CHICAGO— Equity Office , a US platform wholly-owned by Blackstone's real estate funds, oversees about 58 million square feet of class A office space and has just appointed Paul Kurzawa as its new managing director of development. Kurzawa's first job will be the redevelopment of Willis Tower , which affiliates of Blackstone acquired last year for $1.3 billion, the most ever paid for a building outside of Manhattan. Equity plans to increase the building's appeal to visitors by upgrading the 103 ^rd -floor Skydeck observatory and improving its retail and entertainment options. In addition to his responsibilities for 110-story Willis Tower, Kurzawa will oversee redevelopment and repositioning strategies for other real estate assets owned or managed by the company. He joins Equity from DreamWorks Animation where he served as the studio's global head of retail development and entertainment. Kurzawa has more than 20 years of experience working for an array of retail real estate developers including Westfield Group , JLL , Lend Lease and Caruso Affiliated . During his tenure at Caruso, The Grove and Americana at Brand in Los Angeles were ranked in the top 10 highest sales performing shopping centers in the world, according to data from Green Street Advisers .

The Skydeck allows visitors to step out over the street far below.

“I'm excited to welcome Paul to the Equity Office team and to add his extensive experience and creative talent to our quiver of tools for deep value-creation across the portfolio,” says Eli Khouri , president and chief executive officer for Equity Office. “Paul is making an immediate impact; through his leadership and direction, we are re-visioning Willis Tower into the type of world class office, retail and entertainment venue that satisfies the live-work-play lifestyle preferences of today's modern urban-centric workforce.” “Paul brings a unique skillset to the company,” says Jon Gray , global head of real estate for Blackstone. “His experience working for several of the most highly respected and successful real estate developers in the world along with his most recent experience at DreamWorks Animation, will help us reimagine and unlock the full potential at Willis Tower and other company assets.”