Balke Brown Transwestern Recruits Robert G. Camenzind to Head New REO Division

ST. LOUIS – Continuing to broaden its platform of specialized real estate services, St. Louis broker, manager and developer Balke Brown Transwestern has formed a real estate owned (REO) division to assist banks with the management and disposition of distressed commercial properties. Leading the new division is Robert G. Camenzind, who since 2009 has headed Kirkwood, Mo.-based SecureAsset Services, a company that specializes in helping banks gainfully resolve distressed property situations.  In addition to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Camenzind’s clients include Enterprise Bank, First Bank, Heartland Bank, Reliance Bank, Premier Bank and St. Louis Bank.

The new division will seek to optimize the economic return financial institutions realize on REO properties by providing property management and leasing services that maximize the value of an asset while readying it for sale.  Additionally, it will provide receivership services for distressed assets of particular concern for the lender.

Camenzind has been appointed receiver for multiple high-profile properties including the 

• 2010 bankruptcy of Clayton, Mo.-based R.J. York Development in the wake of its failed effort to
  develop a Westin Hotel in downtown Clayton;

•  2011 foreclosure of the72,000-square-foot Lammert Center retail property in Clayton; and    

•  the 2011 foreclosure of Barat Academy in Dardenne Prairie, Mo.  

“The addition of an REO division expands our service platform and complements our presence in commercial, office, industrial and retail brokerage,” said Mike Donovan, Balke Brown principal.  “We are looking to capitalize on a still-expanding market for REO services, particularly the receivership niche which offers banks the opportunity to assume operational control of a troubled asset without taking title to it.”

Will Also Lead Third-Party Multi-Family Management Effort

Camenzind, 47, who was born into a residential real estate development family, will also lead Balke Brown’s initiative to grow its third-party multi-family management business.  Beginning in 1958, Camenzind’s father, Jack, built approximately 2,000 apartments and condominiums across metro St. Louis.  Following his father’s death, Camenzind assumed leadership of the company in 1994, initially expanding its portfolio and then divesting units in response to favorable market conditions. In 2003, the company sold, for nearly $50 million, a final 556-unit block that included the 208-unit Willowbend Apartments in Town and Country and the 156-unit Peachtree Apartments in Chesterfield.

Balke Brown is pursuing management of institutional grade developments with a minimum of 100 units.  “Central to the success of a third-party manager is the ability to derive economies of scale that minimize the per-unit cost of providing essential services to residents and deliver higher revenues to the owner of the property,” said a Camenzind.  “The fact that Balke Brown will soon have more than 1,000 high-end units under management in its internal portfolio gives us the foundation to be extremely competitive.”

“Balke Brown did well to bring Bob Camenzind on board,” commented Ken Aston, a partner with apartment sales firm Hendricks & Partners.  “I have worked closely with Bob on a number of successful apartment deals over the years. He has great management skills and knows how to get a deal closed.”

Founded in 1979, Balke Brown Transwestern is one of the largest commercial real estate firms in metro St. Louis, with a portfolio of 56 projects totaling more than 6.4 million square feet.  The firm employs 50 people who provide brokerage, investment, property management and development services in the office, industrial, medical, retail and multi-family sectors. It affiliated with Houston, Texas-based national real estate firm, Transwestern, in late 2011.