Vincent Carrega, Neil Helman, Jon Epstein, Charles Kingsley join as
Principals; strategic hiring of eight-member team adds depth to Avison Young's rapidly growing Tri-State market presence
NEW YORK CITY, May 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, for Avison Young, Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services
company, announced today the hiring of a leading investment sales team
to join the company's rapidly growing New York City office.
Effective immediately, Vincent Carrega, Neil C. Helman, Jon Epstein and Charles B. Kingsley join Avison Young as Principals. The news follows the announcement of
Avison Young opening its first office in New York City last month and
the hiring of industry leader Arthur J. Mirante, II as Principal and Tri-State President.
Prior to joining Avison Young, Carrega, Helman, Epstein and Kingsley
worked in the New York offices of Grubb & Ellis. The four professionals
collaborated as a top-producing investment sales team with expertise in
all aspects of the acquisition and disposition of investment-grade real
estate, as well as development and redevelopment transactions on behalf
of both institutional and private capital clients. Collectively, they
have completed assignments totaling more than $4.5 billion over the
past several years. The team's extensive experience encompasses all
property types in the Tri-State market, with a focus on Manhattan.
"The addition of this prominent team to Avison Young's New York City
office expands the depth of our capabilities and is aligned with our
focus on creating a culture of collaboration to ensure we are able to
provide the highest quality of service to our clients," comments Webb.
"We are excited to welcome Vincent, Neil, Jon and Charles to our team,
and will look to them to leverage their broad-based experience to
further develop our relationships and business-line coverage throughout
the Tri-State market."
Carrega brings more than 30 years of commercial real estate industry
experience to his role at Avison Young. Most recently an Executive
Vice-President for Grubb & Ellis' investment services group, Carrega
was frequently recognized as one of the firm's top-producing brokers,
having completed numerous high-profile transactions throughout his
career on behalf of a wide variety of investor, corporate,
institutional, public, private and individual owners.
Notes Carrega: "I am impressed by Avison Young's principal-led culture,
which I believe will provide our team with a strong foundation to
achieve high-level results on behalf of our clients. I am excited by
the opportunity to use my experience to grow the firm's investment
sales business in the regional marketplace, and I look forward to
contributing to the company's expansion in the Tri-State area."
Helman was formerly an Executive Vice-President at Grubb & Ellis, where
he worked since 1997 and was recognized as a company-wide
top-performer. During his 27-year career in commercial real estate, he
has been involved in the marketing and disposition of numerous
high-profile development sites and property sales.
"The real estate investment services industry in New York City is among
the most competitive and active in the world, and I believe Avison
Young's calculated entrance into this market provides our team with a
tremendous opportunity to continue building on our track record of
success," states Helman.
Epstein joins Avison Young after serving as Executive Vice-President in
the capital markets team of Grubb & Ellis. Prior to joining Grubb &
Ellis, Epstein served as a Senior Director at Cushman & Wakefield. He
has 25 years of experience in investment sales in New York City,
completing many high-profile transactions during his career. He also
has broad expertise in acquisition, development and asset management,
with a background in property and construction management.
"I believe Avison Young is well-positioned to achieve tremendous growth
in this market. I am thrilled to be joining a firm that places such a
strong emphasis on being both client-centric and culture-driven, and am
confident that our team's industry relationships and experience will
support the company's growth objectives in the New York metropolitan
area," says Epstein.
Also specializing in the sale and disposition of investment properties,
Kingsley previously served as an Executive Vice-President in the New
York capital markets team of Grubb & Ellis. Prior to that, Kingsley
worked as a Senior Director at Cushman & Wakefield. With more than 30
years of experience as a broker, owner and manager of Manhattan real
estate, Kingsley has been responsible for the sale of more than 3
million square feet (msf) of property.
Notes Kingsley: "The team dynamic that we bring to Avison Young is
unique to the industry and, at the same time, highly complementary to
Avison Young's brand of client service, which promotes collaboration. I
believe our collective decades of experience and comprehensive
knowledge of the investor side of the business will greatly benefit the
firm as it further expands in the Tri-State market."
Effective immediately, Michael Berk, Steve Rooney, Jason Mazin and Miriam Halpert also join Avison Young in the New York office. Berk and Rooney join as
financial analysts, while Mazin has been hired as a marketing
coordinator. Halpert joins as an investment sales broker and will focus
on business development. All four also come from the New York offices
of Grubb & Ellis.
Avison Young's New York City office marks the company's 13th location
outside of Canada. Over the past three years, Avison Young has grown
from 11 to 30 offices and from 300 to more than 900 real estate
professionals across Canada and the U.S.
Biographies
Vincent Carrega
During his more than 30-year career in real estate sales, Carrega has
worked with and on behalf of a wide variety of top-tier investor,
corporate, institutional, public, private and individual owner clients.
Active in all aspects of real estate-related investment sales, he
recently completed such transactions as the structuring/disposition of
high-profile Manhattan development sites at 1517-25 Third Avenue, 200
West 72nd Street, 350 Amsterdam Avenue and a large development site at
Eighth Avenue and 46th Street. Other notable transactions include the
bankruptcy-related sales of both Cabrini Medical Center and 555 Sixth
Avenue, as well as the sales of 423 West 55th Street, 387 Park Avenue
South and 240 West 37th Street.
