Press
'Turnkey' offices get right to work
January 24, 2004
By RIDDHI TRIVEDI-ST. CLAIR, Business Editor
January 24, 2004
When Len Jaffe changed jobs in December, it also meant going from an office with a few hundred people to a one-man show.
"I joined Forest City Land Group as vice president and we decided to open a regional office here in Bonita Springs," Jaffe said. "I had to be responsible for setting up an office and handling all the land development for Florida all by myself."
Getting to work and paying attention to the business at hand was more important and of a greater priority to him than hunting for and then setting up an office and hiring a receptionist.
So Jaffe went to the Crexent Business Center and found an executive business suite that suited his purposes and needs.
He signed his lease on Dec. 15, 2003, and moved in the same day.
"I moved in with my laptop and they took care of everything else," Jaffe said. "Which was perfect for me because as a start-up business, I just wanted to concentrate on doing my business as best I could without having to worry about finding the best phone system and the best Internet service."
It is for the convenience of a turnkey environment that Jaffe and many others choose executive suites, said Donna Smith, center manager for the newly opened Crexent Business Center in Riverview Park on U.S. 41.
The center, the first of its kind in the area, is geared toward businesses looking to open a satellite branch or relocating their offices or starting a corporate headquarters, she said.
"Or it could be someone who was looking for a new place and waited till the last minute to sign a lease and now needs a place in a hurry," Smith said. "We have a whole range of people. Attorneys, a psychotherapist, real estate offices, entertainment and promotional services, land development, all kinds of things."
Executive suites, a novel if not new concept in real estate services, provide businesses with fully serviced, fully furnished office as well as support and other equipment on an as-need basis.
The Crexent Business Center is owned by H. J. Zimmermann and Associates, a company that has been in the business for more than 15 years and owns multiple locations in the state.
"We were building an office building in Miami that was completely leased out prior to construction," said Howard Zimmermann, a managing partner. "By the time we were through with the construction, the economy went bad and we had no leases."
They ended up 25,000-square-foot building that was empty and nobody wanted to lease large spaces.
"I was in California for a while during the time and saw an executive suite operation there. I thought it would be perfect for Miami," Zimmermann said. "We converted 7,000 square feet into executive suites and within 60 days it was 100 percent occupied."
Over the next year and a half, they converted the entire building into executive and junior suites and the building has had 95 percent occupancy in the 14 years since. The company now owns a total of three such complexes, including the Crexent Business Center which is 25,000 square feet and opened for business in December.
"I had been vacationing here for 25 years and recently got involved in a residential building complex in East Naples," he said. "I have been watching the growth of the area and saw that the transient nature of the population is changing and there are more permanent residents now than at any other time."
He decided it was the right time to build and executive suite complex in the area.
"I felt our service was something that would be needed and welcomed," he said.
He was right. In just over a month, the center is already 20 percent leased.
The 25,000-square-foot complex offers clients one-year business service agreements for 92 offices ranging from 80 square feet o 635 square feet. The monthly leases start at $350 and clients get a variety of included as well as optional services such as dedicated phone and fax lines, a receptionist to answer their calls and greet their clients, high-speed Internet, a fitness center, janitorial services, refreshment center and copy center, and additional furniture as well as upgraded phones.
"It's a very service-oriented environment and that's what makes it so popular," Smith said. "Clients can come in with their computers and papers and start working in a very professional environment in a brand new, well-appointed building. They get all the benefits of a great business location and address without any of the hassles."
The key is that the business center provides everything the client needs, close to their home.
"The only thing we don't provide is pen and pencil," Zimmermann said. "You can get furniture, computer, coffee, conference room. Bring your dry cleaning and we will get that done for you too. These people are not our tenants, they are our clients."
Stephen Muggeo is one of those clients and a happy one at that.
"It has a great reception area, security, great business location and a very professional environment," said the psychotherapist who moved his office from Naples to Bonita Springs after 10 years. "Its also very competitive in the price for the type of space it provides. I did my research and for the kind of options they give you, it's a very good price."
Both Jaffe and Muggeo said they loved having easy and round the clock access to services like three different-sized conference rooms, refreshment center and fitness center.
Whatever the client needs is what the center will provide, Zimmermann said.
"There's very little we don't do to accommodate our client. We have a staff meeting each week and part of the meeting is devoted to figuring out what we can do to make our clients happier," he said. "We don't just rent space. We provide a service."
Contact Business Editor Riddhi Trivedi-St. Clair at 213-6037 or rtrivedi@naplesnews.com