Familiar name built on office space

Commercial real estate is more than downtown high-rises and Garden of the Gods Road manufacturing plants.

Single-story buildings that house mom and pop businesses on Academy Boulevard, warehouses along Fillmore Street and Victorians converted to office use in Colorado Springs’ Old North End are part of the mix, too.

Handling the sale, lease and management of these so-called Class B properties is how Tim Leigh, owner and president of Hoff & Leigh Inc. in the Springs, has made a living for more than 20 years.

Leigh estimates his company handles about 35 percent of local Class B properties. It’s a niche where Leigh said he’s content to erect his company’s familiar red-and-white signs.

“We have the technical skills to sell the Holly Sugar (now FirstBank) Building,” he said. “But we choose not to chase that Class A market. We’ll do the stuff that nobody else wants to do.”

Working with smaller businesses that buy or rent space means dealing directly with local businesspeople.

“I work with small-business owners who can make their own decisions,” he said.

The company was founded in 1987 by Leigh and Bob Hoff, a well-known Springs real estate veteran who retired five years ago.

A North Dakota native, Leigh served in the Army and was stationed at Fort Carson from 1975 to 1978, where he met his wife, Lise.

They moved to North Dakota after his discharge, and Leigh graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Tired of snowy winters and wanting to be near his wife’s family in the Springs, the couple moved here in 1982.

Hoff and Leigh met in 1983 when both worked as leasing agents for a Springs management company. Despite a 25-year age difference, they became fast friends. Two years later, they joined real estate company Griffis/Blessing. In 1987, and Hoff and Leigh launched their own company.

Leigh said he runs the Manitou Incline five days a week with his two dogs. Away from the job, and whether it’s Hawaii or Mexico, Leigh says he’s on a quest to find the world’s “most perfect beach.”

Although Hoff retired, Leigh, 52, said he has no plans to change the company name.

“Hoff & Leigh is a great brand,” he said.

Leigh and a partner have branched into office-condominium development with a project on the far north side. He’s also looking to create a franchise that would allow brokerages in other cities to copy Hoff & Leigh’s Class B business model.

Question: How would you characterize commercial real estate in Colorado Springs?

Answer: The current state of commercial real estate, as reflected by the typical small business, is characterized as “opportunity for some, anxiety for many.” Cash in our economy is always king. Those with liquidity are able to buy property at a discount. Because of lopsided supplyand-demand dynamics, there are now great buying opportunities.

We need to grow employment and capture more jobs as a community. This will spur demand for commercial property (and all services). Business expansion created by new employment will go first to the absorption of Class A space. Then it will trickle down to the rest of the commercial real estate market.

Q: What will the commercial market be like in 2008?

A: Frankly, I’m concerned about the commercial real estate market for the average person. I’ve seen the rosy predictions of growth and absorption, and those predictions may be true for Class A buildings along I-25. My world, however, is Class B property, from where the average small business operates. What we see is a diminution of demand and a corresponding decrease in lease rates and market values. We have instance after instance where building owners have had to lower their rent rates just to retain existing tenants. Furthermore, we can cite example after example of buildings for sale, where current lenders don’t want to renew existing, aged loans. We are in for very choppy times.

Q: Will the proposed federal economic stimulus package have an effect on commercial real estate?

A: The big benefit of the Bush bailout is the positive psychological impact it will have on the average person’s attitude. The real benefit will be lower interest rates, a moderating stock market and cash in the consumer’s pocket.

Q: Has the slowdown in single-family home sales and construction affected the commercial market?

A: The local economy is not going to collapse, but it is in a mild recession. When a substantial portion of any local economy is driven by construction and development, and that sector of the economy suffers, the entire economy is adversely impacted. Alternatively, when that sector is doing well, the economy does well. There is a trickle-down effect. When you have significant diminution in real estate values, those who have lost that value don’t employ; they don’t make charitable contributions to nonprofits; they don’t make their normal contributions to the economy. Any time you have money drying up (a loss of liquidity) in an economy, it impacts all of us . . . So, yes, when housing is down, all real estate values decrease.

Q: The Hoff & Leigh name has been around for more than 20 years. How important is name recognition and branding in the world of marketing commercial real estate?

A: The only real asset you can enter and leave life with is your name — personally and professionally. We continuously strive to build our brand awareness and the perceived value that is associated with the Hoff & Leigh name. We have had competitors copy our signage and marketing over time . . . We have customers come to us because of name and brand recognition. That is a great compliment.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0228 or rich.laden@gazette.com. Questions and answers are edited for space and clarity.