Who are the most productive commercial real estate professionals in our region? They are the CRE stars who are inducted each year in the Midwest Real Estate News Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame.
Each week, we look at a new inductee in our Hall of Fame. Today, we highlight the career of Richard Ashton, former senior director with Cushman & Wakefield|Commercial Kentucky in Louisville, and currently with the Louisville office of JLL.
Years in the business: 22
Big numbers: During his career of more than two decades, Richard Ashton has completed more than 7.4 million square feet of sales and leasing transactions. These deals have generated more than $520 million in value.
With such big numbers, it’s little surprise that Ashton has generated a deep client list filled with big names. His clients include Hilliard Lyons, Northwestern Mutual, Passport Health Plan, Trilogy Health Services and Delta Dental.
Ashton’s focus is the Louisville market, but that hasn’t kept him from closing dozens of transactions in Southern Indiana, Lexington and other parts of Kentucky.
Two of Ashton’s biggest deals include a 160,000-square-foot lease with SHPS, Inc. and a 157,000-square-foot lease with Lear Corporation.
Ashton got his start in commercial real estate with Trammell Crow Company in Louisville in 1996. After two years there, he joined Fenley Real Estate, leasing much of its suburban office portfolio. That was a busy time, the speculative construction heyday of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Customer service: Ashton points to his focus on providing top customer service as the main reason for his success. The evidence that this approach is working? Ashton earned the 2017 Woodlawn Capital Largest Transaction Award and the 2016 KCREA Office Broker of the Year honor. During his career, Ashton has earned multiple Transaction of the Year awards from the Kentucky CCIM Chapter.
Sharing his knowledge: This veteran real estate pro has become a sought-after speaker on CRE panels and workshops. He has been a presenter for the Louisville chapter of BOMA, CREW and IFMA, and has served as a panelist for the Kentucky Commercial Real Estate Conference and for the Louisville real estate conference hosted by Midwest Real Estate News and REjournals. Ashton has also shared his knowledge with Midwest Real Estate News and other local and regional publications in the form of columns and interviews.
Giving back: Despite his busy career, Ashton has found time to give back to his community. He might not be a native of Louisville, but he has adopted the city as his own, and is always eager to serve the charitable organizations here.
Ashton has served on the boards of such charitable organizations as the Cabbage Patch Settlement House and the March of Dimes Commercial Real Estate program. He is also a former board member and was the 2006 president of the Kentucky CCIM chapter.
Ashton currently serves as the chairman of the Sponsorship Committee for the March of Dimes Commercial Reach Award.