August 03, 2015
Halperin Helps Shape Boyle’s Presence
By: Sarah Baker
The Daily News
Mark Halperin and the office tenants he represents have one thing in common – longevity.
Upon graduating from the University of Tennessee with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and real estate, he moved back to Memphis and landed his first job at Boyle Investment Co. Little did he know that it would turn into a lifelong career.
“I did not really have any family in real estate, it just always sort of was of interest to me,” Halperin said. “My dad was an accountant by training and I studied accounting in college, but my personality is best suited for dealing with people and relationships. It wasn’t carefully planned; I don’t know that I had any visions of being with the same company for almost 40 years. It’s worked out that way.”
Halperin joined Boyle in 1973 at the height of the firm’s involvement with Ridgeway Center office complex at Poplar Avenue and Interstate 240 in East Memphis. He would work in multifamily and other sectors before landing a job in the office division.
“We really were just beginning getting in the multi-tenant office business,” he said. “I did a lot of different odd jobs, helping other people because I didn’t know how to do anything. I was working with a gentleman who decided to leave the company and I then was basically asked if I thought I could lease office space and I’ve been doing that ever since.”
Now executive vice president, Halperin is responsible for the leasing and management of all office properties, both multi-tenant and single purpose. Those properties include those owned by third parties and owner-occupants as well as those owned by Boyle.
“In terms of owned properties, we had people who leased and managed other people’s properties, but, since (I started), it’s grown dramatically,” he said. “We’ve probably got 10 people on our team in the office, many people in the field and numerable vendors and subcontractors who do work for us – HVAC mechanics, landscape folks, plumbers, electricians, all kinds of people. So it’s turned into a pretty big enterprise. We probably manage close to 2 million square feet.”
But his greatest triumph isn’t the amount of square footage he’s helped fill. It’s the relationships he’s made along the way.
“The fact that so many of our tenants have been with us for so very long is probably the most important accomplishment of all,” Halperin said. “The other things kind of follow that.”
He’s quick to point out that he can’t do it alone. Boyle president Henry Morgan, Bayard Boyle Jr. and Sr., and Rusty Bloodworth have helped shape his character, values and creative ability.
“I work with great people,” Halperin said. “I rely on them, on their experience and intellect and try not to second guess them.”
Recent evidence of his team member mentality can be found in the formation of Midsouth Capital Fund I LLC, which targeted real estate investment opportunities throughout the Mid-South, with a focus on Memphis and Nashville. The fund gave the longtime Memphis firm a chance to diversify its portfolio and deploy capital, Halperin said.
“We’ve closed the fund out at about $48 million of equity,” he said. “We have not accepted any additional investments now for a little while, but we are looking at a variety of different investment opportunities.”
Halperin holds the Certified Property Manager designation from the Institute of Real Estate Management and the SIOR designation from the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors.
He was been named Commercial Broker of the Year by the Memphis Area Association of Realtors Commercial Council and has also received the Realtors Commercial Alliance National Award from the commercial division of the National Association of Realtors.
In his down time, Halperin donates a lot of his time to nonprofit organizations. He serves as past president of the Memphis Jewish Home, past president of Temple Israel and is on the board and executive committee of Union of Reform Judaism.
He’s also a founding board member of Triumph Bank and is a member of the board of trustees of Memphis University School, his alma mater.
“My time at MUS had an extremely important impact on behavior and a pretty positive part of my experience,” Halperin said.
When he’s not closing office deals, Halperin enjoys spending time with his wife of 25 years, Dianne, traveling and playing golf.