Michael J. Navarro

Michael owned a chain of women’s and children’s retail stores in Southern California and South Carolina before deciding to go into brokerage. This first-hand knowledge of the retailer world served him extremely well in all his future endeavors.

Having spent 13 years at Grubb & Ellis Newport Beach, he was named rookie of the year, top retail broker in the nation and was co-founder of its Retail Tenant Service Group where he helped launch the tenant rep business for the company nationwide.

Following Grubb, he then went on to start Radius Retail Advisors, a boutique retail brokerage firm, which the partners later sold to Insignia/ESG, the fourth largest property and asset management/brokerage in the country at the time.

With that sale, Michael became a managing director of retail operations on the West Coast for Insignia/ESG. This involved deal making, acquisitions, and managing all team members within the retail division. After Insignia merged with CBRE, Michael started NRG.

Michael is married and has three children, two of which are in the commercial real estate business. All three were collegiate athletes at SDSU, Chapman University and UCLA. In addition to his family, Michael has a passion for longboard surfing, private capital lending and investing in real estate projects.

Developers benefit from Navarro’s decades of expertise in helping plan new and remodeled/renovated projects. He has assisted developers with hundreds of re-positionings of older centers, as well as ground-up power and entertainment centers, and big box space conversions.

THE RIVER (RANCHO MIRAGE) 25-acre premier water-oriented destination lifestyle/entertainment center. He obtained control of the vacant 25-acre site through the redevelopment agency and brought in an LA developer. He helped design and secure all the major tenant leases, including Cinemark, PF Chang’s, Yard House, Flemings, Cheesecake Factory and other retailers.

THE PLANT (VAN NUYS) Navarro and partners were part of the original team that secured the listing for the former GM Plant closure and brought in Home Depot, Michael’s, Babies r Us, Ross, and Regency Theatre.

THE PROMENADE AT THE HOWARD HUGHES CENTER The Promenade at the Howard Hughes Center is one of the most visible entertainment centers in Los Angeles, and is situated on the 405 freeway in the Silicon Beach area. Navarro and previous partners were the original brokers that brought all the major tenants to the project and helped design and lease the project.

CERRITOS TOWNE CENTER The Cerritos Towne Center in Cerritos, CA, is a 500,000 SF power center. Navarro and other associates were hired to bring in the anchors for the site. Walmart, Ross, Kohl’s, Edwards Theater, and Best Buy were included.

Tenant Representation

Having owned and operated retail stores and spending 30 years assisting the needs of all retailers, big and small, national and local, Michael’s tenant representation platform delivers superior results that can help make you more profitable than your competitors. His clients understand the importance of local market expertise and “relationships” with local municipalities, investors and developers. He put Best Buy on the map here in Southern California with their first 22 stores.

One example is how he assisted the Yavitz Company on their acquisition of a former Vons. He showed the developer how to maximize the NOI by adding three new out parcels and subdividing the 70,000 SF Vons.

Offering local expertise with

Retail and Landlord Disposition Services

Michael will help you monetize your excess land or space which can reduce your financial exposure, allowing you to focus on what you do best. He has disposed of millions of square feet throughout California and is currently assisting Walmart stores on several disposition programs.

Master Broker Services

Since 1986, Michael has pioneered the concept of having a “single point of contact”. This is one of the most productive and cost-effective means of outsourcing and managing a retailer’s growth and expansion. The master broker’s role is to work in accordance with the retailer’s internal decision maker to streamline the flow of communication and data through a precise method of reporting, helping to improve the decision making process and expediting the overall expansion program, while reducing redundancies and extraneous expenses.

Landlord Representation

Michael has successfully leased some of Southern California’s finest retail projects. The advantage in working with Michael is that he will not take on more than three major projects at one time. This way, you are assured his focused and undivided attention.