Chairman Stephen Bittel talks real estate, trends, and building better communities.

Florida’s CRE biggest headwind is small banks’ tightness for new debt: Terranova’s Stephen Bittel

CNBC, THE EXCHANGE – December 28th, 2023

“We have never been more excited about our commercial real estate here (in Miami),” Stephen H. Bittel.


Stephen Bittel, Terranova founder, joins ‘The Exchange’ to discuss Florida’s commercial real estate outlook, where investors could find opportunities, and more.

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Stephen-Bittel

Pay It Forward: “Outwork Your Competition Consistently”

ALM Globest.com, by Tasha Norman – January 11, 2023

Terranova Corp. founder and chairman Stephen Bittel has dedicated his life to building his business, while promoting the livelihood of his hometown through active involvement.

 
Stephen Bittel, 66, founder and chairman of Terranova Corp. in Miami Beach, FL. Stephen Bittel is a fixture in both the real estate industry and the community of Miami, FL. With deep roots in the southern coastal city, Bittel has dedicated his life towards not only building his business to be one of the top commercial real estate firms in South Florida (for which in 2005 he was awarded the South Florida Business Journal “Ultimate CEO” award), but also promoting the livelihood of his hometown through his active involvement in it.

Area of expertise or focus: Commercial real estate and private equity investments/capital markets.

How have you overcome obstacles in your industry? The best way to overcome any obstacle in this industry is to build a team with a shared commitment to excellence and a joint belief in consistent hard work.

What about your current role at the company are you most happy with?  I am very proud of the senior leadership team we have built over the years. Everyone is well aligned, enabling us to achieve the best results possible in a constantly shifting and challenging market.

What is the best piece of advice you have received that has helped you succeed in your industry, and do you have any advice specifically for the next generation?  A common misconception — but balance is not a lifestyle. It is something that happens in a bank account after a lot of hard work. My advice is to outwork your competition consistently so you can outperform them again and again.

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Surf, Sun and Shopping: CRE Executive Stephen Bittel on the Strength of the Pedestrian Mall in South Florida

EntrepreneursBreak, by Ethan – November 17th, 2022  


With gorgeous beaches of fine white sand and turquoise blue waters, dotted with palm trees and temperatures that rarely dip below 70 degrees, it is obvious what draws people to live and play in South Florida. Nobody can deny the siren song of a city that sees sunny days for over two-thirds of the year, but the weather does more than just create perfect beach days. It has also helped Lincoln Road flourish as one of the few remaining original pedestrian malls in the United States.

According to Stephen Bittel, an investor with over three decades of experience in commercial real estate, the most-visited destination in Florida is the beach. Calling it the “starting magic,” he explained that with Lincoln Road’s location only a few blocks from the ocean it is ideally located as a spot for retail and dining after a day at the beach. Bittel’s company Terranova Corporation has owned property on the street since 2011 when it closed on a landmark three-building deal to the tune of $52 million. By 2014 his firm had purchased six properties in total on Lincoln Road at the cost of $191 million, and later completed one of the largest deals in South Florida history when it sold them for $342 million, and again reinvesting.

Terranova’s investment in Lincoln Road properties was part of a larger pivot on the part of Stephen Bittel, whose previous strategy for the business involved a heavy focus on the suburban properties that had spurred the development of pedestrian malls in the first place. In post-World War II America people began migrating to the suburbs at record rates, and by the 1960s and 1970s enclosed shopping centers began appearing en masse in these areas, further driving customers away from the downtown shopping malls that had proliferated in earlier years.

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