PORTLAND, OR — In a sign that the rebound in the travel industry may well be sustained into the foreseeable future, Portland-based B2B tour operator Avanti Destinations is moving up to new Class A digs at Columbia Square in December, signing a new lease for approximately 50% more space than it currently occupies. Avanti has been headquartered at 1629 SW Salmon Street for the last four years.
The full floor lease for 17,349 s.f. in the 15-story, Class A building at 111 SW Columbia St. was arranged by Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL) Managing Director Mark McFarland and Nathan Sasaki of Apex Real Estate Partners. Tom Becic of Melvin Mark represented the landlord, Columbia Square LLC.
“We’ve seen a strong rebound in the travel industry overall and our company has grown significantly in the last 7 years, making it necessary for us to seek a location that allows us to continue our growth strategy while providing the environment, amenities and ease of access that our current employees and future hires value most. Columbia Square is a high quality building in a great location in the midst of downtown’s transit hub allowing Avanti’s employees to use any one of a number of transit options to get to work,” said Harry Dalgaard, CEO of Avanti Destinations. “This is Class A space we can utilize immediately and also grow into,” he added.
Avanti doubled its revenues in the last 4 years with a 40% increase in headcount. The firm occupies 11,599 s.f. at its current location and was originally intending to lease 14,531 s.f. but, due to growth trends, opted to take the entire 17,349 s.f. full floor at Columbia Square to accommodate future hiring.
Avanti has been in business since 1981 as an independent tour operator. It is a leader in providing individually tailored foreign independent travel itineraries to travel agents nationwide. The firm provides travel itineraries throughout Europe and Central and South America to 3,000 travel agencies and over 10,000 agents in the U.S.
For more news, videos and research resources on Jones Lang LaSalle, please visit the firm’s U.S. media center Web page: http://bit.ly/18P2tkv.
About Jones Lang LaSalle
Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE:JLL) is a professional services and investment management firm offering specialized real estate services to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying and investing in real estate. With annual revenue of $3.9 billion, Jones Lang LaSalle operates in 70 countries from more than 1,000 locations worldwide. On behalf of its clients, the firm provides management and real estate outsourcing services to a property portfolio of 2.6 billion square feet and completed $63 billion in sales, acquisitions and finance transactions in 2012. Its investment management business, LaSalle Investment Management, has $46.7 billion of real estate assets under management. For further information, visit www.jll.com.
About Avanti Destinations
For 33 years, Avanti Destinations, a travel wholesaler in Portland, Oregon, has been specializing in independent travel focused on providing authentic experiences backed by our expert knowledge. Our products and services enable the traveler to savor special moments during their vacation as well as connect the major cities and sites.
Our record of success at Avanti Destinations reflects the way we have fine-tuned the art of independent travel. We create vacations of a lifetime for people who want to experience travel up-close and personal—at their own pace, without the constraints of a group. For further information, visit www.avantidestinations.com