By Al Barbarino
Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services has raised its flag in White Plains, NY.
The firm opened shop at 50 Main Street last month, assuming control of a former Sperry Van Ness franchise office.
For J.D. Parker, vice president with Marcus & Millichap and regional manager of the new office, the expansion made all the sense in the world.
“That location is perfect,” he said. “It will allow us to have a flag in the market that we’ve been working in for over ten years. We had a number of agents coming over from other offices to service that area, so it was a natural progression.”
The strategic location will maximize efficiency, serving as a crossroads between key markets — from the northern Bronx through Stamford and Greenwich, CT, reaching as far as Putnam, Duchess and Orange Counties, Parker said. It will also deepen the firm’s local footprint and access to a largely untapped talent pool, he added.
“Between New Haven, North Jersey and Manhattan, there was this hole in the middle,” he said. “It helps us to be more competitive with local companies — the smaller shops we’re competing with at the local level. They need to feel that we can access the same services and the same buyer pool.”
With the help of Joseph C. French, Jr., head of the former Sperry Van Ness office and new senior director of Marcus & Millichap’s National Retail Group, the firm is looking to expand further into White Plains’ retail-heavy market. French joins a firm he had kept a close eye on for years.
“Part of being in the industry is knowing your competition,” said French. “I got to watch Marcus and Millichap’s growth and their approach to growing in the market. I took a look at that and I said, ‘I want to be part of that.’”
The majority of Marcus and Millichap’s business in the region involves private clients, but their institutional business has increased significantly within the last few years, Parker said.
French, who brings 25 years of experience in the industry, will focus on growing multi- and single-tenant retail investment sales on behalf of institutional and private investors, as Marcus and Millichap takes over the day-to-day administrative distractions of running the office.
“They (Marcus & Millichap) had already expanded in a big way into the multi-family institutional market, but the area that they hadn’t expanded into was retail,” French said. “What I offer them is a method to grow in that arena.”
Gene A. Berman, executive vice president of Marcus & Millichap, and group managing director of the company’s northeastern offices, said in a statement, “Investment properties in the Northeast boast some of the best fundamentals in the entire country.
“As the economy continues to improve, both domestic and foreign investors are rebuilding their real estate portfolios, shedding non-performing assets, executing more 1031 exchanges and requiring more complex financing for their transactions.
“In short, investors are requiring more sophisticated brokerage, advisory and financing services uniquely offered by Marcus & Millichap. This is an opportune time to push forward with our expansion plans and capitalize on the investment opportunities in the Northeast.”
Along with French, three associates and one administrator from his former team at Sperry Van Ness will join Marcus & Millichap. Parker has deployed three agents to the offices thus far and is looking to hire between five and ten additional brokers within the next two to three years to work out of the new office. Tentative plans exist to expand into Long Island or Queens within the next two to three years, he added.
Marcus & Millichap’s northeastern reach includes offices include Baltimore, Boston, Brooklyn, Manhattan, New Haven, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.
