Native Realty CEO Jaime Sturgis was the subject of Commercial Observer‘s “5 Questions” feature, in which real estate industry leaders address five questions about their own activities and market trends. CO’s Jeff Ostrowski interviewed Sturgis for the piece.
What are some up-and-coming neighborhoods you’re looking at now?
Jaime Sturgis: Studio City in Fort Lauderdale is just starting to get going. It’s 13th Street just north of Flagler Village. Sistrunk in Fort Lauderdale is starting to become a cool area. We’re doing some ground-floor mixed-use projects over there, and you have 1,000 residential units coming on.
Those areas are turning a corner, but other pockets of South Florida have been trying to redevelop for decades. What separates the success stories from the neighborhoods that aren’t making progress?
Getting everyone to row in the same direction is very important, as simple as that sounds. When we went into Flagler Village, I got to know every single property owner and their needs and wants. Same thing with Studio City. We went in and were able to represent all the owners and have a cohesive message. When you have super-fractured neighborhoods, and shareholders who are unwilling to all row in the same direction, that’s when areas stay blighted. There’s a risk-reward relationship, and you have to spend money to make money.