Matt Eckert, a vice president with Cassidy Turley in Kansas City, has extensive experience in landlord and tenant representation with lease negotiations, purchase negotiations, build-to-suit coordination, corporate services, consulting and subleasing. He advises clients on both a local and national basis.
He began his commercial real estate career in 2001 in Dallas, but returned to Kansas City in 2002 (he’s a Kansas State grad) where he accepted a position with NAI Cohen-Esrey. In 2006, Matt joined Cassidy Turley.
Among the clients he’s served are Birch Communications, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Vance Publishing, Citizens Bank and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (see picture of their home at Two Pershing Square below). Major transactions include Birch Communications, lease of 45,000 square feet, Variform, lease of 36,000 square feet, the Census Bureau, lease of 33,500 square feet, Children’s Mercy Hospital, lease of 31,300 square feet, Rasmussen, Willis, Dickey & Moore LLC, lease of 31,000 square feet, Selective Site Consultants Inc., leases of 46,000 square feet (aggregate), and a long list of others.
What do you consider your specialty these days?
Working with office tenants. Most of my business is representing them. They will hire us to evaluate a lease renewal, a relocation, or sometimes a purchase. We help them identify what their needs are and what makes the most sense for their business.
Tell us about a recent deal that was most satisfying.
Probably for me, it was representing Rasmussen, Willis, Dickey & Moore in their lease renewal/restructuring. They had grown over time and wanted all their people to be together. There were a few moving parts to the transaction, including the relocation of an existing tenant. Now they’re on three floors, and their space is much more centralized and efficient. And I think the savings in cost per attorney after the restructuring was about 32 percent, so that was great news, too.
Any interesting trends out there in office relocation?
Landlords are willing to be creative to land tenants. The Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, for example, wanted about 3,000 +/- square foot conference facility, and landlords of several buildings were willing to joint venture with the tenant on many of the costs associated with this room in exchange for being able to offer it as an amenity to other tenants. And I think these days, another trend is just that people in general are being more efficient with their office space.
How is the down economy affecting office deals?
Well, there are two trains of thought. First, we know that now is a good time for tenants to lock in on long-term deals because they can get better pricing in a down market. Counteracting this is the hesitation about what the future holds for their business and a need for flexibility. However, for long-term deals, we are often able to build flexibility into the lease by negotiating termination/expansion options.
What are you working on in 2010?
Most of my time this year will be comprised of representing tenants with lease renewals/relocations. Tenants want someone to help them realize the opportunities that a down-market brings with it.
What do you do in your spare time?
My wife and 19 month old son live in Overland Park. We have been spending a lot of time playing with my son outside and enjoying this warm weather. I like working on house projects (with mixed success) and have enjoyed cheering on K-State basketball this year.
Are you involved in any community work?
I am very involved with the DeLaSalle Education Center, a charter high-school that provides a safe, flexible learning environment for high school students who need an alternative to the traditional school setting. I co-founded and co-chair a growing organization called DeLaSalle SOUL that sponsors and organizes volunteer opportunities for the school. In March, we had our fourth annual spring cleaning day – where about 65 people spent half of their Saturday painting inside the school.
What advice would you give someone who does what you do?
You need to have a lot of patience. Deals often have a long lead time and don’t always turn out how you expected. Try to learn as much as you can from the best in the business and find a good business partner.
Anything else you want to say??