Stephen Brown and Michael Fleetham Jump to United Properties

BLOOMINGTON, MN-United Properties has lured two top brokers away fromcompeting Twin Cities commercial real estate tobolster its corporate real estate services group, oneof its fastest growing businesses.

Stephen Brown, a vice president of Grubb & Ellis’office services group, and Michael Fleetham, a vicepresident of brokerage services for Northco Corp.,will join United Properties as vice presidents ofcorporate real estate services early next month, saysLarry Pobuda, senior vice president of corporate realestate services at the firm, based here.

The two executives will focus on expanding and servicing United’scorporate real estate client base, “one of ourcompany’s fastest growing service areas,” Pobudasays.Fleetham says he sees an opportunity in expandinguser-oriented services.”After an extensive exploration of the market, wefelt United Properties offered the best platform forthis growing segment of the real estate market, andthe company was interested in reuniting us as ateam,” he says.

Brown adds that he was attracted by United’s expertisein strategic planning, project management, transactionmanagement and facility services.Brown and Fleetham had been a broker team for 15 yearsuntil Brown moved to Grubb & Ellis in 1999. Bothbegan their careers in 1985 at American CommercialProperties in Minneapolis, and moved to Northco in1990 as associates in the brokerage department. Eachworked his way up to an officer position in Northco’sbrokerage group by the mid ’90s.

Brown and Fleetham will initially concentrate onbusiness development in such areas as the office,industrial, technology and medical sectors, as well aswith companies in transition and those withmulti-market needs. United’s corporate real estateservices group currently has a staff of 35professionals and more than 20 clients, including BlueCross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Apogee Enterprises,Ecolab, Guidant, Toro, General Mills and SiliconGraphics.

United Properties is a full-service commercial realestate company with 350 employees and 23 million sf ofoffice, industrial, retail and multi-family propertiesunder management.