Commercial Investment Real Estate is the magazine of the CCIM Institute, the leading provider of commercial real estate education. CIRE covers market trends, current developments, and business strategies within the commercial real estate field.
Issue link: http://cire.epubxp.com/i/536709
34 July | August | 2015 Commercial Investment Real Estate tenants and retail concepts that would sup- port the 3,000 daily workers, the residents of 300 on-site apartments units, and a very diverse economic and racial neighborhood. T e latter is very important to the millenni- als working on the project." T e biggest dif erence from other projects is the development's intent, Massey says. "With these owners and stakeholders, it is not necessarily about the credit of the ten- ant but what the tenant means to the overall vision of the entire project." His clients don't want a cookie cutter retail tenants, he adds. "T ey want to see retailers with education and production components built into the store. T ey want a coffee shop where you see the owner grinding the beans and a bike shop where the building and repairing of bicycles are on display." T e Crosstown project requires a dif er- ent approach to his job, Massey says. "T e role of the leasing agent is no longer just transactional. I'm also a facilitator to help fulf ll the vision. Before, we would look for cool national and regional tenants, but now, we also need to cultivate local entrepreneurs with the concepts that fulf ll the goal." Benjamin R. LaFreniere, CCIM, a leasing and tenant rep with Quest Co. in Altamonte Springs, Fla., agrees that the role of com- mercial real estate professionals is chang- ing. "It's more of an advisory role and less of a site selector," he says. "Companies are wisely moving real estate in-house where they can better react and focus on the changing millennial consumer." A millennial himself, LaFreniere has seen more millennial clients in the last few years. "What sets them apart from my other cli- ents? Mostly their age," he jokes. "And they usually understand some of my video game references." But, he adds, "My millennial clients still have the same focus and drive as any of my other clients." Robert L. Zavakos, CCIM, CIPS, principal/ NAI director, of NAI Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, notices a pragmatic side to millennials as well, as he handles site selection for Firehouse Subs. "My millennial clients are more focused on the bottom line and creating wealth over time. T ey are less willing to take an expen- sive deal just to have a prime location, which was more of the pattern for my Gen X clients. T ey would rather be around the corner for the lower rent and higher prof ts." He says he spends more time asking ques- tions and listening to establish common goals and expectations before searching for sites. "Millennials are not bashful," he says. "T ey will tell you when you have missed the mark." EQ over IQ? Because technology provides such easy access to information, "T e skills needed in the workforce are going to be less about IQ and a little bit more about EQ [emotional intelligence]," says Deborah Henretta, a group president for Procter & Gamble, in a PwC report. That's important because commercial real estate is an EQ business — brokers and agents must be part psychologist sometimes to understand investors' and tenants' true needs and intentions. And despite the ste- reotype of the non-verbal communicator, millennials in commercial real estate recog- nize the importance of human interaction to success in the industry. Having grown up with texting and instantaneous feedback, a millennial CCIM and his partner understood the value of providing continuous updates to keep a deal moving forward. Working with a client about 25 years their senior, Drew Pearson, a broker with Waters & Pettit in Baton Rouge, La., spe- cializing in industrial properties, and Jack McLarty, CCIM, now a corporate banker in Bank of China's Chicago of ce, noticed a common thread in the client's comments. "He was impressed with our attention to detail and enthusiasm we brought to the deal," says McLarty. Generations in the Workplace Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections