CB Richard Ellis New England is teaming with local retail veteran Howard Grossman to form CBRE/Grossman Retail Advisors, a new retail advisory firm that CBRE says will make it the only national brokerage house in New England offering a full-service retail practice.
"We’ve been very interested in expanding our retail capabilities in New England," said Kevin Doyle, co-managing partner of CBRE New England. "Historically, we have been very strong in one piece, investment sales. We really haven’t dominated the market for leasing and property management. Now, we’re the only national firm in New England with retail sales, property management, consulting, and leasing. That really provides us with a tremendous strategic opportunity."
The talks that led to the joint venture began this spring, Doyle said, when Howard Grossman was laying plans to strike out on his own. "This started with us trying to turn him around, and join CB."
"I saw a need in the marketplace for a high level of third-party retail real estate service," Grossman told Banker & Tradesman. "It became very evident that when you combine our knowledge and experience with the national platform and network CB New England could provide, it would be quite a powerful force, and be very hard to compete with."
Grossman, who has been working in retail for 35 years and was most recently a principal at Samuels & Assoc., will serve as president of the new venture. He will be joined by his son, Jeremy Grossman, the former head of Federal Realty Investment Trust’s Boston office; Kyle Juszcyszyn, a former Samuels exec who will head up retail asset management; Paul Connolly, formerly of Fidelity and Federal Realty; and Paul Grossman, a former Strategic Retail Advisors broker.
"We could see where the holes were in the marketplace," Jeremy Grossman said. "There was an opportunity, in light of the recession, to provide a service that was not being provided. The reset button has been hit. Retailers are reevaluating and focusing on operations, they’re cutting spending, but they’re not quitting. They’re really looking at the future, and looking at being more systematic and programmed about their future growth plans."
