Each year, Midwest Real Estate News inducts a new class into its commercial real estate hall of fame. Here is a look at one of our newest inductees, Gib Kerr, CCIM, managing principal of the Kansas City, Missouri, office of Cushman & Wakefield.
Named “Urban Hero” by the Downtown Council in 2008, Managing Principal Gib Kerr is not only the leader of Cushman & Wakefield in Kansas City, but he’s been a catalyst and evangelist for Downtown Kansas City’s revitalization for the past three decades.
In the past decade-plus, Kerr has brokered downtown land and property transactions that have led to more than $1.1 billion in new development and include nearly 2,200 new apartment units; nearly 700 new/redeveloped hotel rooms; and more than one million square feet of redeveloped office space, including the Power & Light Building, the “Flashcube” Building and the recent West Bottoms portfolio sale of a seven-building, 871,000-square-foot office/creative redevelopment of brick and timber warehouses. Additionally, Kerr is leading brokerage efforts at Berkley Riverfront, where he assembled and brokered land transactions for the Kansas City Current’s new 11,500-seat soccer stadium.
The “before” and “after” experience of seeing blighted urban properties return to life is his favorite part of the job, as Kerr has always been “all in” for Downtown Kansas City.
“I was ‘downtown’ when downtown wasn’t cool,” Kerr said. “I believed it would come back, and I dedicated my energy to be a part of it and focused my business practice on redevelopment projects. It’s incredibly rewarding to see our efforts bearing fruit as Downtown Kansas City has emerged as one of the best in America.”
Kerr has served as President of the Kansas City Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) chapter, is on the boards of the Downtown Council and the Kansas City Area Development Council and is a member of ULI. His numerous community and philanthropic commitments include serving for Children’s TLC, a leading provider of educational and therapeutic services to developmentally disabled children in Kansas City.
When Kerr is not working for Cushman & Wakefield or serving the community, he’s working for himself—as an author. He published his first novel this year (States of Rebellion, Bombardier Books) and is already working on his second. Aside from writing, Kerr is an avid hunter and outdoorsman, and he enjoys spending time with family, which has expanded to include five grandchildren.
