JLL is boosting its presence in the Greater Toronto Area industrial market, where it has added six people to its local office, the real estate company said, with the goal of accelerating its growth there.
Joining JLL are Luis Almeida, executive vice president; Daniel Smith, senior vice president; Kevin Irandoust, associate vice president; and Rodrigo Silva, associate vice president. Additionally, Jakub Vidimlic joined the industrial commercial real estate team as senior sales associate, and Kausi Vickneshwaran as transaction manager.
All six previously worked at Lee & Associates.
"The Greater Toronto Area is a key Canadian and North American industrial market for JLL's clients," Alan MacKenzie, chief executive of JLL Canada, said in a statement. "The addition of the team will significantly enhance our ability to address our clients' complex needs and deliver innovative solutions, creating a competitive advantage for them in this crucial market."
JLL noted the team brings occupier and institutional expertise, market knowledge, and analytic capabilities.
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest industrial market in the country and among the four largest in North America. In a third-quarter report, JLL said the market saw its third consecutive quarter of negative net absorption. Absorption was negative 1.2 million square feet that period, a jump from negative 2.2 million square feet in the second quarter.
"New builds continuing to sit empty alongside overall occupier contraction over the year have contributed to a sharp increase in vacancy," said the real estate company, noting the vacancy rate in the market jumped to 4.1% in the third quarter of 2024 from 1.6% a year earlier.