2020 Year in Review: Robert Marcus, Robert Marcus Real Estate Company, Inc.

What was your greatest professional accomplishment or most notable project, deal, or transaction in 2020? Our single greatest accomplishment during 2020 was keeping everyone on our staff safe and employed during these uncertain times.

What are your predictions for commercial real estate in 2021? My feeling is that the rental market will continue to be slow until the vaccine has been distributed to a majority of the world’s population and the economy starts showing consistent signs of recovery. Once people are allowed to move around and return to work, both here and abroad, the situation will improve. The commercial landscape, both office and retail, will continue to be challenged, and industrial and life sciences will continue to be in demand due to the “new normal” brought on by the pandemic.

What aspects of working from home have you enjoyed most? Our business and related services were deemed essential; as a result, a subset of our staff, including me, haven’t left the office since the pandemic was declared.

What was the most difficult part of working during the pandemic of 2020? The unique situation brought on by the pandemic, forced us to try new operational approaches, test and revise as we continued to work through the crisis. Safety for our employees and our residents has always been at the forefront of operations - - all of the unknowns made meeting that imperative more challenging. Second to safety was simply delivering service; with supply chains under duress, scheduling was constantly shifting based on availability of materials and availability of our extended vendor workforce. Fortunately, our owners and residents understood the mounting challenges.

What is the best advice you have received, and who was it from? “Pay attention to your clients or someone else will.” – My Mother; “Don’t expect anything from anyone and you’ll never be disappointed.” – My Mother; “You want more business, get more clients.” – S. David Ellenbogen