Bigger and better team playing full court press.

When Faith Consolo attended Howard Rubenstein's 50th anniversary bash last summer, she really wasn't in the mood to party.

Rumors had been swirling for months about the fate of Garrick-Aug, the firm where she'd not only earned her stripes as a retail broker, but where she founded an international division responsible for attracting some of the world's most prominent retailers to Manhattan.

However, she now recalls that night at Tavern on the Green as one that brought the biggest change in her professional career--her move to Prudential Douglas Elliman after nearly 20 years at Garrick-Aug.

Close friend and colleague, Esther Muller, president of the New York Real Estate Academy, introduced Consolo to PDE president, Dottie Herman and the two hit it off like a house on fire.

When it was finally announced in November that Charles Aug had sold a majority share in his firm to an affiliate of the Union Trades Corporation, is was only a matter of weeks before word leaked that Consolo and her long-timer partner, Joe Aquino, had aligned forces with PDE.

It's now exactly one year since Consolo and Aquino took up their new roles as chairman and executive vice president respectively and expanded Prudential's retail sales and leasing division. During that year, they have added to the team of 12 that came with them from Garrick-Aug and embarked on what they both admit has been a big learning curve.

Presiding now over a team of 48 brokers and support staff spread across the city and its boroughs, Consolo and Aquino are taking retail brokerage to a new level and the city whose streets they helped transform has become a platform to a new and exciting market of national and international retailers that have re-energized retail's first couple as they enjoy what can only be described as a second honeymoon.

"It's been an incredible year," said Consolo. "It was a hard decision to leave Garrick-Aug after 20 years ... but if I knew then what I know now, I would have done it years ago."

Adds Aquino, "Prudential Douglas Elliman has given us a tremendous platform to expand our landlord and tenant representation capabilities and also to get in on the ground floor of new development projects.

"We now have the resources and the support to be able to take on any project--whether it's 200,000 s/f in New Jersey, or 100,000 s/f in Brooklyn, or a development in Atlanta

or Los Angeles." While there's no doubt the corporate machine now behind them has given new power to the pair's undoubted talents, Consolo believes the true strength in their success lies in their relationship as business partners.

"Joe and I could work out of a telephone booth. When it comes to doing deals, we just look at each other and we know."

Indeed, Aquino is the Ying to Consolo's Yang and together they have now surrounded themselves with an eclectic team that's a menage of both young and hungry brokers and mature, seasoned pros that seem to balance themselves as well as Consolo and Aquino.

Multilingual Efraim Navas was most recently pivotal in finding luxury Spanish accessories retailer, Tous, their first New York store in SoHo, said Consolo, who admits her 24/7 work ethic can sometimes overwhelm newcomers. "Efraim has been there 24/24 since day one," she beamed.

Over the past decade, the international business graduate has cultivated an understanding of the landlord tenant relationship that belies his age but, more importantly perhaps to Consolo, he's a listener.

"I strive to always ask the right questions, like who are your customers, what are their ages and needs, where do you see yourself, and who is your competition?" said Navas. "Listening carefully helps me formulate a solid plan of action, then educate people on the various market offerings."

Consolo, who has built her reputation on her ability to not only know what her clients want, but finding them what they need, said Navas' understanding of the European mentality has been a major asset in working with the numerous European and Asian retailers now on their books.

Jeffrey D'Allessandro joined the retail team after several years as an associate broker in PDE's residential and commercial sales and leasing division. His expertise in Long Island and the boroughs and his knowledge of big box retailing has made him a key player in several new development projects the team is working on, including the Metrotech development in Brooklyn where PDE is marketing 87,000 s/f of available retail space.

It was the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of such lofty projects that attracted D'Allessandro to the retail team where, he said, his potential to grow as a broker has increased immeasurably.

Indeed, Consolo said her protege often leaves her feeling like the student. "There are so many different dynamics [to big box retail]. But again, the platform we now have, with 1,700 Prudential brokers in the field who often know about development sites before they hit the market, has given Jeff a tremendous arena in which to flex his muscles."

Consolo is determined to bring what she calls "some panache" to the outer boroughs where she believes a lot of untapped spending power covets the kind of retail experience so far limited to those in the city.

She has placed Patricia Maliha at the helm of the Brooklyn office. After 25 years building a reputation for identifying the right locations for her clients, Maliha is now at the heart of a retail resurgence Consolo is only too eager to nurture.

"These areas are undergoing tremendous transformations as a result of new residential and commercial construction, which is why there is an increased need for new retailers to serve the community," said Consolo.

The PDE team has already formed a full court press on Downtown Brooklyn where it is marketing 12,000 s/f at Renaissance Plaza, the nearly one million square foot mixed-used development being built by Muss Development.

In Long Island City, Queens, PDE was tapped by The Andalex Group as the exclusive agency for over 20,000 s/f of retail space at the base of its luxury condo building at 27-28 Thomson Avenue.

Said Aquino, "Whatever we put there, it will be the best retail, at the best addresses. If you don't give the retailers the most successful location, you loose them.

"When you look at the list of tenants we have successfully located in Manhattan, it's like a Who's Who--Lockes, Tous, DDC Lab, Rachel Riley, Sermoneta. We've given them all a home-run location. Sometimes, it takes months, even years, but if a space isn't right for them, then we tell them to wait until the right space is available. It's a long-term view, but a deal is a hit, not a career, and this is our career."

With the corporate strength they now have at their fingertips, the long-term commitment that has served the duo so well in the past is being nourished by executives like Richard Brazzano, whose real estate investment talents are being utilized to evaluate and analyze the team's conversion and new construction projects.

Industry veteran, Ed Pezzaro, brings a combination of legal insight, business acumen and market knowledge to the team. Former general counsel for Cross & Brown Company and described by his colleagues as the voice of reason in the office, Pezzaro has a knack of straightening out the details of a deal that can often overwhelm a broker whose specialty lies in bringing in the business.

And bringing in that business now falls to brokers such as Elizabeth Esteban, Jennifer Marie Baker, Andrew Becerra and Blair Namm. While Consolo stresses she will never give up her personal contact with all of her clients, she's grown into the role of manager and seems to now thrive on encouraging her team members to make their mark on the industry.

Coming from the world of the fast-paced music business, Esteban said she has found her calling with the PDE retail team. After a stint in the company's residential sales division, she jumped at the chance to work with Consolo and Aquino and now coordinates all Manhattan exclusives.

Becerra is specializing in fashion while Baker is focusing on the European, West Coast and New York luxury retail markets. An Ohio native who earned her stripes in that market, said she joined the PDE retail team "because I wanted to work with the best."

With the PDE retail team focused on its mission not only to educate the consumer but to enlighten landlords and developers to the mechanics of the industry, the impact of their flagship stores and benefits of strategic retail planning, there seems no end in sight to the possibilities ahead.

Indeed, from a chance meeting at a birthday party, Dottie Herman, President and CEO of Prudential Douglas Elliman and a poster girl for the real estate industry, has added another dimension to her business that looks set to grow infinitely under the watchful eye of Consolo and Aquino.

She said, "Faith and I hit it off the day we met. She is an icon and a superstar. She brings a high level of expertise in a very unique field. She is innovative, knowledgeable, fashion savvy, and always stays one step ahead of the curve."