AUSTIN, TX-Retail Solutions, a retail-focused real estate firm, has landed 1.5 million square feet of new assignments including its first gigs in Houston and added 10 people to handle the rapidly-expanding portfolio. Additionally, the firm has opened an office in San Antonio.

Formed in January 2009 by former Weitzman Group executive David Simmonds, Retail Solutions primarily focuses on representing retail landlords. The company’s listings portfolio has grown to roughly 3 million square feet.

New clients include prominent retail owners Simon Property Group, United Equities, Global Realty & Management, Dunhill Partners Inc. and William “Scooter” Walters of Austin. In Houston, the firm now works for Hunington Properties Inc. and LASCO Development Corp.

“We feel they are the best brokers in Austin and San Antonio,” says Jason Gaines, vice president with Global Realty, an affiliate of Miami Beach-based Global Fund Investments LLC. “We feel they have the most contacts, and the most to offer us.” Global Realty recently tapped Retail Solutions to represent its Village at Blanco project, a 200,000-square-foot HEB Plus! anchored retail center in San Antonio.

Dode Harvey, a former vice president with The Weitzman Group, leads Retail Strategies’ new San Antonio office. Additionally, Harvey’s father, Texas real estate legend Don Harvey, also joined the firm as a senior advisor. Don Harvey has owned and operated Midland/San Antonio-based Don Harvey Commercial Inc/Don Harvey Companies for the past 40 years, participating in more than 5,000 deals with sales volume exceeding $1 billion.

The Austin office has brought on Cole Brodhead as a principal focusing on local retail leasing. He joins the firm from Endeavor Real Estate Group. Additionally, industry veteran Alan Rust has come aboard as a principal focusing on Retail Solutions’ statewide investment sales program.

Retail Solutions anticipates ongoing growth and expansion as a significant volume of retail properties likely change ownership over the next several months. New owners will be looking to build relationships with new vendors, according to Simmonds.