Avison Young has expanded the office leasing team in its San Francisco location, hiring an eight-person team specializing in tenant representation and agency leasing. The team includes principals Mark McGranahan, Marquard Anderson, Sean McCallum, Tim Hogan and Ross Robinson, associates Tyler Paratte and Jason Kreske and senior marketing associate Melinda Ta. They have a combined 70 years of experience in office leasing.
"We were already doing very well in San Francisco, however, we weren't garnering the attention of institutional tenants and landlords. The impetus to expand was to address this issue," Nick Slonek, principal and managing director at Avison Young, tells GlobeSt.com about the expansion of the team. "Attracting this top talent was imperative to get us 'in the game.' Since their arrival, we have increased our market share, client base, and pitch activity. This is 100% accretive expansion and brand elevation."
This might seem like an odd time to bolster the office leasing business, considering the San Francisco location has suffered considerably from the pandemic. However, the team is confident on the long-term prospective for the market. "We have been serving clients in the San Francisco market for 25 years and while this is a difficult time, we are confident that it will bounce back," Mark S. McGranahan, principal of Avison Young, tells GlobeSt.com. "To that end, we will continue to focus on assisting companies to find the right opportunities to meet their changing needs which will likely be centered around "healthier" buildings, reduced footprints, and hub and spoke strategies, among others. In rapidly changing markets like this, we believe our value proposition is high as clients need advisement in understanding various options for their space as well as negotiating the best terms."
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Over the next 12 months, the market will be in recovery mode, which McGranahan admits will be spotty in the beginning. High-quality buildings will do well, but the sublease market—which is among the largest in the country—will continue to place downward pressure on leasing activity and pricing in the direct leasing market. "Much of the sublease space is short term, so as it returns back to the owners on a direct basis, it will create pressure to find the right price and concessions to attract replacement tenants," adds McGranahan. "Lastly, the one challenge that may create some headwinds is the political environment in San Francisco and the ability to face the issues on taxes and homelessness, which will impact demand if they can't be addressed and resolved."
The new office leasing team will use this recovery period to organize and drive business through existing client relationships. "Between their relationships and our relationships, we have a lot of new pursuits, and some cross over as well," says Slonek. "This creates a wonderful problem because now our mixed relationships can fully realize our combined experience and bench strength. Going on the 'road' either virtually or in-person and demoing our consultancy platform and our data analytics will differentiate Avison Young and help us win more business over the next 12 months and beyond."
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Kelsi Maree Borland
