Avison Young grows Boston-region presence; Jack Kerrigan and Steve Cook join Avison Young as Principals

Leading real estate brokers Kerrigan, Cook, Mark Coelho and Anne Flanagan
join Avison Young to expand service platform in New England market

TORONTO, Aug. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company, announced today that industry veterans Jack Kerrigan and Steve Cook have joined Avison Young as Principals.

Effective immediately, Kerrigan and Cook join Avison Young's New England operations to grow the company's brokerage business and further expand the company's presence in the New England market. Team members Mark Coelho (Vice-President) and Anne Flanagan (senior account manager) also join Avison Young. Coelho will work with landlords and tenants in the suburban Boston market while Flanagan will be responsible for managing client accounts. All four were most recently with Grubb & Ellis in Boston.

"We are pleased to have Jack, Steve, Mark and Anne join the Avison Young organization. Boston is one of the key commercial markets in the U.S., and the addition of this team marks a key step in furthering our strategy for growth both in Boston and throughout the New England market," comments Rose. "These appointments facilitate our ongoing commitment to provide the broadest and most comprehensive range of real estate services to our local and national clients. Given their industry experience and outstanding reputations, Jack, Steve and their team will complement our existing and rapidly-growing Boston-based business."

Over the past two and a half years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 24 offices and from 300 to more than 750 real estate professionals across Canada and in the U.S.

"We are thrilled to have Jack and Steve join us in Boston. They have a terrific track record of success in the market and are highly respected in the business community," adds Earl Webb, Avison Young's President, U.S. Operations. "Steve, Jack and their team will be instrumental in gathering new clients and pursuing added business lines and growth opportunities in the New England market. We are excited to have them join us at this critical time in our growth in Boston and throughout the Northeast."

Today's announcement comes on the heels of Avison Young acquiring Virginia-based Millennium Realty Advisors, LLC and opening a new office in Dallas, Texas last month.

"The addition of Jack and Steve is another important step to developing the Avison Young brand and platform in New England. They will be joined by other leading industry professionals in the very near future," notes John Fenton, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the New England region.

The new team will be temporarily located at 225 Franklin Street in Boston, and will consolidate with Avison Young's existing Boston office in the financial district later this fall.

According to Kerrigan: "Having worked with Mark Rose for many years when he was CEO at our prior company, we have the utmost respect for his vision, leadership and execution. I am excited to once again be working with Mark. The financial stability and strength of Avison Young, the fact that two highly-regarded industry veterans (Mark Rose and Earl Webb) are leading the organization, and to partner with the existing Canadian leadership were major factors in my decision to join the company. To have an equity position in the fastest-growing real estate company, and to be able to contribute our knowledge and experience to its growth and success will be very rewarding."

"The more I investigated Avison Young, the more excited I became - particularly with the company's people, its seamless delivery of client services, and its capabilities, including property management, project management, construction management, asset management, LEED-certification and brokerage," says Cook. "The number of high-caliber Avison Young brokers located in the major markets where our clients require service bodes well for our multi-market clients. Furthermore, the opportunity to have an ownership position with such a prestigious real estate company is exciting, and we look forward to helping lead the growth of Avison Young throughout New England."

Flanagan adds: "Having worked in the commercial real estate industry for 14 years, I am excited to be joining a company that has an entrepreneurial environment, a powerful strategic plan and a debt-adverse culture. Having focused my career on providing high-level marketing and project support to clients, I was incredibly impressed with Avison Young's approach to client service and cutting-edge technology."

Please see Biographies on page 3…

Founded in 1978, Avison Young is Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company and the only national, Canadian-owned, principal-managed real estate brokerage firm in the country. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario and ranked among Canada's leading national commercial real estate organizations, Avison Young is a full-service commercial real estate company comprising more than 750 real estate professionals in 24 offices across Canada and in the U.S. The 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

Jack Kerrigan
Kerrigan has more than 30 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry with Grubb & Ellis Company in Boston. He is the recipient of the Grubb & Ellis Lifetime Circle of Excellence Award for his contribution to the company over the decades and for generating the highest revenue in the company's history. Well-known for his face-to-face, client-centric approach to real estate, Kerrigan most recently represented Cubist Pharmaceuticals in its $53-million purchase of the 198,000-sf Hayden Woods Corporate Center in Lexington.

Known for his charitable endeavors, Kerrigan was the honoree at the 2011 Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's Hearts and Heroes gala for his efforts in helping to raise $1.1 million for the cause. He was also awarded the Altruism Award from the Lupus Foundation in 2006. Kerrigan holds a B.S. in Business Administration (Magna Cum Laude) from Boston College, and an MBA with high distinction from Babson College (MA).

Prior to joining Grubb & Ellis, Kerrigan was a business director at Forum Corporation. He started his career at Xerox where he was one of the country's top sales representatives and youngest sales manager. Kerrigan is an active member of the Boston College Real Estate Council, Boston College Technology Council, Commercial Brokers Association, Greater Boston Real Estate Board, National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), The Weston Golf Club and Lake Winnipesaukee Golf Club. A former college professor and well-known public speaker, Kerrigan is often called upon by industry organizations to provide training, market overviews and career advice.

Steve Cook
Most recently Senior Vice-President in Grubb & Ellis Company's Boston office, Cook has extensive experience servicing multi-market clients with complex real estate portfolios. Cook routinely qualified for Grubb & Ellis' Circle of Excellence as a top national performer for the firm. Over the last 14 years, he has negotiated more than 500 lease and sale transactions across the globe. Most recently, Cook was involved in Ascend Learning's new 75,000-sf corporate headquarters relocation to 5 Wall Street in Burlington, MA and athenahealth's acquisition of Point Lookout Resort in Northport, ME.

Cook holds a Bachelor's degree from Lake Forest College. He is a member of the Commercial Brokers Association, Concord Business Partnership and Concord Country Club. He devotes much of his free time to coaching and being a board member of his three sons' Concord Carlisle Youth Hockey program.

Mark Coelho
Coelho has more than 10 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry and was most recently a Senior Associate with Grubb & Ellis Company's Boston office. A recipient of Grubb & Ellis' Boston Rookie of the Year award, Coelho has been involved in many high-profile landlord representation assignments in suburban Boston, including the successful leasing of the 181,000-sf LEED-certified speculative office building at 5 Wall Street in Burlington, MA, developed and owned by the Gutierrez Company. Coelho holds a B.A. in financial economics from St. Anselm College.

Anne Flanagan
Flanagan has spent the past 14 years with Grubb & Ellis Company's Boston office. As a licensed real estate professional, she is actively involved in marketing properties and servicing the team's local and national tenant representation clients. She holds a B.A. in political science from Merrimack College.

• Editors/Reporters: please click on links to view and download photos of Jack Kerrigan, Steve Cook, Mark Coelho and Anne Flanagan
http://www.avisonyoung.com/library/pdf/Media_Releases/Temp/Jack_Kerrigan.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/library/pdf/Media_Releases/Temp/Steve_Cook.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/library/pdf/Media_Releases/Temp/Mark_Coelho.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/library/pdf/Media_Releases/Temp/Anne_Flanagan.jpg

SOURCE Avison Young (Canada) Inc.