CHICAGO-The Dallas-based Trammell Crow Co. has expanded its Midwest presence by hiring Grady Hamilton from Opus North here. Hamilton, named a principal in the six-member local office, is tasked with finding acquisitions and development sites for Trammell in suburban Chicago and Minneapolis.
Hamilton had been a VP and general manager at the local Opus North office. He tells GlobeSt.com that there’s more opportunity today for buying, rather than building, office and industrial buildings. “Ground up development is not going to happen for some time,” Hamilton says. “I look forward to projects that need creative ownership ideas, and finding existing assets that could benefit from repositioning or a revised strategy.”
He has experience in leasing and sales at Opus, including properties such as Opus Landmark of Lake Forest II in Lake Forest, IL; Highland Landmark V in Downers Grove, IL and the development, leasing and sale of a 119,000-square-foot, build-to-lease project for AIG/American General in Springfield, IL. There are a few current projects he’s working at Trammell, but Hamilton said he can’t comment on them at this time.
He can say that he’s seen more activity in the Chicago suburbs, including in distressed properties. “Now tenants and landlords are evaluating decisions on broader timeframes, and there does seem to be some movement in core and distressed sales,” Hamilton says.
A native of Minneapolis, Hamilton says that market is more dependent on the few large employers such as Target, Best Buy and Supervalu. “They’re trying to make do with what they can out of the economic circumstances, but if we can get some job growth, that market will respond strongly,” he says.
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