Murray brothers hold fast to family business

Transforming existing commercial properties and increasing the number of businesses that call the Ozarks home is what brothers Robert and David Murray are all about. With the help of three support personnel and Robert Murray's son, Rob, R.B. Murray Co. specializes in the development of Springfield's commercial real estate market.

The family's tenure in the Ozarks dates back to the mid-1800s. The brothers' livelihood has its roots in a business started in 1909 and purchased by their father in the 1950s. At that time it was called Springfield Security Company and handled real estate transactions and loans.

A name change in 1977 created the R.B. Murray Company, named after the elder Murray. Today, the family-owned business deals in the "sales, leasing and management of commercial and industrial office buildings," said President Robert Murray.

During the 1970s and '80s, R.B. Murray Co. handled the sales, management and leasing of various high-profile projects around the city, including the Fremont Shopping Center at Battlefield and Fremont; Fox Grape Shopping Center on East Battlefield near Highway 65; the Battlefield Business Center off West Battlefield; and the Woodhurst Office Park on Montclair near National. The latter was the "first condominium office park here in Springfield," Robert Murray said.

More recently the company completed a deal bringing Grizzly Industrial Inc. to the corner of Kansas Expressway and Battlefield.

Another land purchase the company just completed increased Grizzly's domain by 40 acres, located across the street from its existing location. The specialty tool manufacturer is building a 300,000-square-foot warehouse/distribution center, Robert Murray said.

Other major projects in which the company has played a key role are First USA's Springfield location on Republic Road, the new Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse of North Springfield near Highway 13 and Interstate 44, and the Library Center's hillside site on South Campbell. David Murray is working on two other unnamed, but sizable deals, that will account for nearly 300,000 square feet of commercial space.

The Murrays attribute much of their success to their understanding of commercial real estate, the result of both experience and education.

Robert Murray has a business degree from Drury University. David Murray has a degree in economics from Southwest Missouri State University. Both hold the SIOR designation as members of the Society of Industrial Office Realtors, a group reserved for top sellers of industrial and office real estate.

Additionally, David Murray is a certified commercial investment member, or CCIM, and the only person in southwest Missouri to hold the dual designations of SIOR and CCIM.

During the mid-'70s, shortly after accepting Robert Murray's invitation to help in the firm, David Murray began sharpening his skills to do the work.

He said he "recognized that there was a certain level of expertise that we were missing, that no one really had within the community at the time." This led to his involvement in the CCIM program.

"I saw the real benefit of networking with other brokers that were highly educated," David Murray said. "It is an excellent vehicle for referrals. It's like a fraternity of brokers that refer business nationally and even internationally," he added.

The firm has added a Web site to serve its clients: www. RBMurray.com. Robert Murray's son, Rob, developed the site, which provides real-time listings from the company's property database with maps, demographics and aerial photographs.

Among its offerings are industrial buildings for sale, office and retail buildings for lease or sale, vacant land available for development and other income-producing properties on the market.

The Murrays intend to keep the business a family-owned and tightly knit organization.

Numerous times they have declined to hire qualified people who have ended up as competitors, because the Murrays wanted to offer a level of service they might not be able to maintain if they grew larger, David Murray said.

"We've lost, obviously, some market share by doing that, but basically, in all candor, we've done more business virtually every year since I've been in business," he added.