Feature Story

Premier Commercial Properties
New Brokerage Is Well Acquainted With Area's Commercial Market
By Elizabeth W. Pearce

For the last two years, the ratio of buyers to sellers of commercial, income-producing properties in Southwest Florida has grown increasingly lopsided. As a result of escalating demand and dwindling supply, local brokers and Realtors are feeling the heat as never before. So why aren’t the agents at one of the area’s newest commercial firms sweating it out?
“Experience,” according to Andrew DeSalvo, managing broker for Premier Commercial Properties in Bonita Springs. The company was formed in May, when Bonita-based DeSalvo & Wyatt, Inc. merged with Premier Properties of Southwest Florida, Inc. To date, Premier Commercial has closed an astounding $10 million-plus in sales with an additional $45 million pending.
Closed transactions include the sale of the former Colonial Bank building to the City of Bonita Springs for its new city hall, land on the Imperial River to the developer of a small, residential community called River Reach; and various land sales, including sites for office buildings in Vanderbilt Office Park in Bonita Springs.
DeSalvo credits the early success of the newly-formed firm to the forces behind it, which are well established and highly respected. In addition to its staff of seasoned professionals (see box), the firm has the benefit of a very powerful name: Lutgert Companies.
“They’re one of the most reputable residential and commercial developers in Southwest Florida,” said DeSalvo. “Premier Commercial is an extension of the Lutgert vision, innovation and commitment to excellence.”
That vision started in Naples in 1964 when Lutgert Companies began buying residential properties. By 1970, it was developing them. By the mid-1980s, Lutgert had established Premier Properties of Southwest Florida, Inc. REALTORS as its real estate division and also began developing commercial properties.
Today, Premier Properties has 10 offices from Marco Island to Estero, with more than 150 full-time sales and rental agents, a marketing department and a full-time support staff of 55. Equally significant is Lutgert’s commercial development portfolio, which contains more than half a million square feet of office and retail space in Lee and Collier counties, which it also owns, leases and manages. Some of its best-known properties include Neapolitan Way, The Village on Venetian Bay and the Northern Trust building (all in Naples), and The Promenade Shops in Bonita Bay (Bonita Springs).
Similarly, DeSalvo has an impressive background in local residential and commercial real estate that began more than 20 years ago. By 1983, he had opened his first real estate company in Bonita Springs and in 1986, helped found the full-service real estate firm of DeSalvo & Wyatt, Inc. However, after nearly two decades of specializing in land sales, DeSalvo decided to focus on commercial, income-producing properties.
To ease the transition and become better acquainted with the financial aspects of the commercial real estate business, DeSalvo went back to school. In 1999, he graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University’s MBA program. Last spring, shortly after the death of his friend and business partner, John Wyatt, DeSalvo closed the firm’s residential arm with the intention of reopening it exclusively as a commercial real estate company.
Things changed when he talked to Rodney Mease, a former business associate who had affiliated with Premier. “Rod was my sales manager when he first came to town. When I called to tell him about my commercial real estate plans, I asked if Premier was opening a commercial division when I noticed they had hired a couple of commercial agents,” said DeSalvo. Although they weren’t planning to at the time, Premier’s executives reconsidered after meeting with DeSalvo.
“It was a smart move for both sides,” said DeSalvo of the decision to launch Premier Commercial. “For me, it’s such an exciting opportunity. I like the fact that Premier is a large, regional company rather than a large national or international company like some of the others.”
Since the firm opened, three additional commercial agents have joined administrative assistants Salli Jones and Carissa DeSalvo (Andrew’s daughter, who has worked with him for six years). Both women have real estate licenses as well as extensive experience in commercial sales and leasing.
“We offer the kind of expertise that’s rather unusual in a commercial brokerage,” said DeSalvo, citing the agents’ diverse professional backgrounds and collective experience of more than 70 years. “The agents all came from other careers and made the transition into commercial real estate years ago. They’re very familiar with the local market and, as a team, are comfortable in all facets of commercial real estate, including land, income-producing properties and apartment sites.”
