Project Design Manager

Gary Tasman leaves Cushman & Wakefield for NAI Burns Scalo. * By David Dorsey * Jun 9, 2026 Updated Jun 9, 2026 * 0 Gary Tasman started Cushman & Wakefield Commercial Property Southwest Florida in January 2007. Two years later, he created the first independently owned and operated alliance for the global real estate company in Florida. On June 9, Tasman announced he ended that exclusive alliance agreement and joined another company that recently entered the Florida market. Tasman joined NAI Burns Scalo effective immediately and has been named executive vice president. Over the next week, Cushman & Wakefield leasing and sale signs across Southwest Florida will be rebranded as NAI Burns Scalo. "I'm not going anywhere," said Tasman, who will continue working from the same fifth-floor office at 5220 Summerlin Commons Blvd. in south Fort Myers. His team of 35 employees made the move with him. Tasman said the move will give his team access to additional services, including construction, development and investment advisory capabilities. Tasman is still the broker of record for Skyplex, a master-planned development concept he created while at Cushman & Wakefield on behalf of the Lee County Port Authority, which owns the 680 acres slated for development. "I think you can say we are extremely interested in developing in the Skyplex area," Tasman said. As Tasman considered NAI Burns Scalo President Brian Walker's proposal, he said he realized he could bring more to his role as a broker by joining a company that does more than brokerage. "NAI came in with $100 million initially to invest and $250 million a year over the next five years to invest in Florida," Tasman said. "That's massive. "They approached me. I didn't approach them. The more I saw how it could benefit our community with this kind of talent, the more interested I became. For me, it was an opportunity to do more - faster." NAI Burns Scalo began as a roofing company in 1956 in Pittsburgh, founded by John Scalo and Duke Burns. It has since evolved into a privately owned real estate company with 325 offices in 55 countries. NAI stands for Network of Affiliated Independents. Independent brokers share resources, referrals and market data while maintaining local ownership and leadership - factors Tasman said he found attractive. In addition to brokerage services, Burns Scalo offers property management, construction and development services. NAI Burns Scalo, which also has offices in West Virginia, entered Florida in September 2025 when it opened an office in Tampa. Walker, who previously competed against Burns Scalo in the Pittsburgh market before joining the company three years ago, began recruiting Tasman last year. "We're really excited about the investment opportunities in Southwest Florida," Walker said. "Gary Tasman is so passionate about growth in the market. "We're diversifying into a national growth company. We won't go into any market now without a full array of services." Walker said he was not ready to disclose the company's specific investment plans but said they would cover all major commercial real estate sectors, including office, industrial and retail. "Everybody knows in real estate, real estate's a local business," Walker said. "Gary Tasman has unbelievable real estate relationships. In the last five months, Gulfshore Business has spent a lot of time down here with Gary trying to do it the right way. "We wanted to be a part of this. I'm super excited to be here. We're looking to do something very special in this particular community." Tasman said that once he understood the scope of NAI Burns Scalo's vision and goals, the decision to join the company became easy. "I fully believe that we'll be able to do in a few years what would otherwise take us decades to do - in terms of impacting the community in a positive way and impacting the market in a much more meaningful way," Tasman said. Tasman called June 9 a monumental day. Several NAI Burns Scalo executives visited him in Fort Myers, and he formally submitted his notice to Cushman & Wakefield. "I had already informed them," Tasman said. "They're very aware of it. Gulfshore Business is still going to support them in this market. Gulfshore Business has an excellent arrangement with them. "We now are part of a team that is not only going to support us with data and thoughtful leadership but also help grow the market with capital and a full suite of services."

