Year in Review 2018: Roxana Girand, Sebastian Capital Inc.

Name & Title: Roxana Girand, President and CEO

Company Name: Sebastian Capital Inc. 

Address: 417 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016 

Website:  http://www.sebastian-capital.com/

Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/sebastiancapital/

What was your most notable project, deal, transaction or professional achievement in 2018?
Marketing the former IBM property in Somers, NY as a school campus opportunity. This was one of those rare occasions where you retrofit a building for a different use that actually lays out very nicely. This site has all the key elements necessary for the conversion to work; it’s spacious, interconnecting buildings, as well as housing and residential life and dorm potential. Repurposing for the IBM campus accomplishes two major things for this community, a for-profit school while bringing in new ideas and opportunities that are synergistic with the current educational system.  We worked the better part of this year in planning discussions with our developer partner, Evergreen Ridge LLC, to bring this STEM and STEAM academy, grades 9 – 12 boarding school to reality. 

What was the best decision that you made in 2018 and how did it impact your business?
The launch of The Elizabeth Collective at 10 west 56th Street as a creative hub for the arts as well as a brick-and-mortar extension for high-end e-commerce artisans and design-focused platforms.  Situated within the former midtown townhouse of Elizabeth Taylor, we renovated this property to be comprised of three distinct spaces to accommodate a wide range of business opportunities: a pop-up event space, rotating art galleries and showrooms, and permanent studio workspaces. Long term we see the Elizabeth Collective as having the ability to be an innovative space that transcends the barriers of art and design disciplines. 

What market trend(s) will impact your industry in 2019?
Tenants will continue to look for flexibility from landlords, impacting lease terms, concessions. etc. In order to compete with Wework and other companies in the shared work space field.  In capital markets, factors such as foreign investment, rising interest rates and new tax regulations will continue to have a direct impact in the New York City real estate. 

What was an unexpected event that occurred in 2018, and how did it impact your career or personal life?
Finding more creative and flexible ways within the traditional commercial real estate office market to offer tenants more incentives to grow within our existing portfolio. In addition, we have really prioritized making sure we that we are able to keep up to date with the different trends and amenities in demand and relevant for our tenants comfort. 

Do you have any New Year’s Resolution(s)?  
To make each year better than the last.