Prior to joining Avison Young, Carrega was with Grubb & Ellis'
investment services group in New York. During his 30-year tenure at
Grubb & Ellis, Carrega was frequently recognized as one of the firm's
top-producing investment sales brokers and consistently earned
membership in the Circle of Excellence, a mark of distinction reserved
for the company's top transaction specialists nationally. Carrega also
earned the distinction of membership in Grubb & Ellis' President's
Council, an elite group of professionals who balance outstanding
performance and dedication to the firm with exceptional client service.
Neil C. Helman
With more than 25 years of real estate experience, Helman concentrates
on investment sales. Actively involved with the marketing and
disposition of investment-grade property, Helman has undertaken and
completed the sale of all types of real estate, including office,
apartment and retail properties, commercial buildings for adaptive
re-use as residential, as well as sites for ground-up residential and
hotel development. During his career, Helman has been involved in the
disposition of several high-profile development sites and property
sales. He was recently involved with two prominent bankruptcy sales:
Cabrini Medical Center to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and
555 Sixth Avenue to Stonehenge Partners. Other recent sales include 344
West 14th Street, a mixed-use property in the Meatpacking District; 423
West Street, a bank sale of a stalled condominium project; and a note
sale for a residential development site at 65th Street and Lexington
Avenue where Toll Brothers is now building a luxury condominium
property.
Prior to joining Avison Young, Helman was an Executive Vice-President at
Grubb & Ellis New York and a recognized company-wide top-performer,
earning the honor of membership in Grubb & Ellis' President's Council.
He also repeatedly earned inclusion in Grubb & Ellis' Circle of
Excellence. Before joining Grubb & Ellis, Helman was with Kaufman
Management Company, where he had an active role in the leasing and
management of the company's Manhattan office building portfolio. He
also spent eight years as a leasing broker with Helmsley-Spear, Inc.,
focusing on tenant relocation as well as representation of landlords in
the disposition of excess office space.
Jon Epstein
Epstein specializes in the sale and disposition of investment
properties. He is a veteran real estate professional with more than 25
years of management experience in acquisition, development and asset
management, playing advisory roles in structuring acquisitions and
dispositions of various real estate transactions. His background in
property and construction management, as well as mortgage and project
financing, enables him to provide complex financial analysis and
technical support to disposition transactions. Assignments with which
he has been involved cover a diverse range of property types, including
those suitable for value-added opportunities such as residential
conversion and redevelopment. Epstein also possesses notable experience
working with non-profit organizations.
Prior to joining Avison Young, Epstein was an Executive Vice-President
with Grubb & Ellis' New York capital markets team and a Senior Director
at Cushman & Wakefield's New York middle markets group. His respective
teams were cumulatively responsible for completing nearly $4.5 billion
in sales over the past several years, with noteworthy transactions
including the sales of 555 Avenue of the Americas, 725 West End Avenue,
The Plaza Hotel, Lexington Avenue YWCA, 90 West Street, 225 Fifth
Avenue and 350 Broadway. During his tenure at Cushman & Wakefield,
Epstein was also the recipient of numerous awards including Top 100
Producers, President's Million Dollar Producers and the award for
highest-producing team in company history.
Charles B. Kingsley
Kingsley specializes in the sale and disposition of investment
properties. He has in excess of 30 years of experience as a broker,
owner and manager of Manhattan real estate and has been responsible for
the sale of more than 3 msf of property. While the majority of
Kingsley's brokerage experience is in the sale of office buildings,
vacant buildings and lots to be redeveloped, he has also been involved
in the sale of numerous retail and residential properties throughout
New York City.
Consistently a top producer, Kingsley most recently played integral
roles in the sales of 335 Broadway, 555 Avenue of the Americas and 421
Hudson Street, as well as the retail condominiums at 127 Seventh Avenue
in Chelsea and the Orion at 350 West 42nd Street. Additional
transactions of note include 610 Lexington Avenue, 548 West 22nd Street
and 318 East 15th Street (Booth House). Prior to Joining Avison Young,
Kingsley was an Executive Vice-President with Grubb & Ellis' New York
capital markets team, and a Senior Director in Cushman & Wakefield's
New York middle markets group, where he earned numerous awards
including Top 100 Producers, President's Million Dollar Producers and
the prestigious award for greatest team production in Cushman &
Wakefield history.
In February, Avison Young was named a winner of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies program for 2011, sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC, National Post and Queen's School of Business.
Founded in 1978, Avison Young is Canada's largest independently-owned
commercial real estate services company. Headquartered in Toronto,
Ontario, Avison Young is also the largest Canadian-owned,
principal-managed commercial real estate brokerage firm in North
America. Comprising more than 900 real estate professionals in 30
offices across Canada and the U.S., the full-service commercial real
estate 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 Vincent Carrega, Neil C. Helman, Jon Epstein and
Charles B. Kingsley
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/VinCarrega.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/NeilHelman.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/JonEpstein.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/CharlesKingsley.jpg
For further information/comment/photos:
New York Media Relations:
-
Christa Segalini, Vice-President, Beckerman PR: (201) 465-8021
-
Elliot Baum, Principal and Vice-President of Marketing, New York, Avison Young: (212) 729-7465
Avison Young Media Relations:
-
Sherry Quan, National Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: (604) 647-5098; cell: (604) 726-0959
-
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 is a winner of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies program for 2011, sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC, National Post and
Queen's School of Business
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For Avison Young listings and deals: www.twitter.com/AYListingsDeals
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SOURCE Avison Young (Canada) Inc.
