Cassidy Turley welcomed Carolyn J. Sidor to the firm as senior managing director, market development.
Sidor will lead brokerage operations and Cassidy Turley’s practice groups, including data center solutions, healthcare, hospitality, law firms, food and beverage facilities, net lease investment properties and life sciences.
Additionally, she will lead the company’s customer relationship management team in its ongoing development and implementation of management team tools. Beyond that, Sidor will work with Cassidy Turley COO John Fleury to target and prioritize recruiting and merger and acquisitions opportunities and align information technology, marketing and research strategies for growth and integration in local markets and across the firm’s platform. She will be based in Cassidy Turley’s Boston office.
Prior to joining Cassidy Turley, Sidor was with Colliers International from 2008 to 2012, most recently as president of operations, U.S.A. In this role, she led the integration of Colliers U.S.A. and FirstService Real Estate Advisors. She also led regional marketing and business development teams at CBRE – New England and Insignia/ESG.
Previously, Sider served as COO of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board and executive director of the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Boston.
NREI talked to Sidor about what’s going on in the healthcare sector, what other sectors are generally hot and what geographic regions of the country are also faring well. An edited version of that interview follows.
NREI: Take one of the practice groups that you work with and talk about some of the biggest issues facing that sector now.
Carolyn Sidor: Healthcare impacts all of us, and, now that the election has passed, we have a little more clarity on where we are headed.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will introduce more than 30 million new, insured patients into the healthcare system and new ambulatory and outpatient-care facilities will be required to meet the influx of new patients. Also, healthcare systems now face reductions in reimbursements and must better manage costs and real estate assets and leases are seen as an opportunity for expense reductions and/or capital generation from the sale of non-core or non-acute assets.
There are a number of other areas where we can provide a great deal of value to our healthcare clients, too. Healthcare systems now place a greater emphasis on coordinating care across physicians and services, so they have to focus on and implement a defined strategy addressing site selection and the types of outpatient facilities they want to deploy. Additionally, the Affordable Care Act strengthens penalties and enforcement associated with healthcare fraud with direct implications for real estate operations. Healthcare providers increasingly seek arm’s-length real estate experts to assist in maintaining a real estate program that’s within compliance of the law.
NREI: Where are some of the areas that are looking hot for growth right now?
Carolyn Sidor: Energy, technology, healthcare, manufacturing and distribution will continue to be our leading growth sectors.
U.S. oil and natural gas production is booming and because of this increased production we’re importing 1 million fewer barrels of foreign oil every day. Rising energy supplies combined with a push for energy efficiency should lead to lower gas and heating-oil prices over the long term. That should directly boost consumer spending on other goods and services and drive economic growth—stronger profits lead to job creation, which leads to stronger demand for real estate.
With technology, venture capital spending increased 26 percent in 2011 and has remained at healthy levels in 2012, especially with investments in software, biotech and IT services. Global demand for mobile technology is tremendous and that creates great growth potential for tech firms based in the U.S.
Manufacturing has been a bright spot, too, especially for markets outside the traditional gateway cities. The U.S. manufacturing sector has added 500,000 new jobs during the economic recovery, the strongest growth since the 1970s. Improved manufacturing leads to better prospects for our warehouse and distribution hubs as well. Markets that are geographically positioned to serve wide swaths of the U.S. will benefit as consumer spending increases.
NREI: What geographic regions of the country are looking best? Where are things starting to get more stagnant?
Carolyn Sidor: As we alluded to earlier, gateway markets—metro areas with vibrant tech and energy sectors—and some of the major distribution hubs, Dallas and Phoenix, for example, are all outperforming the rest of the country by nearly every economic measure. Houston is the prime example for the energy sector. It’s perhaps the leading U.S. market in terms of office and industrial demand.
The traditional tech markets—San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Austin—have risen to the top as well and are joined by tech-resurgent cities like New York, Los Angeles and Denver. The gateway cities, which include Washington, D.C., and Boston as well as San Francisco, New York, Dallas and Seattle, benefit from demographic and macroeconomic shifts. They’ve benefited from population shifts and an increasing share of global business flows through these gateway markets, which accelerates their growth trajectory.
Lately, nearly all U.S. markets demonstrate at least mild improvement, but some metro areas have lagged. Out-migration trends—people moving to other cities for better economic opportunities—will continue to be the biggest challenge for these markets.
Sabal Launches New Program
Sabal Financial Group L.P. has launched a commercial real estate lending program that will provide bridge loans for value-add real estate opportunities.
The program will initially provide bridge loans across all income-producing property types on the West Coast and eventually nationally. Sabal will focus on projects though leasing, renovations, repositioning, or improved management operations. Loans will be made starting at $5 million.
Sabal promoted James M. Martin to direct the new program. Martin is a 25-year veteran of commercial real estate finance, investment and asset management. He was formerly president of Martin Real Estate Group, a full-service Orange-County based commercial real estate brokerage company responsible for hundreds of financing and investment sale transactions across several property types throughout the western U.S., and in senior management positions with The Picerne Group and ORIX USA.
