Avison Young growth continues

Avison Young has opened a new office in Lethbridge, Alta.

Doug Mereska, Rollie Beauchesne, Jeremy Roden and Dave Nelson will work in the office. The newly formed Lethbridge partnership will be led by Mereska as managing director.

Doug Mereska

“The opening of an office in Lethbridge is in response to the strong interest we received from prospective clients in this region,” says Mark E. Rose, chair and CEO of Avison Young. “The new office is a great opportunity for Avison Young to build on the successes of our Calgary and Edmonton operations.”

Avison Young also announced the opening of a new Washington, D.C. office. Keith Lipton has been recruited as managing director.

The new American office, the first of several planned for the region, will be located in downtown D.C. It will mark Avison Young’s second location outside of Canada and the company says it represents the next step in its aggressive growth and expansion strategy.

Keith Lipton

Lipton, who also becomes an Avison Young Principal, was most recently executive vice-president and managing director of Grubb & Ellis’ Washington, D.C. area offices. In his new role, he will be responsible for building Avison Young’s DC metro region — Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia.

Christopher Brown is now a vice-president in Avison Young’s Toronto leasing group. Brown joins Avison Young from global real estate services firm DTZ Barnicke, where he was most recently vice-president, leasing in the Toronto office.

Chris Brown

Brown’s career in commercial real estate extends beyond 30 years, beginning in 1979 at John Shortill Ltd., a Toronto firm at the time. In his seven years at the firm, Brown established a record of achievement by completing numerous design-build solutions for local and international firms, including Sharp Electronics’ Canadian headquarters in Mississauga, Ont. In 1986, he joined J.J. Barnicke Ltd. (now DTZ Barnicke). Brown’s experience includes large and complex lease renewal/relocations on behalf of national financial services and law firms, in addition to telecommunications and financial regulatory agencies.

Adrian Lee

And still with Avison Young, the company recently announced the opening of a new office in north Toronto.

Adrian Lee and Matt Gunning, office leasing brokers, join Avison Young as vice-president, Office Leasing Group and senior leasing advisor, Office Leasing Group, respectively. Both come from global real estate services firm DTZ Barnicke and will help establish the brokerage capabilities for the newest Avison Young office.

Lee and Gunning will be joined by a team of Avison Young management professionals led by Gary Hudson, principal and EVP, and Steve Harris, senior vice-president, retail, of Avison Young’s Management Services Group.

Matthew Gunning

Mark E. Rose, chair and CEO of Avison Young, says: “The new office is part of our commitment to expand our services and market coverage in Canada’s largest city. The north market, which includes north and east Toronto, and York and Durham regions, is one of the fastest growing areas in Canada, and Avison Young is committed to being part of this growth.”