Norman Bobrow grew up with real estate flowing in his veins (so to speak). The grandson of Joseph Isaac Muss (the largest Brooklyn developer in the early 1900s) and son of Louis Bobrow (a developer active in Brooklyn, Long Island, Queens and White Plains), Bobrow proudly represents a third generation of real estate entrepreneurs. He has gained considerable experience both as a developer and as a syndicator, and successfully completed hundreds of complex transactions and negotiations.
Today, as president, he leads his own company—Norman Bobrow & Co. Inc.—a respected top-echelon commercial brokerage firm that he founded in 1980. This full-service real estate firm specializes in tenant representation for leasing and relocation, and boasts a wide-ranging customer roster that includes banking and financial companies, major high fashion houses, law offices, architects, high-tech firms, non-profits, government agencies, and health care companies.
Bobrow & Company Avoids
Representing Landlords or
Managing Any Properties in
New York City
"Our team is solely dedicated to finding the best location and negotiating the best total solution for our customers," said Bobrow, who has brokered over 3,000 lease deals and over $1 billion in investment sales throughout the course of his 40-year career. In addition to traditional leasing, Bobrow noted that his firm also places tenants in office condominiums/co-ops in order to avoid spiraling overhead costs and continually changing square footage numbers.
The firm completed 160 plus leases last year from 60th St. all the way south to Wall St. Bobrow operates uniquely different from most other brokerage firms because he does not charge his brokers for his time, he doesn't discount their commissions, and he allows his employees to use his private driver and car for their space showings.
Some of Bobrow's notable deals include the following:
* Walgreens and King Kullen supermarket in Glen Cove, Long Island
* K-Mart in Union Sq.
* Six floors of office space for Salant Corp. (former Perry Ellis licensee.)
* 15 leases for the upscale fashion designer Elie Tahari since 1996 including a 15-year lease for Tahari at 11 West 42nd St. for 37,536 s/f. Bobrow also sold Tahari's building at 510 Fifth Ave. to Vornado for approximately $925 per s/f.
Additionally, Bobrow has maintained long-term relationships with many of his customers, several of them for as long as 25 years. Some of these firms include: Togut Segal & Segal, The International Labour Organization to the United Nations, Hanky Panky, The Dahesh Museum of Art and Franklin Weinrib, Rudell & Vassallo, PC.
"In addition to providing economical office space deals for our New York City customers, we also seek out conservative deals throughout the country for our ever-growing investor group," said Bobrow, who has completed about 70 real estate syndications in 24 states over the course of 20 years of investing. "We look for a minimum cash-on-cash return of 8.5%, eventually leading to an average 20% return over the long term."
Bobrow started his real estate career in 1971 working for Centex Corporation in New Jersey, a large publicly-held real estate development firm who bought the Palisade Amusement Park, moving on to IEC Properties later that year to become director of marketing and sales. In 1979 he became the vice president of R.B. Schlessinger, a commercial real estate company in Manhattan focusing on tenant advocacy.
"I saw my dad and grandfather work hard, earn respect and get results," said Bobrow, who sits on the board of four not-for-profit organizations and originally pursued a career as a botanist.
Today when he's not closing high pressured deals, the Queens native takes time to unwind in the garden, tending to his two greenhouses in Jamaica Estates. "I learned early on that when it comes to business and botany you need patience and persistence for both; nurturing and closing deals, and helping plants grow and prosper," he said. Tags: