CBRE team celebrates its 20-year anniversary by executing largest lease of the year in Coral Gables, Florida 

CBRE Group, Inc., has arranged a 55,000-square-foot lease for the University of St. Augustine’s South Florida campus at Douglas Entrance Office Park in Coral Gables, Florida. The University of St. Augustine offers graduate level degrees in physical and occupational therapy and its new campus is located at the intersection of Southwest 37th Avenue, also known as Douglas Road, and Southwest 8th Street.

CBRE’s Diana Parker, Maggie Kurtz, Kevin Gonzalez, and Jason Krieger represented the landlord, Banyan Street Capital and Oaktree Capital, in the transaction.

“The University of St. Augustine had been in search of its new South Florida campus for over two years when it finally decided Douglas Entrance, a unique office park with historical significance, was the perfect fit,” said Ms. Kurtz, senior vice president, CBRE. “Our team was able to offer the university a leasing opportunity in a building with high exposure and accessibility by giving the university its own identity while still having access to the environment and multitude of amenities Douglas Entrance has to offer.”

The transaction marks the largest lease signed in Coral Gables this year and was executed at a time as CBRE’s Diana Parker and Maggie Kurtz are celebrating the 20-year anniversary of their business partnership. As one of the top office leasing teams in the Miami area, the two women, along with their team, are currently managing 3.5 million square feet of exclusive listings, representing clients such as USAA Real Estate, IVY Realty and Bacardi on the landlord side and notable tenant representations such as Bloomberg and Cargill.  In 2016, the team closed in excess of 500,000 square feet of office leases.

“When we first started our careers in commercial real estate brokerage we were two of only about a half a dozen female commercial real estate professionals in the tri-county area,” said Ms. Parker, senior vice president, CBRE. “Fast forward to 2017, we’re stronger than ever. This is a high-risk, high-reward business and I couldn’t imagine having gone on this journey with anyone else.”