LOS ANGELES – Peter S. Morgan has joined Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group as SVP and will lead the firm's commercial property acquisition activities in the western U.S., with a particular focus on California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Texas and Colorado.

Morgan will target institutional assets from $20 million to $100 million, handling all aspects of acquisitions.

Rick Newman, CEO of Lowe Enterprises Real Estate Group, said in a statement that “Peter's deep real estate experience, both with acquisitions and operations, will help us target assets that offer an opportunity to add value at the property level and expand our commercial activities in key markets in the Western United States.”

Morgan has been in commercial real estate for 29 years and has been involved in more than $900 million of acquisitions and dispositions. He was previously an EVP at LaeRoc Funds, Inc. and earlier worked for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp.

Morgan tells GlobeSt.com that he sees a recovering economy in real estate markets.

“Our niche is the value-add office,” he says. “We're looking for a development component where we can add value through physical improvements to the property, including upgrading the lobby, common area improvements and, if necessary, the roof, HV/AC and elevators.” He adds that the company is also looking for “urban infill multifamily” properties.

Morgan says he sees a trend in offices toward “what we'll call the creative space, or the hi-tech space. It's different than the traditional window line offices. They're looking for open spaces, exposed ceilings, creative brick or walls. But there's still strong demand for the traditional space.”

Lowe Enterprises is a national real estate investment, development and management firm. Over the past 40 years, it has acquired, developed or managed more than $17.5 billion of real estate assets nationwide and is currently responsible for more than $5.5 billion of commercial, hospitality and residential assets.

In addition to its Los Angeles headquarters, Lowe Enterprises maintains regional offices in Washington, DC, Denver, Philadelphia, Southern California and Northern California.

As reported earlier by GlobeSt.com, Lowe Enterprises has received approval from the City of San Mateo Planning Commission for the development of a three-story, 107,696-square-foot class A office building at the 22-acre Clearview Business Park in San Mateo.