth Citron, Lake Charles
Steve Legendre, Baton Rouge
Silver Award
Charles Cornay, Baton Rouge
Melissa Warren, New Orleans
Lee de la Houssaye, Covington
Karen McElroy, Shreveport
Stacy Odom, Shreveport
Andrew Dickman, Mobile
Bronze Award
Dottie Tarleton, Baton Rouge
Beth Cristina, New Orleans
Gaines Seaman, New Orleans
Jill Meeks, Mobile
Ben Graham, Baton Rouge
Also recognized were employees and agents who achieved special anniversaries with the company. Service Awards were given for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35-year milestones.
SERVICE AWARDS
35 Years of Service: Sharon Amacker – Covington, Donna Smith – Covington
30 Years of Service: Rick Skelding – New Orleans, Dottie Tarleton – Baton Rouge, Monica Milazzo – Covington
25 Years of Service: Lee de la Houssaye – Covington
20 Years of Service: Lynn Blanchard – Baton Rouge, Tina Crouchet – Covington
15 Years of Service: Mark Salvetti – Covington, Marcia McGarrity – Covington
10 Years of Service: Jim Short – Baton Rouge, Richard Frazier – Baton Rouge, Ryan Murphy – Covington
5 Years of Service: Lesley Huval – Southpark Storage, Sharon Horton – Westland Plaza, Angela McArthur – Mobile, Sean Montreuil – New Orleans, Andrew Dickman – Mobile, Joyce Ori – Mobile, Valda Butler – Covington, Griffin Lennox – New Orleans, Robin Hayles – Mobile, Helen Giang – Covington, Thomas Bryan – New Orleans, Mitch Gauthier – Covington, Patty Meyer – Covington, Rachel Jerkins – Mobile, Jason Franklin – Mobile, Rachel Fonseca – Covington, Sarah Schoonmaker – Covington
Stirling Properties’ Commercial Agents Among Top Industry Producers In the Greater New Orleans Area
Stirling Properties commercial real estate agents were recently honored for outstanding industry achievements and transactions during the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of REALTORS® (NOMAR) Commercial Investment Division’s (CID) Annual Achievement Awards virtual ceremony.
Rhonda Sharkawy
Rhonda Sharkawy, Senior Retail Leasing & Development Advisor, was awarded top Retail Broker of the Year for the greater New Orleans area with a sales and leasing volume of more than $45 million in 2019.
Saban Sellers
Saban Sellers, Investment Advisor-Multifamily, was named top Multi Family Broker of the Year with a sales and leasing volume of more than $16 million in 2019. He was also awarded Land Broker of the Year with a total credit volume of $4.3 million. Sellers also received honors for top Land Lease of the Year and Multi Family Sale of the Year.
Carly Plotkin, Advisor, received the award for Retail Lease of the Year. Ryan Murphy, Senior Advisor, and Bradley Cook, Advisor, were the recipients of the Office Sale of the Year award.
Melissa Warren, CCIM, Senior Advisor, Lee de la Houssaye, Senior Advisor, and Bradley Cook, Advisor, were among Silver Production Award recipients for obtaining total commercial credit sales and leasing from $2.5 – $4.9 million.
Carly Plotkin and Ryan Murphy received the Gold Production Award for commercial credit sales and leasing from $5 – $9.9 million.
Rhonda Sharkawy and Saban Sellers were awarded Diamond Production Awards for total commercial sales and leasing volume of over $15 million.
With 53 agents and nine offices spanning the Gulf South region, Stirling Properties’ brokerage team specializes in all aspects of commercial real estate, including retail, office, industrial, healthcare and multifamily sectors. In 2019, our commercial brokers completed 787 transactions totaling 6.9 million square feet, with a total commercial volume of over $555 million.
Stirling Properties Names Brad Stillwagon As New General Manager of Pan-American Life Center in New Orleans
Stirling Properties announces Brad Stillwagon as the new General Manager of the Pan-American Life Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. He will be stepping into the role upon the retirement of the building’s long-term General Manager, Nancy Rome.
Stillwagon has been with Stirling Properties since early 2019, serving as both an Asset and Property Manager of more than 2,000,000 square feet of retail, medical and office properties across the Gulf South. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Business Administration from Washington and Lee University and is actively involved in the W&L New Orleans Alumni Chapter. Stillwagon holds the designation of Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) and is active in the Louisiana CCIM Chapter. He is a Young Leader with CoreNet Global, a network of corporate real estate executives focused on the strategic real estate needs of Fortune 500 Companies, and is pursuing a Master of Corporate Real Estate with a specialization in Workplace Strategy (MCR.w).
