Grubb & Ellis Company Opens San Diego Office

SANTA ANA, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that the six principals of Commercial Realty Advisers, along with a majority of the firm's brokerage professionals, have joined the company to form a new Grubb & Ellis-owned office in San Diego, effective immediately.

Joining Grubb & Ellis as senior vice presidents are Gregory Albertini, Brent Bohlken, Jeffrey Chasan, Steve Dok, Brandon Keith and Robert Vallera, all industry veterans whose varied and complementary expertise spans a wide range of commercial real estate specialties.  Each will have a participating interest in the success of the new office.

The team will be joined by the majority of Commercial Realty Advisers' brokerage professionals, giving Grubb & Ellis a significant brokerage and management presence in San Diego.  The company currently manages approximately 5 million square feet of property throughout San Diego.

"Grubb & Ellis is already a well-known brand with a significant management presence in San Diego," said Jack Van Berkel, Grubb & Ellis' chief operating officer and president, Real Estate Services.  "With the addition of Commercial Realty Advisers' principals and its top professionals, the company has established itself as a leader in the San Diego commercial real estate market overnight.  We've also enhanced Grubb & Ellis' presence throughout Southern California."

Commercial Realty Advisers was created in 2007.  Since the firm's inception, it has grown into one of the top boutique commercial brokerage firms in San Diego County.

"We formed Commercial Realty Advisers because we were driven to provide our clients with comprehensive real estate solutions and unparalleled client service.  By uniting with Grubb & Ellis, we are able to realize this goal," said Bohlken.  "Our clients will be working with the same people they've come to know and trust.  At the same time, they will have access to the Grubb & Ellis platform, which includes more than 1,800 brokerage professionals in more than 100 markets, a full complement of transaction and management services and proprietary market research that is second to none."

Albertini has more than 24 years of commercial real estate experience, having begun his career in 1986 as a senior vice president at GVA IPC Commercial Real Estate.  Specializing in investment sales and leasing, he has completed investment sales and leasing transactions valued in excess of $500 million.

Bohlken began his real estate career in 1987 at CB Richard Ellis.  Specializing in the sale and leasing of office and industrial properties, Bohlken was a top producer at both Colliers International and GVA IPC Commercial Real Estate prior to forming Commercial Realty Advisers.  He has represented a wide range of clients, including Bank of America, Farmers Insurance Group, Ford Motor Corporation and Texaco.

Chasan is a 23-year veteran of the San Diego Office market, having begun his career at Langdon Rieder Real Estate.  He spent three years at Grubb & Ellis in the early 1990s, where he ranked as one of the company's top office brokers.  He was also the top broker at Beitler Commercial from 1993 to 1998.  Chasan joined GVA IPC as executive vice president in 1998, and was the firm's top producer from 1998 through 2006.  He was named broker of the year in 2000.  A founding principal and consistent top producer at Commercial Realty Advisers, Chasan has built a diverse client list that includes some of the region's largest legal, financial, technology, telecommunications and medical companies.

Dok specializes in the sale and leasing of all types of healthcare properties.  He began his commercial real estate career in 1986 at the Douglas Allred Company.  He has consistently ranked as the top healthcare office broker in the county for both sales and leasing and was a top producer during his seven-year tenure at GVA IPC Commercial Real Estate.  His clients include many of the region's largest healthcare providers and property owners throughout San Diego County.

Keith specializes in office, land and industrial sales and leasing.  He began his commercial real estate career in 1994 and joined GVA IPC Commercial Real Estate a year later as senior vice president.  During his 12 years at GVA IPC, Keith was a consistent top producer, and for the past three and a half years, he has served as the managing broker of Commercial Realty Advisers.

Vallera brings nearly 30 years of commercial real estate experience to Grubb & Ellis, having built a successful career as one of the San Diego area's most successful Multi Housing professionals.  Prior to founding Commercial Realty Advisers, he spent seven years as a senior vice president/principal at GVA IPC Commercial Real Estate and 12 years as principal of Vallera Investment Properties.  During his career, he has been involved in the sale or exchange of more than 250 investment properties throughout San Diego County.

Grubb & Ellis will operate its San Diego operations from the former Commercial Realty Advisers office in UTC, located at 4275 Executive Square in La Jolla.

About Grubb & Ellis Company

Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE) is one of the largest and most respected commercial real estate services and investment companies in the world. Our 6,500 professionals in more than 100 company-owned and affiliate offices draw from a unique platform of real estate services, practice groups and investment products to deliver comprehensive, integrated solutions to real estate owners, tenants and investors. The firm's transaction, management, consulting and investment services are supported by highly regarded proprietary market research and extensive local expertise. Through its investment subsidiaries, the company is a leading sponsor of real estate investment programs that provide individuals and institutions the opportunity to invest in a broad range of real estate investment vehicles, including public non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), mutual funds and other real estate investment funds. For more information, visit www.grubb-ellis.com.

SOURCE Grubb & Ellis Company