February 2015 – Briefs/People

C&W Grabs Massey Knakal

In a strategic move to enhance the global real estate services firm with a more powerful capital markets presence in the New York Tri-State area, Cushman & Wakefield has agreed to buy Massey Knakal Realty Services, the New York boutique brokerage prominently known in the city for midsized office, retail and apartment building sales. The global real estate services firm declined to disclose the price to Commercial Property Executive, but according to various news reports, it bought out Massey Knakal for about $100 million. What Cushman & Wakefield did admit to is beating out 10 other bidders for the deal, which the firm attributed to its collaborative culture, brand and team of professionals.

Silverstein Properties Appoints Kerret as President

Tal Kerret, chief investment officer with Silverstein Properties Inc., has moved up the leadership ladder with his promotion to president of the real estate development and management. It’s no small job; Silverstein presently has approximately $10 billion worth of development in the pipeline. Kerret joined the firm back in 2011 as executive vice president. In 2013 he stepped into the role of chief investment officer. In just three years at the company, he’s already left an indelible mark. In early 2013, Kerret launched Silver Suites Offices at 7 World Trade Center, an executive office space and service business providing white-glove turnkey office accommodations at the 52-story tower. He also oversees Silver Suites Residences at Silver Towers and at Beekman Tower.

BKM Capital Partners Adds Five to Team

BKM Capital Partners, a fund manager specializing in multi-tenant industrial properties in the Western U.S., has formally announced its board of advisors. The board includes former CEO/chairman of Morgan Stanley, John Mack; Paul Dolinoy, former president of Equitable Real Estate Investment Management; and Jeff Gehl, managing principal and co-founder of RCP Advisors. These three business leaders join BKM’s co-founders Brian Malliet and Nima Taghavi on the board. The firm has also hired two executive staff fund management experts, Michael Hernstad and Charlie Ittner.

NeighborWorks America Names New CEO

Paul Weech, a long-time leader in the housing and community development field, was named president & CEO of NeighborWorks America by the organization’s board of directors. Chuck Wehrwein, acting president & CEO, will return to his position as COO. Weech joins NeighborWorks America from the Housing Partnership Network, where he served as executive vice president for policy and external affairs. At HPN, Weech worked with leaders from 100 nonprofit housing and community development organizations to create a new vision for housing policy and practice. Weech has served as chief of staff at the U.S. Small Business Administration; staff director for the Housing Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; and senior analyst for housing and credit for the Senate Budget Committee. He also worked in a variety of mission-related roles in Fannie Mae’s National Community Lending Center and Office of Corporate Strategy.

Stone Point Capital Grabs Situs, Makes Powel New CEO

Steve Powel will become the CEO of global commercial real estate advisory company Situs under new ownership by private equity firm Stone Point Capital L.L.C. Funds managed by the Greenwich, Conn., firm are buying the stake held by Ranieri Partners and WL Ross & Co. The firms did not release the terms of the deal but the Wall Street Journal has reported that Stone Point, a firm that focuses on investing in the global financial services industry, will be paying about $200 million for Situs. The deal is expected to close this quarter. A Situs spokesperson told Commercial Property Executive that Powel would become CEO as part of the transition that would also see current CEO D. Keith Johnson stepping down and leaving the firm when the transition is complete. Powel, who is currently serving as president, is a founding member of Situs.

ARCP’s Schorsch, Kay Say Goodbye

American Realty Capital Properties’ executive chairman, Nick Schorsch, and CEO, David Kay, have both resigned from the company and its board of directors. ARCP’s president & COO Lisa Beeson has also followed suit and stepped down from her post. William Stanley was appointed lead independent director and chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee. He’ll serve as interim CEO & chairman of the board until a permanent replacement is chosen. The compensation committee has already gone to work in its search for the next CEO and chairman of the board for the largest publicly traded net lease REIT.

Bowles Named President of Kidder Mathews’ West Coast Brokerage

Jim Bowles has been named president of Kidder Mathews’ brokerage services division. The new position was created to facilitate strategic, long-term growth of the company’s commercial brokerage business. Bowles officially began his new role this January. In his 30-year career, he has held senior management positions at leading national commercial brokerages, including Colliers International, Cushman & Wakefield, and CBRE. During his leadership from 2001 and 2014, CBRE’s Seattle operation grew its annual revenue from $12 million to nearly $200 million. From its nine offices throughout Washington, Oregon and California, Kidder Mathews offers commercial real estate services in three key areas: brokerage, debt and capital markets; property management (including facilities maintenance); and valuation and advisory services.

Wood Partners Hires Barrett as Director of Houston Office

Wood Partners has hired Bart Barrett, former managing director at Alliance Residential Co., as director of the company’s Houston office. He will oversee the development, design and financing of construction in the state’s hottest multi-family market. Barrett was instrumental in developing more than 3,400 housing units with a capitalization of more than $500 million during his tenure at Alliance Residential. Before he joined Alliance Residential in 2011, Barrett was a finance and development associate at The Morgan Group, where he sourced approximately $822 million in equity and debt financing for luxury multi-family developments throughout the United States.