1. CB RICHARD ELLIS :: MIAMI-DADE
Elizabeth Santos | Office Specialist | 305.779.3133 | elizabeth.santos@cbre.com
BLEND JUNE 2010
And Extend
What happens if your lease does not expire for another
year to two years or even three years? Your company
may need to re-negotiate your lease now in order to
either downsize or simply reduce costs. What options do
you have with so much time left on your lease?
Our statistics continue to show a weak office market for
landlords. In this turbulent environment, there is potential
to achieve immediate savings for your company, even if
your lease does not expire until 2011 or 2012.
The first step is to review your lease document to see if
you have any renewal options and the right to sublease
all or a portion of your space. If you have a renewal
option with a notification of six months prior to the lease
expiration, discussing the renewal 12-18 months prior
provides you with a “no risk” discussion with the landlord.
These talks will help you can determine the feasibility of
your objectives. Even without a renewal option, these Landlords are facing an increase of competition as
early discussions with the landlord could be productive. Downtown and Brickell complete almost 2 million square
The key to successful negotiations with the landlord is feet of new office space in 2010 and 2011. Coral
market knowledge. An experienced real estate broker Gables will have at least one new building being built
specializing in tenant representation should provide you over the next two years plus they already have over
with comparable transactions, leasing activity, a financial 200,000 sf of newly constructed office condo space that
analysis and a multitude of other assistance. is now being dumped on the market for lease. Airport
West has over 500,000 sf of new construction that was
Tenants who have leases with 2011, 2012, and 2013 completed in the past year. With landlords facing this
expirations can consider renewing their leases now added competition, they are more willing to solidify their
with a concept known as “blend and extend”. These rent roll to weather this storm.
leases are renewed now with a lower rental rate effective
immediately or blended throughout the renewal period. If you want to discuss your current lease situation
Each situation is unique, but companies can realize and receive a free lease analysis to see if “Blend and
significant savings and avoid other cutbacks. These Extend” would work for your company, contact me for
are complicated and, at times, lengthy negotiations, so a confidential appointment. Elizabeth Santos, 305 779
having a tenant rep broker on your team will facilitate the 3133 or elizabeth.santos@cbre.com.
transaction with no additional cost to the tenant.
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
Elizabeth Santos has over 18 years of experience in office leasing with over $150 million of
Ms. Santos focuses on tenant representation for office users. She provides
16 years of knowledge and expertise to her clients thus enabling them to
make informed real estate decisions. Ms. Santos has expertise in space
lease transactions during that time. Her primary focus is tenant representation. Elizabeth is
planning, lease negotiation, financial analysis, budgeting and construction
management.
currently on the Leadership Council for Take Stock in Children and a member of both the Doral
In the past three years, Ms. Santos has completed over 300,000 SF of
AirportBusiness She is an acknowledged expert in this submarket
West submarket. Council and The Commonwealth Institute. She is the 2009 Rising Star for CBRE’s Miami
lease rep transactions within Miami Dade County with a focus on the
and has negotiated multiple transactions with every major landlord in the
Office and Top 25 for CBRE Florida.
submarket.
Elizabeth Santos
Senior Associate
Between 1992 and 2002, Ms. Santos represented institutional landlords on
Office Properties two significant suburban office parks in the Airport West submarket. Today,
Miami Airport she draws upon that experience to advise her clients in their real estate
©2010 CB Richard Ellis, Inc. TheSantos was instrumental in thehas been obtained from sources believed reliable. While we do not doubt its
elizabeth.santos@cbre.com decisions. In addition, Ms. information above on-site due
T: 305.779.3133 diligence phase of three separate sales of commercial properties totaling
accuracy, we have not verifiedfeet and makeover $160 million. warranty or representation about it. It is your responsibility to independently
F: 305.381.6462 over 2.4 million square it and valued at no guarantee,
Clients Representedits accuracy and completeness.
confirm The following are some of the major lease transactions Ms. Santos has
recently represented:
− APL Logistics
− Acer
− Allstate Insurance CLIENT SQUARE FEET
− BenQ DSV 57,733 SF
− Briggs & Stratton
− Bulgari Invention Technologies 23,607 SF

2. CB RICHARD ELLIS :: MIAMI-DADE
Elizabeth Santos | Office Specialist | 305.779.3133 | elizabeth.santos@cbre.com
JUNE 2010
Case Study
The state office of the American Civil Liberties Union is This win-win solution also benefited the landlord. By
located in Miami on the Biscayne Blvd. corridor. At the agreeing to a longer, albeit reduced, committed income
beginning of 2010, I contacted the director to strategize stream from the ACLU, the landlord secured the building’s
an immediate cost savings program. value during the recession.
With a fiscal year commencing on April 1st , the ACLU 4500 Biscayne Blvd
was faced with cutting costs by eliminating staff. The Miami, FL
organization had two years remaining on their lease and
the office space was too big. I determined that due to
how the ACLU utilized their space, they were unable to
return space to the landlord. Since they already had
a small subtenant, I suggested searching for a second
Size: 8,733 square feet
subtenant that would be amendable to co-habiting with
the ACLU to further off-set their expenses.
Location: Biscayne Blvd.
The real savings came when I successfully negotiated a The Need: Reduce expenses without reducing
“blend and extend” transaction with the landlord. This square footage
reduction of over 10% of the annual rent provided an
immediate savings which prevented the planned layoffs. The Result: Blend and extend the existing lease
In addition, I secured the landlord’s approval of a second with the landlord at market terms.
subtenant to further reduce the ACLU’s rental obligation.
Notable MIAMI OFFICE LEASE Transactions for 2Q2010
TenantBusiness Type Building Market SF Type
HIG 1450 Brickell Brickell 30,000 New
Financial Services
Miami Childrens Hospital 701 Waterford Miami Airport 20,500 New
Healthcare
Noven Pharmaceuticals 11960 SW 144th St. Kendall 19,772 Renewal
Pharmaceuticals
Starcom Media Douglas Entrance Coral Gables 12,884 Renewal
Public Relations
Personal Note
As you are reading this newsletter, I am sailing the Eastern Caribbean on a week-long cruise with my family. Although we
really wanted to go to Europe this summer, we opted for a more affordable vacation. The other benefit of this cruise is the
relaxation factor opposed to the brisk pace of a multi-city trip to Europe towing along my 20-year-old and 14-year-old.
They are great travelers, but I’m looking forward to a laid back vacation so we can all re-connect.