Staubach
The retail services division of The Staubach Co. promoted Dan Watson to vice president of the firm's Dallas retail services office. Watson, who has been with the company since 1997, will continue to specialize in representing tenants such as Pier 1 Imports, ESPN Zone, Garden Ridge and Ultimate Electronics in the Southwest region and across the United States.
The retail services division also promoted Bob Berndt to vice president of the firm's San Francisco office. Berndt, who has been with Staubach since 1990, will continue to assist clients Barnes & Noble, AutoNation and Disney Regional Entertainment with expansion strategies.
First Commercial
David Hoffman is the new director of construction at Southfield, Mich.-based First Commercial Realty & Development. His responsibilities include supervising construction of the firm's Midwest projects. Prior to joining First Commercial, Hoffman served as construction manager for F&L Construction Corp. in Toledo, Ohio.
Westrust
David MacDonald joined Calabasas Hills, Calif.-based Westrust as a senior acquisitions manager. In his new position, MacDonald will be responsible for identifying and closing acquisitions for the firm, with a focus on acquiring land for ground-up development and value-added opportunities. Before joining Westrust, he worked for Valencia, Calif.-based The Newhall Land & Farming Co. and New York-based Deloitte & Touche.
Mid-America Real Estate Corp.
Mark Goldberg joined the investment sales group of Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.-based Mid-America Real Estate Corp. as vice president and broker of net leased property. Prior to joining Mid-America, Goldberg worked for Chicago-based Syndicated Equities.
Johnson Capital Group
Gregory Richardson is the new vice president of Irvine, Calif.-based Johnson Capital Group. Richardson, who has been with the advisory firm since 1999, will be involved in all phases of originating and closing construction, permanent, bridge and joint-venture financing for income properties.
Katz & Associates
Marlon Stone is the new director of real estate in the Chicago office of Pearl River, N.Y.-based Katz & Associates. Stone previously served as director of community center leasing for Chicago-based Horizon Group Properties and as a senior leasing representative for Chicago-based Litvin/Larue/Greenfield Inc.
The Macerich Co.
Dana Anderson, vice chairman of Santa Monica, Calif.-based The Macerich Co.'s board of directors, recently received the Distinguished Alumni Award for 2001 from the University of Kansas School of Business. Anderson has been with Macerich for 65 years and held the positions of executive vice president and COO.
Real Estate Lenders Association
Matthew Landau, a lender with New York-based Bear Stearns & Co., is the new chairman of the board of directors of the New York-based Real Estate Lenders Association (RELA). Founded in 1991, RELA is the largest lenders-only commercial real estate trade organization in the United States.
Feinblum Real Estate Inc.
Tom Sprenger, former vice president of real estate development for La-Z-Boy, is the new senior vice president at Bethpage, N.Y.-based Julius M. Feinblum Real Estate Inc. Sprenger's responsibilities include managing corporate real estate operations and assisting clients with site selection.
A fond farewell to a REIT pioneer
Sylvan Cohen, the founder and chairman of Philadelphia-based PREIT, recently died at the age of 87. The charismatic Cohen was a 1935 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and a 1938 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He founded PREIT in 1960, and was one of the founding members of ICSC, serving as president and in various other capacities for the organization.
A veteran of World War II, Cohen received numerous awards during his lifetime, including the Penn Alumni Award of Merit, the Law School Distinguished Service Award and The Wharton Real Estate Center Achievement Award. “Sylvan was a visionary in our business,” says Ronald Rubin, PREIT's CEO. “He anticipated the future of retail real estate and acted upon his instincts. We shall terribly miss his wise counsel and dynamic nature.”