WASHINGTON, D.C. — SIOR Foundation has announced Aaron Barnard as its new president for the 2018-2019 term. The transition from current president Bill Ginder to Barnard occurred last week at the Society of Industrial & Office Realtors (SIOR) Fall World Conference in Denver. Barnard is a veteran broker in Minneapolis with Cushman & Wakefield and specializes in investment analysis, tenant and landlord representation. Additional 2018-2019 SIOR Foundation officers are President-Elect Chris Curtis (Nugent Curtis Real Estate), Vice President Albert McNeel (Endura Advisory Group) and Treasurer Stan Kleweno (Transpacific Investments). New SIOR Foundation Trustees who began three-year terms at the latest conference include Nancy Morse (Newmark Knight Frank), Jack O’Donoghue (Grant Street Associates/Cushman & Wakefield Alliance), Adrian Arriaga (AAA Real Estate & Investments), Robert Horn Jr. (JLL), Jesse Laikin (Lee & Associates) and Peter Richardson (Primera Cos.). As the largest association of commercial real estate brokers, Washington, D.C.-based SIOR Foundation promotes and funds programs that advance the real estate profession through educational scholarships, research projects, publishing and development of real estate curricula for higher education.
SEATTLE — Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and founder of investment and project management firm Vulcan Inc., which includes its real estate development arm, has died at age 65. Allen passed away Monday from symptoms of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Born in 1953 in Seattle, Allen attended school in the Seattle area and founded Microsoft, along with Bill Gates, in 1975. Almost 10 years later, he resigned from Microsoft and began focusing on philanthropic interests and commercial real estate development and investments, as well charity efforts across the Pacific Northwest. In 1986, Allen and his sister, Jody Allen, founded Vulcan Inc., as a vehicle for real estate, investment, entertainment and philanthropy efforts. The company has built more than 7.8 million feet of office, life sciences, residential and mixed-use projects since 1998. Included in Vulcan’s development portfolio is South Lake Union, the hub of Amazon in Seattle; the Allen Institute of Brain Science; and the Allen Institute of Cell Science, and combined these properties comprise 80 percent of the company’s development efforts. As owner of the Seattle Seahawks since 1997, Allen invested $140 million toward the construction of CenturyLink Field. Additional commercial properties that Vulcan and Allen contributed to include Museum of …
ATLANTA — CBRE has promoted Chris Bosworth and Will Pike to vice chairman, the highest-ranking title among CBRE producers. Based in the firm’s Atlanta office, Bosworth and Pike serve as partners and co-leaders of CBRE Net Lease Properties, a national practice that provides net lease investors with acquisition and disposition advisory services for single-tenant assets, national net lease portfolios and corporate sale-leasebacks. Over the course of their careers, Bosworth and Pike have executed more than $16 billion worth of assignments spanning more than 2,600 properties. Since 2016, the team has been responsible for the disposition of 720 properties with a value of over $8.2 billion. Bosworth joined the firm in 1999 and is a founding member of Net Lease Properties and the firm’s Corporate Capital Markets practice. Additionally, he is the first retail-focused capital markets professional in the firm’s history to be named vice chairman. Pike, who joined in 2004, is a founding member of Corporate Capital Markets, head of Retail-Occupier Capital Markets and currently serves on the board of CBRE’s Investment Properties and America Brokerage divisions. Pike is the third-youngest CBRE professional to earn the title of vice chairman.
AUSTIN, TEXAS — 3M, the Minnesota-based manufacturer best known for office products like Post-It notes and Scotch tape, will close its 220,000-square-foot plant in north Austin by the end of 2019. The property will be marketed for sale once it closes. According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the closing will impact approximately 120 jobs, though laid-off employees can apply for positions at 3M in other locations.
ATLANTA — Floor & Decor, a specialty retailer of hard surface flooring and related accessories, plans to relocate and expand its headquarters to Cobb County from Atlanta. The company’s expansion will create 500 jobs, including administrative and customer service positions, over five years, according to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal. Additionally, the company will receive a $500,000 grant to help establish the new headquarters and could be eligible for more than $3 million in state tax breaks for five if it creates 500 qualifying new jobs, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Floor & Decor was founded in Atlanta in 2000 and currently operates 95 warehouse-format stores in 26 states, including seven in Georgia. In February, the company opened a 1.4 million-square-foot distribution center, which employs more than 100 people, outside of Savannah.
