The Minneapolis/St. Paul-area commercial real estate landscape is about to look a lot different. Two of the area’s largest commercial real estate firms — NorthMarq and Bloomington, Minn.-based Cushman & Wakefield Minnesota — have agreed on a merger.
The new firm will be called Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq Real Estate Services. The new joint venture is expecte dto close Sept. 30.
Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq Real Estate will be based out of one of the NorthMarq offices in the Twin Cities region, though it is not yet clear which one.
NorthMarq’s sister company, NorthMarq Capital — which provides loan services — is not part of the newly merged company. NorthMarq Capital will continue to operate as its own separate entity.
The new Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq Real Estate will feature a staff made up of employees from Cushman & Wakefield’s Minnesota office and NorthMarq Real Estate services. The newly created venture will boast more than 500 employees, making it one of the largest commercial real estate firms of its kind in the United States.
The new company will also become the Twin Cities region’s largest property facility management firm, with more than 55 million square feet of properties under management in Minneapolis/St. Paul and surrounding areas.
Jeff Eaton, president of NorthMarq Real Estate Services, will head the new venture.
“The creation of this joint venture supports the long-term strategic plan we launched in 2008,” Eaton said in a written statement. “We’ve looked at a number of ways to grow our business, and determined that partnering with a global platform of Cushman & Wakefield’s stature was the ideal strategic fit.”
Cushman & Wakefield is no newcomer to Minnesota. The company has had a presence in the state since 2002, when it entered Minnesota under the leadership of Clint Miller. Miller will join the newly merged venture as a member of its senior leadership team.
“FOrging this joint venture with NorthMarq provides us with immediate scale and scope in Minnesota,” said Jim Underhill, Cushman & Wakefield’s chief executive officer for the Americas. “(It will) be a great fit for our firm from day one.”
