Why Avison Young Acquired WG Compass

MIAMI—Avison Young is expanding its commercial real estate footprint in South Florida with the acquisition of WG Compass Realty Companies. The deal gives Avison a new office in West Palm Beach.

Donald DeWoody, Gary Gottlieb, Jonathan Satter, and Mike Walters founded WG, a diversified real estate services firm, in 2009. With offices in West Palm Beach, Stuart, and a Vero Beach office servicing the Treasure and Space Coast, WG offers real estate site selection, brokerage, management, development, and consulting services to national and regional clients throughout Florida. The acquisition adds retail expertise to Avison.

“Opening an office in West Palm Beach was a key goal for us but we did not want to parachute in and start cold,” says Mark Rose, CEO of Avison. “We wanted to partner with professionals who live, work and play in the region.”

With the acquisition, Avison Young gets 24 new members, including five principals:
Satter, DeWoody, Walters, Gottlieb, and Brian Richardson. The new principals have a combined 100-plus years of experience in the industry.

Walters and Gottlieb founded Walters Gottlieb Partners, Inc. in 1988, developing a strong reputation in the office leasing, sales and management arenas. DeWoody and Satter opened Compass Realty Advisors in 1998, and developed solid reputation for retail tenant representation and property management in Florida.

"Increasingly our clients are expanding their footprint within Florida and beyond and require a broader depth of service and expertise which Avison Young's unique platform delivers," Satter tells GlobeSt.com. "My partners and I are thrilled to join such an illustrious group of leaders who understand the need to put client objectives at the forefront."

The newest American office represents Avison's 33rd office outside of Canada, the company's fourth office in Florida, and an additional step in the firm's ongoing aggressive growth and expansion strategy. Over the past four years, Avison has grown from 11 to, now, 48 offices in 38 markets and from 300 to more than 1,200 real estate professionals across Canada and the U.S. Tuesday's announcement comes on the heels of Avison Young opening an office in Sacramento, CA last week.

“The WG Compass team is well known throughout the Florida market and, in addition to having a team of proven professionals in all asset types, will help Avison Young expand its retail client presence both in Florida and the Southeast U.S.,” says Earl Webb, Avison's president of U.S. Operations. “Don DeWoody and Brian Richardson represent some of the leading retail chains in Florida on the tenant side as well as numerous shopping center owners on the landlord side.”

Avison opened its first South Florida offices in October 2012 in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Miami, with 30 members joining from Flagler Real Estate Services, including Pike Rowley who became a principal and managing director of Avison's Florida region. Last month, industry leader Dan Carlo was named managing director of the Miami office. Avison's Florida operations are headquartered in Fort Lauderdale.

“In growing the Florida business, Avison Young had several goals in mind,” Rowley says. “First was the continuation of a great culture of business with people of strong integrity. Second was geographic coverage, including planting flags in the key major markets in Florida. Third was servicing the four asset classes of commercial real estate that Avison Young provides internationally, with those being office, industrial, retail and multifamily.”

Rowley admits finding partners throughout the state of Florida with the right fit in these three areas was not easy, but he says the pieces came together nicely with the acquisition of WG Compass. "The culture of service with strong integrity and putting the client first is a priority with WG Compass," he says, "as its reputation has been stellar for many years."

One of three counties comprising the South Florida Metropolitan Area, Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in terms of total area, and third in population with 1.33 million people as of 2012. The county is home to aerospace/aviation companies Pratt & Whitney and Parametrics, a burgeoning biotech and research community led by Scripps and Max Planck, and high-tech and medical technology firms opening up or expanding operations in Boca Raton's FAU Research Park.

Also joining Avison Young from WG Compass are: Josh Wade (associate); Scott Goldsmith(associate); Colin Newton(associate); Laura Acosta (marketing coordinator), Fred Albright(physical plant operator); Rick Broullon (physical plant operator), Pierre Charles (physical plant operator); Caite Corripio(director of operations-property management); Gladys Cruz(porter); Jonathan Elson (associate); Raymond George (physical plant operator); Christine Goodine(administrative coordinator); Corinna Gosman(property administrator); Elizabeth Hauser (property accountant), Robert Leddick(physical plant operator); Carrie Mirabal (marketing coordinator); Jacqueline Ruszenas(marketing coordinator); Lorrie Scott(property administrator); and Craig Stella (physical plant operator).