As company founder and president of The Gelfand Group (http://www.gelfandgroup.com), Norman Gelfand began his commercial real estate career in 1988. He was a top-producing commercial broker for one of Austin’s large commercial real estate firms for 5 years, in which he earned 16 company awards for top performance in selling, listing, & leasing property.
In 1993, he established his own brokerage firm, Magnum Real Estate, and continued to sharpen his skills as an expert in negotiating commercial real estate contracts and navigating complex commercial real estate issues to successful completion. Magnum Real Estate served the commercial real estate needs of a wide range of business professionals: general office, retail, industrial, hi-tech, & general healthcare in leasing, purchasing and sales transactions.
In 2001, Magnum Real Estate transitioned into Gelfand Group Commercial Real Estate and the firm began exclusively representing tenants and buyers, specializing in dental & medical real estate in the central Texas area. Gelfand Group continues to add satisfied customers to its client base. The firm’s experience speaks for itself: Locating the right space for a practice, thorough lease/purchase contract analysis, and expert contract negotiation continue to be the three most important components to Gelfand Group’s success as we represent dental practitioners in their real estate needs. To date, Gelfand Group has negotiated 400 leases and sales, with a volume of $200,000,000.
Prior to his real estate career, Norman spent 22 years as founder, president, & CEO of an engineering/contracting company, which provided design and installation services of impervious surfaces used to protect concrete & steel against industrial environments to Fortune 500 companies. At peak, his company employed 60 construction craftsmen and supervisors through the home office in Houston, with branch operations in Dallas, Texas and Syracuse, New York. Contracts ranged from $20,000 to $600,000. The company’s clients included IBM, Texas Instruments, AMD, Lockheed, Exxon, Arco, Goodyear, Union Carbide, Borden Foods, and Nestle.
It was during the start of this business in 1967 that Norman truly began developing one of his most salient business talents: that of contract review and negotiation. He continues to exhibit that extraordinary talent as he works with clients, landlords, professional service providers, and other commercial brokers not only by his extensive knowledge of commercial real estate contracts, but by his ability to negotiate fairly, honestly, and in a businesslike manner, with three goals in mind: Real estate cost reduction (appropriate for both leasing/purchase clients), significant limitation of perilous contractual obligations and liabilities, and safeguarding the client’s capital investment.
Norman has been a contributing author to the Austin Business Journal since 2001. His articles reflect his extensive knowledge of commercial real estate contracts and contain expert advice on many commercial real estate issues, particularly those having to do with dental & medical office leases and purchases. Because Gelfand Group’s proven track record centers around the unique real estate needs of dental & medical practitioners, the majority of his articles suggest that they are well-attuned to the changing trends of healthcare real estate with regard to pricing, availability, demographics, future planned developments, etc.
Norman has participated in numerous industry organizations, including the Austin Board of Realtors, Texas Association of Realtors, National Board of Realtors, Commercial Leasing Brokers’ Association, and Central Texas Commercial Brokers’ Association. He is a previous board member of the Central Texas Chapter of CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Manager). He is a cofounder of the Austin Commercial Brokers’ Association. He is a past president of the Technical Advisory Group.
His civic involvement includes serving as a previous board member of the American Red Cross and membership in Rotary International. Norman is a member of Shriners International, and is an active member and past president of a local chapter of Toastmasters International.