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Prepping for next wave, developer ramps up team [Austin American-Statesman :: ](Austin American-Statesman (TX) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 02-- Always attuned to market trends, Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group is making some strategic hires, ramping up its brokerage team as the Central Texas retail market gathers steam. Two top-tier producers formerly with The Weitzman Group have now joined the lineup at Austin-based Endeavor Real Estate Group, one of the region's dominant developers. The arrival of Adam Zimel a couple weeks ago, and Michele Gary's debut last week, signal Endeavor's intent to expand its brokerage business and position itself for the next wave of development in Central Texas' competitive retail market. "We have started to see an uptick in retail activity, which has lagged behind multifamily and office," said David Roche, a founding principal with Endeavor. "While we're not anticipating another boom to reach pre-recession levels, select retailers are moving around and we're doing our best to be in front of them. Our firm will continue to seek out top talent to help us more firmly cement our flag in this sector of the commercial real estate industry." In Gary and Zimel, Endeavor "found the right people at the right time," Roche said. "We surveyed the retail landscape, and it was clear Zimel and Gary were at the top of their game and will be key, strategic players as we embark on expanding our retail brokerage services," Roche said. "They bring a skill set that is considered by any knowledgeable retail person to be one of the best, or the best, in the business and we complement each other very well." Zimel, who was tapped to lead and expand Endeavor's retail brokerage, explains Gary's recruitment in two words: "She produces." Gary has been recognized by CoStar Group, a Washington-based commercial real estate information and marketing firm, as a Power Broker Award recipient in the retail leasing category every year since 2006. Like Gary, Zimel has won industry recognition as a retail heavy hitter. He led the brokerage operations for Weitzman's Austin office, where he oversaw a portfolio with more than 2 million square feet and closed more than 50 deals a year for the past five years. Zimel said that "the opportunity to align with one of the strongest Austin based real estate firms, with a great retail history and platform, was compelling. Their key relationships are very important in such a competitive retail market." Endeavor is the developer behind high-profile retail projects like the Domain, the mixed-use project in North Austin that brought Austin's first full-line Neiman Marcus store to town, and the Southpark Meadows shopping center in South Austin. Its mark also is visible downtown, in a 36-story apartment and office high-rise towering above Shoal Creek and IBC Bank Plaza that's under construction. In total, Endeavor has developed and/or acquired more than 12.6 million square feet of various types of space in the Austin market since its founding in 1999, and presently manages about 6 million square feet of space. It also has more than 1 million square feet of office space under construction, in projects including Champion Office Park in Northwest Austin and Rollingwood Center on Bee Cave Road. Zimel and Gary will service and grow Endeavor's retail portfolio, currently at about 1.75 million square feet. Endeavor also will seek new listings, including landlord leasing, tenant representation and investment sales, as well as continue to develop new space of its own. Hollan Hensley, formerly with SRS Real Estate Partners, is another recent addition to the retail team. In recruiting Zimel and Gary, Roche said: "We laid out our vision for the future and how we planned to both prepare for it and how we could capitalize on it, and both Adam and Michele saw it too." Gary said she wasn't looking to make a change, and was "humbled and honored at the invitation to join this best of class" firm. She said she decided the move was not only best for her, but for her clients too. And as a single mom with a young child, the "culture, environment and support at Endeavor will be a great fit," she said. "I don't expect to skip a beat in this transition" Gary said. "Endeavor is a fierce, talented, passionate group and I am excited to continue doing what I do best, with the best." ___ (c)2014 Austin American-Statesman, Texas Visit Austin American-Statesman, Texas at www.statesman.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |