John Grotto, Transwestern

Contact Name : John Grotto Company Name : Transwestern Email : [email protected] Phone : 212.537.7700 Fax : Address, City, State : 400 Park Avenue, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10022 What was your greatest professional accomplishment in 2012? : 2012 was a year of transition and excitement! Having spent 7 years as an Owner's Rep, I'm thrilled to have gone back to my brokerage roots and joined forces with Transwestern. I'm excited to come to work every day and collaborate with a terrific group of highly motivated, intelligent men and women. We spend as much time with our colleagues as we do our family, and a strong team that works and plays together become family! Transitions can re-energize and lend perspective. I'm a big fan of Transwestern and the direction the firm is headed in. What was your most notable project, deal or transaction in 2012? : I was always fortunate to have enjoyed working on both retail and office transactions. Being deeply instrumental in an upcoming Times Square 42,500 square foot international retail store gives me great satisfaction. These deals are not only complex, but involve many months, even years, of hard work. Negotiations are the easy part... diplomacy and grit are the secret ingredients to success! What are your predictions for commercial real estate in 2013? : Certainly the sky is not falling - just the opposite. The indicators are favorable: the unemployment rate is dropping, the consumer is spending and the Fed is pumping money into the markets. The office leasing, retail and investment sales markets are poised for some excitement. I see rents continuing to ratchet upward as companies begin to feel more and more confident that the storm has passed. The companies I'm talking to are projecting adding bodies and I say "AMEN"! What are your resolutions for 2013? : New business, new business, new business. Service new and old clients and friends with the terrific "hands-on" expert attention they deserve. I'm constantly reading and sending real estate related articles to current and future clients. One advantage to an hour long commute to and from Connecticut is that I'm very well read. My wife bought me an iPad, but I still like the feel of the newspaper.