Leading industrial brokers Bert Harrell and Michael Royce join Avison Young in Washington, DC region

Commercial real estate industry veterans become Principals; team to grow industrial practice

WASHINGTON, DC, April 8, 2013 /CNW/ - Keith Lipton, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company's offices in the Washington, DC region, announced today that industrial brokers Edward "Bert" Harrell and Michael A. Royce have joined Avison Young in Tysons Corner, Virginia and Bethesda, Maryland, respectively.

Effective immediately, Harrell and Royce join Avison Young as Principals and will focus on growing and building the company's industrial services platform in the Mid-Atlantic region. The team will provide advisory services and marketing solutions to both private and institutional owners throughout Northern Virginia and the Baltimore-Washington Corridor for industrial, flex and warehouse distribution properties. In addition, the team will bring a full-service approach to its clients with an investment sale/capital markets practice that will mesh seamlessly with Harrell and Royce's solid portfolio leasing experience. Harrell and Royce were most recently with Cassidy Turley where they led the industrial practice in the region.

"I am delighted that Bert and Mike have chosen to join Avison Young. Their deep market knowledge and dedication to client service make Bert and Mike great additions to our organization and our Washington region. We look forward to their development of our industrial practice in the DC Metropolitan region and Baltimore area," comments Lipton. "Importantly, their arrival expands our ability to advise our clients on all aspects of industrial real estate, and advances our leasing expertise to the Suburban Maryland and Baltimore markets."

Lipton continues: "Bert and Mike are industry leaders and have a sterling reputation for advising clients with complex real estate decisions. This is a top team that can deliver the highest level of real estate solutions to our clients."

A 24-year commercial real estate industry veteran, Harrell has executed transactions valued in excess of $1 billion during his career. Some of his major transactions have involved clients such as Amazon.com, Ford Motor Company and Caterpillar Logistics. Before joining Cassidy Turley, Harrell was a top producer with CBRE Inc. and, as a former Principal at Connecticut-based Cambridge Hanover LP, he was responsible for industrial acquisitions along the East Coast.

With 29 years of experience in the industry, Royce has been acknowledged by the Greater Washington Commercial Association of Realtors and CoStar Group for the past 10 years as one of the top five regional industrial brokers. Since 1985, Royce, who holds the SIOR designation, has completed sales and leasing transactions in excess of 68 million square feet (msf) with an aggregate value of more than $1.5 billion. During his career, he has represented many notable owners and occupiers, including PS Business Parks, Washington Real Estate Investment Trust, Rreef, Prudential Insurance, Invesco, Verizon, Chevy Chase Bank, CareFirst/BCBS, Giant Food, GE and Bank of America.

"Avison Young has grown with marked momentum in the Washington region during the past three years with strategic acquisitions and hires. The addition of Bert and Mike is another plank in Avison Young's full-service platform, and their client-centric approach to real estate aligns perfectly with Avison Young's philosophy," adds Lipton.

Avison Young started a presence in Metropolitan DC in late 2009 with the opening of the Washington DC office. The company subsequently established offices in Tysons Corner, Virginia and Bethesda, Maryland. As part of its expansion, Avison Young acquired Appian Realty Advisors, LLC in 2010, Millennium Realty Advisors, LLC in 2011 and Realty Management Company in 2012. Today, Avison Young's DC region comprises more than 90 brokers and employees, has 2 msf under management and 14 msf of lease listings on behalf of landlords.

"We are very excited to be part of the company's growth plans," says Harrell. "I've worked with Keith Lipton before and his success at recruiting some of the region's most recognized brokerage teams speaks volumes of his leadership ability. Avison Young's Principal-led structure and commitment to our service practice make this a very attractive move for me for the long term."

Royce adds: "Avison Young's fast-growing and client-focused real estate platform has been exciting to witness and is something I want to be part of. I am pleased to be continuing my career at Avison Young and look forward to contributing to and growing the company's industrial practice in the DC region."

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 1,200 real estate professionals in 44 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.

For further information/comment/photos:

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

• Keith Lipton, Principal and Managing Director, Washington Metro Region, Avison Young: [phone]

• Edward "Bert" Harrell, Principal, Avison Young: [phone]

• Michael A. Royce, Principal, Avison Young: [phone]

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 links to view and download photos of Bert Harrell and Michael Royce
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Bert_Harrell.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Michael_Royce.jpg

SOURCE: Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)

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