CHICAGO—Cushman & Wakefield has just recruited an industrial brokerage team from Avison Young that will boost its presence in Lake County and Southeast Wisconsin, two of the hottest submarkets in the Chicago region.

Keith Puritz and Brett Kroner will serve as executive directors of the firm's Chicago Industrial Services group, and Eric Fischer will serve as senior director. In addition, Michael Scadron and Marc Samuels will serve as associates. In his 27-year career, Puritz has closed more than $2.8 billion in sale and lease transactions. The move is a homecoming of sorts for both Puritz and Kroner, a 19-year veteran, as both were partners with Cushman & Wakefield from 1997 to 2002 and top industrial producers in 2000 and 2001.

“Keith and Brett's team is a tremendous addition to our Chicago operations, and we couldn't be happier to welcome them – or welcome them back – to Cushman & Wakefield,” says Shawn Mobley, president, East Region. “As the leading team in Lake County and Southeast Wisconsin, they are, without a doubt, the very best at what they do. In one of the world's most important industrial markets, they are a key component as we continue to build the leading industrial platform in our industry.”

According to a Cushman & Wakefield research report, the vacancy rate in Southeast Wisconsin stands at just 4.8%, one of the lowest rates in the Chicago metro area. And developers have about 2.2 million square feet of new space under construction, the most of any submarket except the much larger I-55 and I-80 corridors.

“Cushman & Wakefield has incredibly strong industrial teams across Chicago, and so we saw this as an opportunity to better service the North market and broaden our platform,” Mobley adds. “It's a perfect fit building on the incredible growth in Chicago and top talent joining across the country – we're really excited to add this team.”

Puritz and Kroner were twice named industrial broker of the year by the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Prior to Avison Young, they were CBRE's top industrial team in Chicago from 2002 to 2013. Fischer joined Puritz and Kroner's team in 2015 and brings 13 years of experience in the O'Hare and North suburban markets including Southern Wisconsin.

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C&W Recruits Avison Young Industrial Team

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