Like any Southwest Florida commercial real estate broker, Stephanie Miller will tell you she strongly believes in her product. What distinguishes her from most of her peers is that she invests in many of the projects she represents as a broker. And after more than 25 years in the business, Miller has accumulated a portfolio that reflects her extensive experience, professional integrity and personal commitment the area.

'Companies from around the world are discovering what we've known for years,' said Miller, owner of Select Real Estate by Stephanie Miller, Inc. 'Southwest Florida is a great place to work and live.'

Over the years, it has also been a great place to invest. When Miller was just starting out in real estate investing in the late 1970s, she bought and brokered large tracts of raw land totaling thousands of acres, mostly in south Lee County. Among her property interests was acreage that became the prestigious residential communities of Pelican Landing and Wildcat Run.

'Twenty-five years ago, an acre of land along Corkscrew Road sold for $500,' said Miller. 'Now it would go for $400,000 per acre.'

As prices have soared and inventory has shrunk, Miller has adjusted accordingly. These days, instead of selling huge tracts to investors and developers, Miller and her associates typically work with nationally-known commercial tenants and negotiate deals priced by the square foot.

But despite the ever-increasing competition for prime commercial transactions, Miller's firm has retained its competitive edge. Recently, Broker Cindy Braham of Select negotiated one of the largest Class-A leases ever in Lee County. Working in conjunction with McGarvey Development Company, the firm helped relocate the world headquarters of Source Interlink Companies to the Riverview Corporate Center in Bonita Springs. The center is the largest office campus in Southwest Florida, designed to have seven Class-A office buildings; a 6,000sf, full-service restaurant; and a 12,000sf retail building.

'A great amenity will be the lower-level parking and parking garage,' said Charles Jans, vice president of McGarvey Development. More than 144,000sf will be located will directly on the banks of the Imperial River, including the restaurant with outside seating. All of it is owned, built and managed by McGarvey Development, whose corporate headquarters is on site.

Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Source Interlink is the leading direct magazine distributor and provider of magazine sales information and services to the publishing and retail industries. As such, it is the largest designer and manufacturer of front-end display fixtures for general merchandise and publishing products, and was ranked among Fortune magazine's fastest-growing
companies in 1999 and 2000.

The company began a national search for a place to relocate more than a year ago that included the east and west coasts of Florida. 'They looked at the entire (local) market for existing buildings or a developer who was capable of a transaction this size,' said Braham. 'McGarvey Development's ability to create a first-class corporate office environment was obvious.'

Other factors also tipped the scales in favor of Riverview becoming the future corporate home of Source Interlink. 'Lee County offers a quality workforce, strong infrastructure and a high quality of life,' said the company's President and COO James Gillis. 'These are the factors that ultimately brought us here.'

An interesting aspect of this transaction is that it renewed personal relationships. Braham had crossed paths with McGarvey Development while working for a New Jersey brokerage firm years ago. Until relocating to Southwest Florida in 1996, McGarvey also was based in New Jersey, where the firm developed, built and owned approximately four million square feet of industrial and office space. It was Braham's former business contacts in New Jersey who referred Source Interlink to Select. Select also has placed PWI, Inc. (a division of Midas Muffler) at McGarvey's Mid-Metro Business Center on Metro Parkway in Fort Myers.

Thanks largely to Braham's connections and McGarvey's outstanding reputation in the Northeast, construction is now underway at Riverview on a 92,400sf corporate office building overlooking the Imperial River. When the building is completed mid-year, Source Interlink will occupy the top two floors. Jans believes it will also help generate additional in crest in the center.

'Riverview did not exist when Source first proposed its requirement for office space,' said Jans. 'Initially, we proposed our Westlinks Business Park (on Daniels Parkway in Gateway), where approvals are in place for a 96,800sf building. But since that did not project the image Source was looking -for, we began discussing our largest proposed building in Riverview.'

In addition to Westlinks Business Park, McGarvey Development has completed the Mid-Metro Business Center in Fort Myers on Metro Parkway. MidMetro now totals seven buildings comprising 204,000sf. Westlinks currently includes 271,000sf and will build out to 650,000sf. Both projects are over 90% leased.

Jans said that to date, four of Riverview's nine planned buildings are completed and expected to approach 70% occupancy soon. During the second half of 2001, new tenants included A.G. Edwards & Sons Investments, Raymond James Investment Brokers, Trace Pan America and Tenzer Real Estate of Naples. In March, Source Interlink anticipates opening a human resources office at Riverview to begin hiring staff for the 240 new jobs it plans to create.

According to Miller, the transaction with Source Interlink epitomizes what Select does best - put together quality deals for choice clients. 'Our primary goal is to work closely with select investors and developers to meet their objectives, while actively promoting our community and its attributes,' said Miller. 'Above all, we are committed to service, value and integrity, and are prepared to handle every aspect of commercial real estate.'

Miller said she enjoys working with McGarvey because 'they do what they say they're going to do. We admire their honesty.' Also, like McGarvey, Miller's firm is committed to developing highcaliber projects that will enhance the areas around them. Currently, Miller is focusing much of Select's attention on Estero and the burgeoning Corkscrew Road corridor.

'We're working closely with the communities in Estero to create retail and office projects that comply with what the residents want to see,' she said. 'We don't want to create waves, we want to participate in positive growth.'

To that end, Select Broker Greg Toth is an active member of the Estero Planning Community Panel and the Estero Chamber of Commerce. Toth explained that the panel's objective is to oversee the Estero community plan, which aims to limit certain types of development.

'We're working with commercial developers and residents on a comprehensive plan for smart growth,' he said. The group also hopes to shape the town's development design standards to include increased buffers and landscaping, architectural reviews and other aesthetically-enhancing elements.

Regardless of municipal mandates, Miller said she plans to continue upholding stringent standards for all projects in which Select is involved. Currently, in Fort Myers these include: Carissa Commerce Centre (150,000sf of retail and office space on Six Mile Cypress Parkway); Cypress Lake Office Park (featuring 18,000sf of new space and 25,000sf of existing space); the 40,000sf Edison Square Shopping Center (on Fowler Street); and other properties available to investors and tenants.

Also, Select is finalizing the development order for Erika Commerce Center (on Corkscrew Road between U.S. 41 and 1-75). When completed, the heavily-landscaped, village-style development will comprise 10,000sf of retail space and 30,000sf of offices. While construction of the center is slated to begin later this year, Miller said to expect additional developments from Select along the Corkscrew corridor in the foreseeable future.

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