William Diana, 29
Senior associate at Cushman & Wakefield
Given the importance of logistics and warehouse space in recent years, it would feel like journalistic malpractice if this list didn’t feature at least one serious industrial broker.
Enter William Diana of Cushman & Wakefield, who has been tearing up the outer boroughs and Nassau County over his tenure, advising on 1031 exchanges, assisting with financial models, and representing marquee clients like Mack Real Estate Group, Bow Tie Partners and White Castle among others.
“In the outer boroughs [C&W] is very big with office and retail — but [in my office] there wasn’t really a person who had industrial expertise, who could speak a little to the industrial market,” Diana said. “I understand the product. That added a lot.”
Diana recently represented Tutor Perini Corporation in a 10-year lease with another five-year option on a 2-acre industrial site in Port Washington, L.I., in a deal valued at $15 million. And he advised Revel, the scooter company, in its New York City expansion. But he has not shied away from the less brand-name tenants and landlords.
Diana speaks and reads Spanish — and even lived in Argentina for a couple of months — and always felt comfortable speaking to local landlords in their native tongue. “It really helps in Jackson Heights,” Diana said. “The seller [feels] comfortable with me and can communicate.”
Industrial and real estate was probably always Diana’s fate. His grandfather owned a small real estate company in Long Island City called Diana & Yuras (now DY Realty Group), which his father and uncle went to work for. When Diana was still in school and needed a summer job, they took him to Men’s Wearhouse, bought him a blue blazer, and started him in the business.
“I made my first lease for an industrial property in Maspeth and got a check for $2,000 — and I was hooked,” Diana said.
The money didn’t last through the next weekend, but that was OK. There were plenty more industrial spaces in Diana’s future. There still are. — M.G.
