George Fox
Gerald S. Divaris, chairman and CEO of Divaris Real Estate, Inc. (DRE), announced the appointment of George Fox as vice president of sales and leasing in the Virginia Beach office of DRE. Fox leverages 13 years of commercial real estate and retail brokerage expertise working for public and private shopping center investment companies to develop and execute successful leasing strategies tailored to accomplish his client’s specific business and investment goals.
Fox played a vital role in the planning and implementation of numerous leasing initiatives and operational efficiencies that led a private Virginia Beach real estate company to become the first publicly traded retail real estate investment trust (REIT) headquartered in the state of Virginia.
A top producer and retail specialist in the Southeast, Fox now covers Virginia and North Carolina with a primary focus on the Hampton Roads market and creates value for his clients by providing the following services: landlord representation; tenant representation; investment sales; retail site selection and transaction management; market and site analysis; lease and sales contract negotiations; strategic real estate planning; financial analysis; and land acquisition and disposition.
Prior to joining Divaris, Fox served as director of leasing for Hackney Real Estate Partners and senior vice president of business development and director of leasing for Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust. As senior vice president of business development, Fox was responsible for creating new strategic partnerships, with a focus on shopping center acquisitions, development, re-development, third-party leasing and management, and big box retail leasing. Fox also managed relationships between Wheeler REIT and national and regional retailers, maximizing tenant retention and increasing cash ?ow through successful leasing practices and relationship building.
As director of leasing, Fox directed all leasing efforts across a portfolio of 60 income producing assets, including community centers, neighborhood centers, strip centers, and free-standing retail properties totaling over 4 million square feet of gross leasable area and 400 tenants in 12 states. The portfolio maintained occupancy rates above its peer group average and Fox completed hundreds of real estate lease transactions with national retailers such as: Kroger, Food Lion, T.J. Maxx, CVS and Dollar Tree. He also closed numerous land development and redevelopment deals in the Southeast with national tenants including Starbucks, Verizon and TitleMax. Fox was the highest producing real estate salesperson at the company ten out of eleven years from 2004 to 2014.
Fox is a board member of Virginia Beach Vision and VB Connex and has served as a big brother in Big Brothers Big Sisters of America since 2004. Fox is also an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and previously served on the Virginia ICSC Idea Exchange Planning Committee. He graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing. Fox was named “Top 40 Under Forty” by Hampton Roads’ Inside Business magazine in 2009.
About Divaris Real Estate
Divaris Real Estate, Inc. is headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA with offices in Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond and Roanoke, VA; Charlotte, NC; Beverly Hills, CA; and Washington, DC. Divaris Real Estate and Divaris Property Management Corp. are divisions of The Divaris Group, an international real estate brokerage and property management company that currently manages and/or leases in excess of 26 million square feet of prime office, retail and industrial space from New Jersey to Florida. Gerald S. Divaris is Chairman of the Board, and Michael B. Divaris is President of Divaris Real Estate, Inc.
Divaris Real Estate is a member of Realty Resources, (http://www.realtyresources.
