C&W, J.F. McKinney Join Forces

Shawn Mobley, Cushman & Wakefield

J.F. McKinney + Associates and Cushman & Wakefield have joined forces, marrying Cushman & Wakefield’s integrated global platform with J.F. McKinney + Associates’ deep expertise in the Chicago office leasing market.

“We office in the same building, and I think it was just meant to be,” Shawn Mobley, president of Cushman & Wakefield’s Central and Southeast regions, told Commercial Property Executive. “We’ve been working really hard in Chicago over the last handful of years, and have had tremendous success in the marketplace. One area that’s been a huge focus for us is to build a market-leading practice in is agency leasing—it’s a concentrated market in Chicago and if you look at competitive field over time, J.F. McKinney + Associates has been one of the most respected brand-name outfits in the business.”

J.F. McKinney + Associates currently represents more than 16 million square feet of Metropolitan Chicago office space, including iconic buildings such as the Merchandise Mart, 300 North LaSalle, John Hancock Center and 303 East Wacker.

Jack McKinney

“Their brand name and the depth of the resources they have and the people I’ve met—either here or in places like Kansas City or Los Angeles—they have a nice breadth in Chicago with some really good people,” Jack McKinney, J.F. McKinney + Associates’ president & founder, told CPE. “We’re relatively strong in project leasing in Chicago, and we thought with their support and resources, we’re now capable of creating more value for our clients.”

While McKinney noted that Cushman & Wakefield has reached out to him to several times in the past 20 years, the timing just wasn’t right, until now.

According to Mobley, the merge propels Cushman & Wakefield to a market leading position in Chicago.

“We want to be involved in the most important assignments in the most important markets for the most important clients,” Mobley said. “Chicago is a foundation city for Cushman & Wakefield and what that means to us is it’s a place where capital is sourced and where capital wants to be. It’s a very active, vibrant market.”

Before the merger, the companies have worked together on many transactions, due to Cushman & Wakefield’s huge tenant rep business.

“We’ve had the opportunity to work with Jack and his team on many assignments over many years,” he concluded. “It’s a great cultural fit and it was an unbelievable opportunity for us to become broader and deeper in something that’s very important to us—agency leasing in downtown Chicago.”

Under the leadership structure, McKinney will join Cushman & Wakefield as vice chairman, responsible for leading the Chicago agency leasing practice. He will also be part of the company’s national leadership focused on growing the agency leasing business and expanding its relationships with institutional clients