2020 Q4 Northeast Florida Office Market Report

I am a Jacksonville native with more than 40 years of experience in real estate and construction. I specialize in investment sales as well as office leasing, including both landlord representation and tenant representation. I am a member of the Advisory Board Executive Committee at Colliers International Northeast Florida.

Prior to joining Colliers in 2008, I spent 20 years with an office REIT in various capacities. My experience there included site acquisition and building development. My involvement in all areas of real estate from market analysis to building design process to product delivery, including leasing, property and asset management, allows me to provide unique benefits to my team at Colliers International Northeast Florida. My expertise lies in problem solving, sales strategy, transaction management, construction management, and assisting owner and tenants in achieving goal-oriented results using best-in-class practices.

My current brokerage practice is focused on corporate services, providing real estate consultation to public and private entities. One of my largest accounts is the local transportation entity, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority. I manage both their surplus disposition efforts and their acquisition strategy. Their portfolio is valued at over $30 million. I provide a wide range of services, including but not limited to property sales, property acquisition, market analysis, lease analysis, government affairs and general market intelligence. I am frequently involved with executive level discussions and interact with their Board regularly. Additionally, I represent the St. Vincent’s Hospital Ministry for Ascension Health here locally. I manage dispositions, acquisitions and their income and expense leasing activities. My largest national account is Torchmark/Liberty National. I work with their Director of Real Estate to identify new office space for their insurance brokers across the country.

I am a native born JacksonvillIian. I attended Stanton College Preparatory School before graduating from Florida State University in 1997 with a B.S. in Political Science. After school, I moved to Washington, D.C. to begin a career in politics. After stops in multiple Congressional offices, the Republican National Committee, FEMA and a government affairs firm, I was given the opportunity to begin a career in real estate back home in Jacksonville in 2005. Working for a small development firm, we  developed 50,000+ square feet of Class A  office condominiums throughout Northeast Florida. I was the lead on bank and investor negotiations for investment capital and loan arrangements.

I was called to duty once more in D.C., taking a position as Executive Director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Political Affairs Department from January 2012 until October 2014. I managed the program’s voter education campaigns and political intelligence gathering.

Matt has over 18 years of experience in commercial real estate in Northeast Florida. He has completed sales and leases totaling more than $550 million in the disciplines of retail, industrial, office and land. 

His brokerage activities are focused on site selection, asset acquisition, disposition and leasing with an emphasis on retail and office properties.

Bonde joined Colliers International in August 2020, while pursuing his MBA with a specialization in Real Estate from Florida State University. He is a member of the Snyder-Carlton National Net Lease team and is focused on single-tenant retail Investments.

Bonde got his start in commercial real estate as an associate working with residential investors in Tallahassee, Florida. Shortly thereafter, he began his graduate studies at FSU and now specializes in investment  services with a focus on NNN retail properties. His formal education and background in handling investment real estate transactions has provided a great foundation as he enters the commercial real estate field. 

Fran started her real estate career in 1988 as a business consultant to real estate firms in Florida.  She developed business strategies and play books on growth and profitability to assist and accelerate growth within these firms.      With over 33 years’ experience as a Commercial Real Estate Professional her focus is on Healthcare, Medical, Non-Profits, Investors and Office Tenants.    With her educational background in finance her strengths are in negotiating complex sales and leasing transactions, financial analysis, site selection, contract negotiations, business development, identifying   economic development opportunities; market conditions and trends and long-term financial planning for her clients.   Because she understands her clients, their short-term needs, and long-term goals, she is considered one of the most well -respected Brokers in her field.  Fran takes a hands-on approach to her clients’ real estate needs and not only assist the TEAM but becomes one of the TEAM members.

Fran works closely with Healthcare & Medical Owners/Tenants, Nonprofit Organizations, Professional Clients, Administrators, Facility Planning Departments and Real Estate Departments to create and maximize value by securing strategic cost-effective solutions.   Her clients typically face issues of growth, consolidation, inflexible landlords, staff and/or patient logistical concerns and facility obsolescence. 

My approach has always been to find solutions and opportunities by first listening to my clients and then to best assist them in reaching the most optimal outcome.  I become a real estate partner and an advocate for my clients’ interest and stay with them throughout the entire process.  I provide a critical link to resources and services which makes the entire transaction flow smoothly.

Over the last several years, Ms. Pepis has closed on $900 Million in sales and leasing transactions and has leased over 1.5 MSF of commercial space. Throughout her 33 years in commercial real estate, she has been fortunate to work with a number of local, regional, national and international investors, owners/users and tenants.

Matthew has experience with a broad spectrum of retail and office real estate product types, including urban retail streets and districts, New Urbanism developments, mixed-use developments, traditional strip malls, and grocery-anchored community centers. From multi-level marketing campaigns for retail and office assets to detailed operational analyses and strategic repositioning of underperforming assets, Matthew provides professional services that enable landlords to realize the highest value for their office or retail properties.

Prior to joining Colliers International, Matthew served for more than a decade as Senior Vice President at Jacksonville-based Prime Realty. There he oversaw combined sales and leasing transactions of more than $250 million over an aggregate 1.5 million square feet.

Matthew’s office portfolio at Prime encompassed some 330,000 square feet with a focus on urban-infill opportunities. There he worked with landlords to reposition and rebrand office assets for growth in occupancy rates and market value. He also helped tenants spanning multiple industries negotiate leases and prepare for acquisitions.

Likewise, in retail settings, Matthew was instrumental in repositioning markets and assets to garner higher rental rates. In Jacksonville’s Five Points submarket, his work with new local and regional tenants realized a 167 percent rent increase over a five-year period. He also assisted in site selection on behalf of a diverse portfolio of regional- and national-name tenants.

Before joining Prime, Matthew served as Program Manager at Ponte Vedra Beach-based MarketingExperiments, the first internet-based marketing research lab. There, he and his team optimized marketing and sales processes on behalf of companies such as Royal Bank of Canada, Reuters, the New York Times and Schlumberger. Prior to that, he developed and implemented marketing strategies and digital tools to showcase residential properties for The Vestcor Companies.