The lobby of Avison Young’s office in Morristown — Courtesy: Avison Young
By Joshua Burd
Avison Young has named a new managing director and principal to help guide the ongoing expansion of its project management team.
Stephen Silverstein, who will split time between the firm’s offices in Morristown and Orange County, California, brings more than 25 years of experience in project management, design and construction. As lead of the company’s U.S. Project Management Services group and a key part of Avison Young’s march toward a consultative, holistic platform, he will be responsible for developing and building real estate solutions for office, industrial, retail and institutional clients, while accelerating growth through acquisitions, recruitment and new business development.
Silverstein’s first priority will be the integration of the recently acquired workplace design firm, Studio Eagle, and AY’s tristate project management teams, the company said, and advancing its internal platforms and service delivery across the US.
“Stephen’s extensive corporate services experience, heavily focused on design and construction management, will be a valuable part of Avison Young’s project management team, comprised of more than 160 project managers — and growing — in markets across North America,” said Sheila Botting, principal and president of Avison Young’s Americas professional services team. “Stephen will substantially increase our overall market offering of consultative solutions, building our project and construction management platform across the U.S. and guiding clients through their evolving, customized real estate needs.”
Silverstein’s experience includes 14 years as Deloitte LLP’s leader of real estate and workplace services, according to a news release. Most recently, he spent nearly six years as a global senior managing director with Cushman & Wakefield, advising institutional clients such as Bank of the West and AECOM, having also worked as a director of global corporate services with CBRE.
“We are thrilled to have Stephen on board to lead Avison Young’s U.S. project management service line and to have him based here in our Morristown office to collaborate with our team on a regional level,” said Jeffrey Heller, an Avison Young principal and its New Jersey managing director. “Having known Stephen for close to 20 years from when he was working at Deloitte, I’ve witnessed firsthand his unmatched level of expertise and experience in design and construction management. I look forward to partnering with him at Avison Young as we continue to grow our platform and provide strategic solutions to our clients.”
The new hire comes just weeks after Avison Young announced its acquisition of Studio Eagle, a Berkeley Heights-based workplace strategy and design firm. The moved followed other recent transactions, including the addition of the Boston-based owner’s project management services firm Dowling Houy and the appointment of Arlene Dedier to lead Canadian project management services, as part of the firm’s ongoing expansion across North America.
“The growth that Avison Young has had in recent years has been phenomenal, with smart technology and top-notch real estate professionals who are focused on providing end-to-end real estate solutions for their clients,” Silverstein said. “It’s a dynamic, people-first work culture and I’m eager to drive opportunity and build the Project and Construction Management platform across the U.S.”
