CORFAC Alliance Smells Florida Opps

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—Two CORFAC International firms have inked a strategic alliance to provide turnkey investment services on behalf of investors from the Northeastern United States. Services include Florida commercial real estate property acquisition, leasing, construction management and property management.

Todd Payne, principal of Goodfellow Ashmore CORFAC International in Danbury CT, and Ken Morris, principal of Morris Southeast Group/CORFAC International in Fort Lauderdale FL, are joining forces. The firms will initially target South Florida commercial property, particularly office, retail, and industrial buildings that have good fundamentals for investor returns.

The alliance will also look for value-add building acquisition opportunities, or properties whose values could be increased if remodeled and repositioned with new marketing and a stronger tenant base. Business terms of the strategic alliance were not disclosed.

“Our company has relationships with numerous private investors throughout the Northeast that have investment interests in Florida commercial property,” Payne tells GlobeSt.com. “Forming an alliance with Morris Southeast Group will provide us with 'boots on the ground,' local market knowledge and a well-known, trusted name in the South Florida business community. These are the elements that make out-of-state investors much more comfortable with their decision making when purchasing commercial property.”

Payne is no stranger to South Florida. His family has a 50-year history of property investing and ownership in Fort Lauderdale. Payne's grandfather, Robert Goodfellow, who turned 100 on Jan. 28, established Goodfellow Ashmore CORFAC International in 1934. Southeast Group/CORFAC International was founded in 1978 by Ken Morris' father, Allen I. Morris.

“The fact that Todd and I each have family-originated businesses and still run personalized, high-touch service businesses is a clear complement to what we intend to do with this niche,” Morris says. “There is renewed interest in buying Florida real estate and we think it will be a successful venture.”