Easton Makes Big Office Move in Miami

MIAMI-Easton Group is making big moves in a Miami commercial real estate market that's heating up. The Doral-based company just launched a new office investment and brokerage division.  

“As we continue to strengthen our vertically integrated company, this is a strategic move towards diversifying some of our services outside of industrial,"Jose A. Hernandez-Solaun, president of Easton, tells GlobeSt.com. The company recently purchased two office buildings in Miami-Dade County, one in Doral and the other in the Blue Lagoon area, and hired real estate associate Andrew Easton to lead the new group.

“We love both of these areas, especially Doral which is going through a renaissance right now,” said Andrew Easton, who joined the company from Jones Lang LaSalle where he specialized in office tenant representation. “For the moment, there are still some good values on rents, but as the area continues growing, we expect to see solid rent appreciation.”

This is an especially significant move for Easton, given industrial real estate has been its bread and butter business for over 40 years. Hernandez-Solaun vows the company will continue to be major players in industrial, "but we see a lot of new opportunity with office and we have made the financial and human capital commitments to launch this new service.”

Hernandez-Solaun said Easton plans to make additional investments in value add office assets in the tri-county area and add more associates as the portfolio grows. The company will tap its existing management company, Easton Management, to manage the properties.

Easton will be responsible for adding new tenants, handling lease negotiations and doing financial analyses. Easton spent five years in JLL's Miami office representing several Fortune 500 companies and AmLaw 100 firms that needed office space in Miami for their Latin American Headquarters. During his JLL tenure, he earned Top Achiever Awards, the Rising Star Award and Costar's Power Broker Award.