JLL Expands Industrial Group with Two Tenant Rep Brokers from CBRE

ATLANTA, May 25, 2021 – JLL Atlanta today announces the hiring of Tom Cromartie and Austin Kriz, who have joined the firm’s industrial tenant representation team as senior managing director and senior vice president, respectively. This announcement comes during a period of significant momentum for Atlanta’s industrial sector, with 14.4 million square feet of deals signed since January.

“Tom and Austin’s comprehensive tenant representation experience, paired with their deep network contacts, makes them an invaluable addition to our firm,” said Mike Sivewright, market director for JLL’s Atlanta region. “We remain committed to hiring the best and brightest, and with their track records of success, Tom and Austin will strengthen our industrial tenant representation team and the services we provide our clients.”

In their new roles, Cromartie and Kriz will lead and implement strategic consulting and transaction services with a focus on manufacturing and distribution. They also bring new capabilities to the tenant representation team, including an integrated portfolio services offering.

“Tom and Austin join JLL at a pivotal moment, as we continue to strengthen our presence throughout Atlanta and deepen our expertise in the Savannah market,” said Ryan Hoyt, senior managing director and leader of JLL’s Atlanta-based industrial group. “After an incredibly active 2020 and first quarter of 2021, we expect strong demand to persist as e-commerce sales and population growth continue to drive occupiers’ needs for increased distribution and fulfillment centers throughout the Southeast. Growing our team enables us to provide even better service to our clients, and we look forward to another momentous year for the industrial sector.”

Prior to joining JLL, Cromartie served as senior vice president for CBRE’s Industrial Advisory & Transaction Services practice group. Cromartie’s broad knowledge of the industry and detailed approach gives him the ability to lead and implement strategic consulting and transaction services for his clients. With over 20 years of commercial real estate experience, his expertise includes tenant representation for national, regional and local occupiers with a primary emphasis on manufacturers. He is an active member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors (ACBR), National Association of Realtors (NAR) and the Society of Office and Industrial Realtors (SIOR).

“I’m thrilled to join JLL and leverage the firm’s unmatched breadth and depth of resources to deliver exceptional outcomes for industrial occupiers,” Cromartie adds. “I’m inspired and invigorated by the culture of collaboration at JLL, and in this next chapter of my career, I look forward to providing continued best-in-class service while helping our team navigate a period of growth and expansion.”

As vice president at CBRE, Kriz provided strategic portfolio optimization solutions to a diverse range of clients, from Fortune 500 corporations to technology startups. He has experience structuring and negotiating virtually every conceivable real estate requirement from 1,000 square feet to 3,000,000 square feet, working new angles to solve the challenges involved in ground leases, net and gross leases, build-to-suits and government incentive packages. Specializing in manufacturing and distribution facilities, Kriz leverages a comprehensive understanding of supply chain strategy with aggressive, impactful real estate execution to deliver superior results. He is a CCIM and an active member of the ACBR, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors and the NAR.

“It’s exciting to join such a dynamic team following a record-breaking first quarter for Atlanta’s industrial sector. And with the Port of Savannah already ranked as the country’s largest and fastest-growing container terminal, the market is attracting new developers and large-scale industrial users, presenting incredible opportunities for JLL as we strengthen our presence in the coastal region,” said Kriz.

JLL’s Q1 Industrial Insight reveals that Atlanta recently experienced the highest absorption on record, and 24.1 million square feet of space is currently under construction. Despite the pandemic, the Atlanta industrial market is seeing unprecedented demand with vacancy rates at a record low of 6.1% and known tenant requirements exceeding 40 million square feet. In Savannah, there is currently 7.6 million square feet under construction, of which half is already accounted for by tenants and users. With vacancy currently sitting at 4.46%, JLL’s experts are tracking record activity between 15 million and 19 million square feet of tenant/user requirements from 2 acres to 1.5 million-square-foot import centers.