Avison Young has acquired a New Jersey Cresa brokerage as the Canadian-based firm works to bolster its tenant representation business in the state.
Mark E. Rose, chair and CEO of Avison Young, said the acquisition on Rutherford, NJ-based Cresa NJ-North/Central, LLC (CNJ) will result in a second Avison Young office opening in New Jersey and expand the firm’s tenant representation advisory services, particularly in the life-science sector.
Founded in 2011, CNJ is a privately held real estate firm that specializes in corporate tenant representation. The company provides commercial real estate services to a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical, biotech, technology, telecommunications and financial services.
CNJ is being rebranded as Avison Young with seven members joining. Tom Giannone and Ron Ganter, formerly the managing principals of CNJ, become principals of Avison Young with a mandate to help grow the firm’s corporate tenant representation services throughout New Jersey.
The rebranded firm will form Avison Young’s 54th office in the U.S. and will be located in central New Jersey in the Metropark area.
Also joining Avison Young from CNJ are: Edward English, senior vice president; Elisabete Correia, operations manager; Steve Bleiweiss, senior vice president; Scott Riehl, vice president; and Brian Featherstone, advisor.
Brokers based in the new Metropark office will primarily focus on the north and central regions, including the Princeton market.
Giannone and Ganter will work with Jeffrey Heller, managing director of AY’s New Jersey region, who will oversee the day-to-day operations of the new Metropark office.
Cresa is reportedly in the midst of a national restructuring. According to The Real Deal, many of the company’s 70 independently owned offices will be merged into a single Washington, D.C.-based entity. The parent company for the roll-up would be known as Cresa Global.
Earlier this year, Cresa New York chief executive Jim Underhill told The Real Deal he is in the process of appointing new leadership in New York following the departure of Marc Jaccom. “We anticipate embarking on an ambitious recruitment initiative in New York,” Underhill told the publication.
