"We are really a long-term player, and we are going back todoing what we do best," Normandy Real Estate Partners principalJustin Krebs told an audience of several hundred gathered at theBoston InterContinental Hotel during the Naiop of Massachusettsannual meeting. As in Normandy's case, Brickman EVP MichaelBernstein says his company intended to keep their Bostoninvestments for an extended period after entering the market inearly 2006, but record pricing and demand for properties in thefirst half of 2007 led them to the sales arena. In Brickman's case,the decision came just as the firm was completing the acquisitionof some assets, including 40 Court St. in the city's FinancialDistrict.

Over the course of the summer, however, the credit crisis seepedfrom the residential world into commercial real estate, throwingCMBS lenders into a standstill and thwarting countless deals,especially for multibuilding portfolios and other nine-figureopportunities previously favored by high-levered investors. Finallyrealizing that the escalation had peaked, Normandy and Brickmanadjusted their strategies to wait for a more stable climate,Bernstein and Krebs relay. "We saw a lot of numbers that got usexcited," said Bernstein, figures that would have allowed the fundto immediately achieve its objectives for investors. "That's howcrazy it got," he added of the financial fervor, albeit a temporaryphenomenon.

Bernstein expressed confidence that Brickman can weather thedifficulties, having already achieved the 25% rental growth in itsearliest investments in half the four-year timeframe initiallycrafted. The New York City-based firm acquired most of the Bostonproperties for a fund focused on stability and steady cash flow,beginning with 313 and 330 Congress St. in Boston's emergingSeaport District. Struggling mightily when Brickman made itsinitial foray there, the Seaport has rebounded strongly, andBrickman is bullish over the near term. "The market is healthy, andthat will limit some of the pain we see from the uncertainty," hesaid of Congress Street and other holdings in Boston andCambridge.