Business and Finance

Longtime East Bay commercial real estate broker Ed Del Beccaro has jumped ship from Colliers International to Grubb & Ellis in Walnut Creek — an office he opened in 1982.

Del Beccaro will take the lead of Grubb & Ellis’ Walnut Creek office, which has 12 brokers. He expects to more than double the broker base by the end of the year.

“I build organizations and that’s what I like to do,” Del Beccaro said. “The goal is is to create a real, local culture that is broker-centric within a national company.”

He started his real estate career in 1977 at Grubb & Ellis in Oakland, where he worked for five years before starting the firm’s operation in Walnut Creek. He left the brokerage to become a developer from 1983 to 1992 and then returned to Grubb & Ellis to revamp its offices in Walnut Creek and Oakland following a major recession. In 1999, he joined Colliers Parrish, the local division of Colliers International, and launched its Walnut Creek office.

Del Beccaro has been involved in some major East Bay deals of late including Legacy Partners’ $174.25 million purchase Ygnacio Center in Walnut Creek in 2008 and Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland’s space to open a clinic in Walnut Creek.

“Colliers was very good to me and I very much enjoyed working at Colliers, but in deep recessions, there’s consolidation and things change at companies,” Del Beccaro said.

Market downturns often push many commercial brokerages to go out of business, merge with other firms or reorganize, he said. Another Bay Area brokerage, BT Commercial recently dropped NAI and affiliated with Cassidy Turley guaranteed high risk personal loans.

In his new role with Grubb & Ellis, Del Beccaro plans to add a medical services and multi-family housing groups and boost the retail, office, industrial and investments groups.

“I’ll be looking for good quality brokers to give them the right platform to work from,” he said.

Jack Van Berkel, president of real estate services for Grubb & Ellis, said the firm has positioned itself to take advantage of the turmoil in the industry to expand it’s business. Grubb & Ellis has 130 offices nationwide and is looking to grow significantly in the Bay Area, where it has about 75 brokers.

“Ed is a great hire for us,” he said. “He’s very representative of the type of leadershp we’re looking for. He’s very knowledgeable and aggressive and very respected in the Bay Area.”

Last year, Grubb & Ellis hired Mark Geisreiter to lead its San Francisco office and Dick Scott to head up the San Jose office.

“Ed is not only a very talented individual with an incredible track record,” he said. “He has spent a large portion of his career growing Grubb & Ellis in the East Bay and is the most qualified person to ensure the company’s continued growth.”

Del Beccaro earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers as well as the Tri-Valley Council.

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