MetLife Drops Advantis for Taylor & Mathis on 1.5-MSF Portfolio

The MetLife move is one of the largest corporate management-leasing decisions made in the Tampa Bay area in the past five years, area brokers tell GlobeSt.com.

At the same time, Taylor & Mathis hired away two of Advantis' biggest leasing hitters--Ann Adams and Irene Martinez. Adams will be managing director of leasing; Martinez will be director of leasing. Both brokerages are national players based in Atlanta with offices in Orlando.

"Having one company handling both functions (leasing and management) makes a lot of sense," Adams says in a prepared statement from Taylor & Mathis.

She is leaving Advantis for T&M to do more property owner rep work. "I'm leaving one excellent company for another" but "Taylor & Mathis' focus on landlord representation made the difference for me," Adams says.

The MetLife contract is an obvious plum for Taylor & Mathis, company officials confirm. "One of the main focuses of our business plan has been to expand in the Tampa Bay market," Taylor & Mathis president Andrew Taylor says in the same company statement. "This is certainly a big step in that direction."

For Taylor & Mathis, the new assignment is a revenue windfall. Contract terms weren't disclosed in the Taylor & Mathis statement. But area brokers who represent other corporate property owners tell GlobeSt.com on condition of anonymity the typical leasing fee for the brokerage and agent on class A product can range from 4% to 10% of the total lease value, depending on the amount and length of the lease. Brokers generally split their commissions with their company.

At the three MetLife properties, however, Taylor & Mathis may not have a whole lot of work to do at this time. Advantis appears to have leased out the bulk of the space already. For example, the 240,432-sf OneMetro Center, built in 1988, is 95% leased with rents in the $21.50 to $22.50 per-sf range.

The 29-year-old, 955,000-sf Tampa Distribution Center is also 95% leased. Rents average $3.50 to $5 per sf, triple net. Center Point Business Park, an 18-year-old, 398,871-sf property, is 70% leased with rents from $3.50 per sf to $9 per sf, triple net.

In luring Adams and Martinez into their camp, Taylor & Mathis get two experienced industry hands. Adams has worked the Tampa market since 1984. In 1987, she was with Paragon Group where, coincidentally, she handled leasing of One MetroCenter. Over the past three years at Advantis, Adams has completed 330,000 sf of leasing transactions valued at over $32.5 million, according to Taylor & Mathis.

Martinez began her real estate career in 1996 with Florida Real Estate Advisors. The St. Joe Co. of Jacksonville, FL acquired Florida Real Estate Advisors and Goodman Segar in 1999, forming Advantis GVA. As the leasing associate for Center Point Business Park, Tampa Distribution Center and One MetroCenter, Martinez completed $11 million in leasing deals over the past three years. She kept the projects' occupancy levels during that period at 95% to 100%, according to the Taylor & Mathis statement.

Martinez also participated in two of the largest office leases in the area--the 102,000-sf Verizon service center contract at Center Point and the 50,000-sf Aaron Rents industrial lease at Tampa Distribution Center.

GlobeSt.com couldn't reach Advantis officials in Tampa for comment at publication deadline.