Office of the Attorney General - State of Texas
John Cornyn
January 31, 2002
To Whom It May Concern:
I have known Bob
Orkin for several years and have the utmost respect for him and his
abilities concerning the leasing industry. Bob has been directly
involved with several of the agency's leasing transactions and has
consistently performed with a great deal of integrity and professionalism.
I look forward to working with Bob in the future.
Respectfully,
Jerry L. Spencer
Manager, Facilities Management
Williams
Bailey Law Firm L.L.P.
John E.
Williams, Jr.
Managing Partner, Attorney at Law
To Whom It May Concern:
I am the Managing
Partner of Williams Bailey Law Firm. I have known Bob Orkin
since 1993. He has done real estate consulting work for the
firm and also manages and leases the Williams Bailey Law Firm building
at 8441 Gulf Freeway in Houston.
When he took over the building in 1994, it was approximately 50% leased. He
has leased the building to 95% and implemented cost saving measures such
as power factor correction equipment, bidding the janitorial services,
and protesting the taxes.
Needless to say, we are very pleased with his performance for us and
value his real estate experience and wisdom.
One
of the first leases he closed at the building was a 5,500 square
foot lease with the State of Texas Department of Human Services. When
no one else wanted this agency, he figured out how to make the
deal work for the landlord and the tenant. This DHS office
handled the aged, elderly, and handicapped. He understands
both sides of the equation very well. For more information
about the tenant's thoughts, please call Ken Esene, Regional Administrator
at DHS, at 409.981.5920.
Mr. Orkin has a
great deal of experience in the real estate industry; i.e., leasing,
marketing, property management, construction management, etc.
I recommend you seriously consider his thoughts and ideas.
Very truly
yours,
John E. Williams, Jr.
JEW/mc
TEJAS
POWER CORPORATION
January
21, 1994
To Whom It May Concern:
Tejas Power Corporation
is an American Stock Exchange company with a market value of approximately
$150 Million. We retained Bob Orkin, President of Robert Orkin Interests,
Inc., to consult with us regarding whether to buy our former headquarters
building, extend our lease in our old space, or seek new facilities.
First, he negotiated
with the seller to buy the building. His work included evaluating
all of the economics of the 60,000 square foot building. Had we elected
to purchase the building, we would have formed a partnership with
Bob Orkin and he would have managed and leased the building for us.
Ultimately, he showed us the benefits of moving from a Class B building
to a Class A building for almost no additional cost. He generated
all of the net present value calculations for owning versus leasing,
and for comparing leasing at one building versus another. This information
was used for presentation to our Board of Directors. He negotiated
a complex 30,000 square foot Sublease Agreement from British Petroleum
with ratification of the arrangement by BP building owner Barker-Patrinely
Crimson Corporation.
Bob is a "get it done"
person and easy to get along with. He has a great depth of knowledge
and experience in all aspects of real estate transactions---legal,
financial, architectural, construction, leasing, property management,
etc. He loves the real estate business and gets deals closed. Please
feel free to call me at (713) 597-6216 if you would like to discuss
this matter further.
Regards,
J. Chris Jones
Senior Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer
JCJ/crs
KENNETH
SCHNITZER
July 9, 1997
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
I have known Bob Orkin
for over 25 years, both personally as well as in my capacity as CEO
of Century Corporation and Century Development Corporation. Bob’s
tenure of service for Century was from August 1979, to June 1989.
During his employment
with Century, Bob was involved and/or had responsibility for almost
every aspect of commercial real estate development, construction
and management. His attention to detail, and understanding of real
estate, made him an invaluable team member of CDC’s management
group. I have always felt that his moral values and loyalty were
great assets for me personally and for the company.
It is without reservation
that I recommend Bob for any position in the field of commercial
real estate.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Schnitzer
KS/em
FRIEDKIN
COMPANIES, INC.
7701 WILSHIRE PLACE DRIVE
HOUSTON, TEXAS 77040 |
IVAN E. LEONARD
VICE PRESIDENT
REAL ESTATE |
713-744-3503
FAX: 713-744-8844 |
To
Whom It May Concern: Re: Robert Orkin Interests,
Inc.
Gulf States Toyota (GST) retained
Bob Orkin, President, Robert Orkin Interests, Inc., to sell or
lease a 17,000 square foot warehouse we own at Mississippi and
Clinton Streets, near the Port of Houston. Mr. Orkin’s knowledge
of the industrial market was important to us but even more important
was his reputation for paying tremendous attention to his client’s
needs. GST was not disappointed.
Our original intent was to sell
the property. After a careful review of the market and receipt
of several offers to purchase, we decided to lease the property
instead of selling it. We were very happy with the lease Mr. Orkin
negotiated with UPS Truck Leasing, Inc.
The quality of work was excellent.
We would recommend Bob for whatever assignment that you may be
considering him for.
Sincerely, Ivan
E. Leonard
IEL/sb
WILLIAMS
BAILEY LAW FIRM
January 31, 1994
To Whom It May Concern:
Williams, Bailey & Wesner,
L.L.P. is an eight member law firm. I am the managing partner. We
retained Bob Orkin, President of Robert Orkin Interests, Inc., to
represent us (i.e., 8441 Gulf Freeway, Ltd.) in the acquisition of
our six-story, 80,000 square foot headquarters building. One year
prior to this, he put together a development budget on what it would
cost to build new facilities. After analyzing the build versus buy
comparison, we decided it made more sense to buy.
He negotiated a Letter
of Intent with the seller, Gentra Finance (a subsidiary of Seattle
First Savings), and then negotiated the purchase price and all other
terms of an earnest money contract. Bob supervised all of the building
inspections and environmental testing, secured third party financing,
negotiated the property management/marketing contract, and "closed" the
deal. Because of the difficulty in obtaining financing in the real
estate markets, we needed more time. He got along very well with
the Seller’s agent and was able to get three extensions of
time.
Bob Orkin understands
all aspects of the real estate business-legal, financial, management,
marketing, architectural, and construction. He managed the entire
acquisition team, including recommending the outside legal counsel.
We were extremely pleased with the outside consultants that he recommended
and with whom he worked. Robert Orkin Interests, Inc. has been retained
on an ongoing basis as the Asset Manager of the building. Please
feel free to call me at (713) 649-6464 if you would like to discuss
this matter further.
Sincerely,
John Eddie Williams
Managing Partner