CREBA Awards Returns In Person To Honor D.C.'s Top Brokers
After two years of holding its biggest event of the year virtually, D.C.'s commercial real estate industry filled a downtown ballroom Tuesday evening to celebrate the CREBA Awards.
The awards ceremony, held at The Ritz-Carlton, drew 400 attendees to honor the top brokers, deals and firms in the industry.
Following the cocktail hour, the event began with a video montage featuring the award winners in 2020 and 2021 who weren't able to receive their honors in person. Then, after attendees finished their filet mignon dinners, this year's award winners were revealed.
The Brendan McCarthy Memorial Award, recognizing the CREBA member who best displays "unselfishness, caring and giving of oneself to help others," was given to Andy Eichberg, managing director at Stream Realty Partners.
A 25-year veteran of the industry, Eichberg joined Stream in 2020 after 12 years with Tishman Speyer. The son of legendary D.C. broker James L. Eichberg, the namesake for another top CREBA award, Eichberg credited his career success to the example set by his parents.
"If I didn’t have a strong family to help put me in the direction I’ve been going in, and to follow after some big footsteps in my dad, I’m lucky to have had that guide," he said. "It’s not just him — it’s my mom, my grandparents. I’m a third-generation member of this organization; my grandfather was actually a member of a predecessor organization. So this means a lot on a lot of levels."
In a video presented before Eichberg accepted the award, several of his colleagues highlighted his work for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He has supported LLS in multiple capacities, including serving on the executive committee for the organization's Leukemia Ball.
"When we were talking to him about originally coming to Stream two years ago, every conversation that we had led with, 'This is an organization in LLS that is important to me, I need to know that the platform that I join will provide the support and sponsorship, not only to the organization but also to me so I can dedicate my time to give to them,'" Stream Realty Managing Partner Kyle Luby said in the video played at the event.
The Joseph Stettinius Jr. Leadership Award, created in 2018 after the former Cushman & Wakefield executive died suddenly at 55, was given to Greg Meyer, president of the U.S. office at Brookfield Properties.
The award was presented by Cushman & Wakefield East Region President Roberta Liss, and Meyer was joined on stage by two past winners of the award: Boston Properties' Ray Ritchey and Rand Construction's Linda Rabbitt.
"This award recognizes a leader who is kind, compassionate, smart, a visionary and highly respected," Liss said. "A true leader who puts the good of colleagues first, who is a confidant, who is a great friend to the entire real estate community and business community, all the things that Joe held as a priority in his leadership and in his life."
The James L. Eichberg Broker of the Year Award, selected based on last year's deal production along with leadership qualities and active participation in community service, was given to Laurie McMahon, executive vice president at Cushman & Wakefield. McMahon, who has been with the firm for 24 years, was unable to attend the event due to a long-planned trip, according to Ryan Miller, who leads the D.C. region for Cushman & Wakefield and accepted the award on her behalf.
"It's humbling to be here to represent Laurie. She is a force, as many of you know, and is very well-deserving of this award," Miller said. "She’d like to thank CREBA, she’d like to thank her loyal and valued clients, she’d like to thank her team at Cushman & Wakefield."
The Rising Star Award, recognizing a broker under the age of 35 for their contributions to the industry, was given to Dimitri Hajimihalis, a senior associate at CBRE. Hajimihalis joined commercial real estate five years ago from the college football world, previously serving as director of football operations at UCLA.
The remaining awards, for top agents, top transactions and best in industry, are listed below.
Top D.C. Leasing Agent: JLL's Amy Bowser
Top Maryland Leasing Agent: JLL's Pete Briskman
Top Virginia Leasing Agent: Cushman & Wakefield's Tim Summers
Top Regional GSA Leasing Agent: Savills' Emmett Miller
Top Developer Agent: Manulife's Robert Tiernan
Top Regional Finance Agent: CBRE's David Webb
Top Regional Retail Agent: Dochter & Alexander's Dave Dochter and Matt Alexander
D.C. Leasing Transaction of the Year: Savills, JLL and Douglas Development for the 1.2M SF lease with the Securities and Exchange Commission for its new headquarters in NoMa.
Maryland Leasing Transaction of the Year: Savills, JLL and Federal Realty Investment Trust for the 105K SF lease with Choice Hotels for its headquarters at Pike & Rose.
Virginia Leasing Transaction of the Year: CBRE and Boston Properties for the 100K SF lease with Peraton for its headquarters at Reston Town Center.
Regional Leasing Transaction of the Year Under 75K SF: JLL and Boston Properties for the Leidos lease at 1805 Liberty St.
Sales Transaction of the Year: Newmark for the $106M sale of the Willow Oaks Corporate Center in Fairfax.
Finance Transaction of the Year: CBRE for the River Point project.
Retail Leasing Transaction of the Year: Avison Young and H&R Retail for the LifeTime at the Crossing Clarendon.
Best In Industry
Architect: HYL Construction
Contractor: Bognet Construction
Developer: The Meridian Group
Flex Office Space: Industrious
Furniture Vendor: Washington Workplace
Law Firm: Greenstein DeLorme & Luchs
Project of the Year: Pike & Rose
