NAI Farbman Brokers Unique Office Acquisition

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (Oct. 1, 2024)—NAI Farbman, the brokerage arm of Midwest full-service commercial real estate company Farbman Group, supported three companies in the gifting and trading of a 114,397-square-foot Class-A office building located at 28333 Telegraph Rd. in Southfield, Mich. between the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, Volunteers of America and Tamaroff Jeffrey Automotive Group.

“This was the perfect recipe of solutions to a really difficult real estate challenge in today's office leasing and acquisition space,” said Ron Goldstone, Executive Vice President at NAI Farbman, who represented Volunteers of America in the transaction. “It took a determined group of brokers to make three real estate transactions happen in just 45 days. There was no ego involved, just focus on getting the best outcome for our clients, and we did it together.”

The H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation, a California-based nonprofit that thoughtfully supports established organizations promoting healthcare, social services and education, purchased the asset in 2012 as an investment and, given the current state of the office industry, opted to gift the property to another nonprofit organization. David Haboian, Senior Vice President of Operations at REDICO, and Edward Wujek, Executive Vice President at CBRE, represented the seller H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation in the transaction.

The H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation gifted the asset to Volunteers of America, a Virginia-based nonprofit organization founded in 1896 that provides affordable housing and other assistance to low-income people throughout the U.S. Volunteers of America executed an analysis on the office building to determine if it could be converted into a multi-story thrift store, a common practice for the group who operates dozens of thrift stores nationwide.

The thrift store conversion turned out to be too difficult to execute. The office asset then quickly traded to the Tamaroff Jeffrey Automotive Group, a longstanding local automotive dealer of new and used cars for 50+ years in the metro Detroit market. As a result, Volunteers of America raised money for their charity by trading this important asset.

“The capitulation in the office market provided the Tamaroff Jeffrey Automotive Group the unique opportunity to repurpose this Class-A office building in a prime location adjacent to our dealership,” said Howard Frehsee, Director of Real Estate for the Tamaroff Jeffrey Automotive Group. “Thanks to the creativity of the NAI Farbman team, we seized the opportunity for our company to potentially expand our dealership.”

The transaction closed in 45 days and solved three challenges. All three brokers successfully coordinated the property conveyance from a charity to a non-profit, followed by a sale to an investor. As such, an optimal outcome was achieved for all three companies involved.

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NAI Farbman / Farbman Group, founded in 1976, is a leading full-service real estate firm with Midwest expertise and a global reach, handling all facets of real estate transactions, from property management and leasing to construction, to acquisition and disposition. The firm manages more than 30 million square feet of office, retail, multifamily, student housing and industrial space throughout the Midwest and beyond. | www.farbman.com