Looking for Starbucks CRE rep in Ft Lauderdale to pitch my site.

[Richard W.]

I have an exceptional strip of land on Federal Highway with an older strip plaza on it.

It has one of the biggest frontages on Federal, just south of Commercial, and I'm looking to redevelop it into fewer, key tenant units.

The closest Starbucks is about half a mile north and it shares a tiny unit with Chipotle with a horribly laid out drive-thru.

I feel it's worth exploring the idea of building them a stand alone unit on my land, along with a few other headline tenants.

Can anyone point me in the direction of a local tenant rep that dealt with them?

Thanks

[Ronald Rohde]

You can contact most major retailers online, Starbucks used to have a specific email,

[Joel Owens]

Yeah contact Starbucks corporate on their website for regional manager for that area. They will then direct you typically to what tenant rep retail leasing broker they use for that area. Starbucks execs do not want to view people's sites usually. Instead they want their local leasing broker rep to do the heavy lifting that knows their criteria and process to work with the inquiry to see if worth their time. Then if it makes is through the initial screening process then might go next phase of LOI. Starbucks takes awhile as a national tenant to make a decision. They have new stores opening, re-imaging existing stores, relocating old stores, etc. so lots going on at any given time.

Whatever you do make sure they do not put in early termination clause as that is a killer for resale value and your buyer getting a good loan once you sell the property.

[Richard W.]

Originally posted by @Joel Owens:

Yeah contact Starbucks corporate on their website for regional manager for that area. They will then direct you typically to what tenant rep retail leasing broker they use for that area. Starbucks execs do not want to view people's sites usually. Instead they want their local leasing broker rep to do the heavy lifting that knows their criteria and process to work with the inquiry to see if worth their time. Then if it makes is through the initial screening process then might go next phase of LOI. Starbucks takes awhile as a national tenant to make a decision. They have new stores opening, re-imaging existing stores, relocating old stores, etc. so lots going on at any given time.

Whatever you do make sure they do not put in early termination clause as that is a killer for resale value and your buyer getting a good loan once you sell the property.

 Thank you so much for your wonderful and informative reply. Never thought of the early termination clause.

I'll reach out to their corporate in the hope of pointing me in the right direction.

I will actually need to connect with 4-6 corporate brands as we have enough space to build that many units. If anyone has any contact for retail/food corporate brands/brokers, I sure would appreciate the referral.

[Joel Owens]

Check with the shopping center group. Also Franklin Street. They have a strong presence in FL for retail leasing.

Additionally watch out with Starbucks. They used to be just roof with roof warranty that transfers to buyer and 10% rental increase every 5 years on a 10 year primary term with 5 year options. 

Lately they have been putting in roof, parking lot, etc. into lease which gets away from the spirit of NNN. Also they have been trying to change 10% every 5 years to 7.5%. All of these things and more can hurt resale value. It's important to get ongoing sales disclosure at least once a year. Yes guarantee is for parent corporation but good to know for 3 reasons.

1. Will give your buyer a level of comfort knowing what sales are compared to their national average with rent per sq ft they are paying on the lease.

2. Will help you see on an ongoing basis how their business is trending at the location.

3. Will help give early insight into whether they will be renewing option at the end of primary lease term. Leases often have tenants give notice of intent to renew in the lease for the options and times I see usually are 6 months, 9 months, 1 year. The longer the better as it gives you more time to line up another tenant if they give notice they are vacating or they want a rent reduction and you have other tenants wanting the space at market rent.

Just remember to have a (developers mind) and not place a tenant fast but under the RIGHT terms for you. The buyers of these properties are often doctors or other affluent net worth clients. They love absolute NNN where they do nothing with a property. They can look at NN with a roof warranty if location and tenant is strong. You start getting into roof, structure, parking lot, utility lines, etc. it acts almost like a gross lease even though called a NN. Buyers run away from those properties as they accept reduced returns for being PASSIVE. If they wanted active they would buy other assets at higher yields.