Chicago-based Clayco announced the retirement of its CEO, Russ Burns. Anthony Johnson, Clayco’s executive vice president and president of its industrial business unit, will succeed Burns as CEO.

Burns retired in December but will become Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the firm. “In his time as CEO, Clayco has rapidly expanded to become one of the largest builders of technical, mission critical projects in the United States, and we are beyond grateful for his contributions,” said Bob Clark, Founder and Executive Chairman at Clayco. “I am confident that Anthony will build on Russ’ legacy and position Clayco for even greater growth as a leader in the design-build industry.”

As CEO, Johnson will lead Clayco’s continued evolution as the premier vertically integrated design-build and development company in the country. Clayco also announced the launch of Clayco Compute, an integrated data center delivery business unit focused exclusively on the highly specialized construction of advanced technology centers.

The MacKenzie Companies, LLC, in collaboration with InspiRE CRE, LLC, has established Asset Adversity Group, a strategic alliance focusing on distressed and underperforming commercial real estate assets. This partnership combines InspiRE’s expertise in distressed asset management with MacKenzie’s real estate services, aiding financial institutions and investors in optimizing asset value.  

Asset Adversity Group offers a range of services under one roof, assisting lenders and investors in navigating challenges related to distressed assets. The alliance targets assets in the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly those valued between $5 million and $50 million.  

By offering pre-receivership evaluation, court-appointed receivership, and post-foreclosure asset management services, Asset Adversity Group aims to address the needs of small to mid-sized banks seeking expertise in asset and property management. 

The lure of last-mile industrial plays continues to draw in big names with a Goldman Sachs group and Dalfen Industrial adding 11 buildings to a joint portfolio created by the two organizations. Texas has a particular lure for the groups, with more than half the portfolio in the Lone Star State and more than one-quarter of it in North Texas alone.

The Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division and Dalfen acquired 11 last-mile properties in Fort Worth, Denver, West Palm Beach, Charlotte and San Antonio.

Six of the buildings are in Texas, with three of the assets located inside the 1M SF Mark IV Commerce Center industrial park in Fort Worth.

Sitting near Interstates 35 and 820, Mark IV is close to both the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Alliance Airport. It also sits in one of the healthiest industrial markets in the nation. Statistics show DFW industrial demand remains strong, with the market absorbing 15M SF of industrial space from the beginning of the year through the third quarter, according to CBRE data. 

“Dalfen Industrial is excited about the expansion of our partnership with Goldman Sachs with the addition of 11 more best-in-class, last-mile industrial properties in key markets,” President and Chief Investment Officer at Dalfen Industrial Sean Dalfen said. “The partnership between Dalfen Industrial and Goldman Sachs now sits at 52 properties totaling 7.13M SF in 19 major U.S. markets in 10 states.”

The remaining Texas assets are in Shertz, Texas, a city outside of San Antonio. The partnership also purchased the 75K SF Aurora Center at Gateway I industrial property in Denver along with two assets in West Palm Beach, Florida: the 205K SF Interstate Park Logistics Center and the 152K SF Blue Heron Logistics Center.

Together Goldman and Dalfen have acquired more than 8M SF of infill industrial space and have offloaded nine assets with a total of 896K SF.