Cushman & Wakefield loses third Miami exec - Business First of Columbus:

xeconatyxex.blogspot.com
Caplin’s exit is the latest of severalrecent high-profile departures at C&Wq in Miami. The firm is one of Soutj Florida's largest real estate brokerages and, like other has seen few investment deals in the last Former branch manager Tere Blancsa left in the spring tolauncj , a firm focused on office leasing and sales. Hank executive director of C&W in Florida, was notified last montjh that his position wasbeing eliminated. Steelbridges owns and manages propertythroughout Florida. It sold , on Miami’ Brickell Key, for $150 million in 2007 aftet an eight-year hold. Steelbridg e founder Gavin Campbell will continude asmanaging principal, sharing the helm with Caplin.
Caplinn is one of a handfupl of commercial brokers involved inSouthn Florida’s largest commercial transactions. Caplin said his exit is in responsee to a paradigm shift in local investmentg that comes at the tail end of a where leasing and management for institutional investors becamre secondary tomarket momentum. During the boom yearas leading upto 2006, the expectatiom was that assets with strong track records could be purchased and flipped quicklyt for big returns.
For a shorgt period of time, some owners made the strateguy work, but then the economicf meltdown put the brakes onthe Some, who bought in the last few years, were holding assetds that cost too much compared to market fundamentals. The market has now shiftesd back to fundamental principlesof investment, with institutionao investors and private capital “seeking to co-invesgt with strong, nimble, local operating partners,” Caplibn said. “The market and investord mostlybelieve it’s about operations on the ground and knowin g how to position a building in a particula submarket,” he said.
Caplin oversaws more than $7 billio in transactions at including ’ $307 million purchase of a half-stakd in downtown Miami’s landmark and full ownership of the 1221 Brickello buildingin 2006. He was involved in the sale of 355 Alhambraz in Coral Gablesfor $87.3 milliob in 2008 and is currently workin g with Hines to refinance its debt at . Caplib is a graduate of south Miami-Dadre County’s Palmetto High School. He graduated from in 1985 witha bachelor’a degree in finance and real estate. Two years later, he left C&W’xs appraisal group to launch the company’s loca investment sales operation.
Caplinm was part of a team in the late 1980s that first specialized in investment salesin Miami. During the Steelbridge Capital had 2 milliom square feet of commercial real estate in its portfolio in sevemn Florida marketsincluding Jacksonville, Naplesx and Miami. They sold much of it from 2005to 2007. Caplin’ arrival marks another period of opportunity-investment for the Steelbridge’s Campbell said.
"We think valuations are finallyy starting to lookattractive again,” Campbell said in a “The opportunity to buy Florida assetsd at significant discounts to replacemeng cost is imminent, while the long-term job and demographic prospectes for Florida and the Caribbean basin are as strongb as ever. Jay’s leadership will be the linchpin ofour