ScanlanKemperBard Continues Increasing Staff, Acquisitions Pace

PORTLAND-ScanlanKemperBard Cos. continues to add staff as it ramps up its acquisitions pace. On track for its biggest acquisition year ever, the Portland-based real estate merchant banking and development advisory firm has promoted its vice president of asset management to senior vice president of acquisitions and backfilled the vacated position with an acquisitions associate from LaSalle Investment Management in Chicago.David Werts has been with SKB since April 2000 as manager of the company’s 2.4 million sf real estate portfolio. Now he will now head up SKB’s property acquisition efforts in Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Denver, Las Vegas and Phoenix. SKB principal Bob Scanlan tells GlobeSt.com Werts will be instantly busy, as the company currently has about $130 million worth of assets under contract.”These acquisitions will put us over $200 million in acquisitions for 2004, which will be our biggest year ever, and ’05 looks to be substantially greater than that,” says Scanlan. “We’re looking to add another acquisitions person within the next six months.”Last month, ScanlanKemperBard filed an S-11 with the SEC en route to an initial public offering for SKB REIT. The company plans to offer 30 million shares at $10 apiece, raising $300 million that will be used to acquire and operate income-generating retail, office and industrial properties that are located in major and secondary U.S. cities located in the western US. “In addition, we may invest in other real estate investments including, but not limited to, properties outside of the western United States, non-office, retail or industrial properties, mortgage loans, ground leases and other real estate related investments,” states the filing.Backfilling the VP of asset management position is Stacie Hill, most recently an acquisitions associate with LaSalle Investment Management in Chicago. Prior to that, Hill was manager of real estate development planning for Kindercare Learning Centers Inc. in Portland. With SKB, she will focus on budgeting, cash flow management and asset strategic planning, overseeing property capital expenses, leasing and financial reporting for SKB properties. The new hire follows two other key additions during the second half of 2003. In December, SKB hired Sandra Rankin as the company’s new chief financial officer. Rankin, a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Certified Public Accountant, previously was a vice president and investment officer with locally based Highmark Capital Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of Union Bank of California. In October, SKB hired Stephen Wong as a senior vice president of asset management. Wong previously was an acquisitions officer for locally based Harsch Investment Properties.