Ray Merkel	Matt Franks

Ray Merkel    President and CEO of First Commercial Realty, Inc. Mr. Merkel has a BS in Business Management and Accounting from the University of Dayton, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Cincinnati College of Law. Mr. Merkel practiced law in Chicago, IL and served as Regional Real Estate Attorney for McDonald’s Corporation for a 14-state area; and also served as Regional Real Estate Manager in Columbus, OH. Mr. Merkel was associated with Manual Mayerson Associates, a major Cincinnati Developer and worked on regional malls, retail, and office projects. Mr. Merkel has represented many national retail, office, industrial, and restaurant clients in site selection, lease negotiation and purchase acquisition. Mr. Merkel is also active in selling and purchasing real estate investment properties. Mr. Merkel is a licensed Real Estate Broker in Kentucky and Ohio.

Matt Franks    Senior Advisor, Creative Adaptive Reuse Developer Matt has delivered his clients with extensive knowledge since the beginning of his Real Estate career in 1984 as Executive Director of Properties for Toebben Ltd. His experience has equipped him for every type of real estate transaction. Licensed in both Ohio and Kentucky, Matt continues to show his expertise and skills in the acquisition, disposition, and development of commercial, retail, office, and industrial properties. Early in his career Matt managed the growth of a retail and office space portfolio from 56,000 sq. ft. to 480,000 sq. ft. whilst maintaining 97% annual lease occupancy. In 2001 he received the CoStar Power Broker award for the largest industrial lease deal in the Tri-State Area after completing a 380,000 sq. ft. lease. In 2013 received the CoStar Retail Power Broker Award for largest volume of retail space in the Cincinnati market. His skills in Creative Adaptive Reuse Developments are unprecedented such as acquiring the former Johnny’s Toys facility in Latonia for B.J. Novelty then converting to a multi-tenant facility then selling the facility to one of the tenants who has since expanded into approximately 75% of the 100,000 plus square foot facility. Specialties: Sale – Corporate Sales Sale – Industrial Sale – Office Sale – Retail Lease – Industrial Lease – Office Lease – Retail

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