Josh Brown credits Haag Brown Commercial’s unique blend of technology and design and the lasting relationships it forges with clients for the company’s constant growth in commercial markets in Jonesboro and across the state.
A year ago, Haag Brown could be found in five or six markets outside of Jonesboro. Today, Brown, the company’s principal alongside Greg Haag, the company can be found in every major city in Arkansas.
The growth began with Haag Brown’s local work with national companies that, afterwards, sought their help in other markets within the state, Brown said.
The company lists and sells commercial real estate, analyzes lease-versus-own scenarios, performs sale-lease-backs and helps businesses with relocation or expansion. It has also found strong media demands for companies, such as Kirkland’s and Starbucks, in the Jonesboro area and turned those requests into realities by using that information in its pitch.
Haag Brown has completed more than 50 transactions in the past 12 months dealing with single and multi-tenant retail developments, office developments, new banks, a nursing home, new grocery stores and hotels.
Their work landed Haag Brown as a finalist for the Arkansas Business Small Year in 2012 and 2013. Brown said the company likely would have been named a finalist for the third time, but a company can only receive the title for two consecutive years.
It is an attribute to both Brown’s and Haag’s hard work and faith. Brown said the company is successful because Brown and Haag are true partners who own the company equally.
They are both family men. Brown and his wife Britni have a daughter Alex, 10, and a son Lincoln, 3. Haag and his wife Natalie have two daughters, Caroline, 25, and Elizabeth, 18.
The men met when Brown took a class called Radical that Haag taught at Central Baptist. Brown said they began talking and eventually decided to go into business. It combined Haag’s development expertise with Brown’s knowledge of brokerage.
“Our faith is very important in everything we do – that is first and foremost,” Brown added.
“Jonesboro is a great place. It has been probably for us the perfect spot for what we do,” Haag said. “The relationships we’ve developed across the state have been the most important thing we’ve cultivated this year.”
Brown agreed. He said, as the company has grown outside of Jonesboro, Haag, Brown and their staff members have developed relationships with city officials and others, which allow their work to get exponentially easier as the number of projects completed in those cities increases.
The company operates as a family. Brown said the men have a positive group of employees who have grown by 30 percent in the past year. It has eight employees, which he described as full of character and faith who are highly productive.
Their staff includes agents Garrett McPherson and Zac Qualls, executive assistant JaNae Moody, commercial real estate consultant Troy Langford, graphic designers and marketing assistants Ashley Willis and Jennifer McIntosh, developer and broker Mike Langford, and maintenance director Eddie Hicks.
“We’re just blessed,” Brown added.
Haag Brown’s growth is not slowing down. Brown said he and Haag are working with a couple of local engineers to develop new software that is specific to their industry and will allow the company to operate the office more efficiently.
The final phase of the software – which combines customer relationship management and office management – is expected to be completed by the end of the month. Haag Brown would then utilize the software to work out the details before it is rolled out publicly.
Other projects in the works include four major ones in Jonesboro. Brown said the company is kicking off an Arkansas State University project for three or four acres of land near U.S. 49 and Johnson Avenue.
A second project of the fairgrounds re-development on Red Wolf Boulevard is the final stages. It has 100,000- square foot of retail space remaining. Down the road, Brown said a Creek Place project – which includes Walmart Neighborhood Market and Buffalo Wild Wings – will end this year.
The final projects is the development of land by Stadium Boulevard and Rook Road as prime retail space.
The hardest challenge for Brown is conveying to property owners and clients the market value of real estate. For example he said growth on Red Wolf Boulevard gives the allusion that the land has tripled in value when the market has remained the same as it was eight or nine years ago.
“Another challenge is the uncertainty,” he added. “It is like any other big business. There are so many big things at play in the worldwide economy that any number of those changes has the ability to completely change the landscape of our business.
However, Brown enjoys being in Northeast Arkansas where he said he can see the footprint Haag Brown Commercial has made on the community.
“It is fun living in a community where almost everybody you know knows somebody that works at one of those businesses,” he added.
by Sarah Morris on Sunday, March 22, 2015
