Jones Lang LaSalle is expanding its presence on Long Island with a brick-and-mortar office in Melville, according to a spokesperson. While the firm has done deals in Long Island before, this is the firm’s first office there.
Two members of the Jones Lang team — Raymond Ruiz, an executive vice president, and Marianne Dugan, a vice president — launched the office. Jones Lang’s suburban tri-state region market director, Jonathan Meisel, said in a statement that Ruiz and Dugan’s experience in the region was integral to their placement in the office.
“We are excited to commit additional resources to this important market,” Meisel said. Ruiz and Dugan “will be crucial to our efforts to expand our presence here.”
Ruiz and Dugan both have extensive experience as brokers on Long Island, with Jones Lang and other firms. Jones Lang currently has two offices in New York City, two in Connecticut and four in New Jersey.
The company might be expanding at just the right time, too. A report from CBRE last month predicted that by the end of 2010, office rents in the greater New York metro area will be up 2.2 percent compared to the end of 2009.