JLL is expanding its Houston retail presence. Step one: Bringing on retail guru Mark Raines.

Mark Raines began his real estate career as a homebuilder, but in 2007 felt a calling to look into CRE. His old college roommates gave him a hand, and he chose the retail sector because he felt it offered the most flexibility and opportunity to engage in a variety of real estate transactions. He joined CBRE seven years ago and primarily did tenant rep and with his move to JLL two months ago, he’s expanding more into landlord rep. But Mark’s endgame is to get more into development. He tells us most retail brokers dabble in it at some point, and he’s excited to start focusing on it more heavily at JLL.

Here’s Mark with his family: wife April, daughter Macey, and son Nolan in Seaside, Florida, this summer. One of Mark’s all-time favorite deals was finding three stores for Conn’s in West Texas a few years ago. Because they were bigger deals (totaling 140k SF) and because of their locations, they presented a unique challenge. He didn’t know the markets, so he had to travel to Amarillo, Lubbock, and Odessa several times to learn the area and deliver the best sites.

Mark says taking on the role and responsibility of team lead at JLL checks one thing off his bucket list. Still on it: Riding an off-road motorcycle from the tip of Mexico to Cabo, a 10-day journey. (He’s already done half of it.) Above, he and Nolan show off their off-roading skills. Closer to home, he likes spending lots of time on Lake Conroe boating and fishing.

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