Exploring major developments in the commercial real estate sector This year. The commercial real estate industry is witnessing significant transformations with strategic hires and innovative partnerships shaping the future of the sector. The commercial real estate industry is undergoing significant changes, driven by strategic hires, innovative partnerships, and technological advancements. From coast to coast, industry leaders are making impactful decisions that are reshaping the landscape of commercial real estate. Pubblicità This year has seen a flurry of activity, with companies expanding their capabilities, enhancing their technological platforms, and forming strategic alliances to better serve their clients and the market at large. Strategic hires and leadership changes. In California, Marcus & Millichap welcomed back Aaron Fierstein as senior director of investments in their Los Angeles office. With over 28 years of experience, Fierstein brings a wealth of knowledge in multifamily sales, acquisitions, and 1031 exchanges, having facilitated more than $600 million in property transactions in Southern California. Velocity Financial, Inc., a leader in investor real estate loans, appointed Dean Thevaos as their new Chief Technology Officer. Thevaos will spearhead the modernization of the company's platform, deepen its product capabilities, and build the operational infrastructure necessary for efficient, scalable growth. Pubblicità In the Midwest, KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) strengthened its equity syndications platform with the hire of Naomi See as a senior banker. Additionally, Celia Smoot was promoted to Head of Equity Originations, further enhancing the firm's affordable housing equity pipeline. Cushman & Wakefield expanded its Minneapolis office leasing team with the addition of Brian HelmkenErik Heltneand Addison Carlsonbringing deep local expertise and market insight to serve occupiers and landlords across the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota. Technological advancements and innovative partnerships. Crexi, a leading commercial real estate data platform and marketplace, launched three major data capabilities within Crexi Intelligence: zoning, tenant, and traffic. These new data layers integrate ownership, transaction, zoning, tenant, and location intelligence into a single, unified experience, enhancing the platform's ability to deliver end-to-end commercial property intelligence. Leapa leading platform for building and scaling virtual power plants, and Verantuma leader in lifecycle asset optimization for multi-site commercial buildings, announced a strategic partnership. This collaboration aims to enable portfolios of connected buildings to generate new revenue in automated demand response and other grid services programs across the United States, initially supporting leading retail chains like Dollar Tree in California, New York, and Texas. Scalea leader in advanced onsite energy solutions, received a $4.2-million grant from the California Energy Commission for the Santa Barbara City College Community Resilience Hub Project. The grant will support the development of a campus microgrid that integrates solar, battery storage, and EV charging, enhancing the college's energy resilience. Zeneratean AI-powered real estate feasibility platform, partnered with Pivotal Architecture to enhance feasibility reporting services for real estate development projects. This collaboration combines Zenerate's proprietary AI technology with Pivotal Architecture's extensive expertise in residential, mixed-use, and commercial projects. Expanding capabilities and market reach. In Canada, Ugo Bizzarrifounder and executive chair of Hazelview Investments, received the Rental Housing Canada Lifetime Achievement Award. Bizzarri has grown Hazelview from a domestic investor and operator into a global investment firm with $11.2 billion in assets under management across 19 offices in Canada, the U.S., Europe, and Hong Kong. QuadReal Property Group added Trevor Nakka to its board, bringing over 30 years of international business experience in corporate strategy, governance, capital markets, financial reporting, and audit. Nakka currently serves as the lead client service partner at Deloitte and has extensive board experience with various organizations. Grosvenor Property Canada revamped its senior leadership team with several promotions, including Graham Drexel to chief operating officer and CFO, Robert Duteau to executive vice-president of investment, Michael Ward to executive vice-president of development, and Jane Goode to executive vice-president of people and performance. These strategic moves and innovative partnerships highlight the dynamic nature of the commercial real estate industry, as companies continue to adapt and evolve to meet the changing needs of the market. Sophie Donovan, Manchester-born and classically elegant, once turned down a commission to chase a long-form piece on Salford's textile heritage, filing instead from the mill where her grandmother worked. Advocates patient, context-rich features and brings a taste for quiet narrative detail and theatre aficionadoship.

Cushman sues Sotheby's over $10M commission tied to HQ sale. posted on Apr. 11, 2026 at 3:16 am Sotheby's stiffed Cushman & Wakefield on a $10 million commission tied to the auction house's blockbuster Upper East Side headquarters sale, the brokerage claims. In a lawsuit filed Thursday in New York State Supreme Court, Cushman accuses Sotheby's of breaching a commission agreement connected to the October 2025 sale of 1334 York Avenue to Weill Cornell Medicine. Cushman claims it spent years brokering a 200,000-square-foot lease at the building on behalf of Weill Cornell that ultimately paved the way for the $510 million sale. At the time of the 2023 lease signing, Cushman says both sides inked a separate agreement entitling the firm to a 2 percent commission on any sale to Weill Cornell during the 30-year lease term. But Sotheby's never informed the brokerage it was weighing a sale a few years later, the complaint alleges, and Cushman first learned of the deal through news reports. The brokerage sent Sotheby's a $10.2 million commission bill in December, but the brokerage refused to pay it, "choosing instead to retain those funds to address its deteriorating financial condition," the suit alleges. "This lawsuit is baseless and completely meritless," said a Sotheby's spokesperson in a statement. "We will defend ourselves vigorously in court and we are confident that when the facts come out, we'll be vindicated." News reports at the time of the sale credited JLL's David Giancola, Geoff Goldstein and Steve Klein with representing Weill Cornell in the sale and CBRE's Doug Middleton and Mary Ann Tighe with advising Sotheby's. The complaint paints a picture of a financially strained Sotheby's seeking to shed debt tied to the property, including a $175 million mortgage. Cushman says the lease it arranged with Weill Cornell was "a financial life-preserver to Sotheby's" that boosted the property's value and ultimately helped Sotheby's command a hefty sale price; the building traded for almost 40 percent more than the auction house paid in 2009. Sotheby's itself acknowledged the financial upside. Following the sale, Sotheby's CEO Charles F. Stewart told staff in an e-mail the move would be "very financially beneficial," noting proceeds would be used to reduce debt and fund investments, according to an article from the trade publication The Art Newspaper cited in the lawsuit. The transaction capped a run of real estate moves by the auction house. In 2023, Sotheby's bought the landmark Breuer Building from the Whitney for about $100 million, a year after it picked up a converted office building in Long Island City for $82 million.