Avison Young bets on Las Vegas expansion; Cushman & Wakefield invests in life science; Cresa buys project management group

Avison Young appointed David Scherer as executive vice president in the firm’s Las Vegas office. Scherer, a 37-year commercial real estate veteran who has completed more than $2.3 billion in transactions, focuses on capital markets for office, industrial, retail and medical properties throughout Las Vegas, the brokerage said. He is joined at Avison Young by senior associate Rich Wong and client services coordinator Ken Marrama, forming one of the largest investment sales teams in the area, according to the firm. “Avison Young continues to strategically expand on a global basis, and the Western U.S. region has been a critical focus for us as key markets here continue to grow,” said Chris Cooper, an Avison Young principal and regional managing director for the Western U.S., in a statement. “David Scherer and his team will elevate our brand and bolster our Las Vegas region.”

Cushman & Wakefield has hired Evan Cassolato as managing director in San Diego to bolster the firm's life science advisory services group. He will team up with his brother, Michael Cassolato, and Brett Ward while collaborating with the firm’s life science experts across the U.S. "Welcoming Evan to this unit is a significant boost as well advantage given his robust knowledge and experience in this intricate sector,” said Andy La Dow, Cushman & Wakefield’s managing principal in San Diego, in a statement. Cassolato joins from Longfellow Real Estate Partners, where he oversaw the firm’s leasing and asset management across the San Diego and San Francisco Bay area markets. Before that, he worked for developers Cruzan and Irvine Co. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California-Irvine, where he was a member of its baseball team and competed in the College World Series. 

Cresa, a Chicago-based occupier services firm, has acquired Pacific Program Management, a project management firm with its headquarters in Seattle. Clark Lindsay, CEO of Pacific Program, has been appointed managing principal and president of project management at Cresa. In addition, Pacific Program executives Mark Wanic, Christy McFall and Sandra Yencho will assume leadership roles at Cresa, the brokerage said. The move adds 180 employees to Cresa’s existing project management group, creating a team of more than 280 people across 35 markets in North America. Lindsay founded the firm, originally known as Lindsay & Associates, in 2009. The company served owners, developers, investors and tenants and has a total of more than 125 clients across five continents in the food-and-beverage, medical, life science, retail, ecommerce and other industries. “Our clients have broad needs for project management on an individual-project and portfolio-wide basis across North America and around the world," Cresa CEO Tod Lickerman said in a statement. "The PPM acquisition adds tremendous value in these areas."

Weitzman, a Dallas-based commercial real estate firm, has tapped Jordan Walker, formerly of CBRE, as a senior vice president to head a newly formed industrial division in Austin, Texas. The firm focuses on retail properties but said moving into the industrial sector is a natural next step. “We have clients on both the user and investor side looking for industrial real estate solutions, and we’re enhancing our services platform to meet these needs with the client service and market knowledge we’re known for," said Jeff Nebrat, the partner in charge of Weitzman’s Austin office, in a statement. Prior to joining Weitzman, Walker was a CBRE vice president in Austin, where he worked with an industrial and creative office portfolio, handling more than 1 million square feet of tenant representation business. He also has experience in industrial brokerage with HPI Real Estate Services & Investments in Austin and San Antonio. He was part of a team responsible for leasing more than 15 million square feet of industrial space. Walker headed HPI’s San Antonio office, where significantly growing its portfolio while maintaining his position as an industrial specialist along the IH-35 corridor from Austin to San Antonio. He started his real estate career with NAI Partners in Houston.

CIM Group, a Los Angeles-based real estate owner, operator, lender and developer, has named Heather Moon as its new vice president of leasing. She will focus on retail and restaurant leasing for Centennial Yards, CIM's $5 billion mixed-use development in downtown Atlanta. Moon brings more than 20 years of experience in leasing across various retail asset types, including grocery-anchored centers, power centers, shopping malls and value-add redevelopments. “Heather’s extensive knowledge and experience in the Atlanta market uniquely position her to lead our leasing initiatives and will help transform Centennial Yards into the vibrant downtown environment we envision,” said Brian McGowan, president of Centennial Yards, in a statement. Prior to joining CIM Group, Moon served as director of leasing at Fuqua Development.