ATLANTA-Lee & Associates, a Los Angeles-based real estate brokerage firm and the second largest real estate firm in California, has merged with local firm Bryant Commercial Real Estate Partners. Opening an office in Atlanta is a major accomplishment, because it is one of the largest markets in the country, says Edward Indvik, chairman of the Lee Advisory Board and vice chairman of the Lee & Associates Investment Services  Group.

“Our goal is to fill up the US with Lee & Associates offices,” says Indvik.  “We’ve identified the top 50 msas and Atlanta is very strategic in terms of its location, “ he says. Including the new Atlanta office, Lee & Associates now has 40 offices nationwide.

 ”We think Lee & Associates will open some doors for us,” says Richard Bryant, who heads up the former Bryant Commercial Real Estate Partners, now the Atlanta office of Lee & Associates. “It is good to have access to larger deals,” he says. “Plus, over time, there is a good influx of west coast companies coming east and as they do,  Atlanta is one of the cities they consider,” he says. 

“For the past three years, we talked about forming a relationship with a company which has a national reach,” says Bryant. “Then Lee came along at the right time. We had done business with the company before through the Society of Industrial & Office Realtors,” he says.

Although the merger with Bryant will involve a payment to the Atlanta company, Indvik declined to say how much was involved. The two entities will share profits and decision making, he says.

As Bryant Commercial becomes part of Lee & Associates, the principals plan to expand the number of brokers at what is now the Atlanta office of Lee & Associates. Indvik hopes to attract brokers at other firms in Atlanta in addition to the current 31 agents now working in one office in Buckhead who are active in all the commercial real estate sectors, except hotels.

Lee & Associates is primarily focused on brokerage, mostly tenant representation and landlord representation, although it does do some property management as well.

Lee & Associates has over 25 offices in California, in addition to Arizona, Texas, New Jersey, Wisconsin, St. Louis and Chicago, among other locations.