3 CRE Q&A: Faris Lee Expands Footprint

By Dennis Kaiser

Irvine, CA-based Faris Lee expanded into Los Angeles under the leadership of leading broker Patrick Toomey, who brings decades of experience from work at CBRE and Matthews Retail Advisors. During the course of his career, he has amassed more than 350 deals with an aggregate value of $2.3 billion. Connect Media caught up with Toomey to find out what’s behind the transition, and what some of the advantages the new retail-focused team he anchors brings to the marketplace.

Q: What about your background is most important to your new role at Faris Lee Investments?

A: The first half of my now three-decade career was on the principal side of the business, selling bank-owned and institutionally-owned assets. This gives me a unique perspective as a broker, having been a client as much as I’ve been a broker. I’ve seen some great, and some not-so-great brokers, and have woven my good experiences into my practice, working hard to avoid the less pleasant experiences. This “client-first” attitude is at the heart of what I do, and very consistent with Faris Lee’s culture.

Q: What intrigued you about the firm to join them at this point?

A: Faris Lee has a long history of creative approaches to marketing and selling commercial retail properties, based on its foundation of understanding the fundamentals of value and risk, and of meeting the needs of its clients. I believe the market is going to be more challenging in the near future, and I wanted to be aligned with a group such as this to handle the inevitable challenges my clients will face with rising interest rates, changes in the debt markets, loan maturities, and such. I have been through multiple real estate cycles, and know that you need a strong base to compete effectively in tough markets. The team at Faris Lee is a great group of professionals that are knowledgeable, experienced, and ethical, and I’m excited to be part of the team. I don’t know of any retail brokerage that offers a similar amount of collective wisdom and experience. Working together, we have a value proposition like none other.

Q: What do you think is the greatest advantage now coming together?

A: Because commercial retail real estate is some of the most complex and challenging product type in the market, it is important to be aligned with a group that has a strong base of knowledge and execution experience. Together, we have one of the strongest, if not the strongest, track record in selling retail real estate. Considering that we are coming into what most people believe to be a challenging economic environment, one must have more than high tech marketing tools and attractive brochures. While Faris Lee has these tools, they have the depth of experience to execute the toughest assignments. Clients will be looking for broad deal exposure and an experienced transaction team to get the job done. Together, the value we bring to our clients is unparalleled.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Dennis Kaiser