Though they are new to the game, JBC Commercial Real Estate has become a major player in the area by offering sales and leasing brokerage, development, and advisory services.
Q&A with Jim Buus
Q: Can you tell me about your company?
A: JBC Commercial has been around for five years now, but my core team and I have decades of experience in commercial brokerage, development, and property management. We pride ourselves on being commercial real estate brokers first, which means we don’t develop speculative projects like many other developers do. Instead, we typically find tenants and partners first, then develop the project.
Q: How did you become a real estate developer?
A: Coming out of college, I wanted to work in a career that involved the physical growth and economic development of our region. After college, I worked in two professional roles, both involved community and business development, which then led me to go to work for 23 years at GOLDMARK Commercial primarily as a Commercial Realtor/Broker. After establishing myself as a broker, I started getting businesses and community leaders asking me to get more involved in buying and leasing buildings to them as well as developing projects from the ground up.
Q: Please describe the current projects your company is working on.
A: While JBC’s core mission remains brokerage, meaning sales and leasing of commercial property, we are involved in a variety of pending development projects with various partners.
Q: How does your company try to contribute to the local community?
A: As a broker, we work to help businesses grow by meeting their space needs. As a developer, we work to grow and redevelop communities and neighborhoods to increase the quality of life and tax base. Beyond that, all of our teammates and partners are encouraged to be actively involved in their respective communities including service clubs, professional organizations, and sponsorships of valuable events and programming.
Q: What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a developer in this area?
A: As far as challenges, higher interest rates are one thing, but the changing economy is another key factor. By that, I mean the changing office space environment; as more people work remotely, demand for office space decreases. Other challenges are the ever-changing regulatory environment like building codes and flood control rules. .
