Cushman & Wakefield

Specialty: Office, industrial brokerage

Management: John Miller, senior managing director

Founded: 1978

Local offices: Seattle, Bellevue

Current projects: Brokering deal for Marsh & McLennan for 120,000 square feet in downtown Seattle; represented several national public relations firms for 53,000 square feet in Vulcan Inc.’s Alley 24 project in South Lake Union

For Cushman & Wakefield, 2005 was a strong year and 2006 will be stronger. “We’re in a definite growth mode,” said John Miller, senior managing director.

With 175 offices worldwide, Cushman & Wakefield is a full-service real estate company. The local branches focus on leasing office and industrial space, as well as retail and mixed-use.

Retail, the big opportunity

The retail component is a recent addition, according to Miller. “We see retail as being a huge opportunity,” Miller said. Cushman added two local retail brokers this year.

He expects the retail sector to grow quickly in coming years. The firm’s retail team has brokered deals for four Chipotle restaurants in the Puget Sound area.

Even with the addition of the Washington Mutual Center, he said office space will still be in demand downtown, in part because of new investment capital flowing into Seattle companies. He cited Amazon.com’s reported plan to expand into the Bank of America Tower as evidence of better times for local companies.

“We’re also looking at growth at the south end, in the industrial sector,” Miller said. He also sees office market gaining strength in downtown Bellevue.