FAMECO REAL ESTATE AMONG FASTEST

    Fameco Management Services has  been cited as one of the fastest growing third-party managers of retail properties in the U.S. by Chain Store Age, which reports the industry's statistics on an annual basis. 

    Although it is "a relative newcomer to third-party management," the publication said in its May issue, the Plymouth Meeting, Pa.-based retail real estate firm is "moving fast, and the reason is simple."

     "It's (our) uncompromising focus on service," said Fameco's Senior Vice President, Owner Services, Lawrence R. Zipf.   "Though forms, policies and procedures are important, we are hands-on managers.  That allows confidence to be built that our information will be timely, accurate and complete." 

    This and other factors accelerated Fameco from 1.5 million s.f. under property management in the spring of 2005 to 6.2 million s.f. a year later and 8.7 million s.f. in 2007, with a total of 70 retail properties under management.

    Among those factors, Zipf said, are frequent visits to each property by Fameco staff. That contact creates a relationship "that's as intimate as if they are in our backyard.  That's the hands-on part of the business.  We also work closely with the township and local code enforcement entities, so if a variance or other special requirement is needed, a relationship already exists."

    In addition to being a major segment of Fameco's business, Zipf said third-party management has helped the firm's clients in leasing space, which is its main focus as a brokerage company.

    One of the reasons cited by Chain Store Age for the burgeoning of  third-party management is that "retail real estate continues to be a sought-after investment, drawing capital from across the United States and even overseas. Less-experienced owners are continuing to look to third-party management firms to oversee the day-to-day operations of their projects .  "Anyone who believed that the consolidation of shopping center ownership would mean the death knell for third-party managers couldn't have been more wrong."

    The Delaware Valley's foremost real estate firm in the retail sector,  Fameco specializes in retailer representation, owner representation, investment sales and management services in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and beyond.

   The firm is the exclusive representative for 80 shopping centers and retail properties totaling 14 million square feet in the tri-state area, manages 8.7 million s.f. of retail space nationwide, and exclusively represents more than 75 retailers expanding in the Delaware Valley. Fameco's Investment Sales Team has completed transactions in excess of $1 billion.

        Fameco is the ChainLinks member shareholder in the Delaware Valley. Chainlinks is the nation's largest retail-only real estate provider with 62 regional brokerage firms in the U.S. and Canada.

June 1 , 2007