Ron Perry and Larry Epstein join Avison Young in Boston

Industry veterans become Principals; three others join

BOSTON, MA, May 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Michael Smith, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company's Boston office, announced today that leading office real estate professionals Ron Perry and Larry Epstein have joined the firm in Boston.

Effective immediately, Perry and Epstein become Principals of Avison Young and will continue to focus on assignments for tenants and landlords in the downtown Boston market. Perry and Epstein bring 32 years and 16 years of commercial real estate experience, respectively, to Avison Young. Perry was most recently president and head of brokerage at Colliers International in Boston and Epstein most recently served as a senior vice-president with the same firm.

"We're thrilled to welcome Ron and Larry, both highly regarded industry leaders and experts in Boston's dynamic and challenging downtown office market, to Avison Young," comments Smith. "Their well-established track records and diverse experience will benefit investors, landlords and tenants alike. They will play a prominent role in fortifying our unique Principal-led culture and enhancing our client-centric, full-service business line coverage."

Also joining Avison Young are Jeff Gates and Mike McElaney as senior vice-presidents in the Boston office, and Matt Perry as a senior associate. All three also specialize in office leasing and previously worked for Colliers in Boston.

Smith continues: "These strategic appointments emphasize our dedication to expanding Avison Young's service offerings in Greater Boston and New England to ensure that local, national and global clients have a one-stop solution for all of their office real estate needs. In addition to Ron and Larry, Jeff, Mike and Matt will provide our clients with comprehensive market knowledge as we expand our office sales and leasing service platform in Greater Boston and throughout New England."

Avison Young opened its Boston office in October 2010. Over the past seven years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 77 offices and from 300 to more than 2,200 real estate professionals in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Europe.

"Having watched Avison Young's growth in Boston since 2010, it's exciting to see how far the company has come in a short period of time here," states Perry. "Avison Young's culture of collaboration will fit perfectly with my clients' and my own business interests. I'm delighted to be part of our company's unique Principal-led business model and its highly talented group of office market professionals serving the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe."

Epstein says he was attracted to Avison Young by its aggressive expansion program in Boston and across the globe. He also sought to join a firm where he could increase his leadership role.

"When I decided to change firms, I recognized that I would have to make the transition as seamless as possible to avoid any service disruptions to my clients," adds Epstein. "With the help of Avison Young's team in Boston, I have achieved a significant positive change in my career. I'm ecstatic about the opportunity to help Avison Young expand its office sales and leasing footprint in Greater Boston and the rest of New England. I also look forward to working with my new colleagues across the company."

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Biographies

Ronald Perry
Ron Perry brings 32 years of commercial real estate experience to Avison Young, most recently as president of Colliers International's Boston operations (2010-2016). In addition to serving as president, he was the head of brokerage from 2007 onward, primarily focusing on the Boston brokerage team. Perry began his career at Meredith & Grew in 1984, which became part of Colliers in 2007. He was recognized as the Top Producer by Colliers in 2012 and was awarded the Commercial Brokers Association's (CBA) Boston Downtown Office Deal of the Year Award in 2003 and 2007. He was named CBA's Broker of the Year in 2004.

Perry has also been an independent director at Blue Hills Bancorp, Inc. and Blue Hills Bank since 2012. In addition, he is a member of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB) and the CBA, and served for 12 years as a board member at Catholic Memorial School in West Roxbury. He was a Big East basketball color analyst for more than 30 years. Following his graduation from the College of the Holy Cross in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics (magna cum laude), Perry was drafted by the MLB's Chicago White Sox and the NBA's Boston Celtics.

Lawrence Epstein
Larry Epstein brings 16 years of commercial real estate experience to Avison Young, most recently as a senior vice-president at Colliers International in Boston (2001-2016). His focus is on the downtown Boston office market where he has represented numerous tenants in leasing assignments. Epstein has also co-ordinated several office lease listing assignments. Prior to joining Colliers, Epstein was the northeast regional manager for Triangle Services, a national building service provider. He was also employed for seven years by WBZ-TV Boston as a senior sports producer. Epstein is a member of the CBA and serves on the career development committee at the Rivers School in Weston. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Bates College.

Jeffrey Gates
Jeff Gates joins Avison Young after having served as a senior vice-president in the brokerage group at Colliers International in Boston from 2005 to 2016. His focus is on leasing activities in the downtown Boston office market. Prior to joining Colliers, Gates was an associate director in the investment sales group of Cushman & Wakefield's Boston office. During his tenure there, he was involved in office transactions totaling more than 5 million square feet (msf) with an aggregate value in excess of $500 million. Prior to joining Cushman & Wakefield, Gates was a co-founder and vice-president of Vertac Corp., a start-up company that provided Internet-based applications to the business-to-business publishing industry. He is a member of the CBA and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from St. Lawrence University.

Michael McElaney
Mike McElaney joins Avison Young from Colliers International in Boston where he served as a vice-president specializing in advising tenants and landlords in the Boston office market (2004 to 2016). During his 12 years at Colliers, McElaney was involved in more than 3 msf of leasing and sales transactions. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the College of the Holy Cross and remains active in the college's alumni association. He also serves on the alumni council for the Roxbury Latin School and co-heads the school's real estate networking group. Additionally, McElaney is a member of the GBREB and the CBA.

Matthew Perry
Matt Perry was most recently an associate at Colliers International in Boston (2013 to 2016), where he worked with tenants and landlords in the Greater Boston and Route 128 area. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the College of the Holy Cross. Upon graduation in 2010, he was drafted by the MLB's Detroit Tigers and played three years of minor league baseball in its organization.

Avison Young is the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 2,200 real estate professionals in 77 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

For further information/comment/photos:

• Sherry Quan, Principal, Global Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: 604.647.5098; 604.726.0959

• Michael Smith, Principal and Managing Director, Boston, Avison Young: 617.575.2830

• Ron Perry, Principal, Avison Young: 617.993.0730

• Larry Epstein, Principal, Avison Young: 617.993.0731

• Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: 312.957.7610

• Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: 416.673.4028

www.avisonyoung.com

Avison Young was a winner of Canada's Best Managed Companies program in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 and requalified in 2015 to maintain its status as a Best Managed Gold company 

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Editors/Reporters
• Please click on links to view and download photos of Ron Perry, Larry Epstein, Jeff Gates, Mike McElaney, Matt Perry:
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Ron_Perry.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Lawrence_Epstein.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Jeffrey_Gates.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Michael_McElaney.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/MattPerry.jpg

SOURCE Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)