Press Release: Local Heavyweights Form New Commercial Real Estate Firm
Jan 12, 2007
Aquila Commercial
Local Heavyweights Form New Commercial Real Estate Firm
Top Brokers from CBRE, Trammell Crow, Staubach and Pyramid launch Aquila Commercial
AUSTIN - Jan. 12, 2007 - A new real estate company with heavyweights from local offices of three national and one local firm has taken flight in Austin.
Aquila Commercial LLC opened its doors this week with a total of six local brokers, including: Bart Matheney and Chad Barrett from the Austin office of CB Richard Ellis Inc., Chris Perry of Trammell Crow Co., Jay Lamy and Sloan Spaeth from the The Staubach Co. and Mike Murphy of Pyramid Properties.
Together, the six founding members have a combined total of 80 years of experience in the Austin area commercial real estate market, and are recognized by their peers and publications such as the Austin Business Journal's "Book of Lists" as some of the top producers in their respective disciplines within the industry. They have been responsible for some of the region's largest transactions on both the user and ownership side, including the Frost Bank Tower sale, AMD Campus project, Motorola, Accenture, First American Flood Data and Silicon Laboratories.
Executives with the Aquila chose the name because it harkens powerful and noble symbolism. Aquila is a constellation and the name of the eagle that belonged to Zeus in Greek mythology. Aquila was known for flying higher and having sharper vision than any other creature on earth.
"Our approach to our business is that we have assembled a diverse team of market leaders from within our industry and created a culture and work environment that fosters collaboration and teaming within and across each discipline. This gives our clients a very broad level of service from multiple perspectives and backgrounds," says Jay Lamy, an Aquila Commercial co-founder.
"Our goal is not to be the biggest firm in the marketplace. We want to focus our service to fewer clients and be recognized as the best at what we do," says Bart Matheney, a fellow Aquila Commercial co-founder.
While the company may be at an inception stage, Mike Murphy notes Aquila Commercial isn't like most start up real estate ventures.
"For the last 15 years Pyramid Properties has grown its portfolio to over 2.5 million square feet," Murphy says. "While Pyramid will continue to provide property management services, Aquila Commercial will hit the ground running by assuming the responsibility for leasing Pyramid's existing portfolio."
The group acknowledges they are running counter to the "big firms getting bigger" trend that prevailed in 2006. CBRE purchased Trammell Crow Co. in December while Oxford Commercial joined the Cushman & Wakefield alliance, noting the organization's international reach.
"With the big real estate organizations continuing to get bigger, we saw the need in this market for a local niche firm with vast local knowledge and experience." Matheney says. "We think there's a tremendous benefit to our landlord clients to include a corporate services broker as part of our landlord team and visa versa, as well as drawing on the collective investment sales experience of our group to service both."
Lamy agrees, noting larger brokerage firms tend to emphasize doing a large number of deals. In contrast, Aquila intends to focus on larger, more complex transactions and serving as local market advocates or experts for both national institutional firms and local users and developers.
"The breadth of experience the founding members have will enable Aquila to offer our clients a broad perspective and deep understanding of the local market," Lamy says. "At the same time, the lean structure means decisions can be made in a thoughtful and decisive manner."
Chris Perry, formerly with Trammell Crow adds: "Personally speaking, it has been a dream to have an ownership stake in something, and it's even more special to be able to form a company from the ground up. With all the changes going on in our market and industry, the stars seem to align professionally and personally for all the partners and we're all tremendously excited about our business prospects and the opportunity to work with one another."
About Aquila Commercial
Harkening the powerful and noble Aquila eagle, Aquila Commercial LLC is a full-service commercial real estate firm based in Austin, Texas. Launched in January 2007, a group of six core founders have a combined total of more than 80 years of direct industry experience working for major national companies from CB Richard Ellis to the Trammell Crow Co. Recognized by their peers and publications as some of the top producers in their respective disciplines, Aquila Commercial seeks to emulate the Aquila eagle's reputation for flying high and maintaining the sharpest vision.
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