Torrance, CA – April 11, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Lee & Associates, one of the largest commercial real estate brokerage firms in the country, has taken another important step in strengthening its Midwest presence by opening an office in Kansas City, Kan.
Kansas City-based Harbinger Property Group joins Lee & Associates, giving Lee its second office in the Kansas region (accompanying St. Louis, Mo.) and helping Lee expand its Midwest footprint to eight offices. Lee & Associates now has 42 offices nationwide and remains committed to its expansion campaign that is scheduled to continue through 2011.
Edward J. Indvik, chairman of the Lee Advisory Board and vice chairman of Lee & Associates Investment Services Group, called Lee’s new office another important link in the firm’s national strategy.
“Kansas City marks an important strategic hub for our Midwest expansion plans,” Indvik said. “It provides expanded scale and coverage to our other seven Midwest locations in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin and Indiana, which just opened in September, thereby providing additional value to our existing national presence and client base.”
Lee & Associates Kansas City is located at 8700 State Line Road, Suite 110 in Leawood, Kan., on the Kansas/Missouri state line, which provides a strategic location allowing 20-minute drive time to and from the CBD, as well as two other critical submarkets. The office is headed by an experienced team of principals, including Managing Principal Nathan Anderson and Principal Patrick Meraz.
“In Harbinger Property Group, we see an established, dynamic firm with a strong presence in this key Midwestern market,” Indvik said. “Anderson and his team bring the kind of experience and entrepreneurial spirit that embodies Lee & Associates. This makes for a great fit for our company and an excellent opportunity for us to further expand our business in the Midwestern region.”
Anderson, who founded Harbinger Property Group in September 2006, is a 15-year veteran of industrial real estate in Kansas City. He left Cushman & Wakefield’s Kansas City office to start Harbinger with the vision of creating an entrepreneurial commercial real estate firm to compete with the larger companies in Kansas City. While the company is only five years old, principals Anderson and Meraz combine more than 25 years of real estate experience.
Anderson said the Lee Kansas City office will not only continue providing the utmost service to its clients but its brokers will be enabled with additional means to support and provide the best service possible.
“We are excited to join the growing Lee & Associates organization,” Anderson said. “We feel the Lee business model offers us excellent opportunities for future growth within our core Kansas City market and nationwide. Additionally, our office will help Lee & Associates strengthen its Midwestern presence in this key market.”
Harbinger Property Group has been on an impressive pace since its inception five years ago. The company was named a CoStar ‘Power Broker in Kansas City’ in both 2008 and 2009, led by Anderson, who is a past president of the CCIM Chapter, treasurer of the SIOR Chapter and is now beginning a term on the commercial board of Realtors for Kansas City. Additionally, Anderson was named to the “40-under-40 in Business” list by Kansas City’s Ingram’s Magazine, and is a former winner of the Realtor Magazine’s “30-under-30” award, nationally.
Lee’s entrance into the Kansas City commercial market comes at a time when the area’s real estate landscape has undergone significant transition over the past few years. The city has seen a 13 percent spike in population over the past 10 years and has a metro area home to 2.1 million people, the 29th-largest in the nation by MSA.
Kansas City’s industrial market is comprised of 248.2 million square feet in 5,910 buildings with a vacancy rate of just 7.6 percent. The Lee Kansas City market is comprised of 104.7 million square feet in 3,688 buildings, with a vacancy rate of 13.7 percent.
About Lee & Associates
Celebrating more than 32 years of leadership excellence in commercial real estate, Lee & Associates is the largest broker-owned firm in the nation, with 42 locations across the nation including Arizona, California, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, Texas and Wisconsin. With a roster of nearly 700 expert brokers, Lee & Associates provides a wide range of specialized commercial real estate services. Additional information is available at www.lee-associates.com.