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Hunt Real Estate Capital has hired Chad Thomas Hagwood as senior managing director and Southeast regional manager. Formerly with Capital One Multifamily Finance, Hagwood will be based in Hunt’s Birmingham office. In this role, Hagwood will be actively involved in the origination of multifamily and manufactured home community debt throughout the nation, with a focus on loan originations through Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, CMBS and FHA programs. Additionally, Hagwood will oversee the firm’s Southeast Region and the Manufactured Home Community production nationally. Over the course of his career, Hagwood has closed in excess of $8 billion in commercial real estate transactions throughout the United States, and he is annually ranked as one of the industry’s leading loan originators.
DALLAS AND HOUSTON — The boards of not-for-profit health systems Baylor Scott & White Health and Memorial Hermann Health System have signed a letter of intent to merge operations. Together the two health systems own or have a stake in 68 hospitals and 1,100 care delivery sites in 30 Texas counties. The systems also record nearly 10 million annual “patient encounters” and employ approximately 73,000 people, including 14,000 physicians. According to The Wall Street Journal, the combined health system would be among the largest in the U.S. by number of hospitals and would generate more than $14 billion in annual revenue. As per the merger agreement, the board of the combined company will comprise an equal number of appointees from both organizations. Jim Hinton, CEO of Baylor Scott & White, will be the CEO of the proposed combined system and will be joined in the proposed office of the CEO by Chuck Stokes, president and CEO of Memorial Hermann, and Pete McCanna, president of Baylor Scott & White. “This is about two mission-driven organizations — both committed to making safe, high-quality healthcare more convenient and affordable — building something transformative together,” says Hinton. “Through this combined system, we have a …
ATLANTA — Atlanta-based REIT Cousins Properties Inc. (NYSE: CUZ) has named Colin Connolly CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Larry Gellerstedt, the company’s current chairman and CEO, will transition to executive chairman. “Colin’s promotion is part of a deliberate and planned succession effort that will allow Cousins Properties to benefit from his ideas, energy and strategic leadership skills, while continuing its evolution into a larger, highly focused company,” said Gellerstedt. Since joining Cousins Properties in 2011, Connolly, 42, has held the roles of senior vice president, chief investment officer, executive vice president and chief operating officer. Last year, he was named president of the company, a title he will retain in addition to his role as CEO. “Growing up in Atlanta, I have a deep appreciation for Cousins Properties and its importance to this community,” said Connolly. “The opportunity to work side by side with Larry and our outstanding team for more than seven years has been tremendous, and I have total confidence that our top-quality Sunbelt portfolio and strong balance sheet leave us well positioned to maintain our position as one of the top urban [REITs] in the marketplace.” Cousins Properties’ stock price closed at $9.08 per share on Tuesday, Sept.18, …
DALLAS — NorthMarq Capital has added six multifamily investment sales specialists to its Dallas branch, which is the Minneapolis-based financial intermediary’s top-producing debt and equity advisory office. Joining the Dallas team is Taylor Snoddy, the top overall producer for Transwestern over the last two years, along with former Transwestern associates James Roberts and Philip Wiegand. Over the past two years, Snoddy, Roberts and Wiegand have closed more than $2.5 billion in multifamily sales and are on pace to exceed $1 billion in sales in 2018. Also joining NorthMarq’s Dallas office from Transwestern are Eric Stockley, Devin Etzold and Charles Hubbard, who will provide financial analysis, client service and transaction coordination.
BOSTON — CBRE Group has acquired CB Richard Ellis-N.E. Partners LP (CBRE/New England), a long-standing joint venture with Whittier Partners Group. The acquisition price was not disclosed. The CBRE/New England leadership team and professionals will join CBRE immediately with the CBRE/New England brand remaining through the end of the year. “We felt the timing was right for this transition to better serve our clients and our employees,” says Andy Hoar, president and co-managing partner at CBRE/New England. “Joining forces with CBRE and our new colleagues will ensure CBRE’s market leadership in the New England market for the foreseeable future.” CBRE/New England has seven offices throughout New England including Boston, Hartford, New Haven, Providence, Portsmouth, Manchester and Portland.