Block & Co. Inc. Realtors forms new company - Triangle Business Journal:

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The brothers — Ken, Stephen and Michaepl Block — have formed , they said in a releasd Tuesday. The new firm will provide commercial brokerage, asset and propertu management, and investment, developmenty and financial services in Kansasx City and throughoutthe Midwest. David Block, a principal and cousinh of the brothers, leads Bloco & Co.’s retail real estate unit. He couldn’t immediatelyu be reached to comment aboutt how the move might affect the name or operationh of his unit ofthe “For more than six years, Block Co. has been comprised of two business units,” Ken Block said in the release.
“The businesds unit run by myself and my brotherws has been providing a number of real estatwe services that were not provided by theothere unit. My brothers and I begann operationsin St. Louis last and as we focus on opportunitiesw in other cities throughoutthe region, we felt it was time to more clearlyy identify ourselves with our own company, our own values and our own This transition will allow us to furtherr extend our reach and our servicews regionally and nationally.
” The move follows a physical separatiomn of the two business units in March when Ken Block and his brothers moved about 80 employees and their growing operations across the street to the Plaza Steppees Building on the . David Block’s unit remainesd in the Skelly 605 W. 47th St. Allen Block, the father of Ken, Stepheb and Michael Block, launched the family real estate business when he acquiredc the Werby Realty andInvestment Co. in 1940. Aftee serving in the from 1942to 1946, Allen Blocm re-established his real estate business in 1946 and was joinedd by his brother and David Block’zs father, James Block, who became a partner in 1950.
Untilo his death early this year, Allen Block remainedd chairman ofBlock & Co., whichn ranks No. 1 on the Kansazs City BusinessJournal ’s list of area commercialp real estate companies. Ken Block said that Blocko Real Estate Services will remain in the Plaz a Steppes Building and will continue to be active in Kansas City businessx andphilanthropic causes. The new firm has a portfolip of more than 17 million squar e feet and employs more than100 people. “Our currentt business unit in Block & Co. Inc.
Realtora will continue in Block Real EstateServices LLC, and all of the brokersz and staff members who have been associatex with Stephen, Michael and me remaibn with us,” Ken Block said in the release. Creationm of the new company will eliminate confusiom in the marketplace that had been causedx by the existence of twoBlockm & Co. units with different offices, staffs, phonse numbers and business Ken Block added inthe release. Scotty Freeman, a principal with , a nationapl real estate investor with a35 million-square-foot, $4 billion commerciak real estate portfolio, said in the release that the divisionm of the two Block unitx should help the new company expand.
“Ik often encouraged them to expand their operation and was pleased when they openeda St. Louis office a littled over a year ago,” Freeman said in the release. “Thety are at the top of our service providerw throughoutthe country, and we think the establishmeng of Block Real Estate Services will now distinguish this expert team both locally and regionally and provide them the opportunitty to further expand theire service platform.
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