NEW YORK CITY—Douglas Elliman Real Estate is growing its realestate services with the addition of an expanded commercialdivision, Douglas Elliman Commercial, by joining forces withWilliamson, Picket, Gross, Inc., another commercial brokerage. Thenewly formed division will be led by Williamson, Picket, Gross,Inc. founder Jim Gross, his son and partner Peter Gross, andDouglas Elliman's Louis Puopolo. The new division will service NewYork City, South Florida and Long Island. The division also willinclude the Elliman firm's Nickolai Team, led by IreneNickolai.

“Douglas Elliman is best known for being New York's largestresidential brokerage with a growing national presence, but we'vebeen ranked among the best brokerages in the commercial realm foryears,” says Howard M. Lorber, chairman of Douglas Elliman. “This is the right time to increase our scope with this division,as we continue to expand our full-service real estate capabilitiesin the national arena.”

Jim Gross, formerly vice chairman of Williamson, Picket, Gross,Inc., ran WPG successfully since 1971. He has personally leasedover 40 million square feet of New York office space and has beenresponsible for mentoring some of the most successful commercialreal estate brokers in the industry. Peter Gross and Jim have beenpartners since 2010. Peter's main focus has been on brokeragerepresenting major tenants and landlords for over a decade.