Celebrating 5 Years as Sturges Property Group

Sturges Property Group originally began as Sturges, Griffin, Trent & Co. in 1975, and began its 21-year long affiliation with CBRE in 1997. On November 1st, 2018, we transitioned away from the CBRE affiliation to become our own independent commercial real estate firm. Today marks five years as Sturges Property Group!

Since 2018, the systems and processes we’ve been able to create have proven invaluable as we continue closing deals. Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane to see what Sturges Property Group has accomplished and how we've improved in the last five years.

The new Sturges ended 2018 strong and started the new year with a refreshed spirit and new office space on the 5th floor of 202 Metro. It was also a record year of sales, which was encouraging following our independence.

In 2019, we worked hard leasing and selling properties in Fort Wayne and the surrounding areas as we transitioned through the separation from CBRE. We were still working with national brokers to help businesses thrive locally, such as John Caffray's 409,280 SF Bendix production expansion in Huntington. Barry Sturges also had one of the biggest investment transactions in our history, the sale of the iconic Lincoln National Life Corporate Headquarters Campus with over 1,900,000 SF.

As a new fully independent firm in 2019, we were better positioned to serve our clients with increased flexibility. We also gained more control over our marketing and growth, both digitally and locally. We integrated our affiliate companies, Maintenance Management, Sturges Development, and Nexus Technology Partners, and began plans to further expand our services, making Sturges a truly "one-stop shop" when it came to commercial real estate.

2020 brought its challenges, as we all know, but our skilled team stayed the course and focused on our mission of building relationships and focusing on the client. One example of this was the sale of Bovera Gardens, a multi-family apartment building in Fort Wayne, where our brokers Neal Bowman, Phil Hagee, and Robert Doyle represented the buyer and seller of this investment property.

Adaptation and communication were the key to continued success. Commercial real estate companies, like Sturges, were considered an essential business and remained open during the year. Our main goal was to help businesses stay open so they could continue to serve the community.

With more room to grow our affiliate companies and freedom in personalized local marketing strategies, our CEO and President were able to bring more vertical integration to the company. Being able to utilize our newest affiliate, TI Source Project Management, for construction, along with Nexus Technology Partners for IT services, and Maintenance Management for inspections and repairs, cut down on time waiting for bids and sped up responses throughout the course of transactions. By providing these services, we were able to serve our clients quickly and more efficiently.

Despite the uncertainties and ever-changing markets, 2021 proved to be a record year in industrial deals! Our brokers showed their great ability to pivot their specialties based on how the market goes.

We still completed hefty projects like the Maple Heights Behavioral Health Hospital on West Washington Center Road, which included selecting the 25-acre site and working with the developer to construct an 82,000-square-foot building. We were also able to expand beyond the Fort Wayne market, taking on several redevelopment projects on former hospitals in the Warsaw and Bluffton areas.

Sturges was also becoming known for offering in-depth local market knowledge to clients, the community, and other firms. We were no longer being looked at as a giant conglomerate but as a local company with local interests in mind.

As our teams transitioned back to the office, a family atmosphere truly emerged where we celebrated each other’s successes, big and small, and openly discussed ways to continuously improve.

In 2022, we continued our focus on collaboration, and with new buildings and redevelopments popping up all over Fort Wayne, we showed our commitment to the full-service model. Projects like 3030 Lake Avenue brought all hands on deck with contributions from Maintenance Management, Nexus Technology Partners, and TI Source.

Brad Sturges secured an anchor tenant for the newly developed Riverfront at Promenade Park. Swiss Re, one of the world’s leading providers of reinsurance, insurance, and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, relocated its regional office to the second and third floors in this new downtown location.

Industrial sales and leases continued their popularity streak from 2021, consisting of over one million square feet of space. Commercial and office spaces still proved lucrative, but with the demand of remote work rising and warehouse space gaining popularity, industrial was the way to go.

Now, 2023 is almost at its end. Still pursuing the most client-focused, team-based approach in developing, leasing, buying, selling, investing, and property management, we have a laser focus on partnerships and a full-service team mentality. Notable projects like the construction of the 25,000-square-foot free-standing Lutheran Hospital ER proved our method of partnership. We were also voted Top Real Estate Company in Northeast Indiana in the 2023 Fort Wayne Newspapers Readers’ Choice Awards.

Our company culture has also flourished. We have an environment in which we can exchange thoughts and feedback on our wins and losses, and we give each other the support we need to grow. We have many seasoned professionals in the office, so there is always someone to bounce questions off.

So, where do we go from here?

• We’re continuing to stride towards 50 total years in business in 2025.
• Our slew of affiliate companies continues to grow.
• Our team and services continue to expand.
• We continue to maintain partnerships and a full-service model.
• We remain a prominent company in the community.

“It is extremely rewarding to see our company grow the way that it has, and we couldn’t do it without all the dedicated workforce and loyal clientele that bless this company every day.”

Brad Sturges, President