Avison Young opens new office in Sacramento, CA, continues U.S. expansion

Leading Canadian commercial real estate firm opens its 32nd U.S. office, eighth in California; six members join

TORONTO, June 10, 2013 /CNW/ - Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, announced today the opening of a new office in Sacramento, CA.

The newest American office represents Avison Young's 32nd office outside of Canada, the company's eighth office in California, and an additional step in the firm's ongoing aggressive growth and expansion strategy.

Over the past four years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to, now, 47 offices in 38 markets and from 300 to more than 1,200 real estate professionals across Canada and the U.S. 

Effective immediately, Roger Bilstad joins Avison Young as Executive Vice-President, Property Management Services, Northern California; and Tom McEfee joins as Senior Vice-President, Property Management Services, Northern California. Bilstad will focus on leading and growing the region's property and facilities management services while McEfee will head up Northern California's lease administration and occupier services, and grow them strategically.

Also joining Avison Young in Sacramento are: Bryce McEfee as property manager; Amanda Russell, accounts manager/senior lease administrator; Kim Holbrook, senior lease administrator; and Ashley Smith, lease administrator. All six members were most recently with Colliers in Sacramento.

"Opening a Sacramento office is another strategic move for Avison Young to become a dominant player in the Bay Area commercial real estate market," comments Rose. "The entirety of the Western U.S. region is a vast real estate market and a focal point for many of our investor and occupier clients. We couldn't be more pleased to have Roger Bilstad on board, along with Bryce McEfee, to grow our property management services team. The addition of Tom, Amanda, Kim and Ashley will catapult Avison Young's Northern California region into a leading corporate services market. True to our holistic approach to business and our clients, our lease administration team will provide an extension of our clients' internal real estate teams to ensure our clients' businesses are running smoothly."

Rose continues: "Having Roger, Tom and team join Avison Young 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."

Effective immediately, Avison Young's new Sacramento office is located at Park Tower, 980 9th Street, Suite 350, Sacramento.

"Sacramento is a key market as we expand our business in Northern California. Besides being the hub of state government, Sacramento is also home to some of our key West Coast clients," notes Earl Webb, Avison Young's President, U.S. Operations. "Roger brings a wealth of management experience and a number of excellent client relationships to Avison Young, and along with Tom McEfee and the team will anchor our growing presence there as well as augment our growing team in downtown San Francisco."

Avison Young opened its first Northern California office in April 2012 in San Francisco, with Nick Slonek joining as a Principal and Managing Director of the Northern California region. He will continue to provide oversight for Sacramento and the Northern California region.

Avison Young opened its first Southern California office in Los Angeles in August 2011, followed by a second L.A. office in December 2011 through the acquisition of Ramsey-Shilling Commercial Real Estate Services, Inc. In March 2012, industry leader Chris Cooper joined as a Principal and Managing Director of the Southern California region. In September 2012, Avison Young acquired Starrpoint Commercial Partners, Inc. and opened a third L.A. office in Santa Monica. In November 2012, Avison Young opened its fourth L.A. office in Downtown L.A., followed that same month by a new office in Irvine, CA. Avison Young opened its San Diego office in March 2013.

"The Sacramento office, which represents our third office in the Northwest U.S. region after San Francisco and Denver, provides a low-cost occupancy solution for our property management and lease administration businesses," says Slonek. "Obviously, we will be passing along those savings to our valued clients. While the Sacramento commercial real estate market has been underperforming for the past three years, we feel that now is the right time to capitalize on what is a very exciting time for our state's capital. What Kevin Johnson did for Sacramento, by keeping the Kings' NBA franchise in place, will have tremendous upside for the community and for commercial real estate."

Slonek adds: "We are very excited to be growing our real estate business in Sacramento and the surrounding areas, and are in discussions with several other top producers. Being natives of the area, Roger and Tom will make it much easier to attract top-tier talent. Many brokers seem frustrated by the competitive silos of public companies. Avison Young's positive balance sheet, Principal-led culture and progressive strategy are resonating well with brokers."

Bilstad says he chose Avison Young over several other competitors.

"I had the opportunity to discuss several senior positions with regional and national firms, and I concluded that Avison Young's platform provided the most value to the market place through its clients-first focus," says Bilstad. "Avison Young presented the unique opportunity to be involved with professionals who embrace this client-centric approach. We have begun recruiting established real estate management professionals and we look forward to proving ourselves on the toughest of assignments."

Adds McEfee: "It is refreshing to join a dynamic, fast-moving, team-centric business that wraps itself around clients' requirements. Although Avison Young is new to our market, the team comprises local, proven experts in their field."

Sacramento is the capital of the State of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. Located in California's expansive Central Valley, Sacramento is the seventh most populous city in California. It is also the core cultural and economic engine of a four-county metropolitan area exceeding 2.1 million residents (El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo counties). The Sacramento Metropolitan Area is the largest in the Central Valley and the fourth-largest in the state. Greater Sacramento has been cited as one of the five most livable regions in America. The city's economy is broadly based although government is by far the largest employer with 25% of California's 471,000 government employees. Transportation is a large sector along with information technology, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, higher education, health services and research, and construction.

Biographies

Roger A. Bilstad
Roger Bilstad brings to Avison Young proven skills and leadership as a former Principal and President of The Huntington Group and as a Senior Vice-President with Colliers International after his firm was sold to Colliers. Bilstad directed and developed various business lines, including property management, facilities management, lease administration, general contracting, engineering services, project/construction management and consulting. Bilstad has extensive experience with large institutional properties, private capital and government clients. In addition, he sat on Colliers' national leadership team and held market leadership roles in various cities, including Sacramento, San Francisco, Portland and Detroit. A Certified Property Manager, Bilstad holds a Bachelor of Arts in education from California State University, Sacramento, and is a member of the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA).

Tom McEfee
Prior to joining Avison Young, Tom McEfee worked for Colliers International in the areas of property management, facilities management and agency/tenant leasing. During the past five years, he was national director of lease administration services. At Avison Young, McEfee will maintain the Sutter Health account and leverage his team's expertise and experience into more business. A Certified Property Manager, McEfee holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration and land use and economics from California State University, Sacramento. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and National Retailer Tenants Association.

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 1,200 real estate professionals in 47 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, National Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: 604.647.5098; mobile: [phone]

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

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

• Nick Slonek, Principal and Managing Director, Northern California, Avison Young: 415.710.0233

• Roger Bilstad, Executive Vice-President, Property Management Services, Northern California, Avison Young: 916.426.3582 or 415.322.5062

• Tom McEfee, Senior Vice-President, Property Management Services, Northern California, Avison Young: 415.322.5051

Avison Young's new Sacramento, California office is located at: Park Tower, 980 9th Street, Suite 350, Sacramento, CA, 95814, 916.426-3773

www.avisonyoung.com

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

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• Editors/Reporters: please click on links to view and download photos of Roger Bilstad and Tom McEfee
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/roger_bilstad.jpg
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SOURCE: Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)

Media Relations:              
Sherry Quan                  
604.647.5098 or 604.726.0959
[email protected]