Stiles Expands Tenant Services

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL-A subsidiary of Stiles Corp. is chasing new revenue-generating opportunities in light of the increasing amount of sublease space that is coming online in the tri-county region.

Fort Lauderdale-based Stiles Development Co. is expanding its existing tenant improvement management service to provide tenant representatives, tenants and property owners with an array of buildout services.

“Tenant representatives are looking for this set of skills in order to offer full service to their clients,” Denny O’Shea, Stiles Development president, tells GlobeSt.com. “We are seeing more shadow space coming on to the sublet market that will require tenant improvement management services.”

Out of an inventory of about 23.9 million sf, for instance, Cushman & Wakefield researchers estimate the direct office vacancy rate in Broward County increased to about 13% as of the second quarter ended June 30, up from 11.1% for the same period in 2000.

Second-quarter overall vacancy rate, which includes all sublet space, increased to 14.6%, up from 13.1% for the same period a year ago.

Trammell Crow Co. research shows that about 475,000 sf of additional sublet space hit the Broward County market over the six months ended June 30, three quarters of the space in class A buildings, with large concentrations in Downtown, Cypress Creek and Plantation/Sunrise/Weston.

Over the years, Stiles Development estimates its existing tenant improvement team has completed the buildout of more than 20 million sf in commercial space for most large tenants such as Renaissance Cruises, Huizenga Holdings and General Motors.

Some of the services include the installation of high-tech data and telephone infrastructure; security, audio-visual and kitchen equipment planning; relocation planning and move coordination; furniture budgeting, purchasing and relocation; and signage planning and procurement.

Since this service already is in place, O’Shea says the company can easily shift internal resources to meet demand from customers that need, say, from 8,000 to 30,000 sf in tenant improvements.

That may include clients looking to expand, relocate or consolidate operations. The benefit to the tenant and the property owner is cost control.

“The fee will be exceeded by the value of the engineered savings,” O’Shea says. “The tenant will be in their space on time, and therefore the landlord will get rents on time.”

The program already is producing results. “We’re in the process of negotiating a six-month, two-phase relocation and furniture consulting contract that should be finalized within the next two weeks,” says Mike Miller, director of Stiles tenant improvement services.