Avison Young opens new office in Denver, 11 members join

Leading Canadian commercial real estate firm opens its 21st location outside Canada;
Alec Wynne and Justin Rayburn become Principals, Phil Ruschmeyer joins as Senior VP

TORONTO, Dec. 3, 2012 /CNW/ - Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company, announced today the opening of a newly-formed office in Denver, Colorado.

The newest American office marks Avison Young's 21st market outside of Canada and an additional step in the firm's ongoing aggressive growth and expansion strategy.

Over the past three and a half years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to, now, 43 offices in 35 markets and from 300 to more than 1,100 real estate professionals across Canada and the U.S.

Effective immediately, Alec Wynne joins as a Principal and Managing Director of the Denver office; Justin Rayburn joins as a Principal; and Phil Ruschmeyer as a Senior Vice-President in Denver.

Wynne will, along with Nick Slonek, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director, Northern California region, focus on overseeing the growth and development of Avison Young's presence in Denver. Additionally, Wynne will continue to attract new relationships, service existing clients and manage the day-to-day operations of the office.

Wynne and Rayburn were most recently with iCG Denver, LLC (doing business as iCORE Global) ― a full-service real estate company focused on tenant representation for office, retail and industrial asset classes.

A 33-year real estate industry veteran, Ruschmeyer was formerly President and CEO of Denver-based The Ruschmeyer Corporation, a privately-held full-service brokerage firm specializing in tenant and landlord representation, capital procurement, and advisory and consultation services. Ruschmeyer will focus on landlord and tenant representation at Avison Young.

Also joining Avison Young from iCG Denver are: Charlie Lodge, Howard Schmidt and Lowrey Burnett as Vice-Presidents in Denver; Jeff Daily and Britteni Rice as Associates; and Jicelyn Johnson as Office Manager.

Also joining Avison Young from The Ruschmeyer Corporation are: Ross Ethridge as an Associate and Katie Nobel as Sales and Marketing Specialist.

"Denver is a market that Avison Young has had a keen interest in since we launched our U.S. growth strategy in late 2008," comments Rose. "The city is a key link in the chain of energy markets that extends from Western Canada down to Houston, and our company has numerous U.S. and Canadian clients who have a growing presence in Denver."

Rose continues: "Alec Wynne, Justin Rayburn and Phil Ruschmeyer are very experienced brokers who have worked for both large firms as well as their own respective smaller firm, and have a well-grounded knowledge of both the occupier and investor requirements in Denver and its surrounding submarkets. The addition of these teams underscores our commitment to serving communities and clients across the nation, and we couldn't be more pleased to have this group on board."

Today's announcement comes on the heels of Avison Young opening an office in Irvine, CA two weeks ago. To date in 2012, Avison Young has opened new offices in Reno, NV; Bethesda, MD; San Francisco, New York City, Charleston, SC; Pittsburgh, New Jersey, South Florida, Detroit, Raleigh-Durham, Irvine and Denver. The firm also acquired Maryland-based Realty Management Company, Las Vegas-based Landry & Associates, Los Angeles-based Starrpoint Commercial Partners, Inc., New Jersey-based The Walsh Company, LLC, and Raleigh, NC-based Thomas Linderman Graham Inc. in 2012.

Earl Webb, Avison Young's President, U.S. Operations, states: "Phil, Alec and Justin will form the foundation of a broad-based business for Avison Young in Denver, and we are hopeful of bringing a number of other key contributors to the firm in the near future in order to round out our service capabilities there."

He adds: "Alec, Justin, Phil and their respective teams are highly regarded real estate professionals with some significant long-term client relationships. Moreover, their strong work ethics have earned them the opportunity to work with some of the world's largest companies, including Western Union, Oracle USA, Inc., AIMCO, Janus Funds, IKON Office Solutions, Siemens, ADP, CNA Insurance, Galileo International, Sherman & Howard L.L.C., Denver Newspaper Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, TIAA-CREF, Fiserv Investment, Merrill Lynch, AT&T, Encana Corporation, U.S. Bank, and Teletek. We are thrilled that these 11 professionals have chosen to join us in Denver to help build Avison Young's business there."

Effective immediately, Avison Young's new Denver office will be located at 7000 East Belleview Avenue, #301, Greenwood Village, Colorado. The Denver team is currently pursuing a downtown office location, to be announced in the near future.

"We are very excited about joining Avison Young. We had the opportunity to work with Avison Young previously in Canada on behalf of one of our large corporate clients, and we were thoroughly impressed with not only the quality and service level of the work, but more importantly, the people," says Wynne. "Additionally, we have perfect alignment with the company's vision, culture and strategy for moving forward in today's commercial real estate realm. The partnership with Avison Young comes at an opportune time as we have been building our Denver presence and market share. We look forward to providing our clients with the full suite of services offered from the Avison Young platform."

"Opening the Denver office is an integral piece of Avison Young's overall expansion plan," notes Slonek. "The synergy with our Calgary and Houston offices in relation to the oil, gas and mining industries is paramount for Avison Young clients in those and other North American markets. Alec is the absolute best individual to lead our efforts in expanding our client relationships and growing our presence in the Denver metropolitan area. Additionally, having Phil, Justin and the rest of the team on board makes for a formidable and immediate presence in the marketplace. We cannot wait to share more exciting news regarding Denver expansion plans in the near future."

Denver is renowned for its commitment to business, access to a broad and highly educated workforce, and fine quality of life. While Denver's economy was once primarily based on agriculture and mining, over the past few decades the local economy transformed into a vibrant and diversified place for national and international companies to conduct business. Metro Denver's population reached 2.9 million in 2012, making it one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S. The city's central location in the U.S. provides business leaders easy access to their operations from coast to coast and around the world. Denver's economy prides itself as a leader in the energy, aerospace, technology, financial, healthcare and telecommunications industries while it continues to diversify its business base. Denver is also experiencing increased interest by national and international companies because of its strong commitment to enhancing its public transit system, evidenced by the ongoing build-out of FasTracks, one of the country's top transit-oriented development systems.

