Having worked in commercial real estate for 25 years – and in particular with doctors and hospitals – Eileen Cardelle knows one thing for certain about medical professionals: they’re very busy. As a result, Cardelle, director of commercial services for Horizon Properties, has used her experience and knowledge to build a relationship with these professionals and assist them with their property needs.
Horizon Properties is a third-party real estate advisory and investment firm, founded in 1995 by Jorge Alvarino and Joel Benes, which specializes in leasing and local management of commercial properties. Cardelle joined the company seven years ago, bringing her years of experience with her.
As she explained, "From the very beginning I’ve worked in medical, with doctors and hospitals and therapists because they’re such a solid tenancy. They’re very astute but they’re also very limited on time, so I’ve always found that the service you provide has to be very professional – and your information has to be very accurate because they’re extremely busy. That’s why it’s important to know the market."
Because of that busyness, Cardelle especially likes to work with them because "they really do need your assistance. Typically in health care, the whole staff is busy and it’s hard to even delegate anybody to go out and look at properties. So they need the service, and I honed in on that from the start."
She has also come to realize that health care professionals and practices are excellent to work with because they are usually financially stable and don’t move very often. This led her to focus on mixing medical facilities in with retail. She said that while this idea has become more popular in recent years – when the economy took a hit and landlords were looking to fill space where anchor stores left – she had been doing it long before then.
"I always thought medical was a good fit with retail," she said, "and one reason is parking.
Transportation wasn’t always offered (by assisted care facilities) and families had to take their seniors to the doctors’ offices. So the mix is good because of the access and the parking, and it can give families a chance to go shopping while loved ones are waiting to be seen."
In addition to her experience, Cardelle has a master of science in real estate with a concentration in finance from Florida International University, and is an adjunct professor in real estate and finance at FIU. This background is very beneficial to her work: "For example, doctors typically need medical build-out, which is costly and takes time to actually build. So you have to analyze the numbers from a rental standpoint and a construction standpoint, and determine if it makes financial sense for the move and the location. When health care users see the professional has this understanding and skill, they feel comfortable and realize how they can benefit."
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n addition to helping acquire or dispose of property, Horizon assists clients that already have property and need it to be managed or leased. "Horizon Properties is full-service. We have a full property management department and the benefit is that we have the knowledge of the operating expenses of the property. We can explain that to both the tenants and the owners, and we can help them enhance their net income by lowering their expenses."
Cardelle said Horizon has clients of all sizes. "We work with the experienced medical firm that has multiple units and is either expanding or right-sizing; and we have people come to us right from medical school, and we help them understand what they need financially and location-wise in order to start a practice. We work with medical centers, urgent care centers, ambulatory centers, hospitals that have to do extensions to their locations." The properties Horizon represents are located either on or adjacent to medical campuses throughout the county, according to Cardelle, "so we have properties that are well located on main intersections, with good access and good parking."
Additionally, Cardelle said the Horizon team comprises numerous senior professionals, many with 10-plus years of experience. "That is unique. Folks don’t often get much exposure to the ownership, but our owners are very hands-on; and when challenges arise and decisions have to be made, that helps our staff to be very efficient. It makes a big difference."
