Why This Calvin Klein Salesman Chose CRE Instead

A 25-year commercial real estate veteran, Chet Koenig has contributed to plenty of new development and handled many acquisitions in Atlanta’s office and industrial markets.

ATLANTA—A 25-year commercial real estate veteran, Chet Koenig has contributed to plenty of new development and handled many acquisitions in Atlanta’s office and industrial markets. Over the years, he’s analyzed land, designed building specs based upon market demand, and implemented marketing strategies for the successful lease-up of projects. Koenig has a working knowledge of every submarket within the Atlanta metro area . Before co-founding Hodges Management and Leasing Company and serving as a principal and senior vice president of leasing, he was vice president of leasing with M.D. Hodges , an ING Company, for nine years. During that time, he leased over 1 million square feet every year of the company’s office and industrial portfolio. GlobeSt.com caught up with Koenig, principal of Avison Young ‘s agency leasing group in Atlanta, to learn more about his interesting career path in part one of this exclusive interview. In part two, he’ll discuss the opportunities and challenges he sees in the market. GlobeSt.com: How did you get your start in commercial real estate? Koenig: When my wife and I were expecting our first child, I decided I didn’t want to be a traveling salesman anymore. I had always been interested in commission sales and was extremely happy with a pay-per-performance job. At that time, I looked around to see what sales jobs were available where I didn’t have to travel and work nights and weekends and thought commercial real estate fit all of the categories I required. GlobeSt.com: What kind of sales were you doing when you made that decision? Koenig: I was an independent sales representative for Calvin Klein in the 1980′s selling women’s apparel back in the heyday of Brooke Shields. GlobeSt.com: What have been some key turning points in your career? Koenig: The first five years I was at Coldwell Banker Commercial (now CBRE ) was a tough, but enjoyable experience. I was extremely fortunate to be around some great brokers who taught me the ropes. Perhaps the biggest turning point in my career was transitioning from being a broker—primarily a tenant rep—to the landlord side of the business in 1990. I was able to pick up some listings while representing an owner who ultimately decided to go in-house so he could have his own full-time leasing rep. He offered me the job, and I jumped at the opportunity. That was an extremely huge career risk that I’m glad I took. GlobeSt.com: How did you end up at Avison Young? Koenig: My partners and I had our own management and leasing company for close to five years, but we were a small Atlanta-based operation. It was clear if we wanted to grow, we needed to align ourselves with a bigger company. Avison Young was the perfect fit. They were new to Atlanta at the time and were looking for an established, well-known company like we ours. It’s been a match made in heaven.