Achieving a 99% leasing rate. (Profile of the Week). BRETT S. GREENBERG, MANAGING DIRECTOR EQUITY OFFICE PROPERTIES TRUST NEW YORK METRO REGION.

BRETT S. GREENBERG, MANAGING DIRECTOR EQUITY OFFICE PROPERTIES TRUST NEW YORK METRO REGION

In an era of high vacancy in the commercial real estate arena, Brett Greenberg, managing director of leasing for Equity Office Properties Trust serving the company's New York Metro Region, has taken his company's 5 million SF local portfolio to a greater than 99% leasing rate. He has achieved the feat through aggressive management of a strong in-house leasing team, and through a strong partnership with New York's top brokers.

Greenberg has been with Equity Office for nine years, the last four as director of leasing of EOP's New York portfolio for which he has concluded over 1.5 million SF of transactions. In addition to this responsibility, he oversees the strategic direction and marketing efforts for such landmark buildings as Worldwide Plaza, Park Avenue Tower, 1301 Avenue of the Americas, and 527 Madison Ave.

Previously, Greenberg was responsible for the leasing and marketing of Equity Office's Stamford, Conn. portfolio. In that position, he leased more than 2 million SF of office space including many deals during the depths of the early '90's recession.

Equity Office's Tom Bakke, regional senior vice president for New York and Washington, D.C., attributes Greenberg's success to his extensive years of experience as a commercial real estate professional, and his unique understanding of the New York market.

"Brett has consistently been one of the top leasing professionals in the company. His hard work and unyielding commitment to our success in New York has been noteworthy," said Bakke. "Moreover, his high level of success is due to his unique ability to work with brokers and customers to solve complex problems and achieve win-win results."

Greenberg says that building and maintaining relationships with top brokers is one of the keys to maintaining occupancy. "We've built an in-house leasing staff that's the best at monitoring the local real estate market and exposing our property to members of the community who are looking for first class office space with an institutional grade owner said Greenberg.

"But we also give back to the community and enlist upon them to assist us with challenging leasing assignments. We consider these relationships critical to our leasing success, which in turn creates intrinsic value within our portfolio. The brokerage community is truly our extended sales force."

Greenberg stated that a part of Equity Office's new national strategy is to be significantly broker friendly. In fact, the company is now paying full commissions on renewals, delivering all commission checks within 72 hours, and hosting broker appreciation events in each of its core markets. "We are using our brokerage community to help brand Equity Office in New York."

He added that the company's new business system also involves making the leasing process as pain free as possible for its customers. This includes using a simpler, revamped 11-page lease document; a two-page registration agreement; quick turnaround time on drafts; and a no nonsense negotiation strategy.

Greenberg also makes regular use of Equity Office's new strategic customized national lease form. The form allows a customer with multiple locations within the company's portfolio to have one tailored document that serves to expedite subsequent lease transactions. The result is more streamlined negotiations, and an average saving to the customer of $15,000 per transaction following the completion of the initial template.

"The bottom line is, we get tenants in faster, we get brokers paid quicker and we get rent quicker," said Greenberg.

A native of Westport, Conn., Greenberg is an active member of REBNY, YMWREA, NAIOP and NACORE. He is also the former president of the NYC/Connecticut/ Westchester Chapter of NAIOP and founded the March of Dimes Real Estate Breakfast. Greenberg, who earned his bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Connecticut, worked as a senior broker with CB Richard Ellis before joining EOP.