If timing is everything, then now is the moment that Koeppel Tener Riguardi has waited for since 1988.
Begun just a scant six years ago, the firm, known as KTR, is now ready to come under the national spotlight and bask in what it has accomplished since inception.
What began as a small, five-man firm focusing on commercial brokerage and valuation in Manhattan has grown over the past 72 months to a 100-member staff, including 60 appraisers in four, soon to be five, regional offices. Today, the commercial brokerage sector still exists in the firm, but it is valuation, environmental services and realestate tax appeal work that has drawn national attention to the firm.
"There is a lot more to KTR than has ever been known and now is the time to tell the story," says Terry Tener, MAI, a founder of the firm, along with Caleb Koeppel and Edward Riguardi. "We are ready to illustrate to the business community what we feel is our national base of operations."
The impetus for the drive for attention this year is that, as of April 1, Edward Riguardi, along with his son Peter and some office brokers, joined Colliers ABR Inc. (See related story.) As a result of the Riguardi family's exit, KTR now stands for Koeppel Tener Real Estate Services.
KTR has now emerged as "one of the largest valuationfirms in the country, with a variety of clients needing services," says Tener. In addition to its New York location, KTR has offices in Dallas, Los Angeles, Albuquerque, N.M., and Somerset, N.J., with plans to open an office in Chicago soon.
Some of the clients include Patriot American, a Wall Street conduit that recently asked KTR to appraise some 60-odd properties, as well the financier George Soros, who needed valuations on another 60 sites. Bank of New York, Chase Manhattan, John Hancock Properties, Travelers Insurance, Bank of Tokyo, the Federal Deposit Insurance Co. and the Resolution Trust Corp. are just some of KTR's additional clients.
KTR's work has included such prestigious buildings as the 1.9 million sq. ft. 1290 Sixth Avenue, the 1.9 million sq. ft. and 1.8 million sq. ft., respectively, 1271 and 1211 Avenue of the Americas, the 1.14 million sq. ft. 237 Park Avenue and the 1.1 million sq. ft. 101 Park Avenue.
Its retail valuations have included the almost 1 million sq. ft. Pavilions at Buckland Hills in Hartford, Conn., and the 600,000 sq. ft. Jefferson Valley Mall in Westchester, N.Y. It was also tapped by theMacArthur Foundation Portfolio to appraise its 6,000 condo and co-op units in New York City. The U.S. Post Office selected KTR for its 1.04 million sq. ft. Emanuel Celler Federal Building.
"We're in a personal service business and people depend on us togive them correct valuations," says Tener. "We are as at ease with dealing with Wall Street clients as we are international firms who have asked us to provide appraisals of their United States properties."
KTR has attracted fine talent to its pool of employees, including family members Sara Koeppel Cohn and Damien Tener. In addition, its valuation services are headed by longtime experts: Wayne A. Nygard manages the New York appraisal division, Martin B. Levine is the director of that division, Peter F. Stork is the manager of the New Jersey division, Steven Goldberg manages the Dallas office and Peter Ostwald handles Los Angeles. All have MAI designations and are noted in their fields.
Prior to joining the firm, Nygard was vice president and chief appraiser for the Bank of New York. Levine was formerly associated with the Chase Manhattan Bank for 11 years as its vice president in charge of the metropolitan New York appraisal division. Stork was the assistant chief appraiser for New York Life Insurance, Goldberg was formerly associated with a national appraisal firm and Ostwald was associated with an appraisal firm in Los Angeles.
Caleb Koeppel retains his niche by managing and developing the brokerage part of the firm. He currentlyis working on two large deals, a 41,000 sq. ft. lease and one in excess of 100,000 sq. ft. He is part of the fourth generation of a renowned commercial real estate family in the city.
When asked if the New York City market is coming back, Koeppel is quick to say, "There are some of us who think it never went away. I see the midtown market as very strong with large-size prime space hard to find, as is well-located secondary space."
Koeppel is at ease with the growth incurred by KTR in such a short time period. He almost considers it a given with the talent and philosophy of the firm.
"I think the reason that KTR has grown so quicklyis that we provide quality service to our clients and honesty -- our names are on the door and we expect to pass on the firm to the next generation -- if they are interested -- as it was passed on to me," he says.
Koeppel, because of his long-time ties to the real estate community in New York, comes equipped with the basic understanding of how deals are put together. His laidback personality allows for unions to be made in a relatively short period of time because, from day one, "The view I take with my clients is that what you see is what you get. My word is my bond because sooner or later, we are all called up to the plate to deliver."
He views Terry Tener, who is the antithesis to Koeppel's quiet demeanor, as being strong in providing loyalty to clients and the partners in the firm. "Terry has vision, he can see years down the road. And when he gives loyalty to his clients, it comes back to him with more work for the firm."
Take, for instance, Al Niedan, vice president of New York-based ING Capital, which is a wholly owned company of ING Group in Amsterdam. "KTR is a good outfit, they are timely in their work and they have exceptional professional and diverse abilities, with the ability to have a national scope to their work," says Niedan.
Niedanhas known some of KTR's appraisers for years and has admired their work. "They are very competent guys, some of the best in the industry," he adds. In fact, he has used KTR for many appraisals on construction loans, held throughout the country, especially on large manufacturer outlet centers. At one time, ING was oneof the largest shortterm lenders for that kind of product.
The diversity of the KTR appraisal staff has led ING to use their services on sites ranging from conventional strip shopping centers to residential conversions to golf course communities.
In addition to becoming known nationally as a large valuation firm, KTR over the past six years has made major inroads in two other sectors of the market -- environmental services and real estate tax appeal. KTR sees the services as a natural bridge to their three-pronged level of commitment to clients.
David Vance, president of KTR Environmental Services, is well regarded in the business world for providing expert advice on environmental issues. "These issues are increasingly complex and they vary from proactive strategic environmental management to reactive site remediation," says Vance.
Vance, a scientist by training, is one of America's leading experts on groundwater contamination and metals remediation, and serves as a contributing editor to the National Environmental Journal. He brings to KTR a team of experts that have experience resolving virtually every type of environmental situation imaginable.
Hebelieves KTR's focus is one that encompasses both ends of the spectrum, from quality and consistence that is essential to provide cost-effective environmental solutions, to an approach that hinges on technically superior methodologies applied in the most efficient fashion currently possible.
"We are dedicated to making the process comprehensible from the board room to the shop floor," he says. "KTR provides this level of service by the ability to mobilize the best possible resources available for a company's needs."
Tener sees KTR's environmental unit as being of utmost importance to today's business needs. "If companies have a problem with a particular site, such as metals or groundwater remediation, we can answer those problems," he notes. And what makes KTR even more valuable to thecorporate client is that they work independently. "We are able to give them the bad news about a property and then select the right scientists to resolve it. We represent the client with his interests in mind, not ours."
The company's real estate tax appeal unit has "been very successful, saving our clients millions of dollars at some major office and hotel sites," says Tener. "Face it, real estate taxes represent a lot in the operating budget of a substantial property and portfolio."
Tax appeal comes down to providing the right appraisal and the knowledge of the market. However, KTR is savvy enough to understand that the firm can't be everything to everyone, so its tax appeal work is available only in the cities that house the firm's offices.
Firm ventures into retail services
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