Stirling Properties Announces Promotions in Property Management Department
Stirling Properties is excited to announce two promotions in its growing Property Management Department. Patrick Malik has been appointed Vice President of Property and Risk Management after 14 years as Operations Manager. Lindsey Palmer, Property Manager, has been promoted to Director of Property Services.
Patrick Malik‘s role has evolved from Operations Manager to overseeing all aspects of the Property Management Department including supporting Asset Management, Development and Acquisitions, new business development and integration and ongoing property operations of over $1.2 billion in real estate assets. In addition, he handles risk management and insurance for Stirling Properties and its clients, including sourcing coverage options, negotiating policy terms, insurance claims, management of Captive Insurance Program, disaster preparedness and emergency response. Mr. Malik has over 25 years of Property Management experience across commercial real estate sectors in a variety of roles. He graduated from the University of West Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree in Management. As Director of Property Services, Lindsey Palmer will oversee all aspects of Property Services and its staff, providing support for Property and Asset Management of over 17 million square feet commercial real estate. Ms. Palmer will continue her responsibilities as Property Manager of 2.3 million square feet of properties, including Fremaux Town Center in Slidell and Hammond Square and in Hammond. Ms. Palmer joined Stirling Properties 9 years ago after graduating from Southeastern Louisiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and a Master in Business Administration.
Senior Project Manager Robert Dischler To Retire At End Of This Year
Please join us in extending best wishes to Robert Dischler, who is retiring from Stirling Properties at the end of this year. Robert has been a great Stirling Team Member and Project Manager for over 24 years, overseeing all aspects of active development projects from design coordination, to construction implementation, tenant coordination, and beyond.
Robert came to Stirling as a seasoned veteran in the shopping center construction industry and has worked in the retail development industry for over 36 years. “Robert has been a leader, mentor, and friend to many in the Stirling Properties family for more than two decades” states Townsend Underhill. “He will be greatly missed and his presence is an irreplaceable part of our Company’s history.”
Robert has been involved in many development projects with Stirling — beginning with Bluebonnet Village, Woodlawn Park and Siegen Village in Baton Rouge in the early ‘90’s, the redevelopment of McArthur Village and Eastgate Shopping Center, ground up development of Stirling Millerville Shopping Center, the initial three phases of University Club Plantation, multiple Eckerd and Walgreens locations, and finally with Fremaux Town Center & Stirling Bossier Shopping Center. Robert will continue with these two projects through his retirement at the end of 2015 and will also continue to be involved with Stirling on a part-time consulting basis with the development team post-retirement.
Robert is eager to enjoy his time at his camp, Livingston Four Seasons, with wife Nancy, family and friends as well as catch up on his fishing and traveling to visit his grandchildren!
Stirling Properties Welcomes Thomas Bryan to the New Orleans Team
Stirling Properties is pleased to announce the addition of Thomas Bryan to the Commercial Brokerage Division as Sales and Leasing Executive. Thomas will work from the company’s New Orleans, LA office located at 615 Baronne Street, Suite 100.
Mr. Bryan began his Commercial Real Estate career in 2007 and has since accrued a wealth of knowledge through leasing, sales and property management experience. He is currently responsible for the marketing and leasing of approximately 350,000 square feet of retail space. In addition to his retail landlord representation, Mr. Bryan has worked extensively with national, regional and local retail clients in a tenant representation capacity, including Lee Nail Spa, Alton Lane, Devon & Blakely, School of Rock, and MetroPCS to name a few.
Mr. Bryan is a native of Richmond, VA where he most recently worked as a Sales & Leasing Associate for CBRE. He is a graduate of the College of Charleston with a degree in Business Administration.
Mr. Bryan can be reached at 504-523-4481 or via email at tbryan@stirlingprop.com.
President’s Message: Reflection, Rebirth, Resiliency
Next week, we will pause to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. From the shock, disbelief and uncertainty in the days, weeks and months that followed, Southeast Louisiana and the Gulf Coast have persevered. New Orleans has risen up from the brink of death to emerge, as it once had been, into one of the premier cities in the U.S. and the world. The publisher of Forbes called it “the greatest turnaround of our lifetime.”
Recently, I found a memo that I sent to our Stirling team on September 13, 2005 (just 2 weeks after Katrina and coincidentally just 11 days before Hurricane Rita devastated western Louisiana and Texas). While still living through the fog of the disaster and the uncertainty about what our future might hold, I marveled back then at the generosity, kindness and out pouring of support from people within Stirling and also from all over the country. It was truly an amazing expression of caring.
I wrote “It is my hope, that somehow someday, from the rubble of those buildings destroyed and the memory of people that were killed that something positive can happen for our future. Maybe, from that beginning, we can find ways to put aside our differences and to come together to achieve even greater heights.”
As I reflect back today, I am stunned by what has happened in the last 10 years — truly it is beyond anything I might have dared to imagine.
