Cushman & Wakefield has hired Kevin Brant, who has been in commercial real estate for 17 years, as brokerage director in the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area. In his new role, Brant will work closely with Ryan Miller, managing principal of Cushman & Wakefield’s mid-Atlantic region, to support advisory professionals in the Washington area and Baltimore markets, the brokerage said. He will have a particular focus on the development of junior and mid-level brokers, analyses of clients and orchestration of inbound and outbound requirements, the firm said. “In any environment, it’s important that we thoughtfully support our most important asset, our people," Miller said in a statement. "In a fluid and rapidly changing environment, it’s critical that we have the right leadership in place to do just that." Brant joined Cushman & Wakefield from JLL, where he served as managing director and office leader of its Bethesda, Maryland, market. In that role, he led overall strategy, financial performance and business development.

Tom Bell, who served as chairman and CEO for several years, has reached a milestone at Mesa Capital Partners, the firm he founded with Jeff Tucker in 2010 after leaving Cousins. Mesa just closed its 10th fund with $250 million of committed capital to invest in multifamily properties. All told, Mesa has raised more than $850 million in its 10 funds, enabling it to develop or invest in over $5 billion of apartment complexes. Mesa has "earned exceptional returns for our investors" in its first nine partnerships, Bell said in a statement, and he expects to do the same with BMCC Investment Group 10.

Colliers has added Scott Barrett, who has served as an executive for several large real estate investment trusts, including Simon Property Group, as senior vice president of retail leasing in the firm's Rosemont, Illinois, office near Chicago. Barrett most recently worked at Heitman, where he served as senior vice president of asset management and played a significant role in increasing the value of a 26-property portfolio by more than $60 million, Colliers said.

While at Simon, Barrett served as a vice president of development and project leader for the development or redevelopment of 25 shopping centers in eight states. During the past 30 years, Barrett also worked for Washington Prime Group, Kite Realty Group and Weingarten Realty, now part of Kimco Realty. Overall, he has spearheaded the development, redevelopment or repositioning of properties in 27 states. His experience also includes leasing small shops to anchor tenant spaces and land leasing and sales.

Kimco Realty has tapped retail real estate veteran Meredith Burris Keeler as vice president of lifestyle operations. In her new role, Keeler will help refine the real estate investment trust's approach to bringing with the characteristics of lifestyle centers, including a heightened customer experience and an enhanced brand identity to Kimco's properties, the REIT said. In addition, she will oversee several operations at Kimco properties, including Dania Pointe, a mixed-use development in Dania Beach, Florida; Mary Brickell Village, a mixed-use center the company recently acquired in Miami; Kentlands Market Square, a community shopping center in Gaithersburg, Maryland; and River Oaks Shopping Center, an open-air center in Houston, Kimco said. Keeler, who has more than 20 years of industry experience, most recently worked for Related Cos., where she served as senior vice president of Related Urban Management. In that role, she oversaw operations for high-profile retail centers, including The Shops and Restaurants at Hudson Yards and The Shops at Columbus Circle in New York City. She also worked for more than 15 years at Taubman. Keeler's experience positions her well to "play a pivotal role in driving innovation" at Kimco centers, Southern region President Tom Simmons said in a statement.

Avison Young has appointed Hal Kempson, who has 30 years of experience structuring debt and equity investments in the commercial real estate industry, as a principal on its capital markets team in Charlotte, North Carolina. During his career, Kempson, who previously served as a managing director at JLL, has facilitated more than $6 billion in financing deals, including construction, permanent and mezzanine loans and preferred and joint venture equity. With his experience, Kempson "will be instrumental to Avison Young’s strategic expansion efforts of its Capital Markets platform throughout the North Carolina area," the brokerage said. Kempson said in a statement he plans to hit the ground running "as the economy starts heating back up, especially in an environment with the significant inbound population and job creation, like we have in North Carolina.”

Cushman & Wakefield has hired Christina Thoreson as an executive director and Ashley Donaldson as an appraiser in the firm’s dispute analysis and litigation support, or DALS, practice. DALS, part of Cushman's valuation and advisory services business, has professionals who value business interests and intellectual property and calculate economic damages arising from disputes. Thoreson has more than 35 years of experience in real estate valuation and consulting on litigation, eminent domain and dispute resolution matters.

Based in Fort Payne, Alabama, Thoreson has a background in providing valuation analysis, appraisal review, litigation support and authoritative expert witness testimony in assignments involving several commercial property types. Donaldson started her career in real estate working for a realtor and specializing in real estate owned, or REO, and corporate properties. She started working with Thoreson in 2017 as a researcher.