St. Lucie Cultural Alliance | Member Spotlight – Nate Bray
Contributed by Dorothy Kamm
Member Spotlight – Nate Bray
Nate Bray, President of Bray Realty Advisors, a full-service commercial real estate brokerage, property management and development company, is a valued member of the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance’s Board of Directors. For 31 years, he has been involved with commercial real estate. “I love the idea of building structures and putting components together, starting with design; seeing how a building, once in place, attracts people, and ultimately, how the space, structure and people interact,” says Nate.
As with so many people, Nate’s life path took a tangent. He has a Bachelor of Science in Education from Gordon College, and a Master of Education in Sports Management from Springfield College. While pursuing a Master’s degree, he met a professor who consulted with universities to develop buildings. Explains Nate, “To design a multi-faceted sports facility, for example, how do we know what to build? The design and development team takes into consideration how many students will use the building, what programs will be held there, and so on. They figure out what those needs are to then design the structure.” Nate was fascinated with the process and the end results, as explained by the professor, and he knew he wanted to pursue a career in the acquisition, development, and management of urban and suburban properties.
However, when Nate graduated, there were no job openings in his preferred field, so he took a job as Director of the Cornerstone Campaign at his alma mater, Gordon College. Running a capital campaign honed his financial and fundraising skills. Eventually, he moved to Silicon Valley, California and began a career in commercial real estate.
In 2003, Nate, his wife and two daughters moved to Florida because of a job opportunity that allowed him to enter the equity side of commercial real estate, beyond only brokering. Getting back to the East Coast placed them closer to family in Nate’s home state of Maine and his wife’s family in New York and Massachusetts.
In 2009, Nate decided to go off on his own and opened Bray Realty Advisors and Bray Commercial Services, one a full-service commercial brokerage firm, the other property management and development. His company has represented an array of clients within the pharmaceutical and technology industries, Fortune 500 companies, and regional/national retail and corporate businesses.
“There is a lot of programming that goes into creating a building,” says Nate. “It’s a form of art, one that will be around for decades. Because of this, a building needs to be more than functional. It has to be aesthetic and have a place within the community,” he further explains. And, a building must be economically feasible. “To put all those things together is what interests me about development,” adds Nate.
As an example, Nate points out that Innovation Retail Center on Village Parkway in Tradition, which his company developed, chose to use different textures and colors for each bay to enhance the structure’s appearance, as well as to differentiate each tenant. “We added a seating area with sails to provide shade and landscaping,” says Nate. “We didn’t have to do this. We considered its aesthetic impact, in addition to usefulness.”
Nate was introduced to the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance through Board Chair Rebecca Miller, Founder and President of Miller Permitting & Land Development. The two originally met when they were involved with the Economic Development Council.
The Cultural Alliance is a good fit for Nate’s business and passion, for he considers art an important form of expression. Then, too, he says, “Every project we develop has art or takes an artistic approach.” Many counties and cities require a commercial project to acquire and display art or pay into an Art in Public Places fund. “These programs create opportunities for artists and for people to be successful in their passions and what they love and for the community to benefit from it,” he explains.
Bray Realty Advisors will be building a 32,000 sq. ft. office building near Tradition hospital, and another one in 2023. Both buildings will require artwork to decorate lobbies and hallways. Nate’s company will be turning to local artists, as well as considering rotating artworks as other businesses associated with the Cultural Alliance are doing.
To learn more about the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance and the benefits of membership, please visit ArtStLucie.org, email: info@artstlucie.org or call 772-462-2783.