Someone once said you could only be a master at a single trade. Evidently, that person never looked at the success of real-estate developer Muñoz Holdings Inc. and its sister company, arena sports promoter MB Sports.

With good old-fashioned business savvy and hard-work ethics, Muñoz Bermúdez Holding Partnership S.E. (MBHP), which serves as the umbrella for both companies, has effectively thrived in two industries that seemingly have nothing in common with one another.

The push toward diversification, even within their respective industries, has partly secured Muñoz Holdings Inc. a spot in the CARIBBEAN BUSINESS 100 Fastest-Growing Companies, as well as a spot in the Book of Lists’ Top 400 local companies, with $28.62 million in revenue during 2004.

Commercial and residential development
Antonio Muñoz Bermúdez founded MBHP in the early 1980s after a distinguished career in the banking industry, having served as chairman of Banco Financiero of Puerto Rico, among other high-profile positions. Muñoz Holdings Inc. was founded in 1988. Muñoz Bermúdez is chairman of the board at MBHP, while his son Antonio Muñoz Grajales is the president & chief operating officer (COO) of Muñoz Holdings. The company is headquartered in Santurce’s Corona Industrial Park, the former Corona beer manufacturing plant, whose five buildings cover about 256,000 square feet.

Muñoz Holdings first made its name through the development of commercial and office buildings for sale and lease as well as residential communities in the southern area of the island. The company pioneered the use of walk-up residences in Ponce in 1991, and has also done extensive development in Humacao, Gurabo, Juana Díaz and Villalba, to name a few.

In the San Juan metro area, the company also owns five of the buildings in Metro Office Park in Guaynabo, among them the Sprint and the Verizon buildings. In fact, Muñoz Bermúdez’s first entry into commercial leasing was when he purchased the former García Comercial warehouses in Pueblo Viejo, which kick-started the establishment of Metro Office Park.

Muñoz Holdings also owns several commercial centers, among them Plazoleta Isla Verde, Los Colobos and Triumph Plaza in Humacao.

Other properties the company owns or has owned include Bayamón’s Clorox building, Jayuya’s Instituto de la Banca, Ponce’s Las Américas Commercial Plaza, Santa Isabel Shopping Center and CRIM in Río Piedras. In total, the company oversees the leasing of more than 1.3 million square feet of commercial, office, warehouse and retail space as well as more than 60 leasing clients. On the residential front, Muñoz Holdings’ development projects in Ponce have yielded communities such as Paseo Las Reinas, La Reina and El Rey, as well as many others throughout southern Puerto Rico.

Nowadays, Muñoz Holdings is led by Antonio Muñoz Grajales. Under his guidance, the company is hard at work on upcoming projects that include Hotel Ponce Plaza and the Bahía Beach Plantation project in Río Grande.

The latter—similar to Palmas del Mar in Humacao—promises to be one of the most exclusive of its kind on the island. It will extend over 540 cuerdas (one cuerda equals 0.97 acres) and approximately two miles of beachfront to be developed into its full potential including a hotel, a condo-hotel, tennis and golf villas, townhouses and single-unit homes, which will total roughly from 500 to 800 units selling for between $2.5 million and $5 million each, indicated Muñoz Bermúdez.

The Bahía Beach Plantation project could take five to seven years to fully develop, with the first hotel or condo-hotel ready in two to three years.

Play ball!
Apart from the huge success Muñoz Holdings has had on the real estate front, few would guess that the company is also well known for its sporting event promotions. In this department, which is managed by offshoot MB Sports Inc., the company has also performed like gangbusters. Muñoz Grajales in particular has demonstrated a deep affinity for sports, especially baseball, having acquired Ponce’s baseball team in 1996 at the age of 27.

Since then MB Sports has been credited with bringing the Montreal Expos’ franchise during the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons to play at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, managing the ticket sales, advertising and sponsorship of the event. The company was also responsible for bringing the World Baseball Classic in early 2006.

Yet, the company hasn’t limited itself to sporting events, proving its mantra of diversification once again with the visits of former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Prime Minister of Spain José María Aznar and the Ringling Brothers Circus. “Our main objective is to bring events that add prestige to Puerto Rico and make it more attractive at an international level,” Muñoz Bermúdez said. Future plans include bringing more Major League baseball teams to the island and repeating the historical World Baseball Classic phenomenon for 2007.

A family operation
As it turns out, the company’s day-to-day operations are handled by a smooth-running team of professionals with a special bond among them.

While Muñoz Bermúdez sits at the head of the board, Muñoz Grajales heads the Muñoz Holdings company and his sister Anaymir Muñoz, a one-time editor at San Juan City Magazine, handles the sales, marketing and promotion of the companies under the MBHP umbrella. Meanwhile, their brother Armando handles the construction of buildings for sale. Although Muñoz Bermúdez’ other son Ramón is a veterinarian in Ponce, he supervises the family’s properties in the area. Last but not least, Nany Grajales, Muñoz Bermúdez’s wife and the matriarch of the family, established the Muñoz Bermúdez Foundation, which is involved in various charities, especially those dealing with children with disabilities.

However, Muñoz Bermúdez is quick to point out that success in the company is strictly a matter of hard work and discipline. “We’ve had many employees who are not part of the family and have risen to very important positions, some of them are even my sons’ direct bosses,” said Muñoz Bermúdez. As for a third generation one day taking over the family business, Muñoz Bermúdez wholeheartedly supports the notion, “as long as they work hard.”

Bouncing back
Although in 2005 sales slowed somewhat compared to previous years, closing at roughly $20 million, Muñoz Bermúdez revealed that things are looking better than ever in 2006, with estimates of $30 million to $35 million in revenue in the residential segment alone, as well as $25 million in leasing revenue. The cyclical nature of the real estate and development industry is partly the reason the company ventured into the sports promotion business apart from their deep love of sports, of course.

There are periods when the real-estate business is not as strong as it usually is, and that’s when the company usually redirects its efforts toward events and entertainment venues. Yet, for example, “the professional baseball team plays only three months a year and the Expos are here for just a few months during the summer,” as Muñoz Grajales explained.

In those cases, Muñoz Holdings leans back on its investments in the real estate arena. In the end, it all boils down to a simple philosophy that has guided the Muñoz-Grajales family in each and every one of its endeavors. “Who says you can only do one thing? That’s the best part of being in business, you can do whatever you want and turn your passion into a successful way of making a living,” said a motivated Muñoz Bermúdez before going off to the first of his many meetings of the day.

Muñoz Holdings Inc.

Main line of business: Real-estate developer, events promoter
Headquarters: San Juan
Chairman of the board: Antonio J. Muñoz
Employees: 45
Year founded: 1988
2004 Revenue: $28.62 million
Rank on Top 400 list: 220