Austin Investment Links

Jones Lang LaSalle exploring Austin office
Austin Business Journal - 2:44 PM CDT Monday, March 12, 2007
by A.J. Mistretta

A top executive at Jones Lang LaSalle, a property and investment management powerhouse, says he wants to re-establish an Austin office.

Jack Minter joined Chicago-based Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE: JLL) earlier this month to oversee from Dallas the capital markets business for the entire southwestern region. His team includes industry veterans John Alvarado, Jack Crews and Seth Bame. All four individuals were most recently with Trammell Crow Co.

The team will handle capitalization and disposition of properties across commercial asset classes in cities from Phoenix to San Antonio. Minter says while Jones Lang LaSalle has been active in Austin for some time, he believes the tremendous activity in the market makes the time ripe to create a physical office once more. Jones Lang had an office in Austin as recently as 2005.

"What we want to do is take advantage of the opportunities that are there," says Minter. "We plan to take a strong look at people who want to come over to Jones Lang LaSalle or we'll look at acquiring existing companies."

Beyond the investment landscape, Minter sees potential to expand Jones Lang LaSalle's other arms, like tenant representation and asset management to Austin.

"We have a lot of clients and know a lot of projects in the city," he says, adding that the move is a natural step for the company considering those connections.

Minter says the company will not open an office until it has a team in place, but he believes it will only be a matter of time.

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