Four commercial real estate industry veterans join Avison Young in Las Vegas

Additions mark milestone during firm's early expansion in Nevada

LAS VEGAS, NV, March 29, 2012 /CNW/ - Joseph Kupiec, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company's Las Vegas office, announced today that four highly-regarded commercial real estate industry professionals have joined Avison Young's brokerage operations in Las Vegas.

Effective immediately, Tony Amato joins as a Principal and retail specialist; Michael LaBar joins as a Principal and multi-family specialist; Debra Sinclair will serve as director of property management services; and Dave Dworkin becomes operations manager.

"The additions of Tony Amato, Michael LaBar, Debra Sinclair and Dave Dworkin mark a milestone in the early expansion of Avison Young's rapidly-growing Las Vegas and Nevada operations," comments Kupiec. "Each of these four respected commercial real estate industry veterans will play vital roles going forward as Avison Young builds its Western U.S. presence and continues to expand in Nevada and across the country, while enhancing the firm's well-established base in Canada and looking forward to future growth in Asia and Europe."

Avison Young commenced operations in Las Vegas in November 2011. The company added a second Nevada office in Reno earlier this month.

Amato brings more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate brokerage and finance to Avison Young, while LaBar is a 10-year veteran broker. Sinclair brings more than four decades of property management and other related expertise to the firm, and Dworkin has spent nearly 20 years in the real estate sector.

Prior to joining Avison Young, Amato owned and operated his own commercial real estate firm, LaBar served as Vice-President of Investments at Marcus & Millichap, and Sinclair and Dworkin were colleagues at Grubb & Ellis. All were based in Las Vegas.

"I am thrilled to join Avison Young at this critical juncture in the start-up of its Las Vegas and Nevada operations," says Amato. "Having owned my own firm, I did not hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity to be part of Avison Young's innovative principal-led ownership and management structure - and gain the benefits of a brand that is rapidly expanding. I look forward to working with my three new colleagues as we build a strong and vibrant Las Vegas team featuring savvy veterans and emerging talent, providing the client with diverse perspectives, market knowledge, analysis and insight."

Last month, Avison Young was named a winner of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies program for 2011, sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC, National Post and Queen's School of Business.

Founded in 1978, Avison Young is Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Avison Young is also the largest Canadian-owned, principal-managed commercial real estate brokerage firm in North America. Comprising more than 900 real estate professionals in 28 offices across Canada and the U.S., the full-service commercial real estate company provides value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-residential properties.

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Biographies

Tony Amato
A Nevada resident since 1955, Tony Amato has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate brokerage and finance, and regularly ranks among the top producers in the Las Vegas retail real estate marketplace. He has established numerous professional relationships with his valued clients in the Southwest and throughout the U.S.

Prior to joining Avison Young, he owned and operated a Las Vegas commercial real estate brokerage that he launched in 1996. During his career, Amato has brokered 200-plus convenience store sale and lease transactions in Las Vegas, Reno and Phoenix, Arizona. Regional-operator clients have included 7-Eleven, Circle K, Rebel Oil, Terrible Herbst, Speedee Mart, Green Valley Grocery and many other independent operators. Regional-distributor clients have included: Chevron, Texaco, Shell, Exxon/Mobil, BP/Arco and Valero.

Amato has facilitated more than $250 million in Small Business Administration (SBA) financing for his clients, and has brokered the sale of more than 100 parcels of vacant commercial, residential, and industrial development land. Many projects required him to coordinate and direct the entitlement and development process for owners and developers.

Altogether, Amato has been involved in more than $600 million in gross leasing and sales of retail, industrial and office properties while providing both tenant and landlord representation. Amato is a CCIM designee and a member of the National Association of Realtors. He is a licensed broker/salesperson and business broker in Nevada as well as a licensed broker in Arizona. He attended the College of Southern Nevada and has completed several real estate-related education programs.

Michael LaBar
Michael LaBar consistently ranks as one of Southern Nevada's top producing multi-family investment brokers. Prior to joining Avison Young, he served as Vice-President of Investments at Marcus & Millichap, and as a Director of the National Multi-Housing Group, completing more than $500 million in multi-family transactions during his 10-year career.

Demonstrating a deep commitment to his clients' success and providing best-in-class expertise, he has earned numerous industry awards both locally and nationally, including his former company's Las Vegas Rookie of the Year (2002), Las Vegas Top Associate (2003), Las Vegas Largest Transaction ($82.4 million, 2004), Las Vegas Top Producer (2010), Top Regional Associate (2005) and Seven Figure Club (2006). He also garnered national sales achievement awards six times and was named a CoStar Power Broker on three occasions (2005, 2006 and 2010).

A graduate of Utah State University, LaBar has also been very active throughout the Las Vegas community serving numerous organizations. He is currently a mentor for the Lied Institute of Real Estate Studies of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas for students pursuing careers in the commercial sector.

Debra Sinclair
Debra Sinclair's primary responsibilities with Avison Young include the daily operations, administration, accounting, financial reporting, leasing and development of the Las Vegas management portfolio, which comprises office, retail, industrial and commercial association properties.

Sinclair has more than 40 years of commercial real estate experience, which includes expertise in property management, asset management, strategic planning, organizational development, accounting, finance and leasing. Prior to joining Avison Young, she was Area Vice-President, Senior Portfolio Manager for Grubb & Ellis in Las Vegas and oversaw a portfolio of nearly 4 million square feet (msf) of diverse property space.

Before relocating to Las Vegas from Iowa, she served as a Senior Facilities Manager for Terrus Real Estate Group, a progressive full-service real estate development company with a portfolio of 4 msf of office, industrial, retail and multi-family properties based in Des Moines. At Terrus, Sinclair was responsible for a multi-site, third-party commercial real estate portfolio of 850,000 sf. Additionally, she worked directly with each division at Terrus to provide total facility management services for a multitude of clients.

Sinclair holds her CPM designation and is a licensed broker/salesperson and property manager in Nevada. She is also a member of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and NAIOP.

Dave Dworkin
In his role as Avison Young's operations manager in Las Vegas, Dworkin will oversee matters relating to client service, marketing, branding, market research, transaction processing, and staff management.

Prior to joining Avison Young, he spent seven years with Grubb & Ellis in Las Vegas. For the first five years, he served as Research Analyst and was then promoted to Research Manager in 2010. In the latter role, he directed all market research initiatives for the firm, including research and projects while maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the company's proprietary commercial property database; analyzing market changes and trends; preparing a quarterly trend report for office and industrial specialists; and writing the annual commercial real estate forecast.

Before moving to Grubb & Ellis, he spent 11 years as the Director of Marketing and Head of Information Technology at IPG Commercial Real Estate Services, where his various duties included creating marketing materials and managing the firm's industrial database and 12-user network.

• Editors/Reporters: please click on links to view and download photos of Tony Amato, Michael LaBar, Debra Sinclair, Dave Dworkin
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Tony_Amato.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Michael_LeBar.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Dave_Dworkin.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Debra_Sinclair.jpg

For further information/comment/photos:

Sherry Quan, National Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young:
[phone]; cell: [phone]
Joseph E. Kupiec, Principal and Managing Director, Las Vegas, Avison Young: [phone] 
Tony Amato, Principal, Avison Young: [phone]; [phone] (cell)
Michael LaBar, Principal, Avison Young: [phone]; [phone] (cell)
Debra Sinclair, Director of Property Management Services, Las Vegas, Avison Young:
[phone]; [phone] (cell)
Dave Dworkin, Operations Manager, Las Vegas, Avison Young: [phone] 
Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: [phone]
Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: [phone]

www.avisonyoung.com

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