Prior to joining Stirling Properties, Stillwagon served as Vice President – Real Estate Team Lead with Hancock Whitney Bank, where he worked in Asset and Transaction Management. He currently resides Uptown with his wife and three sons.
In addition to his General Manager duties, Stillwagon will continue to serve as the Asset Manager for many of Stirling Properties’ Southshore properties, including Mid-City Market, Offices at Mid-City Market, Magnolia Marketplace, Old Metairie Village and Oakridge Place.
“Stirling Properties is pleased to announce Brad Stillwagon as the new General Manager of the Pan-American Life Center. We have a great group of talented professionals and building engineers working closely with Brad to ensure a smooth transition. We are confident our team will continue to provide first-class service and support for the office tower and building tenants,” said Grady Brame, Executive Vice President with Stirling Properties. “We’re also excited about the remarkable renovations to the Pan-American Life Center that we believe uniquely positions it as one of a kind in the New Orleans CBD and enhances its long-term success.”
The Pan-American Life Center is recognized as one of New Orleans’ most prestigious office towers, boasting high-quality tenants in addition to housing the national and regional headquarters of many premier corporations. Built in 1980, the granite-clad, Class A trophy tower encompasses roughly 673,000 square feet of office and retail space, as well as an eight-story parking structure. Office tenants include Pan American Life Insurance Group, IBERIABANK, Morris Bart Law Offices, McGlinchey Stafford, Merrill Lynch and Stirling Properties. First-floor retail tenants include Smoothie King, Starbucks, Tsunami and IBERIABANK. Stirling Properties’ affiliates own the property and are the exclusive management and leasing agents for the Pan American Life Center.
Stirling Properties recently completed a $7 million redevelopment of the property, including a renovated café, state-of-the-art conference center and upgraded ground floor lobby to better position the building in the evolving office landscape.
Stirling Properties Announces Grand Opening of Chipotle at Hammond Square in Hammond, Louisiana
Shopping center nearing completion of multi-tenant retail redevelopment project.
Stirling Properties announces Chipotle Mexican Grill will celebrate its grand opening at Hammond Square shopping center on Thursday, August 27th. An official (socially distanced) grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held in partnership with the Greater Hammond Chamber of Commerce.
The new fast-casual restaurant specializes in build-your-own tacos, burritos, salads and bowls, and will feature a Chipotlane, the brand’s drive-thru mobile/digital order pick-up lane, where customers can retrieve pre-placed orders without leaving their car. Chipotle will be located on Hammond Square Drive near the entrance to the shopping center.
Five Guys restaurant will also occupy 2,450 square feet of space right next door to Chipotle and is expected to open in early October of this year.
Stirling Properties commercial real estate company is nearing completion on the $15 million multi-tenant redevelopment project at Hammond Square. Demolition of the former Sears and Rite Aid buildings was completed last year to make way for the new retailers.
Five Below and PetSmart opened in the shopping center earlier this year. Michaels, HomeGoods and Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux are also expected to join the tenant lineup with projected opening dates to be announced.
Rhonda Sharkawy, Senior Retail Leasing & Development Advisor with Stirling Properties, handled the lease transactions on behalf of the landlord.
Hammond Square is Tangipahoa Parish’s premier shopping destination, located on approximately 100 acres at the northwest corner of Interstate 12 and US Highway 51 Business (SW Railroad Avenue) in Hammond, Louisiana. It is the 2nd largest open-air center in Louisiana encompassing over 852,000-square-feet of more than 40 national and local retailers, shops and restaurants, including Dillard’s, Target, The Home Depot, JCPenney, Academy Sports+Outdoors, Best Buy, T.J.Maxx, ULTA Beauty, Books-A-Million and AMC Theatres. Stirling Properties redeveloped Hammond Square and currently manages and leases the center.
For more information on Hammond Square, visit www.hammondsquare.com or facebook.com/hammondsquare. For leasing and sales information, contact Rhonda Sharkawy at (504) 620-8145 or rsharkawy@stirlingprop.com.
Discovering Commercial Real Estate with Stirling! We hosted bright 7th […]
