Like Father, Like Son: Jeff Buslik on Updating Adams & Co. for 21st Century

The Commercial Observer: Would you say that these new leasing assignments can be seen as a new strategy for Adams & Company?
Mr. Buslik: I am not going to say it’s necessarily a new strategy. I think what’s happening is we’ve been in business for almost 100 years and in order to get better, we need to keep expanding. We’ve been successful in continually looking for ways to expand our business, and I believe my youth and my energy have contributed to that.

How does that differ from how your family has conducted business in the past?
My dad has been in the real estate business for 40 years. He and his partner, David Levy, purchased Adams & Company in 1999, and I arrived in 2003. I think prior to coming here, my dad and his brokers also did brokerage outside of their own buildings. But when they came here, the portfolio was significantly larger; the majority of their attention had to be spent on taking care of the buildings. So the tenant representation side was there, and producing, but it needed help to get to the next level.

And how does one go about taking it to the next level?
What I did to get to the next step was I just pushed, I worked hard, I learned the market and really tried to convey to tenants that we were more than just landlords. By being landlords in part of our day-to-day life, we have a unique knowledge to help them navigate any and all transactions. What it has also spawned is that we’re getting looked at by other landlords as possible representatives for them. In the last couple of months, my team and I were hired by another owner in our neighborhood to represent three buildings of theirs that total over 350,000 square feet, which is an additional wing. That’s not just representing a tenant. That is representing another landlord. So those are two ways of growth for us.

How did the leasing assignments at 5 West 37th Street, 385 Fifth Avenue and 390 Fifth Avenue come about?
They’re owned by Hilson Management, and actually we got that assignment because in the six months prior to their hiring us, we rented two separate units in their portfolio and they were impressed with our professionalism.
Ultimately I feel our experience from running our own buildings and our experience from representing tenants in buildings that are not necessarily our own make us really ideal candidates to represent owners looking for experienced real estate brokers.

Are you planning to reposition any of these properties?
Let’s use 390 Fifth as an example. In the past 390 has been known as an accessory building. As the accessory market condenses, we have branched out two office tenants in that building. I believe the owners are happy with that and are looking forward to the broader horizons different tenants will give them.

We��ve made a deal with a company called JC Edward—they were in the Empire State Building [350 Fifth Avenue]. We brought a tenant, an accessories company that was located on the far West Side, over to 390 Fifth Avenue. There’s a couple more in the works, but I can’t speak of those yet.

Taking this new direction, how are you going to differ from your father’s approach to tenant representation?
My dad and his partner, David Levy, are in charge of running the buildings here and running the company on a day-to-day basis. My direction is really to expand in other areas. So I have a team of two people currently … and I am hoping to add more. We’re out meeting with tenants every day, we’re talking to landlords every day about possibly hiring us as their agents. And really that’s what I am doing to expand beyond what my dad does, his partner does, what people in general have perceived as doing.