Building Nevada - February 2005

NAI Horizon

Teaming Up to Build Success

by Tom Dye

NAI Horizon is counting on its team approach to commercial real estate to make it No. 1 in the Las Vegas market. The firm is expanding by increasing its staff from 38 to 50 agents and doubling the size of its office space, said President Mike Fitz-Gerald.

NAI Horizon is moving this month from its quarters on Paradise Road to offices with 15,000 square feet of space in the Marnell Corporate Center near McCarran International Airport. The firm is also active in the Arizona market, with a Phoenix office of similar size.

Now the fourth-largest commercial real estate firm in Nevada, NAI Horizon faces formidable competition in Las Vegas. Fitz-Gerald said the firm has an advantage because it belongs to the international NAI network, the second-largest real estate network in the world, with more than 300 affiliates in 40 countries.

The firm has been particularly strong in brokering land deals and has shown expertise in sales and leasing in the industrial and retail markets, he said. "Our apartment team had no market share for two years and is now the dominant apartment brokerage in Las Vegas," Fitz-Gerald said. But he believes NAI still has work to do to become a major player in the office market. In addition to sales and leasing of property, the firm is involved in property management, asset management, business consulting services, build-to-suit projects and investment services.

Because real estate deals are complex and time consuming, NAI assigns a team of agents from its staff to assist clients. Each team member handles certain facets of a deal. This enables each agent focus on an assignment. "In a typical real estate transaction, 130 to 180 tasks have to be performed," Fitz-Gerald said. "There is not enough time in the day for one broker to handle everything."

Instead of competing against each other, brokers specializing in one real estate category, such as office buildings, will recommend potential clients with interests in other areas, such as retail or industrial space, to another team of brokers. This type of networking makes the firm more effective, he said.

The affiliation with an international network gives the firm contacts and expertise to bring in clients from all over the world, Fitz-Gerald said. As an example, the network has enabled the local operation to make contact with Vindex International Inc. and Horizon Structured Solutions Ltd. in the Republic of China, which plan to establish a 1 million-square-foot showroom facility in Las Vegas. The operation, which will be called China Mart, plans to display the products from 400 manufacturing companies from mainland

China and market them throughout the United States.

Las Vegas is a natural site for this type of facility because of its land availability, popularity as a site for trade shows and conventions and large, modern airport, Fitz-Gerald said. NAI Horizon will help Vindix and Horizon select a site and lease space. Fitz-Gerald predicts NAI will be involved in similar deals in the future.

NAI Horizon traces its beginnings to a Las Vegas company, Americana Commercial Group, which was founded in 1979 and affiliated with NAI in 1995. A Phoenix-based firm founded in the late 1980s joined NAI in 1994. The two firms combined in 2001 when veteran commercial real estate executives Ron McMenemy and John Schottenstein purchased both offices. McMenemy is chief executive officer of NAI Horizon in Las Vegas and Schottenstein has the same title for the Arizona operation. McMenemy has spent 20 years in commercial real estate and Schottenstein has 26 years of experience in the industry. Fitz-Gerald joined the firm more than a year ago after 26 years in commercial real estate management in Arizona and Southern Nevada.

Tom Dye
Tom Dye is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas.