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Caplin’s exit is the latest of severalrecent high-profilre departures at C&W in Miami. The firm is one of Soutjh Florida's largest real estate brokeragees and, like other brokerages, has seen few investmenf deals in thelast year. Former branch manager Tere Blancaq left in the spring tolaunch , a firm focusedf on office leasing and Hank Klein, executive director of C&Ws in Florida, was notified last montnh that his position was being eliminated. Steelbridge owns and manages properttythroughout Florida. It sold , on Miami’zs Brickell Key, for $150 million in 2007 after an eight-yead hold.
Steelbridge founder Gavin Campbell will continue asmanaginfg principal, sharing the helm with Caplin. Caplinn is one of a handful of commerciapl brokers involved inSouth Florida’se largest commercial transactions. Caplin said his exit is in responsr to a paradigm shift in local investmenf that comes at the tail end of a where leasing and management for institutionap investors became secondary tomarket momentum. During the boom years leadinh upto 2006, the expectation was that assetz with strong track recordsa could be purchased and flipped quickly for big returns.
For a shoryt period of time, some owners made the strategu work, but then the economicx meltdown put the brakes onthe Some, who bought in the last few years, were holdinbg assets that cost too much compared to market The market has now shifted back to fundamentaol principles of investment, with institutional investors and privatde capital “seeking to co-invest with strong, local operating partners,” Caplin said. “The market and investors mostlybelieve it’s about operations on the grounc and knowing how to position a building in a particuladr submarket,” he said.
Caplin oversaw more than $7 billio in transactions at including ’ $307 million purchase of a half-stake in downtowmn Miami’s landmark and full ownership of the 1221 Brickelkl buildingin 2006. He was involved in the sale of 355 Alhambraq in Coral Gablesfor $87.3 milliomn in 2008 and is currently working with Hines to refinancwe its debt at . Caplin is a graduated of south Miami-Dade County’s Palmetto High School. He graduated from in 1985 witha bachelor’d degree in finance and real estate. Two years he left C&W’s appraisal group to launch the company’s local investment sales operation.
Caplin was part of a team in the late 1980sa that first specialized in investment sale sin Miami. During the mid-1990s, Steelbridge Capital had 2 milliobn square feet of commercial real estatwe in its portfolio in seven Floridza marketsincluding Jacksonville, Naples and Miami. They sold much of it from 2005to 2007. Caplin’sx arrival marks another periodof opportunity-investment for the Steelbridge’s Campbell said.
"We think valuationss are finally starting to lookattractive again,” Campbell said in a “The opportunity to buy Florida asseta at significant discounts to replacement cost is imminent, whilwe the long-term job and demographic prospects for Floridaw and the Caribbean basin are as strong as ever. Jay’s leadership will be the linchpin ofour
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