Toro Development Co. has a packed agenda this year with two big mixed-use projects in the works near Atlanta and Nashville, Tennessee. To help pitch in with the workload, the commercial property firm just hired a new leasing executive.
Kimberly Goetz joined Toro Development as vice president of leasing, moving from New Market Properties where she oversaw leasing for a portfolio of Southeast retail centers. Goetz also previously worked in retail leasing for Atlanta-based Watkins Real Estate Group.
At Toro Development, Goetz’s leasing duties will span marketing both retail and office space. Because Toro is developing a couple of major mixed-use projects, Goetz’s inbox likely will remain full. One project is Ovation, which Toro is developing in cooperation with Ignite Realty Partners and Highwoods Properties, near Nashville. The other is Medley, a development in Atlanta's affluent northern suburbs.
Ovation will be the first true live-work-play development in the affluent Nashville suburb of Franklin, Tennessee, Mark Toro, founder and principal of his namesake firm, said. It’s got a built-in foundation of workers at the U.S. headquarters of Mars Inc.’s pet food subsidiary, a completed building located on the Ovation site. Those workers will shop and live at Ovation, along with employees at other nearby companies, Toro said.
“We see tremendous growth potential,” Toro told CoStar News.
On the office side, Ovation master developer Highwoods is the leasing agent, and Goetz will work with that team too.
The Medley project is quite a bit different from Ovation. For one, it’s located in Johns Creek, Georgia, near the successful Avalon mixed-use community in north Fulton County. That means Medley already has a nearby competitor, located about 8 miles down the road.
Medley is also set on property that once was home to a group of mid-rise State Farm office buildings. After the insurance giant vacated the complex, Toro scooped up the opportunity to redevelop it. Construction is set to begin later this year.
When she’s wearing her retail hat, Goetz will have oversight of Open Realty Advisors, the Newmark subsidiary that is administering retail leasing at Ovation. Retail is slated to be the central focus of the 60-acre development at Ovation.
“Toro Development Company takes a thoughtful and original approach to real estate development by focusing first on the human experience,” Goetz said in a statement.
Goetz will also oversee the leasing of 200,000 square feet of retail space at Medley, leading a team from Tampa, Florida-based Franklin Street. On the office space, Goetz will work with a team from Stream Realty Partners, including managing director Bryan Heller. Medley is set to offer 110,000 square feet of office space.
That’s a lot of work on the horizon for Goetz, a University of Georgia graduate. But it’s something she enjoys.
“There is a certain thrill I get when I go into a sales pitch and can tell the exact moment that I hooked them,” she said on her LinkedIn profile. “Heads start nodding, wheels start turning and suddenly I know they will eventually sign on the dotted line.”