Carter will now manage Tampa Oaks II and Orlando's University Corporate Center III, both office buildings with 105,000 square feet, and Weston Park of Commerce in Fort Lauderdale, a 130,000-square-foot industrial property. The firm now manages close to four million square feet throughout Florida, primarily in the Tampa market.

Holly Hughes, chief administrative officer and executive vice president of property management with Carter, says Opus approached the firm about outsourcing those duties earlier this year. The initial contract will hopefully allow Carter to expand upon long-standing leasing relationships to include property management.

"It gave us a chance to build a relationship, knowing that their portfolio is much larger," Hughes tells GlobeSt.com. "There was a lot of low-hanging fruit that we were able to take advantage of (in Florida)."

By handling both leasing and management at certain properties, Carter will be able to enhance its quality of service for tenants there, Hughes says. She points out that Carter already has well-established operations in Tampa, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.

"We've already got the infrastructure in place in those markets," she says. "We are seeing a lot of opportunity to expand in the Florida market as a whole."