Last year AT&T had given the then-newly formed global group responsibility for a 16-million-sf portfolio of leased and owned corporate facilities in New Jersey as well as in the Central and Southern portions of the US. The latest decision effectively takes the assignment coast-to-coast.

The service package includes site planning, project management and administration, as well as ongoing facilities-management services. Overall, AT&T's massive portfolio of corporate real estate totals somewhere in the area of 300 locations in 49 states, according to Stephen Brazzell, vice president of global real estate for AT&T.

"In this era of tremendous business pressure and competitiveness, our goal is to ensure that AT&T's facilities are managed in the most effective and efficient manner," says Stan Gale, chairman and CEO of the company that bears his name.

The Gale unit focuses on corporate outsourcing, offering solutions through technology and customer-focused management programs. Overall, Gale has a global portfolio of office space and other properties topping the 45-million-sf mark. The company's client list includes Pharmacia, GlaxoSmithKline, UPS, General Motors and Siemens, and it maintains joint-venture investment relationships with Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, UBS and Praedium Fund.