Despite current market conditions, Lutgert hopes to expand its services to existing clients while reaching new ones through Premier Commercial. “When markets get constrained, that’s where experience and market knowledge really count, (and) you can really help your clients,” said DeSalvo. “Our strategy is to build an outstanding commercial real estate company by offering clients investment opportunities which might otherwise be off the radar screen.” The company is also discussing the possibility of selling and leasing the commercial components of mixed-use developments that Premier Properties is presently marketing.
Although two of the firm’s pending sales (land tracts of more than 500 acres each) are to developers of large residential communities in Lee County, many of its closed sales have involved undeveloped sites for ever-expanding retailers such as Publix and Walgreens. One of the greatest challenges continues to be finding income-producing properties for investors.
“We spend a lot of our time going back to the business clients and customers we’ve known for years and work with them to get listings,” he said. In some cases, a million-dollar deal is just a phone call or two away.
“Recently, I called a long-time business associate of ours who hadn’t even thought about selling one of his office buildings. But Gary Delanois had a buyer who was eager to purchase an office building. So over the phone, we discussed it, worked out a price and may have a deal.”
DeSalvo said that’s typical of the firm’s unique approach to current market conditions. “Our job is to understand where the market is, in terms of supply and demand, and share that with our clients. If it’s not there, if it’s not listed, it’s our job to tap our many resources to find an alternative opportunity or investment.”
Soon, Premier Commercial plans to unveil a Web site that will give commercial clients and investors yet another way to reach buyers and sellers. By year’s end, the site is expected to be up and running, providing one of the most comprehensive commercial real estate databases in Southwest Florida. The site will run the commercial gamut, featuring properties ranging from vacant land and industrial buildings, to office/medical space, apartment buildings and shopping centers. “We want to make it a place to direct astute investors and other commercial Realtors,” said DeSalvo.
However, if you don’t find what you’re looking for on line, DeSalvo says not to fret. There are always resales of what he calls “the most recyclable commodity in the world,” Southwest Florida real estate.
“We’re fortunate that real estate in our area generally grows in value. So if you’re selling, chances are your property has appreciated significantly, and if you’re buying and you missed out on one parcel, it’ll either come back on the market eventually or another parcel will. At some point in your life, you’ll be in the position to buy it. That’s part of the American dream, but it’s also part of the Southwest Florida mystique.” -
Premier Commercial Properties’ Professional Team
Andrew DeSalvo
(Managing Broker)
An Accredited Land Consultant, DeSalvo has spent most of his life in Lee County. For more than 20 years, he has specialized in land brokerage, buyer representation, development consulting and tax-deferred exchanges. A licensed broker, DeSalvo earned a Master of Business Administration from FGCU and is active in the Bonita Springs Area Chamber of Commerce.
Joe Buch
(Commercial Broker)
Buch is an attorney by trade, and has practiced general and real estate law. He has lived in Florida since 1994 and was previously affiliated with Grubb & Ellis Commercial as an advisor. In addition to a law degree from West Virginia University’s College of Law, Buch earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from Notre Dame. Currently, he is a member of the Bonita Springs-Estero Board of Realtors, the Florida Bar and the Bonita Springs Chamber of Commerce.
Gary Delanois
(Commercial Realtor)
A native of Illinois, Delanois has been a resident of Florida since 1977. In addition to working for nine years as a CPA for a major accounting firm, Delanois has extensive real estate experience. Prior to joining Premier, he was CFO and CCO for a privately-held company where he was responsible for: land acquisition; permitting and sales of mixed-use commercial and industrial projects; and developing agricultural and restaurant properties.
Ron Sanson
(Commercial Broker)
Since 1981, Sanson has worked in the local real estate industry, serving as sales and marketing director for some of Southwest Florida’s most prestigious country club communities. Most recently, he worked as a commercial broker for Grubb & Ellis/VIP-D’Alessandro’s Bonita division. A graduate of Randolph Macon College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, Sanson is actively involved in both the Bonita Springs-Estero and Naples Area Board of Realtors.
 

All rights reserved 2002 Suite Life Magazine. 
No material in this publication or on this web site, may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.