Cushman & Wakefield’s Glenn Markman becomes Brooklyn power broker

From left, Cushman's Glenn Markman and Michael Stoler of the Stoler Report, Spike Lee and 55 Washington Street
From left, Cushman's Glenn Markman and Michael Stoler of the Stoler Report, Spike Lee and 55 Washington Street

What do Spike Lee, the Brooklyn Nets and Etsy all have in common? Cushman & Wakefield leasing executive Glenn Markman. Markman has become a heavyweight dealmaker throughout Brooklyn and, in his own, has way helped the borough rise to prominence, the Commercial Observer reported.

In 2008, Markman represented a very choosey Spike Lee in his search to buy a nontraditional property for the headquarters of the film director’s advertising company, Spike DDB. Lee had wanted a firehouse, but Markman eventually found him space at 55 Washington Street in Dumbo – not a firehouse, but an area increasingly popular with companies in the media and tech industries.

A year later, Markman helped find space in the same building for Etsy, the online retailer of handmade goods. “It’s interesting how it all flows,” Markman said. “I’m always trying to put myself in my tenant’s shoes.”

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And when the Brooklyn Nets relocated the team’s executive offices from New Jersey to be closer to the new Barclays Center, Markman led a Cushman team that got them 35,000 square feet at 15 MetroTech Center in Downtown Brooklyn.

“Brooklyn is igniting this incredible passion from creative companies in Manhattan,” Markman said. “Brooklyn buzz combined with scarcity of space and increasing rental rates in areas like Midtown South are pushing more companies to come to the borough and providing the opportunity for the area to land blue-chip creative firms.” [NYO]Christopher Cameron