Bob Buckmaster has been a commercial Realtor with Premier Properties Realty Group in St. Augustine Beach for a little more than two years. He also was recently named commercial real estate manager for Antiqua at St. Augustine’s Executive Office Park.
WHAT DOES HE SPECIALIZE IN?
Residential and commercial site developing, usually 100 or more acres in St. Johns, Flagler and Duval counties.
TELL ME ABOUT ANTIQUA.
“Our project over at Antiqua is a kind of unique product in that it will be one of the first very exclusive commercial condominium projects in St. Augustine. In my opinion it is going to change the whole look of the commercial community.”
Antiqua will have about 80,000 square feet of executive office condominiums. It will be built on the site to the north of SR 312 on Anastasia Island.
“It will be a little over a mile and a half from Flagler Hospital, which will make it very conducive to the doctors who have to be in the proximity of the hospital. It has great visibility off of SR 312. We are only 50 feet off of the highway with direct access off of SR 312.” The office condominiums will be for sale for about $230 to $300 per square foot, shell cost. “We are anticipating unit sizes between 1,200 and 1,500 square feet with ability of growing as large as you want. A lot of interest so far has been over 1,500 square feet.” The project’s ground breaking will be in March. There will also be 450 upscale residential condominiums as part of the project.
WHAT IS THE NEED FOR EXECUTIVE OFFICE CONDOMINUMS IN ST. AUGUSTINE?
“Currently there is only one other office condominium project, Harbour Island Executive Center. They started off kind of slow because people didn’t really know what to do with them. Once people realized that it is a whole lot better to own than to lease, they sold out very quickly. On that strip of SR 312, there are a number of office projects going in, but they are mainly leasing. The leasing is great for people just getting their start, but for the people who are well-established and want to set down roots, the office condominiums are perfect for them.”
ST. AUGUSTINE BEACH?
“St. Augustine Beach is trying very hard to gain its own identity, commercial-wise. They want to draw more commercial projects. Driving over the bridge and seeing this exciting commercial office condominium project will only benefit the rest of the city because people will realize you can live and work on the island rather than having to go off the island to work. I think we will see more growth in St. Augustine Beach because of it.”
WHAT IS GOING ON COMMERCIALLY IN ST. AUGUSTINE?
“It is a unique area. There are spurts of growth here and there. Most of the commercial that is growing is St. Augustine is a new stand-alone store here, a new stand-alone store there. Cobblestone Village was the biggest commercial development in St. Augustine.”
BEFORE PREMIER PROPERTIES?
He was a commercial Realtor with McGuinness Commercial Properties in St. Augustine for two and a half years. Before that he spent 12 years in Key West selling commercial properties with a main emphasis on the historic district.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE?
“I got my real estate license because I was thinking of selling my house. I wanted to have some knowledge before selling my house. I got involved with Peter Batty, the No.1 Realtor in Key West. He asked me to come on as his assistant part-time and I did that for a while until commissions were high enough for me to quit my civil service job. As soon as I did that, we became partners specializing in residential and commercial real estate with a main emphasis on commercial real estate in Key West.”
BEFORE REAL ESTATE?
He was in the Navy as a data processor for eight and a half years. His experience with computers helps him a great deal in commercial real estate. “Because of that skill I can analyze hundreds of acres for developers. Within an hour I can break down exactly how much prospective wetlands there are. When you are dealing with that much property, it could cost a developer $8,000 - $10,000 to have someone go out and detect wetlands. I can tell them in 20 minutes that it is 80 percent wet and don’t waste your money. Because of my experience as a data processor I live and die by my computer.”
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOUR JOB?
“I work in the best office in St. Augustine. When you look at the best thing about a job, your job consists of what you do and what the people around you do. If you enjoy that, then that makes it the best thing about your job.”
MOST CHALLENGING THING ABOUT COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE?
Buckmaster said the expectations of the sellers in what their property is worth. He said St. Johns County has had a tremendous growth in residential, but unfortunately for commercial, it doesn’t happen that way. “A lot of sellers think that since their house appreciated 30 percent, so did their commercial. But, their leases have stayed the same. Only recently did the lease rate go up.”
PET PEEVES?
“Inexperienced agents trying to go after the big deals. More times than not, they are going to lose the deal because of their lack of experience. When you are dealing with commercial real estate it is a totally different group of people that you are dealing with such as big corporations with attorneys on staff. If you make one mistake or one misrepresentation, they are coming after you. If you are not very thorough on environmental and zoning issues, you could lose the deal and get sued. The young newly established real estate agent can get eaten alive by the buyers and the sellers.”
LESSONS LEARNED?
Buckmaster said to write everything down.
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED?
“This was from Peter Batty. The best advice is to say ‘Next.’”
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS?
He is a Certified Commercial Investment Member and a member of the St. Augustine/St. Johns County Board of Realtors.
HOMETOWN?
He was born in Valdosta, Ga., but traveled a lot because his father was in the service.
MOVED TO ST. AUGUSTINE?
In June of 2001. “Twelve years is a long time to spend in Key West. But the first time I came to St. Augustine, I fell in love with it. It is everything Key West is, but cleaner.”
RESIDES?
Royal St. Augustine Golf Course.
PERSONAL SIDE?
He is single and has two children, Christina, 22 and William, 19. When he is not working he enjoys golfing. His favorite place to visit is Key West. Because he is a big high school football fan, a movie he recommends is “Friday Night Lights.” A book he read recently and would recommend is “Disinformation: 22 Media Myths That Undermine the War on Terror,” by Richard Miniter.
When relaxing at home, he enjoys tuning into “Prison Break.” When dining out, he prefers Cortessa’s Bistro in St. Augustine.
-by Michele Newbern Gillis