Avison Young Debuts in Orlando with Acquisition of Morrison Commercial

By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

That lull in activity that often accompanies the approach of the holiday season isn’t in Avison Young’s DNA. The Toronto-based service firm is continuing its aggressive national growth campaign with the acquisition of Orlando-based MCRE L.L.C., marking its second acquisition in Florida this week. The purchase of MCRE, doing business as Morrison Commercial Real Estate, represents Avison Young’s entrée into Orlando.

Greg Morrison of Avison Young’s Orlando office

Morrison Commercial opened its doors in 2007, and has made a name for itself in metropolitan Orlando since then as a leading provider of services in the office and industrial sectors. The firm’s expansive menu of services for owners, managers and tenants includes leasing, sales and acquisitions, as well as commercial-property site selection. The merged entity will also offer property management services.

Morrison Commercial comes to the table with a leasing portfolio that includes in excess of 3.4 million square feet of office space across Central Florida, as well as an 11-person team that is well versed in the market. Greg Morrison, founder of Morrison Commercial, comes aboard as principal, along with colleague Lisa Bailey, and also takes on the role of managing director of the new Orlando office, bringing a quarter-century of industry experience with him.

Avison Young, which had five offices in Florida before snapping up Morrison Commercial, trained its eye on Orlando because of the metro area’s substantial population and the attraction it holds for both owners and tenants.

It appears that expansion Florida has become an annual event for Avison Young. The company first entered the Sunshine State in October 2012 with the opening of offices in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and Miami. In 2013, the firm acquired WG Compass Realty Cos. and opened a West Palm Beach office, and followed up by buying Lane Witherspoon & Carswell Commercial Real Estate Advisors, which marked the debut of Avison Young’s Tampa office.

The Morrison Commercial news came just three days after an announcement that Avison Young had entered into an agreement to acquire Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group L.L.C., the Miami-based firm doing business as Colliers International South Florida.