Colliers Promotes Hotchkiss
Colliers International promoted Dwight Hotchkiss to president of brokerage services for the U.S.
Hotchkiss, who is based in Los Angeles, joined Colliers in 2010 and was formerly the executive managing director of the group.
In less than two years at Colliers, Hotchkiss expanded the offerings of the firm’s brokerage services group and implemented a new structure to better integrate the group nationally and manage vertical markets from retail to industrial and office. In his new role, Hotchkiss will work to further elevate the U.S. brokerage platform through the development of practice groups, service lines, and other client-facing strategies. He will also tighten the focus on business development and recruiting key talent for the group as it continues to expand.
Prior to joining Colliers, Hotchkiss worked for Cushman & Wakefield, where he went from top producing industrial broker to head of Cushman & Wakefield's downtown Los Angeles branch and a national leader of the firm’s U.S. industrial brokerage division, driving more than $85 million in revenue.
NMHC Promotes SVP
The National Multi Housing Council promoted Julie Tulipane Stalknecht to senior vice president, membership, meetings and marketing.
Stalknecht will lead the group’s member recruitment and services program for a membership that includes the industry’s largest and most prominent apartment firms. She also oversees the council’s major business development initiatives, including marketing, meetings, sponsorships, trade expositions and other key member services programs.
Stalknecht brings more than 20 years of experience working with 501(c)6 and for-profit organizations, growing multimillion dollar revenue programs for organizational membership, marketing, trade expositions, meetings and other major programs. Before joining NMHC, she held senior positions at the National Apartment Association and American Trucking Associations.
Winick Opens New N.J. Office
Winick Realty Group LLC opened a new office in Cranford, N.J.
The new office will be run by Senior Vice Presidents and Founding Partners Daniel Spector and Tyler Bennett.
Spector has been in the retail real estate leasing and asset sales business for more than 25 years and has focused on Northern New Jersey for the past 15 years. Bennett has been in the industry for a decade, focusing on tenant representation, landlord leasing, land development and asset sales, in Central and Northern New Jersey, as well as Staten Island, NY.
Calif. Real Estate Pros Join City National Bank
City National Bank hired Charlie McGann and Deven Mays have to join the real estate team in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Prior to joining City National, McGann served as regional manager of real estate for Union Bank. He will be a senior vice president and regional manager of Northern California real estate, focusing on lending to developers and investors in the region. He will work closely with the bank's commercial real estate clients, including home builders and commercial real estate developers, providing them with construction, bridge and permanent financings.
With more than 15 years of industry experience, Mays joins the bank as a senior vice president for real estate in the Bay Area and he reports to McGann. He was a senior vice president and team leader of real estate with Wells Fargo's real estate division and formerly with Greater Bay Bancorp., which was acquired by Wells.
VP Joins SL Capital
SL Capital, a correspondent of Cantor Fitzgerald Commercial Real Estate, hired Neal S. Cooper, as a vice president.
Cooper will originate commercial mortgage loans intended for securitization and will build strategic correspondent relationships with community banks. Based in Miami, Cooper will travel between Florida and Chicago and will report to Constantine Scurtis, co-chairman and CEO of SL Capital.
Cooper has more than 25 years of experience in the real estate industry, spending most of that time originating and brokering commercial real estate loans. Most recently, he served as a principal in the Commercial OREO Group at Bank of America.
Hines Promotes One Pro, Hires Another
Hines promoted Todd Adams to vice president-property management in the firm’s Minneapolis office.
Since joining Hines in 1988, Adams has contributed to the leasing, management, acquisition and/or disposition of more than 15 million sq. ft. of commercial properties. He is currently responsible for the operational oversight of the firm’s approximately six million sq. ft. of space throughout Minnesota and Nebraska. As a member of the firm’s Midwest/Southeast/Canada Regional Core Management Group, Adams creates and leads policy and operational initiatives.
Hines also welcomed Chris Keber to the firm as a senior managing director in the company’s new office of investments. As a member of Hines’ capital markets team, he will have global responsibilities for institutional capital raising, and structuring of commingled funds, programmatic joint ventures and separate accounts. He will be based in Manhattan.
Prior to joining Hines, Keber led the global capital raising and investor relations efforts for Starwood Capital Group.
Ackerman Takes over CBRE in Pittsburgh
Jack Norris will retire from CBRE Group Inc. at the end of March 2013 and Jeffrey Ackerman will succeed him as managing director and market leader for Pittsburgh.
The change will be effective on April 1, 2013. Gerry Dudley will be moving into the leadership role of executive vice president of the investment property group in Pittsburgh as of the same date, succeeding Ackerman. Norris’ retirement comes after more than 15 years as the company’s market leader in Pittsburgh.
Ackerman and Norris have been business partners for many years. They, along with colleague Dudley, formed a local real estate services firm in 1998 that was ultimately acquired by CBRE and today comprises the backbone of the company’s Pittsburgh area operations.
Ackerman is a 25-year veteran of the Pittsburgh real estate market. As an executive vice president in the company’s investment properties group, he has completed more than $4 billion of investment property sales in the Pittsburgh market.
