Carol Bravo is vice president of Phillips & Company on the Southside.
WHAT DOES SHE DO?
She is involved in the site selection, development and leasing of one-story office parks in Jacksonville. “No day is ever the same for me because I wear different hats. Every day is different when I walk in the door depending upon if I am working on the development, meeting with brokers for leasing or meeting with the tenants. It’s a new day everyday and I find that challenging.”
BIG PICTURE?
“I get to see a lot of different sides to a transaction and I get to see the big picture. I get to watch a building come out of the ground, lease it to someone, help them move in and have them start paying rent. I get to see the full cycle.”
HOW DID SHE GET INTO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE?
“Phillip Phillips Jr., president of Phillips & Company, hired me nine years ago to oversee the financial reporting of the office parks that he owned. Over time, he encouraged me to take over the leasing and marketing as well.”
BEFORE PHILLIPS & COMPANY?
She was an accountant.
RECOGNITION
Bravo was recently awarded the Office Developer Representative of the Year from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. “It was a wonderful surprise and quite an honor actually. I’ve very much enjoyed my membership with NAIOP, so it was very exciting.”
WHY SHOULD SOMEONE GET INVOLVED IN NAIOP?
“I think it is a good way to meet a group of wonderful people in our industry. It’s also a good resource to have and be involved in as well as a great place to network. I’ve been a member since 1998 and I would encourage anyone in our industry to join.”
SPECIALTY
One-story office parks. Phillips & Company has developed several office parks in the Southside and Deerwood area, including Central Park, Greystone Park and Meridian at Deerwood.
HOW HAVE YOU SEEN THE INDUSTRY CHANGE?
“It’s changed for us because our focus has been to improve the one-story office parks and evolve that niche of ours. We have improved them with different aesthetics like a higher parking ratio and windows on all four sides of the building instead of having flexible-type space with a roll-up door in the back and glass door front.”
WHAT TYPE OF TENANTS LEASE SPACE IN ONE-STORY OFFICE PARKS?
“We have a diverse array of tenants, including call centers, telecommunications companies, computer software companies and security companies.”
ADVICE FOR WOMEN INTERESTED IN GETTING INTO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE?
“I would really just encourage them to get into it. I think women obviously have a lot to offer in the industry. I would encourage them to join NAIOP, it has been a major benefit to me. They could also possibly join the Commercial Real Estate Women of Jacksonville. Organizations like that will help you know the local brokers and developers in town.”
DOWNTOWN
“I think what is going on is wonderful. I think it probably will be revitalized and Jacksonville is taking a lot of the first steps in making that happen.”
FUTURE OF COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE?
“I’m optimistic about the future for our industry and our office-type product. We are very excited. We hope to do another project once we have completed the Meridian at Deerwood. We are still in phase one of that project.”
BIRTHPLACE
Melbourne, Fla.
MOVED TO JACKSONVILLE?
12 years ago.
COLLEGE
She has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Central Florida.
RESIDES
San Marco.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
She is a member of NAIOP and attends CREW meetings.
FAMILY
She has been married to Brad for 11 years.
HOBBIES
Reading.
FAVORITES
As an avid reader, she cites “In The Heart of The Sea,” by Nat Philbrick as her favorite book and “Braveheart” as her favorite movie. She enjoys Paris, though she’s only been there once and would love to go back. When relaxing at home, she enjoys tuning into “House Detective,” a show about home inspections. For a night out, she enjoys bb’s or Bistro Aix.
—by Michele Newbern Gillis