Bradenton powerbrokers launch new commercial real estate brokerage

Some of the most prominent names in development and real estate in Manatee County have joined forces, with the launch of a new commercial real estate brokerage under the NDC Cos. umbrella.  

Longtime Manatee County sales and leasing leader Ben Bakker will oversee the unit, NDC Commercial Real Estate. In leaving Michael Saunders & Co. to join NDC, Bakker will work with peers and friends Ron Allen and Jason Bartz. Allen, president of NDC, has overseen dozens of the company’s notable projects in the area, from the Manatee County Administration Complex to renovations of the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bartz, the president of NDC Asset Management, meanwhile, has been with the organization for 20 years. 

Bakker, in an interview with the Business Observer, says that conversations about a partnership and brokerage go back almost two years. But the trio has known each other much longer. First Bakker supplied signs to NDC Construction, when he worked in that field. And Bakker and Bartz, both previous Business Observer 40 Under 40 winners, later served on the board of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce group for young professionals together. Bartz is the son of the late Bob Bartz, who led the Manatee County Chamber of Commerce and died in 2017.