Our city and region have rebounded economically, culturally and in quality of life issues, with top rankings in tech job growth, brain gain, entrepreneurship, economic development and improved schools. GNO, Inc. sums it up in their K10 Top 10. The region is now positioned as a hub for science and technology, for water management and emerging environmental industries. The city’s medical corridor, called the BioDistrict, is anchored by the new, world-class $2 billion University Medical Center and VA Hospital. A new, world-class airport terminal will also open in 2018.
My hopes about putting aside our differences have similarly exceeded my dreams with our Super Region consisting of the 22 parishes of Greater New Orleans, Houma-Thibodaux and Greater Baton Rouge working together in an unprecedented manner for the common good.
Equally impressive has been what has happened within our company in those last 10 years. We have grown in size and strength. Amazingly, almost 150 new people have joined our team since then. Consider the projects we have undertaken just in the Greater New Orleans area since Katrina:
- Acquisition of Pan American Life Center
- Fremaux Town Center
- Mid-City Market
- Fresh Market Redevelopment on St. Charles Avenue
- Multiple Walgreens, including the Walgreens on Magazine Street
- River Chase Expansion
- Magnolia Marketplace
- Offices at Mid-City Market (under construction)
Since 2010, the investments just within the City of New Orleans totaled over $156 Million. In many ways, our latest development to have its grand opening, Magnolia Marketplace on South Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, is a fitting story of the 10th Anniversary of Katrina. From literally an abandoned, blighted, crime-ridden housing project rose a center of business, jobs, revitalization and rebirth of a previously downtrodden area.
While we have come a long way and have much to be proud of, ten years is not the end of the race. We must and will work together to continue to build on the progress of the last decade.
But before we begin the work of the next ten years, I would like to take a moment to pause and reflect, to thank all of you who were so caring during the dark days and to those of you who have come together to help create the success we have achieved together.
Louisiana Continues to be Recognized in National Rankings
As the International Council of Shopping Center’s (ICSC’s) State Director for Louisiana, I recently contributed an article for our Quarterly Membership Newsletter that I’d like to share:
Louisiana State Director’s Message – Summer 2015
I have written many times in recent newsletters about Louisiana’s economic development growth and I can’t help myself but to continue to report the good news. Our State continues to be on an unprecedented roll for economic growth and diversification that is really changing our trajectory in a way that is having extreme benefits on our industry, our career, our families and our long term well-being. The progress and growth is not going unnoticed, this summer’s publications have bestowed some significant rankings and milestones.
For the 6th straight year, Southern Business and Development has ranked Louisiana #1 among Southern states for attracting the most significant capital investment and job-creation projects per million residents. In the State of the Year category, Louisiana earned honorable mention. While not receiving State of the Year this year, Louisiana has earned State or Co-State of the Year honors in five of the past seven years. In addition our cities are being recognized individually as well.
- 2015 Small Market of the Year (Pop < 250K) – Lake Charles
- Honorable Mention – Houma-Thibodaux
- 2015 Major Market of the Year (Pop 750K – 2M)
- Honorable Mentions – New Orleans & Baton Rouge
- 2015 Mid-Market of the Year (Pop 250K – 750K)
- Honorable Mention – Shreveport
In June Area Development magazine awarded Louisiana the 2015 Silver Shovel Award (Pop 3M to 5M category) for posting one of the best economic development performances in the U.S. during the past year. The awards honor states with the most significant impact from their 10 leading investment and job creation projects during 2014. This is our State’s 6th year in a row earning a Silver Shovel Award.
In May Chief Executive magazine honored Louisiana with its highest ranking ever in its CEO survey of state business climates, ranking #7 on Best & Worst States for Business. This is up 40 positions since January 2008, representing the greatest improvement of any state in that time period. Additionally, Site Selection magazine picked Louisiana No. 2 in U.S. for economic development competitiveness in 2014 with 7 of the top 10 states located in the Southeast, which points to the region’s sustained competitiveness over the past decade.
All of this just a decade after most of the nation had written Louisiana off for dead following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the summer of 2005, quite remarkable to say the least. This is not only encouraging for our personal businesses but also inspiring for the business community in our State. I see the retail industry as a huge beneficiary of this success during this past decade with even brighter days ahead.
Stirling Properties Completes its First Retail Development in Lake Charles, Louisiana
Stirling Properties is pleased to announce the completion of their first retail development in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Academy Sports + Outdoors was relocated to its new location on Derek Drive, adding an additional 22,000 square-feet to the store. The new 72,000 square-foot store was expanded to meet the demand of the growing Lake Charles community.
All of the land surrounding the larger Academy Sports + Outdoors is currently available for sale or lease. For more information please contact Ryan Pecot, Senior Leasing Executive, at rpecot@stirlingprop.com or 337-572-0246.
