by Michele Gillis
Staff Writer
In a time when diversifying is key to surviving the market, a new company has opened in Jacksonville with just that in mind.
Franklin Street, which opened an office this summer in the Aetna building on the Southbank, offers a full range of commercial real estate services under one roof including brokerage, insurance and property management of commercial properties and assets.
Why open a commercial company now when the market is suffering?
David Hsieh, partner in the firm, who focuses on retail and multi-family brokerage as well as running the office, said the business model they’ve built is what makes them unique.
“Franklin Street was started several years ago by several executives at Marcus and Millichap, an investment brokerage firm,” said Hsieh. “What we’ve built is a better mousetrap, for lack of a better description. The market, the economy and all that is not contributing to a stable commercial brokerage environment. But, what we’ve done is turned around and reinvested in a platform that makes sense in this investment community.”
Hsieh said the four business units all add value to a business owner or property owner. The company is finding ways to help property owners thrive in this market by helping to reduce insurance and maintenance costs, do loan workouts and pursue other strategies for success.
“All of our business units contribute to a property owner’s bottom line,” said Hsieh. “We can help them increase revenue and lower expenses.
“To be successful in this market for what we do, you have to have the supporting business units to really cross-feed and cross-market. You diversify and fill your own pipeline with the other businesses.”
Hsieh said their core business is the brokerage side, which includes leasing and tenant representation and investment brokerage.
“My focus is tenant and landlord representation and retail,” said Smith. “So far it’s been an exciting ride and well worth the move over. I felt like the cross collaboration between the offices and the different tools and resources Franklin Street provides is not only better for my business, but ultimately for my clients.”
Prior to joining Franklin Street, Hsieh was a vice president with Marcus and Millichap.
Carrie Smith has also joined the firm as senior director of the Real Estate Services division. Her real estate career started at Marcus and Millichap, but her most recent experience was with Murphy Land and Retail Services as a senior retail specialist.
Though there are only a few in their sales and marketing office currently, Hsieh said they are looking to aggressively hire 10-12 more people in addition to the 20-plus on the staff here.