Robert Brathune is the president of Prudential Atlantic Commercial Real Estate Services.
WHEN DID HE OPEN THE COMPANY?
He started Atlantic Commercial Properties 16 years ago. The company became an affiliate of Prudential Commercial Services in 2000 and changed its name to Prudential Atlantic Commercial Real Estate Services.
WHAT DOES HE DO?
“I run the company. Like most companies that are owned by individuals, I do whatever has to be done. My primary role is administering the company and working with the salesman to help them get better in their sales, strategize on getting listings, how to sell property and putting contracts together. I review all contracts and agreements of the company.”
WHAT DOES YOUR COMPANY DO?
“We help businesses and individuals find sites and facilities for business purposes. We help people acquire land, sites for developing land, buildings, offices and industrial properties to help them do business.”
FLYING HIGH
Brathune is a Naval Academy graduate and served as a fighter pilot. When he left the Navy in 1979, he was hired by W.R. Grace for its general management development program.
HOW DID HE GET INTO REAL ESTATE?
After W.R. Grace, he ran a sales and service division for Measurex, which was based in Cherry Hill, N. J. “I opened the office in Cherry Hill and as part of opening the office, I had to find the facilities for our group. That was the first commercial real estate venture I was ever involved in and I said to myself — after I saw the commission the broker made — that this was something I could do.” Shortly thereafter he was having drinks with a superior who told him that if he had to do it all over again he would have gotten into commercial real estate. “It was those two things, opening the office and a guy I respected very much putting a bug in my ear, that made me think that commercial real estate is something I might be interested in.”
WHAT DID HE DO
ABOUT IT?
He was tired of traveling with his job, so he and his wife moved to Jacksonville. He landed a job with H.S. Turner Inc. and began his commercial real estate.
LOCATION
In 1991, he built the 14,000 square-foot building at 8761 Perimeter Park Blvd. in Southside, where his company is located.
HOW DO YOU LIKE
REAL ESTATE?
“It’s been very lucrative. It offers excitement and an opportunity to work with a lot of different people in a lot of different situations. You get to see the inner workings of many different businesses. I feel like I have been a part of the development and the growth of Jacksonville. There are many things that I can point to as I drive down the road and say, ‘I sold that or I sold this.’ I had something to do with almost all of the automobile dealerships down by the Avenues Mall. I had sold a lot of that property about the same time the Avenues Mall was being developed. It’s great just being able to look at things and say that I was a part of the development of that or that I was a part of the growth of Jacksonville.”
WHAT AREA DO
YOU SERVE?
South Georgia to Palm Coast.
INVOLVEMENT IN DOWNTOWN?
“We certainly handle buildings downtown and have been involved in selling and leasing of property downtown. I compare Jacksonville to my hometown, Baltimore. When I first came here, I saw the same kind of potential based upon what I had seen happen in Baltimore. Because of the infrastructure and the river, downtown is a very important part of Jacksonville and I think we have only started to see what the downtown will look like 20 years from now. Obviously there has been a big emphasis recently on residential. People aren’t going to flock downtown for residential; it is going to be a slow learning process. And as more people come in from other areas, a lot of those people will seek residential downtown. Baltimore is about 20-30 years ahead of Jacksonville in its revitalization efforts. I saw Baltimore go from an area of rat infested wharfs to high-rise million dollar condominiums, and obviously that is happening in Jacksonville.”
ADVICE TO NEW AGENTS?
“If you don’t have any listings, you don’t have anything to sell. Listings are the lifeblood of real estate. It’s hard to entrench yourself in a deal unless you control one half of the deal and listings is a good way to do that. Also, if you don’t know more than the people you are trying to help, you are not going to be very effective. Take every opportunity that you can to seek out additional education.”
MOST CHALLENGING THING ABOUT
REAL ESTATE?
“Transactions have such a long lead time that you can work on things for literally weeks, months, years and then something happens and the deal doesn’t come together. All of your efforts are for not. That is the most difficult thing. Deals take a long time and there are a lot of hurdles that you have to get over before any transaction can come to fruition and sometimes you can overcome the hurdles and sometimes you can’t.”
MOVED TO JACKSONVILLE?
In 1984.
FAMILY
He has been married to Carol for 16 years. They have one daughter, Christina, 13.
HOBBIES
Golf, snow skiing and going to the beach. He is still a licensed commercial pilot, so he occasionally will fly recreational private air crafts.
RESIDES
Ponte Vedra Beach.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
He is the president of the Commercial Alliance of Realtors, a member of the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties and the local, state and national chapters of Certified Commercial Investment Member.
WHAT IS YOUR GOAL AS PRESIDENT OF CAR?
“We are trying to make CAR a more representative organization of all the commercial brokerage community. Right now the membership of CAR is not representative of all of the brokerage community. We are trying to put together education programs online for brokers and working towards a commercial property exchange for commercial brokers.”
DESIGNATIONS
He has the CCIM designation, a broker’s license and is a real estate cyberspace specialist.
CHURCH
Christ Episcopal.
FAVORITES
He said “The Bridges at Toko Ri,” by James Michener had an impact on his life. “It was about Navy pilots.” He enjoys James Bond movies and cited “From Russia With Love” as his favorite. When relaxing at home, he enjoys tuning into “NYPD Blue.” His favorite place to visit is out west to go skiing and his favorite restaurant is Travini in Ponte Vedra Beach.
— by Michele Newbern Gillis