The strategic alliance, which took effect on the first of this month, will give BRE Commercial access to Grubb & Ellis' corporate services platform, which is "one of the strongest in the industry," according to John D. Frager, president and CEO of Grubb & Ellis/BRE Commercial. "It is true corporate services," Frager tells GlobeSt.com, explaining that Grubb & Ellis offers "a whole line of services," including lease administration, strategic planning and project consulting. "Those are the kind of the services that we are now able to bring to our clients on a local level," he notes.

Other types of resources that BRE Commercial can now utilize through Grubb & Ellis' network include their research information systems and their training programs, according to Frager, who points out that the affiliation agreement has done nothing to change the structure of his company, which is an internally owned brokerage firm. He says his firm will remain a "private corporation that is still very entrepreneurial." The deal with Grubb & Ellis, he feels, has given BRE Commercial "the best of both worlds." As he explains, "we get to leverage this fantastic platform that Grubb & Ellis has" and at the same time, "we get to maintain our unique ownership model."

For Grubb & Ellis, the agreement gives the national firm the ability to "provide seamless service" to clients with San Diego real estate needs, according to Bob Osbrink, president of Grubb & Ellis Transaction Services. Indeed, the alliance has beefed up Grubb & Ellis' San Diego presence, as BRE Commercial is the largest private brokerage firm in San Diego County with more than 80 professionals. As Osbrink explains, his company is now "uniquely positioned to cater to the needs of those investors, developers and corporate users who are focused on the Pacific Southwest."