Cincinnati PR

The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Chapter of the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties (NAIOP) held its annual awards dinner last week, an event recognizing the most significant developments, deals and dealmakers within the Greater Cincinnati commercial real estate industry.

This year’s chapter awards ceremony recognized the leading office and industrial deals of the past 12 months, as well as the Broker of the Year, Transaction of the Year, and the Developer of the Year.

The Office Deal of the Year went to Duke Realty, for its development of the GE Aviation campus in West Chester, near the Union Centre Boulevard interchange.

This GE Aviation lease, negotiated by the Hartmann-Ryan Team at Cassidy Turley (www.Hartmann-Ryan.com), measures almost 500,000 square feet and will accommodate more than 1,400 employees. It also ensures that GE Aviation has long-term growth options.

The Hartmann-Ryan Team is comprised of Mike Hartmann, Bob Ryan, Mike Schmitt, Shari Goodridge, Jordan Weidner, Steve Verdin, Jordan Weidner, Michael Crawford and Dawn Segrist.

The Hartmann-Ryan Team was also selected as commercial Broker of the Year, recognizing the broker or team that played the largest role in getting lease and sales transactions consummated.

The Hartmann/Ryan Team from Cassidy Turley closed 83 deals during the analysis period, among which are a lease involving Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center at the former Vernon Manor Hotel.

Duke Realty was represented in the Office Deal of the Year by Jerry Royce and Jon Burger. The lease incorporated environmentally-friendly Green technologies in its design, and assures that GE Aviation will be headquartered in Cincinnati for the long term.

The Industrial Deal of the Year recognizes the largest speculative development in our market’s history, Park South in Boone County, developed by Industrial Developments International (IDI).

The 678,363 SF development by IDI was ultimately leased to The L’Oreal Group, which furthers its commitment to Northern Kentucky. The deal was spearheaded by Doug Armbruster, vice president with IDI.

The commercial Transaction of the Year was awarded to the most significant real estate transaction.  Emphasis is placed on the complexity of the transaction, and the overall impact on the community marketplace.

This Transaction of the Year was presented to Al. Neyer Inc. (ANI) for its acquisition and redevelopment of the 444 West Third Street property, which totals approximately 150,000 SF. This redevelopment of a former post office facility will serve as the world headquarters for dunnhumby USA, whose clients include The Kroger Company.

One of Cincinnati’s most prominent corporate citizens, dunnhumby USA, now owns the facility, which was redeveloped in partnership with the City of Cincinnati Economic Development Department. Over 300 employees will be permanently located at the headquarters.

This $17 million transaction will serve as a cornerstone for the development of the southwestern corridor of the Cincinnati Central Business District.

The Developer Of The Year award for 2009-2010 was presented to longtime NAIOP supporter Al. Neyer Inc. Here’s the ANI Team:

The company’s developments and redevelopments have helped reshape neighborhoods such as Madisonville, Columbia Tusculum, Norwood, and downtown Cincinnati.

Along with the dunnhumby USA redevelopment, Al. Neyer Inc. is the development partner in the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center project at Vernon Manor, as well as the developer of the Medpace campus in Madisonville.

ANI has also been selected to be part of the team that will develop “University Square @ The Loop,” the mixed-use development across from the University of Cincinnati.

The final award presented at the ceremony was the Impact Award, named in honor of the late David N. Tipton. Mr. Tipton was a founding member of the local NAIOP chapter.

The recipient for this award for 2009-2010 is Eagle Realty Group, the real estate development company that has worked to strengthen Cincinnati’s core downtown market.

Besides its development of the recently completed Queen City Tower, Eagle Realty is leading the transformation of the Washington Park neighborhood and surrounding environs of Over-The-Rhine.  Eagle Realty’s focus on the Lytle Park neighborhood will help create one the City’s first “24 hour” neighborhoods.

Mario San Marco, the top official for Eagle Realty Group, addresses the crowd:

NAIOP consists of over 50 chapters, with over 10,000 members nationwide. On both a regional and national level, NAIOP serves as a voice for the commercial real estate community to its elected legislators. This representation ensures that the real estate community’s concerns towards existing and proposed legislation that impacts the commercial real estate industry are voiced to our elected officials.

Every year, representatives from this NAIOP chapter visit our state and federal elected officials to serve as advocates for the industry and our region’s concerns.

A recent example of this advocacy was NAIOP ensuring that our elected officials in Washington fully understood the impact that a change in the tax treatment on carried interest would have on the real estate development community.

The Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky NAIOP chapter also awarded its lifetime achievement award, called the James Wuenker Award.

Mr. Wuenker served the Cincy USA Regional Chamber of Commerce for many years, helping attract companies to locate to the Tri-State, and he continues to serve our community.

William J. Williams was posthumously awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of a life thatexemplified community service.

Mrs. Helen Williams, widow of the late William J. Williams, accepted the award on behalf of her late husband.

Mr. Williams worked at Western & Southern Financial Group, after having earned degrees from Georgetown University and Harvard that surrounded service in the military during World War II.

In a career that ultimately lead Mr. Williams to serving as Chairman and CEO, Western & Southern grew to become one of the leading insurance companies in America, and a Fortune 500 company.  Mr. Williams also founded North American Properties, which has developed over 17 million square feet of commercial properties and 11,000 apartments.

Mr. Williams shared ownership of both the Bengals and the Reds during the teams’ most successful years.  The Williams Family Foundation continues to play an important role in supporting the Cincinnati community.

NAIOP congratulates all of this year’s award winners and nominees. NAIOP members develop and stimulate our communities, and they help create spaces in which the Cincinnati community lives, works and plays.

While NAIOP anticipates a challenging year ahead, it will continue to serve an important role supporting the commercial real estate industry.

If your work plays a role in the commercial real estate industry, you are encouraged to explore how NAIOP can help you further your goals.

Kevin Smith, President of the local NAIOP Chapter, can be reached at (513) 829-8900 or ksmith@firsthighland.com.