Avison Young Acquires Architect Studio Eagle to Boost CRE Client Benefits
By Mark Hallum January 18, 2022 2:28 pm
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Avison Young is beefing up the services it provides to clients with the recent acquisition of New Jersey-based architecture firm Studio Eagle, meaning tenants who hire Avison Young can get the full treatment, from leases to furnished offices.
Studio Eagle has 30 employees, including interior designers and project managers, and the acquisition follows Avison Young’s late 2021 merger with Boston-based project management firm Dowling Houy.
Sheila Botting, president of professional services for the Americas at Avison Young, explained plans to help clients reposition physical space and attract talent.
“So you think about an average corporate occupier client, whether they’re in the office space or public sector, institutional, whatever. They’re in the middle of the pandemic now saying, ‘What do I do with my space? … Do I upsize? Downsize? Do I reposition?’” Botting said. “Some clients may or may not need a transaction, but certainly we can help them through that transaction piece right through to turnkey project management, the procurement of furniture, fixtures and then building the space out for them. So that whole end-to-end solution for them across any industry, sector or market is really what we’re addressing through our Studio Eagle acquisition.”
Bruce Emtage, who was brought on board from Studio Eagle to serve as a managing director at Avison Young, said the merger came as a result of five years of steady growth in the Garden State and Avison Young would take Studio Eagle to new markets across the tri-state area. But at the granular level, Emtage said his work will be in customizing workspaces to individual client needs.
“We look at how much of their real estate physically gets used, and some of it is a shocking amount of space where the lights are turned off and not used on a day-to-day basis,” Emtage said. “So then what our teams collectively are going to be working on as we start off this partnership is how can I take a private office where the lights are off 75 percent of the week and turn it into a space that can be used by multiple employees.”
Matheson Financial Advisors acted as the mergers and acquisitions adviser on behalf of Studio Eagle while Morningstar Law Group acted as the legal adviser for Studio Eagle. Avison Young managed the deal in-house.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed by Avison Young.
Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.
