Commercial real estate and business brokerage firm Gulf Coast Commercial, LLC (GCC) is on the move, expanding their corporate offices and adding real estate agents, business brokers, marketing analysts and administration to their 11-member team.
"We moved our corporate headquarters to Ybor because we have every intention to expand our staff, and this was a unique opportunity to occupy space within Ybor City. It’s historic Tampa and there are quite the amenities that are proving to be a good pool to attract talent here in the market," says Scott Dobbins, founder and managing partner at GCC.
In just a few short months, the firm added seven new agents and has settled into their chic, new 4,000-square-foot Centro Ybor digs. GCC will also retain their St. Petersburg office as a satellite location.
Traditionally focused on providing retail real estate services to regional and national retailers, GCC’s growth spurt is fueled by a unique blend of cyclical market changes and strategic investment opportunities.
As the real estate market experienced economic downturn, several of GCC’s clients approached the firm with requests to help sell their existing businesses or to find like businesses for them to acquire.
"It really jumped us into 12 to 18 months of underwriting the business brokerage business -- we hadn’t done it before," says Dobbins.
GCC struck up a partnership with
Corporate Investments International (CII), the oldest business brokerage firm in the state of Florida, which had locations in Orlando, Jacksonville, and south Florida but no presence on the west coast of Florida. The strategic collaboration resultantly established CII Gulf Coast, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GCC and the firm’s new business brokerage division.
"We are seeing synergies back and forth that are very exciting to us. What we’re seeing is a positive trend with business sales and business acquisitions," says Dobbins.
The firm is now concentrating on developmental opportunities and investments in up-and-coming markets like the west coast of Florida.
"The west coast has a lot of attributes that will lead to very positive population growth. We have a real potential to double in population in the next 15 years. With that population, it leads to infrastructure and jobs."
GCC also identifies “leading edge indicators” of three types of buyers emerging within the targeted growth areas:
• Retirement 2.0: Baby boomers with a shifted view of traditional retirement who have had their nest-eggs shrink are now buying businesses, therefore creating jobs for themselves or families.
• The Lost Generation: Post-college graduates with unconventional employment opportunities are adding parents as investors and growing businesses organically.
• International Community: Foreign investors are purchasing local businesses and effectively receive citizenship through various visa programs that are available to them.
"We are converging upon affordability, lifestyle, climate, and a younger group coming in. Couple that with the population growth, and we think it is a recipe for success -- both in our commercial real estate business and in our business brokerage business," says Dobbins.
Within 18 months, GCC plans to add a regional office in southwest Florida.
For information on hiring opportunities visit
Gulf Coast Commercial’s website.
Written By:
Kaye Brown
Sources: Scott Dobbins, Gulf Coast Commercial, LLC
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