Avison Young opens new office in Los Angeles

Leading Canadian commercial real estate firm opens eighth location outside Canada as part of aggressive U.S. expansion plan; Neil Resnick joins as Principal

TORONTO, Aug. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - 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 Los Angeles, California.

The newest American office marks Avison Young's eighth location outside of Canada and represents the next step in the firm's aggressive growth and expansion strategy.

Effective immediately, industry veteran Neil Resnick joins Avison Young as a Principal and will help launch the company's brokerage business in Southern California. As a member of Avison Young's local executive management team, Resnick will oversee the growth and development of the company's presence in West Los Angeles. As a senior broker, he is also charged with maintaining key client relationships on the West Coast and assisting clients with strategy and the execution of their occupancy solutions.

Team members Matthew Wallace (Director) and Meryl Ong (Marketing Coordinator) also join Avison Young. Wallace will act as a liaison between clients, assisting with strategy and implementation of client initiatives. Ong will oversee all facets of client coordination and interaction on a day-to-day basis. In addition, she will be responsible for research and analytical materials that assist clients in their evaluation of real estate needs and objectives. All three were most recently with Grubb & Ellis in West Los Angeles.

"Avison Young considers Los Angeles, and the entirety of Southern California, to be one of the most critical real estate markets in the U.S. The corporate and institutional client opportunities in these markets are widespread, and Avison Young intends to grow rapidly in these key markets through strategic hiring and acquisitions," comments Rose.

He continues: "The opening of an L.A. office is the first critical step in a much larger plan to be a very active player in key West Coast markets. We are very pleased to have Neil, Matt and Meryl on board and to anchor our West Los Angeles expansion. Neil will be instrumental in the growth of Avison Young's L.A. presence as he and his team have extensive experience in the West L.A. markets, with a number of clients headquartered in the city. It is also a huge benefit that Neil has worked with many of our Avison Young Principals in the past to develop solutions for U.S.-based clients in Canada."

Over the past two and a half years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 25 offices and from 300 to more than 800 real estate professionals across Canada and the U.S.

Today's announcement comes on the heels of Avison Young acquiring Virginia-based Millennium Realty Advisors, LLC, opening a new office in Dallas, Texas, and adding a talented group of brokers led by Jack Kerrigan and Steve Cook in Boston this past month.

"We are totally committed to growing a market-leading presence throughout Southern California and are thrilled to have Neil and his team provide a key first step in that growth strategy," says Earl Webb, Avison Young's President, U.S. Operations. "In addition to the West Los Angeles office, we expect to open a number of offices in L.A. and throughout Southern California in order to effectively cover the entire market."

He adds: "The opening of our first office in California is in line with our strategy to harness the immense potential of Avison Young's client-centric service model, which recognizes the importance of aligning the needs of our clients with the intellectual capital of our professionals, and eliminating service-line silos to allow for the delivery of integrated solutions."

The new L.A. office will be temporarily located at 1100 Glendon Avenue, 17th floor, Los Angeles.

"We were impressed with the entrepreneurial spirit at Avison Young and we look forward to building a comprehensive team in West Los Angeles to address the diverse commercial real estate needs of our clients," comments Resnick. "Moreover, to have the ability to be a Principal of a firm with a proven track record in Canada, and which is executing on a plan to significantly grow across the U.S., is very exciting."

Resnick adds: "Joining Avison Young will also allow me to rejoin forces with Mark Rose and work with Earl Webb, who is one of the most respected leaders in the U.S. Having worked with Avison Young's senior management team previously, I am excited about the opportunity to introduce the Los Angeles business community to the company's proven approach to client-centric service."

Biographies

Neil Resnick
Neil Resnick started his career in commercial real estate in 1986 with CB Richard Ellis (then known as Coldwell Banker), specializing in office-tenant representation. While he has aided many corporate clients in their search for offices, his primary business focus has been in the representation of creative/entertainment and multi-media firms. During his tenure at CB Richard Ellis, his peers voted him as the "most value-added" broker.

Resnick joined the West Los Angeles office of Grubb & Ellis Company in 2001 as Senior Vice-President, Transaction Services. In 2004, he was promoted to Executive Vice-President, Managing Director, overseeing the day-to-day operations of this high-volume branch. In 2007, after bringing the office from a mid-20s national ranking to the top five for two years in a row, Resnick re-entered the transaction services arm of Grubb & Ellis. Consistently a top producer, he was awarded the coveted "Spirit of Grubb & Ellis" award in 2008. He was the # 2 broker in the nation in 2008 and was awarded the "# 1 Transaction of the Year" for his representation of the William Morris Agency in the disposition of its Beverly Hills office building portfolio.

With 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate field, Resnick is constantly sought out for his expertise on real estate trends. He has been a guest speaker at many commercial real estate functions and has guest-authored articles for major industry journals, including: Globe St.com, Black's Guide and the entertainment publication, Variety. Furthermore, Resnick is routinely quoted in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, California Real Estate Journal, The Los Angeles Business Journal and Real Estate Southern California, to name a few.

Past and current clients include: Alesis Studio Electronics, American Golf Corporation, Bank of America, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, CarsDirect.com, Chiat/Day Advertising, Def Jam Records, Egg Pictures (Jodie Foster), Entertainment Asylum (a division of America Online), FarmClub.com (a division of Universal Music Group), Gramercy Pictures, Hilton Hotels Corporation, IBM e-Business, Island Pictures, MJJ Entertainment (the late Michael Jackson), Motown Records, Mutual of Omaha, Paisley Park Records (Prince-Warner Brothers), PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, Propaganda Films, Scripps Howard Television, Smith Barney, Universal Music Group, Universal Records, USA Films/USA Television, and William Morris Agency.

Resnick holds a Bachelor of Arts (major in psychology, minor in economics) from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Membership associations include Los Angeles Commercial Realty Association (LACRA), Lambda Alpha International, CoreNet and National Association of Industrial and Office Properties ( NAIOP).

Matthew Wallace
Prior to joining Avison Young, Matthew Wallace was an associate at the West Los Angeles office of Grubb & Ellis Company, assisting the team with project support and due diligence. While at Pepperdine University, he held numerous student leadership positions in which he was responsible for budgeting and statistics. Wallace's exposure to the process of due diligence and financial oversight provided him with applicable skill sets necessary for working in commercial real estate brokerage. He currently serves as President of Pepperdine University's Alumni Association.

Meryl Ong
Prior to joining Avison Young, Meryl Ong was with the West Los Angeles office of Grubb & Ellis Company for three years as marketing coordinator. Her responsibilities included overseeing all facets of client coordination and interaction, and working on the production and design of marketing materials. Ong holds a Bachelor in Business Administration (with an emphasis in marketing) from California State University, Northridge.

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 800 real estate professionals in 25 offices across Canada and 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.

•Editors/Reporters: please click on links to view and download photos of Neil Resnick, Matthew Wallace and Meryl Ong
http://www.avisonyoung.com/library/pdf/Media_Releases/Temp/neil_resnick.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/library/pdf/Media_Releases/Temp/matt_wallace.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/library/pdf/Media_Releases/Temp/meryl_ong.jpg

SOURCE Avison Young (Canada) Inc.