GVA Williams launches project management division

Real Estate Weekly, May 2, 2007

GVA Williams has launched GVA Williams Project Management LLC and has appointed Michael A. DeJohn President.

GVA Williams Project Management will advise clients on a broad spectrum of office, retail, residential, and industrial projects, including build-outs, expansions, due diligence and more. In his role as president of GVA Williams Project Management, DeJohn will direct a team of project management specialists, who will oversee each project from conception to conclusion.

Highly regarded as a leading project management expert in the real estate industry, DeJohn has more than 25 years of experience in project management, corporate real estate, facilities management, and architecture.

"Michael is a consummate expert in all facets of the project management business, and we are very pleased that he has joined us to integrate this offering into our suite of services at GVA Williams," commented Robert L. Freedman, president and CEO of GVA Williams. "His arrival at GVA lends greater organizational depth and synergies to our business model."

"GVA Williams Project Management, led by Michael's invaluable expertise and insight, seamlessly complements our in-house arsenal of real estate talent. In concert with our existing service lines, this new division will enhance our ability to serve our expanding roster of Fortune 500, regional and local clients," commented Mark Jaccom, President of the GVA Williams Tenant Representation Division.

Throughout the course of his 25-year real estate career, DeJohn has brought numerous high-profile projects to successful fruition, including the 1.1 million ft. Ernest & Young headquarters at 5 Times Square, the 500,000 ft. Empire Blue Cross former headquarters at One World Trade Center, the 300,000 ft. Ann Taylor headquarters at 7 Times Square and Warnaco's 200,000 ft. headquarters at 501 Seventh Ave. He also possesses extensive expertise in the area of pre-transaction due diligence, and has performed capital project studies for companies such as New York Life, L'Oreal, and Lehman Brothers. Prior to joining GVA Williams Project Management, DeJohn was a Partner in a project management firm, where he was the Principal-In-Charge of a wide variety of notable construction projects. He was also senior executive in Jones Lang Salle's project management group. Previous to his project management consulting career, DeJohn was a corporate real estate executive. He held the position of senior vice president of real estate at Gruntal & Co. and manager of store and office planning at Tiffany & Co. DeJohn is an active member of the commercial real estate community. He served as the chapter chair of the NYC Chapter of CoreNet Global and was also named "Member of the Year," and has been instrumental in the development of CoreNet new chapter initiatives, including the CoreNet Knowledge Center and the Communities of Learning. DeJohn is the author of numerous articles that have appeared in Real Estate New York, Development NY, Real Estate Weekly and Crain's publications.

DeJohn holds a Bachelors of Architecture Degree from Pratt Institute and an MBA in Finance from Fairleigh Dickinson University.