ORLANDO—Franklin Street is continuing to beef up its commercial real estate ranks in its new Orlando office. The firm just added T. Scott Williams as general manager in the office and industrial division.
“Scott is an extremely strong operator who gives building owners confidence that their assets are being well taken care of,” says Melissa Hazlewood, vice president of property management in the Orlando office for Franklin Street. “With his experience and talent, I believe he will be a critical element to us winning even more management contracts in Central Florida.”
Williams brings over 15 years of commercial real estate experience in property operations, client relations, leasing management, and construction management to Franklin Street. He comes to the firm from JLL, where he served as vice president and group manager in Florida and was responsible for management and building operations of approximately 1.2 million square feet of class A office in Orlando.
“The Central Florida office market is very tight right now for those looking for large blocks of space,” Williams tells GlobeSt.com. “Rates are up, but not enough to justify new construction that would make those larger spaces available.”
Prior to JLL, Williams managed multiple class A-plus properties in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. During his career, he has successfully completed more than $18 million in capital improvements for a variety of clients.
“Over the next few months, we expect to see cap rates push closer to the national average, but it still remains to be seen if they will be enough to warrant new development,” Williams says. “We are in a bit of a holding pattern so we are helping our clients navigate through this time. For smaller spaces, leasing activity is strong and steady.”
Williams has earned several management excellence awards including the highly coveted “Office Building of the Year” Award given the Building Owners and Management Association ands out annually. Last year, JLL named him property manager of the year. Williams earned his Bachelor of Science in Communications from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
“In addition to his strong operations and client management skills, Scott also stands out for his ability to oversee building construction projects,” says Hazlewood. “He has significant experience in project management which makes him very valuable to us. I fully expect we will use him across our platform, managing building projects for our retail and multifamily clients in addition to office and industrial properties.”
