Cushman & Wakefield has greatly bolstered its property management operation in South Florida with the addition of 32 employees from rival JLL who will oversee operations at a pair of large office properties.

Chicago-based Cushman & Wakefield said Monday it hired Amarjit "Marj" Bains and her team, who have joined the firm's Miami-based property management group. Bains was hired as a senior managing director.

At Cushman & Wakefield, Bains' team will provide property management services at 701 Brickell, a 33-story, 685,705-square-foot office tower in downtown Miami, and Waterford Business District, a 1.65 million-square-foot development with several office buildings near Miami International Airport.

"We got those two properties to manage as a result of Marj and her team making the move over to us," Cushman & Wakefield spokesperson Jade Hubbard said in an email.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has shined a bright spotlight on property managers and others responsible for maintaining a safe and healthy work environment for millions of workers, especially as they return to their offices.

Bains and her team had managed the properties on behalf of owner Nuveen Real Estate while at JLL, where Bains served as a national director and executive vice president and led property management efforts for Nuveen’s South Florida office properties. She also oversaw construction management, financials, budgeting, sustainability initiatives and tenant satisfaction at properties owned by other JLL clients across the country.

Dan Pufunt, executive managing director for Cushman & Wakefield’s Americas property management group, said the relationships Bains has cultivated over the past 20 years would benefit her new brokerage firm.

“Marj and the team will play a critical role in strategically expanding our property management business in South Florida," Pufunt said in a statement.

In her new role, Bains will work closely with Leigh Griffin, leader of Cushman & Wakefield’s Florida property management group. The group in Florida, which has 300 employees, has one of the largest property and facilities management portfolios in the state, with 85 million square feet under its watch.