Grubb & Ellis Acquires Central Florida Affiliate

ORLANDO-Grubb & Ellis Co. is beefing up its Southeast forces with the acquisition of its Central Florida affiliate. Grubb & Ellis acquired Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida, with offices in Melbourne, Orlando and Tampa. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"We believe that the Southeast offers considerable growth opportunities for commercial real estate services providers, and acquiring Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida was a logical next move in what is a larger plan to increase Grubb & Ellis' presence throughout the region," says Thomas D'Arcy, president and CEO of Grubb & Ellis.  "Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida has been a strong partner for a number of years. The firm has many highly talented professionals, strong client relationships and a solid platform for growth."

Jeffrey Sweeney, managing principal with Grubb & Ellis|Commercial Florida, will continue to oversee the Orlando and Melbourne offices as executive vice president, managing director. Sweeny was not immediately available for comment.

The change in ownership structure adds about 45 brokers to Grubb & Ellis Company. Those brokers specialize in all aspects of commercial real estate, including office, industrial, retail, investments, multifamily and land. Grubb & Ellis will now manage more than 15 million square feet of commercial property throughout Florida. 

The acquisition is the fruit of Grubb & Ellis’ strategy to significantly increase its presence in key markets throughout the Southeast. The company started executing the strategy in June when it wooed Randy Buddemeyer and Tim Rivers away from CB Richard Ellis. CB Richard Ellis was not immediately available for comment.

“We are very confident that in 2011 the market is going to continue to grow and prosper,” Rivers, senior vice president and director of Management Services for Florida and the Carolinas, tells GlobeSt.com. “When we came to Grubb, we knew we needed to get control of the state of Florida corporately. We started talking to Jeff and his group about coming into the corporate platform to provide consistency across the state.”

During 2010, Grubb & Ellis acquired its affiliate in Las Vegas and opened corporate-owned offices in Cincinnati, San Diego and Phoenix. The company also announced similar plans for Columbus, Ohio, and Charlotte, N.C.