Testimonials

Mccarton Center

To Whom It May Concern:

Over the past year I worked very closely with Steven Sunderland as my real estate broker. My requirements for medical space was rather unusual in that I originally needed about 7,000 square feet and wound up needing double that amount. There are not too many place in the upper East Side that can meet that kind of demand.

Steve was excellent at finding and pursuing all available options. When we finally found the space, negotiations with the landlord were tricky to say the least. Steven has a calm unflappable quality that saw me through many ups and downs and despairing moments. He was always positive and worked hard behind the scenes to bring the lease to fruition.

I have only positive comments for Steve and his work. I would gladly use him again if the time ever arises and would recommend him without hesitation to others.

Sincerely,

Cecelia McCarton, MD
Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Turnaround For Children

To Whom It May Concern:

I am writing to heartily recommend Stephen Sunderland of Optimal Spaces as a broker for any organization seeking space in Manhattan.

We are a rapidly-growing, not-for-profit organization with an innovative and effective program for transforming schools in crisis into successful learning environments. Ten months after we retained Stephen, we were happily situated in new, attractive, 11,000 square foot offices in midtown. The new space meets our needs perfectly.

Stephen was aggressive in identifying properties and getting us out to see them. He was very strategic in showing us diverse properties that helped us clarify what we wanted and needed. He was calm, pleasant and thoughtful throughout the process. I always felt secure knowing that he was very actively pursuing our larger best interests. and would not try to talk us into a space that wasn't really right for us. He would point out the downsides and the upsides of every property. He conducted an aggressive negotiation on the terms of the deal. and was very knowledgeable about what was going on in the market. He was also supportive throughout the lease negotiation process; aggressively identifying areas where we needed to pursue our interests. while carefully advising us how to be sure we didn't loose the deal in a sellers market. Notably, he even kept in touch with us after the lease was signed to see where he could be helpful during the renovation.

It was a pleasure working with him. and I would be happy to speak with anyone about him who is interested.

Sincerely

Lawson Shadburn
Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Turnaround for Children. Inc

Village Academies

To whom it may concern:

We have had the pleasure to work with Stephen Sunderland and the team at Optimal Spaces Inc. over the past year. Stephen helped us with our facility search and found several properties that met our needs.

Stephen was an integral part of our team. He took the time to listen to and understand our special requirements and limitations. As a result of his knowledge of the market and ability to think outside the box we were able to find a great deal that met our physical and budgetary requirements. Stephen is a true professional and a pleasure to work with.

Sincerely,

Dr. Deborah A. Kenny
Executive Director/Principal

The Children's Aid Society

Dear Stephen:

We would like to thank Optimal Spaces and you, in particular, for your remarkable commitment, patience, persistence and flexibility in getting our National Center for Community Schools a true "optimal space" in one of New York City's most desirable areas and at a very affordable price. We have no doubt that being located at this high-end building is going to help us reach new heights in our work to advance the community schools agenda nationally.

We cannot thank you enough for sticking with us even when the original plan was scaled down, not only in terms of space but also in terms of leasing time. It was obvious you weren't there for the money-time and again you made yourself available, kept searching for possibilities, making us feel like very valuable customers. You clearly paid attention to our parameters and not once did you waste our time showing us spaces that didn't fit them. And you treated as if there were a huge pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, though we all knew that was not the case.

Everybody in our agency who had contact with you during the process-from the neophytes in dealing with commercial realtors, like us, to seasoned ones like our Head of Facilities or our Chief of Operations-had complimentary comments about your disposition and knowledge of the field.

It is a blessing for non-profits to be able to count on professionals like you in the real state business, and it was pleasure working with you over the months of our search.

Fondly,
Jane Quinn
The Children's Aid Society
Director for Community Schools Director, National Center for Community Schools