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.
