Island hopper Steve celebrates leap of faith

Real Estate Weekly, August 11, 2004 by Daniel Geiger

If you think that growing up on a remote, tropical island wouldn't exactly prepare one for a career in the Manhattan real estate industry, think again.

Steve Bodden, one of the Lerner Group's star commercial brokers, learned some of the core lessons of business growing up on Utila, a pristine island in the Caribbean Sea just off the northern coast of Honduras.

"My family was always in business in Honduras, we had a hardware store and two grocery stores, as well as a fishing business where we would export fish to resorts in Jamaica," Bodden said. "Both my parents had an entrepreneurial spirit and I think that was something which they bestowed upon me."

Judging from Bodden's success, their good example has paid off. Having been with the Lerner Group for ten years, Bodden just recently helped complete one of the year's biggest leasing deals, representing urban apparel giant Ecko Unlimited in their successful bid for a monstrous 280,000 s/f headquarters on 23rd street.

As the mayor of Utila for seven years, Bodden's father was an impressive role model in more than just business. His tenure as a public servant helped influence his son to also take on social causes.

After graduating from Asbury College in Kentucky with a degree in psychology, Bodden began working for a foster care agency in New York City. A casework manager for foster children, Bodden helped assess what was in the best interests of the child, providing services to help them get education, look after their physical well being, and monitor and support their relationship with their biological or foster parents.

The situations he was exposed to were a far cry from his experiences in the unspoiled, idyllic community on Utila.

"It was difficult to see the many unmet needs of the children and the many cases of abuse," Bodden said. "As tough as it was, it feels good to know you've made a difference and helped somebody."

But as wonderful as his childhood was, if anyone knows and can appreciate the difference a little outside help can make, it's Bodden.

Although Utila's crystal waters and lush forests made it a virtual paradise, Bodden's voracious appetite for learning meant he had exhausted the Honduran educational system by the age of sixteen. Assistance from some visiting American doctors gave him the rare chance to continue his studies.

"I befriended a visiting doctor named Gary Wilson," Bodden said. "He saw that I wasn't in school anymore, but that I was interested in pursuing my education, so he asked me if I'd like to come to the US and go to high school. There was no question, with my parent's blessing, I said of course."

In 1978, at the age of 16, Bodden moved in with the Dr. Wilson and his family in Brooksville, Florida and began attending high school. After graduating, through both the Wilson's support and the support of the First United Methodist Church in Brooksville, he attended Asbury College.

Feeling fortunate for the opportunities he was afforded, Bodden continues to give back by volunteering at the Madison Avenue Baptist Church.

"For seven years, I've been involved in their overnight shelter program," he said. "Run in coordination with the city homeless program, it provides a place of rest for the homeless, they can have a snack and spend the night. I felt like I was very lucky in being able to come to the United States at a young age and get a great education."

Working for five years at The East Williamsburg Development Corp. helping to manage industrial parks, Bodden continued his education even further, putting himself through NYU and earning a masters degree in Public Policy in 1991. The youngest of nine children, he was the first in his family to receive a high school diploma, a college degree and then a graduate degree.

While nothing excites Bodden as much as the thrust and parry of brokering a deal, he hopes to eventually branch out and become a more active investor in properties, playing the part of an operator.

Who could have predicted that his home island would provide as much of an opportunity as Manhattan.

For a place that only a few years ago was without telephones, Utila is starting to take on some of the characteristics of Manhattan--an island which it closely resembles in size--including its real estate value.

"It isn't a simple place any more, there's a lot of development and tourism," Bodden said. "It's a double-edged sword, you have the benefits of a more vibrant economic system, but you also have an influx of activities that have not benefited the island, various kinds of social problems. But it's still very beautiful."

"The price of property is incredible there. When I hear the price per s/f there compared to what it is here, I do a double take. $50, $60, even $100 a s/f for beach property. That's what you can find right here in New York."

Steve Bodden currently resides in Centereach, Long Island with his wife and two children.