From Miami to NYC

Real Estate Weekly, August 8, 2001 by Elaine Misonzhnik

James S. Meiskin is not a man to be daunted by a little extra work. There is a 30-inch-high stack of papers on his desk and he wipes his eyes more than once in order to stave off fatigue, but a break is out of the question. Meiskin checks his email, listens to messages, and arranges an aftemoon meeting, all while trying to find the rights words to explain why his business is so unique.

"You can't be a jack of all trades," he offers. "I decided to specialize in tenant representation because I felt that you can't be all things to all people, there are inherent conflicts involved in representing both tenants and landlords. If your bread is buttered by the owner community, it would be difficult to represent tenants objectively."

Meiskin's firm, Plymouth Partners, Ltd., is a seven-year-old, 20-person tenant representation firm, which has completed leasing deals on behalf of Godiva Chocolatier, BBC International Ltd., New York City Fire Department, and the Manhattan Borough Development Corporation. Meiskin himself is a tall, thin man in his mid-40's, with a confident voice and a distracted gaze.

Right now, he admits, the times are hectic as the slowdown in the market has not taken its full effect. The tenants expect better deals, while the landlords still hope to get last year's prices, or at least something in the same range.

"It's our market," Meiskin proclaims enthusiastically. "But it's still taking a long time in terms of getting things done. I think the owners lost sight of reality as a result of the recent real estate explosion. The bubble has burst, but it's taking time for them to really reflect upon what has occurred."

Meiskin, who claims that he learned from the best teacher in the business, Kenneth D. Laub, seems to have enough fire to take on any leasing assignment in the City.

"I've surrounded myself with highly educated, highly skilled colleagues," he boasts. "As opposed to the typical brokers, most of whom don't really have the skills to deal with complex transactions. We are going to change the way real estate business is done in New York City."

Meiskin himself has a degree in finance from the University of Miami, where he started his career. During the school year he would work part-time selling multi-family properties along South Beach and in the summer he would come - to New York to sell apartment houses for Hank Sopher, of J.I. Sopher Inc.

"I experienced a great deal of success with Mr. Sopher, as well as with his uncle Victor Posner, the famous industrialist," Meiskin recalls. "So when I graduated I decided to enter the commercial real estate industry full-time"

For a brief period, he worked in the Miami market, completing two of the largest transactions in the City at the Miami Center. But being a native New Yorker, he knew where the gold pot really was.

"Although I was pleased with the success, I was not completely satisfied with my experience in Miami because I felt that there was much more for me to do, to accomplish. So the answer for me was in New York City, which is where I am from anyway.

It was at this point that Meiskin joined Kenneth Laub & Company, whose president made a profound impression on him. "He was credited with having grandfathered the tenant representation approach," Meiskin explains. "The company earned about $20-$30 million in fees per year."

Meiskin also spent some time at Grubb & Ellis, where he headed a team of top-earning brokers for three years. During that period, he completed deals for the Hearst Corporation, the American Retail Group, and Campbell's Soup. But the experience left him unsatisfied.

"I felt that there was really nothing else for me to do at Grubb & Ellis," he explains. "It was time to go out on my own and specialize, as I always did, in tenant representation. But I wanted a firm that, unlike Grubb & Ellis, would specialize in tenant representation alone."

In general, Meiskin seems to dislike the idea of real estate giants, like Cushman & Wakefield and InsignialESG.

"Most brokerage companies claim that their tenant and landlord representation groups are entirely separate division," he points out, "and that neither division affects the activities of the other. This is sales talk. Landlords hire a brokerage firm, not an individual broker. That firm is legally obligated to represent the interests of the landlord. Even if a broker would like to fight for the tenant's interests, he cannot legally compromise the obligation to the landlord."

So how would Meiskin change the business, as he hopes to do?

"I think that corporations will eventually realize that the typical broker has nowhere near the skill sets required to assist with major corporate relocation and restructuring," he says.

"All non-exclusive brokers, both legally and practically, are sub-agents of the landlord. Adequate service can only be provided by a tenant representation specialist who is accountable solely to the company he represents. By sticking with our core philosophy, I think we are going to become one of the most active commercial real estate organizations in the City."