Avison Young opens new office in Greenville, South Carolina

Eight members join from Colonial Commercial, Reggie Bell becomes Managing Director; Leading Canadian commercial real estate firm opens its 37th office outside Canada and third office in South Carolina

TORONTO, Sept. 5, 2013 /CNW/ - Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, announced today that Greenville, South Carolina-based commercial real estate brokerage firm Colonial Commercial has partnered with the South Carolina offices of Avison Young, resulting in the opening of a new Avison Young office in Greenville.

Colonial Commercial is a full-service commercial real estate company specializing in the sales, leasing and management of income-producing assets across the Carolinas. The firm provides a broad range of value-added real estate services to sellers, investors, lenders, tenants and end-users. Colonial Commercial has more than 50 years of combined experience in real estate brokerage, land entitlement, construction management, vertical development, investment sales and property management.

The newest American office represents Avison Young's 37th office outside of Canada, the company's third office in South Carolina, and an additional step in the firm's ongoing aggressive growth and expansion strategy.

Over the past four years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to, now, 52 offices in 40 markets and from 300 to more than 1,300 real estate professionals across Canada and the U.S. 

The expansion further expands Avison Young's market coverage in South Carolina and adds eight new members to Avison Young.

Effective immediately, Reggie Bell joins Avison Young as Principal of Greenville Operations, as well as Managing Director of the Greenville office. He will oversee the growth and development of the company's presence in Greenville as well as manage the day-to-day operations of the office. Bell was most recently co-founder of Colonial Commercial.

"Opening an office in Greenville is the logical next step to creating a seamless network of offices in South Carolina to serve our valued clients," comments Rose. "With the addition of the Colonial Commercial team to the Avison Young offices in South Carolina, we now have three offices with the capacity to offer real estate solutions to South Carolina businesses throughout the state."

Rose continues: "Greenville is a strategic location for Avison Young, as much of what is manufactured in Greenville is served by the Port of Charleston both from a distribution and an import/export strategy. The city's proximity to other major metropolitan areas, such as Atlanta, makes Greenville an important location for Avison Young to continue to grow its presence."

Also joining Avison Young are: Kyle Putnam as Principal of Greenville Operations and a Senior Vice-President, Investment Services; Todd Justice as Principal of Greenville Operations and a Senior Vice-President, Investment Services; David Rosenberg, Associate; John Odom, Associate; John Saunders, Associate; Shawn Hammond, Associate; and Cort Nagle, Associate.

Avison Young opened its first South Carolina office in May 2012 in Charleston, with Chris Fraser joining as Principal of South Carolina Operations and Jeremy Willits as Managing Director of the Charleston office. In April 2013, Avison Young opened an office in Columbia, with Bruce Neel joining as Principal of Columbia Operations and Managing Director of the Columbia office.

"Combined with our North Carolina offices in Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, opening a third South Carolina office in the key market of Greenville is a strategic move that will allow us to provide a full-service platform in the Carolinas," comments Earl Webb, Avison Young's President, U.S. Operations. "We are pleased to have Reggie and his team join our rapidly growing U.S. platform. South Carolina is home to many corporate headquarters and presents a strong regional growth area for our company. By joining forces with Colonial, we are able to expand our presence further in the U.S. Southeast, and position ourselves to serve current clients who may wish to expand to South Carolina."

Effective October 2013, Avison Young's new Greenville office will be located at 300 East Coffee Street in Downtown Greenville.

"The Greenville office will join Charleston and Columbia to become the third office in South Carolina, allowing us to continue providing a wide range of commercial real estate services across the state," says Fraser. "We are excited to be expanding the Avison Young brand and our client-specific, holistic-based solutions approach across the state of South Carolina. This expansion complements our existing activities in North Carolina, enhances our offerings available to clients across North America, and sets us up well for further expansion in the southern U.S."

"Our team was intrigued by Avison Young's principal-led, client-centric culture, and we look forward to continuing to grow this regional operation," says Bell. "It is exciting to be part of Avison Young's unprecedented expansion period. We have been impressed by the talent Avison Young is assembling throughout the country, and by the quality of the firm's leadership. Our clients will benefit from Avison Young's large network of offices and the firm's strong brand. We look forward to building new relationships across the country and contributing to the company's continued success."

Greenville, SC, located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, has a population of 400,000 and is one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. Greenville is centrally located between two global gateway cities, Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC. Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson and other nearby counties are collectively known as The Upstate, and boast more than 250 international firms, including BMW, Michelin, GlaxoSmithKline and Kyocera. BMW is already on its fourth expansion and continues to be a major economic driver. Greenville enjoys a vibrant business climate, stimulated by attractive tax incentives, the Greenville Area Development Corporation (GADC), Upstate Alliance and the Chamber of Commerce. Greenville's Falls Park recently made the national list of "Top 10 free things to do this summer", chosen by USA Today, and the publication's "Top 10 Places to Live in the USA."

Today's announcement comes on the heels of Avison Young opening its fifth office in Florida two days ago, in Tampa.

Biographies

Reggie Bell
With a background in all aspects of commercial real estate development and investment, Reggie Bell spent 15 years in commercial construction and development before becoming the manager of a regional investment fund in 2004. Specializing in the representation and sales of investment-grade income-producing assets, Bell was most recently co-founder of Colonial Commercial in Greenville, SC. He also recently served as Vice-Chairman of the Greenville County Planning Commission, and is a member of the Urban Land Institute and International Council of Shopping Centers. He holds a Bachelor's degree in construction science and management from Clemson University.

Kyle Putnam
Kyle Putnam specializes in the representation and sales of income-producing commercial real estate and also focuses on sourcing and capitalizing real estate acquisitions through the debt and equity markets. Prior to joining Colonial Commercial as a Vice-President in 2010, Putnam served as Development Associate for Agnew Development, a retail and multi-family development company. Putnam holds a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation, a South Carolina real estate broker's license, and is certified as a specialist in debt workout, transactions and repositioning of distressed assets. Putnam earned his Masters in real estate development from Clemson University and a Bachelor's degree in real estate and finance from the University of South Carolina. He is a member of the Urban Land Institute.

Todd Justice
Todd Justice specializes in investor capital and investment real estate. He spent the past 15 years of his career focusing on private equity and investment-grade commercial assets. Prior to co-founding Colonial Commercial in Greenville, SC in 2008, Justice was a founding member of Beacon Light Private Equity and various investment real estate partnerships. He attended the University of South Carolina and resides in Greenville.

Avison Young is the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 1,300 real estate professionals in 52 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

For further information/comment/photos:

• Sherry Quan, National Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young:
  [phone]; cell: 604.726.0959
• Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: 416.673.4028
• Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: 312.957.7610
• Chris Fraser, Principal of South Carolina Operations, Avison Young: 843.725.7200
• Reggie Bell, Principal of Greenville Operations and Managing Director, Greenville,
  Avison Young: 864.334.4145

Avison Young's new Greenville, SC office: 300 East Coffee Street, Greenville, South Carolina, 29601.

www.avisonyoung.com

Avison Young was a winner of Canada's Best Managed Companies program in 2011 and requalified in 2012 to maintain its status as a Best Managed company.

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•Editors/Reporters: please click on link to view and download photos of Reggie Bell, Kyle Putnam and Todd Justice
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Reggie_Bell.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Kyle_Putnam.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Todd_Justice.jpg

SOURCE: Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)

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