That last quality is key. Rinkov has high hopes that within a few years the Twin Cities operation will be one of the top three firms in the metro area. Both he and the local leadership want to cover all sectors of commercial real estate, including industrial, office, retail, and many others. “We see an office that combined is 40 to 50 people strong.”

It was important that the company to establish a presence in a market as vibrant and sustainable as the Twin Cities, Rinkov adds. As reported in GlobeSt.com, the region has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the US and has attracted a vast amount of outside investment, especially in its office sector. In addition, developers have constructed and leased many new distribution buildings, the Minneapolis downtown has attracted thousands of new residents, and a new stadium in that city has brought even more attention and life to the urban core.

Garcia says it was time to launch a new kind of brokerage for the Twin Cities. As a broker-owned firm, Lee & Associates will give he and his colleagues the opportunity to act as true entrepreneurs, an option that until now was missing in the Twin Cities. “Lee is the only one that gives us the ability to have ownership and control of the office. They hit checkmarks that other companies couldn't.”

An industrial specialist with 13 years of experience in the Twin Cities commercial real estate market, Garcia spent eight years at Northmarq, now part of Cushman & Wakefield. In 2010, he established his own brokerage firm, CGC Commercial, which became an important player in the local and regional industrial brokerage market.

Minea, with over 30 years' experience, spent 23 years with Welsh Cos./Colliers, and five years with Cushman & Wakefield as well as CGC Commercial. He focuses on tenant representation with emphasis on industrial and med-tech businesses. While at Cushman & Wakefield, he earned its “Top 5” producer award, and in 2007 he was honored as one of the “Top 5 Commercial Industrial Agents” in the Twin Cities by The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Poppe specializes in industrial sales and leasing within the North Metro of Minneapolis-St. Paul. He spent the last six years with Transwestern and nine with Cassidy Turley, where he played an active role on the firm's corporate services team as well as its management committee and was head of the industrial department prior to joining Lee & Associates Minnesota.

Thomsen, who spent 11 years with Cushman & Wakefield, formerly CTMT, also spent five years at Welsh Cos./Colliers, and specializes in office sales and leasing within the West Metro of Minneapolis-St. Paul region.

MINNEAPOLIS—Lee & Associates, already the largest broker-owned commercial real estate firm in North America, has just expanded further in the Midwest with the opening of its first office in the Twin Cities area.

Veterans and former Cassidy Turley, Transwestern and Cushman & Wakefield brokers Chris Garcia, Jeff Minea, Duane Poppe and Kai Thomsen will lead the office, located at 5353 Gamble Dr. in suburban St. Louis Park.

The firm has been expanding quite a bit recently. In the past two years, it has opened offices in Pasadena, CA, Vancouver, Eastern Pennsylvania, Cleveland, Columbus and Houston.

“This is about more than finding a place on the map to plant our flag,” Jeffrey Rinkov, chief executive officer of Lee & Associates, tells GlobeSt.com. The company only went ahead after finding these four leaders, who combined have 75 years of experience in the Twin Cities market. All, he adds, have sterling reputations in their sectors, are considered go-to people for expert commentary on local market conditions, and have a proven ability to attract other brokers to a new office.

That last quality is key. Rinkov has high hopes that within a few years the Twin Cities operation will be one of the top three firms in the metro area. Both he and the local leadership want to cover all sectors of commercial real estate, including industrial, office, retail, and many others. “We see an office that combined is 40 to 50 people strong.”

It was important that the company to establish a presence in a market as vibrant and sustainable as the Twin Cities, Rinkov adds. As reported in GlobeSt.com, the region has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the US and has attracted a vast amount of outside investment, especially in its office sector. In addition, developers have constructed and leased many new distribution buildings, the Minneapolis downtown has attracted thousands of new residents, and a new stadium in that city has brought even more attention and life to the urban core.

Garcia says it was time to launch a new kind of brokerage for the Twin Cities. As a broker-owned firm, Lee & Associates will give he and his colleagues the opportunity to act as true entrepreneurs, an option that until now was missing in the Twin Cities. “Lee is the only one that gives us the ability to have ownership and control of the office. They hit checkmarks that other companies couldn't.”

An industrial specialist with 13 years of experience in the Twin Cities commercial real estate market, Garcia spent eight years at Northmarq, now part of Cushman & Wakefield. In 2010, he established his own brokerage firm, CGC Commercial, which became an important player in the local and regional industrial brokerage market.

Minea, with over 30 years' experience, spent 23 years with Welsh Cos./Colliers, and five years with Cushman & Wakefield as well as CGC Commercial. He focuses on tenant representation with emphasis on industrial and med-tech businesses. While at Cushman & Wakefield, he earned its “Top 5” producer award, and in 2007 he was honored as one of the “Top 5 Commercial Industrial Agents” in the Twin Cities by The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Poppe specializes in industrial sales and leasing within the North Metro of Minneapolis-St. Paul. He spent the last six years with Transwestern and nine with Cassidy Turley, where he played an active role on the firm's corporate services team as well as its management committee and was head of the industrial department prior to joining Lee & Associates Minnesota.

Thomsen, who spent 11 years with Cushman & Wakefield, formerly CTMT, also spent five years at Welsh Cos./Colliers, and specializes in office sales and leasing within the West Metro of Minneapolis-St. Paul region.