Cushman & Wakefield deal raises Greater D.M. real estate game
KENT DARR Apr 4, 2018 | 9:17 pm
2 min read time
502 wordsReal Estate and Development, The Insider NotebookThe top three commercial real estate firms on the planet now have a foothold in Greater Des Moines and Iowa.
Nearly a year of formal negotiations wrapped up March 31 when Iowa Commercial Advisors, at the time operating as NAI Optimum, inked what is being called an exclusive alliance with Cushman & Wakefield, ranked the third-largest commercial real estate brokerage in the world last year in an annual analysis of transaction volume by National Real Estate Advisor.
The firm, with $191 billion in global deals in 2016, ranked behind CBRE Group, with $322 billion in transactions, and JLL, with $219 billion. CBRE has been a longtime partner in the CBRE|Hubbell Commercial brokerage in West Des Moines. JLL entered the Greater Des Moines and Iowa markets in 2014.
As of April 1, NAI Optimum was out and Cushman & Wakefield Iowa Commercial Advisors was in, a new name for a familiar crew led by Kurt Mumm as president and Christopher Stafford as senior vice president.
This is an alliance that raises the odds for attracting new businesses to Greater Des Moines and the state.
“Des Moines has done a great job of promoting itself. It’s on everybody’s radar, not just Des Moines but Iowa,” Mumm said. “Cushman & Wakefield would not have wanted to have an office here, or an alliance, if they weren’t seeing an increase in asks or activity from some of their global and national clients.”
The West Des Moines-based brokerage employs more than 60 commercial real estate professionals marketing and managing over 5 million square feet of retail, office, industrial and multifamily properties. The Cushman & Wakefield Alliance Program is a fully integrated extension of the firm’s global platform, consisting of selected independently owned firms. The alliance marks Cushman & Wakefield’s first formal entry into the Iowa market, though it has provided building management and real estate consulting to private business in the state for years.
Aligning with Cushman & Wakefield provides an opportunity to expand operations to the entire state and take advantage of technology provided by its global partner, Mumm said. It should be pointed out that the old partner, NAI Global, is among the 20 largest commercial real estate firms in the world, according to the National Real Estate Investor rankings.
“Technology is finding its way slowly into commercial real estate. The issue is that it comes with a cost, and it’s extremely expensive to integrate some of that best of class software and analytical programs into today’s business,” Mumm said. “You’re going to continue to see the separation between companies that are dedicated to investing in that technology and those that aren’t.”
In addition, the West Des Moines office also has access now to experts in various sectors of the industry, such as data centers, food service and hospitality, logistics, and multifamily.
“Depending on how you skin it, they are one, two or three in world platforms of commercial real estate services, which is just a very different level for our firm,” Stafford said.
Nearly a year of formal negotiations wrapped up March 31 when Iowa Commercial Advisors, at the time operating as NAI Optimum, inked what is being called an exclusive alliance with Cushman & Wakefield, ranked the third-largest commercial real estate brokerage in the world last year in an annual analysis of transaction volume by National Real Estate Advisor.
The firm, with $191 billion in global deals in 2016, ranked behind CBRE Group, with $322 billion in transactions, and JLL, with $219 billion. CBRE has been a longtime partner in the CBRE|Hubbell Commercial brokerage in West Des Moines. JLL entered the Greater Des Moines and Iowa markets in 2014.
As of April 1, NAI Optimum was out and Cushman & Wakefield Iowa Commercial Advisors was in, a new name for a familiar crew led by Kurt Mumm as president and Christopher Stafford as senior vice president.
This is an alliance that raises the odds for attracting new businesses to Greater Des Moines and the state.
“Des Moines has done a great job of promoting itself. It’s on everybody’s radar, not just Des Moines but Iowa,” Mumm said. “Cushman & Wakefield would not have wanted to have an office here, or an alliance, if they weren’t seeing an increase in asks or activity from some of their global and national clients.”
The West Des Moines-based brokerage employs more than 60 commercial real estate professionals marketing and managing over 5 million square feet of retail, office, industrial and multifamily properties. The Cushman & Wakefield Alliance Program is a fully integrated extension of the firm’s global platform, consisting of selected independently owned firms. The alliance marks Cushman & Wakefield’s first formal entry into the Iowa market, though it has provided building management and real estate consulting to private business in the state for years.
Aligning with Cushman & Wakefield provides an opportunity to expand operations to the entire state and take advantage of technology provided by its global partner, Mumm said. It should be pointed out that the old partner, NAI Global, is among the 20 largest commercial real estate firms in the world, according to the National Real Estate Investor rankings.
“Technology is finding its way slowly into commercial real estate. The issue is that it comes with a cost, and it’s extremely expensive to integrate some of that best of class software and analytical programs into today’s business,” Mumm said. “You’re going to continue to see the separation between companies that are dedicated to investing in that technology and those that aren’t.”
In addition, the West Des Moines office also has access now to experts in various sectors of the industry, such as data centers, food service and hospitality, logistics, and multifamily.
“Depending on how you skin it, they are one, two or three in world platforms of commercial real estate services, which is just a very different level for our firm,” Stafford said.
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