Prologis, the logistics real estate giant that expects to develop 20 new data centers and invest an additional $7 billion to $8 billion in the sector, hired industry veteran Chris Curtis to fill its newly created global head of data centers position. Curtis, who has more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate, most recently served as co-founder, principal and senior vice president of development and acquisitions at Compass Datacenters. In his new role as global head of data centers at Prologis, Curtis will be responsible for further expanding Prologis’ data center business and sourcing, structuring and executing data center developments, the real estate investment trust said. Reporting to Damon Austin, Prologis’ global head of customer lead development, Curtis also will develop relationships with key customers as he works to expand the business, the company said. In addition, he will help Prologis to develop its data center team dedicated to sourcing and acting on key conversion opportunities in Prologis’ global portfolio, the company said.

Prologis said it has been investing in and developing data centers since 1999, and in the fourth quarter alone, it started over $500 million in data center development. In the past decade, the REIT's customers have converted 28 buildings in Prologis' portfolio to data centers. "With potential profit margins for the conversion of data centers at 50% to 100% higher than industrial margins, data centers provide an outsized value creation to all conversion opportunities," Prologis said in a statement.

Colliers has added a team of four multifamily brokers from JLL to its Twin Cities office in the Minneapolis suburb of St. Louis Park, Minnesota. The new sales team of Mox Gunderson, Josh Talberg, Dan Linnell and Adam Haydon, will work closely with the Colliers Mortgage team led by Tony Carlson and Chris Perry, the firm said. Gunderson, Talberg, Linnell and Haydon each joined Colliers as an executive vice president. In their new roles, the four teammates will focus on multifamily capital markets work, from sales to debt and equity services for private and institutional developers, owners and capital providers across the Twin Cities region, Colliers said. “Adding this team cements our long-term strategy of aligning multifamily debt, equity and investment sales in the Midwest,” Colliers Mortgage CEO David Juran said in a statement.

During their time at JLL, Gunderson, Linnell, Talberg and Haydon helped build its Minneapolis capital markets group. From 2018 until they left JLL for Colliers, the team represented clients in multifamily transactions with an overall value totaling $3.5 billion. In 2022, the team represented the seller in the sale of the 350-unit Berkman Apartments in Rochester, Minnesota, a property that traded for $187.6 million, or $536,000 per unit, one of the highest prices ever paid in the state on that basis, according to CoStar data.

CBRE has promoted Elizabeth Goodwin, who joined the brokerage in 2019, to senior managing director and market leader for Tennessee. In her new role, Ms. Goodwin will oversee all advisory services lines of business in the state, including leasing, sales, debt and structured finance and property management, the firm said. She will lead the brokerage's four Tennessee offices, located in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville and Chattanooga, CBRE said. Goodwin previously served as managing director and co-led CBRE's Tennessee business with senior managing director Stephen Kulinski and Memphis managing director Frank Quinn. Before that, Goodwin was director of project management and oversaw the growth and performance of the business line in Tennessee. She is based in Nashville.

SK Commercial Realty of Atlanta has acquired Bryant Management Services management portfolio and added four property managers as part of the deal. With the purchase, the terms of which were not disclosed, SK Property Management expands its property management footprint by 4 million square feet, to a total of more than 6 million square feet. Dick Bryant, a longtime Atlanta broker, founded Bryant Management Services. The firm oversees 52 properties throughout metropolitan Atlanta, and a large chunk of the portfolio contains industrial or flex properties, "balancing SK’s office- and medical-heavy repertoire," SK Commercial said. With the addition of the Bryant employees, SK Property Management now has 11 property managers, SK Commercial CEO Hugh Scott III said.

Lee & Associates has opened a satellite office in Charlotte, North Carolina, and tapped company veteran Greg Pieratt to serve as its market president. Pieratt is a 20-year industry veteran who started his career at Lee & Associates and has been a principal for 16 years. Lee & Associates Charlotte said it will specialize in industrial and office landlord and tenant representation. The operation plans "to strategically recruit teams to grow their capabilities in land, retail, multifamily, and investment sales," Lee & Associates said. As the office ramps up its operation, the Lee & Associates Raleigh-Durham office will provide resources and assistance, according to the brokerage. “Lee & Associates' expansion into the Charlotte market signifies our entry into an important market," CEO Jeffrey Rinkov said in a statement.

Pieratt specializes in tenant representation and investment sales. In the past five years, he has represented clients in more than 200 sales and leasing transactions with an aggregate value of more than $1 billion. He said expanding into Charlotte makes sense because of North Carolina's economic growth and business-friendly leadership. Moss Withers, CEO and principal of Lee & Associates Raleigh Durham, said in a statement that Lee's “expansion into Charlotte marks a critical milestone for not only our Raleigh Durham office, but all of our offices in the Southeast."

Franklin Street's retail investment sales team has hired Justin Walker as senior director of its South Florida division. Based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Walker will play a significant role in expanding Franklin Street’s presence in the retail investment sector across the region, the company said. He joined Franklin Street from Sands Investments Group, along with senior associate Kaylan Knitowski, with whom Walker will work closely, according to the company. Walker started his career in commercial real estate at Harbert Realty Services in Orlando, Florida. Gregory Matus, managing director of Franklin Street's South Florida office, said in a statement that Walker's experience "will undoubtedly strengthen our presence in the South Florida market."

CBRE has hired brokers Rick Ashton and Jeff Dreher, who combined have more than 50 years of experience in the industry, from rival JLL in Kentucky. Ashton and Dreher joined CBRE in the firm’s Louisville office as senior vice presidents. CBRE said the pair will focus on assisting institutional and private clients with office leasing and sales across the Blue Grass State. Ashton and Dreher, who spent the past five years at JLL Louisville, have worked on more than 1,200 real estate transactions, and the aggregate value of their sales tops $1 billion. The duo's experience in office leasing and sales "greatly complements our existing office business in Kentucky," David Hardy, CBRE's managing director in Louisville, said in a statement. Before their time at JLL, both Ashton and Dreher worked for several years at Cushman & Wakefield-Commercial Kentucky.