Danny Nikitas, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company’s Chicago office, announced the strategic hiring of high-profile commercial real estate industry veterans Keith Puritz and Brett Kroner in Chicago.
Effective immediately, both Puritz and Kroner become Principals of Avison Young and will continue to work as a team. They will focus on negotiating industrial sales and leasing transactions on behalf of owners and users in the Chicago metro region and other areas of the Midwest. Kroner and Puritz were most recently with CBRE in Chicago, where they served as Senior Vice-Presidents.
At Avison Young, Puritz and Kroner will advise new and longtime local, national and international clients on all aspects of industrial real estate solutions, including capital markets services. They will also collaborate with Avison Young’s large group of industrial real estate specialists in Chicago, across the Midwest and throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Germany.
“Brett and Keith are two highly experienced industry leaders who will add tremendous value to our industrial brokerage platform,” comments Nikitas. “They are assertive professionals who represent both owners and users with equal expertise and energy. Working closely with the existing Avison Young industrial team, they will exponentially enhance our ability to serve clients.”
Nikitas continues: “Furthermore, Keith and Brett are well known in the industry for representing their clients with unparalleled ability, and we are excited to have these two professionals on board. Combining their existing clientele with the ability to grow in our collaborative environment has us eager to get started right away. This is a great addition for our team.”
Puritz brings 26 years of commercial real estate experience to Avison Young while Kroner provides 19 years. Together, they have completed more than 1,000 transactions spanning more than 50 million square feet of industrial space with an aggregate value in excess of $2.5 billion. In the process, Puritz and Kroner have provided real estate solutions for many prestigious corporate, institutional and private companies on a local, national and international basis, including Wal-Mart, Bombardier, Pfizer and Bridgestone Tire. The services have included: building acquisitions and dispositions, land transactions and entitlements, landlord and tenant representation, build-to-suit projects, sale/leasebacks, investment sales, lease renewals, tax consulting, facilities management, financial consulting, cost segregation and project management.
Avison Young opened its first U.S. office in Chicago in January 2009 and has expanded steadily in the local marketplace and Midwest region since then. With the addition of such visionary professionals, adds Nikitas, the firm is poised to further expand its industrial footprint in Chicago and across the Midwest while providing a higher level of service to clients nationally and internationally.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to continue working with Brett at Avison Young,” states Puritz. “We couldn’t be more pleased to become Principals of this fast-growing firm, while serving clients on an international basis and having a leadership role in the company’s strategic global expansion program. Ultimately, we will be able to grow our business while providing a very high level of service to our clients.”
“Keith and I are looking forward to collaborating with our new colleagues across the company,” says Kroner. “The firm is an industrial market leader and a commercial real estate company that strives to make a difference in its local communities. We’re both delighted to be part of such a dynamic and innovative company, and to have the opportunity to reap the benefits of its Principal-led culture and client-centric focus.”
