Native Realty Recognized Twice During 2025 SF Business Journal Structures Awards

Native Realty continues to rack up industry awards and recognitions. In the latest example, Native CEO Jaime Sturgis was recognized as a 2025 Dealmaker of the Year finalist and the firm as part of Marina Village’s Best Reuse Project Award during the annual South Florida Business Journal Structures Award event. Each year, SFBJ honors the top brokers, developers and projects in a variety of categories. Sturgis is a three-time Dealmaker of the Year honoree.

“Beyond closing deals, Native Realty CEO Jaime Sturgis is reshaping South Florida’s urban core neighborhoods through an innovative approach and community involvement.

Notable investment sales transactions brokered by Sturgis over the last 18 months include tens of millions of dollars in commercial real estate deals across Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Markets include West Palm Beach; Dania Beach; and Fort Lauderdale’s Cypress Creek, Las Olas and Flagler Village neighborhoods, where Sturgis has been the primary placemaker over the last decade. Sturgis is actively working on $100 million in off-market investment sales opportunities.

On the leasing side, Marina Village at Bahia Mar in Fort Lauderdale Beach is perhaps the most compelling recent case study for how Sturgis and Native Realty stand out. The firm exclusively represented developers Jimmy Tate and Sergio Rok in leasing up the “floating” waterfront food hall/entertainment destination, and served as consultants to the developers of the $1 billion adaptive reuse project. Native Realty fully leased Marina Village with eight food and beverage concepts before the project obtained its certificate of occupancy.

Throughout 2024 and the first half of 2025, Sturgis has devised solutions in a challenging market beset by high interest rates and shifting buyer and seller expectations. He helps parties bridge financing gaps through sale-leasebacks and seller-financing to keep deals moving forward.

Sturgis balances dealmaking with meeting firmwide expansion objectives. He more than tripled the number of Native Realty’s brokers in the past year, including acquiring full-service Fort Lauderdale brokerage No Limit Real Estate and its 18 agents. National commercial real estate publication GlobeSt recognized Native Realty as one of its 2025 Influencers in Retail Real Estate.”

Click here to read more.