Introduction
Joe Franco, a Senior Vice President at CBRE in Charlotte, talks with Jack Ossa about commercial office leasing, landlord representation and why design details decide which buildings tenants remember. Joe leads the office leasing program for the firm's Charlotte office and works for owners rather than tenants.
The episode opens with what motivates him and moves to a practical example: how his team approaches an amenity space, an office park conversion and the way owners think about their buildings.
About the Episode
Joe is originally from Pittsburgh, moved to Charlotte for college and began his real estate career as an assistant property manager at an office park, which taught him how tenants make decisions and what frustrates them. He then spent about ten years at Cushman & Wakefield before moving to CBRE. He says his mother was an interior designer and that her attention to detail shaped how he sees office space: the economics get a deal to a tour, but the way the space looks drives the decision.
He describes turning a windowless space in a downtown building into an amenity hub. Before design began, he gathered the owner, property manager, construction manager, architect and contractor, toured similar spaces and agreed on what the space should feel like. That is where he talks about the last five percent of design.
Joe also explains his client mix, an example of a creative office conversion of an office park near South End, the pressure of rising construction costs and his view that the industry will move toward a more concierge feel with larger common areas.
Key Takeaways
- Design drives the tour: the way a space looks and feels is what companies remember after seeing several options.
- Align the whole team early: owner, property manager, architect and contractor should agree on the vision before design starts.
- The last five percent matters: lighting, tile, wallpaper and texture are small costs that change how a space feels.
- Offices can learn from hospitality: hotels and apartments invest in detail; the office sector is slower to do so.
- Repositioning needs capital and timing: new owners can change who a building is marketed to, but construction costs rising year over year affect the plan.
- Tenants pay for environment: companies value spaces that help them recruit and retain people.
- Do fewer things well: a smaller amenity done well beats a large one done poorly.
Highlights from the Conversation
I like to call it the last five percent of design, and the reason why I call it that is you can spend ninety five percent of the cost on all of the things that are important but the last five percent are the attention to detail, the finish details.
Joe Franco
Real estate is a local business, it always will be.
Joe Franco
I would rather have a smaller area that we're talking about but done well than a large area done poorly.
Joe Franco
Topics Discussed
- Motivation, family and moving to Charlotte
- Starting in property management and moving to brokerage
- Turning a windowless space into an amenity hub
- The last five percent of design
- Workplaces that blur home and office
- Landlord clients: local, family office and institutional owners
- Converting an office park into creative office space
- Construction costs and the future of leasing
Why This Conversation Matters
Joe describes the same decisions we face when we design for owners: what to renovate, what to leave and how to make a building memorable. His example of a conversion aimed at a new type of tenant connects to our interior architecture work on building repositioning, such as Coliseum Drive and Liberty Plaza. His point that a clear message needs to reach the market also supports the branding that often goes with a repositioned property.
About the Guest
Joe Franco is a Senior Vice President and landlord representation agent at CBRE in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he leads the office leasing program. He began his career in 2007 as an assistant property manager, spent about ten years at Cushman & Wakefield and joined CBRE roughly two and a half years before this recording. His clients include local investors, family office groups and institutional owners. Connect with Joe on LinkedIn.
