Property Management Division Officially Launched as Hiffman National

NAI Hiffman, one of the largest independent commercial real estate services firms in the US, and the six-time winner of NAIOP Chicago’s Property Management Firm of the Year award, today announced the rebranding of its property management services division under the entity of Hiffman National.

Currently, NAI Hiffman provides brokerage, property management, project services and accounting services to more than 800 office, retail and industrial properties representing over 100 million square feet in 28 states. Now, with the property services division rebranded as Hiffman National, the same recognized team, under the leadership of Hiffman National Executive Vice President/Executive Managing Director Bob Assoian, will have the ability to bring its award-winning platform and high-touch customer service into all 50 states, wherever clients need it to be. NAI Hiffman will remain focused on transaction and advisory services for landlords and tenants in metropolitan Chicago, northern Indiana and southern Wisconsin, while Hiffman National is positioned to provide a wide spectrum of property services for its local and national client base.

To accommodate this growth, Hiffman National has on-the-ground property management teams in eight regional hub offices – Chicago; Los Angeles; Palm Desert, Calif.; Tampa, Sarasota and Fort Meyers, Fla.; Dallas; and Cincinnati – and an additional 30 satellite locations in Illinois, California, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Texas and Michigan. It also serves clients in additional locations remotely. Hiffman National will add new property management offices in more markets to meet its clients’ needs.

“For several years, we’ve grown organically as clients have been ‘taking us out of our backyard’, requesting our property management services in new locations and referring us by word-of-mouth to new clients,” said Assoian, who has been at the helm of NAI Hiffman’s management services division for 10 years. “With Hiffman National, we will build on our reputation and the success of our platform by proactively entering new markets where our clients need us and providing top talent nationally who deliver on our commitment to exceptional, personal client service and driving innovation to do things differently. This means providing a modern platform that is customizable for each client and can evolve with business needs, while nurturing relationships through clear, frequent communications and prompt responses to clients.”

In the past five years, NAI Hiffman’s property management portfolio has grown from 250 assets in six states to 827 assets in 28 states. NAI Hiffman’s management services division has also diversified during that time, with office, medical office and retail now accounting for almost 50% of the portfolio.

“We started using Hiffman’s property management in 2014 with The Reserve at Deer Park, a 351,000-square-foot Class A office asset in Illinois, and Hiffman’s client-centric model and team approach led us to hire the firm in North Carolina in 2015, Pennsylvania in 2016 and Ohio in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020,” said Daniel T. Cooper, partner and head of North America for 90 North, a London-based real estate investment manager. “Although Hiffman’s property management division has experienced significant growth, 90 North continues to receive customized solutions, great staff and attention from their onsite property management teams to their executive leadership. Hiffman’s service level across the U.S. has contributed to the success of our investments.”

According to IBISWorld, property management is currently a $101 billion industry, and it plays an essential role in ensuring return on investment for commercial property. Beyond collecting rent, paying bills, and managing leasing, the best property managers do everything from identifying efficiencies and areas for improvement in multi-building operations – which can be particularly helpful in times of economic uncertainty – to advising on tenant health and safety.

“We are approaching our national expansion differently from some of our competitors, with property management and project services leading the way, rather than brokerage,” said Dave Petersen, chief executive officer of NAI Hiffman, which is an eight-time winner of the Chicago Tribune’s Top Workplace award, and Hiffman National. “The Hiffman name has become synonymous with the best property management service in the business.

“My roots are in property management, and I’ve seen since early in my career how it can make or break an asset, a brand’s reputation, or an owner’s ability to expand,” he continued.” Bob and I have always been on the same page about property management’s importance to the NAI Hiffman portfolio of real estate services. Over the past decade, Bob has evolved and fine-tuned the property services business to successfully compete against major multinationals, earning the trust of large organizations and investors. We’re formalizing and putting financial muscle behind what was organically growing into a national operation, and we’re excited to see where Bob and his team take Hiffman National.”