Grubb Grabs Suburban Office Team from JLL

Shawn Mobley, president of Grubb's Brokerage Services division, tells GlobeSt.com that the two men make up one of the best office teams in the Chicago area. During the economic downturn in the past 18 months, G&E made a decision to enhance its investor services division, including the hire of industry experts Paul Lundstedt, John Gavin, Joel Simmons, Steve Roth, Bob Herber and Jeff Perpich, Mobley says. "Now is a good time for people to move. When you're dealing with 20 deals with your hair on fire, there's no time to think. When things are slower, you take the opportunity to see where you want to be for the next three to five to 10 years," he says.

Clark and Lundin were SVPs with JLL, where they grew their agency leasing practice to more than three million square feet. Previously, the two had worked together over 20 years at Trammell Crow, US Equities, the John Buck Co. and Fifield Cos. "When Paul and John joined the company, we saw the opportunity to be part of a team that was gaining tremendous momentum in the suburbs," Clark said in a statement. A JLL spokeswoman did not answer a query for comment about this story.

Mobley acknowledged that the Chicago suburbs are right now a tough sell. "Leasing fundamentals are weak, and the vacancy rate is around 20%," he says. "But when you've got more buildings competing for fewer clients, it seems you would want the best leasing people to represent you, and we certainly feel we can offer that."