Avison Young opens new office in San Mateo, California

Leading Canadian commercial real estate firm opens its 34th U.S. office, ninth in California; Randy Keller becomes Managing Director

TORONTO, July 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, announced today the opening of a new office in San Mateo, California.

The newest American office represents Avison Young's 34th office outside of Canada, the company's ninth office in California, and an additional step in the firm's ongoing aggressive growth and expansion strategy.

Over the past four years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to, now, 49 offices in 39 markets and from 300 to more than 1,300 real estate professionals across Canada and the U.S. 

Effective immediately, Randy Keller joins Avison Young as a Principal and Managing Director of the San Mateo office. He will focus on overseeing the growth and development of Avison Young's presence in San Mateo County, as well as managing the day-to-day operations of the office and servicing new and existing clients. Keller was most recently a Managing Director of Cassidy Turley'sBurlingame office.

"Opening an office in San Mateo is another strategic move for Avison Young to become a key player in the Silicon Valley and San Francisco Bay Area commercial real estate market," comments Rose. "San Mateo County is home to Oracle, Visa, Facebook and other Fortune 500 companies. Avison Young already has a number of key clients in the market, which will mesh nicely with Randy's book of business. Client-focused and very knowledgeable of the San Mateo real estate market, Randy will be a valuable addition to our company as we look to further expand our industry relationships in the Northern California region."

Avison Young opened its first Northern California office in April 2012 in San Francisco, with Nick Slonekjoining as a Principal and Managing Director of the Northern California region. The company opened its Sacramento office in June 2013.

"Silicon Valley is a key area of growth for Avison Young and for our clients, as we expand our business in Northern California and all along the West Coast," notes Earl Webb, Avison Young's President, U.S. Operations. "Randy Keller is a very experienced real estate professional with a long and successful track record of success as both a dealmaker as well as a builder of business in that market.  We are thrilled that Randy is joining us as a Principal, working with Nick Slonek and our team already in place in San Francisco, to drive our expansion in the vibrant Silicon Valley market."

"Since establishing our San Francisco office in April 2012, we have been working on expanding into the San Francisco Peninsula," explains Slonek.  "Randy will be responsible for growing our brokerage footprint, client base and market share in San Mateo. Our new San Mateo presence is the first step of our Silicon Valley strategy. Randy has successfully grown offices in this marketplace previously and expects Avison Young to have a significant presence shortly."

Slonek adds: "We have worked hard to find someone of Randy's caliber to launch our San Mateo office. His solid reputation and expertise in both the office and industrial markets will be invaluable to our clients.  We are confident that Randy is a game-changing hire for Avison Young, and that our San Mateo office will prove to be a perfect platform for brokers and clients alike."

Keller brings more than three decades of commercial real estate experience in the San Francisco Peninsula to Avison Young. In 1993, he joined Cassidy Turley (previously BT Commercial) in San Mateo, where he most recently served as a Principal and Managing Director of the office as well as on the Board of Directors of the predecessor firm. Prior to Cassidy Turley, he spent six years (1986-1992) with Cushman & Wakefield and three years with Norris, Beggs & Simpson (1982-1985) in the firms' San Mateo and San Francisco offices, respectively. During his career, Keller has been a perennial top achiever and has negotiated major sale and lease transactions in excess of 14 million square feet.

Keller holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California-Berkeley and is active with such organizations as the San Mateo Economic Development Association, San Mateo-Burlingame Board of Realtors, Lake Merced Golf Club and Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club.

"I was drawn to the Avison Young culture of partnership, and I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues in the collaborative environment that exists across the company," says Keller. "There are few opportunities in one's profession to be a guiding Principal in such a formidable and expanding company. Furthermore, to be teaming up with the fastest-growing real estate company in North America, and to be able to contribute my knowledge and experience to its growth and success, is very exciting. I look forward to the next chapter of my career at Avison Young."

The San Mateo County/Silicon Valley area is located on a 60-mile peninsula immediately south of San Francisco, bordered on the east by San Francisco Bay and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. San Mateo County has a population of approximately 800,000 in 20 incorporated cities. Serving as a high-tech enclave surrounding Silicon Valley, San Mateo is home to several Fortune 500 companies such as Oracle, Visa, Facebook, Gilead Sciences and Franklin Funds, to name a few, as well as San Francisco International Airport. With 500,000 workers primarily in knowledge-based industries, San Mateo has the second-lowest unemployment rate by county in California, according to the San Mateo County Economic Development Association. Companies in the region are frequent beneficiaries of billions of dollars worth of venture-capital funding that has implications on the commercial real estate market. The San Mateo commercial real estate market is traditionally highly active as tech-related firms deal with expansions and moves on a regular basis.

Avison Young is the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 1,300 real estate professionals in 49 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

•Editors/Reporters: please click on link to view and download photo of Randy Keller
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Randy_Keller.jpg

For further information/comment/photos:

• Sherry Quan, National Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young:  604.647.5098; cell: 604.726.0959

• Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: 416.673.4028

• Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: 312.957.7610

• Nick Slonek, Principal and Managing Director, Northern California, Avison Young:   415.710.0233

• Randy Keller, Principal and Managing Director, San Mateo, Avison Young: 650.740.1666

www.avisonyoung.com

Avison Young was a winner of Canada's Best Managed Companies program in 2011 and requalified in 2012 to maintain its status as a Best Managed company.

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SOURCE Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)