Gayle Benson makes big move into real estate, buying local broker Corporate Realty | Business News
New Orleans Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson has bought Corporate Realty, one of the largest commercial real estate brokerage and management firms in the metropolitan area, to expand the real estate portion of their business empire.
The acquisition, the financial details of which will not be disclosed, is a sign of the ambitions of Benson and its consultants in managing and operating commercial real estate, particularly in the entertainment and sports facility sectors.
In an interview, Benson said it was also an expression of her confidence in the immediate prospects for the New Orleans economy and the potential to expand corporate realty into new businesses and other parts of the country.
“Your vision and our vision are a very good match, and our goal is to significantly increase Corporate Realty’s presence regionally and beyond,” said Benson.
New Orleans billionaire Tom Benson bought New Orleans-based Cadillac, based in Metairie, in early 2017. Benson had a relationship with General Motors that dates back to the 1950s when he first became a GM dealer. The Benson list of dealerships includes Best Chevrolet in Kenner and Mercedes-Benz in New Orleans.
The Benson group of companies already has significant real estate holdings related to the Saints Organization and other companies. In addition to leasing the state-owned Caesars Superdome and Smoothie King Center, the group also signed a new lease at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, for Benson’s NBA G-League team, the Birmingham Squadron, which had its first home game there earlier this year Month.
Benson has an interest in the Hyatt Regency Hotel and has rights to 900 parking spaces in the area. The business empire also includes the 26-story Benson Tower, the nearly 500,000-square-foot skyscraper acquired in 2009 under the state Superdome lease brokered by Corporate Realty. She also owns the nearby New Orleans Center, the now defunct mall that once housed Macy’s and Lord & Taylor as anchor tenants.
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The land and buildings associated with the car dealerships that were the original source of the late Tom Benson’s fortune are also among the group’s property interests. Gayle Benson Automotive Group is building a 20,000 square foot Sprinter Van dealership on the corner of Poydras Street and Claiborne Avenue in the Central Business District, with Woodward Design and Build as prime contractor.
Corporate Realty’s roots go back to the middle of the last century when it was part of the development interests of the sprawling real estate empire of the Latter and Schlesinger families. Sidney Lassen, former CEO and Chairman of Sizeler Property Investors in Metairie, has been the majority owner since the early 1990s, but has been led by President Michael Siegel on a daily basis for the past 15 years.
Corporate Realty is involved in many parts of the local real estate market. In the past year, the company brokered around 45 sales valued at more than $ 65 million and processed nearly 400 lease transactions.
Tulane University, the largest single landowner in New Orleans, has outsourced its real estate transactions to Corporate Realty. The company also manages nearly 3 million square feet of office, retail, and other commercial space and also has a consulting practice.
“We do transactions all day, but what we really like are big projects that we can dive into,” Siegel said. This includes advising on the multi-billion dollar River District project, which aims to create a brand new entertainment-focused neighborhood on 50 acres of riverside land owned by the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
The Caesars Dome and Benson Tower in New Orleans, Thursday, July 22, 2021. (Personal photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)
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A group led by local developer Lou Lauricella won the Master Developer contract for the River District project earlier this year, and both Lauricella and Benson have announced that they would like to work together to develop potential sports and entertainment venues develop that are part of it new neighborhood.
That could include transforming the old Market Street power station into an entertainment venue, the derelict building in the countryside next to the upstream acres of the convention center that Lauricella’s group is buying from local developer Joe Jaeger.
Benson said her immediate real estate priorities include working with the Jefferson Parish Authorities and ASM Global, which manages the Superdome and Smoothie King Center on behalf of the Superdome Commission, to determine the future of the Lasalle Tract, the property that the shrine is on airline. This venue was the home of the Triple-A Baby Cakes baseball team until they left for Wichita, Kansas two years ago.
There have been various proposals to bring a new sports franchise to the site, but the pandemic has delayed progress.
“This really is too valuable a piece of property to be left behind,” said Benson. “We don’t want to tell the community what to do, but we have some long-term recommendations on what to do with it.”
The Benson Group is also focused on developing the properties on the river side of the Superdome. Caesars Entertainment executives said earlier this year when they signed a 20-year naming agreement for $ 138 million for the Superdome that they would like to develop joint projects with the Benson group, including Champions Square and the New Orleans Center could belong.
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Benson says her other real estate priority is Faubourg Brewery in New Orleans East, which Benson acquired in 2016. The newly built brewery on Jourdan Road covers 35 hectares, a large part of which has not yet been developed.
The new brewery included a taproom, museum, and family-friendly music and saint events, some of which have attracted thousands. This has encouraged the executives of the Benson group to consider more ambitiously how this site can be developed as an entertainment venue.
But the plans for Corporate Realty go far beyond the areas in which the real estate ambitions of the Benson Group are intertwined with its own expertise.
“A dream has come true for what we do,” says Siegel. “Your vision and our vision is not just to be a local real estate company. With the brands you represent, you will bring a much larger platform, a lot more reach and capital with you when we need it.”
While Corporate Realty is one of the biggest players in the field, under Benson the company will seek to buy other complementary regional businesses, hire new brokers and consultants, and make other investments to expand into new areas and locations, Siegel said.
The facility of Faubourg Brewing, formerly Dixie Beer, in New Orleans East opens up to a large beer garden and landscaped garden. The brewery is located on a total of 35 hectares that the Benson Group would like to develop further.
“You didn’t buy corporate realty so we could just join in and continue what we’ve been doing so far,” said Siegel. “They will bring their full trust and recognition, expertise, reach, and intelligence to what we do with the aim of making it significantly better.”
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