JLL NJ adds top retail team from Cushman & Wakefield

Retail real estate leaders David Townes and Alana Friedman are now part of the team at JLL Retail, based out of the firm’s Parsippany office. The pair come on board from Cushman & Wakefield.

Townes, managing director, and Friedman, vice president, will collaborate across business lines to bolster and diversify JLL NJ’s brokerage capabilities while also working to expand the firm’s national retail platform, the company said in its March 6 hiring announcement.

“David’s deep understanding of the retail brokerage industry and specific expertise in the New Jersey market make him an exceptional addition to lead the JLL retail team,” Tim Greiner, broker lead for JLL’s NJ Brokerage business, said in a statement.

“We are thrilled to welcome David and Alana to our national retail platform at a critical time when the traditional retail, e-commerce and industrial needs of our clients are converging more than ever before,” added Naveen Jaggi, president, JLL Retail.

At Cushman & Wakefield, Townes served as senior director of retail brokerage since 2017. Specializing in leasing, he handled representation assignments for landlords and tenants. His experience also includes site selection, letter of intent negotiation, office leasing and full-service commercial transaction management. Urban Edge Properties, Columbia Property Trust and Spear Street Capital are among Townes’ institutional owner clients, while his tenant clients include Planet Fitness, Phenix Salon Suites, Krispy Kreme, Goldfish Swim School and Sport Clips, JLL said.

Friedman, an expert in retail landlord representation and tenant brokerage, according to JLL, was director at Cushman & Wakefield. Her clients included national and regional retailers, and she has worked with range of landlords – from independent local owners to large institutional landlords – on projects covering mixed-use developments to ground leases.

“Alana and I are thrilled to be joining JLL, a company that shares our values and commitment to providing exceptional client services,” Townes said. “Their industry-leading platform and culture of excellence aligns perfectly with our own and will elevate our ability to deliver unparalleled value to our clients.”

Before Cushman & Wakefield, Townes was a retail leasing specialist with Ripco Real Estate and also worked at Welco Realty Inc. Friedman, who launched her retail real estate career with the Goldstein Group, previously was a retail broker with RKF in Rutherford.