In his new post at Insignia's Capital Advisors Group, Heller will report to executive managing director Kevin Haggarty, focusing as he did at JLL on the acquisition and disposition of major office properties in the New York Metro area. In an interview with GlobeSt.com, he noted that he would hold a secondary focus on high-end specialty retail--again, much as he did at his former home.

The Heller resume certainly is an impressive one, including last year's $725-million sale of the 1.6-million-sf Citigroup Center, and '97's record-price disposition of the Rhinelander Mansion. That deal has been valued in excess of $1,300 per foot.

In terms of his departure from JLL, Heller characterized it as "cordial and supportive, and I wish the team all the best. I worked there for 21 years. It is a great firm."

Meanwhile, folks at JLL seem to be taking a stiff-upper-lip approach. "Woody Heller was a significant contributor to the Jones Lang LaSalle capital markets team," says a spokeswoman, "and we wish him well in his new endeavor. We will continue to grow our New York operation, which includes 200 real estate professionals. The transition will be smooth, since we have Tom Beneville, who heads up capital markets nationally and is headquartered in New York. We are very confident in our talent going forward." She would not comment on the status of a replacement for Heller.

But, not surprisingly, Insignia/ESG chairman and CEO Stephen B. Siegel is talking about the change, which he terms "a major coup for us. When a market simmers rather than sizzles, people have time on their hands and they start asking themselves how they can best maximize their efforts, and that's when you see movement. But Woody has never moved. And from what I understand, he considered only us."

The placement is part of the firm's ongoing strategy to "expand Capital Advisors' talent and services," Siegel tells GlobeSt.com. That expansion will be a major thrust for Insignia/ESG throughout '02, with a particular emphasis on the "multifamily housing and the mortgage brokerage side," the chairman concluded. Capital Advisors represents roughly 10% of Insignia/ESG's total volume.