21Q2 Richmond Industrial Research Report

John Carpin has over 20 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry, with his primary responsibilities including landlord representation of industrial and office/medical properties for both institutional and local owners. In addition, he is involved with tenant representation for both national and local clients. In these capacities, John has represented landlords and tenants in the identification, acquisition and disposition of commercial assets. Since 1996, John has completed over 850 transactions totaling over $276 million in value and has been involved in over 10 million square feet of leasing transactions, while handling a portfolio of over 2.5 million square feet of office/medical and industrial properties.

In addition to Landlord and tenant representations, John has experience in investment/building and land sales. This work has provided vital experience in the building development process (pro forma evaluation), project management, (P.O.D. process, selection of architects, engineers and contractors, etc.) and lease procurement and negotiations.

Rob Dirom entered the commercial real estate brokerage business in 1997. In the last decade the industrial/warehousing product type has become his primary area of focus. Over the course, Rob has worked with land, office/flex, and office property clients and has represented buyers, sellers, landlords, tenants, and investors. Rob has worked with local, national, and international clients throughout his career, and in past years has also provided brokerage expertise for retail, land, and multi-family assignments. 
Along with brokerage, Rob has gathered extensive experience in assisting an industrial “build-to-suit” client including site searches, coordination of government incentives, and other related specialty offerings. This skill set has also become valuable is working with developers in constructing speculative or build-to-suit industrial product. Rob also has extensive experience assisting the owner/occupant investor in the purchase of industrial, office/service (flex), and office properties. Through hundreds of transactions and over two decades of industry experience, he brings a working knowledge of most brokerage processes, familiarity with an investment pro forma, and experienced insights into site readiness, construction timelines, building systems, renovation challenges, and the historic tax credit renovation process. Rob takes great pride in his teamwork and communication skills and providing the highest level of customer service. He has many career-long clients.
Rob possesses a knowledge of local market trends and the business geography of the Greater Richmond area. He enjoys interaction with all types of people and the development of long-term business relationships. In 2020 Rob earned the SIOR designation (Society of Industrial and Office Realtors®). This designation is a professional symbol of the highest level of knowledge, production, and ethics in the commercial real estate industry.  Outside of his career, Rob enjoys being outdoors, fishing, skiing, canoeing, hiking, and yard work are frequent pastimes.  He is often found tinkering with vintage cars and enjoys playing the guitar and/or appreciating music and good food.

Wood Thornton began his commercial real estate advisory practice in 2007. For all of his clients, he provides comprehensive resources to enable them to fully understand their real estate options and to establish the best real estate strategy for their business. 

Wood represents office and industrial tenants and landlords in leasing and sales transactions. Wood’s clients range from companies with a single location seeking advice on an existing lease renewal to Fortune 100 companies seeking strategic consulting and real estate services for their operations.

Before entering the commercial real estate profession, Wood spent thirteen years as a corporate attorney.  For the last decade of his legal career, he was with Troutman Sanders LLP, where he was a member of Troutman’s Mergers and Acquisitions and Business Venture Team.  He is a member of Law Firm Services Practice Group which provides qualified solutions to the real estate issues facing law firms today.

Jimmy Martin joined the firm in 2013 with a focus is on industrial and office sales and leasing. Jimmy is constantly in the market canvasing and prospecting on behalf of his clients. With his “boots on the ground” approach, Jimmy maintains a comprehensive knowledge of the greater Richmond market conditions.

Commercial real estate is a second career for Jimmy. His past life was spent as an NFL player and Virginia Tech football coach. From this experience, he brings a competitive attitude and strong work ethic to his practice. 

Frank focuses on landlord and tenant representation, lease negotiation, and the disposition of commercial properties. 

Prior to joining, he worked at JLL managing AstraZeneca’s 9 million square foot real estate portfolio in North and South America consisting of office, industrial, and lab space. 

After graduating from the Virginia Military Institute, Frank worked for CBRE in Washington D.C. on a team that handled transactions for the United States Postal Service. As a Transaction Manager he negotiated 122 leases across the United States.