In February, 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 1,100 real estate professionals in 43 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.

Biographies

Alec Wynne
Alec Wynne has significant experience representing users of commercial real estate throughout Metro Denver and the U.S. During the past 17 years, he has represented occupiers of commercial real estate in 25 states and 20 countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and South America. To date, Wynne has completed more than 400 sales and lease transactions totaling over 5 million square feet (msf) and with a value of more than $1 billion.

In 2010, Wynne opened the first U.S. office for iCORE Global as iCG Denver, LLC. Wynne served as Senior Managing Principal for Denver as well as on the national executive committee for iCORE Global. Prior to iCORE, Wynne's work experiences included co-founding Millennium Commercial Advisors in 2009; working as a Vice-President at CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) in the corporate services division; and serving as a Senior Associate and Vice-President at The Staubach Company, where his duties included strategic planning, transaction procurement and dispositions for local, regional and national companies.

Recent and past honors include: South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce (SMDCC) 2012 Emerging Business of the Year; 2011 and 2012 Chairman's Club - iCORE; 2010, 2011 and 2012 Top Producer - iCORE; 2008 and 2006 MVP - CBRE 102; 2000 Top Producer - The Staubach Company; 1998 Top 40 Under 40, The Denver Business Journal; 1997-2001 Heavy Hitter, The Denver Business Journal. Membership associations include: Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce (2010-present); board member - Aurora Economic Council (2005-2006); board President - The Bridge Project (2010-present); board member - The Bridge Project (2005-present); and board member - University of Denver Board of Visitors. He is also a member of the SMDCC, the Denver Metro Commercial Association of Brokers (DMCAB), and the Urban Land Conservancy - Development Committee. Wynne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in international economics from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Justin Rayburn
Justin Rayburn started his real estate career as a tenant representation professional at Grubb and Ellis in 2002. In 2003, he moved to Trammell Crow Company (TCC) where he joined the corporate services team and focused his efforts primarily on tenant representation while engaging in some landlord work in the Denver Metropolitan Area. In 2006, Rayburn joined the corporate services team at CBRE after CBRE's acquisition of TCC. Rayburn co-founded Millennium Commercial Advisors in 2009 and in 2010 co-opened the first U.S. office of iCORE Global where he served as Managing Partner and as a member of the management committee.

To date, Rayburn has completed more than 275 sale and lease transactions totaling over 1.75 msf of office space and more than $100 million in total consideration. He has represented numerous local, national and international companies with acquisition, disposition and restructuring services, and re-forecasting of existing office lease obligations. His experience spans 20 states in the U.S.; moreover, he has assisted clients with 25-plus space requirements in Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Rayburn provides real estate planning services, portfolio optimization studies, market analysis, site selection services, and financial planning studies. Additionally, he assists clients in identifying available economic incentives packages from local, city and state agencies.

Recent honors and awards include: SMDCC 2012 Emerging Business of the Year; Top 25 Denver Area Commercial Real Estate Brokerages ― The Denver Business Journal; 2000 President's Club Member ― IKON; and 1999-2001 Top Producer ― IKON LDS. Rayburn is a member of the SMDCC, the South Denver Economic Development Group, and the DMCAB. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin.

Phil Ruschmeyer
Prior to forming The Ruschmeyer Corporation, Phil Ruschmeyer spent the majority of his career at Frederick Ross Company as an owner and broker (1986-2006). Specializing in tenant and landlord advisory services, he has been involved in more than 40 msf of office lease and sale transactions representing well over $4 billion during his 33-year real estate career.

Ruschmeyer has received a multitude of awards throughout his career, including: Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) - Transaction of the Year; Frederick R. Ross Award - Number One Salesman (five times); Denver Metro Commercial Association of Realtors (DMCAR) - Salesman of the Year; NAIOP - Award for Outstanding Professional Achievements in Commercial Real Estate; Denver Board of Realtors ― Number One Salesman (three times); DMCAR - President's Distinguished Service Award; and the Robert R. Hackstaff Award for Outstanding Community Service.

Ruschmeyer is currently serving his fourth term on the board of trustees for the Metro Denver YMCA. His past board positions, charity and volunteer efforts include: Denver Hospice, University of Denver Alumni Association, University of Denver Burns Society, Brokers for Battered Kids, Channel Six, Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, Children's Museum, United Way, Cherry Hills Farm Homeowners Association, Falcon Hills Homeowner Association, Grand Prix of Denver, and Volunteers of America. He will be serving as chair for the 2013 University of Denver/Rocky Mountain Real Estate EXPO. Ruschmeyer holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a major in real estate construction management from the University of Denver.

For further information/comment/photos:

• Sherry Quan, National Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: [phone]; cell: [phone]

• Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: [phone]

• Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: [phone]

• Nick Slonek, Principal and Managing Director, Northern California, Avison Young: [phone]

• Alec Wynne, Principal and Managing Director, Denver, Avison Young: [phone]

Avison Young's new Denver, CO office will be located at: 7000 E. Belleview Avenue, #301, Greenwood Village, CO 80111, [phone]

www.avisonyoung.com

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

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•Editors/Reporters: please click on links to view and download photos of Alec Wynne, Justin Rayburn and Phil Ruschmeyer
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/AlecWynne.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/JustinRayburn.JPG
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Phil_Ruschmeyer.jpg

SOURCE: Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)

Media Relations:
Sherry Quan
[phone] or [phone] cell
email: [email protected]