Dudley has been a senior fixture in the Pittsburgh real estate market for over 30 years. As an executive vice president in the company’s office occupier service business he has completed more than $5 billion dollars in aggregate lease volume during his career.
Managing Director Joins Meridian Capital Group
Meridian Capital Group LLC added Geoffrey D. Harris as a managing director at the company.
Harris specializes in financing commercial assets with a focus on triple-net lease and sale-leaseback transactions and will be responsible for overseeing Meridian’s recently formed Arizona office.
Harris has 14 years of mortgage banking experience and has closed more than 1,900 transactions totaling over $2.9 billion. In his new role he will be originating debt and equity transactions nationally, focusing on triple-net leased property owners and investors. He comes to Meridian from Marcus & Millichap, where he was ranked as a “Top Five Broker” nationally from 2007 through 2011 and a “Top Loan Originator” for three consecutive years from 2008 to 2010.
Shorenstein Hires Sustainability Program Manager
Shorenstein Properties LLC announced it has appointed Jaxon Love as sustainability program manager.
He will be based in the company’s San Francisco office and will be responsible for running Shorenstein’s in-house sustainability program, which includes the company’s corporate operations as well as all properties under management.
Prior to joining Shorenstein, Love was a Fellow of the Environmental Defense Fund’s Climate Corps program. Before that, he held positions at Pacific Gas and Electric Co., as well as EcoNorthwest, an economic consultancy.
Ryan Promotes Kiesey
Ryan Companies U.S. Inc. promoted Jim Kiesey to division manager in the Midwest region.
Kiesey will be responsible for the leadership and direction of the management team’s activities on construction projects in the Quad Cities and eastern Iowa market. He will also work on cost estimating, scheduling, design management and quality assurance, and he will play a key role in project pursuits, building community relationships and customer satisfaction.
Since joining Ryan 13 years ago, Kiesey has been part of such notable projects as Trinity College of Nursing, the Mississippi Medical Plaza and multiple projects for Lujack’s Auto Plaza. He also led the team on the Acciona Windpower Manufacturing Facility in West Branch, Iowa, which was Ryan’s first wind-related project.
Director Joins Boston Realty Advisors
Boston Realty Advisors hired Robert F. LeClair as a director.
LeClair comes to the firm from CBRE Group Inc. – New England, where he spent seven years as an office leasing broker and received that company’s Rookie of the Year Award in 2008.
With Boston Realty Advisors, LeClair will be focused on office leasing in the Boston’s Downtown and Back Bay submarkets.
Continental Realty Advisor Names Controller
Continental Realty Advisors appointed CPA Brian Capstick as controller.
Capstick is responsible for financial reporting, cash management and treasury activities. As part of our executive committee, Brian will help support CRA’s growth and acquisition of new properties across the U.S., including additional properties in the company’s core markets of Louisville, Indianapolis and Dallas. CRA is an institutional equity fund manager that will be actively seeking to deploy in excess of $300 million in equity on a nationwide basis with the next year.
Prior to joining CRA, Capstick was the assistant controller at Baceline Investments, a private equity real estate investment company.
Two Attorneys Join Carlton Fields
Two lawyers joined Carlton Fields in the firm’s Atlanta office.
Charles T. Sharbaugh, a shareholder, and Jason W. Howard, an associate, are members of the firm’s real estate and finance practice group.
Prior to joining Carlton Fields, Sharbaugh was a partner at Paul Hastings. His practice focuses on the representation of private equity funds in acquisitions, dispositions, and joint venture arrangements with respect to real estate assets. This includes representation of funds and other investors in the acquisition of distressed assets and loans. He has substantial experience in the representation of lenders in secured transactions, sale and disposition of large asset pools, sale leaseback transactions and Section 42 tax-credit transactions.
Howard also joins the firm from Paul Hastings. He concentrates his practice in the real estate and finance industries, handling matters related to asset-based financing and lending arrangements, including workouts and restructuring of debt obligations.
Opus Hires Two Architecture Pros
Opus AE Group Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, appointed Dean Newins as vice president, architecture and Ernesto Ruiz-García as senior manager, architecture.
Newins will work closely with Opus Development Corp. and Opus Design-Build to develop design solutions for various projects. Prior to joining Opus, Newins was a partner at OTJ Architects, a 70-person firm in Washington, D.C.
Ruiz will be responsible for leading multiple design projects and teams from initial phases through to construction documents. He comes to Opus from HGA Architects and Engineers, where he was a senior associate and managed the execution of various design projects in Minnesota and several other states.
Research Consultant Joins SRS Real Estate Partners
SRS Real Estate Partners brought on Shannon Wilson as a research consultant in the Chicago office.
Wilson will be supporting the Chicago brokers’ transactions with geographic and market information, helping support local business development and collaborating with the national research team to further improve SRS research products.
Prior to SRS, Wilson was a lab technician at Environmental Monitoring and Technologies. There, she performed chemical tests on waste water, soil and oil for companies located in Illinois and Wisconsin.